ROLAND GARROS: WEEK 1 AND CONTRASTING FORTUNES.

As the French Open Tennis Championships roll on, the fields have been whittled down and we are now on the verge of the second week, when the minnows have mostly been eliminated and only the major contenders remain.

That said, the womens' tournament has been exceptional this year as both of the top 2 seeds have been beaten already. Kim Clijsters, the number 2, collapsed completely against a young Dutch girl, but has the excuse that she's played very little in recent weeks due to injury. The current world number 1, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, on the other hand, has no such excuses for her thumping by Daniela Hantuchova, having played regularly for months. Wozniacki must count as one of the poorest players ever to reach the top spot, never having won a grand slam tournament and only having reached one such final, that of the 2009 US Open when she was beaten by Clijsters who'd only just returned from 2 years away from the sport. Wozniacki is a generally solid though entirely unspectacular player who seems to rely more on her opponents' mistakes than on her own abilities and would surely never have reached the lofty heights of World number 1 if the Williams sisters or Clijsters had been fit and playing regularly. The womens' event has also lost last year's runner-up, Sam Stosur, beaten by the unseeded Gisela Dulko, and who's going to win the title is now anyone's guess. Defending champion, Francesca Schiavone, seems to be in great form, and the assortment of Russians and other eastern Europeans, Zvonareva, Sharapova, Kuznetsova, Kirilenko et al., will undoubtedly have a say. The smart money may well be on Schaivone to repeat last year's triumph.

The men's event has been in almost total contrast to the womens' with the top 5 seeds all safely through to the 4th round and no one really looking beyond these 5 for a potential champion. Nadal has gained form and confidence as the matches have progressed, and Federer has looked to be much more of his old self and has regained some of his former imperious style. The man of the moment, Djokovic, looked to be suffering a slight drop in form against Del Potro, but he regained his composure to continue his quest for another title and the world number 1 ranking. Andy Murray has also been looking good, but gave his supporters a few anxious moments in his 3rd round match when he seemed to have suffered a serious ankle injury; fortunately, he was able to continue and saw off his opponent quite easily, and we can only wait to see if he will be able to continue his campaign in the 4th round tomorrow. Fifth seed, Robin Soderling, has reached the final at each of the last 2 French Opens, so can't be ignored, however, he doesn't seem to be in quite the same class as the top 4 in the draw. Djokovic is probably the favourite notwithstanding Nadal's dominance here over the years. but there's little to choose between them and Federer so far; I don't see Murray really threatening though he should reach the semi-final, injury permitting. For me, Federer is the dark horse and I'd have a crafty bet on him.

BARCELONA PUT FERGUSON IN HIS PLACE.

Barcelona proved their credentials and duely beat Manchester United quite comfortably in yesterday's Champions' League final.

In any sane world, that result would cause the pundits to shut up for a while about the greatness of Manchester United, the Premier Laegue and British football generally but the world of football punditry is far from sane, No doubt we'll be regaled with stories lauding United and telling us that losing 3-1 was a much better result than any other team could have achieved; we'll be told that they were, of course, up against the best team in the world, so we could hardly expect them to win, etc., etc.

At least the football season is almost over though it will begin again all too soon, and the media coverage will hardly be any less as they witter about summer transfers and the prospects for the New Season. God help us.

GREAT TOURNAMENT, SHAME ABOUT THE COMMENTATORS.

Watching coverage of the French Open Tennis championships on the BBC's 'Red Button' service, I find myself increasingly annoyed by the inane ramblings of the commentators.

These goons seem to have little to say and yet take for ever to say it; they exist upon a string of clichés which they trot out ad nauseam. The likes of Andrew Castle and John Lloyd seem incapable of making any sort of honest statements about the performances of the players and, instead, insist on repeating that 'so-and so's level has dropped', or that 'thingumyjig's looking a bit jaded today'. They are masters of stating the obvious and being wise after the event; John Lloyd, in particular, and someone who was a good player in his day, really has no place in the commentary box. Why can't they just commentate, and make some honest statements that reflect what is really happening on court, rather than provide a constant stream of drivel ? The only bright spot is the contribution of Sam Smith, another former player, but who is far less intrusive or cliché driven, and much more informative and viewer-friendly.

I've just watched a large part of one of the least exciting matches ever, between Frenchman Gael Monfils and another Frenchman of whom no one has ever heard. Instead of bemoaning the excrutiatingly dull nature of this match, the commentators did their usual and tried to pretend it was all ever so exciting; given that this tournament is in France and that both contestants in this match were French, anyone would have thought that the total lack of enthusiasm from the crowd might have given the two goons a hint but no, no such luck. They just droned on, and on, and on ............. . 

Well done to the Beeb for covering the tournament, but 'Oh Dear !', what a pity about the commentary.

MURRAY WINS FRENCH CROWN : A DREAM ?

Next week we have the French Open, the second Tennis Grand Slam of the year. Rafael Nadal will, obviously, be the favourite, but Novak Djokovic may well give him a better run for his money than he's had from anyone in the last 5 or 6 years and, in that, I include Roger Federer. Federer, great champion and player though he's been, has never loved clay and his only French success was when Nadal was absent through injury.

The British hope, as usual these days, is Andy Murray. Murray has shown a smidgeon of form at last with his performance against Djokovic last week, but his overall form since the Australian Open in January has been abysmal. Hopefully, he'll have an easy first couple of matches which will see him gain a bit of confidence and then he'll become a genuine contender. He does have the ability to reach the semi-final; whether or not he can get to the final is a different matter, and winning the crown ........................... ??

THIS REALLY ISN'T CRICKET.

This weekend, I was tempted to make a 100 mile journey to watch a bit of cricket at Uxbridge, a nice ground where my team, Middlesex, are entertaining the Sri Lankan tourists. How glad am I that I decided not to go.

Middlesex appear to have put out a second eleven composed of players who've never been heard of and the match seems to be nothing more than a practice 'knock-about' for the tourists and also for the England captain, Andrew Strauss, who hasn't wielded a bat in anger for several weeks, if not months.

There was a time when matches against the touring team were highly prized as opportunities for good county players to show their credentials and try to impress the selectors; no more it seems. Seven of the Middlesex team hadn't appeared for the county in a serious match yet this season; the bowling attack. if that's the right word, were unheard of. Nonetheless, spectators will no doubt have been charged the usual, or perhaps even enhanced rates, for the privilege of watching.

This 'match' is a shocking example of eveything that's wrong with English sport today; no longer does local competition matter but everything has to defer to the needs of the international arena. In this latest game, Middlesex have served simply as a mechanism to allow the tourists a bit of practice before the first test match; the game at Uxbridge is, itself, utterly pointless and an abuse of the spectators who've taken the trouble to go to see it.

As someone who's been following and watching cricket, and Middlesex in particular, for almost 50 years, I find myself starting to despise the game I used to love.

ANDY MURRAY : ANOTHER 'GREAT WHITE HOPE' LOST ?

Andy Murray is a good tennis player but is he ever going to be the great one that Britain craves ?

It's decades since any British man won a major international tournament though Murray has managed to get himself into 3 'Grand Slam' finals in the last few years, something even the sainted Tim Henman couldn't manage. Murray got to the final of the Australian Open in January of this year, and was thoroughly trounced by a genuinely top-notch player, Novak Djokovich. Ever since, he's barely been able to put racket to ball as he's been thumped by people who'd have trouble beating my old auntie Mabel, who's 88, by the way.

Yesterday, Murray showed signs that he was returning to some sort of form by not quite beating Djokovich in the semi-finals of the Italian Open. He is still, somehow, ranked as number 4 in the world and the French Open will be upon us momentarily, quickly followed by Wimbledon. With Roger Federer nowhere near the force he used to be, there are not too many serious contenders for major titles these days; Nadal, of course with injuries permitting, and Djokovich, perhaps Soderling, and Berdych, but who else ? IF Murray is able to show any sort of form, he may be have a genuine chance of creating his own iece of histry; IF.

SEVE FINDS A FINAL BUNKER.

The news of the death of Severiano Ballesteros will not only have saddened those who knew him but also the hordes of supported that he'd accumulated over the years.

Universally known as 'Seve' his appearance on the golfing scene over 30 years ago brought a new style and exuberance to the game, similar to the way that Lee Trevino had done a decade earlier. 'Seve' was one of those rare sporting figures who transcends his sport, becoming an inspirational figure to many who probably had little interest in golf. His recent struggles with cancer only served to enhance his reputation and his passing diminishes us all.

'Seve' was a great golfer and universally admired. He will be missed.

HIGGINS TRUMPS TRUMP - JUST.

The World Snooker final was, in the end, every bit as good and exciting as had been hoped. Young Judd Trump continued to thrill the crowd with his audacious potting, while John Higgins proved, as usual, to be a man it's very hard to beat.

Day one saw Higgins well below his best form while Trump potted balls from all angles and positions. Higgins clung on tenaciously but could be seen looking pretty rattled more than once. Somehow, he kept the score within bounds and was level at 7-7 before Trump  took the last 3 frames of the day and looked as though he was beginning to get up a real head of steam.

Day two saw Higgins looking more settled and the pair shared the first 4 frames before, finally, Trump began to sink under the pressure of Higgins tenacity. From 9-12 behind, Higgins won 5 frames to lead 14-12 and he never looked back; although Trump continued to play some astonishing pots and drew level in frame 28, it was Higgins who was the more consistent and pulled away again to lead 17-15.

The final frame brought about one of the more memorable climaxes as Higgins, needing 2 4-point snookers to win, cleared the colours up to the blue and obtained a single snooker on the pink which Trump missed. Higgins then potted the very awkward pink left by Trump, before taking the black and the Crown.

This was a match that pitted age and experience against youth and daring; in the end, it was age and experience that, rightly, triumphed as Higgins grew stronger and played better as the match progressed, while Trump played more reckless shots and tended to lose position, relying more and more on his extraordinary potting to get him out of trouble. Sadly for him, he found out that this game is not just about potting.

This was Higgins' fourth World Title, a number beaten by only three players in the modern era, Ray Reardon, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry. In this championship, he showed amazing resilience, coming back from losing positions against 2 other great players, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams, before his exploits in the final, and has truly established himself as one of the greatest players in the game's history. After a traumatic year, this was almost a preordained victory and he could well win more titles yet.

While every snooker buff knew of John Higgins, Judd Trump was the discovery of the championship. His performances throughout the tournament, from his first round victory over last year's champion, Neil Robertson, to his epic semi-final against Ding Junhui, showed that this young man has well and truly arrived on the scene and will be a force for many years to come. While his positional play sometimes let him down, he will undoubtedly improve further and next year he could well be unstoppable. His manner in defeat was relaxed and gentlemanly and also did him much credit.

What a shame that we have to wait almost another full year for a repeat performance !

TED IS SNOOKERED, HENRY KO'd.

The news of the last couple of days has carried the stories of the loss to us of two great sporting figures, Ted Lowe and Henry Cooper.

'Whispering' Ted Lowe was the man who brought snooker to a wide audience as commentator on the wonderful 'Pot Black' series, from its beginning in 1969, through to the 1980s by when the game had gained much greater popular appeal. His hushed tones were exactly right for the snooker-room atmosphere and he was always an understated commentator, never shouting at his audience and never saying more than was necessary, as so many do today. Snooker is a game that benefited greatly from the advent of colour television and it also gave rise to Ted Lowe's immortal line "and for those of you who are watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green" ! Ted also gave us an unforgettable quote about the great Fred Davis when he explained Fred's difficulty in reaching a long shot by saying that Fred "is getting on a bit and is having trouble getting his leg over". Ted Lowe was 90 and sadly died on the first morning of this year's World Championship final; it would be nice to think that, having watched the two terrific semi-finals, he didn't want to see either contestant lose in the final, and so did the gentlemanly thing and made himself unavailable. He will be missed.

While Ted Lowe was a commentator rather than a participator, Sir Henry Cooper was exactly the opposite. From humble beginnings, 'our Henery' became a national icon, one of the best boxers this country has ever produced. British heavyweight champion from 1959 until 1967 and again in 1970/71, Commonwealth and European champion too, and nearly a conqueror of Cassius Clay before he became Muhammed Ali. As a heavyweight, Henry was really too light and his tendency to cut easily was a blight on his career that prevented him from rising to the very top, which he would undoubtedly have done otherwise. Henry was always a man of few words and usually let his manager, Jim Wicks, do the talking for him - Henry did his in the ring. His last fight, against  Joe Bugner, produced one of the most incredible results in the history of the sport as Bugner was deemed the winner of a bout that Henry had clearly done at least enough to draw, if not to win himself. This result brought about Henry's retirement from the sport he loved but his universal popularity saw him return to television screens in advertisements and as captain of one of the 'Question of Sport' teams from 1970 until 1977. Henry was a true 'Gentle Giant', notwithstanding his sporting activities, and was deservedly given a knighthood in 2000. A Sporting Great who will live long in our hearts.