ESL Reading

At only 19 years of age, the underdog Roger Federer shocked millions by upsetting Pete Sampras in the 4th round of the 2001 Wimbledon championships.  Since then, still only 25, he’s gone on to win 11 grand slams including 5 consecutive Wimbledon’s; tying Borg’s record.  He’s now close to capturing his 50th ATP tour event.  He’s got a brilliant all-round game without any weaknesses.  He’s also a fierce competitor and mentally very tough.  Many people are already talking about him as the greatest tennis player of all time but not everyone agrees.  He still needs to win several more grand slams, including one on clay at the French open if he wants to be considered the undisputed best player of all time.

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Underdog:  This is the person or team that is not expected to win.  For example, since Roger Federer is the number 1 tennis player in the world right now, anyone who plays against him is the underdog.  The person or team who is expected to win the match is known as the favorite.  Many sports fans like to cheer for the underdog because they like to see new people or teams have a chance to win.

Upsetting:  In sports, an “upset” means that the underdog wins the match.  If someone beats Roger Federer at Wimbledon next year, that will be considered a big upset, since Roger Federer will be the favorite.

Grand Slams:  In tennis, the four biggest and most important tournaments are called the “grand slams”.  The four grand slams are each held once per year.  They are the “Australian open”, the “French open”, “Wimbledon”, and the “US open”. 

Consecutive:  This means “in a row”.  For example if you win three consecutive Wimbledon tournaments starting in 2000.  That means you won in 2000, 2001, and 2002. 

Tying:  A tie in sports means you equal your opponent.  You neither win nor lose.  You did the same as them.  You could say to your friend, “Come and watch the rest of the basketball game with me.  It’s really exciting.  The score is tied 82-82.

Capturing:  Sometimes in sports writing, we say “capturing” to mean “getting”.  The San Antonio Spurs captured another NBA title last season. 

ATP tour title:  The ATP tour refers to all the professional tennis tournaments. 

All-round game:  An all-round game means that the player is good at every aspect of the sport.  They can hit all the different kinds of shots.  They are good at the net and also from the back of the court. 

Mentally tough:  This means that the player is good when the match is close.  They don’t get frustrated easily and can concentrate very well.  Some players are talented, but if things aren’t going their way, they lose their focus and lose the match.  It is said that tennis is 10% physical and 90% mental.  Having a positive attitude is a very important quality of a champion. 

Clay:  Different tennis courts are made out of different materials.  Some are hard courts, some are made out of clay, and some are made out of grass.  Depending on a player’s playing style, they will prefer certain surfaces to others. 

Undisputed:  Something that is undisputed means that no one will disagree with it.  For example, it is an undisputed fact that the earth moves around the sun.  Everyone agrees with this. 

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 12th, 2007 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Fun English Lessons, fun-english-vip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.