Wednesday, June 22, 2005
DAY 2. Angela Haynes didn't go out there thinking she was fortunate to be playing Serena Williams. I was impressed that she seemed to be pissed to lose, even to a superstar.
Tim Henman made a great comeback, but he had no business being down two sets to Nieminen, who looked lethargic and too clay-courty even on clay courts.
And, in another name game, Llagostera Vives is Llagostera Vives, not Vives. Why the hell do you think the Llagostera is up there, guys?
Tim Henman made a great comeback, but he had no business being down two sets to Nieminen, who looked lethargic and too clay-courty even on clay courts.
And, in another name game, Llagostera Vives is Llagostera Vives, not Vives. Why the hell do you think the Llagostera is up there, guys?
Monday, June 20, 2005
WIMBLEDON, Day 1.
Marat Safin showed me for the first time that he could be a Wimbledon champion. Facing Paradorn Srichaphan in what was not a kind first-round draw, the often moody Russian calmly smacked winners all over the place, aside from a tough final game and an "I'm bored" stretch of slicey-dinky play that cost him a second-set service break.
Note to broadcasters: Safin beat Srichaphan. Or Marat beat Paradorn. Not "Safin beat Paradorn." (Srichaphan for some reason has fallen victim to the Davis Love III affliction -- if your first name sounds enough like a last name, the TV people stop right there and use it as a last name.) Meanwhile, Patrick McEnroe still can't get enough of broadcast partner Enberg's first name. Dick. Dick dick dick. Dick this, dick that.
Also, Zanetti did not defeat Schnyder. There is no Zanetti. Antonella Serra Zanetti beat Patty Schnyder. Antonella and her sister are not Zanettis, Justin Henin-Hardenne is not Hardenne, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is not Vicario, and so on. Please hire human editors rather than programming your computers to pick out the last group of letters (or fire your robotic and incompetent human editors, if that's the case). I'm available.
Roger Federer had a tough draw, too -- Paul-Henri Mathieu -- but had even less trouble than Safin.
Perhaps nobody had less trouble than Lindsay Davenport, who handled Alina Jidkova like Steffi Graf handling her young son.
Too bad Taylor Dent and Dick Norman -- two members of that rare species, grass-court specialist -- had to play right away. Norman beat Stefan Edberg (!) and Pat Cash (!) at Wimbledon in 1995, but the older version couldn't take out Dent this year.
Also too bad: Two of my favorite dark horses, Mikhail Youzhny and Marcos Baghdatis -- also played in the first round. I picked it right: Youzhny.
French Open finalist Mariano Puerta pulled a surprise by actually showing up, but he managed only six games against journeyman Lars Burgsmuller.
In an even more embarrassing loss, Tommy Robredo, who is known for having decent grass-court chops for a Spanish dirtballer, lost 1, 2 and 5 to countryman Fernando Verdasco.
A British winner other than Henman and that Canadian guy? Yep. The boy-next-door-named David Sherwood straight-setted Ricardo Mello to make the second round.
Note to broadcasters: Safin beat Srichaphan. Or Marat beat Paradorn. Not "Safin beat Paradorn." (Srichaphan for some reason has fallen victim to the Davis Love III affliction -- if your first name sounds enough like a last name, the TV people stop right there and use it as a last name.) Meanwhile, Patrick McEnroe still can't get enough of broadcast partner Enberg's first name. Dick. Dick dick dick. Dick this, dick that.
Also, Zanetti did not defeat Schnyder. There is no Zanetti. Antonella Serra Zanetti beat Patty Schnyder. Antonella and her sister are not Zanettis, Justin Henin-Hardenne is not Hardenne, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is not Vicario, and so on. Please hire human editors rather than programming your computers to pick out the last group of letters (or fire your robotic and incompetent human editors, if that's the case). I'm available.
