Wimbledon Betting 
/ Dan Fitch / 25 May 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Peter Ustinov has been spared.
Dan Fitch takes a look at the tennis stars who just can't play the game quietly.
Tennis is a tough enough game to play without being distracted, so spare a thought for anyone who has had to face the noisiest characters in the sport.
Here are the five worst grunters in tennis.
Tennis grunting may be thought of as a female pursuit, but the Godfather of the Grunt was Jimmy Connors. Others would eclipse him in terms of decibels in later years, but Connors was the pioneer of the art of making a funny noise while simultaneously hitting a tennis ball.
Having one grunter at the other side of the net is bad enough, but two is really difficult to cope with. When the Williams sisters play together in double matches, Venus provides a solid if unremarkable high-pitched shriek and Serena emits a low guttural groan that makes us slightly scared.
Once the reigning monarch of tennis screamers, Monica Seles' grunts attracted a lot of attention for sounding a bit rude. Even Peter Ustinov felt compelled to comment, stating: "I'd hate to be next door to her on her wedding night." Seles remains unmarried.
A young pretender to the grunting throne is the 18-year old Portuguese pro Michelle Larcher de Brito, whose noisy net-play has caused a lot of controversy. On being labelled as unsportsmanlike, Larcher de Brito said: "I could (stop grunting), but, you know, it won't feel natural, because it feels like something is missing in my game if I just stop." In case you're wondering, the thing that will be missing is the sound of an animal that has been caught in a mantrap and is being tortured with a red-hot poker.
The cream of the screamers is Maria Sharapova, who screeches 'whoooooa' every time she hits the ball, in a manner somewhat reminiscent of the wrestling legend Rick Flair. In the following match in Australia her cries left the crowd in hysterics and even prompted one spectator to tell her to 'shut up'. Her opponents wish she would.
From McEnroe to Serena, Dan Fitch looks at the players who let their tempers get in the way of their tennis....
Rafael Nadal made light work of Tomas Berdych this afternoon to win his second Wimbledon title......
The pre-tournament favourite blows away Vera Zvonareva to successfully defend her Wimbledon title......
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