Sports Report

On Sunday an era came to end when Rafa Nadal was beaten in the final of the Monte Carlo Open by a marauding Novak Djokavic, who ended Rafa's almost incredible run of eight consecutive victories in that prestigious event. Of course the Majorcan prodigy has had his injury problems, nursing a knee injury he picked up last year which kept him out of competition for nearly eight months, and you can't have that long a layoff and hope to stay at the top your game.

 I have been accused in the past of writing people off too quickly: after seeing Federer suffer from the effects of EB virus and fall off his number 1 ranking I pronounced him "finished": he later went on to win two more Grand Slam tournaments, including the elusive French Open, setting a new record for Grand Slam trophies and establishing himself firmly as history's greatest player, Notwithstanding this minor error, I now predict Rafa will win no major tournaments this year. He will, after all, always end up playing his Serbian nemesis in order to assume any particular crown, and Nole (as he likes to be called) will be waiting, smouldering like some medieval warrior knight in battle, determined to show he is the most beautiful of them all. Look out Andy is all I can say..

Last night Man U secured their 20th premier League title in grand style, their Arsenal import Robin van Persie scoring a hat trick as well as heading a ball off the line at the other end of the pitch. I'm not sure what Manchester United paid for him, but I'm prepared to bet Arsenal are thinking is wasn't enough. And as for Fergie himself, has Britain, or anywhere else, ever seen a greater manager? .Surely he qualifies at least on the short list of candidates for Greatest Living Brit, on his astonishing record alone, plus the fact that at 71 he seems to have more energy than the average 20-year-old. How does he do it? Is it the elixir of victory, of which he has drunk so deeply over the years? Whatever it is I want some.

Meanwhile, 30 miles to the west, Liverpool continues to have their own problems with their Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez. He was seen by millions biting the arm of a defender, and now faces a lengthy ban, as this is not his first offence of dentitious assault. Yet Liverpool is reluctant to be too hard on him, and perhaps understandably. He is their best player by far, and with 30 goals this season, one of the Premiership's leading goal scorers. But how heinous was his bite? The fact is, not all bites are the same. Did it break the skin, or leave any kind of mark? If not, then the infraction was not as serious as it looked. If however it did, or if any blood at all was drawn, then there is maybe a case for a 6 figure fine, a twelve match ban; even facing a criminal charge of assault or ABH.. Perhaps then he'll learn to control his "anger management issues".