Happy New Year! A moment of silence, though, please, for my ill laptop, which has kept me from ringing in the year a tad sooner. Resolution: get a new computer without the old one finding out about it.
Anyway, let's get right to it. Let's talk sportsmanship.
cheat: the fraudulent obtaining of another's property by a pretense or trick (from Random House dictionary)
So, Serena Williams is playing a warm-up tournament in Sydney (which in itself is surprising) against Samantha Stosur, and she hits a serve that is clearly a net cord, but is not called. So Stosur returns it, and gets the point because the umpire is sleeping on the job. Williams ended up winning the match.
Fine, umpires make mistakes. But whatever happened to the old soccer mom adage? The one that goes something like "It doesn't matter if you win, it's how you play the game?" How does Sam Stosur take that point with no qualms? Just because it's a clear error by the umpire doesn't mean you act like you have to go with it, even when you know he's wrong. Last I checked, that was called cheating. I've seen pro matches on big stages when opponents overruled an obvious umpire error and awarding their opponents a point, or a new serve. Players are not bound to the call -- especially if they think it's wrong. So, a very firm shake of the finger to you, Sam Stosur. Grow up.
Moving on, just read that Maria Sharapova is out of the Australian Open. Boy, this just makes for an interesting start for the women's tour, doesn't it? Bleech.
5 comments:
Wow, I didn't see that - was there an "after point" discussion?
In Stosur's defense, if she stopped play but the umpire didn't see the let then what would the verdict be? Umpires miss calls all the time but the final word is theirs. If Stosur stopped the ball she might have been giving away the point. But, again, it didn't see the whole thing.
In men's college play service lets are ignored and the ball is in play.
Happy New Year Naf, I've missed your posts. I hope your new laptop gets along with the old one.
Happy New Year, yogahz! I'm glad someone missed me ... :)
I really think that all Stosur had to do was agree that it was a let. I've seen matches on the pro level where guys just wave off a bad call.
I didn't know about the let rule in men's college. I don't know how to feel about that one. What if it's one of those that just dinks over the net?
Hey Naf, I missed you and your posts, too! Happy New Year!
Here's a question for you? Has anyone ever had more controversial calls against them than Serena? You know, ones that are just so blatantly obvious? I can't think of anyone.
What's happening, Van?
I think this incident is a lesson for Serena, too. If she wouldn't wear so much bling, the umps could focus on the match! Are you suggesting a conspiracy? :)
Hmmm... I guess we'll see what happens when the big event starts!
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