Friday, September 3, 2010

US Open 2010 Miscellany 9/3/2010

by Savannah

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Melanie Oudin seems to think American tennis begins and ends with her. I understand the intent of her words but it still comes off sounding "I, I, me, me". There are two American women ranked significantly ahead of her. I'm just sayin'.

....Oudin is keeping tabs on Capra, who goes by the nickname Trice, pronounced "Tree-See."
"I'm really, really happy that she's done well," said Oudin, who is about 6 1/2 months older. "For me, especially, I'm, like, great with the other American girls doing well, because she can take some of the stuff away from me. With her doing well, there can be more of us for people to pay more attention to, instead of, like, just me. The past year, it's been mainly on me."

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I appreciate the explanation of Beatrice Capra's nick name. For a minute there I thought Al Trautwig had gone off the deep end.

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The Brawl

Why am I not surprised this is now available for our viewing pleasure. Glad to see the older man come to his daughter's defense.


You never know how cultural differences affect the viewing of an event unless you post on/read a fanboard. To me the young man mouthing off to a woman old enough to be his mother and then shoving a man obviously old enough to be his grand father is appalling. Others see it as the two older adults ganging up on a guy who was exercising his God given right to be obnoxious.
I am an "elder" now and to this day I still address people older than me as "Mr." or "Miss" and I raised my daughter this way. In my opinion as soon as the woman told he he was an asshole he should've shut up. And I'm not budging from that view.
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The Venus and Serena Williams Show

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From the minute Venus Williams walked on court she stole the show. Not a ball had been struck but everyone watching in the stadium and on television got stars in their eyes when Venus removed her warm up jacket. Still pictures do not do this kit justice. It sparkled and glowed with every movement Venus made whether walking or playing.


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Was it short? Yes.
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Was she tugging at it all night? Yes.

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Did she prepare for every contingency? Yes
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Was Serena outdone? I don't think so.

The highlights of the evening were Serena interviewing her sister live on air and then sitting down to do commentary with the McEnroe brothers. It was interesting to hear Serena comment on the featured men's match and to note that when a point was being played she would go silent, something the "pros" don't always do.
It was a great evening for women's tennis and one that should happen more often.

End Note

I hope you enjoyed the pictures taken at the US Open by a fellow tennis fan Jeremy Hurd. I found them while surfing tennis boards and was struck by their quality and how he managed to capture the essence of each player. The picture of Fernando Verdasco is my favorite since it shows the man behind the "Hot" reputation.
Great work Jeremy.



6 comments:

Helen W said...

Great post Savannah! I guess we are in the same age range, because I feel exactly like you when watching a young guy beating up on older folks. Appalling.

Agree with you about Oudin too -- I wish the tennis journos would just leave these young players alone until they have a chance to grow up and earn their stripes with their racquest (to mix a metaphor).

Loved' Venus' outfit -- just Wow.

I wish I had been able to have the same coverage as you did, with Serena commentating, but whatever -- the Nadal -- Istomin match was simply spectacular tennis.

Overhead Spin said...

Oh I loved this. loved it and I loved Serena last night in the booth. So knowledgeable about tennis and the back and forth banter between both Sisters was a pleasure to listen to. Loved it.

I love how Serena has become a fan girl of Rafa. Nice to see. There are 2 things that happened this season which gives me hope for tennis. The giggle fest between Federer and Nadal and Rafa pictured kissing Serena on the cheek at the Wimbledon ball.

Oudin needs to go away. That is all. Over hyped player that got lucky with a bunch of Russian headcases. Next. See Capra getting her behind handed to her by the Supernova on Ashe. Ouch

As to the whole Ms. and Miss to elders. I am 47 years old and to this day I still refer to my elders as Mr. Tom, Ms. Jan and Auntie and Uncle. I do not allow any of my children's friends to address me by name. We are not friends, neither are we compatriots. That is what a Caribbean upbringing will do for you. Respect for your elders. In this day and age of free speech it would seem as if everything goes.

Helen W said...

TennisAce, I don't understand why so many North American parents think they need to be their kids' friends instead of their parents. Nothing good comes out of it.

Savannah said...

I'm born and raised in the United States. My parents were older. My mother was from the Bahamas and my father was from Beaufort, South Carolina.
It's not only Caribbean people who teach respect for your elders. Southern people did as well.
Some justify their lack of respect by saying that people have to earn respect regardless of age. I was taught that even if an old person is acting the fool you didn't really see it and you definitely wouldn't step to them in a hostile way.

Overhead Spin said...

I tell people all the time that my children and I are not friends. I am the mother. You want advice and counselling, you come to me. You want someone to go party with pick up the phone and call your friends.

On another note, has anyone been reading the player interviews? Am I the only one who thinks Sharapova is coming across as being a bit of an itch with a B? Also, was the Wimbledon victory at 17 the highlight of her career? To hear her and others talk about it, it would seem that her win over Justine, a Grand Slam champion in her own right a great victory as well, but in ever interview she speaks about her Wimbledon win as her greatest victory. Who knew

Savannah said...

A parent can become an older childs friend - by older I mean 25+ but the parent/child roles have to be established early. If they're not that is when all hell breaks loose.

No surprise about Pova. She was trained to win that Wimbledon. After that everything else is secondary.