Wimbledon '13: Point by Point Coverage

[acre]

Thanks tiki, oops. I remember when lt gave her tennis-buddy cousin that lovely eulogy, and wanted to chime in about my Dad but it had only been a few weeks and I just wasn't up for it yet. But I had to say something about how much he had to do with my tennis fandom (like, everything) and how much enjoyment we got from sharing that, live or televised.

But Wimbledon is The One, so I'm especially missing him. All I can say is thank goodness for you folks. Not only do I enjoy this board (and all of you) on it's own merits, but I also have absolutely no-one in real life to talk tennis with.

And yeah I have NO love for Bartoli's Dad, but at least he's never been Tomic-like to my knowledge, and of course she should want him there, and he wants to be there, and that's just as it should be. I think he's a whack job, and she can be annoying as hell on court, but that doesn't make them bad people in life.

Hmm, I guess I'd like to see Lisicki win, but I can't say I'm upset about the lead Marion has. Well, I totally feel for Sabine, even if she loses, please not like this! I'm not heavily invested in either one winning, both would be lovely and exciting.

[mooncreek]

I hope Sabine can get it together soon. This is going way too fast.

[oopssorry]

Hope that's what she did, lt. This crowd is ready to get behind her, for sure.

[francienolan]

Thanks for sharing lovely thoughts about your father acre and I'm glad we can keep you tennis company.
Marion's hold to open followed by her easy break doesn't bode we'll for competitive second.
Love the Stosur FO comparison.

ETA and the tears are flowing from Sabine. It's feeling very Dinara like.

[lt]

One of the reasons I was looking forward to this final was because I didn't think the situation would be overwhelming to either player--whoo, boy, was I wrong.

[francienolan]

Lt didn't realize how much I wanted Marion to win until I saw all those people in her box. So nice to see her with an entourage.
Good for Sabine to hold.

[oopssorry]

Well, well!

[acre]

Aww, I just hate to see a player cry on court (during the match, ceremony is fair game). It's so sad, and you know she must be both overwhelmed and hugely disappointed. You only have one 1st time at a GS final Sabine, it's to be hoped you'll be back, and then it will be easier to deal with. Not to take even a teeny-tiny thing away from Marion's dominance. And there you go. Wish it had been competitive is all.

[mooncreek]

It was as simple as Marion had done this years before...that truly was enough today.

but when Sabine broke down during the match was tough to watch.

[lt]

So nice to see her with an entourage.

I wanted Sabine to win but I love seeing Marion immediately run to her very full box. I thought Sabine was going to turn it around for a split second there but I figured Marion wasn't going to let two opportunities to serve it out go.

Sabine ended up with almost the exact same scoreline that Chris had in her first Wimbledon final against Billie Jean. Hopefully that will bode well for Lisicki.

Speaking of Chris, ESPN2 and Classic has been airing that "Unmatched" documentary with Chris and Martina just chatting for an hour. I hadn't seen it when it first aired a few years ago but it's really good. I had no idea they had been such close friends when they first started playing against each other. Looks like there had been a coach of Martina's in the middle that convinced Martina that Chris was the enemy. As Chris said, good for Martina's tennis but not good for the two of them.

[francienolan]

Don't neccesarily believe in moral victories but I'm glad Sabine made her work at end.

Congrats to Marion.

Whatever your road to GS you can only beat the people who are in front of you, so Boo to any qualifiers about her win.

[oopssorry]

I think Sabine's mom might be my favorite person ever.

[lt]

Boo to any qualifiers about her win.

Agreed! I sure hope we don't hear any "well, it wouldn't have been like that if Serena had made it. . . " Everyone's got to deal with their first GS final and this is how it usually goes--just ask Chris, or Marion.

Since it is the Bryan brothers going for a (very impressive) team slam do you think they'll air that match? It's up next on Centre.

eta:

I think Sabine's mom might be my favorite person ever.

Right? She's such a mom-looking mom.

hee, "euphoria," "blissful," "invincible"--those are some good words to describe how it feels to hold that trophy, Chris.

[oopssorry]

And she is rock solid for her daughter. Love that. Chuckling a little at the psyche breakdown, staying strong without over effusing at all. Like an understated Oracene. Focusing like a laser on a bigger picture.

So happy to hear such lovely commentary from them both.

ETA: I hope they play each other at finals many times over. Such kindness between them! I am moved by the genuine quality of their warmth to others. Refreshing.

[acre]

Oh yeah they'll put the Bryan's on I bet. Not only is it a big deal tennis wise, but the main thing is - Americans! USA USA blah blah fucking blah. This ain't Davis Cup and I don't care what nationality anyone is. But ESPN does, big time. I can't complain, it's good to see doubles get some time, and actually I think that unless the singles final is ungodly long, they basically always show it at Wimbledon, no? Not the mixed most likely, since that follows what may well be a long match with the men.

ETA1: It's something to see a "chubby"* woman win a Slam.
*"chubby" for a tennis player only, she probably wears like a size 4 or 6 or something.

ETA2:That is a beautiful dress Evert has on, I'd like to get a better look at it, I think I love it.