The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham news and links for Monday, July 11

good morning! how could you not recognise totenham’s very own josh keeley?

Well, that was an interesting Wimbledon. For all the celebration surrounding Centre Court’s 100th anniversary, I think it was a rather forgettable one.

First - no Russians or Belarusians were permitted to play. Politics notwithstanding, it immediately watered down the competition when the top-ranked male and sixth-ranked female couldn’t play. Then the tournament doubles down and decides to award no points, destroying the chances of dozens of players to make it into other tournaments.

Take Tatjana Maria, Wimbledon semifinalist. Instead of jumping into the top 40, she will remain right around 100 in the world. Meaning: she will have to go through qualifiers for the rest of the calendar year. And Novak Djokovic, men’s champion and undisputed best player in the world, will be #7 on Monday. Ridiculous.

Because of that, there wasn’t a whole lot that we learned from this tournament. Djokovic will finish with more major titles than Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Nick Kyrgios frustratingly gets in the way of his own success. And women’s tennis remains a crapshoot.

Elena Rybakina is a very good player. She’s a powerful baseline player with a big serve and a big forehand. And I’m not too surprised that she won the tournament. She was tearing up the tour before the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s just a shame she won’t be inside the Top 10 in the world after her title.

As for Ons Jabeur, Wimbledon runner-up, I hope the world saw how wonderful it is to watch her play. Not many on either tour have the variety of gameplay that she has. Unfortunately, the moment on Centre Court seemed to overwhelm her in the second and third sets.

Which brings us to Kyrgios, who was in such control of himself for 13 days. He has a huge serve, a gorgeous backhand and a devastating if inconsistent forehand. But on Sunday he lost his composure. He isn’t the first to snap but unlike champions, he wasn’t able to move on to the next point. And that haunted him.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Devil’s Blues, by Charles Mingus

And now for your links:

Wayne Rooney reportedly ‘open’ to managing DC United

The Athletic ($$) on Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United’s week

Hull City sign Jean Michael Seri