Tramlines
  • Shocking new drug testing statistics in tennis revealed

    It will come as no surprise to anyone who has been involved in sport for many years to discover the damning new statistics regarding drug testing in tennis.

    The sport has been criticised for a long time for failing to test players as seriously or diligently as other sports, and the latest figures released by the US Anti-Doping Agency put tennis in a very poor light once more.

    In its latest report on 'testing numbers by sport in 2013', USADA included the tests initiated, planned and completed by different sports, and the statistics were alarming for fans of tennis.

    While athletics was able to

    Read More »from Shocking new drug testing statistics in tennis revealed
  • For a moment on Saturday, it looked as though Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga would have to wait until Sunday to find out which of the two would make the Queen's final.

    With atrocious weather delaying the start of their last-four encounter, both the Scot and the Frenchman had every right to be concerned with the pile-up of duties in their quest for a title ahead of Wimbledon.

    Worry was the last thing on the mind of two top-10 players who had already won two Queen's contests each in one day earlier in the week, once again thanks to the rain.

    Instead the two had a grand old time in the

    Read More »from Murray and Tsonga wait out Queen’s rain delay with spot of table football
  • New balls please! Dimitrov takes painful blow

    The sight of a ball connecting with, erm, a rather sensitive area, is enough to make any man wince.

    Grigor Dimitrov fell victim to the kind of dull ache that reduces adults to tears on Wednesday when misjudging a bouncing tennis ball in his match with Leyton Hewitt at Queen's.

    The highly-rated Bulgarian took his eye off the ball and could only flinch in horror as it struck him in the nether regions.

    As Dimitrov sunk to his knees in pain, Hewitt indulged in a little smile.

    Presumably Dimitrov's girlfriend - a certain Maria Sharapova - was rather less amused.

    Read More »from New balls please! Dimitrov takes painful blow
  • Nadal says sorry for ‘Today we lost Mandela’ tweet

    Only one day after winning a record eighth French Open title, tennis star Rafael Nadal was forced to apologise after mistakenly tweeting that Nelson Mandela had died.

    On Monday, Nadal – who has 4.5 million followers on Twitter – wrote "Today we have lost one of the most important and relevant people in our world. Rest in peace #NelsonMandela".

    Here is the original tweet, in Spanish:

    Which was all very well – except the 94-year-old former President of South Africa was not dead.

    Rather predictably, the storm surrounding Nadal’s comment – which was re-tweeted more than 3,000 times – resulted in

    Read More »from Nadal says sorry for ‘Today we lost Mandela’ tweet
  • You won't find two much bigger female superstars that Beyonce and Serena Williams and it would appear that the two women have great respect for each other.

    Serena won her second French Open and her 16th Grand Slam overall with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Maria Sharapova on Saturday and Beyonce was certainly impressed.

    She posted a hand-written letter on her website congratulating Serena on her triumph.

    "Stunt on them Serena. 31 and in your prime. You have no idea how much you inspire all of us women. I'm so proud of you. All my love and respect, Beyonce!"

    Beyonce and Serena are good friends and

    Read More »from Beyonce writes letter of congratulations to ‘inspirational’ Serena
  • Nadal ‘rewarded’ for French Open triumph with rankings drop

    Rafael Nadal won a historic eighth title at the French Open on Sunday night but curiously woke up this morning having dropped a place in the world rankings.

    Even more gallingly for the King of Clay, the man who has replaced him in fourth in the ATP rankings is David Ferrer, his compatriot whom he dispatched 6-3 6-2 6-3 in the final at Roland Garros.

    “It’s strange, no?” Ferrer said. “I lost the final against Rafael, but tomorrow, I’ll be No. 4. Anyway, I would change. I prefer to win here and to stay No. 5.”

    The rather bizarre situation may have dire implications for Nadal ahead of Wimbledon,

    Read More »from Nadal ‘rewarded’ for French Open triumph with rankings drop
  • French Open organisers defended their security arrangements after anti-gay marriage protesters, one letting off a flare and running on court, briefly interrupted the final between Spaniards Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer on Sunday.

    A police source told Reuters that seven people had been formally detained on Sunday night after the showpiece match was disrupted and protests broke out elsewhere at Roland Garros in Paris. Five others were released after initial questioning.

    A group called "Hommen" claimed responsibility for the protests on social-networking sites Facebook and Tumblr, describing

    Read More »from Flare-wielding protester disrupts French Open final
  • Murray calls in famous face for Wimbledon work

    Andy Murray has been training at Queen's Club ahead of his tilt at the Wimbledon title and the British number one has roped in a familiar face.

    Tim Henman, a man who knows only too well how it feels to have the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders, helped Murray warm up ahead of the tournament in SW19.

    Henman reached four semi-finals at Wimbledon during his own playing career, while Murray has gone one better, reaching last year's final where he lost to Roger Federer.

    Having missed the French Open due to injury, Murray will be hoping some extra work with Tiger Tim might help him claim

    Read More »from Murray calls in famous face for Wimbledon work
  • Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova play very similarly. Both love to dominate from the baseline, neither defends particularly well on clay, and both are fiercely competitive.

    There’s not much to choose between their first serves either: both are pacey and their average speeds are almost identical.

    The patterns of play they prefer are also identical: Williams favours the slice serve out wide to the deuce court and the serve up the T to the ad court, as does Sharapova.

    And both work well, with Sharapova winning 72 per cent of her first serve points, and Williams winning 76% so far in the

    Read More »from Hawk-Eye: Sharapova’s second serve could prove her downfall against Serena
  • Nadal-Djokovic: Magic moments from a French Open classic

    The word 'epic' might be horribly overused in tennis but the French Open semi-finals gave us a match worthy of the tag.

    The showdown between seven-time champion Rafael Nadal and world number one Novak Djokovic lived up to the hype as a pulsating encounter was finally settled in the fifth set, the Spaniard winning 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-7(3) 9-7.

    A match of high-drama featured a point penalty, a near tumble over the net and trick-shot mishaps as the two titans of the game traded blows.

    Here is our pick of the magic moments from an unforgettable contest.

    Nadal's superb forehand winner from deep

    After

    Read More »from Nadal-Djokovic: Magic moments from a French Open classic

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About Tramlines

Tramlines spent its formative years living and breathing tennis, watching Yannick Noah berate line judges and admiring Steffi Graf"s backhand slice from the comfort of its couch at home. Nowadays, Tramlines can often be seen wearing Andre Agassi's old denim shorts, sleeping under its desk in an office with an overzealous air-con machine, whilst devouring punnets of strawberries and pints of Pimms in a bid to bring you the best of the world's tennis. It boasts a 100 per cent record against Alex Bogdanovic on clay and has a top-spin forehand frequently compared to that of the great MaliVai Washington.

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