For those of us who like to follow the grand slams of tennis a marvellous fortnight ends today with the Wimbledon men’s final, arguably the greatest grand slam of all.

There was a time when enthusiasts of principal sports like tennis and football had to follow live games on radio. Television altered all that. Now is the age of live transmission and following.

The jump made in the sector in Malta has meant that for 10 years we could follow the major sports events on the sports channel of Melita Cable.

With the advent of competition by Go, coverage has been split but also extended. A move to unify major sports transmissions has not led to agreement.

Many of us complain that to view sport we would like to watch we have to subscribe to both local companies, unless we bend the law by linking up to satellite transmission.

Disappointment and complaints aside, I do not really see how the two companies can satisfy all viewers by uniting their sport channels. Either we believe in the spirit of competition, or we don’t.

Admittedly, competition by the sports channels is probably costing the country, as the companies are tempted or forced to bid up against each other. But that’s the way it goes.

Luckily a foreign service – Eurosport – is free-to-air on both networks. That is how tennis enthusiasts were able to watch the French grand slam and follow history being made.

We saw Rafael Nadal win his sixth French title and Li Na win the women’s title and to become the first Chinese, the first Asian, in fact, to win such a great international tournament.

Yes indeed, tennis enthusiasts had a field day. A whole month of it. For those who, like me, follow the local and international political and economic scenes, as a matter of interest and to be able to comment on them, the sporting month offered great relief.

What with the divorce legislation issue, minister’s pay, the Greek crisis and the financial resources we too are allocating to it, the endless debate about water and electricity tariffs, and whatever else not our observers’ plate is full to overflowing.

Which means I read and follow current affairs reports almost as an obligation, but spend quite a few hours plonked in front our second TV set watching football or tennis as a matter of joyful choice.

That is not to say that I do not get exercised thereby. I am an avid Manchester United supporter in football, and a slavish fan of Rafael Nadal in tennis. When they’re playing I always fear the worst.

At the same time my curious nature cannot be stilled through my sports diversion. I find things that strike me in the sporting life as well. The tennis month, for instance, triggered several of them.

Tennis has strict rules, not only for the players but also for those watching them. It is a basic rule, for instance, that while game is being played the crowd does not utter a single word.

Contrast that silence with what takes place in a football match. The crowd never stops roaring and singing and at times insulting away. That atmosphere is part of the match even at the most religious of moments.

Take a penalty. Nothing in the game of football requires more focus. The penalty taker has to concentrate to decide where to direct the ball and whether to do so gently, hoping to send the goalkeeper the wrong way, or by shooting hard towards the goalmouth.

On the goalkeeper’s part his work at that moment is even harder. He has to second-guess the penalty taker.

A profound moment, surely more so than any rally in tennis, any service attempting as an ace. And yet in football a penalty is taken amid deafening shouts and whistles.

The supporters of the player taking the penalty unite to disconcert the goalkeeper. Those who support the goalkeeper’s team unite to shove the penalty taker off his stride.

In tennis it is a holy silence. In football it is bedlam, or worse with that cursed instrument played throughout the World Cup in South Africa. The contrast is striking.

One would think it couldn’t be more so. But it can. Take a boxing match. Two men are intent on literally destroying each other. David Haye, the British world heavyweight champion who fought last night, said he would only shake his opponent’s hand when he went to see him in hospital after the fight.

But does a fight take place in front of a silent crowd. You bet it doesn’t.

The boxing crowd is even more raucous than that at a football match, especially when one boxer is hammering his hapless opponent to the floor.

There are other contrasts. In football a goalscorer who takes off his shirt in delight is booked. In tennis a male player changes his top in front of the crowd to the oohs and ahs of the girls in it.

Footballers spit all the time. Tennis players, who surely exert themselves as much, do not, bar the Nadal habit of a careful spit on clay.

Contradictions abound in this sporting life. Still, I love escaping current affairs to watch it.