My daughter Lauren

As Roger Federer and Justine Henin are no longer taking part on the red dirt of Roland Garros, I have a special slot for my little daughter Lauren. I've ran out of words to use to describe her, so just browse the following pictures and maybe you could suggest some superlatives for me!

ENGLAND'S 23-MAN WORLD CUP SQUAD

In conjunction with the official unveiling of the 23 players who will carry the burden of English (over)expectation in South Africa later this month, I have completed my analysis of each member of the squad. Enjoy!

JOE HART: quality keeper but inexperienced at international level

DAVID JAMES: an absolute clown, calamity

ROBERT GREEN: awful season with a relegation-threatened club is hardly preparation to stop Brazilian, Spanish, Argentinian forwards                      

JAMIE CARRAGHER: real defender but sufficiently lacking international experience

ASHLEY COLE: detestable imp in the John Terry mould but unfortunately our best left-back

RIO FERDINAND: captain. if fully fit, our best defender

GLEN JOHNSON: a liability defensively, better at coming forward

LEDLEY KING: great defender, but when exactly was the last time he played for England? or even strung two matches together?
                                    
JOHN TERRY: slow, over-rated, a dirty rat. there would probably be more cheers if he broke his  leg in the first minute against USA than if he lifted the trophy
                                    
MATTHEW UPSON: average. can someone please remind me why he's in the squad again?

STEPHEN WARNOCK: tough-tackling, decent cover for Cashley, barely any international experience

GARETH BARRY: reliable holding midfielder, if fit, could have a vital role to play for England

MICHAEL CARRICK: out of form, mistake-prone, no special skills, why is he going to the World Cup?

JOE COLE: another mysterious one. had limited playing time this season, boring to watch, does nothing
                                    
STEVEN GERRARD: incapable of passing to a team-mate in an England shirt, lousy

FRANK LAMPARD: annoyingly quiet as soon as the England shirt is put on

AARON LENNON: flying winger with bags of pace. could be a jewel in our crown. but does he have the strength to help out defensively?
                                    
JAMES MILNER: love this guy, hardworking, stamina, power, goalscorer. could be our star of the tournament
                                    
SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: really can't work out why he's on the plane to South Africa. Anyone?

PETER CROUCH: tall, good skill, terrible at heading, good scoring record for England though

JERMAINE DEFOE: quiet finish to the season, not really too sure about him, fast, strong(ish), hmm...

EMILE HESKEY: and when did Heskey play a game for Aston Villa this season?

WAYNE ROONEY: the talisman, most talented player in the squad by a mile, power, touch, awareness, goal-scorer and creator, shame he's in a pants team
                                    



So what do you think? Do you share my views? Or feel differently about these players? I think they're a bunch of monkeys who will once again fail miserably. I hope beyond hope that I'm wrong, but come on, let's get real. Anyway, for what it's worth......

COME ON ENGLAND!!!

Federer's long run comes to an end

Roger Federer crashed out of Roland Garros at the quarter-final stage last night as Robin Soderling finally got one over him and progressed to a semi-final meeting with Thomas Berdych.

Federer was surprisingly a little out of sorts, but full credit where credit is due to Soderling. He played a great match, didn't panic after losing the opening set, and hit some solid shots when he needed to. It is not easy to beat a 16-time Grand Slam champion, so I congratulate Soderling for pulling it off.

My interest in the French Open has now completely evaporated and all I can hope for is for Soderling to give Nadal another good trashing in the final!

This result also saw an end to Federer's mind-boggling run of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals. Afterwards he found time to joke with the reporters about now going for the consecutive quarter-finals record!

Yes it is difficult to 'digest', as Federer put it, any defeat, and I'm always very sad when The Great Man loses. I don't like to see him lose. But Federer always loses with dignity and praises his opponents efforts, which sets him well apart from players such as the revolting Andy Murray. There are no excuses. The weather, the damp conditions, rain showers, are no excuse at all. I happily confess that Soderling played better on the day and fully deserves his crack at reaching a second consecutive Roland Garros final.

But watch Roger go at Wimbledon!

Roland Garros update

Justine Henin, 4-time champion on the courts of Roland Garros, was shunted out of the tournament by Australia's bicepy Sam Stosur, in three sets yesterday. It was a sad moment for me personally, so now all my focus is on The Great Man, who tackles Robin Soderling tonight.

Here is the quarter final draw for both the men and the women:

Roger Federer     vs     Robin Soderling

Mikhail Youzhny     vs     Tom Berdych

Jurgen Melzer     vs     Novak Djokovic

Nicolas Almagro     vs     Rafael Nadal



Serena Williams     vs     Sam Stosur

Jelena Jankovic     vs     Yaroslava Shvedova

Francesca Schiavone     vs     Caroline Wozniacki

Elena Dementieva     vs     Nadia Petrova


I've got to say, I hope Wozniacki wins the womens competition. She seems nice and is really good at tennis.

This is where the Grand Slam really starts. The matches are more tight, more intense, as the best players face off with each other. Looking forward to Federer's match with a vastly improving Soderling. Could be close.

Happy Birthday Mum!

My mum turns 53 today and still looks about late 20's, (very) early 30's. She is the best mother I could have wished for and I couldn't really have hand-picked a finer parent. I continue to be amazed at her levels of patience and endurance in the face of discouragement and illness, which perseverance inspires me to be strong like her. She always used to remark to me in my little times of uncertainty: "My name is Duncan Horne, and I can do anything!" Many times this little sentence has spurred me on to achieve things I never thought possible.


So thank you mum for being grand in my eyes, and I wish you the happiest birthday of all!