Tennis

[Fraggle Rock]

Roger just had to go and mess everything up. He could have freakin' gone out in the 2nd round so Rafa could become number one. But no, instead he goes and loses to Djokovic who I can't stand. I usually like seeing Roger lose because I like seeing Mirka look all miserable and dejected (yep, I'm evil), but I didn't want Djokovic to win today. This sucks.

The women's final is slightly less nauseating for me, so I guess I'll reluctantly root for Ivanovic and pray for the world to end before the men's match starts.

[Deleted]

kathy1977 said:

Boo!!!!

I love Federer, dammit. Oh well, I'll still be watching the men's final. I want to see the hype about this Tsonga guy. I think I'm the only person who hasn't seen the Nadal/Tsonga match yet.

I will be skipping the Ivanovich/Sharapova final. I can just hear the male commentators gushing and drooling now. Although I do think Ana is beautiful. Maria? Plain Jane.

It's not hype about Tsonga. People knew for a long time he would be good. He won the 2003 US Open Juniors, beating out Baghdatis who would later contend for the Aussie in 2006. After winning though he suffered numerous injuries- back, shoulder, knee, abdominal that caused here to miss a year, and stalled his progress. Last year was his break out year on tour where he made it to the 4th and the 3rd round of Wimbledon and the US Open. Won 4 challengers, and went far at Lyon (I think it was) before being stopped by Grosjean. He also probably would have beat Roddick in the 1st round of the Aussie if he hadn't of lost the farm with a bad call. But the biggest difference between the Tsonga of now and last year besides the injuries is that he finally believes he belongs, he didn't have that belief before and it showed in his play. And to describe his style of play he's been compared to Safin, Sampras, and Rafter. He has superbe volleys, good transition game, and excellent serve. He is also deceptive fast and a good athlete for a man his size.

I'm really disappointed about last night's result. Can't stand Djokovic especially given all his on court tactics- tanking matches, calling for trainers when he does not need them to destroy opponents momentum. I will never forgive him especially how he treated a supposed friend, Monfils at the 2006 US Open where he intentionally called for a trainer to throw Monfils off his rhythm. He later admitted in a press conference he wouldn't have won if he had not employed such a tactic. Not to mention his imitations which are downright mean especially to Rafa. I hope Tsonga beats him like he stole something, and Roger makes him cry next time they play.

And Adje Ana! Can't stand Sharapova.

_{Sorry for the long rant, I really like tennis.} ;D

[Fraggle Rock]

Not to mention his imitations which are downright mean especially to Rafa.

That's because most of them aren't imitations. They're mockeries which I don't find funny either. I agree with all of what you said about Djokovic. It's gamemanship 101 from him.

Can't stand Sharapova.

I want to punch her Dad in the face. I can't believe she isn't fined for coaching more often, and if the umpires wanted to, they could penalize her for all of that screaming she does on the court. They could call it what it is - a hindrance. She's always saying that she won't stop doing it and it's automatic, but if they started deducting points for it, I bet it would stop pretty quickly.

[Deleted]

tori said:

Not to mention his imitations which are downright mean especially to Rafa.

That's because most of them aren't imitations. They're mockeries which I don't find funny either. I agree with all of what you said about Djokovic. It's gamemanship 101 from him.

I have to admit I still laugh about his imitations but I also think he should really slow down and not do it ever time someone asks him, it's getting old and is starting to annoy people.

Oh but I reallyreally love Novak *runs*

[Fraggle Rock]

To Novak's credit, he doesn't want to do them anymore.

Q. When you were asked afterwards to do those impersonations, you didn't look too comfortable.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I didn't, 'cause there was a lot of talks in the last couple months about me doing these impersonations. As I was saying many times before, I wasn't really trying to, you know, make fun of anybody or offend anybody. It's just that, you know, it's something that I think, my opinion, brings up some positive energy and something different. I mean, I'm not trying to be different; just trying to enjoy. That's all. I don't like when, you know, people comment about those kind of things in a negative way. So I didn't want to get more of these comments by doing again the impersonations. You know, I don't know. People made me do it, so... It's good that I just did Maria. I didn't want to do any of the other tennis players.

Q. She doesn't mind?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: She doesn't mind. She's okay with it.

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[quote author=tori board=professional thread=1192245313

Can't stand Sharapova.

I want to punch her Dad in the face. I can't believe she isn't fined for coaching more often, and if the umpires wanted to, they could penalize her for all of that screaming she does on the court. They could call it what it is - a hindrance. She's always saying that she won't stop doing it and it's automatic, but if they started deducting points for it, I bet it would stop pretty quickly.[/quote]

That's the thing though, her grunts aren't automatic. Going back to 2007 when she was getting beat repeatedly, she was quiet and made no noise. Total gamesmanship. That's not mention that the entire WTA Tour has and continues to cater to her. She recently signed a deal with Sony Ericsson, the tour's principal financial backer. Conflict of interest much?

[Fraggle Rock]

That's the thing though, her grunts aren't automatic.

I know. That's why I put automatic in italics. I don't think they're automatic either. I mean the girl grunts on volleys... who grunts on volleys? She can turn it on and off if she wants too. She also has her gamesmanship moments when she turns around and plays with her racket after every point. When she does that, she's not playing to the pace of the server (which is kind of an unspoken rule). I was glad to see her get warned for it - although it doesn't happen often enough.

That's not mention that the entire WTA Tour has and continues to cater to her.

I agree about the SE deal. Yep, it's a conflict of interest. I wonder that Larry Scott would have done if Venus hadn't pulled out of the YEC. Sharapova was 9th in the rankings and didn't qualify outright. Apparently, the tour told her ahead of time that someone was going to withdraw too.

I'm pulling for Ivanovic partly so that she can be another youngster with a Grand Slam. Sharapova got her start early, but most of the late 80s babies are just now starting to come into their games, so there's going to be more parity. Sharapova won't be the "young one" anymore (although I have my doubts about Sharapova's age - maybe I'm just being petty).

(I love Rafa, but he takes too long between points as well. He's just stuck in his routine though. You know he's going fix his socks, pick his shorts, and towel himself off before a key point. The guy probably can't help it anymore.)

[Deleted]

Yep it killed me Venus withdraw was the reason for her getting in. Doesn't surprise me Larry Scott called and told her. He's been shady from the go.

The other woman who employs similar tactics is Daniela Hantuchova. But she's also a big headcase, so that her dealings don't get a lot of press.

I think Ana has a good chance tonight. Maria's level of play has gone down since beating Henin earlier. I suspected she couldn't sustain that level of play long. And with the way she plays the game it won't be long until she completely blows out her shoulder. If Ana challenges the serve like she did in Tokyo and FO last year and holds her own serve, she should overcome. I've noticed during this tournament if you're able to keep the score close, and challenge on every serve Maria gets the "yips" again. I really hope Ana comes out victorious. If I can take only one positive thing from the Nole victory is that the Serbs have seemed to feed off each other.

[intlschizo]

*falls to my knees*

Lawd, PLEASE let Ana beat Sharapova. PLEASE.

[Deleted]

Oh Ana

You'll get her next time. But next time you have the opportunity to break for the set, take it.