Idle Chit Chat – Roland Garros Version

It was known for some time that the weather for this week at Roland Garros was going to be, shall we say iffy? Naw. They knew it was going to suck and that getting early rounds in was going to be a problem. There was some tennis yesterday of course. Those who rely on television and/or live feeds via the internet know that Serena played Pironkova in a match that spanned, oh, eight hours with a six and a half hour rain delay thrown in for shits and giggles. Marat Safin got his hitting practice in with an easy straight set win over his opponent. Justine Henin won over a scrappy Elena Vesnina.

But Janko Tipsarevic also won his match over fellow Serb Dusan Vemic and Ivo Minar lost to Potito Starace. That news may come as a surprise to some since when you log onto the Roland Garros Official site you see the scores for Serena, Justine and Marat. Yes we know they’re stars but on a day when tennisheads were suffering withdrawal symptoms it would have been nice to actually see what Potito Starace not only looks like but how he plays. The Serbians are threatening to become a power in tennis due to it’s up and coming stars like Jelena Jankovic and it would’ve been nice to see that men’s match as well since from the score it seems to have been entertaining.
But what do I know? I’m just a tennis fan.

Oh, and about retractable roofs? Allo Paris? We know your famed terre battue drains well and that players can play in a light drizzle far longer without risk of major injury. This is not the case with grass or concrete, we know that and you are right to be proud of your surface, but if today is a wash out I think it’s time to think about covering Chatrier and Lenglen non?
Aussi, is something going to be done about the mens matches? No one can play best of five twice a day. With the weather report looking grim it might be a good idea to schedule some matches indoors non? I know, I’m a lousy American and don’t understand everything that goes into this most Gallic of Slams but I am a tennis fan and of course have an opinion. And while I’m on this mini rant have you ever thought of installing, oh I don’t know, LIGHTS? They actually play tennis after dark in some places you know. Just a thought.



So what is a tennishead to do? There’s always gossip. I bet you didn’t know Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kournikova are now divorced. Yep. Splitsville. Didn’t know they were married? What planet have you been on? I think when a man goes public about his privates it puts pressure on his wife. Women love nothing more than a good snark. Come on girls, you know if you found out your girl’s man was, well, in need of specially made condoms and not in a large way you’d have a field day behind her back. Admit it. Poor Anna. Two marriages and she’s not thirty yet. She did marry that hockey dude right?

Fansites are great sources of entertainment as well. Seriously. For some good laughs head over
HERE and read the Locker Room Confrontations Roland Garros edition. Some of them are laugh out loud funny. Let’s just say with MV busy coaching Miss Serena and Queen Masha and their servants will keep you entertained.
Don't believe MV is coaching? Okay so she's holding the balls here. She is on court. She does look official. Okay so she's just holding his balls. The balls he's going to hit with silly. This can be read by children of all ages. The sun is out so you know this had to be last week.



There are also the karaoke bits players have recorded. Rafa was caught trying to sing La Bamba. Why they’d have a Catalonian singing an old Mexican song is beyond me but whatever. Novak Djokovic weighed in with “I Will Survive”. Svetlana Kuznetsova did her version of this classic last year. Novak’s version was cut off rather abruptly which makes you wonder what he got up to after his shirt came off. There are rumors that Roger has one ready to debut but I wonder if that will ever see the light of day. We do see Roger during Rafa’s gig but in a non singing role.

Rafa's Vid

Novak

Best of 2006

Jessie181 and aedra1119 over at TAT have provided lists of FREE internet live feeds. Thanks guys!
TalkAboutTennis

That’s it for today. Let’s hope the next time I’m writing more about tennis. Meanwhile I’m waiting to find out what Queen Masha and Miss Serena are up to.

It Wasn't A Fluke

New York Times on Serena Williams Victory over Maria Sharapova



by Savannah

Williams vs. Sharapova: Game, Set, Overmatched

By KAREN CROUSE
Published: March 28, 2007
New York Times

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla., March 27 — It was less a match than a memorandum
of what Serena Williams is capable of when she puts her mind behind
her might. Covering the court like a tarp, Williams suffocated
top-seeded Maria Sharapova in 58 bloodless minutes Tuesday in the
fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open.

The final score was 6-1, 6-1, and from high above Crandon Park's
Stadium Court, it looked more lopsided. Before the first point was
tallied, Sharapova seemed to sense that she was in for a long
afternoon. She kept hitting serves after the chair umpire called,
"Time," indicating the end of warm-ups. Whatever she was searching
for, Sharapova did not find it, committing eight double faults.

On the other side of the court, the 13th-seeded Williams was hitting
on all cylinders. Her ground strokes were so well grooved, Sharapova
looked as if she was swatting at bugs. In the sixth game of the first
set, Sharapova hit a running forehand for a winner (one of eight she
had) and Williams was so surprised she reflexively applauded.

By the end of the afternoon, both No.1-seeded players were gone.
Guillermo Cañas, a qualifier, sent the defending champion, Roger
Federer, packing for the second consecutive tournament with a 7-6
(7-2), 2-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory. Cañas's win came 16 days after he
snapped Federer's 41-match winning streak in a second-round match at
the Masters Series event in Indian Wells, Calif. Federer, who had won
both tournaments the previous two years, committed 51 unforced errors
to Canas's 15.

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Reading

There was a look on Serena's face during
her postmatch interview after her victory over Lucie Safarova. As a
black woman, I've seen the look many times. The first time I saw it
was as a child when my mother had had enough and the four of us knew
it was time to disappear. I've seen it as an adult when a woman, fed
up, calls the locksmith prior to disposing of his belongings and him.
It's a look of utter calm, of resolution. And it's something about the
way we hold our mouths.

Nouf, on WTA World has been
doing a great job of posting tennis videos. Her work can be found in
the Video Vault on that site, an invaluable source for women's tennis
on all levels. Here's a direct link to the video.

Video Link

And still, the match was a jaw dropping beatdown. Maria was reduced to
a spectator as her shots did nothing against the woman on the other
side of the net who was firing them past her like bullets. When Cliff
Drysdale uses the word beatdown to describe a match, no further
comment is necessary.

Richard Williams, when asked by Pam Shriver how it was to watch his
daughter play so well, mentioned that the fathers watch each other
too. Pam didn't have time to follow up on that statement but I hope
someone does. I don't know if Yuri hung around this time to support
his daughter. I hope he did. Whatever is going on with her right now
needs attention. Yuri has been with Maria during her rise. Someone
mentioned Maria's name in the same breath as Anna Kournikova when
describing her current struggles. I don't think Yuri and Maria
sacrificed so much to end up in that particular movie.

We tennis fans should just keep in mind the expression on Serena's
face during that interview. Venus wore it when she won Wimbledon in
2005. When you see it you know the hair has been braided, the vaseline
applied, and that someone is in for a beatdown.