Tennis Talk 2009

[tikigirl]

Meh. I know, intellectually, that Davydenko's game is nice, and yet he still acts as a human Sominex whenever I watch him. Oh well. Poor guy.

I'm pulling for Soderling all the way. He has that evil sense of humor thing going on, and I liked his funny, self-deprecating speech at RG. He also has one hell of a game that could challenge any player on tour, so it'd be nice for him to get some more big results and the accompanying self-confidence -- shake things up in the top four or five, maybe.

[acre]

I only caught the latter part of the Soderling-DelPo match, but it was again of high quality I thought. The organizers and fans have certainly gotten their money's worth out of this YEC. Mostly 3-setters, numerous tiebreaks, exciting stuff. I mean clearly Rafa was off, and I understand Djok showed some signs of fatigue/wear and tear(and maybe Murray?), but on the whole all these guys showed up in fine fighting form. They can mostly all be proud of themselves, particularly Verdasco and Soderling who wouldn't have been thought to make this tourny earlier in the year. I'm sure Soderling is bummed about losing today, but hell he was an alternate and made the semi's. And I know Verdasco went 0-3 but not without a prodigious fight in each and every match.

I expect DelPo to win tomorrow, he is of course the higher ranked player and deservingly so - but I hope it's a good match, and really, good on Davy, wasn't he out for awhile there? I know he fell out of the top 10 for a bit, but as usual he's right back in it - I completely understand what you mean tiki, I have to pay attention to the excellence of his fundamentals to appreciate him, there's no wow factor, and yet - how many years has he been a fixture in the top 10? A lot, I know that. Been as high as #4 IIRC. But I won't mind either way who wins, I mean I always find myself pulling for one or the other player during the course of a match, but either way will be fine with me really. Eh, I'll probably end up rooting for Davy as the underdog, but I like DelPo and his game lots, so if he wins, cool.

Plus, I'll finally be able to watch it on the damn tv, which beats the hell out of a little box online!

[breezybee]

Acre - Davy was out for a number of months at the beginning of the year with an injury to his foot so yes definitely he's done a good job pulling himself back up.

I don't know who to pull for tomorrow. I'll just enjoy the match.

Tiki- I try to like Soderling, I really do. I don't mind him in press conferences but I just hate him on the court. I softened a bit with his speach at RG but then I remembered Wimby and Rome. Where you see an evil sense of humour I just see evil. Who knows, maybe I'll soften some more. I did a bit on Beaker this year but I think that was because his ego got beaten down over the past year and he stopped being so cocky. Still don't really like him though.

May I take this opportunity to say I really miss Fat Dave and I can't wait to see him in the Aussie Open?

[tikigirl]

Where you see an evil sense of humour I just see evil.

Those might be the same thing, breezy! Anyway, we all just like who we like, often for no good reason (maybe I should only speak for myself there!). I mean, I feel like I should be more sympathetic to Beaker sometimes. Obviously he was not well raised. But I just can't stand him, and can't imagine anything would change that. I see him, and my hand just itches to slap him. Obviously I am a very charming and kind-hearted person!

I'll second the Fat Dave wish. He's never been one of my favorites, but man, when he's on, he's great fun to watch.

For the final tomorrow -- don't think I'll be getting up early for that, though I'll be pulling in a desultory way for Davydenko. Hey, let's do a quick poll -- who do you WANT to win tomorrow? Not who you expect; who you'd like to see get the title.

[breezybee]

I'd like to see Davydenko win. If for no other reason than to have a repeat of this.
www.gettyimages.com/detail/91976352/Getty-Images-Sport
There is something adorable about Irina dangling Nikolay by his head like a little doll.

I certainly won't be unhappy if del Potro wins though.

lt - I'm just rewatching del Potro and Soderling with the Australian and English commentators (vs. the French ones from when I watched it before) and they were just pondering if Robin would propose to his girlfriend if he wins the tournament so I guess they aren't married.

[chestylarue]

I am rooting for Delpo as a longish fan of him (since he was 17) and so would love to see him back up his USO win with a big title here.

I really like Davy though so I will be happy for him if he wins.

I know they are not the biggest names but I think it will be a fun final with a real contrast in style. I hope it lives up to the promise. Davy is such an early taker of the ball- I wonder how he will be able to take Delpo's power. I wonder how Delpo will be able to take Davy's angles.

Hoping for a good match- think it could be a cracker.

[acre]

I am doomed when it comes to tennis on the DVR, doomed I tell ya! Somewhere yesterday it lost it's ability to record/recognize programs, so when I blithely clicked it on (at 2-3 in the second set) to see what was up, I discovered I had no recording happening, and was unable to make it start recording. Grrr, it was very easy to fix, just needed to be reset, and hell I was awake by 8:00 - but Sunday morning, rolling over, lounging in bed with the cats, no need to jump up out of bed, right?

And it's over already for Pete's sake. The one match I could have watched on tv I miss almost all of, was one of the few straight setters hmph Must say, if I'd been told this final would go in 2 relatively easy sets, I wouldn't have thought it would be Davy who won. Very pleased for him, and DelPo I think did just fine for himself making the final. He appears to have come out of the post-US Open slump he had. And I would also have been very pleased for him if he had won. I actually was cool with all 8 in the draw this year - sure I have preferences, but no haterade for any of them. But it's always kinda too bad when the final is one of the less compelling matches of a tourny.

Heh, and breezy sure it looks like Irinia is dangling Davy by his head, but I'm sure those are actually arms of steel he's got holding himself up. I dunno, he just never fails to kinda crack me up: this slight, bald, little old man, look he's got going and yet he's one of the world's top elite athletes. Can't judge a book by it's cover.

[breezybee]

My delight at Davydenko's win is tempered by the fact that the Bryan Brothers also won. I guess you can't have everything.

I see Murray and his girlfriend Kim Sears have split up.

ETA - I finally found out who I've been listening to commentate all week. Robbie Koenig and Jason Goodall. They aren't bad and know to shut up during the points. Jason Goodall seems to have an obsession with the players girlfriends and wives though.

[lt]

this slight, bald, little old man

When Jimmy and Leif were showing pictures of the 8 in their suits they were saying how Kolya looks like an office worker--the fastest office worker on the planet.

This tournament was a complete success for me for one reason--I went from being okay with Davydenko to absolutely ADORING him. LOVE him! Love his wife. When he put his head on Delpo's shoulder at the net the last vestiges of indifference melted away. His "YEAH" during the award ceremony when the announcer was talking about how he had beat all the 2009 Grand Slam winners was hysterical--and it made the announcer crack up too. And the shot with him carrying this bigger-than-him trophy while Delpo has this little tiny plate will never not be funny. I feel slightly guilty for taking so long to come around on him--like all those sponsors that ignore him as well.

Sad that Max and Andy weren't able to beat the Bryans but it was a good match--and the first set was great. I figured it would be too tough to beat the brothers--they played their way into the tournament and kept getting better while Max and Andy had gone through some iffy matches. Luckily, everyone was playing really well in the final so it was tight. I cannot figure out who I want Max with next year--a good returner is imperative, like Andy and Jonas are.

I was almost happy when the Bryans won their semi match. Their chest bump is idiotic and annoying but Bhupathi and Knowles mimicking it when they win is asshole territory.

How sad was I when both ESPN2 and TTC said "goodbye" to tennis for 2009? I think I have my dad convinced to buy TTC just while I'm there so hopefully I'll be able to watch the Davis Cup finals while I'm visiting him.

eta:
Well. This is a surprise. According to the ATP:

The 32-year-old Mirnyi will scale down his schedule next season to spend more time with his family and will play some tournaments with Mahesh Bhupathi

I thought Max and Mahesh's breakup was quite final. I know Knowles is going with someone else next year (Fish? I cannot remember).

Looks like Indy might not be in Indy much longer.. Ugh. I don't want to see this happening. . .

[falafaclese]

So Serena has been fined $82,500 for what I'll call "The Unpleasantness at the Open". She will also be put on probation for next year's majors, and if there is any more unpleasantness, she will be banned from the following U.S. Open, and will be fined the maximum of $175,000. Meh. She has so much money, that any fine that would have actually hurt her would have seemed ridiculous in my opinion. There was some talk over the last couple of days of a fine of more than $1 million, which seemed looney to me. I thought maybe it'd be a couple hundred thousand. Anyway, Serena, for all her failings has never been known for bad on-court behavior, so I was always torn on how this should be handled.

I'm very happy for Davydenko. He really has had a good week, and obviously went into that final well prepared, because, in spite of the fact that JMdP was never in full flight, Davy's scrambling and shot making made it a very enjoyable match. There were some really great points sprinkled in throughout the match. Also, his joy at the end and during the trophy ceremony was great.

This whole week was good. Almost every match was tight, and both groups came right down to the wire for semifinal qualifications. I only wish that Rafa would have played better; I hope he's able to regroup for next year. It's also a bummer that Verdasco came so close to winning his matches, but couldn't get at least one win.

[lt]

I'm good with Serena's probation and fine. To me, it says she did something wrong but that it was a bit of an aberration so they are trusting her not to do it again. The one weird part of the probation is that if she misbehaves at another slam it is the US Open she cannot play at--not the next Slam. So if she goes off at the Australian, she wouldn't miss the French. Also, if they go up to the max of $175,000 she would only still owe another $82,500--because she paid $10,000 right off the bat and now she's paid $82,500.

I think for someone with integrity (I might not be a Serena fan but I certainly believe she's a good person with great integrity) being on probation is a real punishment. And a full year's probation means she'll have to think about it for a while. Kind of a mental punishment. And I might be putting myself in her shoes but that would be a greater punishment than being banned from one slam. In that case you would end up with your entourage telling you the punishment didn't fit the crime, you were too harshly punished, etc. etc. until you would end up believing it yourself. This way no one can say it is too harsh because if you keep yourself in line it is only a monetary fine but the probation still gets the point across.

[vallegirl]

I thought she was on probation for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. And I agree that for someone who's never been known to act out, the "taint" of probation is punishment. There was no way to fine her in a way that would impact her financially because that would have to be in the millions. But the Williams family has always valued HOW Venus/Serena are viewed, and I think they take being role models seriously. The probation will continue to remind Serena that she made a mistake and is not above punishment for it, but allow that it was a mistake and she can move on.

[falafaclese]

Momo just announced her retirement from the tour. How depressing. I was hoping she would at least manage a little farewell tour through at least part of this year. I can't say I'm surprised, because the way she's been talking over the last couple of seasons, it seemed obvious that she was losing motivation. I'm glad she at least was able to get one last title this year. I'll really miss her because of the great person she seems to be, and the great game she definitely has.

[lt]

I was just coming to see if you had seen that, falafaclese. Love her, will miss her, but I'm not surprised.

[roseha]

I'm sorry to hear about Momo, but I'm glad she managed to win 2 slams, including Wimbledon. It will give her something to look back on.