Times debate on British tennis

steven · Tennis legend

Times debate on British tennis

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Must have.

OldEchoMan · Social player

At least it shows that there are other people out there who really care - like those who post here regularly. It has opened the subject up for a wider debate than we enjoy, so I'm all for it. I thought it was fascinating reading, though I'd like to have heard a lot more from everyone. Am I alone in thinking that David Lloyd should have been put in charge of the sport here years ago?

imoen · Admin: Moderator+Tennis Legend

That was a fascinating article. I can't say it seemed to put any of the four in a good light but still really interesting, thanks for finding it Steven and good on Neil Harman for writing it!

As for David Lloyd, I know very very little about him, but based on what he was saying there I'm not convinced he would've been the best thing for the sport here. He seems far too uncompromising. and I know some people think that's what tennis needs, but for me, going in all guns blazing, being really hardline and not taking into account circumstances and situations isn't the solution...of course thats partly because that wouldn't be my style and I have no idea what the solution is instead!

steven · Tennis legend

Well, David Lloyd would clearly agree with you, so you can't be the only one! I can see how he can rub people up the wrong way, but yes, if they wanted real change, they probably should have given him a go, he might have done wonders.

wolf · Tennis legend

The thing wrong with British tennis is the coverage of it. Aside from Queens, Wimbledon (and sparingly AO and FO) and Davis Cup, it is not covered at all on terrestial TV. And even when it is covered on sky or eurosport or whatever, the only Brit you ever see is Andy. You might say that is because Andy is our only player who competes in ATP or WTA tournaments. That is not true. Elena Baltacha (qualified for Auckland this year), Anne Keothavong (reached semi's in India), Katie O'Brien (reached quaters in Tashkent), Alex Bogdanovic (3 or 4 different events), Jamie Baker (qualified for Australian Open), and also the doubles, where people like Jamie Murray, James Auckland, Ross Hutchins and Jamie Delgado regulary compete. One match which I would have loved to see was the doubles final at Nottingham (Jamie Murray / Eric Buterac v Josh Goodall / Ross Hutchins) which involved three British players. Was that on TV? No! And then there are challenges / futures events in Britain, how easy would it be just to set up a web cam, and put it on the LTA website? Even in newspapers, the only Brit I usually see having a mention is Andy. Do people know there are other tennis players in this country?

Without proper coverage of the sport, how do you expect people to get the urge to take it up? They will choose football, or cricket, or rugby, sports which are well covered in the media.

OldEchoMan · Social player

Dysfunctional perhaps Steven, but committed for sure. That is what the sport needs. When do we read such passionate prose from those supposedly in charge? And thank goodness there's one newspaper out there which gives a damn.

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Don't you think Draper is doing a good job, then? I feel more encouraged about the future than I have for many years. Of course, that may just be because I know a heck of a lot more than I used to, thanks mainly to this site!

steven · Tennis legend

I don't know. He does seem to have a fair bit of energy and I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt for the moment, but I'm a little suspicious that he's keener on doing what looks good than what necessarily is good.

For example, while I don't disagree with him taking action against some of the juniors if they are being really unprofessional, I think he should have dealt with them more professionally himself (better for them in the long run) instead of going on about it to the media (better for him in the short-term, trying to show that he's 'doing' something) - I'm sure those of us who are most interested we would have found out anyway, but I can't see how demonising them to whole country helps anyone.

I certainly can't complain about the coverage in the Times or them trying to stir up some more discussion, I just wish the rest of the media would wake up to the fact that there's more to British tennis than Andy too. One of the things I found most annoying about the Tim/Andy transition was the number of newspapers who seemed to be calling for Tim to retire because he'd been overtaken by Andy, as if they believed that it was innately undesirable to have more than one Brit playing on the main tour!

-- Edited by steven at 14:35, 2008-02-14

mjd · Challenger qualifying

I am confused!
In the article under sub-heading 'Lloyd' it says "...Lets be honest, Andy Murray has put himself before his country and if I was in charge I wouldnt pick him again."

I thought JL was in charge, or have I misread it? If not who does pick the team?

edit: It was me of course - I saw 'David Lloyd' and then imagined John Lloyd, maybe because of having been watching him last weekend on TV.

-- Edited by mjd at 11:42, 2008-02-15

Count Zero · Tennis legend

maybe it's a mis type? david lloyd said that

goldfish · Futures qualifying

It doesn't actually say JL but just Lloyd ie David, his brother.

mjd · Challenger qualifying

It 's me of course - I read it as John Lloyd when it was obviously David lloyd - Sorry!

jezzauk · Lower Club Player

I liked this paragraph :

Felgate And they were tough. Im happy to accept that I didnt get everything right. After coaching Tim [Hen-man], some people believed I wasnt cut out to be a performance director and British tennis needs the right people in the right positions. There is a sense of disquiet and I shoulder some of the blame for that. It cannot be right for a sport when people are worried about who is saying what to whom, conspiracy theories are around every corner, especially when were all so passionate to see this succeed

So Tim had a double-barrelled name after all!

But seriously, Neil Harman continues to prove himself here as the best tennis writer in the country at the moment, tracking down real opinions and facts and not padding out his articles with cliches and irrelevant histories.