It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye

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safin

On 11-11-09 at 9:00am EST, Marat Safin was sent into retirement by Juan Martin del Potro.

At least Marat made the Pony earn it.

The match lasted three sets and was fairly entertaining. It had a few racquets tosses here and there. Marat cursing himself out as well as giving Carlos Bernardes lip for not seeing a ball that was clearly long out at the beginning of the match. The match at least showed us that Marat TRIED to win it. What wasn’t to like about Marat Safin’s final match?

Just that. It was his FINAL MATCH.

Just Stop It Already!!!

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clijsters, date krumm, henin, hingis, molik, safin

Okay.

I. Have. Had. It.

First, it was Martina Hingis. Then it was Kim Clijsters. Then it was Justine Henin. Now it is Alicia Molik.

Can you guess where I’m heading with this?

Ladies, if you’re going to retire, and USE the actual word RETIRE, mean it. Stop throwing around the word RETIREMENT so carelessly. It’s ridiculous and it’s getting effin annoying. If you’re going to quit the game, quit and stay gone. If not, call what you’re doing a sabbatical or something. There’s a a LIST of women who so-called “retired” only to pick up their rackets a year or two later and try to hit again.

My Golden Age…

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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).

Clowns and Clownettes: Part 1

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clijsters, del potro, federer, gasquet, gulbis, ivanovic, k. bondarenko, king, murray, nadal, safin, safina, serena, us open, venus

Whole lotta shakin’ going on at the US Open. Several clowns and clownettes were on the court.

Potato lasted exactly 30 games at the Open this year. That’s right. She did one worse than last year by losing to a sister. Admittedly, I might be biased towards ladies who are sisters (Williams, Radwanskas, Bondarenkos). I have two sisters myself and I am the middle sister (I have the necklace to prove it). Anysmoo, Dark-Purple People Eater lost to Kateryna Bondarenko… yesterday. Dinara Safina scrapped through a match that by all accounts she deserved to lose. I was actually rooting for her to lose; the tennis was just THAT bad.

Honestly, I cannot get over how bad the tennis was. It was pitiful. I just had to laugh. It was a battle to see who could hit more forehands out or double fault more. There was one particularly well-played point in the third set and that was it. Everything else was almost always decided on errors. So, Dinara Safina, your first round match was officially the worst match played all year on either tours.

Realistically Speaking

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dementieva, djokovic, espn, federer, ivanovic, jankovic, murray, nadal, safin, safina, serena, sharapova, us open, venus

Okay now. There are a lot of things that people want to happen at the US Open this year. I know it is the final Grand Slam. The players’ very SOULS are at stake here, people! Serena and Shank-a-Lot have the chance to go 3-for-4.  Can they do it? Seeing how Serena has not won any other titles this year EXCEPT Grand Slams just goes to show where her main interests lay. On the other hand, I must say that Shanx better hope Nole gets his side. If not, hope someone takes Rafa out before Rafa gets to him.