Financial Times 17,131 by GUY

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Ace challenge from Guy with a topical theme.

I started with a few easy clues going straight in, but as I worked through, I found myself more and more delighted with the clues. A challenging and exciting puzzle. My vote for clue of the day has to be 8d (simple and clever), but so many more can be commended. Loved Osaka’s big cushion, and John McEnroe’s method is a gem too! Many thanks to Guy.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1. Fiddle Swiatek carelessly holds the wrong way round (6)
RACKET

[Swia]TEK CAR[elessly]< (holds, <the wrong way round)

4. Super shot by Halep, perhaps during golf (8)
SMASHING

SMASH (shot by Halep perhaps) + IN (during) + G (golf)

10. Son gripped by awful double faultiness (9)
DISREPAIR

S (son) gripped by DIRE (awful) + PAIR (double)

11. Beat me with top shot (5)
TEMPO

(ME TOP)* (*shot)

12. Nadal retiring? Nowhere near (4)
AFAR

RAFA< (Nadal, <retiring)

13. Grassy knoll where shots seen as dear chap fell? (6,4)
HENMAN HILL

HEN (dear) + MAN (chap) + HILL (fell)

15. Roof’s opening in Centre Court, perfect (7)
CORRECT

R[oof] (opening) in CORE (centre) + CT (court)

16. Watching players all in white swear (6)
ATTEST

AT TEST (watching players all in white) *cricket reference

19. Favourite evidently embarrassed by fuss (6)
ADORED

RED (evidently embarrassed) by ADO (fuss)

21. Good uniform English grass reflected in edge of cutter? (7)
GUNWALE

G (good) + U (uniform) + (E (English) + LAWN (grass))< (<reflected)

23. It’s logical that Boulter flourished, missing nothing (5,5)
TRUTH TABLE

(THAT B[o]ULTER)* (*flourished, missing 0 (nothing))

25. Post-war reminder of triumph in pre-war Championships (4)
ARCH

[pre-w]AR CH[ampionships] (in)

27. Initially three love in games, Osaka’s big cushion (5)
FUTON

T[hree] (initially) + O (love) in FUN (games)

28. Ladies’ Draw or Men’s Draw? (3,6)
SEX APPEAL

Cryptic definition

29, 30. McEnroe’s method perhaps drove Evans crazy, wanting call out overturned (5,3,6)
SERVE AND VOLLEY

(DROVE EVANS)* (*crazy) + YELL< (call out, <overturned)

DOWN
1. Dry balls with containers set aside for removal (8)
RIDDANCE

[a]RID (dry) + DANCE[s] (balls) with containers (outer letters) set aside

2. Playing Dart, score appeared on screen as equal (2-7)
CO-STARRED

(DART, SCORE)* (*playing)

3. Before the end of Wimbledon, no.1 lady quits (4)
EVEN

Before [Wimbledo]N (end of), EVE (no.1 lady)

5. Rearing sheep, maybe Raducanu gets an Italian sheepdog (7)
MAREMMA

RAM< (sheep, <rearing) + EMMA (maybe Radacanu)

6. Guaranteed some tennis this month – ace! (3,2,5)
SET IN STONE

SET (some tennis) + INST (this month) + ONE (ace)

7. A bit of ice regularly calms Brit’s feet (5)
IAMBI

I[ce] (a bit of) + [c]A[l]M[s] B[r]I[t] (regularly)

8. Spinning ball goes to and fro, two completing rally (6)
GOOGLY

GO + OG (GOes to and fro) + [ral]LY (two completing)

9. Obvious soft shot crossing net returned (6)
PATENT

PAT (soft shot) crossing NET< (<returned)

14. Fresh clothes, going into fifth? (4-6)
GEAR-CHANGE

Double definition

17. Isn’t Swiss legend here, asks Spooner in gap between flights (9)
STAIRWELL

“WHERE’S TELL?” (Isn’t Swiss legend here?) *William Tell

18. Allow cut grass to cover lines, with terrible consequences (8)
LETHALLY

LET (allow) + HAY (cut grass) to cover LL (lines)

20. Rising protégé male seed encourages to advance (5,2)
DRAWS ON

WARD< (protege, <rising) + SON (male seed)

21. Stars meeting for sport with unknowns (6)
GALAXY

GALA (meeting for sport) with XY (unknowns)

22. Ram and Salisbury’s first defeats (6)
STUFFS

STUFF (ram) + S[alisbury’s] (first)

24. Perfect club for a gentle hit on grass, no pressure (5)
UTTER

[p]UTTER (club for a gentle hit on grass, no P (pressure))

26. Mate’s instruction to keep very quiet between rounds (4)
OPPO

PP (very quiet) between OO (rounds)

21 comments on “Financial Times 17,131 by GUY”

  1. A splendid tribute to SW19, with nods to other sports played on the green stuff. Found this a stiff challenge for a Monday but when I saw the theme, I had to go the distance and was very glad I did. Was impressed by how many British talents were name-checked throughout as well as the inventive use of other names known in this field.
    But my favourite had to be Naomi’s big cushion. Fun and games indeed!
    Thanks to Guy and Teacow and now, it’s time to turn my attention to the real thing.

  3. Lots of entertaining clues and an enjoyable theme. I liked the McEnroe related clues and the sports, but not tennis, surfaces for GOOGLY and UTTER.

    Even though I ended up not being able to solve it, my favourite was the misleading surface for HENMAN HILL; it’s a long way from current day Wimbledon to Dallas in 1963.

    Thanks to Guy for number 3 and to Teacow

  4. Not being a follower of professional tennis, I was pleased to complete all but one clue: 13A – a bit hard for an Australian non-tennis fan. The only word that I could thing of for the first six letters was “German”.

    I had to rely on an internet search for “Halep” and “Raducana” , both words were unknown to me.

  6. It must have been 2002 when the UK press referred to a certain Aussie as the Henmanator
    Certainly not the Guardian
    I was watching it in a pub in Lyme Regis-and it didnt rain there!(te pub that is)

  10. Thanks for the blog , nice clues but I hope we are not getting two weeks of this nonsense, it is in the Guardian as well. Two weeks of torrential rain would be welcome. The only consolation is that it does not invade Radio 4 .

  11. Thanks Diane. Still seems a bit obscure.

    I enjoy tennis but am not a fanatic, Although Roz was a touch grumpy, I doubt our setters will continue the theme. But, like crosswords , Wimbledon is just a bit of fun. Not enough of this about at present.

  12. Oppo is indeed from ‘opposite number’. Originally military I believe, it stems from when people were buddied up in pairs, who were ‘you and your oppo’.

  14. I was definitely not on this GUY’s wavelength! Forget DNF, I was almost DNS – only solved 7 of 30.

  15. Watching the tennis this evening I see that OPPO is the official smartphone partner of Wimbledon . Today is the first time I have heard of it.

  17. An interesting puzzle which we did manage to complete, but we weren’t particularly impressed. We thought some of the clues were too contrived in order to fit the theme – 1dn, 20dn and 22dn in particular; on the other hand we did like 8dn.
    Thanks, though, to setter and blogger.

  18. Too much tennis for me I’m afraid and I agree with allan_c about some clues being contrived — I did enjoy TEMPO, CORRECT, SERVE AND VOLLEY, and my favourite, FUTON. Thanks to both.

  19. I share Teacow’s enthusiasm for this. In addition to clues already pointed out, some others had nice touches. The doubles team of Ram and Salisbury. ‘Isn’t Swiss legend here’ alluding to Federer’s absence. The surface of ‘Nadal retiring? Nowhere near.’ “Watching players all in white swear’ — a misdirection to another sport. ‘Roof’s opening’ — we can only hope for a dry fortnight. ‘Awful double faultiness’ — that sounds like my game. Many thanks to Guy. It reminded me of when the FT had a setter who did few puzzles other than the annual tribute to the championships. When that puzzle ceased I thought the topic was gone forever.

  20. Great comment, ub and I agree with your highlights . As with any theme, familiarity with the subject certainly enhances an appreciation of the puzzle and its nuances.
    Now, if it were cricket (or various other topics) I’d be at a loss though I doubt it would stop me from trying – as long as clues are fair, that is. 5d wasn’t that perhaps – and I got this from knowing the dog breed – but then again, the British press went into overdrive about Ms Radacanu’s success so her name is well known in the UK at least.

  21. Good puzzle, helped rather than hindered by the theme, I thought, although I’m not a tennis fan.
    I detect a gender split in relative enthusiasm. Certainly, I shall be a grass widower – if that’s a phrase – for this next fortnight. Roll on the World Cup.

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