Roger Federer reaches 287 weeks as the world #1

Yesterday Roger Federer made it to 287 total weeks as the #1 ranked player in the world. He surpasses Pete Sampras' record of 286 weeks. He has now spent the most time as the #1 ranked player of anyone who has ever lived.

Here in Kuantan, we celebrated his achievement with a little lunch and toast to Federer's success and amazing career to date.

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Blog Flashbacks Saturday

Welcome to my weekly installment of Blog Flashbacks Saturday. It started last weekend, so with some positive feedback, here we go again.

Now you may be wondering who this is? Or you may be wondering why I have a picture of Bruce Forsyth in this post.

Bruce Forsyth is a famous TV presenter in England, hosting, amongst others, "Play Your Cards Right", a game show where contestants can win cash prizes or holidays etc.

Here's a clip of a typical Play Your Cards Right show with Bruce Forsyth entertaining the audience, performing his signature pose, and introducing the ladies who will be dealing the cards:

Well we used to try and pose just like Bruce Forsyth when the game show began. It was his signature pose and we spent many happy hours imitating him!


A year ago this weekend I blogged about my brother and the time we spent with him in Malaysia while he was visiting on holiday. And of course, we had to do our best Bruce Forsyth pose!

Time with my brother August 2010

And two years ago this weekend, my sister-in-law, Florina, had an accident while we were playing badminton - playing to win of course!

Sports Injuries August 2009

Whatever you're doing, have a lovely weekend, and see you on Monday!

Lauren's Developing Talents

So Lauren is growing quickly and we are starting to see her talents which she is developing. First of all, she's pretty good in front of a camera - will she be a model???

Secondly, she's equally as good behind the lens. Here she is in action with the camera on Fidelia's hand phone - will she be a photographer???

She snaps dozens of pictures at a time - just like her daddy!

Thirdly, Lauren has been trying her hand at teaching. Frequently she asks me if she can teach my tuition class. Sometimes I permit her and she sits in my chair and tells my students what to do! Will she be a teacher???

Next up, Lauren was watching the swimming on the TV with us yesterday while she was having a nice warm bath. We heard her voice saying "Look at me" and this is what she was doing - will she be a swimmer???

Lauren has also taken quite a shine to sports, in particular tennis, and here in this picture, football - will she be a sports star???

Finally, Lauren really enjoys drawing and colouring, and her pictures have been progressing rather nicely over the last few months. Here's her latest drawing which she presented to me - will she be an artist???

What do you think she'll be?!

Manchester United

"McDonalds" - fast food restaurant responsible for comfort food and contributing to high levels of obesity




Manchester United

Manchester United are the winners of 18 league titles, 11 of them since the inception of the Premier League in 1992. They have been champions of Europe on three occasions, the first coming in 1968 with a 4-1 victory over Benfica in the final. This came just 10 years after a dozen of the Manchester United players and staff died in a tragic plane accident in Munich.

Sir Matt Busby, then manager, rebuilt the squad including many youngsters who went on to greatness just a decade later, who became known as the "Busby Babes."

Through parts of the seventies and eighties, Manchester United went through a trophy drought, dicing with relegation from the first division of English football, while Liverpool won four European cups and reached 18 league titles, becoming by far the most successful English club.

Alex Ferguson, who was hired from Aberdeen where he enjoyed much success, endured a slow start to his tenure at Old Trafford, but the momentum began to pick up in 1993 with a first league title in over 20 years.

During the mid-90's Alex Ferguson called up several youngsters into the first team including the Neville brothers, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt. They went on to win multiple trophies with Manchester United, the highlight being the dramatic season of 1998/99 when Sir Alex Ferguson led his team to an amazing treble of League, F.A. Cup and European Cup. It was an incredible time and tasted much better than my beloved McDonalds strawberry milkshake!

Sir Alex Ferguson has been Manchester United manager for an unbelievable 26 years and is still going strong. Manchester United recently equaled Liverpool's long-standing record of 18 league titles and is poised to capture an historic 19th next month.

Here are some videos of Manchester United's best moments. We apologise for keeping our neighbours in Kuantan awake during some of these passionate moments at all hours of the day and night!

If you're a Manchester United fan, this was the season that will never be forgotten. Some of these images and lines of commentary are immortal!

And here is the passion and success associated with Manchester United

Which is your favourite football team?

Federer Masters His Peers

I know it's a little like 'late news' now, but I've not been online since waking up in the early hours of Monday morning to watch the ATP World Tour Masters final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. That's because I've been down with headaches and an off stomach ever since this disruption of my normal sleep pattern.

But Roger Federer is worth writing about at any time of the day, week, month or year.

His victory over Nadal, and it has to be said, in the end it was an absolute pasting, was long overdue. Federer's 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win was a highly significant result at the end of a mixed season for the Swiss champion. After stuttering through the summer with injury and poor form, his Australian Open final demolition of Andy "angles" Murray was almost forgotten about. Nadal went on to win the remaining three slams as Federer's career was being written off right, left and centre.

So this fantastic week of dominant tennis is a great reminder to the world that Federer is still only 29, by no means old, and as he brushed aside so comfortably the other 4 players at the top of the rankings alongside himself, he has laid down a marker for the year 2011. I'm sure Federer would have loved the Australian Open to be this week, but we will have to wait a couple of months to see the genius at work again.

The whole week in London was a huge success and a great way to finish the year. Perhaps for me, the greatest thing of all was the magnificence of Federer's backhand. Touted as a weakness, it was anything but, as he used it to marvellous effect as preparation to set up winning forehands, producing sensational winners themselves either up the line or cross-court, and as wonderful deep, defensive shots to get himself back into rallies.

Long may Federer keep hitting the sweet spot on the backhand, and the forehand. He was also masterful on serve, showing magnificent variety and placement.

Now he has renewed confidence to go and, if necessary, beat Nadal all over again on the biggest stage of all - a Grand Slam.

ATP Tour Masters London Final Line-up

So Rafael Nadal struggled his way through his semi-final with Andy Murray, who blew a 4-1 lead in the final set tie-breaker to gift the Spaniard a final berth.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer obliterated Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-4 to enter the final, as he attempts to win the end-of-year Masters for a 5th time.

LET'S GO ROGER, LET'S GO!!!

ATP Tour Masters London Semi-finals

So we have arrived at the semi-final stage of the ATP Tour Masters in London. There are no surprises and 2 stand-out players thus far. The semi-finals will shape up like this:

ROGER FEDERER aka the G.O.A.T.    vs     NOVAK JOCK-STRAP

RAFAEL NAYDULL     vs     ANDY "ANGLES" MURRAY

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have both come through the round robin stage undefeated, with 3 wins out of 3. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic qualified as group runners-up after losing one of their three matches each.

I'm desperately hoping Andy Angles can go against all the odds and beat Nadal because to be honest, I'm scared of Nadal but not Murray. As for Federer, he just has to play to a similar standard as he has in the round robin stage and he should have no problems against Djokovic. Federer is hitting the ball sweetly and most pleasing, his backhand was magnificent in his victory over Soderling. Nadal has not been at his best, doing enough to win, but he did enjoy a 6-1 thrashing of Berdych after he took the first on a tie-break. Nadal dropped a set against Roddick but Federer has yet to lose one, with a perfect 6-0 record in that department.

I hope Murray makes the final, but in my head, where common sense normally prevails, Nadal will slaughter the helpless Scot and enter a mouthwatering final with Federer.

And Federer is due a win over his Spanish rival...

Federer the Fans Favourite

Roger Federer was awarded his eighth fan's favourite trophy yesterday at the start of the ATP Tour end of year Masters. People voted online at www.atpworldtour.com for their favourite player of the year, and Roger Federer came out on top for the eighth time. I voted for him as well and I'm glad he took the moment to thank me for my vote. He may not be the current world number one any more, but he is still the fan's favourite tennis player for his great successes, fair play and respectful treatment of his opponents.

Roger Federer looked dapper in a bright red shirt as he comfortably beat Spain's David Ferrer in his opening round robin match yesterday at London's O2 arena. He ran out a 6-1, 6-4 winner and will next face up to Scotland's Andy Murray.

Talking of Murray, he opened proceedings by beating Robin Soderling 6-2, 6-4 in an absolutely awful shirt that kind of matches his personality and character.

Federer and Murray have become big rivals on tour, sharing wins and losses of late. But it is their deeply contrasting styles which are the most interesting to analyse. Murray is loud and boisterous; Federer calmly and quietly goes about his work. Murray, as previously mentioned, wears some awfully distasteful attire; Federer always wears simple and neat clothing. Murray's hair and face is a complete mess, not even for the end of year Masters can he get himself looking anywhere near decent; Federer is always smartly dressed, appropriately for whatever occasion, and looks clean-shaven and neat when on-court. Murray's frustrations too often get the better of him, leaving him vulnerable to collapse; Federer's mental toughness sees him soak up pressure and overcome it more often than not. Murray delights in ice-baths (which didn't do much for him at this year's Australian Open under the coaching of Miles Maclagan, who since then, has parted ways with the Scot); Federer simply goes for family time with his wife and daughters, and other advertising appointments with Credit Suisse and Lindt, for example. Murray hits a double-handed backhand which can be pretty effective with slow balls but limited in its reach; Federer has the most exquisite single-handed backhand which can hit balls to any spot on the court. Some have targeted Federer's backhand as a potential weakness but I've never believed it. Only Ree-shard (Richard) Gasquet has a backhand comparable. Murray has a disastrously vulnerable second serve; Federer's is as reliable as they come. Both players are immaculate at mixing up their shots in both speed and direction and placement. Murray has yet to win a Grand Slam; Federer has 16.

And so in the build-up to tomorrow's showdown between the two players, I will share a clip of highlights from their round robin clash last year, which Federer won. The only catch is that this clip includes the most hilarious Arabic commentary ever with the translation to English subtitles sure to provide a barrel of laughs! 

Take the time to check it out, it's a fantastic bit of fun!

Let's hope the standard of tennis was as high as last year.


GO ROG!!!

Federer wins, completes good weekend

Every weekend we look forward to our sport. Sometimes there are many different sporting competitions going on at the same time, for example, football, tennis, Formula One racing, rugby. We enjoy following each sport and our favourite sportsmen and women. Sometimes there are good weekends where all of our favourites win; and occasionally we endure the disappointment of a bad weekend, where the teams and individuals we yearn for, end up on the losing side.

The weekend just passed could be classified as a good weekend, though it wasn't a perfectly victorious one. Allow me to explain.

Firstly was the Barclays Premier League on Saturday night. Any team which is half-good and poses a threat to Manchester United, will be cheered on in all of their struggles. Tottenham, who are rapidly improving and just beat reigning European Champions Internazionale in midweek, suffered a terrible hangover as they went down 4-2 at Bolton Wanderers. That was a good start to our weekend, not to mention a very entertaining match for the neutrals.

By the way, Kevin Davies should definitely keep his place in the England squad

Things almost took a turn for the worse when later that night an absolutely wretched performance from Man.Utd almost resulted in more dropped points. It was only thanks to a stoppage time winner from South Korean winger Ji-sung Park, which gave us the 3 points in a 2-1 win over unlucky Wolves.

On Sunday, there was football, tennis and F1. Let's deal with the one disappointment first, shall we? Lewis Hamilton could only finish fourth in the Brazilian Grand Prix, behind title rivals Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso, who carries a slim lead into the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton needs a miracle comprising of him winning the race and his 3 main title rivals all not finishing in the points. Oh well. . . there's always next year.

Meanwhile, things were going great at the Emirates stadium where Newcastle put on a magnificently disciplined performance to beat Arsenal in their own backyard by a single Andy Carroll goal to nil. Arsenal to win the league? No chance! Not when you've lost games at home to newly promoted teams in West Brom and Newcastle.

Further joy came at Anfield where a resurgent Liverpool powered past Chelsea 2-0 thanks to a rejuvenated Fernando Torres. Chelsea's second BPL defeat of the season was sweet. ManU are just a couple of points behind the leaders now. Thanks Liverpool, for helping us out yet again.

Meanwhile, on the continent, in a small town named Basle in Switzerland, a home-grown star was lifting ATP title number 65 of his glittering career. Roger Federer, the G.O.A.T, beat Novak Djok-strap in 3 sets, sealing triumph with an amazing half-volley backhand winner on match point, taking the decider 6-1.

Enjoying a pizza party with his fellow ball-kids after the match

Sporting Augury for 2010

As we move into the second decade of the second millennium of the current era, the world of sport is very much centre-stage. And sporting prophecy seems to be all the trend for Arsene Wenger, foretelling the world that eight teams are in with a chance of winning the Premier League this season. Remarkably puzzling. Surely that number can't include Liverpool who are already thirteen points off the pace at the half-way stage. Looking down the current standings, Birmingham and Fulham lie sixth and ninth respectively. No-one in their wildest dreams would imagine these two moderate clubs piling the pressure on Man. Utd and Chelsea in a final push for the summit.

In a mood to portend the future, here is my vision of the near happenings of the Premier League.

Having already lost Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor to Man. City, Arsenal will lose a frustrated Fabregas to Barcelona and replace him with yet another unknown up-and-coming youngster, after yet another trophy-less season. Arsene 'whinger' Wenger will have voiced his final whine about fixture congestion or something as he finally cuts ties 'by mutual consent', or rather, by a boot up the backside.

But it's not any merrier for Liverpool either. After finishing a dismal sixth, Benitez immediately gets the sack, and the club fund in on their top stars. Gerrard is the first to leave in a big-money move to Madrid. Torres is next, moving to Champions League-bound Aston Villa. In an early-season clash at Old Trafford in September against their perennial rivals of Manchester, new boss Graeme Souness decides that the approaching midweek game against Burnley presents a more realistic opportunity of gaining three points. He rests ten first team players as Liverpool begin a relegation dogfight.

Again with just an F.A. Cup to show for a season's work, Carlo Ancelotti is hastily sacked by Abramovich, who then decides that he's fed up with his London toy and walks out.

Ryan Giggs scores the winning goal in the Champions League final against surprise package Bordeaux.

After a second disappointing season at Old Trafford, Berbatov is shown the door, joining Inter Milan. The useless Nani is also evicted as Yoanne Gourcuff and David Villa arrive as repalcements. Giggs and Scholes sign one-year contract extensions and Sir Alex Ferguson says he's good for another five years.

Mark Hughes meanwhile gets the sack from his Arab owners and Carlo Ancelotti is brought in. (Since penning this article, Mark Hughes has been swiftly sacked and replaced by Roberto Mancini. Ancelotti joining next summer still can't be ruled out however!)

Portsmouth, West Ham and Bolton, established Premier League names, make the dreaded drop to the Championship.

England win the World Cup in South Africa, prevailing 4-2 after extra time in the final against old foes Germany. Wayne Rooney becomes just the second player in history to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

No African nation advances beyond the quarter finals. A tearful Cristiano Ronaldo bows out at the group stage.

Meanwhile, in tennis, Rafael Nadal shocks the world as he announces his immediate retirement from the sport due to persistent problems with injuries all over his creaking body. (A week later Tiger Woods comes out of hiding and similarly brings to a premature end his golfing career due to long and financially painful divorce proceedings).

Once more, Andy 'never-win-a-major' Murray fails to make the breakthrough with a Grand Slam after hyping himself up all year about his chances. He does reach the Wimbledon final but is comprehensively beaten by Roger Federer, who after his seventh victory at SW19, is given a replica key to the All England Lawn and Tennis Association Club.

Federer himself completes the only thing left to do - winning a single year Slam - bagging all four majors of 2010, taking his Grand Slam tally to 19.