01 June, 2013

Playing Fair


As often happens at big events such as Roland Garros, the story is often simmering below the money quotes.  What we all heard yesterday was seven time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal complaining that his opponent scored an unfair advantage when officials scheduled his second round match on Thursday latest than that of his future opponent, Fabio Fognini.  Nadal's profile ensures that the press will run with the quotes ruefully filed out to the press.  .... "You think this is fair.  I tell you this is not fair," opined the Spaniard.  In fact, the fairest thing might be that it was happening to a top player for a change.  Sport is the world's purest meritocracy, except when it just quite isn't.