The departures of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray and a sultry umpire with a voice like Barry White are the main focus of the international media.
Djokovic’s retirement in the quarter-final to Czech Tomas Berdych because of an elbow injury is the lead story in French sports newspaper L’Equipe. It said the elbow caused the Serb problems at the US Open, the Paris Masters in Bercy in the autumn and also in Miami in March, when he was forced to retire before he could defend his title. The paper asked its readers: “Should Djokovic take a long break to let his elbow heal?”
Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker warned Murray he needs to take it easy after limping out of Wimbledon in a five-set defeat to Sam Querrey. ”Age is only a number, but you only have one body,” Becker told the BBC. “Andy has to look after his.”
The German suggested Murray should give the US Open a miss altogether. The season’s final Grand Slam event starts at the end of August in New York. “He has got to think long-term, not worry about making the US Open - if he is moving there like he did at Wimbledon, then he won't win it anyway,” Becker said.
The Washington Post focuses on Roger Federer, who moved to the semi-final with a straight-sets win over last year’s finalist, Milos Raonic. “When Wimbledon began, Federer and the rest of the Big 4 — Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal — had accounted for each of the past 14 men’s singles championships,” it said. “Now, as the tournament heads to the semi-finals on Friday, only Federer remains. Call him the Big 1.”
With the rise of social media, tennis umpires are now becoming stars, too. Take 41-year-old French umpire Kader Nouni, whose “sultry tones [are] setting hearts aflutter at Wimbledon,” according to the Herald Sun newspaper in Australia. “With this unlikely Don Juan, it’s not what he says, but how he says it: in an unusually deep and seductive voice, which has led some admirers to compare him to crooner Barry White,” the paper said.
Johanna Konta’s dream run at Wimbledon has been followed closely in her hometown of Eastbourne. Local newspaper The Argus paid a visit to the town’s Devonshire Park tennis club, which gave Konta a lifetime membership two years ago.
“Most people only see Jo when she’s at work,” Ken Pollock, the club’s chairman, told the paper. “When she’s not, she’s an extremely amazing person to be around. She’s very witty and has a great sense of humour, but you don’t get to see that when she’s on a tennis court.”
And finally, praise in many newspapers for Murray’s defence of women’s tennis. Here is an exchange between the Scot, who was coached by his mother, Judy, and former Wimbledon winner Amelie Mauresmo, and a reporter during his post-match press conference:
Q. Sam is the first US player to reach a major semi-final since 2009.
ANDY MURRAY: Male player.
Q. I beg your pardon?
ANDY MURRAY: Male player
“Andy Murray is still Wimbledon’s champion feminist player. Feminist male player,” the Post said.
