I always tell myself that vacation is a perfect time to blog -- no work, no deadlines. Yet, it never happens. And, of course, now that I'm back, I'm trying to find the time to blog. Sad. Anyway, some things that happened while I was gone:
1. Wimbledon decides it still doesn't need to play on the middle Sunday. Oh, those Brits and their traditions. Bless 'em. Even if it means players have to cram in 4 matches in as many days (or fewer) just because officials choose to play during monsoon season.
2. Roger Federer wins one ... and loses one: Jose Higueras, you are fired! Fed snagged the Estoril Open when Nikolay Davydenko withdrew during the final. (And naturally, was playing in next week's tournament.) It was his first win this season. And then? And then next week at the Monte Carlo tournament, he's up in the second set, 4-0 -- and loses the set and match! OK, OK, the sky's still not falling. He'll be fine. I think.
3. Jelena Dokic returns, if that's what you want to call it: True story: So a couple years ago, I was covering a local ITF tournament (its claim to fame: Maria Sharapova played it when she was 15) for my newspaper, and I approached the PR person (who really had no clue what she was doing, as you'll soon see) about getting an interview with Lilia Osterloh, who had just won a match. This PR chick is running around like a chicken with its head cut off, running through the club restaurant, workout room and lounge area trying to find Osterloh. And, I, like an idiot, am following. So her last stop is the locker room. We storm in, and there is this huge woman taking off her pants just as we're entering. I realized quickly that I was looking at Greta Arn's ass. And what did I learn from that experience? Knock before entering.
There was really no point to that story other than that Arn beat Dokic in Dokic's first appearance on the WTA tour in two years. In case you had been wondering (and who hasn't?) she's playing for only the second time in two years because of injuries. Boy, whatever did happen to she and Alexandra Stevenson?
4. U.S. Fed Cup team does a little with not a lot: So, every tie, regardless of how stupid the format is, Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan Brothers show up to play Davis Cup. They seem somewhat invested in Davis Cup. Zina Garrison, on the other hand, tends to come up empty. Venus and Serena play when they want to, and it's just pathetic that they have to count on Lindsay Davenport at all. I think Davenport's great, but where is the development of the young talent for the U.S.? Even the men are starting to make some noise. (One-dimensional noise -- ahem, Isner --but noise regardless.) Certainly not trying to diss Vania King and Ahsha Rolle either (I did not know Liezel Huber was an American), but I have to ask: Where does all the USTA money go? Player development? Um, no. And another question, Coach Garrison: The tie is decided, and your team loses 3-0. Why not get your younger players some experience? Alison Riske, Vandeweghe and Madison Brengle may look really excited over there just cheering, but what does it hurt to give one of them a chance on a big stage? I guess to cap off her coaching career, Garrison can deal with a 3-2 loss better than a 5-0 loss. Although, finishing her coaching career by inspiring and motivating her young players would have been nice, too.
2 comments:
How about Sam Querry, he's making some noise too..and here's the thing, on clay. Beating Moya and Gasquet to get to the quarterfinals, quite an achievement I must say. I was pleasantly surprised especially since most Americans skip Monte Carlo. Good on ya Sam!
True, true. Querrey might be the one American who isn't allergic to clay. My question: Is he tough because he's 6-6 or because he's a quality player? Time will tell. Thanks for reading, Regine!
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