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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 17:50:37 GMT -5
Post by janie on Aug 29, 2011 17:50:37 GMT -5
Somewhat slow start for Oudin, down to qualifer Oprandi 0-5
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 17:56:35 GMT -5
Post by janie on Aug 29, 2011 17:56:35 GMT -5
Sharapova stats: 41 W, 58 UE, 750 primal screams
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 18:44:49 GMT -5
Post by DBBN on Aug 29, 2011 18:44:49 GMT -5
Who is this 9-year-old playing piano on TV? I don't think he's in the main draw.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:00:45 GMT -5
Post by janie on Aug 29, 2011 19:00:45 GMT -5
Who is this 9-year-old playing piano on TV? I don't think he's in the main draw. ? Am rooting for WozCan to somehow come back and beat McHale, don't know why.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:01:01 GMT -5
Post by Edna Krabappel on Aug 29, 2011 19:01:01 GMT -5
Troicka had 3 MPs in the 4th set
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:04:49 GMT -5
Post by DBBN on Aug 29, 2011 19:04:49 GMT -5
I watched the end while the 9-year-old was singing. Both guys were cramping. Falla is cool, glad he finally got a win out of one of these terrible draws.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:09:47 GMT -5
Post by Edna Krabappel on Aug 29, 2011 19:09:47 GMT -5
How the hell is Troicki ranked so high anyway. I'm sure we've already talked about it, but still. His game is boring, he chokes a lot, mentally he's a bigger girl than most of the SEWTA, he has no big wins to speak of and so on. What the hell.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:09:54 GMT -5
Post by janie on Aug 29, 2011 19:09:54 GMT -5
Falla won that? Oh, good! Today has definitely had it's good moments. Am still enthralled about the first Tunisian ever to win a Slam match. His earnings for the year till now: ~$22K. The 9-year-old was playing piano AND singing?
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:27:57 GMT -5
Post by janie on Aug 29, 2011 19:27:57 GMT -5
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:39:55 GMT -5
Post by Old Hag on Aug 29, 2011 19:39:55 GMT -5
How the hell is Troicki ranked so high anyway. I'm sure we've already talked about it, but still. His game is boring, he chokes a lot, mentally he's a bigger girl than most of the SEWTA, he has no big wins to speak of and so on. What the hell. It's becoming a slam tradition.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:49:26 GMT -5
Post by janie on Aug 29, 2011 19:49:26 GMT -5
The wheels have COMPLETELY come off for WozCan all of a sudden, and for no good reason. She was up 2-0 in the 3rd and then suddenly she could not win a single point. I don't know why I have such a hard time accepting that I really do hate women's tennis; this utter collapse is a typical example of why.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:50:25 GMT -5
Post by janie on Aug 29, 2011 19:50:25 GMT -5
Poor Mattek, her shoulder was probably not quite ready to come back.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:51:00 GMT -5
Post by Old Hag on Aug 29, 2011 19:51:00 GMT -5
Also, what a horrible first day. I'm already to the point of wanting to ignore the SEWTA distaffs.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 19:59:42 GMT -5
Post by janie on Aug 29, 2011 19:59:42 GMT -5
I know. Kvitova has a lot to answer for!
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 20:54:34 GMT -5
Post by Grarliner on Aug 29, 2011 20:54:34 GMT -5
Serena Williams: Williams played coy at first during a pre-tournament news conference Monday when she was asked what she remembers most from the way her last U.S. Open ended and how �that controversial episode� might have affected the public�s perception of her. �You mean in the singles or doubles?� Williams asked. Then she added: �I just remember I lost, and that was that. I got really popular. A lot of people were telling me they thought I was super cool, that they never saw me so intense. So, yeah, it was awesome.� Asked whether she learned anything from what happened in 2009, Williams replied: �I don�t know. I don�t think about it. Are you still thinking about it?� She rolled her eyes as she continued: �Oh, my God. That was, like, two years ago. This is, like, two years later.� That all figures. Long ago I realized Serena is one of those people who cannot take any criticism whatsoever. She did have a small point back when it happened. Somebody asked her in that PC of 2009 whether she would apologize to the lineswoman and Serena said something like, "Uh, no. I don't think anybody really apologizes to linespeople." And that's true. It's arrogant and superior, but true. I'd like to know how many officials received apologies from J. Connors and J.McEnroe. Probably 0. People make a big deal out of this because it's her and not a man doing it.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 21:13:51 GMT -5
Post by Grarliner on Aug 29, 2011 21:13:51 GMT -5
Knew Kvitova would do poorly but this is even worse than anybody thought. A loss to Dulgheru on hardcourt! My god.
Watson-Sharapova has been the best match of the day so far and it's sad that that is true. It was crappy. Poorly played. The only reason it was interesting is because Watson kept just enough balls in play to make it close. She almost made Maria pay for 1,000 UEs. Whereas half the players ranked ahead of her (Watson) would have lost 2 and 3 making even MORE errors than Maria.
It's not hard for me to decipher why a backboard like Wozniacki is #1 in this climate. She might not win Slams but she does not need to. Keeping the ball in play is an excellent strategy for SEWTA 2011. It'll win you many, many matches.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 21:19:45 GMT -5
Post by Grarliner on Aug 29, 2011 21:19:45 GMT -5
Fed-Error is well and truly here. From 5-1 up to 5-4, back on serve. And he is missing BADLY.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 21:41:15 GMT -5
Post by Grarliner on Aug 29, 2011 21:41:15 GMT -5
Three games of hideous errors and now he's back to dictating. Oh wait. He just hit a drop shot that landed on his side. God. One thing I never have understood about Roger is how he can miss so badly at times. How can someone that good miss by so much sometimes?
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 21:52:31 GMT -5
Post by Old Hag on Aug 29, 2011 21:52:31 GMT -5
I recall McEnroe saying he did. He obviously takes that reputation as a joke now, and does his act on the geezer tour for giggles, so probably. Connors was always the much bigger asshole.
I think it has more to do with the era than Serena being a woman. McEnroe wouldn't have got away with as much stuff as he did now. Even later in his career, they cracked down on it. It also doesn't help that Serena is more terrifying standing over you than John, as well.
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Day 1.
Aug 29, 2011 23:04:00 GMT -5
Post by Old Hag on Aug 29, 2011 23:04:00 GMT -5
I'm watching Ratwanska vs Ratwanska and even Uli manages to control most of the rallies. And lose. But, still.
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Day 1.
Aug 30, 2011 1:51:30 GMT -5
Post by Paean on Aug 30, 2011 1:51:30 GMT -5
Kvitova hibernating until Wimby 2012. Awful results since that GS title.
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Day 1.
Aug 30, 2011 2:08:29 GMT -5
Post by Paean on Aug 30, 2011 2:08:29 GMT -5
Anyway, I guess the motivation drops significantly after winning a major, which makes me wonder - when would you call it a day? Kvitova won the biggest and most important title(a grand slam) in tennis that cannot be topped anymore. In a way her tennis career got a meaning and her tennis ways in Wimbledon came to the end.
She's 20 or so, so obviously she's going to continue, but could anyone blame a tennis player for retiring straight away after winning a maiden Grand slam title?
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Day 1.
Aug 30, 2011 2:39:49 GMT -5
Post by lexpretend on Aug 30, 2011 2:39:49 GMT -5
I don't see why any tennis player would think that. The nature of winning makes you want more. Even someone like Serena knows that.
Ughhh, no one plausible to beat Sharapova for a while even in that form. The Yak in the next round - no. Oprandi (no) or Pennetta (not in her current form) or Caravane (still not a threat despite the Dallas run) in R3. Gorgeous (no) or Peng (bad match-up) in R4. Probably A-Rad in the QF (that will be the same as it ALWAYS is, super-tight match that ends up with a Maria win).
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Day 1.
Aug 30, 2011 2:53:53 GMT -5
Post by Lady on Aug 30, 2011 2:53:53 GMT -5
I guess I just see nothing concerning about Kvitty's form, hardcourts or not. She was out for almost a month, celebrating her slam win. It was well documented that she attended every possible event there is. Don't think she trained much in that period. She comes back, her movement is noticeably worse and she can't win any matches to get into some sort of form. Petkovic was playing pretty well.
Then thanks to Irene she couldn't even practice that much, so really a loss was expected. Dulgheru got a lot of balls back and kept it in court and that was enough.
When was the last time a player continued playing well/winning after her slam win? especially after her 1st slam?
I'll say this - she was very very upset after losing, almost disbelieving she was out so soon. She'll get herself on the practice court immediately, this loss will motivate her.
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Day 1.
Aug 30, 2011 3:00:41 GMT -5
Post by lexpretend on Aug 30, 2011 3:00:41 GMT -5
When was the last time a player continued playing well/winning after her slam win? especially after her 1st slam? You get the sorts like Venus and Justine - their first Slam seemed to unlock something that made them unstoppable. But the key difference is that they both won their first Slams after they'd been established, consistent top players for ages. The ones who come slightly out of leftfield to win (Maria/Petra/Sweta/Serena to an extent) usually slump for a bit afterwards. I didn't know Petra had been at so many events, but the reports of her poor form leading in lowered my expectations completely.
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Day 1.
Aug 30, 2011 4:52:12 GMT -5
Post by Paean on Aug 30, 2011 4:52:12 GMT -5
I don't see why any tennis player would think that. The nature of winning makes you want more. Even someone like Serena knows that. Many players say their goal in tennis is to win a Grand Slam title. And after winning that title, wouldn't someone be like - OK this game is over, I have just won what I always aimed for, I'll get one big nasty paycheck that will be enough till the end of the days. Now I can move on and see what more is there to life. I'm of course being silly here, but I always imagined myself - If I ever won the Olympic gold or a Grand Slam for that matter, I wouldn't feel the need to continue. No matter how many golds or Grand Slam titles I can win, the pure ecstasy and the feelings at the time of holding my first trophy can not be repeated again, not to that degree. And in that sense it would be pointless to keep going. I know that in tennis it helps that you're getting tons of money and millions of dollars for showing up everywhere, so it's understandable that you want to milk out as much as possible even if you're probably not devoted to sport as you have once been.
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Day 1.
Aug 30, 2011 6:17:46 GMT -5
Post by lexpretend on Aug 30, 2011 6:17:46 GMT -5
I can't comprehend that at all! I'd think winning one would just motivate me more. Everything you achieve makes you realise there's more to achieve, there is no "ultimate goal", and there's definitely no such thing as an "ultimate goal" when you're 21 years old. I think your point is predicated on the player not actually enjoying tennis or competing - or the idea that they'd prefer to be doing something else (that they're not as good at) rather than this. But I think most of them do enjoy their job, even if - like all jobs - there are shitty aspects of it at times. Or at least, they know they'd enjoy it more than the alternatives. Remember, if you're driven enough to win a Slam in the first place, a lot of your identity is going to be bound up in being excellent at what you do - if you quit that to be a dilettante in other fields you're going to lose that completely. Why would you give up being one of the best in the world at your job to be some shitty amateur at everything else?
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Day 1.
Aug 30, 2011 6:41:12 GMT -5
Post by Traveling Man on Aug 30, 2011 6:41:12 GMT -5
When was the last time a player continued playing well/winning after her slam win? especially after her 1st slam? You get the sorts like Venus and Justine - their first Slam seemed to unlock something that made them unstoppable. But the key difference is that they both won their first Slams after they'd been established, consistent top players for ages. The ones who come slightly out of leftfield to win (Maria/Petra/Sweta/Serena to an extent) usually slump for a bit afterwards. I didn't know Petra had been at so many events, but the reports of her poor form leading in lowered my expectations completely. Look at how Hingis dominated after winning her first Slam. She'd been rising rapidly, but US Open '96 was her first GS SF. Nothing quite prepared the tennis world for her ownership of 1997. But yes, she'd be the exception not the rule.
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Day 1.
Aug 30, 2011 6:41:56 GMT -5
Post by Traveling Man on Aug 30, 2011 6:41:56 GMT -5
Did anyone else get as excited as I did when reading about how Sharapova's grunts got louder and longer as the match wore on? I went and YouTube'd it. Also, Serena is a cunt.
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Day 1.
Aug 30, 2011 8:39:36 GMT -5
Post by DBBN on Aug 30, 2011 8:39:36 GMT -5
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