|
Did Wimbly deliver for you all? I like to think it did; I hope it did. But I am uncertain, and feeling a bit like the little kid sitting atop the heap of Christmas toys in the New Yorker cartoon, who turns to his parents forlornly and says, "Is this all?"
Somehow I wanted more. Am I teed off because my man Roger Federer lost again, I wondered. No, I decided, I'm getting used to his losses now, and Berdych is a real contender, no shame there in Federer losing to him.
If you think Roger is crying, how must Andy Roddick be feeling? Has someone checked in with him just to see he hasn't slashed his wrists or done anything foolish? He went out to a qualifier for heaven's sake.
Sam Stosur lost in the first round; I had good hopes of her going deep here, but she spent herself perhaps unwisely coming into Wimbly.
Venus Williams repeated a pattern she has shown us more than a little of lately - she plays solid for a few rounds, then she has just an awful day and away she goes. Rather mystifying.
Andy Murray came up short yet again, so he gets a new nickname: Shorty. In fact, both semi-finals were disappointing. Novak Djokovic couldn't derail Tomas Berdych and his game now seems to be resting in a state of somewhat suspended animation; he doesn't ever play that poorly that he starts to slump in the rankings, but he doesn't seem ready to leap up another level either. So the Lads In Waiting are, still, keeping us waiting. I thought the crowd atmosphere at the Murray semi-final was muted nearly from the beginning, as if the Brits were already resigned to their man not getting through. And somehow by the end of the match with Nadal they were ok with things. The writing on the wall was that clear.
No waiting around with Serena Williams or Rafael Nadal however. They performed above and beyond the call of duty. When the chips are down and your life depends on the outcome of a match, I would want to bet on either one of these two to save the day. Desire and determination are so etched into their characters when they walk on court that the opponents may as well not bother, just keep heading over to the strawberries and cream concession stand.
I saw no chance at all for Vera Zvonareva to do anything else but lose to Serena in straight sets. I just hoped that the Russian would be very happy to get to her first Slam final and at least she didn't get bageled. She appeared to leave the court in a decent disposition, and that's a good thing. I can remember her leaving the court about a year or so ago after blowing a horrendous chance against Flavia Pennetta in a night match; Vera physically started to beat on her own body before she had even left the court.
Berdy I had a little more hope for. Someone mentioned Safin upsetting Sampras at the Open ten years ago, and I liked that analogy; Berdych has the game to do that, but not on this Sunday. Still, I was hoping he might have taken a page from Pete's playbook and just try to stay close to Nadal and aim for the tiebreaks, then, once there, he could amp up the serving like Pete used to do and sneak off with the set. Didn't quite work out that way - the big Czech gave up a single break in each of the three sets, so he never got to those chances in the tiebreak. Still, his nerves mostly looked under control, and he got to show off a lot of his stuff. Maybe next time we will get more out of him. I like Berdych a lot; I have been waiting around for like forever on this guy. Such a smooth, powerful talent! I want more stuff out of him now!
Many folks seemed to respond to the Isner-Mahut match-up. For my money though I would rather pick my way over burning coals on hands and knees than sit through ALL of this match. The shotmaking goes away and it becomes all about the serve and who can stand up straighter for longer and fire bullets endlessly. That's not tennis, that is torture. So sue me. At least Isner got some good press play from that endless endless match. OK, John, now we expect stuff out of you too going forward!
Can Roger Federer win another Slam? I was thinking he had several more left after he won the Australian this year, but since then he has shown us much cause for concern. I wonder if he will keep talking up how much he loves the game and how he wants to play until his mid-late 30s. We may not hear so much of that now. Reality may be sinking in, slowly, reality being the level of the men's game now, and how hard it is for the top guys to stay on top. I thought Federer looked so poorly early on that I wondered if he had practiced enough; he looked pretty rusty against Falla.
Federer may turn out to be more of a Leo that he realizes: Leos like to be kings of the world; they EXPECT it. When things don't work out, they have a marked propensity to pack up the marbles and go home. Look at the handshake Fed gave Berdy after the match. He hated losing that match.
|
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 