Tennis players from within the headphones

By James A. Crabtree

They say that the music you listen to says a lot about you.
Now, it could be said that this is a very high school, immature and small minded way to categorise someone. But we do it. And we do often show a little disappointment if someone we look up to happens to enjoy music that is entirely contrary to our own palate. Contrary to that it is often disappointing to find out that someone we dislike enjoys the same sounds as us.
Accordingly we make our own presumption about someone’s character, background, class and creed based on what they have on their own personal and sometimes guarded playlist. Classical music connoisseurs are perceived as boring and old, hard rock devotees are considered passionate airheads whilst techno fans are seen as energetic pill popping lunatics.
(Caution – video footage contains multiple mullets which some viewers may find offensive)

So where does that place Pat Cash and John McEnroe who both have a long history with their guitars? Or Illie Nastase who, according to legend, came out with some quite nasty Euro Disco in the eighties. On the flip side 1983 French Open champion Yannick Noah has had huge success with his musical career in France with some very mushy stuff.

And let’s not forget the Bryan Brothers who perform in the fittingly named ‘Brian Brothers Band’, and have their own successful album with lead singer David Baron.
Now let’s OVER psychoanalyse the tennis greats and the music that they love. For this study we must speculate further than what we really know. This involves foolhardy guessing to not only categorise a star by their own personal taste in music but to select a tune that matches their own personal play on court.
Andy Murray is said to be a fan of 50 Cent although the volatile Dizzy Rascal would perhaps be a better fit. But let’s not forget this gold Medallist, from the London 2012 Olympics, is a proud Scot and he has a brother he is close with. Time for a stereotype, one answer: ‘The Proclaimers – 500 miles’, When I wake up…Yea I know I’m going to be…

Roger Federer’s favourite music is said to be everything by Lenny Kravitz or AC/DC and in this case Kravitz’s opening lyrics to ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’ spring to mind. Although it could be argued that both the joy and the overtures that Federer’s strings create evoke sounds more symbolic of Mozart.
Novak Djokovic lists Serbian star ‘Inna’ as a personal favourite and the up-tempo vibe of her songs definitely fit the tireless hitter. But Novak has brought fire. He has carved out a space as a great when nobody would have said there was room within this generation. He is not only a Prodigy but a fire starter, a twisted fire starter…
Conversely the reserved beats of French hip hop artist Oxmo Puccino suit Jo Wilfred Tsonga to a tea. Not sure what to think about Andy Roddick’s confession that Rick Astley has a place on his iPod. Tomas Berdych has said he enjoys bands like Metallica and U2. This is quite an apt choice for the big hitting Czech as there are not too many subtleties to his game. His personal favourite must be Metallica’s ‘The Unforgiven,’ especially given his refusal to shake Nicolas Almagro’s hand after accusing him of trying to hit him during a rally back in Australia in January.

Or what about Rafael Nadal, surely he must be a big fan of Shakira especially after this video for the song Gitana. Still this song definitely doesn’t fit his style of play. Think of how the Spaniard plays, he is relentless, aggressive and unwavering. Above it all is the passion.