How the UK Aced Covid, sort of …

London yesterday. Spectators give a spontaneous standing ovation to Oxford Professor Sarah Gilbert (below), who was one of the scientists involved in developing the Astra-Zeneca vaccine and one of 100 key worker special guests on opening day. (The Age, 29 JUN, 2021)

Here are the Covid-19 Vaccination stats for the UK as of yesterday:

BBC, 29 JUN 2021

The UK recorded 22, 868 cases yesterday, but only 3 deaths.

The last time the UK recorded close to 23,000 cases was on 16 December 2020. That day, 613 deaths were announced. (The Age, 29 JUN 2021)

In 2019, in the UK, the total death toll was 616,014 or 1688 per day. Tragically but realistically elderly patients with multiple health issues are more likely to contract Covid and die from complications exacerbated by Covid-19 but not necessarily caused by the virus.

The death toll numbers are now encouragingly low in the UK despite the high infection rates from the highly contagious Covid Delta variant.

UPDATE:

On 9 July 2021, the UK recorded 35,707 cases and 29 Deaths. According to  Worldometer stats  (below), the case numbers and deaths are still rising. Too soon to celebrate even though the UK Freedom Day is only 10 days away.

Tennis Math: Is player height a BIG advantage? USA units

Metric version here.

The Australian Open is on at the moment in Melbourne in LOCKDOWN. (We have 1 community-acquired case. Tennis players are in a bubble.)

Is height a BIG advantage in tennis?

Here are the heights of 3 top seeds in the Australian  Open. (See graph below)

No. 1 Novak Djokovic    6ft 1″  (73 in)

No. 6 Alexander Zverev  6ft 6’   (78 in)

No. 8 Diego Schwartzman  5ft 7’  (67 in)

1. Does serve speed increase with height?

That would be an advantage. Here is a Height vs Serve Speed chart for the Top 6 seeds in the tournament:

Find serve speed data here.

There is NO CLEAR HEIGHT ADVANTAGE for serve speed.

2. Does the serve return rate increase with height?

Here is Diego Schwartzman (L) when he defeated Alexander Zverev (R ) in the 2019 US Open.

What is Schwartzman’s Super Power?

Schwartzman, the shortest player on the circuit (see graph above), tops the service returns stats. Highest 2nd serve return rate. Third highest 1st serve return rate. See data below. So agility, speed, and reaction times are also important factors in becoming a tennis star.

Go Schwartzee! Check data here.

Tennis Maths: Is player height a BIG advantage? Metric

USA units post here.

The Australian Open is on at the moment in Melbourne in LOCKDOWN. (We have 1 community-acquired case. Tennis players are in a bubble.)

Is height a BIG advantage in tennis?

Here are the heights of 3 top seeds in the Australian  Open. (See graph below)

No. 1 Novak Djokovic  188cm

No. 6 Alexander Zverev  198cm

No. 8 Diego Schwartzman  170cm

1. Does serve speed increase with height?

That would be an advantage. Here is a Height vs Serve Speed chart for the Top 6 seeds in the tournament:

Find serve speed data here.

There is NO CLEAR HEIGHT ADVANTAGE for serve speed.

2. Does the serve return rate increase with height?

Here is Diego Schwartzman (L) when he defeated Alexander Zverev (R ) in the 2019 US Open.

What is Schwartzman’s Super Power?

Schwartzman, the shortest player on the circuit (see graph above), tops the service returns stats. Highest 2nd serve return rate. Third highest 1st serve return rate. See data below. So agility, speed, and reaction times are also important factors in becoming a tennis star.

Go Schwartzee! Check data here.

Terrifying Tennis Maths: The Speed of Novak Djokovic’s serve. METRIC

USA units post here.

Novak Djokovic is the No. 1 Seed in the Australian Open 2021.

His fastest serve = 219 kph

Could you return his serve? Do the maths!!!!!!

The ball leaves Djokovic’s racket and hits the ground 0.31 secs later.

Go here to see why this simplified calculation works! 

Mathspig tested her reaction time here. TRY IT!

Mathspig’s best, best, best reaction time = O.33 sec

The fastest serve EVER was delivered by Australian Sam Groth @ 263 kph.

That serve takes 0.25 sec to land on the other side of the court.

Terrifying Tennis Math: The Speed of Novak Djokovic’s serve. USA units

METRIC post here.

Novak Djokovic is the No. 1 Seed in the Australian Open 2021.

His fastest serve = 136 mph

Could you return his serve? Do the math!!!!!!

The ball leaves Djokovic’s racket and hits the ground 0.30 secs later.

Go here to see why this simplified calculation works! 

Mathspig tested her reaction time here. TRY IT!

Mathspig’s best, best, best reaction time = O.33 sec

The fastest serve EVER was delivered by Australian Sam Groth @163.4 mph. That serve takes 0.25 sec to land on the other side of the court.

 

Australian Open 2020: Could YOU ….. return Roger Federer’s serve?

The Australian Tennis Open is being played at the moment and Mathspig is always amazed at the serve speed of the top-seeded players.

Here are some of the serves speeds of players in this year’s Men’s Open. 

Keep in mind the fastest female tennis serve by Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová is a very respectable 225 km/h (140 mph).

Can you return Roger Federer’s serve?

NOTE: Andy Murray had the same serve speed as Roger Federer.

Go here to see why this simplified calculation works! 

Mathspig tested her reaction time here. TRY IT!

Mathspig’s best, best, best reaction time = O.33 sec

Could Mathspig return Roger Federer’s serve?

Nooooo!…………………………………………………………………….

I’d be hit in the head by a speeding tennis ball

before I even moved.

But I’m a pig. I’ve got the best service GRUNT! Ha!

Tennis: Andy Murray is serving. How long have you got to return his serve?

 No. 1 UK tennis star Andy Murray is currently playing in the Melbourne Open. 

Mathspig often pops along to watch the tennis. 

Andy Murray’s Serve by Carineo6

Could you return Andy Murray’s serve? 

According to Wikipedia Andy Murray’s fastest serve speed is:

Andy Murray = 233 km/h (145 mph)

Keep in mind the fastest female tennis serve by Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová is a very respectable 225 km/h (140 mph).

Go here to see why this simplified calculation works! 

Mathspig tested her reaction time here. TRY IT!

Mathspig’s best, best, best reaction time = O.33 sec

Could Mathspig return Andy Murray’s serve?

Nooooo!…………………………………………………………………….

I’d be hit in the head by a speeding tennis ball

before I even moved.

But I’m a pig. I got the best service GRUNT! Ha!

MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig MathsPig …………………………………………………. with Kerry Cue

Hellooooooooo Darlings,

Mathspig is going to the Aussie Open Tennis Semi-finals tonight.

Some quick maths.

Men’s and Women’s Singles Prize Money;

Win; $3,100,000 

Runner UP: $1,550,00

It cost me … ARGGHHHH! … $Aus250 a ticket. If they play for the average game time of a Grand Slam match of 1 1/2 hrs it will costing me $2.78 a minute or 1 1/2 cappuccinos a minute. 

If the game goes for 3 hrs (more common in finals) it will be costing me $1.39 a minute, but the winner gets $650,000 for playing in a semi-final and that means they earn – for 3 hrs – $7,222 a minute. Now that is a lot of cappuccinos. 

Of course, tennis stars need maths … to count all that loot!!!!!!!

…………………………………………………….

kissy kissy

………………………………………………………….

Mathspig

 

Could you return Andy Murray’s serve?

 

Mathspig is, like, soooooo excited. Tonight I’m gong to watch

TOMAS BERDYCH

Tomas Berdych (CZE) [7] play Andy Murray (GBR) [6] in the Semi-finals at the Australian Tennis Open.

Andy Murray

Some quick maths.

Tomas Berdych is 1.96 METRES (6 FT. 5 IN.) 

While Andy Murray is 1.91 METRES (6 FT. 3 IN.)

But, but, but …. Andy Murray, who is 26 years old and is 2 years younger than Berdych.

Would you be able to return the serve of a top tennis player?

Here is the serve speed of the of the fastest recorded tennis serves in the world:

 

How long would it take a tennis ball traveling at these speeds to reach the service line on the other side of the court?

BUT … BUT … BUT … 

The tennis ball leaves the servers racket approx 3m above the baseline and travels along the hypotenuse to the service line. We must call in Pythagorus Theorem!!!!

 

You can calculate the time it takes a tennis ball to reach the service line for each player in the Top 10 Service Speeds List by using the simple v = x/t equation.

The big question is this:

How fast is YOUR reaction time?

You have to be able to move your racket before the ball arrives.

Can you do it mathspiggies?

You can calculate your reaction time by two methods:

1. The meter rule Method:

See details at Top End Sports Website.

2. Online Reaction Time Test

This is the best reaction time clock I’ve seen because it uses a traffic light system. Here is Mathspig’s reaction time:

Mathspigs reaction time was : 0.33 secs (see above)

So Mathspig would probably be hit on the head by a serve by Samuel Groth.

Could you return Andy Murray’s serve? 

According to Wikipedia fastest service speed times for these two players are:

Andy Murray = 233 km/h (145 mph)

Tomas Berdych = 226.0 km/h (140.4 mph)

Tomas Berdych service speed just beats the fastest female tennis serve by Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová at 225 km/h (140 mph).

Could Mathspig react in time to return Andy Murray’s server? Could you react in time?

Tomas Berdych’s serve would hit the line after 0.29 secs. Once again, I’d still be hit on the head. Ditto the top female tennis players.

Mathspig might lose if she played in the Aussie Tennis Open, but I’m a pig. I’d win serve GRUNT of the match. Ha!