00:00Hello and welcome to the Scotsman's Daily Video Bulletin for this Monday.
00:05It's a balmy summer's day and we're here to talk all things sport,
00:09but firstly the front page of today's Scotsman.
00:12And we led on police close to breaking points as absence figures saw,
00:17a report by our Deputy Political Editor, David Boll,
00:21and he was talking through the rise of mental health absences for Police Scotland.
00:26It's gone up over 50% over the past three years
00:31and has become a real concern amidst ongoing pressure around the force
00:37in terms of its resources as well.
00:39You'll see Rod Stewart there on the front,
00:42clearly a big show in the Legends slot at Glastonbury yesterday.
00:47Just some news out on the music front this morning,
00:49which is Lewis Capaldi announcing two new shows,
00:53one in Aberdeen and one in Glasgow for later this year in September.
00:57That'll be of interest to a lot of our readers,
00:59so you can read the latest on that at scotsman.com.
01:02There's also a pullout there on Wimbledon.
01:06Mark Atkinson joins us, Sports Editor for the Scotsman.
01:09We'll get to Wimbledon in a minute,
01:11but there's some breaking news out this morning
01:13and a long-standing Harts figure.
01:16Mark, standing down, talk us through it.
01:18Yeah, Anne Budge, the Harts chairwoman,
01:22has decided to stand down after 12 years at the club in that role.
01:28She leaves quite a legacy.
01:30She's been dubbed the Queen of Harts
01:31for the way she saved the club from administration
01:34and liquidation, I should say, back in 2013,
01:38which seems like a long time ago.
01:40So much has changed at Harts.
01:41Under her watch, there's a new main stand.
01:45The club's finished third on numerous occasions
01:47in the Premiership, making Scottish Cup finals as well.
01:50Also some relegations along the way,
01:52and her tenure didn't come without criticism
01:54from the fan base at times.
01:56I think a lot of people will feel
01:57it's the right time for her to go.
01:59Potentially, even some would have said
02:00that she should have gone before now,
02:03but regardless of where you stand on that,
02:05she's been an incredible figure for the club
02:08and actually in Scottish football as a whole.
02:10And I think what it does is further emphasise
02:14the change that's coming at Harts.
02:16Toni Bloom took investment last week,
02:1829% shareholding of the club.
02:21There's obviously a wind of change
02:23sweeping through Tynecastle,
02:25and Budge herself has said
02:26that it feels like the right time for her to go.
02:29So another major development at Harts,
02:32a club that's been really moved-worthy
02:34over the past month or so,
02:36and I think it will nearly strengthen
02:39the excitement of many Harts fans
02:41who feel under manager Derek McInnes
02:43and the Tony Blue Mirror
02:44that good times are not far away.
02:48Yeah, definitely a new chapter
02:49taking place there, Mark.
02:51You can read the early report
02:53from Mark Atkinson on the site as we speak.
02:56Just go to the Sports tab in the navigation bar
02:58if you can't find any of our latest football coverage.
03:01Mark, I know you're passionate about tennis.
03:04It's the first day of Wimbledon.
03:05It's one of the big fortnights
03:06of the British sporting calendar every year.
03:10I just want to get your thoughts on
03:11who you're excited to see,
03:13any matches that you're looking out for
03:15that we know may line up at this stage.
03:19Yeah, it's an exciting period.
03:21What are you expecting?
03:22It is.
03:23I think we've got my tennis whites on today
03:24for this video.
03:26Yeah, really excited about Wimbledon.
03:28It doesn't quite feel the same for me
03:30when Andy Murray's not there.
03:31And, of course, even last year,
03:33we thought we might see him play in some capacity.
03:37But this time around, no Murray,
03:39but the quality of tennis across both the men's
03:43and the women's game, really exciting.
03:45I'll start on the men's side.
03:47You've always got Carlos Alcaraz and Yannick Sinner
03:50who are expected to develop their incredible rivalry
03:54after the French Open.
03:56Carlos Alcaraz, for me, is the favourite
03:57after winning Queens.
03:59But there's so many other good men's players.
04:01Jack Draper, British number one.
04:03He's seeded fourth, although he's got a very tough draw.
04:06I'm looking forward to watching him play.
04:08I'm also looking forward to watching Jacob Fearnley,
04:10our own Scottish player.
04:12Edinburgh, he cracked the top 50 not that long ago
04:14and is a good prospect.
04:17There'll be lots of really, really fascinating games.
04:19The women's side, somebody asked me a couple days ago,
04:21who do you think will win the women's Wimbledon?
04:23And I honestly thought of about 30 players
04:25that could win it.
04:26It's such a strong and deep field.
04:30There'll be a lot of focus on Arina Sadbilenka,
04:33Coco Goff.
04:34But this tournament has been won by some dangerous players,
04:37not least the defending champion Barbara Krajcikova,
04:39who came out of nowhere to win it before.
04:41So, yeah, if you're a fan of tennis right now
04:44and just enjoy drama,
04:46I think this Wimbledon could really throw up.
04:47But it would be very difficult for people to nail down a winner
04:51on both sides.
04:52And that's what makes it so exciting.
04:54Mark, I think there'd been, well, in some quarters,
04:57some criticism around the women's game
04:58with the dominance of the Williams sisters ending
05:02and Sharapova going out of the game.
05:04You know, who was going to be there to sustain it?
05:07Who were going to be the contenders?
05:09Actually, it's a pretty exciting mix, isn't it?
05:12There's, as you say, a sort of a blanket
05:13could be thrown across a dozen that could win.
05:16Oh, definitely, definitely.
05:18And there's also so many good characters
05:20in the women's game as well now.
05:21We've got so many rising stars.
05:23And then you've got the kind of British angle to it as well
05:25for this tournament.
05:26Emma Raducanu, a lot of focus on her.
05:28I don't think she expects herself to do that well this year,
05:31but there's always a frenzy around her.
05:34Katie Bolter, who was dethroned by Raducanu
05:36as British number one.
05:38She's had a really good year.
05:39I wouldn't expect her to win it,
05:41but she could certainly go deeper in there.
05:44I think you could look at this, honestly,
05:4630, 40 players in the women's draw
05:48who could conceivably go on one of those runs
05:50and win it.
05:51And that's great for the sport.
05:53Yes, you love having glamorous players
05:55like the Williams sisters,
05:56but I think if you love your sport,
05:59you're going to get a really, really exciting
06:00fortnight at women's tennis and men's tennis.
06:03It's a great time,
06:04and I'm sure the viewing figures will relate to that
06:08when we get deeper into it.
06:11And just quickly, not to put you on the spot,
06:13but where does that French Open men's final rate
06:15in terms of some of the best games you've watched?
06:18Oh, it's up there.
06:20I find it hard sometimes to rate these matches.
06:22As you get older, you've watched so many
06:23and they blur, but it was just a joy.
06:27It was just such an amazing game of tennis.
06:29And I think what it did,
06:30what was so important about that match, Dale,
06:32is that it showed there's life after Roger Federer,
06:35Rafael Nadal, Novak Joplin, Andy Murray.
06:37People always worry that when those types of players disappear,
06:41you're not going to have the same level.
06:44But what those guys produced was right up there
06:47with the very best of the big four.
06:50Reminded me a bit of that classic
06:51between Nadal and Federer at Wimbledon
06:53a number of years ago now, a terrific match.
06:57You can get all the latest around Wimbledon
07:00and everything else on sport at scotsman.com.
07:04If you are watching matches throughout this week,
07:07either heading down to London
07:09or just enjoying it up here in Scotland,
07:12remember, it's going to be hot.
07:13It's due to be 34, 35 down in London today.
07:17And it should be as high as 24 in Scotland.
07:21So if you've got some time off, enjoy the weather,
07:24but enjoy it responsibly as well.
07:27Mark, thank you for joining us.
07:28And thanks to everyone else for tuning in.
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