Contador fails Tactics 101

HEROES

So You Think

The $40m stallion won his first northern hemisphere Group 1 on Saturday, downing Europe's champion racehorse Workforce in the Eclipse Stakes. Workforce, the 2010 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, looked the likely victor in the final furlong but So You Think prevailed by half a length in a classic two-horse battle at England's Sandown racecourse. The victory has restored the Australian-bred champion's reputation after an upset loss at Royal Ascot last month. After the race, trainer Aidan O'Brien hinted that a homecoming was possible, with a tilt at a third successive Cox Plate in October not out of the question.

Petra Kvitova

The 21-year-old became the first Czech since Martina Navratilova to win Wimbledon with a straight-sets victory over 2004 champion Maria Sharapova. The eighth seed's road to the final was made smoother by Venus Williams' loss in the quarter finals but she proved herself a worthy champion with a demolition of the accomplished Sharapova in the decider. Kvitova, who is expected to rise to a career-high No.7 ranking, was born in the same year - 1990 - that fellow left-hander Navratilova won the last of her nine Wimbledon titles.

Daniel Ricciardo

The young Aussie has nearly completed his rise to the elite levels of open-wheel motorsport after earning a Formula 1 debut with Hispania Racing at the British Grand Prix on July 10. Ricciardo looms as the heir apparent to veteran countryman Mark Webber in more ways than one, after outpacing several regular race drivers in practice sessions with Red Bull's development team. That was enough for Hispania Racing to dump incumbent Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan for the rest of the season in favour of the Australian. Now, the challenge is to make the most of his golden opportunity.

Novak Djokovic

The in-form Serbian star capped a dream fortnight at the All-England Club with a four-set win over Rafael Nadal to claim his first Wimbledon title. The victory confirmed Djokovic as a worthy holder of the No.1 ranking, which he will assume for the first time this week. For the first time since 2004, when Andy Roddick ruled the men's game, someone other than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal occupies the top spot. The import of the occasion wasn't lost on Djokovic, who reflected on his achievement before the final: "I guess you need to lose only one match in seven months to get there. If you can do that, then well done."

GOATS

Guy McKenna (Gold Coast)

After the Suns fell away against Fremantle on Saturday afternoon, coach McKenna used his press conference to rail against the sub rule. Midfield maestro Gary Ablett was in danger of burnout, McKenna said, while the rule had somehow forced him to play Sam Iles, Zac Smith and Sam Day in the second half despite the trio picking up injuries. Unfortunately, not being able to use a sub when it mattered was a problem of McKenna's own making. He deployed Gold Coast's switch in the second quarter for purely tactical reasons, subbing tall Daniel Gorringe in favour of crumbing forward Brandon Matera. Complaining about your own mis-use of the sub rule is, perhaps, not quite so satisfying.

Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank)

A spectator wearing yellow was responsible for the almighty pile-up which caused a split in the peloton near the end of Saturday's opening stage of the Tour de France. But as the race favourite, Contador had only himself to blame for being caught up in it. Keeping near the front, where you are least likely to encounter trouble, is Tactics 101 in cycling. Remarkably, the three-time Tour champion lost time in almost identical circumstances at the beginning of last year's race – finding himself too far back when Frank Schleck's crash split the bunch apart. Contador is one of the sport's most gifted athletes, current drug allegations notwithstanding, but not yet one of its finest tacticians.

David Taylor (South Sydney)

Having already forfeited his chance of playing in the Origin decider by entering a guilty plea to a dangerous throw charge, the Souths forward decided to risk an extra four-game ban by challenging the grading of the charge. The judiciary rarely changes its mind in such circumstances and it proved the case again on Wednesday night, handing Taylor a five-game suspension for his trouble. Now Taylor will spend the next month watching from the sidelines as the Bunnies battle for a finals berth, rather than leading the charge.

International Cricket Council

The ICC finally declared that the 2015 World Cup would again feature four associate member nations - the likes of easybeats Kenya, Scotland and Holland, as well as 2011 surprise packets Ireland. The decision, which reversed an earlier commitment to restrict the tournament to the top 10 teams, was predictably lauded by the associate member nations.

However, it has been roundly lambasted by cricket lovers who lack the stamina to sit through weeks of meaningless pool matches. Only an organisation which trumpeted the interminable 2011 World Cup as a "highly successful and universally acclaimed" event would consider the addition of so many dead rubbers an improvement to the earlier plans for a streamlined, elite-level tournament.

Gyoengyi Gaal

The Hungarian referee missed what must have been the most blatant handball in Women's World Cup history during Australia's clash with Equatorial Guinea. After a shot from Matildas striker Leena Khamis crashed against the post, the ball bounced back to Equatorial Guinea defender Bruna who inexplicably caught it. Even more inexplicably, the referee didn't blow a penalty, instead allowing play to continue after the defender awkwardly dropped the ball to the ground. Fortunately the bizarre miss didn't cost Australia, with the Matildas eventually going on to take the win 3-2.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of BigPond Sport.

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