He definitely has a foot problem, and has done his entire life... This page has some interesting background on the problem.

It's a birth defect, which he manages with painkillers and a specially customised shoe. In fact it's likely the altered weight distribution due to this solution is what led to the knee problems that have plagued him through his career, too. There is absolutely definitely a physical problem with his foot, which can't be fixed and has to be managed. But perhaps it is misleading that we call it an injury, as it is more fundamental than that. And yes, it is quite astonishing that someone with this condition can become the most successful male tennis player of all time. Apparently he can't remember ever playing without pain.

It's going to be a struggle for Man U to attract the big name players that they have in the past, with no Champions League football to offer them. It really is a huge deal, and is made worse by the fact that big names such as Pogba are leaving. Man U is a big name club with big club ambition and money, but without being quite good enough. I think this transfer window could be quite embarrassing for them, there are lot of players they want, who are unlikely to want to sign.

I think this is harsh on Nadal. Djokovic didn't beat himself, Nadal beat him. And it's not like Djokovic was struggling at this tournament, he breezed through every match in straight sets until he came up against Nadal.
Nadal can make anyone look bad on clay. If Djokovic is missing shots, this is often because Nadal is putting him in a position where he is likely to miss them. If Djokovic is making "unforced" errors, then likely this is because he is trying too hard, going for riskier shots because he knows that anything less would not be good enough against Nadal.

I think many, myself included, expected Djokovic to win this one. I remember last time here, Nadal started strongly but couldn't maintain it, and Djokovic won. This one looked like it might go the same way when Djokovic pulled that second set back from a double break down... unbelievable that Nadal could win it when he's not 100% and also no doubt tired from a five setter against FAA.

Yes, that's absurd. It's only a week ago that RB made Perez move aside for Max! I think with those words he's just trying to placate Perez who is no doubt still angry about last time.
Unless the statement actually means that Perez is fighting Horner to be allowed to compete for the championship? That's more believable! 



I don't think anyone in the world would believe that they don't favour Verstappen. It's understandable of course if they are fighting another team for the title, it makes sense to ensure that one of your drivers maximises points every time... but at least have the courage to admit it instead of coming out with what is an utterly transparent lie!

In my country at least, it's because the nature of university education has changed over the last 25 years or so.

Previously, university was all about learning. Only a small percentage of people went to university, everyone had their courses paid for by the government, and students with a low or even median family income received additional government funding through a cost of living grant. The result: a small number of university graduates, highly skilled and ready to pick up jobs that demanded their skills.

But then it became about money. University entrance was vastly increased, a large proportion (~50%) of young people started going to university, government funding was removed entirely, and students became saddled with debt. Average student debt in my country is now £45k (~US$56k). University education became a lot more transactional, people were effectively paying for a degree. A lot of less academic and sometimes quite absurd courses sprang up to cater for the rising demand (e.g. surf science, floral design, puppetry). The result: a large number of university graduates, mostly saddled with vast debts, and relatively few highly skilled.



https://www.statista.com/statistics/376423/uk-student-loan-debt/

I was also waiting for Medvedev to suffer a "surprise" defeat as he is like a different player on clay, and definitely vulnerable... a situation that can only be exacerbated when he's just coming back from an injury layoff. I half expected him to just skip the clay court season entirely... But at the time he registered for the French Open, there were still ranking points available for non-Russians at Wimbledon, which would mean no chance for Medvedev to return to number one. Obviously now the situation is different, and Medvedev will be number one irrespective of what happens in France. Perhaps if the Wimbledon ranking points removal had happened a couple of weeks ago, we wouldn't even have seen Medvedev at RG.

But... whilst I expected him to lose at some point, I thought he'd still have too much for Cilic.

I don't think putting more people in prison for longer periods of time is the answer, as this excellent visual demonstrates.
Often people who are more likely to commit crimes come from an impoverished or otherwise disadvantaged background. If you're a kid in an inner city housing estate, with no education and no prospects, joining a gang is often the only route out. I think the solution lies in ensuring greater equality of opportunity.

I think we did all expect Leclerc to win, until Ferrari messed up on strategy. But Perez does seem to be improving. He would have won the last race if RB hadn't ordered him to move aside to let Max win. I assume they would have done the same again here to deny Perez again, but fortunately for him he had Sainz in the way to prevent Max getting any more undeserved gifts!

I think that's harsh on FAA, he took the king of clay to five sets and nearly beat him. Nadal may not be at his absolute peak, but remember he did win the AO this year, against Medvedev. And he does have a 27-3 record this year, and is leading the ATP race... so officially no-one in the world has played as well as Nadal in 2022.

I think my pre-match assessment (below) was actually pretty accurate.

A hero to those who like it when hospitals and schools get bombed. A hero to those who like the rape, torture, murder and enforced disappearances of civilians.

But the atrocities under Putin in Ukraine are nothing new. He was in charge of similar activities in Syria, and indeed everywhere he's been during his entire time in power. For just one amongst innumerable examples, we could go back over twenty years to Russian forces, under Putin's command, performing summary execution of civilians in Grozny.

It's one thing to rant about 5g masts and nanobots and contrails, quite another to worship the worst war criminal the world has seen in decades.


Sixty feared dead in bombing of Ukraine school

Well, Real really deserve this when you look at the teams they beat along the way. They single-handedly wiped out the English challenge, by knocking out Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea. And they also knocked out PSG. They had some really tough match ups in every round, and came out on top every time... and for most of these games it looked like Real would lose, but they fought until the last minute and prevailed.

Of course the real champions of Europe are Sheriff Tiraspol, who beat Real in the group stage.

The big thing really is that Perez qualified in third ahead of Max in fourth. Maybe Perez can get past Sainz at the start, but highly unlikely that Verstappen can, unless Sainz really messes up. Team order means Max can get past Perez, but he has to overtake Sainz as well to get close enough to Leclerc to try to take the lead at the pit stops... otherwise he gets stuck behind the slower moving Sainz and gradually loses time on Leclerc lap by lap, and can't undercut him in the pits. Barring a crazy start, Max's only real chance is getting lucky with safety cars.

I think that normally Nadal should beat FAA on clay. And Nadal has been playing well this week, too. My uncertainty really comes from the fact that Nadal has just returned from injury. It's a big ask to get through round after round of a slam if you're not 100% match fit, and especially if you're managing an injury. He's looked untroubled so far, but he's not really been tested. If he gets into a long attritional match, I don't know.

I won't be betting on this one. I do think Nadal is more likely to win, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he doesn't.

If Max doesn't overtake Perez at the start, then RB will tell Perez to get out of the way again, or else offset their pit stops so Max gets ahead. The big issue for Max is Sainz. If we assume Leclerc gets away ahead, then Sainz will inevitably lose time on him, and slow the Red Bulls behind him... which should mean a comfortable victory for Leclerc.

The big unknown really is who gets lucky with the timing of the inevitable safety cars... which becomes even more important if rain is due.

It seems highly illogical to conclude that the outcome of this will be the US installing Zelensky as Russian leader. This idea doesn't make the slightest bit of sense.
I think we can all agree that the world would be a better place if Putin were to be removed, but obviously this is far from straightforward. How do you envisage him being removed?

Please could you expand on your statements, and outline the logic?

Norrie played below his usual standard. His big aim was to reach the fourth round of a slam for the first time ever, and once again he's not made it. I wonder if there's a bit of a psychological barrier there now. Will be interesting next time he gets to a slam third round.



Yep, Djokovic should play Nadal in the quarters and Alcaraz in the semis (assuming Alcaraz beats Zverev, which he should do). The biggest obstacle to this happening might be FAA.

And yes Alcaraz is flyng up the rankings. The race is obviously more illustrative of his progress this year, he's third in a group with Nadal and Tsitsipas all on around 3.5k points. Then there's a huge gap to fourth where there's a group on around 2k points, including Medvedev and FAA.

Some people believe whatever rumours they hear, other people look at the data.

Look at the data.

When it's a sunny day, and you look up and say 'the sky is blue and clear', and your friend says 'no, it's green with pink spots', then it's difficult to know what to say to them.

You need to understand how vaccination works.

Some people were saying this at the beginning. I'm not aware of anyone other than you saying this after a year and a half of vaccinations, and 12 billion doses administered worldwide. You're really stretching credibility to claim this is an early trial. The data are abundant, the proof of safety and efficacy absolutely crystal clear.

Look at the data.

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You've given the answer yourself, above. If the daughter had been vaccinated, chances are she wouldn't have infected the family.
Vaccination isn't magic, it doesn't give people superpowers or make them invulnerable. But it does confer a high (but not 100%) degree of protection. Look at the data. Here's a chart from 2021, for example.

Yes, it does seem quite a coup for Villa. Last summer they were smart and quick in the transfer market, and this summer they are once again showing other clubs how to do it. Their speed and efficiency means they're able to secure the signings of players who really should be going to better clubs. Diego Carlos is one, but last week they also picked up the excellent Boubacar Camara on a free transfer, and just prior to that they secured the permanent signing of Coutinho. You would normally expect all three of these to be signing for Champions League clubs.

I hate this right-wing cancel culture that's so ubiquitous these days. Just because you're scared of tattoos, it doesn't mean that everyone else needs to have them removed. Their body their choice, right?