Archive for category: Goss

OPEN MEN’S DOUBLES WINNERS:  Warren Green and Cameron Green

OPEN MEN’S SINGLES RUNNER UP: Cameron Green (2022 Winner)

OPEN WOMEN’S DOUBLES WINNERS: Lisa Green and Caroline Bhaguandas

When two young tennis players, one from England and the other from South Africa, met on the UK tennis circuit in the late ‘80s, it was the beginning of the remarkable, now local, sporting Green family.

Lisa grew up in England with parents who played tennis. Warren built on his tennis as a student at the University of Capetown, and was called on to represent the South African defence force in tennis instead of two years compulsory national service fighting in Angola.  At ages 19 and 24 respectively, Lisa and Warren met on the UK circuit.

Warren played doubles and mixed doubles, and Lisa played singles at Wimbledon. Warren ranked in the top 150 in doubles and also played in the US Open, while Lisa ranked in the top 250 in singles.

At the age of 24, Lisa moved to South Africa to marry Warren.

Elder son Chris was born, followed three years later by younger son Cameron. Unsurprisingly both boys were keen sportsmen and both parents wanted them to be well-rounded in sport. Along with the tennis in their genes, other sports including cricket were a part of the boys’ lives growing up.

In 2001, when Chris was 7 and Cam 4, the family Green moved from Johannesburg to Australia and fell in love with the country and with Manly.  Although settled on the North Shore, they always knew they’d come back to the Manly area, and have now been living in Fairlight for the past 9 years. In February, the Greens will have been living in Australia for 23 years.

With education a major focus of both parents, both boys completed business degrees, but sport has remained an abiding passion for the Green family.  Today, Chris’ commitment to cricket sees him as current Acting Captain of BBL cricket team Sydney Thunder and he was recently called up to replace Adam Zampa in the national squad playing the T20 series against India. As a tennis player, Chris has also occasionally partnered with his father Warren in his MLTC Badge team.

Younger brother Cam always knew tennis was the sport for him. In Year 11 he decided he would study in the USA on a tennis scholarship. He subsequently gained entry to Furman College, a Division 1 South Carolina school, after which he played for 18 months on the tour. When COVID hit, 2020 saw him back in Australia coaching tennis and he currently works as a mergers and acquisition analyst. Cam was last year’s MLTC’s Open Men’s Singles champion and for both Green boys, tennis has provided a good introduction to life and in Cam’s case, an easy transition to a business career.

Photo: House Green: L to R   Lisa, Chris, Cameron and Warren Green

‘Goss’ Editor: Pamela Muir

Andy Murray is often regarded as the embodiment of resilience, with a titanium hip testament to his unwavering determination. Volumes have been written about his heroic comeback from an injury that nearly ended his professional tenure. However, the recent disappointing loss has cast a shadow, suggesting that it’s his mental fortitude that’s now eroding more swiftly than his physical prowess.

On a Monday afternoon in Paris, Murray seemed poised for victory against Alex de Minaur, ahead with a commanding double-break. The press had their celebratory headlines at the ready. But the atmosphere shifted when DeMinaur approached his break point, and a sinking feeling of the inevitable took hold.

This event marks another chapter in a challenging phase that began with the Wimbledon marathon against Stefanos Tsitsipas, where Murray has repeatedly stumbled when on the brink of victory. Murray himself appeared perplexed by his gradual downfall, remarking that he couldn’t recall a similar experience. This admission did little to alleviate the sadness that many onlookers felt.

Witnessing a champion of Murray’s stature grapple with his inner struggles evokes a profound sadness. The distress was palpable when, at 5-4, Murray, normally a model of agility in a sport that prizes such a trait, was visibly constrained, his movements reminiscent of an amateur’s stiffness. His forehand, tentative at first, devolved into a misdirected shot that sailed past the baseline.

Aging in sports often brings a heightened awareness of potential failure. While the youth may charge forward with minimal trepidation, seasoned athletes can become preoccupied with thoughts of what lies ahead or haunted by recent missteps. The essence of sports psychology is to stay immersed in the moment, yet the results of that Monday seemed to narrate a different tale. Alongside Murray, both Stan Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet, seasoned players themselves, succumbed after having match points in their grasp, all victims to what could be described as a “senior moment.”

Tennis, with its idiosyncrasies, can be maddening, as club players can attest. There’s nothing more frustrating than moving your opponent all over the court, earning the juiciest of short balls, and then blaring the put-away into the back fence. That’s effectively what he did on Monday, only on a larger scale.

But the trick in these instances is to focus on the 95 per cent that went right. Murray has had DeMinaur on the rack twice in the past month. If he keeps playing that way, he should be able to resume his climb up the world rankings, which recently carried him inside the top 40 for the first time since his hip surgery.

And should despair loom, Murray can reflect on his early-season triumphs, such as his consecutive deciding set victories, often from the brink of defeat. Attributing that streak to “the law of averages” after a series of narrow losses, Murray now needs only to believe in the pendulum’s capacity to swing once more.

SOURCE- Telegraph, London

Manly Junior Bede K won the the U16 Boys Sydney Metropolitan doubles championship at Homebush this week.

In the semi-finals, Bede and his partner, Daniel C, both 14 years, defeated the formidable, and older, #1 seeds in a thrilling match that ended in 3/6, 7/5, 10/7 win. As Bede said afterwards “we got ‘em in the super”.

Building on their momentum, Bede and Daniel continued their winning streak in the final by defeating the #2 seeds with a commanding score of 6/4, 6/3.

Congrats Bede!