There’s been a real family feel around Wimbledon this week. First I had Jonathan Erlich telling me about the difficulty in spending time away from loved ones. Then, on the other side of the coin, American prodigy Emil Reinberg revealed he goes everywhere with his. Likewise Camila Giorgi, whose dad is rarely out of sight. He simply lives, eats and breathes tennis.
I remember in Wimbledons gone by, Erlich and Andy Ram strode around the court like they owned it. They were the best of friends on and off the court and it made them a tough proposition in Grand Slam competitions and in the Davis Cup.
But Erlich’s new partnership with Philipp Petzschner shows just what is possible in sport. An Israeli and a German. You couldn’t make it up. And it would be a sight for sore eyes if they could pop in to the European Maccabi Games in Berlin and show some real rachmanus spirit.
* Regulars to Rowley Lane have alerted me to the fact that Yakubu is being put through his paces at the new boot camp. The marksman, who was at Reading last year, is looking sharp and, obviously, comes into his own at the post-session kickabout.
Dean Furman has also caught the high-intensity outdoor training bug and he’s been raising the bar at the RSF classes in Mill Hill. I’ve been told his planks were solid but his squat thrusts were rusty. He’s no Brian Jacks just yet.
* World powerlifting champion Shachar Head can do no wrong at the moment. After breaking literally every record in Telford, she received the AOC National College Sports award for performance of the year. She was also presented with sports student of the year at Exeter College. Shachar will now be moving to the University of St Mark and St John in Plymouth to study a sport-related degree.
* Supporters of Manna, the UK branch of Meir Panim, are playing an ex-Tottenham Hotspur legends team in a charity football match at Silver Jubilee Park on July 19. Organisers hope to see Mark Falco, Darren Anderton, Paul Miller, John Lacy, Tony Galvin and Justin Edinburgh involved. Funds raised will go towards alleviating poverty in Israel.
* Jordan Freud is my star of the week following his success on this year’s ORT-JUMP programme. It was a pleasure taking the JFS sixth-former under my wing. He’s ambitious and looks destined to achieve great things in the world of media.
