Just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been watching! Honestly, it's like you don't even know me at all.
What on earth is happening this year? R-Fed going down two sets and facing match point in the first round... Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters losing in the quarters to a couple randos... The longest match in tennis history three times over... Roddick, last year's finalist, out in the round of 16 by a guy ranked in the 80s... And the Queen making an appearance for the first time in 33 years.
[UPDATE 6/30: Federer is OUT! Not even in the semis! Dude!]
I guess anything can happen this year. Can you say ANDY MURRAY.
At least I owe ESPN2 an unending well of gratitude for replacing the awful Chris "I Know Nothing About Tennis And Have No Personality" McKendry with a substantially better woman--Suzy Kolber? I keep missing her name--who actually says intelligent things and does a good job wrangling Brad Gilbert and Pam Shriver instead of making me want to throw my bar books through the television. Thanks ESPN2! You did good!
[Although it must be said: no one will ever replace Mary Carillo in my heart. She's smart, funny and so cute. (I love you Mary.)]
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Le French Open, part deux
So I basically know next to nothing about tennis.
For the men's top eight, I predicted:
Federer, Soderling, Murray, Tsonga
Roddick, Ferrero, Gonzales, Nadal
Results: 3/8 correct. Actual top eight:
Federer v. Soderling, Berdych v. Youzhny
Melzer v. Djokovic, Almagro v. Nadal
And for the women's top eight, I predicted:
S. Williams, Sharapova, Wickmayer, Radwanska
Kuznetsova, Wozniaki, Dementieva, V. Williams
Results: 3/8 correct. Actual top eight:
S. Williams v. Stosur, Jankovic v. Shvedova
Schiavone v. Wozniaki, Dementieva v. Petrova
It's time for a new set of predictions! Hooray!
Men: Federer will play Berdych and Djokovic will play Nadal, with a Federer-Nadal final and Nadal winning in five.
Women: Honestly, I have no idea. But I'll go ahead and pick the upset: Stosur will beat Serena Williams to play Shvedova in the semis, and will go ahead to win the whole thing against Petrova in the finals. It's your year, Sam!
Fun week ahead.
For the men's top eight, I predicted:
Federer, Soderling, Murray, Tsonga
Roddick, Ferrero, Gonzales, Nadal
Results: 3/8 correct. Actual top eight:
Federer v. Soderling, Berdych v. Youzhny
Melzer v. Djokovic, Almagro v. Nadal
And for the women's top eight, I predicted:
S. Williams, Sharapova, Wickmayer, Radwanska
Kuznetsova, Wozniaki, Dementieva, V. Williams
Results: 3/8 correct. Actual top eight:
S. Williams v. Stosur, Jankovic v. Shvedova
Schiavone v. Wozniaki, Dementieva v. Petrova
It's time for a new set of predictions! Hooray!
Men: Federer will play Berdych and Djokovic will play Nadal, with a Federer-Nadal final and Nadal winning in five.
Women: Honestly, I have no idea. But I'll go ahead and pick the upset: Stosur will beat Serena Williams to play Shvedova in the semis, and will go ahead to win the whole thing against Petrova in the finals. It's your year, Sam!
Fun week ahead.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Le French Open
Two preliminary thoughts:
1. Jeez louise ESPN, why why why is that awful Chris McKendry in Paris? She doesn't know anything about tennis! She was terrible at the Australian Open! I have no idea what she's like with other sports--and honestly, I don't care. Important Producer Dudes: Get her off your tennis team. Brad Gilbert, Pam Shriver, Darren Cahill and the rest of the gang can make do just fine without her. And I won't feel tempted to throw my heavy-bottomed seltzer glasses through the TV screen.
2. The French crowd is rowdy, and that's an understatement. They whistle, boo, hiss, chant, and yell. During points, during serves, all the time. I feel sort of bad for the players, but as a general matter I think they're pretty coddled with all the hushed audiences they play for. A little rowdiness may be just what they need.
And, because I can, here's my first set of predictions.
MEN'S QUARTERS:
From the top half: Federer, Soderling, Murray, and Tsonga.
From the bottom half: Roddick, Ferrero, Gonzales, and (my boy!) Nadal.
WOMEN'S QUARTERS:
From the top half: Serena Williams, Sharapova, Wickmayer, and Radwanska.
From the bottom half: Kuznetsova, Wozniaki, Dementieva, and Venus Williams.
Make your own predictions here and here. And check back in a few days to see how much money I owe you.
1. Jeez louise ESPN, why why why is that awful Chris McKendry in Paris? She doesn't know anything about tennis! She was terrible at the Australian Open! I have no idea what she's like with other sports--and honestly, I don't care. Important Producer Dudes: Get her off your tennis team. Brad Gilbert, Pam Shriver, Darren Cahill and the rest of the gang can make do just fine without her. And I won't feel tempted to throw my heavy-bottomed seltzer glasses through the TV screen.
2. The French crowd is rowdy, and that's an understatement. They whistle, boo, hiss, chant, and yell. During points, during serves, all the time. I feel sort of bad for the players, but as a general matter I think they're pretty coddled with all the hushed audiences they play for. A little rowdiness may be just what they need.
And, because I can, here's my first set of predictions.
MEN'S QUARTERS:
From the top half: Federer, Soderling, Murray, and Tsonga.
From the bottom half: Roddick, Ferrero, Gonzales, and (my boy!) Nadal.
WOMEN'S QUARTERS:
From the top half: Serena Williams, Sharapova, Wickmayer, and Radwanska.
From the bottom half: Kuznetsova, Wozniaki, Dementieva, and Venus Williams.
Make your own predictions here and here. And check back in a few days to see how much money I owe you.
Monday, September 14, 2009
DELPOOOOOO!!!
Juan Martin Del Potro upsets Roger Federer to win the U.S. Open: 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Wimbledon
Yeah, I don't have too much to say. I'm surprised I didn't bust an artery what with all the hair-pulling tension I was feeling during that final match. I'm proud of our boy Andy Roddick, though his win over Murray did lose me my ice-cream bet. Oh well. This all should make the U.S. Open quite interesting. Maybe tickets to Flushing Meadows are in order? Can't wait!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Andy Roddick
He's playing really well at Wimbledon this year (though I've got an ice cream cone riding on his losing to Andy Murray in tomorrow's semifinal). But Andy Roddick is at his very bestest after the match, in the interview room. Here, from the NYT, he talks about the pain of becoming a second-tier player:
“When you’ve seen the Rolling Stones from the front row, and then all of a sudden you’re like, you know, seven or eight rows back and there’s a really tall guy in front of you waving his hands and screaming, you can’t see much,” Roddick said then. “It’s not going to be as good as the other shows.”
So what row is he in now?
“Getting closer,” Roddick said. “I can see what Mick Jagger is wearing now.”
“When you’ve seen the Rolling Stones from the front row, and then all of a sudden you’re like, you know, seven or eight rows back and there’s a really tall guy in front of you waving his hands and screaming, you can’t see much,” Roddick said then. “It’s not going to be as good as the other shows.”
So what row is he in now?
“Getting closer,” Roddick said. “I can see what Mick Jagger is wearing now.”
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Worthy
This is possibly the best piece of sports journalism I have ever read, a piece worthy of the greatness of Rafael nadal, and it's today's must-read.
"There is debate among serious tennis watchers . . . as to whether Nadal’s victory over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final last year was the greatest tennis match ever played or whether it has only been called the greatest tennis match ever played when, in fact, Nadal’s victory over his Spanish countryman Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals of the Australian Open in January was greater. Each match went on for more than four and a half hours. Each was desperate, operatic, repeatedly to-the-brink-and-back; each ended with Nadal collapsing to the court in triumph and the spectators exhausted and perspiring, and if you are not a tennis person, I suspect this may be somewhat hard to fathom — the idea that watching two men spend that many hours hitting a ball could actually make your heart pound so hard that you have to keep jumping up and yelling and grabbing your own head. But let me just suggest that if there were ever a time to understand why people invoke Shakespearean tragedy and ancient gladiators and so on when they carry on about competitive tennis, now is that time."
"There is debate among serious tennis watchers . . . as to whether Nadal’s victory over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final last year was the greatest tennis match ever played or whether it has only been called the greatest tennis match ever played when, in fact, Nadal’s victory over his Spanish countryman Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals of the Australian Open in January was greater. Each match went on for more than four and a half hours. Each was desperate, operatic, repeatedly to-the-brink-and-back; each ended with Nadal collapsing to the court in triumph and the spectators exhausted and perspiring, and if you are not a tennis person, I suspect this may be somewhat hard to fathom — the idea that watching two men spend that many hours hitting a ball could actually make your heart pound so hard that you have to keep jumping up and yelling and grabbing your own head. But let me just suggest that if there were ever a time to understand why people invoke Shakespearean tragedy and ancient gladiators and so on when they carry on about competitive tennis, now is that time."
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