French Open '09: Point by point coverage

[admin]

May 29, 2009 9:49:41 GMT Mpol said:

OMG Poor Dokic! She would have had another amazing run! DAM IT! She should be strong enough to rebound for Wimbledon, her favorite slam/surface.

I'm so sad for Dokic. It's bad enough to have to pull out, but having had the set lead it's heartbreaking. I just hope it's not serious

Did anyone notice who the umpire is? Because to say that is "normal" levels of noise is balls. Utter nonsense. Apparently the woman who come out was the supervisor. And NOW the actual tournament referee is there too. Oh the hilarity.

[tikigirl]

Yum, Verdasco (cue Homer Simpson-type drooling). Although the hair is starting to bug. Almagro isn't too bad either. Early morning eye-candy tastes good with gin!

[admin]

I swear Verdasco's hair could cure cancer and stop wars, it's just that magical.

[tikigirl]

Annoyingly, tikiboy has bright blue tennis shoes similar to Djokovic's. Suddenly I hate tikiboy's shoes.

[amarathe]

Damn, Venus just broke my bracket.

Also, I forgot that people in the US can watch the Tennis Channel online. I can't wait until Nadal-Hewitt.

[Mpol]

Dam Venus what are you doing?

Looks like Ivanovic is playing herself into some fine form. Easy win today.

GO SAFINA! AND HEWITT!

[lt]

I love Monica Seles, but is she responsible for this trend?

Yes. Expelling breath is the right thing to do when hitting through the shot (ask any pilates person) and there is definitely a sound when you do it (I know I do when I work out but it really, really does wonders when you breathe correctly--so much more energy and power) but there is absolutely no reason to make that much noise. It should sound like a loud exhalation of breathe--nothing more.

I was actually pleased when I got home to my ESPN-recorded coverage. They didn't spend more than one minute on Roddick's match and concentrated on Tsonga/Monaco. They even stayed with them to get crowd reaction and to watch the most beautiful meet-at-the-net moment I've ever seen (someone mentioned it yesterday but I didn't see it on my livestream). They then went to Monfils and barely mentioned that Roddick had won.

Oh, watching last night I came up with what I want to happen for the rest of the slams on the men's side:
French: Federer
Wimbledon: Murray
US Open: Verdasco (although I wouldn't cry if Rafa won that one)

I would just adore it if 2009 had four different winners. But, most especially, Roger has to win the French. If he doesn't, I want him to win both Wimbledon and the US Open.

[admin]

Hell yeah, Nadal/Hewitt time! I'm torn. I'd love Nadal to take RG again (behind 1st choice, Murray), but i'd really love to see Hewitt doing well. That jerk has mellowed over the years and i've come to really like him. I don't think i'm going to have too much of a worry though, i can't see Hewitt actually getting to the winning post.

Between Momo and Vee, i think my bracket is well and truly dead. She would have been my 2nd choice for the whole thing (behind Dinara) so i'm disappointed. Not too surprised though, she looked shaky through the match.

Looks like Stan is going out, to Davydenko. Booo!

[Mpol]

Rafa already with the dam brake! Hewitt was up like 40-0 as well! DAUM!

[curlywhirly]

I'm kinda bummed but sort of expected Venus to lose that match. Not only is Svavay very good on clay, I knew Venus would be fatigued. She's been out there practically every day and late into the day with her singles and doubles being delayed and carried over. She was hitting her first serve in the 80 mph range. She just didn't have the energy. I wish she hadn't been screwed by the scheduling.

It helps that I really like Svavay. She did not back up her great 2007 last year. Hopefully her game is back on track.

Michelle Larcher de Brito...oh boy. I really want to like her because she's only 16 and so talented and very cute, but crikey she is annoying. I don't mind grunting when it actually sounds like a grunt. Hers is full on blood-curdling screaming. Its ridiculous. And she goes overboard with the extreme celebrations after every point. She's going to pop a blood vessel or black out one day from all that screaming and jerking.

[Mpol]

Hewitrt loses first set 6-1.

[admin]

May 29, 2009 14:07:52 GMT curlywhirly said:

Michelle Larcher de Brito...oh boy. I really want to like her because she's only 16 and so talented and very cute, but crikey she is annoying. I don't mind grunting when it actually sounds like a grunt. Hers is full on blood-curdling screaming. Its ridiculous. And she goes overboard with the extreme celebrations after every point. She's going to pop a blood vessel or black out one day from all that screaming and jerking.

Ahh yeah. That's what i was going to say. They had her on Eurosport to be interviewed in the studio just now. She said her idol was Martina Hingis and that she would like to see Dinara win the tournament. I missed the beginning of it, so missed the shrieking talk, but she did come across as very pleasant and nice. If someone can get her to knock the yowling off, i might like her.


Read on from De Brito bit in this newsblurb: Simona Hallep boobs!

The news has not gone down well with British fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the Halep at Wimbledon though and an online petition - Save Simona Halep Boobs - has been created.

Stay classy, British two week tennis fans. Also: Oh my.

[lt]

Aw, poor Hallep. She should get the surgery--her life will improve vastly (no matter what the British two-week fans say).

As for de Brito--is she the same one who, when younger, was in the middle of all that controversy on the junior circuit about the screaming? Or was that just some club player? I remember the parents getting involved and, for some reason, I remember something about the Bollettieri academy (which is where de Brito trains).

eta: oy, Hewitt sure is going quietly, isn't he? I didn't expect him to win but I did expect more than this. I'm switching over to the Ferrer match. Btw: thanks amarathe, I don't know if it is because we get TTC at work but I can get the feed here. I'm crossing my fingers for home because NBC is showing basically nothing tomorrow or Sunday.

[amarathe]

TTC commentator just said "Notice that Nadal signs with his right hand. He wants to save his left hand for his next match". Um...

I like Ferrer, but I kind of want Soderling to win so that Nadal can crush him in the next round. Since Henin's retirement, Soderling has taken up the mantle of "Most Hated Player" for me.

[lt]

Them's fighting words, amarathe so, just for the duration of this match, I'm switching my avatar to shirtless Ferrer. There is no way you can root against that chest (or tongue). (Here's the photo if you need to be reminded of just how gorgeous even the least-gorgeous Spaniard is.)