Anyone for Tennis Players?

OK, so having failed dismally to come up with any more good things about the world cup (though Amanda did make the point about the beer, I suppose) I'm going to turn my attention to Wimbledon.

I have to confess at the outset that I myself have the hand eye co-ordination of an amoeba and the athletic prowess of a garden snail, so my interest in these sporting events is purely aesthetic. Which brings me to today's question, ladies...

Why are tennis players generally sexier than footballers?

Obviously there are a few notable exceptions, but as a general rule of thumb I think it works. But why? Could it be something to do with the heroic solitude of the two opponents, facing each other in some kind of modern-day hand-to-hand duel? There's a personal element to the whole event that makes it feel like a matter of masculine pride and honour rather than just a game. (And a rather banal game too, when you think about it.)

Men playing football and taking it very seriously just look like a bunch of fiercely overexcited six-year olds, but the dark, brooding focus on the lean faces of the tennis players is damned sexy. Perhaps it's also the way the camera zooms and lingers, so you can see the beads of sweat on their foreheads and the way their throats move as they swallow. The white kit certainly helps, I think. So much more upmarket-- and flattering to a summer tan-- than all that lurid polyester with its chavtastic brand advertising. Footballers with long hair look like cruise-liner singers. Tennis players with long hair look like beautiful pirates. And tennis has a sort of slow-motion grace and muscle-rippling elegance that does it for me every time.

What I'm really trying to say is don't be surprised if you don't hear much from me over the next 2 weeks. I'm calling it research. So there.

(Oh, and by the way, if anyone would like to make a case-- in the name of balance and fairness-- for the sex appeal of any other sportsmen, we'd all be more than delighted to debate it. Golfers anyone??)