The Wimbledon Warm Up
Our raquets are at the ready as we countdown to the world's number one tennis competition, starting June 23.
If tennis terms like 'groundstroke' and 'seed' mean nothing to you, and you think Stella Artois is only ever a Belgium lager, do not fret, you are not alone. But like it or not, Wimbledon is on its way, and if nothing else, there are plenty of hot bods to look at and we'll even tell you a few Useful Tennis Things too over the next fortnight.
The Artois Championships
Stella Artois makes an annual contribution to sports by sponsoring the Queen's Club Championships, now dubbed the Artois Championships and held in West Kensington, London. This male-only event always takes place the week after the French Open and is an important lead-up to Wimbledon, tennis' main event.
This year's event was run over 9 - 15 June 2008 and won by Spanish star Rafael Nadal, who had walked off with the French Open title only the week before. Serbian Novak Djokovic ('The Djoker', a nickname we wonder might go out of style with Heath Ledger about to reinvent the Joker in upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight) fought hard to challenge his rival but finally conceded for a closing score of 7-6, 7-5 in Nadal's favour.
Tennis afficionados are now talking excitedly about grass and clay, two fairly mundane subjects which take on critical significance in the tennis world. The game is usually played on grass, clay or hardcourt, and each throws a unique set of variables into the play. This means that as with horses racing on a grass or dirt track, players tend to prefer and excel more on one surface than the others. Wimbledon is played on its famous grassed courts, as is Artois; young Nadal has now triumphed in gruelling matches on both grass and the clay of the French Open, proving his exceptional versatility.
Nadal's proficiency on the Artois green stuff is especially important right now, as his home turf has been historically recognised as clay, while the green stuff is the favoured surface of his legendary nemesis, Roger Federer.
Join us later this week for our review of the captivating rivalry between the tennis world numbers one and two, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Think you know your tennis ins and outs? Test yourself with our Wimbledon Wizard quiz!
If tennis terms like 'groundstroke' and 'seed' mean nothing to you, and you think Stella Artois is only ever a Belgium lager, do not fret, you are not alone. But like it or not, Wimbledon is on its way, and if nothing else, there are plenty of hot bods to look at and we'll even tell you a few Useful Tennis Things too over the next fortnight.
The Artois Championships
Stella Artois makes an annual contribution to sports by sponsoring the Queen's Club Championships, now dubbed the Artois Championships and held in West Kensington, London. This male-only event always takes place the week after the French Open and is an important lead-up to Wimbledon, tennis' main event.
This year's event was run over 9 - 15 June 2008 and won by Spanish star Rafael Nadal, who had walked off with the French Open title only the week before. Serbian Novak Djokovic ('The Djoker', a nickname we wonder might go out of style with Heath Ledger about to reinvent the Joker in upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight) fought hard to challenge his rival but finally conceded for a closing score of 7-6, 7-5 in Nadal's favour.
Tennis afficionados are now talking excitedly about grass and clay, two fairly mundane subjects which take on critical significance in the tennis world. The game is usually played on grass, clay or hardcourt, and each throws a unique set of variables into the play. This means that as with horses racing on a grass or dirt track, players tend to prefer and excel more on one surface than the others. Wimbledon is played on its famous grassed courts, as is Artois; young Nadal has now triumphed in gruelling matches on both grass and the clay of the French Open, proving his exceptional versatility.
Nadal's proficiency on the Artois green stuff is especially important right now, as his home turf has been historically recognised as clay, while the green stuff is the favoured surface of his legendary nemesis, Roger Federer.
Join us later this week for our review of the captivating rivalry between the tennis world numbers one and two, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Think you know your tennis ins and outs? Test yourself with our Wimbledon Wizard quiz!
