#WHERE DO THEY PUT THE MASTERY DOOR??? ANDY LIVES THERE

[seafoam-taide]

when is long enough for me to reinstall my major expansion mods to stardew valley without them being very annoyingly incongruent with the update bc I miss sdv expanded so much it is unreal

[mattbrothersscriptwriter]

My Top 20 Films of 2019 - Part Two

I don’t think I’ve had a year where my top ten jostled and shifted as much as this one did - these really are the best of the best and my personal favourites of 2019.

10. Toy Story 4

I think we can all agree that Toy Story 3 was a pretty much perfect conclusion to a perfect trilogy right? About as close as is likely to get, I’m sure. I shared the same trepidation when part four was announced, especially after some underwhelming sequels like Finding Dory and Cars 3 (though I do have a lot of time for Monsters University and Incredibles 2). So maybe it’s because the odds were so stacked against this being good but I thought it was wonderful. A truly existential nightmare of an epilogue that does away with Andy (and mostly kids altogether) to focus on the dreams and desires of the toys themselves - separate from their ‘duties’ as playthings to biological Gods. What is their purpose in life without an owner? Can they be their own person and carve their own path? In the case of breakout new character Forky (Tony Hale), what IS life? Big big questions for a cash grab kids films huh?

The animation is somehow yet another huge leap forward (that opening rainstorm!), Bo Peep’s return is excellently pitched and the series tradition of being unnervingly horrifying is back as well thanks to those creepy ventriloquist dolls! Keanu Reeves continues his ‘Keanuassaince‘ as the hilarious Duke Caboom and this time, hopefully, the ending at least feels finite. This series means so much to me: I think the first movie is possibly the tightest, most perfect script ever written, the third is one of my favourites of the decade and growing up with the franchise (I was 9 when the first came out, 13 for part two, 24 for part three and now 32 for this one), these characters are like old friends so of course it was great to see them again. All this film had to do was be good enough to justify its existence and while there are certainly those out there that don’t believe this one managed it, I think the fact that it went as far as it did showed that Pixar are still capable of pushing boundaries and exploring infinity and beyond when they really put their minds to it.

9. The Nightingale

Hoo boy. Already controversial with talk of mass walkouts (I witnessed a few when this screened at Sundance London), it’s not hard to see why but easy to understand. Jennifer Kent (The Babadook) is a truly fearless filmmaker following up her acclaimed suburban horror movie come grief allegory with a period revenge tale set in the Tasmanian wilderness during British colonial rule in the early 1800s. It’s rare to see the British depicted with the monstrous brutality for which they were known in the distant colonies and this unflinching drama sorely needed an Australian voice behind the camera to do it justice.

The film is front loaded with some genuinely upsetting, nasty scenes of cruel violence but its uncensored brutality and the almost casual nature of its depiction is entirely the point - this was normalised behaviour over there and by treating it so matter of factly, it doesn’t slip into gratuitous ‘movie violence’. It is what it is. And what it is is hard to watch. If anything, as Kent has often stated, it’s still toned down from the actual atrocities that occurred so it’s a delicate balance that I think Kent more than understands. Quoting from an excellent Vanity Fair interview she did about how she directs, Kent said “I think audiences have become very anaesthetised to violence on screen and it’s something I find disturbing... People say ‘these scenes are so shocking and disturbing’. Of course they are. We need to feel that. When we become so removed from violence on screen, this is a very irresponsible thing. So I wanted to put us right within the frame with that person experiencing the loss of everything they hold dear”. 

Aisling Franciosi is next level here as a woman who has her whole life torn from her, leaving her as nothing but a raging husk out for vengeance. It would be so easy to fall into odd couple tropes once she teams up with reluctant native tracker Billy (an equally impressive newcomer, Baykali Ganambarr) but the film continues to stay true to the harsh racism of the era, unafraid to depict our heroine - our point of sympathy - as horrendously racist towards her own ally. Their partnership is not easily solidified but that makes it all the stronger when they star to trust each other. Sam Claflin is also career best here, weaponizing his usual charm into dangerous menace and even after cementing himself as the year’s most evil villain, he can still draw out the humanity in such a broken and corrupt man.

Gorgeously shot in the Academy ratio, the forest landscape here is oppressive and claustrophobic. Kent also steps back into her horror roots with some mesmerising, skin crawling dream scenes that amplify the woozy nightmarish tone and overbearing sense of dread. Once seen, never forgotten, this is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea (and that’s fine) but when cinema can affect you on such a visceral level and be this powerful, reflective and honest about our own past, it’s hard to ignore. Stunning.

8. The Irishman

Aka Martin Scorsese’s magnum opus, I did manage to see this one in a cinema before the Netflix drop and absolutely loved it. I’ve watched 85 minute long movies that felt longer than this - Marty’s mastery of pace, energy and knowing when to let things play out in agonising detail is second to none. This epic tale of  the life of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) really is the cinematic equivalent of having your cake and eating it too, allowing Scorsese to run through a greatest hits victory lap of mobster set pieces, alpha male arguments, a decades spanning life story and one (last?) truly great Joe Pesci performance before simply letting the story... continue... to a natural, depressing and tragic ending, reflecting the emptiness of a life built on violence and crime.

For a film this long, it’s impressive how much the smallest details make the biggest impacts. A stammering phone call from a man emotionally incapable of offering any sort of condolence. The cold refusal of forgiveness from a once loving daughter. A simple mirroring of a bowl of cereal or a door left slightly ajar. These are the parts of life that haunt us all and it’s what we notice the most in a deliberately lengthy biopic that shows how much these things matter when everything else is said and done. The violence explodes in sudden, sharp bursts, often capping off unbearably tense sequences filled with the everyday (a car ride, a conversation about fish, ice cream...) and this contrast between the whizz bang of classic Scorsese and the contemplative nature of Silence era Scorsese is what makes this film feel like such an accomplishment. De Niro is FINALLY back but it’s the memorably against type role for Pesci and an invigorated Al Pacino who steals this one, along with a roll call of fantastic cameos, with perhaps the most screentime given to the wonderfully petty Stephen Graham as Tony Pro, not to mention Anna Paquin’s near silent performance which says more than possibly anyone else. 

Yes, the CG de-aging is misguided at best, distracting at worst (I never really knew how old anyone was meant to be at any given time... which is kinda a problem) but like how you get used to it really quickly when it’s used well, here I kinda got past it being bad in an equally fast amount of time and just went with it. Would it have been a different beast had they cast younger actors to play them in the past? Undoubtedly. But if this gives us over three hours of Hollywood’s finest giving it their all for the last real time together, then that’s a compromise I can live with.

7. The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Wow. I was in love with this film from the moving first trailer but then the film itself surpassed all expectations. This is a true indie film success story, with lead actor Jimmie Fails developing the idea with director Joe Talbot for years before Kickstarting a proof of concept and eventually getting into Sundance with short film American Paradise, which led to the backing of this debut feature through Plan B and A24. The deeply personal and poetic drama follows a fictionalised version of Jimmie, trying to buy back an old Victorian town house he claims was built by his grandfather, in an act of rebellion against the increasingly gentrified San Francisco that both he and director Talbot call home.

The film is many things - a story of male friendship, of solidarity within our community, of how our cities can change right from underneath us - it moves to the beat of it’s own drum, with painterly cinematography full of gorgeous autumnal colours and my favourite score of the year from Emile Mosseri. The performances, mostly by newcomers or locals outside of brilliant turns from Jonathan Majors, Danny Glover and Thora Birch, are wonderful and the whole thing is such a beautiful love letter to the city that it makes you ache for a strong sense of place in your own home, even if your relationship with it is fractured or strained. As Jimmie says, “you’re not allowed to hate it unless you love it”.

For me, last year’s Blindspotting (my favourite film of the year) tackled gentrification within California more succinctly but this much more lyrical piece of work ebbs and flows through a number of themes like identity, family, memory and time. It’s a big film living inside a small, personal one and it is not to be overlooked.

6. Little Women

I had neither read the book nor seen any prior adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel so to me, this is by default the definitive telling of this story. If from what I hear, the non linear structure is Greta Gerwig’s addition, then it’s a total slam dunk. It works so well in breaking up the narrative and by jumping from past to present, her screenplay highlights certain moments and decisions with a palpable sense of irony, emotional weight or knowing wink. Getting to see a statement made with sincere conviction and then paid off within seconds, can be both a joy and a surefire recipe for tears. Whether it’s the devastating contrast between scenes centred around Beth’s illness or the juxtaposition of character’s attitudes to one another, it’s a massive triumph. Watching Amy angrily tell Laurie how she’s been in love with him all her life and then cutting back to her childishly making a plaster cast of her foot for him (’to remind him how small her feet are’) is so funny. 

Gerwig and her impeccable cast bring an electric energy to the period setting, capturing the big, messy realities of family life with a mix of overwhelming cross-chatter and the smallest of intimate gestures. It’s a testament to the film that every sister feels fully serviced and represented, from Beth’s quiet strength to Amy’s unforgivable sibling rivalry. Chris Cooper’s turn as a stoic man suffering almost imperceptible grief is a personal heartbreaking favourite. 

The book’s (I’m assuming) most sweeping romantic statements are wonderfully delivered, full of urgent passion and relatable heartache, from Marmie’s (Laura Dern) “I’m angry nearly every day of my life” moment to Jo’s (Saoirse Ronan) painful defiance of feminine attributes not being enough to cure her loneliness. The sheer amount of heart and warmth in this is just remarkable and I can easily see it being a film I return to again and again.

5. Booksmart

2019 has been a banner year for female directors, making their exclusion from some of the early awards conversations all the more damning. From this list alone, we have Lulu Wang, Jennifer Kent and Greta Gerwig. Not to mention Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers), Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe (Greener Grass), Sophie Hyde (Animals) and Rose Glass (Saint Maud - watch out for THIS one in 2020, it’s brilliant). Perhaps the most natural transition from in front of to behind the camera has been made by Olivia Wilde, who has created a borderline perfect teen comedy that can make you laugh till you cry, cry till you laugh and everything in-between.

Subverting the (usually male focused) ‘one last party before college’ tropes that fuel the likes of Superbad and it’s many inferior imitators, Booksmart follows two overachievers who, rather than go on a coming of age journey to get some booze or get laid, simply want to indulge in an insane night of teenage freedom after realising that all of the ‘cool kids’ who they assumed were dropouts, also managed to get a place in all of the big universities. It’s a subtly clever remix of an old favourite from the get go but the committed performances from Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein put you firmly in their shoes for the whole ride. 

It’s a genuine blast, with big laughs and a bigger heart, portraying a supportive female friendship that doesn’t rely on hokey contrivances to tear them apart, meaning that when certain repressed feelings do come to the surface, the fallout is heartbreaking. As I stated in a twitter rave after first seeing it back in May, every single character, no matter how much they might appear to be simply representing a stock role or genre trope, gets their moment to be humanised. This is an impeccably cast ensemble of young unknowns who constantly surprise and the script is a marvel - a watertight structure without a beat out of place, callbacks and payoffs to throwaway gags circle back to be hugely important and most of all, the approach taken to sexuality and representation feels so natural. I really think it is destined to be looked back on and represent 2019 the way Heathers does ‘88, Clueless ‘95 or Easy A 2010. A new high benchmark for crowd pleasing, indie comedy - teen or otherwise.

4. Ad Astra

Brad Pitt is one of my favourite actors and one who, despite still being a huge A-lister even after 30 years in the game, never seems to get enough credit for the choices he makes, the movies he stars in and also the range of stories he helps produce through his company, Plan B. 2019 was something of a comeback year for Pitt as an actor with the insanely measured and controlled lead performance seen here in Ad Astra and the more charismatic and chaotic supporting role in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.

I love space movies, especially those that are more about broken people blasting themselves into the unknown to search for answers within themselves... which manages to sum up a lot of recent output in this weirdly specific sub-genre. First Man was a devastating look at grief characterised by a man who would rather go to a desolate rock than have to confront what he lost, all while being packaged as a heroic biopic with a stunning score. Gravity and The Martian both find their protagonists forced to rely on their own cunning and ingenuity to survive and Interstellar looked at the lengths we go to for those we love left behind. Smaller, arty character studies like High Life or Moon are also astounding. All of this is to say that Ad Astra takes these concepts and runs with them, challenging Pitt to cross the solar system to talk some sense into his long thought dead father (Tommy Lee Jones). But within all the ‘sad dad’ stuff, there’s another film in here just daring you to try and second guess it - one that kicks things off with a terrifying free fall from space, gives us a Mad Max style buggy chase on the moon and sidesteps into horror for one particular set-piece involving a rabid baboon in zero G! It manages to feel so completely nuts, so episodic in structure, that I understand why a lot of people were turned off - feeling that the overall film was too scattershot to land the drama or too pondering to have any fun with. I get the criticisms but for me, both elements worked in tandem, propelling Pitt on this (assumed) one way journey at a crazy pace whilst sitting back and languishing in the ‘bigger themes’ more associated with a Malik or Kubrick film. Something that Pitt can sell me on in his sleep by this point.

I loved the visuals from cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (Interstellar), loved the imagination and flair of the script from director James Gray and Ethan Gross and loved the score by Max Richter (with Lorne Balfe and Nils Frahm) but most of all, loved Pitt, proving that sometimes a lot less, is a lot more. The sting of hearing the one thing he surely knew (but hoped he wouldn’t) be destined to hear from his absent father, acted almost entirely in his eyes during a third act confrontation, summed up the movie’s brilliance for me - so much so that I can forgive some of the more outlandish ‘Mr Hyde’ moments of this thing’s alter ego... like, say, riding a piece of damaged hull like a surfboard through a meteor debris field! 

3. Avengers: Endgame

It’s no secret that I think Marvel, the MCU in particular, have been going from strength to strength in recent years, slowly but surely taking bigger risks with filmmakers (the bonkers Taika Waititi, the indie darlings of Ryan Coogler, Cate Shortland and Chloe Zhao) whilst also carefully crafting an entertaining, interconnected universe of characters and stories. But what is the point of building up any movie ‘universe’ if you’re not going to pay it off and Endgame is perhaps the strongest conclusion to eleven years of movie sequels that fans could have possibly hoped for.

Going into this thing, the hype was off the charts (and for good reason, with it now being the highest grossing film of all time) but I remember souring on the first entry of this two-parter, Infinity War, during the time between initial release and Endgame’s premiere. That film had a game-changing climax, killing off half the heroes (and indeed the universe’s population) and letting the credits role on the villain having achieved his ultimate goal. It was daring, especially for a mammoth summer blockbuster but obviously, we all knew the deaths would never be permanent, especially with so many already-announced sequels for now ‘dusted’ characters. However, it wasn’t just the feeling that everything would inevitably be alright in the end. For me, the characters themselves felt hugely under-serviced, with arguably the franchise’s main goody two shoes Captain America being little more than a beardy bloke who showed up to fight a little bit. Basically what I’m getting at is that I felt Endgame, perhaps emboldened by the giant runtime, managed to not only address these character slights but ALSO managed to deliver the most action packed, comic booky, ‘bashing your toys together’ final fight as well.

It’s a film of three parts, each pretty much broken up into one hour sections. There’s the genuinely new and interesting initial section following our heroes dealing with the fact that they lost... and it stuck. Thor angrily kills Thanos within the first fifteen minutes but it’s a meaningless action by this point - empty revenge. Cutting to five years later, we get to see how defeat has affected them, for better or worse, trying to come to terms with grief and acceptance. Cap tries to help the everyman, Black Widow is out leading an intergalactic mop up squad and Thor is wallowing in a depressive black hole. It’s a shocking and vibrantly compelling deconstruction of the whole superhero thing and it gives the actors some real meat to chew on, especially Robert Downy Jr here who goes from being utterly broken to fighting within himself to do the right thing despite now having a daughter he doesn’t want to lose too. Part two is the trip down memory lane, fan service-y time heist which is possibly the most fun section of any of these movies, paying tribute to the franchise’s past whilst teetering on a knife’s edge trying to pull off a genuine ‘mission impossible’. And then it explodes into the extended finale which pays everyone off, demonstrates some brilliantly imaginative action and sticks the landing better than it had any right to. In a year which saw the ending of a handful of massive geek properties, from Game of Thrones to Star Wars, it’s a miracle even one of them got it right at all. That Endgame managed to get it SO right is an extraordinary accomplishment and if anything, I think Marvel may have shot themselves in the foot as it’s hard to imagine anything they can give us in the future having the intense emotional weight and momentum of this huge finale.

2. Knives Out

Rian Johnson has been having a ball leaping into genre sandpits and stirring shit up, from his teen spin on noir in Brick to his quirky con man caper with The Brothers Bloom, his time travel thriller Looper and even his approach to the Star Wars mythos in The Last Jedi. Turning his attention to the relatively dead ‘whodunnit’ genre, Knives Out is a perfect example of how to celebrate everything that excites you about a genre whilst weaponizing it’s tropes against your audience’s baggage and preconceptions.

An impeccable cast have the time of their lives here, revelling in playing self obsessed narcissists who scramble to punt the blame around when the family’s patriarch, a successful crime novelist (Christopher Plummer), winds up dead. Of course there’s something fishy going on so Daniel Craig’s brilliantly dry southern detective Benoit Blanc is called in to investigate.There are plenty of standouts here, from Don Johnson’s ignorant alpha wannabe Richard to Michael Shannon’s ferocious eldest son Walt to Chris Evan’s sweater wearing jock Ransom, full of unchecked, white privilege swagger. But the surprise was the wholly sympathetic, meek, vomit prone Marta, played brilliantly by Ana de Armas, cast against her usual type of sultry bombshell (Knock Knock, Blade Runner 2049), to spearhead the biggest shake up of the genre conventions. To go into more detail would begin to tread into spoiler territory but by flipping the audience’s engagement with the detective, we’re suddenly on the receiving end of the scrutiny and the tension derived from this switcheroo is genius and opens up the second act of the story immensely.

The whole thing is so lovingly crafted and the script is one of the tightest I’ve seen in years. The amount of setup and payoff here is staggering and never not hugely satisfying, especially as it heads into it’s final stretch. It really gives you some hope that you could have such a dense, plotty, character driven idea for a story and that it could survive the transition from page to screen intact and for the finished product to work as well as it does. I really hope Johnson returns to tell another Benoit Blanc mystery and judging by the roaring box office success (currently over $200 million worldwide for a non IP original), I certainly believe he will.

1. Eighth Grade

My film of the year is another example of the power of cinema to put us in other people’s shoes and to discover the traits, fears, joys and insecurities that we all share irregardless. It may shock you to learn this but I have never been a 13 year old teenage girl trying to get by in the modern world of social media peer pressure and ‘influencer’ culture whilst crippled with personal anxiety. My school days almost literally could not have looked more different than this (less Instagram, more POGs) and yet, this is a film about struggling with oneself, with loneliness, with wanting more but not knowing how to get it without changing yourself and the careless way we treat those with our best interests at heart in our selfish attempt to impress peers and fit in. That is understandable. That is universal. And as I’m sure I’ve said a bunch of times in this list, movies that present the most specific worldview whilst tapping into universal themes are the ones that inevitably resonate the most.

Youtuber and comedian Bo Burnham has crafted an impeccable debut feature, somehow portraying a generation of teens at least a couple of generations below his own, with such laser focused insight and intimate detail. It’s no accident that this film has often been called a sort of social-horror, with cringe levels off the charts and recognisable trappings of anxiety and depression in every frame. The film’s style services this feeling at every turn, from it’s long takes and nauseous handheld camerawork to the sensory overload in it’s score (take a bow Anna Meredith) and the naturalistic performances from all involved. Burnham struck gold when he found Elsie Fisher, delivering the most painful and effortlessly real portrayal of a tweenager in crisis as Kayla. The way she glances around skittishly, the way she is completely lost in her phone, the way she talks, even the way she breathes all feeds into the illusion - the film is oftentimes less a studio style teen comedy and more a fly on the wall documentary. 

This is a film that could have coasted on being a distant, social media based cousin to more standard fare like Sex Drive or Superbad or even Easy A but it goes much deeper, unafraid to let you lower your guard and suddenly hit you with the most terrifying scene of casually attempted sexual aggression or let you watch this pure, kindhearted girl falter and question herself in ways she shouldn’t even have to worry about. And at it’s core, there is another beautiful father/daughter relationship, with Josh Hamilton stuck on the outside looking in, desperate to help Kayla with every fibre of his being but knowing there are certain things she has to figure out for herself. It absolutely had me and their scene around a backyard campfire is one of the year’s most touching.

This is a truly remarkable film that I think everyone should seek out but I’m especially excited for all the actual teenage girls who will get to watch this and feel seen. This isn’t about the popular kid, it isn’t about the dork who hangs out with his or her own band of misfits. This is about the true loner, that person trying everything to get noticed and still ending up invisible, that person trying to connect through the most disconnected means there is - the internet - and everything that comes with it. Learning that the version of yourself you ‘portray’ on a Youtube channel may act like they have all the answers but if you’re kidding yourself then how do you grow? 

When I saw this in the cinema, I watched a mother take her seat with her two daughters, aged probably at around nine and twelve. Possibly a touch young for this, I thought, and I admit I cringed a bit on their behalf during some very adult trailers but in the end, I’m glad their mum decided they were mature enough to see this because a) they had a total blast and b) life simply IS R rated for the most part, especially during our school years, and those girls being able to see someone like Kayla have her story told on the big screen felt like a huge win. I honestly can’t wait to see what Burnham or Fisher decide to do next. 2019 has absolutely been their year... and it’s been a hell of a year.

[your-dietician]

British 18-year-old debutant Emma Raducanu beats Marketa Vondrousova to reach Wimbledon third round

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/sports/british-18-year-old-debutant-emma-raducanu-beats-marketa-vondrousova-to-reach-wimbledon-third-round/

British 18-year-old debutant Emma Raducanu beats Marketa Vondrousova to reach Wimbledon third round

Wimbledon debutant Emma Raducanu knocks out Marketa Vondrousova to reach third round – GETTY IMAGES

A new star is among us. Move over Sir Andy, there is another Brit clamouring for a share of the Wimbledon headlines and the former men’s champion would be the first to salute the magnificent achievement of 18-year-old wildcard debutant Emma Raducanu making a mockery of form and status in defeating Marketa Vondrousova 6-2, 6-4, a player ranked 296 places above her to go through to the third round, the lone British woman flag-bearer.

And she will fulfil that honour with nerve and gusto as well as the occasional cheery smile as was seen flashing across her face during her one hour and 12 minutes out on court, toppling to the turf in exultation at the finish as well she might.

Two months ago Raducanu was sitting her A-levels, unknown and unheralded. Those days of anonymity are gone. This was her sporting matriculation. From sixth-former to prodigy in the spotlight. The wheel is turning and Raducanu is enjoying the ride as well she might given that her hobbies include go-karting and motocross. As with tennis, so with her life, multi-layered.

She was asked afterwards if she would rather A* in her exams or round four.

“That would have to be round four,” laughed Raducanu. “It feels quite incredible, like as if I’m on a holiday and I want to stay here as long as I can. I’ve got high standards of myself and go out there feeling as if I’ve got nothing to lose. I play every point as if it were to be my last at Wimbledon. This is my opportunity to show that I’m here. I’m so appreciative of the support and I want to do everyone proud. I’m trying to make the most of it.”

She had wandered onto court in the watery early evening sunshine on her own, giving a self-conscious wave to the scattering of fans who had gathered on Court 12, a late switch of courts from No 18 so as to ensure that the game got played. As she waited for a few minutes for her opponent to appear she sat in her chair all alone, ear-buds in, a study in nonchalance.

As Coco Gauff has shown, it is up to us to get used to precocity, not the other way around. These are youngsters, self-evidently, but they are here on merit. Even if Raducanu benefitted from a wildcard, it was her prowess that got her to that point, not nepotism. Appearances only matter out in the middle and Raducanu’s body language was positive, even affording herself a rueful smile as she leathered the first point way over the baseline from the back of court. At least she was up for the fight. And it soon showed, Raducanu securing an early break of serve in the third game with a delightful whipped cross-court forehand.

Story continues

There was nothing flighty or naïve in Raducanu’s game. If you knew nothing of the CVs of the two players, you would have assumed that the British player was the higher ranked and more experienced. She dictated play, pounding shots, dinking others, showing the nerve of a veteran. The opening game went to Vondrousova on serve, an unsurprising state of affairs given that the Czech is ranked 42 in the world and has been as high as 14.

But that was pretty much it for the 22 year-old, a bracing, serve-breaking start to the second set apart but Raducanu dealt with that too, scrapping to overcome that 0-3 deficit.

The early nerves didn’t last long. Rudacanu survived a couple of break points in her first service game but fought to hold, levelling at 1-1, the first of five games in a row that she took. It was supremely impressive stuff, a young talent with faith in her ability and the strength of character to put it all out there. Why should we be surprised given the exploits of the likes of teenagers Jadon Sancho or Jude Bellingham in England football colours? At this rate it won’t be long before Raducanu is operating at a similar commercial level to the footballers.

Emma Raducanu leaves the court after her victory – PA

Her season’s prize money coming into this tournament was barely into four figures although she does benefit from LTA support. Winning through to the third round guarantees her £115,000. Wimbledon was probably also echoing last night to the sound of agents and sponsors beating a path to her door.

Saturday’s likely showcourt contest with another surprise winner, Sorana Cirstea of Romania, who knocked out two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka, will be a far more public affair.

There will be no clash of loyalties for her Romanian father who moved his Toronto-born daughter and Chinese wife to London when Emma was aged two. It was a shrewd move. Prepare to cheer Raducanu to the rafters.

Vacuum at summit of women’s tennis crying out to be filled

By Oliver Brown

World No 1 Ash Barty is forced to work hard for her victory – SHUTTERSTOCK

Ashleigh Barty is a world No 1 yet to reach a Wimbledon quarter-final, and one who toiled here to vanquish a Russian Centre Court debutant better known for her chess prowess. Aryna Sabalenka is a No 2 seed making her maiden third-round appearance on these lawns, having struggled to overcome a British wildcard. In just four days, six of the top 10 seeds have been scattered to the wind, sparking no little concern about what life after Serena Williams will look like.

This state of flux was in stark evidence at last month’s French Open, where Barbora Krejcikova, once known primarily as a doubles specialist, was the last woman standing. It is becoming a recurrent theme at Wimbledon, too, with Williams’ withdrawal through injury, allied to the absences of Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep, producing arguably the most open draw in living memory. Barty, long mentored by Evonne Goolagong Cawley, the last ladies’ champion from Australia, will never have a better chance to end her country’s 41-year wait for a repeat.

She is the most deferential of proteges, wearing a scallop dress to honour the outfit chosen by Goolagong for her first Wimbledon triumph half a century ago. The two also share indigenous heritage, with Goolagong a celebrated trailblazer for her remote Aboriginal community and Barty tracing roots to the Ngarigo people of New South Wales through her father, Robert.

There, perhaps, the similarities end. Where Goolagong was famously outgoing by nature, dubbed by Londoners as the “Sunshine Supergirl”, Barty is an instinctive introvert, betraying negligible emotion on court and even less off it. Her fellow Australians adore her for her lack of pretension, but she shows limited warmth in post-match interviews, using the royal “we” to describe her performances and leaning on phrases that belong more in a self-help manual. Twice this week she has spoken of “going out there and putting your dreams out to the universe”.

Barty has held her sport’s No 1 spot for two years, a reflection both of her surprise French Open title in 2019 and of a decision by the women’s tour to freeze the rankings once the pandemic struck. But she scarcely looked like the alpha female against Anna Blinkova, the precocious Muscovite renowned also for her chess skill and her mastery of six languages. During an error-strewn 6-4, 6-3 win, she committed 33 unforced errors and nine double faults, raising doubt as to whether the hip injury she sustained at Roland Garros had fully healed.

“A few things didn’t feel quite right,” Barty acknowledged. “It wasn’t my best serving day, and I felt like I was out of rhythm a little. Some days you feel like you’re eight-foot-tall and can’t miss the box. Other days, you feel like you’re three-foot-nothing, where just getting over the net is a bit of a battle.”

While this transition phase for the women’s game might be bewilderingly unpredictable, it is still producing matches of lustrous quality. The latest highlight was a riveting, 3hr 20min duel between Angelique Kerber and Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo, edged by the German 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Rarely can the 2018 champion have been forced to grind so relentlessly at her strongest tournament.

Given the dearth of multiple champions left, the stage could yet be seized by 17-year-old Coco Gauff, already proving decisively that her inspired run to the fourth round in 2019 was no false dawn. She was poise personified against Elena Vesnina, dismantling the former semi-finalist with her power and accuracy, weapons that the leading contenders have still to demonstrate with any consistency this week.

On her Centre Court return, Gauff was no longer the giddy sensation, but the versatile talent who recognised that she belonged. “Walking out here feels like you’re walking through a museum,” she said. “I don’t really like the word ‘expectations’. I use the word ‘belief’. I believe that I can win. My goal is always to win the tournament, regardless of my ranking or what people think of me. Everything is much clearer than it was in 2019. My belief is a lot stronger now – the feeling that I can go far.”

03:21 PM

Gael Monfils is out

02:58 PM

Daniil Medvedev a set to the good

Against Carlos Alcaraz. The world No.2 takes the first set 6-4.

Daniil Medvedev

02:49 PM

It’s taken her 70 minutes…

…But Angelique Kerber has finally taken the first set against Sara Sorribes Tormo.

02:28 PM

Queen’s champion Matteo Berrettini is through

The Italian No.7 seed beat Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.

02:25 PM

Can Barty go all the way?

02:20 PM

Cam Norrie speaks after his straight sets win over Alex Bolt

On being through to the the round for the first time…

“Unbelievable to be back here – the fans were amazing it made it feel more special. I couldn’t be more pleased to be through to the third round.”

On beat Alex Bolt…

“It was a tricky start, he came out firing. But I could trust the foot today and I was pleased with everything and there was a lot of improvement [compared with first round win].”

On possibly playing Roger Federer in the third round – he faces Richard Gasquet later today…

“Come on, Gasquet! It will be special to play Roger or Richard, they’re both experienced players. I suppose now is the best time to play Roger, [but] he’s still a decent player. He can play!”

02:13 PM

Ash Barty speaks

On playing again at Wimbledon…

“I love the surface and happy to be back.”

On Blinkova…

“She pushed me incredably hard. She played a great match today so I am happy to get through.”

On her season so far…

“It’s been a great year so far and it’s nice to have the fans back in the stands.”

02:11 PM

BARTY WINS THE MATCH 6-4, 6-3!!

Barty has two match points on the Blinkova serve and plays a winner on the second of those – it was called out but Barty successfully challenges. They replay the point and Barty wins the match.

Barty was well bellow her best but she’s through. Blinkova played her part in the match and gave the world No.1 plenty to think about.

02:06 PM

Barty 6-4, 5-3 Blinkova* (*denotes next server)

Blinkova’s backhands are deep into Barty and from 40-15 up the world No.1 is up against it on her serve at deuce. Again Blinkova goes deep with a backhand, setting up an excellent crosscourt winner. That earns her a break point which she cannot take. She earns another break point with a delightful forehand crosscourt winner which again she cannot take. On the third deuce Barty serves up another double fault to gift Blinkova her third break point. Again Barty plays a backhand winner to save and take it to another deuce. Blinkova has another break point and it’s deja vu all over again as she cannot capitalises. From there Barty holds. That was a nine-minute game.

Blinkova will now serve to stay in the match.

01:56 PM

Barty* 6-4, 4-3 Blinkova (*denotes next server)

Blinkova’s serve is on the blink again as Barty earns a break point. The Russian is under pressure but throws down a good second serve to save the break point. Barty gets another break point thanks to a wonderful lob – brilliant shotmaking. The world No.1 then makes no mistake with a backhand winner on the run to take control of the second set.

01:50 PM

Confirmation Svitolina is out

The third seed’s championship is over.

01:49 PM

Barty 6-4, 3-3 Blinkova* (*denotes next server)

Better service game from Barty but the errors elsewhere remain – a sliced backhand into the net an uncharacteristic mistake from the Australian. She does just enough to hold to 30 and the second set stays on serve.

01:46 PM

Classy Cam

From 0-3 down in the first set the Briton has dominated against Alex Bolt and has won in straight sets.

01:45 PM

Barty* 6-4, 2-3 Blinkova (*denotes next server)

Much better from Blinkova on her serve – she’s been under pressure most of the match on serve but holds to 15. That’s three games in a row for the Russian.

01:43 PM

Barty 6-4, 2-2 Blinkova* (*denotes next server)

Barty is taken to deuce after a fine forehand passing shot from Blinkova. Under pressure the first seed then plants a forehand into the net and her opponent has a break point. Another double fault (her seventh) gifts Blinkova the game. Just when you think Barty is about to go up a gear she falters…

01:36 PM

Barty* 6-4, 2-1 Blinkova (*denotes next server)

Barty has had 22 unforced errors so far – a sign that she’s well below her best at the moment. But Blinkova’s serve is even more erratic than some of Barty’s groundstrokes and at deuce is in danger of being broken once again. She wins the next two points, though, and holds.

Barty

01:31 PM

Barty 6-4, 2-0 Blinkova* (*denotes next server)

Barty is brilliant when on song and she’s showing signs of that the further this match goes on. She moves Blinkova around the court with some powerful groundstrokes before coming into the net for a volleyed winner. That gets her to 40-0. But the errors are lingering and her sixth double fault allows Blinkova to get back into the game at 40-30. A forehand winner, however, gets her the 2-0 second-set lead.

01:27 PM

Barty* 6-4, 1-0 Blinkova (*denotes next server)

Barty is dominating the Blinkova serve and has three break points. Blinkova, though, is a battler and gets in back to deuces – the errors are still coming from Barty. The Aussie then earns her fourth break point of the game and this time a drive backhand is backed up with a forehand winner down the line and she’s got the early break in the second set.

01:22 PM

Third seed Elina Svitolina is out

Linette beats one of the favourites 6-3, 6-4.

01:19 PM

BARTY TAKES THE FIRST SET 6-4

Barty’s well below her best but she’s managed to find the shots when she’s needed them this afternoon. She holds to love and takes the first set.

01:16 PM

Barty* 5-4 Blinkova (*denotes next server)

It’s Blinkova now forcing the errors from Barty – the Aussie missing a sliced backhand (one of her weapons) early on. At 4-4 30-30 Blinkova has a great chance to put some scoreboard pressure on the world No.1 but sends a forehand wide. Barty then can’t capitalise on the break point as another backhand hits the net. The Australian earns another break point and this time a blistering forehand does the trick and the first seed will serve for the first set.

01:11 PM

Barty 4-4 Blinkova* (*denotes next server)

Barty has already had four double faults (during her first round win she only had three all match). She’s down 0-30 early on in this game BUT a Blinkova error and another forehand winner allow her to reach parity. 30-30 soon becomes deuce and the Russian has a break point thanks to a Barty long forehand. She converts it and both players are looking on edge and unsettled.

01:06 PM

Cam is in control

01:05 PM

Barty* 4-3 Blinkova (*denotes next server)

Both players are proving to be error-prone at the moment – Barty is showing the better touch and a delicate drop shot gets her to 0-40. She had three break points last Blinkova service game and couldn’t convert any of them. She makes no mistake this time and breaks to love. She’s just starting to settle.

01:02 PM

Barty 3-3 Blinkova* (*denotes next server)

Barty is making a few uncharacteristic errors, but she has a fine forehand. It’s a heavy shot that takes opponents out of position and two forehands back-to-back allow her to hold to 30.

12:58 PM

Barty* 2-3 Blinkova (*denotes next server)

Barty is hitting some good groundstrokes from the back of the court and waiting for Blinkova to make the error, which she does twice on the way to the Aussie getting three break points. The Russian is under pressure but two wayward forehands gets Blinkova back into the game at 30-40. And Barty then uncharacteristically plants a backhand into the net. The Russian wins five points in a row for a gutsy hold.

12:52 PM

Barty 2-2 Blinkova* (*denotes next server)

Barty is starting to look more comfortable after that nervy start. She sends down the first ace of the match to get to 30-15. She follows that up with the second two points later and holds to 30.

12:50 PM

Norrie has taken the first set having been 0-3 down

12:49 PM

Barty* 1-2 Blinkova (*denotes next server)

Blinkova has strapping on her right hand (the one the holds the racquet) that cannot be good. It’s not obvioulsy affecting her but Barty, thanks to some unforced errors, earn two break points. And another wide forehand from Blinkova allows the Aussie to break straight back.

12:46 PM

Barty 0-2 Blinkova* (*denotes next server)

Barty’s golf swing has been praised by Tiger Woods and it’s no shock that her serve is also efficient and effective as well. She mixes her serves and makes her opponent think. She does just that while show a lovely touch – playing a backhand drop shot winner. However, she’s looking a bit nervous and a double fault gifts Blinkova a break point. The Russian had a fine chance to go 2-0 up but fires a forehand on the run into the net. She, however, earns another break point next up and a double fault from Barty gives the Russian the early break.

Barty looked edgy in that game.

12:41 PM

Barty* 0-1 Blinkova (*denotes next server)

The Russian serves first and misses her first two first serves – not a great omen. Barty is a fine strokemaker and she hits a wonderful forehand winner to take the second point of the match. The first few games are always about trying to settle into rhythm and Blinkova has done just that holding to 15. She looked at ease there – a solid start.

12:34 PM

Barty and Blinkova are out on court

How will US Open semi-finalist Blinkova deal with the world No.1?

12:32 PM

French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova into the third round

12:27 PM

John McEnroe on Norrie

The BBC commentator (and all-time great) has just said…

The pressure is on Norrie – the seed, the favourite, the Brit. Bolt’s tricky though – I have watched play a number of times – he’s not a guy that’s going to beat himself.

As I type that Norrie has broken back and it’s now 3-2 to Bolt.

12:21 PM

Norrie down a break already

Bolt has stormed to a 3-0 first-set lead. Plenty of time to go, though, so no need to panic.

12:15 PM

Fourth seed Zverev is through

12:13 PM

Cam Norrie is having a great year and…

…he’s just got his match against Australian and fellow lefty Alex Bolt under way on Court One. He’s up to a career high of 34th in the rankings and I’ll keep you posted on how the Brit is doing. The winner of this match could face Roger Federer in the third round…

Cam Norrie

12:10 PM

So let’s talk about the slippery Centre Court surface

It’s dominated much of the talk surrounding these championships so far having claimed the title tilt of Serena Williams and helped Roger Federer through to the second round after his opponent Adrian Mannarino fell and hurt his knee.

So what is going on? It’s apparently more slippery than usual and the number of falls we’re seeing – Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are just two two big names to fall on the lush turf – must be making players, coaches and fans worry ahead of every point.

Our very own Tom Morgan looked into the slippery shame…

“There has been speculation that Centre Court’s state-of-the-art ventilation system may have been a factor in failing to dry the surface. Over 600 air distributors pump dry air into the space when the roof is closed as part of a roof design led by Populous, which also led the regeneration of Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium.”

READ: Wimbledon Q&A: What is causing players to slip on court? And how can it be stopped?

Novak Djokovic falls on Centre Court – PAUL GROVER

12:01 PM

Who is Anna Blinkova?

The Russian is ranked No. 89 in the world and hasn’t been able to translate her great junior form on the senior circuit. The 22-year -old was runner-up at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships in girls’ singles and was ranked the No. 3 junior tennis player in the world in August 2015. She has a career high ranking of 54 back in February last year.

11:29 AM

The talented Ash Barty is the one to beat at SW19

Ash Barty is one of those really annoying people. Not because of her personality, or any grating habits, no, she’s really annoying as she’s one of those people who can turn their hand to any sport and seemingly be very, very, very (I could carry on, but that too would be annoying…) good at it.

During lockdown she got her golf handicap down from 10 to four and became the Brookwater Golf Club women’s champion in the process. Louis Dobbelaar, a two-time Queensland amateur champion, is in no doubt Barty could make it as a professional. “She’s got all the tools if she wants to pursue it. If she put her mind to it, I’m sure she could,” she said. Barty also had a certain Tiger Woods gushing about her swing – I am not jealous, not at all.

Added to that she’s also played for the Brisbane Heat in the women’s Big Bash League – multi-talented doesn’t really do her justice.

Why do I mention this other than to remind myself it doesn’t seem fair that someone can be world-class in three sports? Well, the world No.1 faces Anna Blinkova on Centre Court this afternoon and it’s clear that the Russian will need all the luck she can grab on to.

Barty is the No.1 seed and, in the absence of Simona Halep and Naomi Osaka, favourite to win her second grand slam. Her first round match will have done her title bid no harm at all.

Having been given the “honour” of opening the women’s singles in the absence of reigning champion Halep, Barty came through a nervy start against Carla Suarez Navarro before really finding her stride in the third set. Whether she can carry that momentum over into her second round clash with Blinkova remains to be seen.

But the ultra talented Australian says she’s feeling good and is fully recovered from the hip injury that blighted her Roland Garros title defence.

”I think there was a little bit of nervousness, probably not knowing exactly how my body was going to feel genuinely. I know that I had full trust that we’d done absolutely everything that we could [but] you just never know. To be able to go out there today and play the way that I did was really nice.” Good luck to Blinkova, she may need it.

Stay here for all the action.

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[tarnishedhalo]

Baz​:

Doc-Wagon Platinum

                 Shhh.

It’s a sound he hasn’t heard in ages. Since before he learned what death was, before he learned what it could rob you of, who it could. Before he learned that suffering didn’t always build character. Sometimes it just fucking hurt like hell with no end in sight. Before words carried real weight in a tiny mind that still saw the world as something new, and untainted. So many befores, wrapped up inside such a tiny sound. 

And for moments it quiets everything. The maelstrom of memories and guilt his mind is trapped in. Brings to the surface all the brighter seconds of his life. The seconds that still live in the walls of this house. Like ghosts passing among the corridors. Seen from the corner of his eye, but when he turns to look at them gone as though they were never there. He’d forgotten how soothing that sound could be. How soothing it had been, once upon a time, on the lips of someone else. Someone very different from the person that utters it now. Someone smaller, gentler, wiser.

               Shhh.                  Este în regulă puiul meu.                         Mama este aici.                                   Shhh.

The world outside goes still. They stop moving for reasons he can’t fathom, then a jostle and rearranging…settling…sinking into something forgiving. And it’s like a knife to the back. The excruciating knowledge of where he is, and where he isn’t. Because no this isn’t what he deserves. The distress of that pitching the liquor about in his stomach, the ocean that’s soaked through his veins burning. A struggle to get up. A struggle to try and drag himself back to the place he’d been hauled away from. 

But the truth is while his mind perceives he at least makes it off the couch, onto all fours to crawl back—he doesn’t. An arm is about all that moves and even then only just before it’s falling back against his middle. Too weak and too weighted down to face the judgement even if it’s the only way to make it all stop. Why had Riley stopped him? Riley knows what he did and still he didn’t leave him. Didn’t let him drown.

              Damn you.

At least that’s what he would say if he could. Would say if he really meant it. But no matter how much he thinks he deserves it. No matter how much he knows it would put a stop to everything, he doesn’t really want that. Not because it’s death that he fears, because it’s not that. It’s the unknown after it that keeps him fighting. It’s the fear that where ever it is his parents earned places, he might not end up there too. Scratch that, he knows he won’t. Not after…..

    …..When it’s over, so they say….                She was just a kid.     …..it’ll rain a sunny day. I know….                She was just…     …..shining down like water….                She was….     ….I wanna know…                She…     ….have you ever seen the rain… 

Blue hues stare hooded and unseeing of the physical world. The easy words and rhythmic smoothing of his hair chasing away… Numbing the parts the liquor didn’t. Everything’s to mixed up to understand where it’s coming from, or where it’s taking him. To much like film on the cutting room floor, kicked about and woven together until he can’t keep any of it straight anymore. Can’t tell what’s real and what’s memory until it doesn’t matter anymore. Until he’s drifted away from it, or it’s drifted away from him. Mumbled and slurred words falling away from his lips; half out of tune and fractured. Heavy eye lids giving up what ground they still held, head lulling ever so to one side.

      “…..wanna know…..rain……on a sunny day….”

Damn you.

Bitter. Harsh. Angry without the capability to do the damage it wants to.

It echoes from somewhere underwater. Somewhere Riley can quite ignore as it comes washing over him. And it’s funny because the kid doesn’t know half of it. All that Riley has bargained and bartered of himself for Bastien’s sake, and even longer for Beth. He’s sacrificed body and blood, given up life and limb on an altar that isn’t about vanity though he likes to make it seem that way because it’s better for people to believe in his arrogance than his fear of failure. He’s damned because he’s already given his God two middle fingers and pissed on centuries of doctrine. That while he sees himself as a soldier and a crusader, that maybe there’s truth in the fact that he’s every bit a monster as people see in the boy and in his sister. He just hides it a hell of a lot better.

He lets Baz root around his own psyche. The doubts and bruises that he’s built callouses over. Things from the past that are so much harder than the most cherished heirloom to give up, to let go of because of his innate sense of guilt. With time and effort spent, he could unravel those things too, tuck them away somewhere unreachable. He could rewire the faulty connections. He could fix and tweak all the little impairments that lingered and kept Baz from being his quote/unquote Best Self. But the thing Riley knows that his sister has yet to figure out, is that while, yes.. their miracles and magick CAN in fact do that, change and fix and presumably make better, that may not exactly be their place. Hubris says that they can master whatever they like but wouldn’t that change everything the siblings loved about him? Yes. Would it make Baz any happier in life? No. Those two things are very concrete reasons that he keeps hands off and puts up mental police lines-do not cross.

But he’d be a liar if he said he wasn’t half tempted.

Because no matter what else he is, he’s a guardian. A protector. Has been his whole life and while he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, Riley is just as concerned if not more so than Beth. So he moves past memories that are like furniture and emotions like walls. Visits Baz’s house over different periods of his life without looking too closely. He knows what he wants and what he’s looking for and he’s guided there by screaming ghosts of guilt.  It is exhausting. But he keeps singing and soon enough, Baz is singing too, little more than a whisper but it’s there in all it’s broken up lyrics. From there he wanders to those latest crimes the kid’s stacked up against himself. He takes mental snap-shots of the mission, blow by blow, and his teeth grit so hard they should shatter. Because this? This is gross and unconscionable. Something no one should be forced to do, especially someone not trained and supported to do so. And once he’s got it securely locked up in his own head where it will never be forgotten, Andy begins to tug and twist at the memory. He changes the girl’s face into the vague and ordinary visage of everyone’s idea of John Smith. Some one so average that it won’t haunt B’s nightmares. That won’t register as such a horrible sin that he needs to punish himself over and over again to try to ease the breaking of his misplaced heart.

And he knows that the memory will stay forever changed unless someone with greater mastery than his own goes rooting around and gets lucky enough to notice that it’s been altered in the first place. He constructs a Crusader’s seal to both bind and ward that from happening. He also draws on his command of time to do this in the time it appears to sing the song in it’s entirety. And as a parting gift? He meddles with Baz’s brain chemistry to make sure he’s got a good buzz, warm and sleepy and comforting, but that won’t leave him with the nastiest of headaches in the morning. Then carefully he walks himself back the way he came. Familiar halls now that he won’t forget either. Which is the weight and cost he has to pay for being able to do what he does. But at least Riley knows he’s built to carry it.

He leaves no fingerprints and locks the door as he lets himself out, his hand still physically lodged in Baz’s hair. He rolls his neck and listens to it creak before forcing a twitch of his lips. “Didn’t think you knew that one, B. Like that thing you have with movies and not paying attention to what people are saying. Maybe they won’t be coming to you to sign a record deal or nothin’, but you’re not half bad.”

His tone is teasing, a pointed jab that is only half mean when weighed against the truth, the typical kind of bullshit that normally comes out of his mouth. Ordinary, everyday banter that he’s pretty sure Baz doesn’t half get even when he’s in top fighting condition, which he is anything but at the moment.

His tongue lolls out and dampens his lips as he takes a breath. “You feelin’ any better because I kinda wanna grab us a couple beers and just wind down from the day, but if you’re still not feeling yourself, we could just stay here.”