Tennis Talk 2015

[tikigirl]

Ha, breezy, you totally busted me! But I'm not at all anti-Spanish; I'm an equal opportunity hater. And despite what I said about Verdasco, I'd still go on, say, a beach date with him. I'm saving the Polynesian cruise for Fabrice.

I totally agree about Fish; what he's done is so admirable. And this:

He always looked like he should be out mowing the lawn with a beer in his hand rather than playing tennis

totally nails it!

Turns out Wozniacki lost, with the cherry on the ice cream sundae being a piss-poor tiebreak performance in the 3rd. She is just so...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

[harry24]

I hate matches like yesterday's between Cetkovska and Woz. All the breaks and the choking. I just find it so frustrating to watch. I went to bed at the beginning of the third set because I just didn't care who won anymore.

I always root against Woz because she's the one top player who's more boring than any lower-ranked player. Okay, there's a small good chance Cetkovska's next match will be interesting. But there is zero chance that Woz's next match would have been be interesting.

Sorry, Woz. I hear you're really nice, but there it is.

[tikigirl]

TikiBoy and I drank wine and watched a bunch of old school tennis videos on YouTube last night; it was a blast. Hingis' heyday (God, she was a little snot, though). Henin's backhand -- a thing of beauty, the best I've ever seen. And finally that Haiti charity match between Feds, Sampras, Nadal, and Agassi. Agassi was such a fucking asshole from start to finish, you could see the other 3 cringing. He really hates Pete.

Stuck at work now, not watching tennis...

[falafaclese]

I was at the Open today y'all!!

I'm announcing it in the message board equivalent of a loud and obnoxious way, because now that I've been there a total of one times, it's imperative that I act like I invented the concept.

That aside it was a lot of fun. I can't believe I've been promising myself that I would go without actually following through for so long. As it happened, it was all very last minute.

I saw most of Venus's match, and sat next to a woman from Utah who was also there for the first time. It was fun sitting with another 1st-timer, although I don't think she knew that I was, because she had a lot of questions to which I inexplicably had the answers. Venus exhibited plenty of the aforementioned elegance, and I was glad she was able to avoid the yips she has been getting while trying to close out matches lately. My new friend from Utah was so excited (so was I, but I had to play it cool).

Also saw Bouchard/Cibulkova, Raonic/Feli, a little Ferru/Chardy, Hradecka and Hlavackova (aka. taller and lankier than expected/looks like she's 12) playing Tornado Black and Ingrid Neel. The pace of the reflex shots in that match made me feel even worse about my game. Raonic was as large as advertised. He looks genetically engineered to me (in a good way: the legs are like tree trunks). It was a serve-fest as you might imagine, but the rallies that did develop were very entertaining My heart broke a little when Cibulkova lost. I cannot stress enough the astonishing amount of power she is able to generate, especially given her size. It really felt like Bouchard was counterpunching compared to her.

Fed and Serena were practicing next to each other before the night session. I took pics, but they were so far away, I don't think the photos will stand up to being blown up.

Also saw Madison Keys (scary return, scarier serve) practicing while Lindsey looked on and offered guidance and Mr. Lindsey served as her hitting partner, Agi Radwanska, Martina Navratilova, Mats Wilander, and at one point I turned around and Dominik Hrbaty was standing right next to me. I started to try to sneak a pic, but then I felt creepya bout it, so I stopped.

I took a lot of photos, but I'm not confident that they will be worth posting. I'll post anything worth seeing.

I didn't get tickets to the night session. I gambled on there being more to see during the daytime, so I saw the Serena match on tv. Glad she was able to pull it out.

[roseha]

Exciting news fala, I'm glad you were able to go! I haven't been to the open since 2008 but I did get some telephoto pictures of Roger and Serena from pretty far up back then so why don't you put up some of yours? Glad you got to see Venus doing well and that you got to see Madison practice also.

[tikigirl]

Oooh, fala, so excited for you! Thanks for the awesome report. We'd all love to see some of your pictures. Are you going again?

Semi-surprised Nadal lost. Well, not really. Sad about Cibulkova. Enjoying Feds.

Happy long weekend, everyone!

[GrandSlamGuru]

The Kerber v Azarenka match is going the distance. Some good tennis there.

[tikigirl]

Hi, guru! Yeah, Kerber/Azarenka is something else. I'm kinda pulling for Azarenka. Kerber is exhausting to watch! Donald Young is playing really well right now too; what a great Open for him.

[GrandSlamGuru]

Yay for Azarenka -- she stayed poised throughout. I never thought Donald Young would ever mature (no pun intended) but his play today is very, very impressive.

[tikigirl]

Well all right, Donald Young! I had forgotten how handsome he is. Keep winning, DY!

[falafaclese]

Ironically, DY sees more humble now that he's playing better. Chicken? Egg? I don't know, but I'm glad he's doing well, and especially in this way, when it's clear that he's working hard physically, and improving his mental game as well. He has always had an entertaining game to watch when he's on.

Azarenka is the one person that I really wanted to see that I didn't catch a glimpse of yesterday. Well, her and Colette.

I won't be going back this year, tiki, but I definitely want to go back.

[falafaclese]

Wow, does Strycova have some kind of personality disorder? This is the second time I've seen her pull the psycho handshake after losing to someone. If it bothers her that much, she should either win more often or find another line of work.

[tikigirl]

I won't be going back this year, tiki, but I definitely want to go back.

I hope you get to go, fala, so you can enjoy it, and also so you can report to us. There are no tournaments in NM!

I liked what I read about DY figuring out that he had a mental issue and striving to overcome it. That is something I can root for. We can be a harsh group of armchair fans, but probably most of us have no idea what it takes to succeed at that level. I was a competitive swimmer, but just a mediocre one. I should remember more often how difficult this life is.

[francienolan]

Its been ages since I posted here but am glad to see its still up!

Happy Feli is poised to rid my tv of Fabio, what others term 'entertaining' I find repulsive.

Glad the Williams sisters had such straight forward matches but now feel doubly bad they are meeting in quarters.

You dont have to be a Genie fan (which I am most certainly not) to fee bad about her rotten luck. Wishing her a smooth recovery! And not just bc I enjoy rooting against her Will be interesting to see how her relationship with Connors proceeds from here.

ETA US Open only slam I've been to but boy does it not seem like a banner year for tourney. Players are complaining about A/C, ill at alarming rate,transport & food are getting thumbs down, Donald Young had his shoes stolen from his locker and thn Bouchard falls bc of a wet floor in a dark locker room!

[tikigirl]

Hi francie, great to see you here! I feel bad about the Williams sisters having to play each other too. Venus has had a really good tournament, and Serena finally caught fire today. Madison Keys is very good...but not Serena-good!