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Zverev The Coming Man…

May 30th, 2017 | Ian Carnaby's Sports News

I was working at Goodwood on Friday and could not update the blog, so my apologies. In fact I always take a short break after the football season and the FA Cup Final did not appeal as a betting medium anyway, although Chelsea have looked lack-lustre to me since winning the title.

There will be a managerial merry-go-round over the next few weeks and I’m surprised that Marco Silva has opted for Watford, given their readiness to chop and change at the drop of a hat. Many Southampton supporters thought he would replace Claude Puel at St Mary’s but things have gone quiet. Personally, if there is to be a change, I’d say the Saints could do worse than Garry Monk, a former player at the club, but I have no inside information. All I would say is that, if the powers that be think there is no rush to make a final decision, they are wrong. Southampton’s performances over the past few weeks and the sheer inability to score goals will have them in serious trouble right from the start unless there is a major shake-up in personnel. The sooner they decide who will be calling the shots, even if it means giving Puel another season (which I think unlikely), the better.

it was good to see Petra Kvitova back in action in Paris after the horrific knife attack at her home. She played extremely well in her first match at the French Open and won comfortably, though things will get harder. No one has impressed me more than EKATERINA MAKAROVA, who hit the ball very hard indeed when disposing of an out-of-sorts Angelique Kerber. The Russian player may go a long way in this tournament and we should be grateful for full coverage on Eurosport, even if some of the clichés become boring – ‘mindset’, ‘have to regroup’, ‘out there’ – as if the humble court we can see over their shoulders is somewhere west of the Pecos in Indian country – ‘match-up’ instead of match, etc, etc, etc.

I don’t believe Rafa Nadal will win a tenth French title and I’d be inclined to sell him on the spreads. He is nearly as good as before but not quite, like Roger Federer, and that crucial difference will count in the Majors. Both of those two have tennis running through their veins, whereas I never quite think that about Novak Djokovic, who has been a player to oppose for quite a few months now. It surprised me that he reached the final in Rome, something I feel will not be repeated here. His conqueror ALEXANDER ZVEREV looks the likeliest winner to me, though if Andy Murray could rediscover his best form in time it goes without saying that he would be a major threat. Murray is the nest player, for sure, but the game does not stand still.