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Post by shenaynay on Jun 24, 2006 10:48:23 GMT -5
Amelie's struggles began months ago, however.
She's back to her defensive, ugly ways.
I wish I could see Penis losing to her, but it's unlikely.
I know that Penis hasn't played any better than Amelie since her return, but there's the confidence (or naivete, if you prefer) factor there.
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Post by Edna Krabappel on Jun 24, 2006 10:56:11 GMT -5
I don't expect Justine to win Wimbledon (this year, at least) but I see no reason why she would blow out early. Yuan is no Daniilidou and by Wednesday she should be well rested. If she reaches the semis, I'm satisfied. But with this draw, the final is very possible as well.
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Post by Pamela Shriver on Jun 24, 2006 13:28:34 GMT -5
Amelie's struggles began months ago, however. She's back to her defensive, ugly ways. I wish I could see Penis losing to her, but it's unlikely. I know that Penis hasn't played any better than Amelie since her return, but there's the confidence (or naivete, if you prefer) factor there. Mauresmo has BLOWN since March. Why is everyone so high on her now? She's not beating Penis, unless Penis totally explodes. Even then, I could still see her going to hell with a 5-3 lead or something. |
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Post by Grarliner on Jun 24, 2006 17:03:38 GMT -5
Amelie's struggles began months ago, however. She's back to her defensive, ugly ways. I wish I could see Penis losing to her, but it's unlikely. I know that Penis hasn't played any better than Amelie since her return, but there's the confidence (or naivete, if you prefer) factor there. However, this is grass. She should be much more inclined to attack. She did suck on clay, but you know she'll be more aggressive at Wimbledon. Whether it is enough to beat Williams, I can't say. However, I am wondering whether or not Venus is a bit of a paper tiger this year. Yes, she has the record. Yes, she was given the seeding boost. Yes, she won last year when few gave her a shot. But the improbable is tough to do. It happened last year, but come on, she can't capture lightning in a bottle two straight years, right?  |
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Post by shenaynay on Jun 24, 2006 18:58:04 GMT -5
Penis is a paper tiger, regardless of winning or losing. She was dead in the final last year. We don't need to go through that again.
The sad reality is most, if not all of the tour, still thinks Pee is the Queen Shit. In a year where nobody else is stepping it up lately, except for maybe Justine who's probably on her worse surface, it's hard to see Penis losing.
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Post by Pamela Shriver on Jun 24, 2006 19:24:21 GMT -5
Penis is a paper tiger, regardless of winning or losing. She was dead in the final last year. We don't need to go through that again. We don't talk about that match, or the many choke jobs associated with it. EVER. |
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Post by shenaynay on Jun 24, 2006 19:28:01 GMT -5
We hate her.
I can't wait until she finally retires.
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Post by shenaynay on Jun 24, 2006 19:39:05 GMT -5
Sharapova: My Best is Still to Come
Maria Sharapova
©Getty Images/ C.Brunskill
Friday, 23 June, 2006
What do you give the woman who appears to have everything? Well, if that woman is Maria Sharapova who already has more than $5.5million in prize money alone - not to mention endorsement deals - the answer is simple: "Key chains."
Sharapova recently invested in a new property in California. As a first-time home-owner and decorator at 19 years of age, she is quickly learning a few "home" truths.
"The first time I stayed there, I came home and I went to the grocery store and I bought pasta," she said. "And I came home and I take out the pasta and I don't have any pots. I'm like 'wow - I need pots, I need forks'. So now when people say we don't know what to get you for gifts, I'm like anything. I want key chains. I want whatever you have."
Incredible as it seems, in the two years since she won Wimbledon, the Russian teenager has been on a steep learning curve. At just 17 she was catapulted from the role of promising young talent to world beater, thanks to her demolition of Serena Williams in the final. Her achievement as the only non-Williams to win Wimbledon this millenium brought with it new pressures and expectations. If she could win Wimbledon at 17, then surely she should be winning the US Open at 18 or the Australian Open at 19? Unfortunately, life does not always work out like that.
Sharapova is no flash in the pan, however. After The Championships, she won three further titles including the WTA Tour Championships at the end of the season. She was still learning the ropes at the top but gradually it started to feel more and more natural.
"From when I won Wimbledon to now, I think I'm much more experienced player. Whereas before, when I won, it was exciting for me to win. Now I feel that I belong there and that I am able to compete. It's just different: you grow up, you mature and your tennis matures. And I think there's a lot more maturing to do.
"That's the exciting thing for me, that I know in my mind that I can be better than I am. There's so many things that I can improve that can make me even better than I am. And, you know, people might say that I'm not there, that I'm too young, but I realise that. I know that I am young but I still think that there's so many things that will make me better. It's not going to come when I'm 19 or 20, I think that's going to come in a few years. People have to realise that. I do."
Until a foot injury stopped her progress in the springtime, Sharapova was certainly proving that she was not only getting back to her best but that her best was getting better. She reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open and in Tokyo, reached the final in Dubai, won the title in Indian Wells and followed that up two weeks later by reaching the final in Miami. Coming back to Wimbledon, she knows what it takes to win here, even if, looking back, she thinks she was far from the finished product when she won the title. In her opinion - there is still plenty more to come.
"I emerged in '04 as winning Wimbledon," she said. "I think everyone's perspective thinks that you are at your peak and you are supposedly playing your best tennis. But I know I'm not there yet and I know that takes time, that's one of those things. You can't control people's opinions."
But one aspect of both Sharapova's game and her character was as obvious in 2004 as it is now - she is a born fighter. "I want to be the one that's winning the match, I don't want to be the one that's waiting for my opponent to lose," she said. And that is what sets the champions apart from the players.
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Post by Maeby Fünke on Jun 24, 2006 19:45:19 GMT -5
When I'd been living here about six months I decided to have boiled eggs for a change and it was only when I took them out the pan I realised I didn't have any egg cups. It happens.
I think Maria will win.
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Post by Pamela Shriver on Jun 24, 2006 21:08:29 GMT -5
I can't cook.
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Post by :rolleyes: on Jun 24, 2006 23:42:03 GMT -5
Justine got a prettty good draw. she better not screw it up  |
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Post by Grarliner on Jun 25, 2006 0:28:44 GMT -5
I like Maria!  |
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Post by DBBN on Jun 25, 2006 0:30:21 GMT -5
When I'd been living here about six months I decided to have boiled eggs for a change and it was only when I took them out the pan I realised I didn't have any egg cups. It happens. Hard-boil them. You Brits and your soft-boiled eggs, yuck. |
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Post by Grarliner on Jun 25, 2006 0:30:54 GMT -5
When I'd been living here about six months I decided to have boiled eggs for a change and it was only when I took them out the pan I realised I didn't have any egg cups. It happens. Hard-boil them. You Brits and your soft-boiled eggs, yuck. I love hard-boiled! But eggs = bad breath. |
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Post by DBBN on Jun 25, 2006 0:31:32 GMT -5
And gas. Wonderful gas.
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Post by Grarliner on Jun 25, 2006 0:32:12 GMT -5
Mm, not sure whether it does that to me. Vegetarians suck! They get lots of gas! |
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Post by DBBN on Jun 25, 2006 0:34:55 GMT -5
Peppers give me crazy gas.
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Post by Grarliner on Jun 25, 2006 0:35:43 GMT -5
Peppers give me crazy gas. Really! Green more than red? |
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Post by DBBN on Jun 25, 2006 0:37:59 GMT -5
I don't eat too many red peppers these days. I assume they would do the same thing.
Vegetables are difficult to digest in general for me, and most people, I would assume. The skins. Hence the gassy vegetarians.
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Post by Grarliner on Jun 25, 2006 0:39:18 GMT -5
I don't eat too many red peppers these days. I assume they would do the same thing. Vegetables are difficult to digest in general for me, and most people, I would assume. The skins. Hence the gassy vegetarians. You figure? Veggies rule. You know what I don't get? People who have been weaned on fast food and claim to hate vegetables. That's like saying you hate water. Humankind existed for ages on vegetables! Of course you like them! |
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Post by DBBN on Jun 25, 2006 0:44:36 GMT -5
I'm not so sure I agree, but it's far too late to discuss this. To bed I go!
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Post by Grarliner on Jun 25, 2006 0:46:43 GMT -5
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Post by Maeby Fünke on Jun 25, 2006 7:00:41 GMT -5
Its the beans that make vegetarians gassy, although I never had that problem during my late teens veggie phase. Eggs can if I eat them on their own on an empty stomach. I had a very bad day at school because of that.
But if I hard boiled them what would I dip the soldiers in?
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Post by shenaynay on Jun 25, 2006 10:03:37 GMT -5
I don't know, but I'm sure Maria doesn't have the necessary tool in her house!
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Post by DBBN on Jul 8, 2006 10:21:05 GMT -5
And remember what Mauresmo did in Sydney this year, and what she did in Melbourne the very next tournament. Yeastbourne means nothing. As Brad Gilbert said, "She didn't come to Australia to win SYDNEY." AHEM |
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Post by Grarliner on Jul 8, 2006 11:08:00 GMT -5
Let's quote Brad Gilbert a little more.
"Mauresmo and Sharapova are playing right now but they're playing for second place, I'll tell ya that much."
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