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Post by falafaclese on Aug 25, 2013 14:30:50 GMT
24 hours to go! With the way things went at Wimbledon, When I looked at the draw, I kept wondering where the first shocking upset would come from, and how many of the top players would be left in the second week. ETA: The New York Times has an extensive U.S. Open Preview that I have been engrossed in today. I highly recommend the Li Na article. Of course it's not a secret that I'm a fan, but even if she's not your favorite, the story about her early life and her efforts to deal with superstardom and the Chinese state-controlled press are interesting. |
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Post by mooncreek on Aug 25, 2013 16:56:27 GMT
I was working on my bracket for the men's side and I get to Ferrer's quarter of the draw and it's an utter mess. I've done this five different ways. If Gulbis gets to the third round, I see him beating Ferrer as he can use the replay of Delpo's Wimbledon win. I so don't want to support another Janowicz run but it is there. If Gasquet were to end that fourth round streak, he's got the draw to accomplish that... and then some with all the inconsistent and injured players in that section.
My crazy pick: Nadal-Federer won't happen...but Rafa is losing first. If Nadal isn't around, it makes the rest of Federer's draw quite nice. So, yes, Federer to the Final!
Murray should be clear sailing past "defending champ" issues thanks to a really nice first two matches. If Llodra is remotely healthy, that Arthur Ashe crowd will really enjoy the tennis (remember Best Game Ever between them at AO?)
Wow is Wozniacki's section a beauty for her. I can see that SF spot if her confidence is truly back.
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Post by breezybee on Aug 25, 2013 17:39:57 GMT
Just finished watching the coverage of Arthur Ashe's Kids day. I am officially old as I have no idea who any of those people that were singing are. Also, there was one of the most obnoxious little girls that ever have ever seen hitting against Djokovic. Smart mouthed, insolent children just make me cringe.
Now I'm watching the US Open preview. Has Mary Carillo's hair always looked that bad? It's like she went to the Play Doh Fuzzy Pumper Barber Shop to get her hair done.
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Post by falafaclese on Aug 25, 2013 18:00:43 GMT
Ug. I was so busy reading articles I almost completely missed the preview. This is why reading is bad.
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Post by falafaclese on Aug 26, 2013 0:48:44 GMT
Sorry to double post, but I wanted to make sure you didn't forget to check out the live feeds. The U.S. Open website has live feeds from multiple courts on a platform called U.S. Open Live, and ESPN.go.com also has feeds from multiple courts for those who can get it. It doesn't look like TennisChannel.com has online feeds, but they will be sharing early round coverage on tv with ESPN2. |
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Post by mooncreek on Aug 26, 2013 1:09:08 GMT
breezybee - you are not alone in that old feeling. I had tickets to see that show in person and, upon seeing the performing list, opted to stay outside Ashe and watch Djokovic, Delpo, Berdych and the Radwanskas practice. Watching the show on CBS, I feel I made the correct decision. Novak's acting was especially atrocious.
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Post by chocula on Aug 26, 2013 18:23:28 GMT
No time for brackets or previews or anything this year. So sad. But just walked by a TV with James Blake's retirement announcement on it. Just had to put this out into the ethersphere. James looks like he has some sort of immune disorder like Lupus. His eyes and the coloring of his face are really striking to me as typical of immune disorders.
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Post by skyz on Aug 26, 2013 18:38:47 GMT
Mary's hair always looks atrocious. Always. Which isn't so odd since Pam's hair used to look like crap too, but it looks decent this year.
Venus!!!! For real I love her so much and every win means so much. I'm so happy.
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Post by falafaclese on Aug 26, 2013 21:55:56 GMT
Great win for Venus! I got to watch some during my lunch break, and she looked much better than she has in the last few weeks.
Did anyone watch Stephens/Minella? I saw the last 5 minutes or so, and Mandy's reaction to losing was rough. I really felt for her. And then to see her still stop and sign some autographs made me feel for her more. It seemed like a strong reaction; did she fail to cash in on a match point at some point or something?
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Post by GrandSlamGuru on Aug 26, 2013 22:54:50 GMT
When I last looked Stephens/Minella were tied 4-4 in the 3rd. Now I see Stephens pulled it out 7-6(5). So yeah, it was a close one for Minella.
ETA: Forgot to add: Yay Venus!
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Post by skyz on Aug 27, 2013 0:25:10 GMT
The way they talk about Serena sometimes is so annoying. Like winning all these tournaments is worthless and barely mentioning that she won the French this year. Compared to Maria last year where they went on ad nauseum about her winning her lone grandlsam, it's galling.
And yes, Serena's getting down really low on return of serve, like she did last year at the US Open. Love it. What I don't love is Serena's short ass dress. Too short.
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Post by falafaclese on Aug 27, 2013 0:49:28 GMT
The way they talk about Serena sometimes is so annoying. Like winning all these tournaments is worthless and barely mentioning that she won the French this year. Compared to Maria last year where they went on ad nauseum about her winning her lone grandlsam, it's galling. It is sometimes eyeroll-inducing the characterizations that Serena and her play get, but to be fair Serena has an exponentially better grand slam career than Sharapova, is a more versatile player than her, has always been far and away a better mover, and has been more dominant when she's playing well, so a 1-slam season is above-average for Maria, and below average for Serena. Even where the 1 slam is the French, it just seems like less of a surprise that Serena won than that Maria did. I kind of get it. That said, the magnitude of the disparate treatment does still annoy sometimes . |
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Post by acre on Aug 27, 2013 1:10:55 GMT
Yay for Venus! Nothing against Flipkens at all, but always on Venus' side. Also, I find Venus gives the most delightful interviews, including the quickies on court post-match. I saw an article today talking about equal money for the men and women at the Slams and immediately thought of a remark by Venus after 2005 Wimbledon. Fed beat Andy R in 3 tidy sets(1 TB), and Venus beat Lindsay in 3 looong, close, suspenseful sets, in a match that took much more time than the men's. Someone mentioned prize money to her(I don't think it was equal at Wimbledon yet? New if it was.) She instantly, on the spot, came out with a quip about that, funny, to the point, not bitchy, just true. It was a better match in addition to being a lot longer.
Serena seems to have a good attitude about that nonsense stuff they say - something along the lines of "The good thing about my career is it's all gravy now, I've accomplished all my goals, won it all, and anything more is just bonus." That's definitely not a direct quote, but she knows damn well she has nothing to prove to anybody, including herself. Still wants to win naturally, but she's secure with her place in history, as well she should be!
chocula I'm confused what you mean about Blake having the look of someone with an autoimmune disorder? Venus has one, too - Sjogren's, and she looks the same to me. Plus I have one myself, rheumatoid arthritis, and I think I look the same? Tough to tell about oneself. I may have a bit of the puffy steroid face, but I also could be kidding myself and it's just plain fat. My mobility and activity level took a big hit when I got ra so I did gain 20ish lbs. But even the newest and best meds for autoimmunes are heavy duty dangerous things that affect a whole lot, with side effects and cautions galore. And no recreational value either! Geeze throw me a bone here.
OTOH, Lupus is a different kettle of fish, much worse. My aunt died of it about 20-25 years ago, back when they used actual gold(injected?) and very high dose steroids, and just nasty stuff - it's all nasty stuff, but not quite as bad now a in the 80's. The last time I saw her she was quite visibly ill with chipmunk cheeks, complete puffball of a face. I hate the rheumatoid, but thanks be that it's not lupus, I sure wouldn't trade.
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Post by mooncreek on Aug 27, 2013 1:16:43 GMT
The surprise is really that it took so many years for Serena to win the French again.
My father asked me to record the opening ceremony and Serena's match. I warned him that this match wasn't going to be as close as he thinks but did it anyway. But this is absolute torturous to watch. Reminds me of that Clijsters-Safina match a few years ago. You knew there was some reason for the hype but ultimately could see the disaster coming a minute into the match.
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Post by skyz on Aug 27, 2013 1:28:28 GMT
James looks a bit gaunt to me. Has for the past year or so. At least he's going out on his terms, I guess. Hope he saved his money and I think it would be interesting to hear him commentate.
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