Happy (belated) Australia Day! Did anyone take off yesterday in observance (the first Monday after January 26th)?
Caballeros:
When they said that the Djokovic family owns a Pizzeria and Pancake House in the ski mountains of Serbia, was anyone else thinking, "Mmm… Pancakes!" That gave Nole the early advantage in my mind. But JW's father Didier had a mean right hook, which sort of evened things out. How funny was it that a hoard of French fans were sitting/standing/chanting "Ali" right behind the Djokovic family box?
When they said that the Djokovic family owns a Pizzeria and Pancake House in the ski mountains of Serbia, was anyone else thinking, "Mmm… Pancakes!" That gave Nole the early advantage in my mind. But JW's father Didier had a mean right hook, which sort of evened things out. How funny was it that a hoard of French fans were sitting/standing/chanting "Ali" right behind the Djokovic family box?
In the end the match turned out like the movie (There Will Be Blood). Full of promise and it kept you on the edge of your seat, but it wasn't executed perfectly. Djokovic was Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis): A competitor, you will agree. Angry at the world, or at least the crowd that was against him. Don't tell Nole how many times he can bounce the ball, and don't tell him how to raise his family! Tsonga was the messiah for the 3rd Revelation [aka. Eli Sunday (played by Paul Dano)], followed by true believers, and the believers grew after the first amazing set. What a performance!, even Plainview could appreciate. But as the sets wore on God forsook Tsonga (or was he never chosen in the first place?), he didn't warn about Djokovic's forehand… The 4th set tie-break set the stage for drama, but it was one-sided in favor of the Serb. Final rating: 3.5 stars for both.
*Correction from yesterday's blog: I erroneously said Tsonga was the first tennis player I've seen who could play pro football. I should have said first male tennis player... I apologize to Serena Williams.
Damas:
I respect Sharapova for preparing her speech ahead of time. That is exactly her style. And these speeches are always so "gracious" and "eloquent", give me a break. Let's play some serious tennis, kiss the trophy, and leave the speeches for Dick Enberg (those are inadvertently hilarious). I'm just going by an article I read because when she was talking about text messages from Billy Jean King and started into the whole "If someone had told me…", I just turned off the TV. (So much for my dedication to the blogging audience, right.)
I respect Sharapova for preparing her speech ahead of time. That is exactly her style. And these speeches are always so "gracious" and "eloquent", give me a break. Let's play some serious tennis, kiss the trophy, and leave the speeches for Dick Enberg (those are inadvertently hilarious). I'm just going by an article I read because when she was talking about text messages from Billy Jean King and started into the whole "If someone had told me…", I just turned off the TV. (So much for my dedication to the blogging audience, right.)
As expected Maria played well and won in straight sets (the entire tournament in straight sets). She had a great tournament. Up there with her amazing Wimbledon 2004. This win showed her game in top form and under control. Wimbledon '04 was more a case of her playing out of her mind for two weeks. And my prediction also came true, the Serb to first break through was Djokovic, not Ivanovic (or Jankovic). I wish there was more to say, but…
Catch you blokes and sheilas later.
