Andy: No Grand designs, just get fit
Forget the trophies... crocked Murray just desperate to return
UWS SIRENS made an impressive debut in the Vitality Netball Superleague last season, finishing in sixth position and beating some of the top teams in the league along the way.
However, Scotland’s sole representatives in the UK-wide league were not satisfied with finishing outside of the top four positions and immediately set their sights on improving in the 2018 season, which begins in February.
The team’s ambition has been illustrated by their new signings, most notably England international, Sara Bayman, who has over 80 England caps to her name. The 32 year-old from Wigan has a wealth of experience at the very top of her sport, including captaining another of the Superleague teams, Manchester Thunder two seasons ago before moving to New Zealand to ply her trade last year.
However, despite Sirens being only a year old, Bayman liked what she saw. “I think people were a little bit surprised when I signed for Sirens,” she said. “But I believe that Sirens will be really competitive. There was another part of it, though... I wanted a new challenge. I wanted to do something whereby at the end of the season, there’s been something more to it than purely what we do on court and I feel like Sirens have that.”
The off-court activities to which Bayman refers
ANDY Murray has revealed his wish to simply return to full fitness currently trumps winning further grand slam titles after a year blighted by injury.
Murray was primed to add to his haul of three majors after starting 2017 as world number one, but indifferent results in Australia and France were followed by a hip complaint that has sidelined him since his are the numerous programmes, including Sirens for Success, that the Scottish franchise deliver in an attempt to increase the number of people playing netball, as well as increase the profile of women’s sport.
The Englishwoman admits that it was this was a significant factor in her signing on the dotted line. “One of the most exciting things for me was Sirens are really are pushing the boundaries in netball – they’re trying to bring it to the masses and are trying to engage with the community so as an athlete who is coming towards the end of my career, I wanted to do something more than just turn up and play and I felt like this was a really good challenge for me.”
Sirens are in the midst of pre-season and while it is, she says, still too early to set any specific targets for the team, she feels positive the increased depth of the squad, coupled with the experience the players gained from the team’s maiden season, stands them in good stead.
“I’ve got to say that I’m optimistic,” she reveals. “I’m excited about the season and I know that the girls were disappointed with where they finished last season – that’s a good thing because it shows the aspirations of the team.
“There’ll be no fear of any other teams this year – the players who were here in the first season go into 2018 with their eyes wide open knowing that we’re good enough to beat any team out there.” quarter-final exit at Wimbledon in July.
The 30-year-old has slumped to 16th in the rankings and once again split with coach Ivan Lendl, but says his absence from competitive action has allowed him to rediscover his love for the sport and forced a shift in priorities.
He told Sky Sports: “When I was fit and healthy last year you think about winning all the major events, getting to number one and winning every competition you’re in, that’s what really drives you.
“When you miss four or five months – and there’s been a bit of uncertainty about my hip and stuff and I missed the US Open and I almost missed Wimbledon as well – the goals change and I remember now how much I just love playing tennis.
“It isn’t about winning every match that I play in the future or winning more slams, I just want to get back to playing tennis. I want to be fit and healthy again and that’s what’s driving me just now, that’s my goal, and I’m hoping that next year I get back to that.”
However, the hope of adding to his two Wimbledon titles and one US Open crown will still be a significant motivating factor, with his place in the rankings taking a back seat.
He added: “The major competitions are the ones that drive me more than the rank- ing. I want to compete - it was tough for me basically limping out of Wimbledon at the end.
“I want to be competing hard and trying to win the Australian Open in January and the (other) grand slams. That is ultimately what I want to be doing but first and foremost I need to get healthy.
“I was pretty unhealthy for most of this year and I am get- ting there but it is a slow process.”
A specific timetable for Murray’s return has yet to be officially confirmed but the British number one said i n November he hoped to feature at the Brisbane International, starting on December 31, ahead of January’s Australian Open.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is relishing his return to tennis after being out of the game for nearly six months.
The 12-time Grand Slam winner has not played since abandoning his Wimbledon quarter-final against Tomas Berdych in July.
Djokovic did not pick up a racket for almost four and a half months after having surgery on his right elbow.
But the 30-year-old Serb will return to action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi - little more than two weeks before the first Grand Slam of 2018, the Australian Open, gets under way.
“It’s been a real roller-coaster ride for me for a year and a half with this issue,” Djokovic said in an interview with Sport360 in Abu Dhabi.
“I’ve never had surgery in my life, I’ve never had any major injuries that kept me away from the tour for such a long time. Never missed a grand slam in my professional career. It was a big decision, a big call to make.”