"We lived through a decade of Carlos Rodriguez coaching Justine Henin after every single point and nobody called it on them."
--Lindsay Davenport, Tennis Channel commentary during the Maria Sharapova, Samantha Stosur match on Monday, March 28, 2011.
Apparently, Sharapova was called out for on-court coaching from the stands during a previous match in Miami. Davenport seemed to be underscoring a double standard. Or maybe she was simply stating her perception of a widely known "fact."
I put fact in quotations for I remember Carlos and Maria being called out once. But only once. Back in 2004 during Justine's quarterfinal against Svetlana Kuznetsova in Indian Wells. I remember being surprised by the call out, but not by the coaching, which only the blind couldn't see. Those in denial wouldn't admit. Carlos was telling his charge to charge the net more in order to turn around the second set. Sveta was leading 5-4 or 5-3, according to my memory. Justine took her coaching advice and won the last 3 or 4 games to take the match in straights.
I address my letter to you because this is currently the best way to express meself, I now experience very difficult times. I have unfortunately not good news. I spent the last days undergoing various medical tests and they have confirmed that my elbow has been damaged by my adventure in Australia.
After my crash at Wimbledon in June, I knew it would be difficult to come back. But I had decided to keep playing and to give everything to overcome the injury. In these recent months I have rarely been spared from the pain, those last months were very hard. Time has passed, and the doubts have grown, and only return to the courts would give me answers. Not the answer I was hoping for... unfortunately. I suffered a lot the last week and every day gave me more and more pain, but I believed that my will would take the upper hand. Today, the examinations are clearly and and the doctors formally, my elbow is too fragile and hurt so that my passion and my profession at high level cannot continue to exist.
I'm in shock, of course, even with the work of these past seven months I had to understand that there might be a reason for all this. After having well considered and following the advice of doctors, it is now clear and I accept that my career here ... ... finally ends. Even though it's hard, very hard, while I came back with a tremendous fighting spirit.
I'm sorry ... I had hoped for a different return and dreamed of a different ending. I will need time to process all this, but I remain convinced that even with little progress, my level with my return did not meet my expectations, despite everything I've learned a lot over the past 15 months.
I turn, and this time, an incredible page of my life ... What a wonderful trip, I have experience during all these years. Today I'm calmer and I can create a positive and rewarding look back on this experience in my life.
I would never have reached this level all alone, and I insist to thank all persons who sticked with me during adventures. My coach and my friend Carlos, my family, my friends, my whole team, all those who helped me when it was hard and have shared in my joy. Thank you to my partners for the confidence they have given me, for their support in all circumstances. Thanks to my medical staff who, these last months, were always available and always with great professionalism there for me.
Finally and most importantly, thanks everyone. Thanks for standing by my side during all these years. I will never forget your support and your loyalty. And if I only regret one thing, this would be that I've protected myself too hard and that I couldn’t stand closer to you.
I hope you will forgive me my clumsiness and a wonderful reminder of shared emotions will keep them together.
Confession: For those that don’t know, Sveta is my favourite player BAR NONE.
Every so often she comes out and plays a match that leaves the hair of electricity itself, standing on end.
Kuznetsova d. Henin 64 76
When this happens against a player as decorated as Henin, there’s usually scores of grumpy puritans suggesting how their player “wasn’t quite there”, “compromised by injury,” “unable to bring her best”.
I rarely take any notice.
My player came through. You can go suck poo.
It’s not that it was a high quality encounter right the way through.
But I saw the match, and also spoke to enough people that actually attended it in flesh to know that I’m not about to let anyone get away with those fungal, raspy qualifiers.
And I root for Henin too. It sucks she’ll lose so many points and I hope she wins a Slam this year – preferably Wimbledon. But tonight she was 2nd best. Deal with it.
If I sound a little raspy myself, its because performances like this from Sveta only come round about once every 6 months – sustained form over an entire event perhaps only once a year.
Following and rooting for her is two parts masochism three parts black art – you’ve got to have (or to acquire if necessary) the levels of discipline to dial down your expectations to a absolute minimum 90% of the time.
And still maintain the type of enduring levels of quixotic hope and belief after watching her (as she might, even after a performance like this) go down to Woz, Franny or, quite likely, a tier-three nobody.
I don’t know of any other active player with a greater talent/results differential.
All of which means I take NO PRISONERS in seeing she gets her due when she does come through.
Be gone disclaimers, qualifiers, doubters and foresakers.
Tonight belongs to me and legions of Sveta fans that have patiently endured the gross negligence that goes hand in hand with following her.
"I'm old enough to remember Willis Reed of the New York Knicks walking onto the court at Madison Square Garden with both knees taped to the max to tumultuous applause. That was how I felt when Venus not only walked back on court but picked up her racquet and resumed playing. She then proceeded to put on a tennis clinic. Visibly in pain she proceeded, not with flash, but with skill and knowledge to dismantle her upstart opponent who won the first set in a tiebreak that ended with Venus injury. Showing why she has won seven slam titles and playing with passion unseen for quite some time Venus won the second set 6-0.
"The final score was 6-7(6), 6-0, 6-4. Don't believe any bullshit you will hear or read about what happened last night. Venus trended worldwide on Twitter because of the dress. In the end the dress was a secondary story. The big story was that Venus started a match and she was going to finish it. Kind of makes that "tummy ache" from a few years ago laughable doesn't it?"--Savannah
I couldn't stay awake after Sister Beth gave Justine the first set.
THE United States remains well and truly the most successful Hyundai Hopman Cup nation with the team of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and John Isner claiming their sixth victory inside Perth's Burswood Dome in front of a crowd of 8564 people.
The USA team came into Hyundai Hopman Cup XXIII unseeded but played outstanding tennis all week dominating Group B beating France's Kristina Mladenovic and Nicolas Mahut 3-0, Italy's Francesca Schiavone and Potito Starace 2-1 and Great Britain's Laura Robson and Andy Murray 3-0 [sic].
Mattek-Sands and Isner took on the Belgium team of Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans in the Final after they replaced the Serbian team of Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic when Ivanovic suffered a slight stomach tear.
Belgium had put together a strong week in their own right, though, bouncing back from losing to Australia's Alicia Molik and Lleyton Hewitt to beat Kazakhstan's Sesil Karatantcheva and Andrey Golubev 3-0 and then Serbia 2-1.
Henin, a winner of seven Grand Slam titles, gave Belgium a winning start by beating Mattek-Sands 7-6 (6), 6-3. Isner bounced back to even the Final at one rubber apiece after he downed Bemelmans 6-3, 6-4.
It was then the deciding mixed doubles to determine the Hyundai Hopman Cup XXIII winner and the USA dominated winning 6-3, 6-4. Mattek-Sands and Isner now join five other representatives for the United States to have won at the Hopman Cup.
The first victory came in 1997 with Chanda Rubin and Justin Gimelstob opening America's account. It took until 2003 for the next win when Serena Williams and James Blake were successful with Blake back the following year to win with Lindsay Davenport.
Lisa Raymond and Taylor Dent then teamed to win in 2006 and the fifth title came in 2008 when Williams returned to be victorious alongside Mardy Fish.
Mattek-Sands and Isner now join them after an outstanding week that has seen a total attendance figure of 78,242 attend. It is the biggest figure since the Cup has been an 11 Session event. Mattek-Sands was delighted in how the week in Perth unfolded.
''It’s been an amazing week. It’s my first time in Perth and I've really enjoyed myself. It’s funny, I saw this (diamond tennis ball trophy) actually when I first got here and I thought it was the best trophy in sports,'' Mattek-Sands said.
''This is one of the best run events of the WTA Tour of the year. It’s fantastic. There was a really strong field this year, there was great players; Ana, Justine, Djokovic, Hewitt. I hope everyone enjoyed watching some great tennis this week.''
Isner made his debut at last year's Hopman Cup and was delighted to return, and to partner Mattek-Sands to form a winning team. He was also happy to bounce back from a tough loss to Murray.
''I’ve got to thank Bethanie; her back’s got to be hurting from carrying me all week. She was rock solid all week long,'' Isner said.
''I kind of got a whooping yesterday (against Murray), but I regrouped and played very well today which is really, really encouraging. Also I want to say congrats to the Belgium team. It’s a great team we beat today.''
I don’t tend to do that good a job of staying away during the off-season, but the truth is that this year, I really needed some time apart.
I’d love to say this has something to do with my flamboyant Howard Hughes lifestyle – the truth is I’d simply had enough.
Confession #1: You really can have too much of a good thing (That’s right, I said it).
The Fedal charity gig (raising over $5M in various fine causes – nice work gents) was particularly excruciating – sitting through three engineered sets of pseudo-tennis twice, after a well-rounded, fulfilling season that actually ended on a good note smacks of the type of gluttony that leaves you feeling bloated, gaseous and in my case, nauseous.
Only when the start of the official season barely registered, did I sense something might be drastically wrong. Fortunately tennis-rehab came in the form of one of last years best WTA matches (Henin v ElenaD in R2 of Aus) – that’s right, it took a replay of a match that was played 12 months ago to reignite my interest in a sport I’m meant to enjoy enough to spend a criminal amount of time writing about.
Do a youtube search and you’ll find reams and reams of highlight reels – that’s no mistake: almost every other point was a highlight.
It was “only” two sets of tennis – but those two sets were uncontaminated, crystallised excellence.
All of which isn’t just a very long way of telling you how scandalous I find it that it didn’t even feature as a nominee for match of the year on any 2010 poll anywhere (not once). But rather to highlight that things rather faltered for the WTA from that point on - I’d go as far as to say that all of the best women’s tennis of 2010 was played in its first month.
And that’s only the start of it, because I’m afraid:
Confession #2: I don’t consider 2010 to have been a vintage year of tennis.
I don’t expect Rafaelites to agree of course – come to think of it, I don’t “expect” anyone to.
It’s all subjective after all and I’m even willing to concede I might be wrong.
Even so, that many false starts, failed deliveries & soggy reams of disappointment (often from the highest of levels) speaks more of “fug” than it does “vintage”.
And besides, I figure we’re done pontificating on how great it all was.
1) All the best women’s tennis was played in its first month.
See above. ElenaD/Henin (Aus - R2) remains my personal fave, though the Serena/Henin final and the Brisbane final between Henin & Kim weren’t far behind.
The French Open final, perhaps, may have recaptured something of the drama but it remains the case that nothing came close in quality to what we saw in that very promising start to the season.
2) Men’s Grand Slam finals (and two of the women’s) were strictly one-sided affairs – only of any lasting interest to those strongly invested in Rafa or Fed.
Not that there's anything wrong with that and both the Aus & USO men’s finals were spellbinding if only in a torturously one-sided way.
Doesn’t stop a season devoid of a competitive (if not a five set) men’s Slam final from being, well…just a wittle-bit rubbish.
3) The Spectre of Delpo
Only including this for the sake of completeness, because as far as I’m concerned he could have taken off the entire year to recover from what can, after all, turn into a career-ending injury(history is full of the stinking carcasses of careers blighted by an ill-conceived desire to return too soon).
Even so, that didn’t stop me feeling twitchy when he (those two matches towards the end of the year not withstanding) went and did just that.
4) Muzz won another seventy billion Masters titles….and still less than precisely one Slam.
Seen it, been there, done that. NEXT.
5) Henin’s comeback miscarriage
Justine probably deserves more generosity on my part considering she gave us some of the best matches of this year and spent much of its second half with a fractured elbow.
All the same, I’m calling fug on a year in which she plays her best three matches in its opening month – one of which was in the opening week of the season.
Harsh, I know – fracturing her arm is hardly her fault though I’m not sure her win in Stuttgart was terribly convincing either.
6) Player of the year: Kim Clijsters…WTF result of the year Petrova d. Clijsters 60 61.
Its been almost 12 months yet no one’s come up with any more cogent an explanation for what’s unanimously held to be the single most WTF result of the year, than that Kim can be both alarmingly good and unnervingly bad – both it seems in equally disturbing measure.
I’ve mostly given up trying, yet what's remained overlooked is that Petrova played an exceptional match – something that got drowned out by the pitch-black humour surrounding Kim’s performance.
I don’t have a problem with Kim being voted POY – in fact I was rather grossed out by the redundant groans of disgust at Serena being passed over.
Newsflash: Serena stepped on a shard of glass and it ended her year after playing all of six events. Sad, but that precludes her from POY contention (YES even if the two events she won were Slams). Sometimes it’s not a conspiracy.
Contrast that with Kim winning the USO, the SEC, Miami, Cincy AND Brisbane – a title at every level. She’s not my favourite player but arguing against those numbers is futile and smacks of sour grapes.
Despite all of that, Kim still has a certain ‘transient’ quality to her game that no one’s quite been able to put their finger on - who’s completely convinced we won’t see more WTF results from the Player of 2010? I know I'm not.
7) Djoko’s Title “Tally”
Remember when Djoko won Dubai early on last year?
It would be one of only two singles titles he would win in 2010 – both of them ATP 500s.
To put this into perspective, Djoko won a Masters title and reached the final of four others in 2009. He also won two Masters titles in each of the two years preceding that, which makes this the first time since 2006 that he’s not won a single Masters title.
Disappointing for a season in which he played some of the best tennis we’ve seen from him in over two years – though admittedly most of it was towards its back end.
8) Rafa’s clay-court clean sweep
Rafa’s clay seasons are always laughably one-sided but this year he won all three Masters and RG – all for the loss of only two sets. That would be two sets over the entire clay season.
That’s not domination, that’s tennis sacrilege.
As pleased as I was for him, that stat also speaks of underperformance from the rest of the tour (especially the top guys).
It’s ok, we can say that now. The dust has settled on Rafa’s year.
9) Greatest “Diss-appointment of” 2010?
Whither comeback queens Masha, Henin? Whither Sveta? Marin?? Those last two, in particular, have a lot to answer for.
Not according to tennis.com, who pronounced Dinara, who spent the better part of the year out with a bad back, their “Biggest Disappointment of 2010”.
They took the edge off it by noting that “few believe Dinara belongs outside the top 50”, but that headline is plain irresponsible.
Call me cynical, but if Serena isn’t POY because she only played six events then Dinara’s not DOY for precisely the same reason.
10) When is a scandal not a scandal?
Hey psssst! Have a hot tip for ya.
You ready? Get this – Rafael Nadal has just expressed a desire to win the Australian Open.
[furious scribbling noises]
Got that? Not only that [breathless] ….not only that….he’s even said he intends to try his level best to defeat whomsoever he should face in the final.
There’s more where that came from: next week I’ll be revealing how the UK’s most savage spending cuts since the 1920s are likely to prove “deeply unpopular” and how all 33 of the freed Chilean miners were said to be “happy to be reunited with their loved ones”.
More of an off-court disappointment this one.
From what I can tell, if Fed passed on any “inside information” at all, it’s that he allegedly intimated to “someone” (we don’t even know this was Forstmann) that he intended to try and defeat Rafael Nadal in the 2007 RG final.
That’s about as “shady” as the Mercurian stratosphere and about as “scandalous” as Rupert Everett in drag.
If there’s a story here at all, it’s how easy it is to drag a high profile name into what seems to be nothing more than litigious hustling between the IMG kingpin and an estranged former business associate.
And how willingly irresponsible members of the media lapped it all up.
11) Demmie’s Retirement
The good news: I’m no longer in denial about this.
***
Still largely playing catch-up tennis-wise.
Normal service will resumptionalise in due course.
Here are my picks for the "best" (most memorable) tennis matches by women in 2010. These are basically the matches that had the most impact on me while they were occurring, feature some of the best play, had the most impact on the rest of the year or would be ones that I would most likely to watch again in the future. You can see my previous lists: Best Women's Tennis Matches of 2009 ,Best Women's Tennis Matches of 2007, and Best Women's Tennis Matches of 2006.
1. S. Williams USA d. J. Henin BEL, 6-4 3-6 6-2, 2010 Australian Open final, Melbourne.
The finals of the 2010 Grand Slam tournaments (Australian, French, Wimbledon, U.S.) are often contenders for the most memorable matches of the year, due to the historic and reputational stakes at play depending on the result which sometimes (but not often) leads to high-quality tennis. The set up for this match was Justine Henin's return to professional tennis after a "retirement" of just over 18 months. The two had never been friendly and Henin had beaten Serena Williams in three consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals the last year they had met in 2007. Williams had won this tournament 4 times before (always in an odd year) and had never been able to successfully defend an Australian Open title. She had also had a near-death experience on her way to the final against Vika Azarenka; it was unclear if this would strengthen or weaken her confidence. What resulted was a match for the ages; Henin (inexplicably) decided to radically modify her game and go for broke on her return-of-serve and basically hit the ball as hard as she could whenever she had the opportunity. She also repeatedly rushed the net. Williams was placed into the unusual position for her of facing someone who was being even more aggressive on court. It was a high-stakes gamble for Henin which in one 10 minute period towards the end of the second set appeared to be paying dividends when the Belgian was able to win 4 games in a row (barely losing a point). However, in the third set Williams steadied her game and Henin's match inexperience with her own new service motion led to her downfall as the double faults and missed serves began to pile up, allowing Serena to win her 5th Australian Open title and 12th major title overall.
2. S. Stosur AUS d. S. Williams USA, 6-2 6-7(2) 8-6, 2010 French Open quarterfinal, Paris.
This was the match that decided the 2010 Roland Garros title. I am absolutely convinced that if Serena Williams had won this match she would have gone on to win her second French Open title. Amazingly, Williams actually possessed a match point late in the third set but hit an attempted winner down-the-line (instead of cross-court!) an inch or two long. Samantha Stosur had been widely regarded as a very talented doubles player but not really much of a singles threat at a major prior to this tournament. In fact, Williams had easily beaten Stosur in straight sets in Australia earlier in the year. However, in the 2010 clay court season Stosur had the most match wins of anyone on tour and her universally respected serve had become more of a weapon as her confidence increased in direct proportion to her match-win total. Always an excellent mover and possessing a great top-spin forehand as well as a both a slice and two-handed backhand, Stosur's Achilles heel had been her mental toughness. However, after beating Justine Henin, the 4-time French Open champion in the round before, Stosur showed that she had made significant progress towards erasing those doubts and took the rightful place her talent indicated in the Top 5 of Women's Tennis and a perennial threat to win major titles in the future.
3. K. Clijsters BEL d. V. Williams, 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4, 2010 U.S. Open semifinal, New York City.
A major tournament is always diminished by the absence of the #1 player in the world, even if they are not the defending champion. Serena Williams' absence at the 2010 US Open loomed over the tournament like the very dark stormclouds which disturbed play in the later rounds. Serena's absence led to speculation that it could help her sister Venus Williams to her best performance at a non-Wimbledon major tournament since 2003. Venus was not at her best physically but had a dream draw until she ran into defending champion Kim Clijsters after winning 5 matches relatively easily. The result was another curious showdown between Venus and Kim (but not as curious as 2009's 6-0 0-6 6-4 quarterfinal result) where the Belgian was able to come out on top by simply playing the big points better even though Venus basically dictated play for most of the match. Venus failed to respond to the call of history when the big moments showed up (2nd set tiebreak and 4-all in the third). Clijsters went on to win her 3rd US Open title in three tries and has a remarkable winning streak in New York dating back to 2005. Hopefully she can broaden her success to the other majors before she leaves the tour again in 2012.
4. K. Clijsters BEL d. J. Henin BEL, 6-3 4-6 7-6(6), Brisbane International final, Brisbane.
This was the first match that I saw in 2010 that I knew would end up on this list of the most memorable of the year. Despite their public protestations to the contrary, it is clear the "Belgian sisters" Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin do not like each other and that became blindingly clear in as this match progressed. Henin was playing in one of her first matches back on the tour, and Clijsters was coming off her 2009 US Open win. Clijsters easily won the first set and was cruising up 4-1 in the second when suddenly the wheels fell off and she couldn't buy a first serve or keep the ball in play. Henin, always one to take advantage when seeing an opponent in distress, easily won the 2nd set and was up a break in the third when Kim woke up from her "walkabout" and resumed playing high-quality tennis. In fact, the third set contained some of the best tennis played by any two women on tour all year. Clijsters came back from down a break (twice!) at 3-1 and 5-3 but fought back to take the match to a third-set tie-break. Henin was not done, saving 3 match points in the tie-break before finally succumbing. The length of the rallies, brilliant shot-making, and impossible defense were breathtaking and made this tennis fan very happy that both of these great champions had un-retired and returned to the Tour.
5. F. Schiavone ITA d. S. Stosur AUS, 6-4 7-6(2), 2010 French Open final, Paris.
No Italian woman had ever been in the Top 10 of the women's tour and certainly never in the final of a major championship. At nearly 30 years old, who would have expected Francesca Schiavone to lose the first set she played at the 2010 Roland Garros tournament and then never lose another, eventually holding the Coupe de Suzanne Lenglen after outplaying a stronger, bigger (and arguably more talented) player in the final? But that's exactly what happened and the tennis world was the better for it. By winning Schiavone again demonstrated why we watch sports: you never know what could happen; impossible dreams can come true. Schiavone ended the year at World #7.
6. V. Zvonareva RUS d. K. Clijsters BEL, 3-6 6-4 6-2, 2010 Wimbledon quarterfinal, London.
This year's Wimbledon was an odd tournament for me because I was actually in London for the final 5 days of the tournament (but only had tickets to the men's final). Anyway, because of this I actually saw much less of the latter round matches than usual (but still predicted the winnerswith better than average accuracy). Vera Zvonareva had her great breakthrough in 2010 at last, when her other, more famous Russian contemporaries (Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva) either flamed out, wimped out or limped away from the court. That Zvonareva was talented was never in doubt; she's an excellent mover, has a world-class two-handed backhand and great hands at the net. Similar to Samantha Stosur, it was her emotional fortitude that had been tested and found wanting (her 2009 meltdown to Flavia Pennetta is legendary). Somehow, this year, on the grass of Wimbledon, trading backhand after backhand with Kim Clijsters, Vera found a way to play through the mental tumult by realizing the game of tennis is actually quite simple: just hit the ball into the court more times than your opponent. Surprisingly, it was the 2-time major champion who wilted first, handing the Russian just her second major semifinal berth of her career. Vera did not squander this opportunity and made it all the way to her first major final where she ran into an unstoppable force named Serena Williams. It's not clear that this tournament's winner was ever in doubt when both Williams sisters were in the draw, but this match at Wimbledon was a crucial turning point for women's tennis for 2010 when Zvonareva proved that she had reached the very pinnacle of women's tennis, ending the year at World #2.
7. S. Williams USA d. V. Azarenka BLR, 4-6 7-6(4) 6-2, Australian Open quarterfinal, Melbourne.
Serena Williams was down 6-4, 4-0 against the hard-hitting Victoria Azarenka when suddenly both players realized that Serena Williams, the 4-time defending Australian Open champion could lose this match. This realization had immediate and opposite impacts on both players. Azarenka started playing more tentatively (and was probably impacted by the fact that it was almost exactly a year before that she had had Serena in a similar position on this same court after easily winning the first set when Vika was forced to retire from the match due to the extreme heat). Serena on the other hand was enraged with herself and basically willed herself not to lose, slowly but surely making up the huge deficit against Azarenka point by point and game by game. Everyone watching the match was pretty convinced that the 2nd set tie-breaker would be determinative. If Vika won, the match would be over (obviously) but if Serena could come back to even the match score the mental and physical advantage would be hers. The tie-break was a taught, nervy affair but Serena was the more aggressive player and won the tie-break and went on to win the match. She was never really in much danger of not defending her title after that moment.
8. S. Stosur AUS d. E. Dementieva RUS, 6-3 2-6 7-6(2), 2010 US Open 4th Round, New York City.
The latest finish of any professional women's match of all time was an incredible slugfest between two great players who have never won a major title. This match was what Pam Shriver calls a "barn burner." On both sides of the net one saw world-class ground-strokes, excellent net play, incredible movement and mental anguish. Both players became tentative on their serve and both players blew leads which should have been insurmountable. This was really Dementieva's match to win. She broke Stosur impressive serve four consecutive times in the second set and in the third had a match point at 5-3 on her own serve as well as three more on Stosur's serve in the next game. Amazingly, almost all of these match points were decided by winners by Stosur who kept on going for her shots, despite being pummeled by powerful ground-strokes from the Russian. After that excitement it was only fitting that it came down to a 3rd set tiebreak, where surprisingly, it Dementieva's game which broke down first and she lost the match on a series of forehand errors at 1:36am.
9. E. Dementieva RUS d. L. Safarova CZE, 6-7(5) 6-1 6-4, Open Gaz de France Suez final.
In a curious twist of fate, Elena Dementieva won what was her last career tour title in front of Amelie Mauresmo, who had won this final hometown title the year prior to retiring at the end of 2009. This year it was Dementieva's turn for one last hurrah as she faced a determined Lucia Safarova who played "out of her head," aiming for the corners and regularly connecting to send winners screaming to the baseline out of reach of the Russian. There were some incredible, hard-hitting baseline rallies until finally Safarova's inconsistency caught up with her and she succumbed to the greatest player never to have won a major championship. I wonder who Dementieva will be watching win this title from the stands in 2011?
10. S. Williams USA d. V. Zvonareva, 6-3 6-2, 2010 Wimbledon final, London.
It's not very often that the Wimbledon final is not one of the top 5 most memorable matches in the final but that's exactly what happened this year. The reason why this match is even on this list because it was the very last match Serena Williams played in 2010, and it demonstrated how dismissive she could be of the player who ended the year ranked World #2 and had an envious second half of the year, with two consecutive Grand Slam final appearances, something no woman has done since Serena in 2008. There was never really any doubt who would win this match, or the 2010 Wimbledon title. Hopefully, Serena will return early enough in 2011 to make another impressive mark on the majors next year.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
S. Williams USA d N. Li CHN, 7-6(4) 7-6(1), 2010 Australian Open semifinal, Melbourne.
K. Clijsters BEL d. C. Wozniacki DEN, 6-3 5-7 6-3, WTA Championships final.
S. Kuznetsova RUS d. A. Radwanska POL, 6-4 6-7(7) 6-3, Southern California Open final.
V. Zvonareva RUS d. C. Wozniacki DEN, 6-4 6-3, 2010 U.S. Open semifinal.
C. Wozniacki DEN d. M. Sharapova RUS, 6-3 6-4, 2010 U.S. Open 4th Round.
K. Clijsters BEL d. S. Stosur AUS, 6-4 5-7 6-3, 2010 U.S. Open quarterfinal.
J. Jankovic SRB d. S. Williams USA, 4-6 6-3 7-6(5), Rome semifinal.
J. Jankovic SRB d. V. Williams USA, 6-0 6-1, Rome quarterfinal.
K. Clijsters BEL d. J. Henin BEL, 2-6 6-2 6-3, 2010 Wimbledon Championships 4th round.
S. Stosur AUS d. J. Henin BEL, 2-6 6-1 6-4, 2010 Roland Garros 4th Round.
K. Clijsters BEL d. V. Williams USA, 6-1 6-2, Sony Ericsson Championship final.
P. Kvitova CZE d. K. Kanepi EST 4-6 7-6(8) 8-6, 2010 Wimbledon Championships quarterfinal.
J. Henin BEL d. E. Dementieva RUS, 7-5 7-6(6), 2010 Australian Open 2nd Round.
Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) vs. Vera Zvonareva RUS (7). Interestingly, these two have a tied career head-to-head (2 and 2, 1 on 1 on hard courts), with Wozniacki winning the last time these two played in the final of the Rogers Cup 6-3 6-2 in Montreal during the Dane's great run through the US Open Series this summer. They have both been in one major final (Wozniacki US Open 2009, Zvonareva Wimbledon 2010) with Zvonareva being in 3 major semifinals to Wozniacki's 2. Can Zvonareva play real big babe tennis more consistentlythan Maria Sharapova was able to? I say yes. There's a reason why Zvonareva is ranked #8 in the world.. Then again Wozniacki is ranked #2 in the world and is the top seed here, thanks to the absence of World #1 Serena Williams. Even though I was convinced by her performance against Sharapova that Wozniacki is "for real" I still have a feeling that Vera will not go away quietly. Regardless, I think the eventual titleholder of this year's event will not come from this semifinal. PREDICTION: Zvonareva in 3 sets.
Getty
Venus Williams USA (3) vs. Kim Clijsters BEL (2). Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters have played each other twelve times and their career head-to-head is tied at 6-all. However, on hard courts Clijsters leads 4-3 with Clijsters winning every hard court match the two have contested since 2005. Additionally, Clijsters has won 19 matches in a row at the US Open dating back to 2005 (she did not play the event in the years 2006 through 2008). Venus has not really been tested (despite 2010 French Open champ Francesca Schiavone's best efforts), and has somehow managed to make it to the semifinals of the US Open (for the first time since 2007, when Justine Henin took out both Serena and Venus to win the title over Svetlana Kuznetsova) without losing a set. That will almost certainly change on Friday, especially since Venus' mobility is clearly sub-optimal. These two played one of the most bizarrely lopsided matches of all time (6-0, 0-6, 6-4) won by Clijsters on the way to the title. It is very likely Clijsters will become the first player in 9 years (since her opponent did it in 2001) to defend her US Open title. PREDICTION: Clijsters in 3 sets.
Serena Williams USA (1) vs Na Li CHN (9). The only year this century that there has not been a Williams sister in the Wimbledon final was 2006 (Mauresmo beat Henin) and that fluke will not be repeated in 2010. Li Na is one of my favorite players (my dog is named after her!) and is an excellent grass-court tennis player. She won the warm-up tournament in Birmingham this year (defeating Maria Sharapova) and is the first Chinese player in the world's top 10. These two players met in the Australian Open semifinals this year, after Li had beatenVenus Williams in the quarterfinals and Serena beat Li in a very tight match (in two tiebreak sets) despite not playing her best tennis and experiencing movement difficulties. Serena looks 100% at Wimbledon right now and is serving like a woman on a mission. She has yet to drop a set in this year's tournament (not even against Maria Sharapova, who beat her in the 2004 final) and is unlikely to do so on her inexorable march to Saturday's women's final for the third consecutive year. PREDICTION: Serena in 2 sets.
Caroline Wozniacki DEN (3) Petra Kvitova CZE vs. Kaia Kanepi EST. This is the "anonymous" quarterfinal which will probably not get any television coverage. However, it should be a barn burner. Kvitova has ended her last two matches by bagelling her opponents, World #3 Caroline Wozniacki and former Top 10 Victoria Azarenka. The only person she has lost a set to is last year's semifinalist Zheng Jie. Kaia Kanepi is no joke either, and has long been regarded as a player to watch. Both players simply crush the ball on both wings. However, they are both in uncharted territory playing in their first Grand Slam quarterfinal with a chance to reach a major semifinal for the first time (where they are likely to face defending champion Serena Williams). I believe Kvitova is ready to reach that level. PREDICTION: Kvitova in 3 sets.
Kim Clijsters BEL (8) vs. Vera Zvonareva RUS (21)Jelena Jankovic SRB (4). Many, many commentators were salivating over the 4th round clash between the "Belgian sisters"--their first meeting in a major since they both un-retired. Before that sabbatical, Clijsters had a very unremarkable 2-5 record against Henin and only had won one major (and did not face her nemesis) t her rival's seven. Since their return Clijsters has won another major and has beaten Justine all three times they met. It appears as if the 18-month gap of parenthood and maturity have done wonders for Clijsters' mental toughness. Mental toughness are NOT two words one associates with Vera Zvonareva. She was in the process of demolishing World #4 Jelena Jankovic when the Serbian fell on the court and retired from their 4th round match soon after. Zvonareva has great weapons, but as Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina have repeatedly demonstrated, the most important weapon in a player's arsenal is not one that can be developed in the gym or the practice court. PREDICTION: Clijsters in 2 sets.
Venus Williams USA (2) vs. Tsvetana Pironkova BUL Marion Bartoli FRA (11). Mademoiselle Marion Bartoli did not hold up her half of the bargain to have this quarterfinal be a repeat of the 2007 Women's final by losing in two tight sets to Pironkova. Venus was relatively lucky herself to slip past hard-hitting Aussie Jarmila Groth in two very close sets. Pironkova and Venus have played before, most notably at the 2006 Australian Open where the Bulgarian bounced the American out of the tournament in the 2nd round, winning 9-7 in the third set. I'd be shocked if Venus allows Pironkova to win 9 games in the entire match this time. PREDICTION: Venus in 2 sets.
With only one day to go, some folks are still hard at it.
AP
Great name for a tournie and a great cookie tray for winning it.
All well and good. Though I’ll be looking for a little more “boom-boom” from that serve we’ve been hearing so much of and a little less of forehand-horribilis. This result suggests match-fitness. And if she’s still stuttering she might just find herself getting smacked into shape by those other heavyweights in her quarter.
Smacked into shape rather than smacked straight out one hopes.
Now or Never.
AFP/Getty
This one needs a bulleted list.
Unseeded qualifier
Ranked #100 in the world
Beats Flavlova, Nadia, Kuzzie, Stosur and, of course, Vika to win her first WTA title in Eastbourne
Doesn’t drop a single set in doing it.
If that doesn’t put some colour in your cheeks I don’t know what will.
Round of applause please.
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. Said that already, no?
AP
A real shame.
Vika’s run at Eastbourne this week included wins over Bartoli, Clijsters and ARad before seizing up with a leg injury in the final.
Only two days before the start of “The Championships”. Never fails to amaze me how full-of-oneself that sounds.
AFP
Amelie’s protege won the men’s event.
Canadian Press
This lot went to Ascot. She’ll also be doing the rounds at “The Championships” this year. Lord, how droll that sounds.
One of the most surprising grand slam tournaments in recent tennis history is coming to a conclusion with a final where for the first time in 6 years neither of the combatants has been in a major final previously. World No. 7 Samantha Stosur has reached this point by beating a series of excellent clay court players, one after another starting with a tight dismissal of Justine Henin, followed by outlasting Serena Williams and ending with a 2-set blowout of Jelena Jankovic. On the other hand, Francesca Schiavone has had the best luck of anyone in the tournament, having won every set she has played except for the very first, all the while facing a significantly lower level of competition. In her last match, her opponent Elena Dementieva retired after losing a close tie-break set!
In 2009 Schiavone and Stosur met in the first round of Roland Garros and the Australian won easily 6-4 6-2. Head-to-head Schiavone won the first match the two played in 2005 and has not won in 4 attempts, with two of these matches occurring on clay.
Although Schiavone is a big match player and will probably handle the pressure of playing in her first major final better than Stosur, the Australian has so much more power in her game that even with a slump she should still win her first major singles title relatively easily.
Serena Williams USA (1)Samantha Stosur AUS (7) vs. Jelena Jankovic SRB (4). Samantha Stosur has the most clay court wins of anyone on tour this year. She showed that she can take out players who are expected to beat her with two exceptional, consecutive 3-set wins over 4-time French Open champ Justine Henin and 12-time major champion Serena Williams. She may possess the best serve in women's tennis right now. It was this difference which was most glaring in her defeat of Serena in the quarters. Stosur had quieter (but more effective) service stats (6 aces to one double fault) than Serena (13 aces, 9 double faults). Her second serve has a wicked kick which will push almost any opponent deep behind the baseline. Her next opponent is Jelena Jankovic who has lived up to her seeding (the only member of the Top 4 to do so) and is appearing in her sixth career major semifinal. Stosur is appearing in her second. Jankovic also sports a 3-1 career head-to-head edge over the Australian, but then again so did Serena Williams, with all their previous encounters occurring on hard courts. I actually like and appreciate both players' games so I will not be upset which ever player wins. In this case, I think Stosur will have the larger momentum and greater boost of her confidence having already beaten two great champions to reach this point. I think she will not stop until Stosur becomes a grand slam champion herself. MadProfessah's pick: Stosur in 3 sets.
Caroline Wozniacki DEN (3)Francesca Schiavone ITA (17) vs. Elena Dementieva RUS (5). This was supposed to be where Venus Williams was supposed to take advantage of the top heavy draw and finally make her way to another French Open final. Sadly, that dream was deferred by the excellent play of Nadia Petrova who then could not sustain a lead against her friend and doubles partner Elena Dementieva, an ended up choking on 3rd-set bagel. Francesca Schiavone is a big match player. A few weeks before her 30th birthday she is in her first major semifinal, the first woman from Italy to be in a major final in over a generation. Although I love her game (that one handed backhand! the shotmaking!), I predicted that the World's 3rd ranked player would take her out easily but Schiavone flipped the script aruond and dismissed Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-3 in a match that was not as close as the score indicates. This match is the hardest one for me to predict. The two have played 10 tour matches, with only one on clay (won by Dementieva) and with the Russian holding a slight 6-4 edge. Just as Schiavone has indicated her mental toughness in big matches, Dementieva has shown the opposite. I think that either Dementieva will be so nervous that Schiavone will blow her off the court in straight sets, or if Dementieva is able to win a set, she will be able to gut out an ugly 3-set win for her 3rd major final, her first in over six years. MadProfessah's pick: Schiavone in 2 sets or Dementieva in 3 sets.
Serena Williams USA (1) vs. Samantha Stosur AUS (7) Justine Henin BEL (22). For the second year in a row, the winner of the tournament will be decided in the quarterfinal in which Serena Williams competes. Last year, Serena lost a nervy, tension-filled (frankly, ugly) quarterfinal match to eventual champion, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. This year instead of playing the 4-time Roland Garros champion Henin (who had a 24-match winning streak since Tathiana Garbin beat the 2003 defending champion in the second round at this tournament in 2004) Serena will face last year's semifinalist Samantha Stosur. The Serena-Justine showdown had been the most anticipated match on either side of the draw, even in a section of the draw called the "quarter of death" by Brad Gilbert. However, thanks to the hard-hitting, brilliant-serving Sam Stosur, that storyline is now dismissed from the tournament. Serena and Sam have only played four times (all on hard courts) with Stosur winning once, in Stanford last year. Serena is a woman on a mission, and will not be denied her chance to reach another Roland Garros final. PREDICTION: Serena in 3 sets. Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ vs. Jelena Jankovic SRB (4). Surely Jelena Jankovic is too strong a defensive player to go through her entire career without winning a major? She made it to the 2008 U.S. Open final (losing to Serena in two close sets) but I believe that it is clay where her particular skills should be rewarded the most. Following that first major final Jankovic fell into a major downward spiral (although not as precipitous a decline as her Serbian countrywoman Ana Ivanovic, who although she possesses the 2008 French Open title still does not own a reliable second (or first) serve.) Jankovic has played well on clay this year, having beaten both Williams sisters on her way to the Rome final (which she lost). She should seize on the good fortune of not being in the "quarter of death" and sneak into her second major final. PREDICTION: Jankovic in 2 sets.
Francesca Schiavone ITA (17) vs. Caroline Wozniacki DEN (3). Wozniacki can regain the World #2 ranking by getting to the final, although I suspect her current Italian opponent and future Russian opponent will do their best to help maintain Venus Williams' hold on that position. This is the veteran Schiavone's 4th career quarterfinal, her second in Paris since reaching that lofty height in her debut at the tournament in 2001. The young Dane had never been past the 4th round of a major despite being on the tour for 3 years until her major breakthrough in New York (overSvetlanaKuznetsovain one of the very best matches of 2009) last year, where she lost the final to Kim Clijsters. In these clashes between wily veteran and talented youngster it is often the older player who comes out the loser because they more viscerally understand the significance (and rarity) of the moment and I expect this case to be no different. Youth will be served, again. PREDICTION:Wozniacki in 2 sets.
Elena Dementieva RUS (5) vs.Nadia Petrova RUS (19) Venus Williams USA (2). Oh, Venus! After getting past her 3rd Round Roland Garros jinx easily she meekly went out to the hard-hitting, mentally fragile Petrova on a cold wet day in straight sets, losing to someone she had never lost to on any surface. Sigh. Soon to turn 30 years-old, and for once blessed with a draw that had all the deadliest players in the other half for once, Venus couldn't keep it together long enough to make another deep run at the clay major, despite having amassed a very good record on clay this year. Petrova has always done well in Paris, first breaking through here at age 17 into the semifinals in 2003. Her opponent, Elena Dementieva, has quietly snuck through the draw, losing only one set in a tiebreak to Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada, with almost no one discussing her chances despite being a finalist here in 2004 and having played the best women's match on tour last year. Matches between the Russians are very often hideous, tight affairs with one player losing worse than the other instead of one player winning decisively. That's what I expect to see in this match. Head-to-head there's not much between these two, they are tied 7-7 in career matches, 2-2 in clay court matches and 1-1 in grand slam matches. Petrova has won exactly 2 major quarterfinal matches before, here in Paris, while the 6-month-older Dementieva has won 8 major quarterfinals, although only one in Paris. PREDICTION: Dementieva in 3 sets.
Did she “pull a Soderling”? Only in the loosest, colloquial sense of the phrase.
For that analogy to ring completely true, Henin’s run of RG titles would have had to continue unbroken over the last two years, playing roughly the same way.
Or else Nadal would have had to have taken two years off tour to reinvent himself as, I dunno, Novak Djokovic(?) before returning to RG to fall in the fourth round to Fernando Verdasco.
In which case she’d have “pulled a Nando”. Or something.
None of this matters of course. What matters is that Stosur served out that last game, when every soul on earth, every seeker of truth in my twitter feed, was expecting her, counting on her even, to choke.
Which by the way she almost did in handing back a break and double faulting on the first of her two match points.
Don’t lets also forget how she out-varied “the varied one”. Which should surprise precisely no one considering how unvarying Juju’s play supposedly is nowadays.
Jurgen Melzer follows up his upset-of-the-tournament victory over David Ferrer and has just become a Grand Slam quarterfinalist for the first time in his career at the ripe old age of 29. Raise your hand if you saw this coming.
AP
The little backhand that couldn't. It was a long time coming, but Justine Henin finally loses her first match at Roland Garros in six years. Samantha Stosur got over herself and sent the diminutive one packing.
Schedule for Day 9: Monday, 31 May 2010
Court Philippe Chatrier 11:00 Start Time 1. Men's Singles - Fourth Round Robby Ginepri (USA) v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3] 2. Women's Singles - Fourth Round Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Shahar Peer (ISR)[18] 3. Men's Singles - Fourth Round Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)[24] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2] 4. Women's Singles - Fourth Round Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[4] v. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[23]
Court Suzanne Lenglen 11:00 Start Time 1. Men's Singles - Fourth Round Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) v. Jurgen Melzer (AUT)[22] Not Before 13:00 2. Women's Singles - Fourth Round Justine Henin (BEL)[22] v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[7] 3. Men's Singles - Fourth Round Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[7] v. Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[19] 4. Women's Singles - Fourth Round Jarmila Groth (AUS) v. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)
Court 1 11:00 Start Time 1. Men's Doubles - Third Round Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[6] v. Stephen Huss (AUS)/Andre Sa (BRA) 2. Men's Doubles - Third Round Julien Benneteau (FRA)/Michael Llodra (FRA)[15] v. Wesley Moodie (RSA)/Dick Norman (BEL)[4] 3. Women's Doubles - Fourth Round Liezel Huber (USA)/A. Medina Garrigues (ESP)[3] v. Gisela Dulko (ARG)/Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[5] 4. Women's Doubles - Third Round Monica Niculescu (ROU)/Shahar Peer (ISR) v. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)/Jie Zheng (CHN)[10] 5. Women's Doubles - Fourth Round Serena Williams (USA)/Venus Williams (USA)[1] v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)/Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[11]
Court 2 11:00 Start Time 1. Girls' Singles - First Round Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor (ESP) v. Leolia Jeanjean (FRA) Not Before 13:00 2. Men's Doubles - Third Round Thierry Ascione (FRA)/Laurent Recouderc (FRA) v. Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)[8] 3. Mixed Doubles - Third Round Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[3] v. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)/Max Mirnyi (BLR)[5] 4. Women's Doubles - Third Round Alona Bondarenko (UKR)/Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[4]/Samantha Stosur (AUS)[4]
Court 3 11:00 Start Time 1. Boys' Singles - First Round Taro Daniel (JPN) v. Lucas Pouille (FRA) 2. Girls' Singles - Second Round Ester Goldfeld (USA) v. Amandine Hesse (FRA) Not Before 13:00 3. Mixed Doubles - Second Round Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)/Bruno Soares (BRA) v. Cara Black (ZIM)/Leander Paes (IND)[2] To Finish 5-7 2-0 4. Boys' Singles - Second Round Gianni Mina (FRA)[3] v. Alessandro Colella (ITA) 5. Mixed Doubles - Second Round Vania King (USA)/Christopher Kas (GER) v. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)
Both women are clearly different forces of nature to those we saw in that infamous meeting between the two at the SEC back in 2007. And yet some things never change.
Early on yesterday Henin looked to be running away with with it, before Shaza slid, sliced, serve-volleyed -- artefacts not traditionally associated with the Masha repertoire -- to level the match at a set all. All before a small matter of the fading light ended up interfering with play.
I tend to go with the underdog in situations like these and thought it a little sad that Masha was unable to hold on to her 2-0, 40-0 lead today. For me her best chance was to keep Henin on the defence thus preventing her from moving her around – throttling her most pernicious route back into the match.
Early on this seemed plausible, but a succession of errors and impeccable defence from JuJu quickly saw momentum not so much shift, as remain suspended between the two as they fought out what appeared to be almost a microcosm of that match from 2007. It lasted three games. Henin came out on top.
Apparently the first time in five years Juju has dropped a set at RG – a thrilling stat that I’m not keen to over-emphasise. It is worth reminding ourselves that Henin’s not played here since 2008 and that she’s re-emerged with a more uncompromising and aggressive brand of tennis very different to what we used to know of her back then – the way she served out that last game should be proof enough of that.
Something else worrying me is the way in which many are now seizing upon what they perceive as a more one-dimensional facsimile of the Henin they know and love.
There is some truth in this – Henin does now, at times, seem as much a basher as many less gifted players in the top fifty – no artisan backhand’s going to hide that.
And I do have an ear for those that are tired of hearing dull maxims about her “variety” whilst at once dismissing others as “having no plan B” – I don’t have any time for neanderthals like that either – we’re past all that surely.
I would contend however, that Henin’s “variety” is still her modus operandi. That she’s chosen in her 2nd career, to try something different, if a little less prepossessing – given what we know of her ambitions at SW19 – is hardly surprising. Not a lack of variety, but it's deliberate neglect.
I only included this pic because I liked that Stan looks to be doing the triple jump.
In the wake of his loss to his compatriot in Madrid, Bodo did a piece in which he posited that Wawa might be persuaded to give Fed a free ride at the Masters events in order to maintain the status quo of tennis Switzerland - a nation that, as he put it, was “punching well above its weight”. Why rock the boat?
No mention, funnily enough, was made of Stan’s upset of Fed at MC last year. Presumably, he had yet to incubate into one of tens of thousands of Swiss Minions, or worse, was a lone minion making his bid for freedom.
Not going to bother to debate the rights and wrongs of this – but today’s loss, at a Slam no less, will presumably only intensify Bodo’s assessment of Stan’s assumed minionship.
Federling. Soderer.
Call it what you want - it’s on people. Your grimace ain’t got nothing on me.
Only a Marin shaped chalk outline remained on court after Soder-Pop was done with him today. It wasn’t pleasant.
Last year wasn’t pleasant either – at least not from Rafa’s end.
I remain fundamentally unconvinced that it will be any different from the final last year.
I wouldn’t wish a 12-0 H2H on anyone. Not even Andy Roddick…oh wait….
Sod thrives on rhythm. Fed will likely give him none.
Though if Sod does find some perverse way of executing, and my own inner Swedish Minion has anything do with it, we may have a match.
Dunno quite what happened here.
But somewhere in between Andy Roddick going down in straights (“Today I got outplayed from the first ball”) and Nadal’s straight sets win over Hewitt, both Ferru and Ferrero got their racquet butts handed to them.
It took Ginepri a full five sets to close out JCF, a match in which he lead at one point by a set and 5-0; Melzer only required three, one of which was baked entirely in cornflour.
Robby hadn’t won a single clay court match coming into the event, and is, for now at least, the last American male standing. Only at Roland Garros.
But there’s no escaping, nor should we wish to escape, the reality that two of the hottest clay courters out there were bundled out of RG by two other players, not renowned for their prowess on clay or anywhere else.
That’s probably too harsh. Jurgen’s ranked #26 in the world after all.
Though I’ve yet to find anyone that can meaningfully convey the appeal of Jurgen with out using cliched terms like “dangerous” or “sleeper” - or indeed anyone who can convince me not to persist in referring to him as Jurgen-Schmergen.
Until such time I intend to carry on doing just that.
Gone.
Disappointed. Much. Though kinda glad it was Nadia that took her down.
And if someone must “oust” Venus from the event (a word I abhor), then I’d rather it were Nadia too.
Whatever else you might think about her, Rezai’s clearly got that warrior queen thing going on – even when she’s being burnt at the stake. Not that that’s quite the way Nadia disposed of her.
I understand Boudica’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Mostly on account of the bling.
Let us leave it at this then. When you arrive at a Slam aspiring to overturn everyone's favourite poker table – you dress the part and arrive wielding more than just pleasant conversation and a copy of Henry James.
