After beating Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to clinch the Paris 2024 Men's Tennis Olympic gold medal, is Novak Djokovic your new Men's Tennis greatest of all time? 

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A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole)

 

With a smashing victory at the last US Open Tennis Grand Slam and other prior victories in smaller opens, 19-year old Coco Gauff currently sits at number 3 in the Tennis women's world ranking but the big question on the minds of many fans and Tennis enthusiasts like myself would be, is Coco the new face of women's tennis dominance? Is she going to climb to number 1 and stay there for several years to come like we experienced with the likes of Serena Williams and a few others before her? 

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 It is no longer breaking news that Edson Arantes do Nascimento aka Pele the football/soccer god breathed his last on the 29th day of December, 2022. Although he retired from playing football in 1977 before some of us were born, I can remember vividly how the first player I associated with the wonderful game was Pele and to show my last respect, I am writing this tribute to the Legend himself. After all, what would the Sports Health Column of a Blog  be without acknowledging the amazing contribution of this Maestro to the wonderful game of football? 

🏆🏆🏆

Oh great Pele, with a reported 1,283 goals in 1,363 games for country and club sides, and amongst other trophies, 3 FIFA World cups to crown it all, you signed your signature on the memory plates of those who were opportune to watch you live; changed the destiny of Samba forever and whispered your name into the ears of unborn foetuses even before they were birthed and eventually grew to love the game.

You manifested your own manual for the number 10 position; redefined the meaning of dribbling during the wonderful game of football and took style on the field of play to a stratospherically different level. If anyone was going to live their dreams until they became reality on the football pitch and beyond, then it had to be started by you, the one and only Pele!!!

Complications relating to progression of colon (large bowel) cancer might have resulted in your physical body going the way of all the earth but as long as football/soccer continues to exist, the potency of your legacy will increasingly grow stronger and your name mentioned by many generations to come, of lovers of the great sport ⚽!!! Rest in strength Legend.

By Dr Oghenekevwe Daniel Ogidigben

Editor-in-chief  - "Dr Kevwe's Blog"

 

It's been a few weeks since Rafael Nadal pulled off what appeared to be an astonishing miracle at the 2022 Men's Tennis single finals of the Australian Open Tournament, coming back from 2 sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev, the athletic, never-say-die Russian, in a 5-set show down, despite suffering from severe worsening of what has been reported to be a chronic left foot problem. The recurrent left foot pain warranted Specialist attention and left the now 21-Grand Slam titles winner in doubt about his future as a Tennis player. The pictures and videos he posted to celebrate on Instagram say it all.

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A post shared by Rafa Nadal (@rafaelnadal)

Following a series of instagram posts towards the end of last year, die hard Rafael fans began to panic but somehow, the Champ sounded positive about coming back and that's exactly what he did. See one of his instagram posts below about the foot problem.

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A post shared by Rafa Nadal (@rafaelnadal)

I don't have the exact details of what happened to Rafael's left foot. I have come across various diagnoses in different websites that I cannot verify, thus not comfortable to comment about these. One thing I know is that, he was in quite some pain, as a result of the body's reaction to injury of some sort in the foot; a process we refer to as inflammation in Medicine. Whether "Kohler's disease" or some sort of "avascular necrosis of the Navicular bone", the most important thing is that, the Team of Specialists did an outstanding job and Rafael recovered excellently. The foot, just like any other part of the body, can be very complex and even the slightest of problems can lead to poor/deterioration of mobility and that's almost always bad news for sports personalities.

The bones in the foot: inferior view (Picture illustrated from Thieme Atlas of Anatomy: General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System (pp.374) by K. Wesker, 2007, New York, Thieme, Stuttgart. Copyright 2005 by Georg Thieme Verlag).

Whatever the case may have been, Rafael Nadal has his second Norman Brooks challenge cup trophy/ his 21st Grand Slam title chilling in his museum and if you listened to his speech, he promised to continue to fight for more, so VAMOS' NADAL!

REFERENCES:

*RafaelnadalInstagram

* Alone At The Top:Nadal Wins Record 21st Majors Singles Title|AO

usopen.org

 If you are a true Tennis Fan, then it's no longer news to you that Naomi Osaka is the US Open 2020 Tennis Women's Champion. The big mystery is how she managed to pull that unbelievable come back, losing the first set 1-6 to initially furnace blazing and 2-time Grand slam winner, Victoria Azarenka; and then going on to finally win the game: 1-6, 6-3, 6-3!Age related fitness? Athleticism? Determination? What was the magic?

Image by: Simon Bruty/USTA

Whatever the case may be, the mixed shock/inspiration of this feat by Naomi Osaka made me snap out from the writers block I had been suffering from. Work got really busy and suddenly, I could not find any mental space to write until, demonstration of sheer determination and good Tennis made the blood vessels in my brain overflow with inspiration.

usopen.org

Massive congratulations to Naomi Osaka and her Team. 3 Grand slam trophies on the shelf at 22 years of age and $3 million US Dollars added to overall price money wins. Absolutely astonishing! Let's wait to see what the Men's Final between Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev has to offer later today.

REFERENCE:

* Naomi Osaka Rallies Past Victoria Azarenka To Win 2020 US Open Women's Single Title|USOPEN

Over the last several weeks, Sport Authorities and fans of various sporting activities  all over the world, have been hit with the reality of how the ongoing Coronavirus disease pandemic, led to either the suspension or postponement of major sporting events. In other words, a globally significant disease concern short everything related to world sports down and the big question remains, who would have ever thought that, such an occurrence would ever be possible in the history of global sports? A few weeks ago, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) announced it's decision to cancel, what was supposed to be  the 134th edition of the prestigious Wimbledon Tennis Championships because of the Coronavirus pandemic and this decision was not unexpected. Attempt to sustain the legacy (as the last time the tournament was cancelled was World War 2) and risk rampant spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus or cancel and save thousands of lives that, may otherwise have been affected? The informed decision of the Organisers say it all.

👀: www.thedrum.com

Earlier on in the year, UEFA had decided to suspend the rest of the matches that would have been played to conclude her various tournaments, of note, the UEFA Champions League. The Pandemic left them with no choice!

The Barclays English Premier League was also but on hold because of the pandemic and the debate on ground is, if this season should be cancelled altogether? Wouldn't be fair to Liverpool Fans, would it? 😅

👀: CDC

As I write this short article, confirmed Coronavirus cases around the world, approach the 1.4 million mark, with over 76,000 deaths and this figures are likely to change by tomorrow. Whilst the science community continue with valuable research and Clinicians continue to care for everyone who is symptomatically affected, everyone else must play their roles by adhering to the strict guidelines set out by their various Governments. For us in the United Kingdom, though we are disappointed about the thoughts of having to miss what would have been our first opportunities to attend live matches, we continue to remain indoors, to play our parts in breaking the spread of this terrible disease. Refer to the references below for more information on the various cancelled and suspended Sporting events, as well as, updates Coronavirus Disease statistics.

REFERENCES:
* CANCELLATION OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020|WIMBLEDON

* UEFA Club Finals Postponed|UEFA

* Premier League Statement|PREMIERLEAGUE

* Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic|WHO

* COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC|WORLDMETER

That 19 year old Bianca Vanessa Andreescu is the 2019 US Open Tennis Women's Champion is no longer news to tennis lovers but what exactly explains how she managed to beat the great Serena Williams in straight sets to emerge as the new kid on the female Tennis block? Physical and mental magic?

Bianca Andreescu - 2019 US Open  Women's Tennis Champion! 👀: usopen.org

Just over 12 months ago, the Romanian born Canadian teenager is reported to have been plagued with injuries and couldn't even make it through the qualifying stages of the 2018 US Open Tennis Tournament. In 2019, after winning the Women's trophy at  the WTA Indian Wells Tennis Open in March 2019, she is also said to have taken some time off the court because of injury troubles and didn't seem like she would be any trouble for Serena, when she made it to the 2019 US Open Women's final but those of us who watched the match saw how it panned out; very clear physical domination in the first set that led to a "6-3" outcome. Same thing was repeating itself in the second set until Serena being who we know her to be, fought back, winning 4 straight games to level up at "5-5". Then we witnessed one of the greatest mental comebacks to ever happen in the history of female Tennis. Bianca defied the New York crowd that was fully behind Serena, to clench her first grand slam, winning the set "7-5"! How did a 19 year old make this happen?

Bianca Andreesu and Serena Williams -👀: fotospublicas.com

If you are reading this story, I am looking forwards to reading your suggested theories in the comments section below. Is age still an ordinary number? Does experience count? and very importantly, did child birth by Serena make any difference?

Bianca Andreescu- 👀: instagram.com/biancaandreescu_

Whatever your thoughts maybe, Bianca is currently having the time of her life and is the face every Female Tennis interested Blogger wants to feature on their webpage. A very big congratulations to you Champ. We are looking forwards to many more slams to come.

REFERENCES:
* US OPEN|Bianca Andreescu Upsets Serena Williams To Win 2019 US Open

* TENNIS TONIC|Andreescu Explains The Mental Side About Overcoming Physical Issues

Credit: Reuters

7 times an Australian Open Tennis conqueror but overall 15 times a grand slam Legend and this is how we say massive congratulations to Novak Djokovic for becoming the Australian Open Tennis  Men's Singles 2019 Champion. Yes we were expecting a clash of the titans when Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal emerged as finalist for the 2019 Australian Open Men's Singles but the outcome of the match  left fans all around the world a bit more confused than not. What could have gone wrong from the Nadal side of the divide or better still, what made the difference?

👀: NDTV Sports

Till this moment I'm not quite sure because both players cruised into the final looking fitter than ever before, with Nadal reported to have let no set slide from the first game till after the Semi-Finals. How did he then manage to lose in straight sets on this particular final occasion?

Some of his fans are suggesting that something must have gone wrong with regards to mental focus.

 At the end of the day, fitness is all about overall 360 degrees wellbeing, isn't it? The Tennis King of Clay nevertheless, remains one of the Tennis greats of our time and we are certain that he still has a great career future ahead. In case you didn't watch the match live, here's a summary of how the game went down.

👀: ausopen.com

With the 7th Australian Open title in the bag, is Novak Djokovic still keen on lifting any more Norman Brookes Challenge Cups? What a question!😀 No Tennis player will ever be tired of winning gland slams, as long as they remain fit enough to kick *ss on the court.

The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup - 👀: twitter.com/ausopen

Overall fitness is the key thing and that is all we have to wish Novak and other grand slam hopeful champions in the future. I'm looking forwards to much more amazing Tennis in the course of the year and I'm sure you are too so, keep a tab with us. Until then, stay HEALTHERTAINED always!

REFERENCE:
* AO|A Perfect Match:Novak's Melbourne Masterclass

* The Telegraph|Novak Djokovic Swats Aside Rafael Nadal To Become The First Man To Win  Seven Titles At Australian Open

Very big congratulations to Naomi Osaka for winning the 2019 Australian Open Tennis Women's Final and for eventually emerging the games newest world number 1! All of those people that doubted the ability of this young Tennis legend after the last US OPEN can now put their suspicions to rest....there is a new queen on the women's tennis block and her name is NAOMI OSAKA! After what turned out to be a nerve racking battle between two amazingly fit fighters, the match decider between Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova seemed to boil down to mental energy/extreme focus and the outcome of the third set said it all. Health is a complete state of stable:physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.....In this case, both players brought everything healthy to the table but mental tenacity made the difference, if you ask me. You probably felt the anxiety radiating within if you were there live or out of the arena through whatever screen you watched the match. The tension became palpable when Kvitova amazingly fought back to win the 2nd set. Was this going to be a repeat of her Semi-final match against Serena? Unfortunately NO!

👀: instagram.com/australianopen

Here's a summary of the game in numbers, in case you missed the live match.

How does a 21 year old female posses so much strength in a serve to make a tennis ball move at a speed of 164 km/hr? Naomi Osaka has just proven to be a phenomenal example of overall fitness...mind,skill and body. After raising the Australian Open Women's "Daphne Akurst Memorial Cup" for 2019, reviewed literature reveals that, Naomi becomes "the first player to win two consecutive  Grand Slam trophies since Serena Williams in 2015 and the first player to back up her maiden major title at the very next Slam since Jennifer Capriati won the Australian and French Opens back in 2001". 

The AO. Daphne Akurst Memorial Cup - 👀: scoopnest.com

Keep a tab with "DR KEVWE'S BLOG" for more of such amazing sport stories. Tomorrow is another day and the Australian Open Men's final between Djokovic and Nadal promises to be a Clash of The Tennis Titans. Since there is a health point of view to every such game amongst others, we would sure be congratulating the men's champion here and dropping our two cents on how it all went down.

REFERENCES:
* AO|Top Of The World:Osaka Wins AO Title-Takes No. 1 Ranking

* BBC SPORTS|Australian Open 2019:Naomi Osaka Beats Petra Kvitova To Win Title

Top of the world: Osaka wins AO title, takes No.1 ranking

📷: Timothy A. Clary/AFP

Whilst saying congratulations to Novak Djokovic, the US OPEN Tennis Men's Single Champion for 2018, we want to use the opportunity to ask what you thought about the final game with Juan Martin Del Potro - "Did fitness make any difference?  In my opinion, both players brought on their A-Games fitness wise and pushed each other to the limits but take a look at the preview below and tell us what you think in the comments section.



Video credit: youtube.com/usopen
What made a difference to me, was a fair deal of extra skill and massive dose of additional mental energy; what Novak had referred to as "Self belief" in a pre-final match Instagram post.

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A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole) on Sep 9, 2018 at 6:50am PDT

Overall the final match lived up to fitness expectations I would say and the best man no doubt, had the upper hand at the end of the day; claiming the revered trophy!

👀: usopen.org

 Continue to visit "Dr.Kevwe's Blog" for more sports related health stories. Your readership and opinions mean the world to us.

By: Dr. Oghenekevwe Daniel Ogidigben

REFERENCE:
* US OPEN| Novak Djokovic Defeats Juan Martin Del Potro For 14th Grandslam Title

A very big congratulation to Naomi Osaka , the 20 year old Tennis revelation who beat  Tennis Super woman, Serena Williams, to emerge as the U.S. OPEN 2018 Women's Champion and youngest Queen on the winners block in recent time.

👀: usopen.org

The Women's final played yesterday was dramatically explosive if you agree with me and more than anything, all I could notice watching the previews again and again was, young energy/ resilient fire power that produced madly outstanding tennis. Take a look for yourself if you didn't have the opportunity of seeing the match live in court or on screen and confirm my story.



Video credit: www.usopen.org

I'm going to refrain from adding a health twist to this story, as there is a lot of controversy and sexist cards already flying around as to the little drama that happened yesterday during the 2nd Set of the Women's Finals in New York. The match ended 6-2,6-4 anyway and Naomi was blessed with what I believe would have been the best moment of her life up till date. Take nothing from the power of young age and seemingly better fitness.



I am an ardent Serena Williams fan and if there is one thing I know for sure, one of the greatest sports woman the world has ever produced is almost back to her 120% pre-child birth form. Yesterday was however "NAOMI OSAKA DAY" and all the spotlight should be pointed in the direction of this young angel. The feat she just pulled off  at only 20 years of age is by no means little and she deserves  extra,extra ACCOLADES for this. Even if she wins nothing else afterwards, she is already legendary but trust me, someone else must take over from Serena as she took over from the likes of Steffi Graf and co! We may just have the future of Women's Tennis already staring us in the face.

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😭❤️ finals

A post shared by Naomi Osaka 大坂なおみ (@naomiosakatennis) on Sep 6, 2018 at 9:57pm PDT

Continue to visit "Dr. Kevwe's Blog" for more Health related Sport stories. In the meantime, relax and enjoy what promises to be an epic Men's Single 2018 U.S. OPEN Finals. I'll catch you on the other side of  the showdown with brief analysis of how it all went down, fitness wise.

By: Dr. Oghenekevwe Daniel Ogidigben

REFERENCES:
* US OPEN| Naomi Osaka Defeats Serena Williams In Dramatic Final