Category Archives: Sport

Drawing: Judd Trump

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Judd Trump

‘Mr Haircut’, ‘The Ace in the Pack’ and ‘Juddernaut’ are a few of snooker champion Judd Trump’s nicknames. The former Word Number 1 is also known for his flamboyant style played at a ferocious pace. He has compiled 375 century breaks during his professional career so far. In 2011, after finishing runner-up at the World Championsips, Judd went on to win the UK Championship. The following year he lost to Ronnie ‘The Rocket’ O’Sullivan in both the final of the Champion of Champions and the U.K. Championships, but beat him in the inaugural International Championship to become World Number 1, a position he has held twice.

Judd is a lefty, so to my horror I thought I had drawn him using his cue incorrectly. I looked a zillion photos and based this sketch on one that had him using the cue on the rest with his right hand. According to commentators, his natural game is left-handed but for some shots, particularly when using the rest he is right-handed. Apparently a number of snooker plays alternate depending on the difficulty of the shot. A new nickname comes to mind, ‘The Ambidextrous Ace’.

I’m not sure which hand he used to graph my sketch, but he did it at last year’s World Championships at The Crucible in Sheffield and returned it to me.

Drawing: Ilie Nastase

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Ilie Nastase

I had always wanted to meet Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase and naturally collect his autograph. An opportunity presented itself at this year’s ATP World Tour Finals in London’s 02 Arena last month. Nicknamed ‘Nasty’, he was anything but, in fact he was one of the nicest sportsmen I have met. Ilie was a special guest  of the ATP at this year’s event and as a four-time winner they had named a singles pool after him.

One of the most naturally gifted players in the history of the sport and known as a ‘tennis magician’ because of his ‘racket  sorcery’, he was also renowned for his ability to entertain. “l had a reputation for misbehaving on court, but I did it with humour and a smile.” he said. Ilie was one of the dominate players of the 1970’s rising to Number 1 in 1973.

He is one of only five players to have won more than 100 ATP professional titles including the French and US singles crowns and reached the Wimbledon final twice, losing to Stan Smith in a tight five-setter in 1972 (a match he considers his finest) and Bjorn Borg in 1976.

My two-pronged mission was to continue the arduous task of getting my World #1’s book graphed and if possible a sketch. I drew this one quickly and was going to do another with a bit more effort but ran out of time. Besides it had a ‘free energy’ about the lines which seemed appropriate given the subject. As a veteran of this annual year-ending event I knew the right spot to position myself and when he arrived on the final Saturday with his daughters he took the time to complete my mission… with humour and a smile.

Drawing: Roger Federer, The Fed

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Federer

Last but by no means least on my series from this week’s ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 Arena is the arguably the greatest player of all time, the one and only Roger Federer.

Although losing to Novak Djokovic in last night’s final, he did beat the World #1 three times this year, including a comprehensive victory in pool play at this year’s event. At 34 he shows no signs of slowing up ,in fact quite the opposite and will start the 2016 season in third spot, hoping to add to his record 17 Grand Slam titles.

Former World #1 Jimmy Connors summed up Roger’s status,”In an era of specialists, you either have a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist or a hard court specialist… or you’re Roger Federer.”

That’s enough about the great man, what about his weapon? He plays with a Wilson Prostaff RF97 Autograph, 97 square inch racquet with a 21.5 mm beam, weighing 360g with a 331 swing weight and 16 x 9 string pattern, strung with over grip. When I caught up with him at the O2 before last nights final, the uber-cool and relaxed, designer-stubbled Swiss superstar, the only part of the racquet specs he had with him was his autograph which he signed on this sketch for me.

Drawing: Stan’s Second Slam

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Stan Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka beat local hero Andy Murray to set up a semi final rematch with compatriot Roger Federer at this year’s season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. Both Swiss players played a close and tense semi last year and the same is expected today. Stan, who has officially changed his name from ‘Stanislas’ to the abbreviated form and currently ranked #4 in the world won his second Grand Slam title this year beating Novak Djokovic at the French Open, denying the World #1 a complete set of Slams in a calendar year.

I drew this sketch of him holding the French Open trophy, which is called La Coupe des Mousquetaires, that’s The Musketeers’ Trophy in Anglais. The original only appears once a year when the winner of the Men’s SIngles is announced. The victor does not get to keep it, but the Federation Francaise de Tennis presents them with a very nice, slightly smaller replica made from a sheet of silver, taking over 100 hours to make.

Stan also wore a distinctive pair of chequered shorts during the tournament which became a fashion statement and the topic of conversation when the play became less interesting. The ‘lucky’ shorts also benefited charity when auctioned off afterwards. I included them in my drawing which Stan signed and dedicated this week for me.

Drawing: Novak Djokovic Grand Slam montage

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Novak Djokovic Wimbledon

Despite his loss to Roger Federer in pool play this week at the ATP World Tour Finals, it has been another monumental year for Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic as he heads into his 174th week as the world’s #1 ranked player. He remains on track to win his fourth consecutive title, reaching this weekend’s semis at London’s O2 arena. As he did in 2011, Novak won three of this year’s Grand Slams, losing only to Stan Wawrinka at the French Open. He also won all bar one of the Masters 1000 titles, losing to Roger in Cincinnati and achieved a ranking points record.
I drew this montage of Novak holding the Wimbledon, Australian and US Open trophies. He’s always been very complimentary about my previous artwork so hopefully that would continue when I caught up with him at the O2 last Sunday. He was not only complimentary but also considerate, finding a space on the sketch to sign, adding a smiley face in a smaller sig in order not to “ruin the excellent drawing”.

Drawing: Rafa Nadal, The King of Clay

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Rafa Nadal

The ‘King of Clay’ Rafa Nadal produced his best performance of the year to beat Andy Murray yesterday at the ATP World Tour Finals in London and secure a semi-final spot.

After an indifferent season, returning from injury the Spanish supremo is looking like returning to the form that has won him 14 Grand Slam titles to date. Currently ranked #5 in the world, he is considered the greatest clay court player of all time because of his dominance on the surface.

Always taking time for his fans, Rafa has signed a few sketches for me. This drawing celebrates his unprecedented nine French Open victories, which I managed to get signed on Sunday at the O2. I was particularly pleased because it is his ‘full’ signature which includes the ‘r nadal’ underneath and a nice dedication.

Drawing: Andy Murray

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Andy Murray

Win his match today against Rafa Nadal at the ATP World Tour Finals in London and British tennis ace Andy Murray will guarantee a year-end number 2 ranking and almost certainly book a semi-final spot.This all means that he will not be able to leave before Saturday evening or Sunday if he makes the Final. Why is this significant? Because he happens to have a Davis Cup Final against Belgium at the Flanders Expo in Ghent five days later, which will be played on clay and not the hard-court surface at the O2. Obviously having more time to practice on the ‘red dirt’ would be advantageous but I guess he’ll see plenty of it since he is likely to play on all three days of the premier international men’s teams event in order to win his first Davis Cup and Britain’s first since 1936. He trails Rafa 15-6 in the head-to head over eight years, but did beat him on the Spaniard’s favoured clay in Madrid in their only match this year. Their 2010  three-set semi was a real cracker with Rafa winning on the close final set tie-break. Given the one-sided matches at the Finals this year, which one sports writer called a ‘lingering malaise’, everyone’s hoping for a repeat of their match five years ago. Andy signed this sketch for me on his way into the O2 to practice last Saturday.

Drawing: Richard Gasquet

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Richard Gasquet

It’s been a good year for Richard Gasquet. France’s top tennis player is currently number 9 in the world rankings with one of his highlights, reaching the semi-finals at this year’s Wimbledon Championships. While known as an all-court player with some crafty drop shots, it is his single-handed backhand that is his signature shot.

Graceful, efficient and effective, it is considered one of the best ever. While not in the main draw at this week’s ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 in London, Richard is the first alternate and is at the event in case one of the top 8 are injured. For a few seconds the friendly Frenchman used his classy right hand to write a signature shot on my sketch.

Drawing: John Isner

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John Isner

American tennis star John Isner is one of the biggest names in the game. Standing at 2.08 metres, that’s nearly 7 foot in old money and a massive serve, recorded at over 241 km/h is BIG by anyone’s definitions.

My annual pilgrimage to London’s O2 for the ATP World Tour Finals had extra purpose this year. I was after John to sign this sketch commemorating one of the great matches in tennis history. At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships he defeated NIcolas Mahut in a five-setter that lasted 11 hours 5 minutes over 2 days in the longest professional match ever. John managed to win the final set 70-68 to end the gruelling marathon. I was very keen to see him secure a place at the year-end event that involves the top eight men’s players plus two alternates. John was ranked at number 11.

Astute arithmetic exponents will deduce that he misses out. However I was grateful to Frenchman Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, who, ranked at number 10 declined the second alternate slot, and John accepted.

I popped down to the O2 yesterday and it wasn’t difficult to spot him. I even managed to get Nicolas Mahut’s graph to complete the set.

Drawing: Na Yeon Choi

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na yeon choi

Continuing my sketches of South Korean outstanding women golfers is Na Yeon Choi.

The 28 year old is currently ranked 18th in the world and won the 2012 US Open – her first major championship. She was also runner up in the British Open the following year. She signed my sketch at this year’s event at Turnery in Scotland.