Davydenko ganó el Masters de Londres (AP Photo/Alastair Grant).

El ruso Nikolay Davydenko se consagró campeón de la Masters Cup disputada en Londres durante los últimos ocho días. El ruso fue muy superior a su rival en la gran final, el argentino Juan Martín del Potro, al que derrotó tranquilamente 6-3/6-4. Este fue el quinto título del año para Davydenko quien cerrará como el número seis del mundo, desplazando al estadounidense Andy Roddick.

Hewan memamah biak, menurut hukum islam, halal untuk dimakan. Masih banyak lagi yang halal, tapi saya mau cerita hewan memamah biak karena sedang suasana hari raya kurban. Aturan islam memerintahkan untuk menyembelih hewan pada lehernya dengan cepat dan dengan pisau yang tajam (intinya supaya cepat juga).

Ada dua penjelasan utama dari segi sains yang menyepakati cara tersebut. Pertama, dengan disembelih di leher, darah akan keluar dengan cepat. Darah penting untuk dikeluarkan segera karena bisa dibilang darah adalah sumber penyakit. Kebanyakan (atau mungkin semua) virus disebarkan ke seluruh tubuh lewat darah. Dengan mengeluarkan darah sebanyak-banyaknya, maka daging berpenyakit dapat direduksi. Leher dipilih karena di situ terdapat arteri (pembuluh darah) paling besar selain aorta, yang itu berarti darah akan keluar dengan lebih cepat.

Kedua, karena disembelih dengan cepat, maka tingkat stres hewan dapat diminimalisir. Stres hewan yang akan disembelih bisa menyebabkan otot-otot banyak berkontraksi, akibatnya banyak ATP (atau sebut saja energi) yang berubah menjadi asam laktat. Peningkatan jumlah asam laktat dalam otot/daging menyebabkan pH daging turun sehingga daging menjadi alot. Ini yang juga menyebabkan daging menjadi merah kehitaman (daging yang baik berwarna merah cerah).

Saya pernah baca di sampul kaset Gold Finger, band yang sangat peduli lingkungan. Mereka memerangi penyiksaan hewan yang marak terjadi di negaranya. Salah satu contoh yang masih saya ingat, mereka (para penyiksa hewan) memukul kepala sapi sampai mati untuk kemudian mereka konsumsi. Dari sisi kehewanan (padanan kata kemanusaiaan untuk hewan) sepertinya kurang sekali ya. Kalau dibahas dari sisi ilmu pangan, ini juga sangat tidak sehat. Darah tidak keluar dari tubuh si sapi. Walaupun ujung-ujungnya sapi akan dipotong-potong, tapi darah dalam beberapa menit saja sudah membeku berbentuk padatan seperti daging. Nah, waktu memotong-motong sapi tidak akan bisa beradu cepat dengan membekunya darah sapi di dalam tubuh. Dengan begitu, darah beku akan bercampur dengan daging. Penyakit yang dibawa sapi akan lebih riskan untuk tertular ke manusia.

Semoga menambah wawasan…=)

El título en Auckland. La mejor manera para empezar el año y borrar lo antes posible el trago amargo que significó la experiencia de la Davis en Mar del Plata. Delpo era el máximo preclasificado y ratificó sin problemas su condición de favorito.

El Abierto de Australia. Después de Guillermo Vilas y David Nalbandian, Juan Martín Del Potro se convirtió en el tercer argentino en alcanzar instancia de cuartos de final en el primer grand slam de la temporada en toda la era abierta. La derrota con Federer fue dura, pero el tandilense repitió lo hecho en el US Open y volvió a ser protagonista en un torneo importante.

Delpo saluda a Nadal después de vencerlo en Miami

La victoria ante Nadal en Miami. Hasta el Masters 1000 de Miami, Del Potro nunca había llegado a la semifinal de un torneo grande y tampoco le había ganado a Nadal, Federer, Murray o Djokovic, los cuatro fantásticos del circuito. Pero en cuartos de final el argentino se cruzó nada menos que con el número uno, Rafael Nadal, y lo dejó eliminado del certamen con un ajustado 7-6 en el tercer set.

El triunfo sobre Murray en Madrid. Del Potro seguía creciendo y su techo ya no eran los cuartos de final sino las semis. El estigma con Murray se rompió después de tres derrotas y el tandilense volvió a figurar entre los mejores cuatro de un Masters 1000.

Las semis de Roland Garros. En una semifinal para el recuerdo, Juan Martín Del Potro le perdió por fin el respeto a Roger Federer y estuvo a punto de dejar al suizo sin final. ¿Hay lugar para uno más en el grupo de los cuatro mejores?

Del Potro sostiene el trofeo del torneo de Washington

La serie de Copa Davis en Ostrava. Más allá de la eliminación de Argentina en manos de República Checa, Delpo se lució y consiguió sus dos puntos de single para el equipo capitaneado por Tito Vázquez. No alcanzó, pero Del Potro transmitió seguridad y solidez.

La re-conquista de Washington. Al igual que el año anterior, “La Torre de Tandil” se adjudicó el ATP de Washington, sumando de esta manera el sexto título de su carrera. Como en la final de Los Angeles ‘08, la víctima en la final fue Andy Roddick.

La primera final de Masters 1000. En Montreal, Del Potro accedió por primera vez al partido cumbre de un torneo de esta categoría. El cansancio pudo más en la final, pero aún así el tandilense estuvo muy cerquita de llevarse la corona.

Sueño cumplido: campeón del US Open

El US Open. Después de dos semanas de ensueño, Juan Martín Del Potro se alzó con el título en Flushing Meadows. Le ganó su primera final de grand slam al número uno del mundo, Roger Federer, sin derrotas en el torneo desde 2003, y se unió a Guillermo Vilas, Gabriela Sabatini y Gastón Gaudio en la lista de los argentinos que ganaron títulos de grand slam.

La final del Masters. Un solo game de diferencia le dio la clasificación a semifinales a Delpo, que ante Federer consiguió su tercera victoria de la temporada sobre un número uno del mundo. No tuvo muchas posibilidades en la final ante Nikolay Davydenko, pero eso no le impidió finalizar el año en la quinta posición del ranking de la ATP, y dejar la sensación de que su techo todavía está lejos.

Nikolay Davydenko capped a magical week by defeating Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-4 earlier today in the season-ending ATP World Tour Final at The O2 in London. Davydenko, seeded sixth and ranked No. 7 in the world, defeated the winners of all four Grand Slam championships in 2009 enroute to the title, the first big tournament win of his career. The Russian routed Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal in round-robin play on Wednesday and topped French Open and Wimbledon winner Roger Federer for the first time in 13 matches in the semis yesterday. No. 5-ranked Del Potro won the U.S. Open in September. “For me it was amazing,” Davydenko said. “Coming here as No. 7 and winning the tournament, it was surprising for myself.” Davydenko was dominant from the back of the court, blasting winners both down the line and cross court. “He’s very fast,” said Del Potro. “He plays like PlayStation. He runs to everywhere. It’s very difficult to make winners.” The 28-year-old Russian edged the big Argentine 25-20 in winners and committed just 15 unforced errors to his opponent’s 19. Davydenko also served effectively, losing only five points on his serve in the first set and eight in the second. He saved two break points with aces and a third with a service winner wide to Argentine’s backhand. Del Potro won the battle of aces, 8-7. “Maybe I had good concentration,” Davydenko said. “I was surprised I was coming in from the first point (with) 100 percent concentration. It was, I think, important for this match today.” The title was Davydenko’s fifth of the year and ties him with Novak Djokovic and Nadal for second most on tour. Andy Murray ends the year with six. Davydenko will move up one notch to No. 6 tomorrow when the final rankings come out. “I don’t think, ‘Now I’m No. 1,’ because I beat Federer,” Davydenko said. “But I know now in confidence, if I beat everyone then I can play very well.”

I’m not sure if Nikolay Davydenko has a nickname of “The Rock” but he sure earned it this week after winning the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals over Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 6-4.

Del Potro tried to outblast the Russian from the baseline, but Davydenko’s strong serving and fine net play sealed the win in just under two hours.

It caps what has been an impressive late season run for the Russian which includes the Shanghai Masters title and big wins over Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

What does this all mean for Davydenko who, despite playing more tournaments than anyone, has never been a contender for a Grand Slam in his career? It’s possible he could challenge for a Slam, but he will now have to think about maybe cutting back on his schedule so he can show up fresh for the big events.

As for Del Potro, despite the loss, getting to the finals here at least proves the U.S. Open win was not a fluke and I expect the big man to be a major threat next year.

In the doubles finals, Americans Bob and Mike Bryan secured the year-end No.1 ranking after winning over Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram 7-6(3), 6-3.

For the year, this is how the top 10 rankings will end for the ATP.
1 Roger Federer 10,550
2 Rafael Nadal 9,205
3 Novak Djokovic 8,310
4 Andy Murray 7,030
5 Juan Martin Del Potro 6,785
6 Nikolay Davydenko 4,930
7 Andy Roddick 4,410
8 Robin Soderling 3,410
9 Fernando Verdasco 3,300
10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2,875

Il russo Nicolay Davydenko n° 7 mondiale vince alla grande il Masters di fine anno a Londra battendo in due set facili l’argentino e vincitore dell’US open di New York Del Potro con il punteggio di 6-3 6-4.

Per la verità quello che ha affrontato è un Del Potro spento e inefficace , ma nulla toglie alla grandissima performance del russo al suo 19° e più importante trofeo della carriera ottenuto per altro a 28 anni.Il primo giocatore tra l’altro del suo paese a vincere questo torneo.

Get ready to learn more about mitochondrial genetics than any other high school students in the US. Get ready to apply the concepts you’ve learned about mitochondrial function; to understand the relationships between molecules, organelles, cells, tissues and organisms. Get ready to apply your knowledge of the Central Dogma of Molecular biology learn more about the structure and function of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Get ready to learn how to interpret pedigrees and then construct patient pedigrees based on a family history. Get ready to use molecular biology techniques like restriction digests and gel electrophoresis to look for a point mutation in mitochondrial DNA. Get ready to put all the peices of evidence together to make a claim about mitochondrial diseases. (Oh yeah, and get ready for the cameras in 9th period.) (One more thing, I’ll have slides and protocols available in class.)

Monday (11/30): Pedigrees and Mitochondrial Genetics, Lab Day 1

Tuesday (12/1): Mitochondrial Diseases, and molecular diagnostics, Lab day 2

Wednesday (12/2): Diagnosis of a mitochondrial disease by gel analysis and pedigree construction (Lab due on Thursday 12/10/09)

Thursday (12/3): Begin Review for Semester Exam

Friday (12/4): Genetics Quiz (4o MCQ)

FINAL EXAM: WEDNESDAY, 12/9/09 (100 MCQ; 2 x 10 FRQ)

Nella seconda semifinale della masters cup in corso di svolgimento a Londra L’argentino Del Potro riesce ad avere la meglio su un grande Robin Soderling dopo una lotta in tre set:punteggio finale 67 63 76

L’argentino recupera alla grande uno svantaggio nel terzo set.Robin si è trovato avanti di un break, 4-2 dopo essere riuscito a strappare la battuta a Del Potro alla prima palla-break e nel primo game in cui era riuscito a raggiungere il 40 pari.

Grupos

En la última fecha del la fase de grupos de la Masters Cup, Novak Djokovic campeón de la edición anterior quedó eliminado pese a sus dos victorias.  Murray también quedó fuera pese a vencer a Verdasco.

Los que si clasificaron fueron Del Potro venciendo en tres sets a Federer y Davydenko derrotando a Soderling. Del Potro y Davydenko clasificaron por ganar más games durante la primera ronda que el británico y el serbio respectivamente.

Semifinales

El número 1 del mundo cayó sorpresivamente ante Nikolay Davydenko por 6-2/4-6/7-5. Federer no ha jugado un gran torneo y perdió sus últimos dos partidos. El otro finalista es el argentino Juan Martín del Potro, quien derrotó 6-7(1)/6-3/7-6(3) a la revelación del torneo el sueco Robin Soderling.

This Nikolay Davydenko. He under promises and over delivers, if I may quote Chase Jarvis (he’s totally unrelated to tennis but I thought of Kolya when Chase said that). For a consistent top 10 player, he flies very low on the tennis radar and no one really picks him to win anything. In this week’s WTF, Kolya showed everyone why he’s in there with the big boys even though he’s not quite big. He played a quality match against Novak Djokovic to open his round robin play then handily defeated Rafael Nadal 2 days later. To book a semifinal place, he gutted out a 3-set win over Robin Soderling. Then today, over delivered when he took out Roger Federer, someone he’s never defeated in 12 tries, to get to the WTF finals.

Juan Martin del Potro snuck his way into the semis and the next thing you know, he’s in finals. From the craziness that was Day 5 where DelPo made it out of the round robin safely by a mere game to winning a come from behind match against Robin Soderling in the semifinals earlier, blink or rather suffer a few heart attacks and he’s playing for the final title of the season.

Images via Getty

DOMINGO 29 de NOVIEMBRE

ESPN FINAL 08:30 hrs

SKY 518 / CABLEVISIÓN 508

Llegó el último partido del año, y los protagonistas de esta final son un poco inesperados… Davydenko quien le ganó al No. 1 Roger Federer y Juan Martín del Potro, quién hizo lo mismo con Robin Soderling.

Será una final muy pareja, en sus encuentros pasados Davydenko tiene la ventaja de 2-1 y estos dos partidos fueron en la misma superficie, además de que ha sorprendido por lo bien que ha jugado. Del Potro tendrá que ser consistente y paciente para aguantar el estilo de juego de su rival, mientras que Davydenko tendrá que mantener su ritmo de juego para desesperar al rival.

Cuộc đấu quyết định người chơi còn lại ở chung kết  giải 8 đấu 8 tay vợt mạnh nhất là cuộc đối đầu của 2 “người hùng” ở giải đấu này. Một người đã dội gáo nước lạnh vào Rafael Nadal ngay tại vòng bảng, người khác thì chơi chói sáng và chiến thắng trước số 1 Roger Federer. Và sau 2 giờ 10 phút, tay vợt người Argentina Juan Martin del Potro đã đánh bại Robin Soderling sau 3 set đấu với các tỉ số 6-7 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (3) và giành quyền vào chơi trận chung kết ATP World Tour Finals.

Tại trận đấu bán kết còn lại này, đương kim vô địch Mỹ mở rộng del Potro đã tỏa sáng với những cú giao bóng của mình. Anh chiến thắng 77% trong lần giao bóng đầu tiên và 64% trong những cú giao bóng lần 2. Anh giành chiến thắng ở loạt tie-break (7-3) trong set đấu cuối cùng bằng một cú ace. Potro có 12 cú ace trong trận đấu vất vả này.

Còn với Soderling, anh chơi cũng vô cùng xuất sắc và đặc biệt làm phấn khích khán giả với những cú đỡ bóng đẹp mắt. Tuy nhiên, anh đã đánh rơi chiến thắng khi bỏ phí cơ hội ở thời điểm đang dẫn 4-2 trong set đấu thứ 3.

Del Potro đã thất bại ngay trong trận đầu ra quân ở giải này nhưng đã có 3 chiến thắng liên tiếp sau đó. Trước khi đánh bại ứng cử viên sáng giá người Thụy Điển Soderling, del Potro cũng đã có một chiến thắng sau 3 set trước tay vợt số 1 huyền thoại Roger Federer vào hôm thứ 6.

Với chiến thắng này, tay vợt 21 tuổi đang nắm giữ vị trí số 5 thứ giới sẽđối mặt với số 7 thế giới người Nga – Davydenko ở Chung kết ATP World Tour Finals diễn ra tối nay. Nhà vô địch sẽ nhận được số điểm thưởng cao và số tiền thưởng rất lớn là 1,68 triệu USD.

Những phát biểu đáng chú ý sau 2 trận đấu bán kết:

Roger Federer: “Anh ấy (Davydenko-ND) đã chơi rất tốt. Anh ấy ổn định và mạnh mẽ trong suốt trận đấu. Nhưng đây không phải là trận đấu hay nhất mà hai chúng tôi từng chơi”. “Vâng, thật đáng thất vọng. Nhưng, thất vọng không phải vì thua anh ấy mà là thua một trận bán kết. Cuối cùng thì hôm nay anh ấy đã đánh bại tôi. Tôi chúc anh ấy những điều tốt đẹp nhất ở chung kết”.

Nikolay Davydenko: “Cả gia đình và bạn bè tôi đều trông chờ được chứng kiến giây phút này – giây phút tôi đánh bại Federer. Tôi nghĩ có thể năm 2010 hoặc 2011 thì nó mới tới nhưng không ngờ cuối năm 2009, hạnh phúc này đã đến. Tôi thực sự quá hạnh phúc”. “Tôi không nghĩ, “à giờ mình là số 1″ vì đã đánh bại được Federer nhưng giờ tôi biết, có tự tin là có thể chiến thắng. Và nều tôi đánh bại được tất cả có nghĩa là tôi chơi rất tốt”.

Robin Sodering: “Tôi đã chơi bóng với những tay vợt rất rất tài giỏi. Tôi thắng 2 trận và thua 2 trận. Tôi nghĩ mình đã chứng tỏ được rằng, tôi hoàn toàn có thể ganh đua với những tay vợt này dù tôi có đang không chơi ở phong độ tốt nhất đi chăng nữa”. “Có lẽ tôi đã chơi tốt trong những khoảnh khắc quan trọng. Cơ hội đến và tôi nắm lấy nó rồi chiến đấu. Tôi không nghĩ mình mắc sai lầm nào trong những phút cuối của trận đấu này.  Chỉ là cậu ấy chơi tốt hơn tôi một chút”. “Tôi không thể nói 2009 là một năm thành công. Tôi đã có 6 tháng đầu tồi tệ và 6 tháng sau sáng sủa hơn nhiều. Tôi muốn mình mạnh hơn, nhanh hơn, di chuyển tốt hơn, trả bóng giỏi hơn. Nếu tôi có thể làm được điều đó, kết quả sẽ tốt hơn rất nhiều”.

Juan Martin del Potro: “Không có sự khác biệt nhau giữa chúng tôi ở trận đấu này, chỉ là sự giành giật  điểm ở những ván tie-break. Anh ấy (Soderling) đã có một mùa thật tuyệt vời. Tôi chúc anh ấy những điều tốt đẹp nhất ở trận sau này”. “Tôi quá hạnh phúc khi được vào chơi trận chung kết đầu tiên của giải đấu này – trận đấu cuối cùng trước kì nghỉ của tôi…”

Chỉ được nghỉ chưa đầy một ngày sau trận đấu sinh tử cùng Soderling, tay vợt Davydenko bước vào trận bán kết ATP World Tour Final 2009 gặp Roger Federer. Nhưng, Davydenko đã tạo nên một cú sốc cho Federer..

Cách đây 2 ngày, Roger Federer đã “nhàn nhã” để thua Juan Martin del Potro, dành sức cho trận bán kết. Trong khi đó, trước đây chưa đầy 24 giờ, Davydenko phải giành chiến thắng quyết định để có tên trong vòng bán kết ATP World Tour Finals 2009. Những tưởng đó sẽ là thiệt thòi cho Davydenko, nhưng diễn biến trận đấu bán kết giữa 2 tay vợt này kết thúc lúc 23h30 (giờ Việt Nam) lại không cho thấy điều đó. Có vẻ như Davydenko đã đem nguyên sức mạnh tinh thần từ niềm vui vào bán kết để chiến đấu với tay vợt số 1 thế giới.

Nun ist es passiert. Beim 13. Aufeinandertreffen zwischen Federer und Davydenko wurde das Unmögliche möglich. Noch nie hatte der Russe ein Match gegen Federer gewinnen können, aber es war auch nie der Fall, dass dies so offensichtlich war – jedenfalls nicht immer. Trotzdem waren die Fans von Federer – und auch Federer selbst – im Halbfinale des ATP Word Tour Finalseher entspannt und optimistisch, das Spiel für sich entscheiden zu können. Das Entsetzen und Verzweifeln wurde erst deutlich, als die Federer Fans – die in der Tat in der Mehrzahl waren – bei jedem Punkt, den Federer für sich entschied, so zu applaudieren und zu schreien, als hätte er bereits den Matchball hinter sich gebracht. Aber der unscheinbare Russe, bei dem ich jedesmal das Gefühl habe, er würde neben dem Tennis spielen auch gleichzeitig meditieren, hat endlich gezeigt, dass er nicht nur konstant gut spielen kann, sondern auch das Selbstvertrauen hat, sich nicht einschüchtern zu lassen.

Überrascht war sicherlich auch Djokovic, der sich das vorherige Match Davydenko gegen Söderling verfolgte, mit der Hoffnung – oder evtl. auch Zuversicht – dass Söderling die Oberhand gewinnen würde und somit für Djoko noch ein Platz in der Tabelle sein würde. Dumm gelaufen!

Fazit: Bellende Hunde beißen nicht (immer) und stille Wasser sind (nicht immer, aber immer öfter) tief!

Nikolay Davydenko è il primo finalista delle finali ATP in corso di svolgimento a Londra.In semi ha sorpreso dopo una battaglia combattuta in tre set il number one del mondo Roger Federer , con il punteggio di 6-2 4-6 7-5.Federer anonimo nel primo parziale dove perde nettamente senza appello.Nel secondo fa il break all’untimo vincendo di misura, e nel terzo sul 5-5 concede l’occasione di servire per il mach al russo.

Das ATP World Tour Final in London mit folgenden Halbfinalen :
28 Nov 14:15 Roger Federer v Nikolay Davydenko
28 Nov 20:45 Juan Martin Del Potro v Robin Soderling

Beide Spiele sind im kostenlosem Livestream zu sehen.

Der Russe Davydenko ist nach einem tollen Fight gegen den Schweizer Federer im Endspiel von London !!!

The semi finals at the ATP World Tour Finals :

28 Nov 14:15 Roger Federer v Nikolay Davydenko  1/4 11/4

28 Nov 20:45 Juan Martin Del Potro v Robin Soderling  8/15 11/8

Both matches and the grand foinal will be available streamed live

Davydenko knocked Federer out of the London ATP World Tour Finals

Il russo Nicolay Davydenko supera Soderling in tre set (76 46 63)e spegne le ultime residue speranze di Nole Djokovic di qualificarsi per le semifinali della Masters cup di Londra. Allo svedese,che era gia in semi,per evitare un difficile scontro con Federer, bastava un set per essere certo della prima posizione del girone.

Oggi quindi le semifinali saranno composte in questo modo:

Alle 15-15 – Federer-Davydenko

Alle 21-45 – Del potro-Soderling

Nell’ ultimo match giocato contro Novak Djokovic al master finale di Londra,nuova sconfitta di Rafael Nadal che cede ancora in due set e questo  non ha contribuito a risollevarne il morale. 7-6, 6-3, infatti, è il risultato dei parziali a favore del serbo al termine di un match che, dal punto di visto del gioco, non ha certo regalato emozioni. Con un Nadal fuori forma così e un Djokovic stanco ,il mach sicuramente non è stato indimenticabile con ritmi lenti ed  errori frequenti.In attesa dell’ultimo mach, Djokovic spera ancora nel passaggio del turno quindi.

So the ATP World Tour Final’s has rolled into London’s O2 Arena and where just a week or two ago the venue played host to droves of Beyoncé Knowles fans adoring the vocals and visuals of the US starlet, thousands were now gathered to hear something that has become equally as distinctive to the tennis enthusiast, the grunt of Andy Murray’s displeasure. Murray had the home advantage technically, but the setting for the action could have been in outer space for all the O2 Arena’s new black and blue ambience which had to have made the players feel as though they were playing in a scene from the 80’s sci-fi Tron. In fact neon tennis balls would have probably added a dash of excitement to the painfully complicated competition in which round robins were played until people didn’t know who was in and who was out, sadly for Murray the last game of yesterday in which Juan Martín del Potro beat Roger Federer sealed his fate as the later.

A slight anticlimax then for the Tennis enthusiasts who made the journey to the O2 expecting Murray to at least negotiate the group stage successfully, a stark warning however for the politely interested sports follower who witnessed tennis’ attempt to get in your face and showbiz savvy. It started with the mood lighting which cast the audience in the kind of darkness not even the annual Crucible Theatre pilgrims are subjected to and continued with dramatic dry ice court entrance sequences, a mode of introduction suited more to ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin or Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, it left the players looking like freshly shaven Chihuahuas, slightly embarrassed and probably feeling a little cold. Big-wigs at sports media organisations would do well to take notes, tennis players don’t do PR, and whilst it might be the norm for football players to slip into a suit and battle endearingly with an auto-cue, there’s nothing we’d rather see less than ‘Saturday Night Live with Andy Murray’.

Tennis players are quite curious creatures, perhaps because it is so few of them at the most elite level of the game that national pressure to succeed is applied too soon, perhaps the individual nature of their game makes their people skills uncomfortably poor, perhaps they neither seek national fame nor public admiration and for this, we lambast them. More likely is the fact that they’re totally self involved, rude and egotistical. Just like Andy Murray, who can be seen acting like a wanker in these short videos, firstly arguing over a point he won, secondly making an idiot of the ballboy who is waiting on him, and lastly not being very nice to his coach (thats right, they guy that makes him good):

Murray came into the British public conscience the grumpy teenager, issuing assurances of his disassociation with England and his unwillingness to step into the shoes of Tim Henman. As his Tennis ability developed it became quite clear that Murray was going to be a damn sight better than Henman, it’s such a shame he had to be such a prick whilst he was doing it. Though the public have become more accommodating of his moods, Murray still plays the disgruntled teenager upon some bad form or when he doesn’t have time to do his fantasy football team 10 minutes before his game and tweet about how good it is (incidentally I don’t think he’s on anywhere near as many points as me). His sulking gait cuts a figure of someone who’d rather be Tommy Haas on Virtua Tennis every time he takes to the court and his trademark moan at the misdirection of a passing shot will be familiar to the parent of any adolescent should they ever have happened to listen into the bedroom of their son whilst he is being frustrated by the latest Paris Hilton porno’s refusal to buffer.

Murray’s maturation period seems to have only made him spend more time in the gym and then do silly things like flex his muscles to cheering crowds (something you never catch the immaculate Roger Federer doing), still at least he hasn’t gone the way of our previous home-grown hero Tim Henman who has turned into ogling young girls on TV to ‘enhance’ his public stature, for shame Tim.

When the line-up for Thursday night’s action in the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 was released yesterday my first reaction was slight disappointment.

Del Potro's win meant Andy Murray is knocked out of World Tour Finals (c) Adam Bowie http://www.flickr.com/people/adambowie/

I probably shouldn’t admit this, especially seeing as the evening singles match featured a certain Mr Federer and Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro, a repeat of the summers US Open final.

The problem here was that I had convinced myself, seeing as Thursday was the final round of matches in Group A that I was going be lucky enough to watch the Federer – Andy Murray showdown, sure that the tournament organisers and TV producers would leave this one till the end.

Then, as I was watched this anti-climactic match on Tuesday evening (which was continually interrupted by the BBC going off air at highly inappropriate moments) I wasn’t that bothered, reassuring myself that I would still be lucky enough to see Andy play, again confident that TV schedulers would want his match to be played at night for optimum viewing figures.

But no it was Federer v Del Potro that I was destined to watch, after a doubles match between four men that I am ashamed to say, despite having what I thought was a pretty good tennis knowledge, have never heard of.

I don’t know what it is about Federer. He is unarguably the greatest player ever to pick up a racket and deserves every superlative used alongside his name, but I think I will appreciate his greatness more once he has stopped playing.

Right now though I am bored of his dominance and am dying for someone to be able to challenge him the way Nadal threatened to do, before injury transformed him into a shadow of his former self.

Pleasantly surprised

Last night I may have found a new challenger in the form of Argentinean giant Juan Martin Del Potro, who ousted Federer in 3 impressive sets playing the kind of quality tennis, from what I have heard, has really been lacking from this tournament so far.

I eat my words, or more accurately pre match thoughts. I feel quite smug now that I seem to have by chance, picked the best match of the tournament so far for which to be in attendance.

Federer was not his usual self, but flashes of brilliance from the 15 time Grand Slam winner reminded me why he is the best of all time. Del Potro too won me over, just when you thought Fed had reclaimed the momentum the US Open Champion kept his resolve, breaking at a crucial point in the final set in order to take the match.

I was also impressed by the staging and ambience of the event, but deep down I knew I would be – I could watch tennis anytime anywhere and still be impressed by it, such is the extent of my obsession with the game.

But putting myself in the shoes of the less committed spectator though, I can see several problems with the event that need to be addressed if, like I think the ATP wants to do, it is to attract a new audience to the sport.

Teething problems

Firstly, the post match confusion, over which of 2 players out of Federer, Murray and Del Potro had qualified from their group, was farcical.Del Potro could not really celebrate his victory as no-one on court was able to tell him whether or not he was through to the semi-final.

All he could do was make the most of the lull in proceedings and invite his friend, Manchester City footballer Carlos Tevez onto the court for a knock up, whilst Mark Petchey hovered around on court waiting for someone to tell him the result so he could get on and conduct his post match interview.

Andy Murray was clearly as clueless as the crowd, the dedicated of us who had waited around for the result to be announced, as he posted on his twitter page “Anyone know what’s going on?? I think I’m out but the rules aren’t worded too well”.

Surely someone could have worked out all the possible permutations beforehand. And when they did announce the result they could have pointed out that it meant Murray was out because the cheering from the crowd hinted that perhaps they didn’t realise this.

The rules need to be set out better in advance; apparently the organisers kept changing their minds all day about how to calculate it in the case of a tie, so if they don’t know then how are we meant to?

Secondly, my biggest problem with the event is the scheduling of it. Why on earth is it on so late at night?! The singles match last night didn’t start until 9pm! After a hard day of doing very little yesterday I was feeling tired so I can only imagine what the players must feel like!

Although I was enjoying the match I spent the whole of calculating what time it would finish, panicking I would have to leave early to get the train. If the second set lasts as long as the third then it will finish at this time and then if they have to play a third…it ruined things slightly.

Quite a lot of people seemed to leave at the end of the second set, I imagine either to catch connecting trains or because they had children who would obviously have to be at school this morning.

I know they have to have gaps between all the matches but if they started the day’s proceedings a bit earlier instead of at 2.30pm then more people would be able to stay for the conclusion of the matches, and get their money’s worth out of the event.

Which brings me onto my final issue– cost. If the aim of the event is to bring tennis to a wider audience and not just the classic Wimbledon crowd then surely the tickets need to be slightly cheaper.

Ok so it was sold out but I wonder how many people were initially put off by the £50 or £60 entrance fee? It’s hardly bringing tennis to the masses is it?

Don’t get me wrong as I said I had a great evening as I’m sure the rest of the audience did too, but with a few tweaks from the organisers, we could have an event better one next year.