06 Sunday Jun 2010
Been a while…
Roland Garros has come to a close. There were surprises and oddities among the regular. I must say that I’m quite pleased with the way the second major of the year concluded. Never have I seen the winners of the singles titles so exuberant and ecstatic at winning the title. It was beautiful to see and you’d be lying if you did not feel some semblance of warmth in your soul for seeing the winners of Roland Garros.
Let’s revisit some of the highlights of the year’s second major.
16 Friday Oct 2009
Posted in Tennis
Tags
blake, clijsters, del potro, djokovic, espn, federer, gulbis, henin, ivanovic, jankovic, kuznetsova, murray, nadal, oudin, roddick, roland garros, safin, safina, serena, simon, soderling, Tennis, tsonga, twitter, us open, wimbledon
… is officially over and done with.
After the US Open, has the tennis gotten any better? Um, the short answer is a blatant “no.” The general consensus (at least from my point of view), is that the tennis is NEVER stellar after the US Open to begin with. All the players are pretty much just trying to make it through the rest of the year, some playing injured and whatnot. After all, they get FINED if they do not play some tournaments like Masters.
So, we’re left with them pretty much half-assing it out there, massaging the ball around. Well, I will not say that. These are athletes and by nature they are competitive. I know they will compete until the last ball is struck; or at least try to. But I think this year was one of those prime examples of why the tennis schedule is too long (more prevalent in the ATP than WTA).
07 Sunday Jun 2009
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Seriously? I got up @ the crack of dawn for that? I suffered through 2hrs of John McEnroe for that? Don’t get me wrong; I’m fine with Shanx winning his 14th and becoming a blubbering idiot on international television. But I could’ve spent those 2hrs in a totally different way.
The final was a joke. It was a first round match. Toad choked the whole 2hrs. He played decent in the second set, but that was it. Complete joke of a match to cap off a joke of a tournament. Hats off to Shanx for finally keeping it together; even after that incident with the FC Barcelona guy. That was… odd.
Looks like the only way we’re ever gonna get a good final out of Shanx is if he plays Rafa in it. And it obviously can’t happen @ Roland Garros (shudders). But from now on, all Grand Slam finals must include those two. Who agrees? I don’t even care who wins; tennis wins when those two play.
BTW, the GOAT convo has begun. I don’t believe in that. Mary Carillo said the smartest thing all day: to wait until their career was over.
06 Saturday Jun 2009
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As tennis is my sport of choice, I will get emotional about it; jump, yell, scream, blame losses on players who wear blue potato sack dresses, etc. However, something happened to click last night. It’s something that has never happened before.
I have never claimed neutrality in a Grand Slam final. I have always wanted one or the other to win, even if I did not care for either player. Whether it be by flipping a coin or the old-fashioned way (“eenie, meenie, miney, moe”), I’ve always chosen.
Not this time.
Tomorrow, I’ll watch the final simply because I adore the game of tennis. If this makes me sound like a “bitter Nadal fan,” as some douche on my sister site put it, then so be it. My reasons have nothing to do with him. Besides, one reason is that I don’t particularly know which is the lesser of two evils.
Only a few seem to understand why I prefer each over the other for different reasons. It’s too complicated for some brains. So, I’ll remain neutral, sit back, and hope for some good tennis.
05 Friday Jun 2009
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The women’s final is set for Saturday at Roland Garros.
The players: Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova
Sveta beat Safina in Stuttgart. Safina struck back in Rome. It’s hard to choose between the two. Personally, I want Sveta to win. For some reason, I just see her as the sentimental favorite for me. I have always liked her.
Hell, even Shankapotomus said that his favorite female player to watch was Sveta.
But, Safina has history working for her. Potato Ivanovic made the final of Roland Garros in 2007, was destroyed in it, made the final of Oz in 2008, was done away with in it, and then won Roland Garros 2008, beating Safina handily. So far, Safina has taken these same steps. I suppose she’s technically due for her Slam victory, right?
If Sveta does win, she will be, in my humble opinion, the best active player to have never reached #1. Just further proof that the rankings system sucks sometimes.
Vamos, Sveta…
