Like many Australians, I tend to think of tennis as a game to follow ardently every January and then in a very indifferent manner the other eleven months.
But every now and then a player comes along and catches my interest and ensures my support of the game continues across the other three Slams.
Rarely is this player a top seed, there is just something about their game (or their background, hello Lleyton Hewitt) that makes me want to be awake at obscure hours to follow their success, or lack thereof.
The most recent holder of this mantle is a Frenchman by the name of Gael Monfils.
On a warm summer night in Melbourne two years ago, his entertaining style caught my eye as he surged past the previous Open winner Marcos Baghdatis. Somehow he out-cult-figured the cult figure and it did not take long for him to win me over.
He has a very captivating game and even has the ability to – hold for the outcry from purists – slide on all surfaces, not just clay.
The courts of Roland Garros are currently playing host to the French Open. My man Gael Monfils (who is unseeded) is again putting on a Grand Slam run to match his ’07 effort in Melbourne.
He has become the first local since 2001 to qualify for the semi finals and will tonight match up against Roger Federer, a man who is yet to win the only Grand Slam on clay.
I, for one, wish the guy all the best.
(Hoops fans out there might enjoy this quote from Monfils: “It's like Lakers versus Boston, it's going to be a big match - probably the most important match in my career so far - but it's not Game 7 yet”).
The other story I wanted to touch on was the resurgence of ice hockey’s NHL.
Three years ago, an entire season was locked out due to prolonged negotiations between club owners and players.
In the years leading up to the lockout, the sport experienced a decline in interest. The fear was the lockout would only accelerate the sport’s demise.
Fast forward to today and you’ll see how wrong those predictions were. The NHL is still behind the NFL, MLB and NBA, but it is no longer in decline.
This season’s Stanley Cup Finals wrapped up this week. The Detroit Red Wings, a traditional powerhouse, met the Pittsburgh Penguins, led by their young "modern day Gretzky" Sidney Crosby.
The series didn’t go to game seven, but it was a cracker. There was a triple-overtime. Both teams notched up wins on the road. Crosby again showed why he is the future of the NHL.
The Red Wings won in six.
It toped off a brilliant season in the turnaround of ice hockey. The season was opened in London. New Years Day saw the introduction of the greatest sporting event you’ve never heard of, the Winter Classic outdoor game. Crowds and revenues league-wide were well up on previous years.
And it looks all set to continue. Next year will begin in Stockholm and Prague. The Winter Classic will be back, at Chicago's famous Wrigley Field.
I, for one, wish the game all the best.
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