Greg Rusedski – A Passionate Tennis Player

Greg Rusedski was born in Canada on 6 September 1973 to a British mother and a German born father. In 1980s he was a tennis star in Canada. He later began playing for Britain. He retired after a commendable professional career in the year 2007.

His first singles title was at the Hall of Fame Championships, Newport, Rhode Island. In 1995, he decided to adopt British citizenship which angered Canada. He was also accused of having used all the country’s resources and never returning the gratitude, though he later paid Tennis Canada, a huge amount of money to keep the scores settled. Days before the Wimbledon tournament, the International Tennis Federation allowed him to play for Britain. He, from then on became a British player. Unfortunately, he lost in the second round of the tournament.

In 1997, he reached the final of US open but sadly lost, finishing ranked World no.4. In the year 1998, Tim Henman stepped on Rusedski to claim the title of Britain’s best tennis player. In 1999, Greg won the Grand Slam cup.  He and Henman became one of the biggest rivals which, according to the rumours, forced the British to like this sport even more. They both had almost the same level of success in their professional life but Henman enjoyed more limelight than him. He has sparked controversies, for example, in US open year 2002, he played Pete Sampras in the second round and called him “half step slow” and in the 2003 Wimbledon tournament while playing Andy Roddick, he swore at the umpire. The year 2005 didn’t bring him much luck but he played some of the greatest players like Andre Agassi. In the year 2006, Henman and Rusedski collided head on head in the US open final, they put on an epic fight but sadly this time he was outdone by Henman. In the year 2007 he finally retired. Injuries in his last few seasons created a setback in his career life. As it can be noted, Greg had a controversial career too. Some even commented that he does not possess the qualities of a good sportsman and lacks grace.

He certainly was a good tennis player but also worked in other completely different areas. He has owned a space in British tabloid newspaper, The Sun and also has done analysis of 2003, 2007 Australian Open and 2007 French Open for the British television channel, Eurosport. He also was the commentator for BBC during the 2007 Wimbledon. He has appeared in a few reality shows and has also acted as a tennis player in one of the television serials. He is not only a tennis enthusiast but also a big supporter of Arsenal Football team. He is married to Lucy Connor and has two kids.

Greg Rusedski made his own story; he never seemed to have copied anyone. His “devil -may -care“ attitude has won him admirers and enemies. He had an impressive career life and also post retirement, his life has remained interesting.

Andy Murray — A Look at the British Number 1’s Life and Career

Andrew “Andy” Murray is a Scottish professional tennis player. He prefers playing on clay court but is just as comfortable on grass. He is currently ranked 4th in the world and no.1 in Britain.

He was born on 15 may 1987 in Dunblane, Perthshire, Scotland to Will and Judy. Will worked as retail area manager and Judy was a former national coach. The couple split in 1996 and Andy and his older brother, Jamie started living with his dad. Jamie is also a professional tennis player, playing on the double’s circuit. Murray attended Dunblane Primary school and can faintly recall taking cover in a classroom during the Dunblane massacre in 1996 in which around 17 people were killed.

Andy started playing tennis at the age of five. Leon Smith, his coach in his teen years was spellbound the first time he saw Andy play. Murray believes that the motivation he gained from losing to his older brother helped him improve a lot. He also played association football and was offered to train with the Rangers Football Club. He declined this offer saying he was keen on a tennis career and needed to focus on it. Andy’s very first achievement was when he won the Orange Bowl, a prestigious junior event at the age of 12. In September 2004, he won the junior US open aged 17 by beating Sergiy Stakhovsky. The same year Murray was awarded the BBC Young Sports Personality of the year. He was also selected as a member of Great Britain’s squad for the Davis cup match against Austria, although he never played. He was called again in 2005, but this time for the doubles against Israel. He and his partner, David Sherwood spun out a surprise win and he became the youngest Briton to play Davis Cup. He reached the semi finals of the French open and lost in the third round of Wimbledon in the year 2005. Andy played his first senior tournament with a wild card entry to the ATP International event in Barcelona. In 2006, he defeated world no. 11 Lleyton Hewitt at the SAP open in the finals. Murray finished the year ranking 17^th which was his best till that point. He won his third ATP title at the St Petersburg open in 2007, reached the fourth round of the Australian open and ended the year ranked 11. In 2008 he reached the finals of the US open defeating Rafael Nadal, currently the world no. 2, in the semi -finals. He won the Montreal Masters Series title, his 13^th ATP title and 4^th masters in the year 2009. The same year Andy Murray peaked at no.2 in the world rankings. 2010, he reached the finals of the Australian open finishing runner up losing to Roger Federar.

Andy is a huge fan of the TV show “Entourage” and his favourite musician is 50 cent. Andy’s autobiography, “Hitting Back” was released in 2008, the latest version of which released in 2009, is called “coming of age”. He continues to play and there’s definitely more to come from him.

Andy Murray vs Tsonga Cheeky Trick Shots – Queens 2011 Final

Video Rating: 4 / 5

Greg Rusedski at Coolhurst

Video clip Score: five / 5

Laura Robson, warming up, Hopman Cup 2011

Video clip Rating: / five

Tim Henman – Juan Ignacio Chela – RG 2004 QF (Highlights – Part 1)

Video Rating: 5 / five