July 6, 2001 - Puritans and toy soldiers!
Is there a reason why the ball kids have to act like they are saluting the Fuhrer when the players are requesting a ball.
A point just ended the player turns around in the direction of the ball kid (boy, person, man, woman, or whatever they are called these days) to find a ball, then the ball kid, violently lifts his arm straight up in the air, while standing like a soldier who's being subjected to inspection, the player nods for the ball, the ball kid bounces the ball to him and before the ball reaches the player, the ball kid magically pulls another ball out from somewhere on his person and again violently lifts his arm up with body poised in the Nazi salute. You'd think the Brits would have enough of that by now?
Then there's the oppressed puritan women dressed liked frustrated librarians calling the lines. How they manage not to trip from the length of their extremely loose fitting dresses designed to mimic the boring Wimbledon colors is one of the world's biggest unsolved mysteries . By the way, why are the players required to wear predominantly white, while the official colors of Wimbledon are as colorful as English law allows?
One of the puritan ladies heard Andre Agassi utter the word Phork and ran over to the chair umpire and told him about what she was just subjected to. The guy in the chair could have said, "lady get you and your Phorking dress back where you belong," but since he too is from the same oppressed frame of mind, quickly imposed a warning on Mr. Agassi.
Patrick was handed the 5th set and ultimately the match by Andre Agassi, who now seems to be easily distracted, just say boo, Bill or Phork and Andre's focus goes out of the window.
I'm rooting for Goran to comeback against Henman
and if he does not, I will be rooting for Rafter to win. I do not think
Henman's game and head deserve to win the trophy.
7 days left until the great Ivan Lendl is
inducted in the tennis Hall of Fame!
July 5, 2001 - Chris Evert should sue NBC!
For defamation of character, for making her look like a fool, for making her look like she's stealing her paycheck, for making her look like she's a poor judgment of tennis talent, for making her look like she does not belong in the booth.
There's not a jury on this planet who would not agree that
her employer NBC, totally destroyed her professional name. John McEnroe should also
join her in a class action suit. The man openly states that his knowledge of the
women's game is limited, but still NBC puts him in the booth to comment on the lady's semifinals.
Here's a word of advice, if the match will be shown on tape delay, DO NOT predict the outcome, do not
say things that will make you look like a "Bozo". It's one thing if it is shown live, when
the match is done you could say, "what an upset", but when the world is watching and knows the final score and you are screaming at the top of your lungs,
"Justine Henin is too small and too weak for Jennifer Capriati" and all of a
sudden, the little engine that could is crushing one of the current Goliaths of the game, it makes you look very, very bad.
Maybe I'm wrong, there might be a jury who would side with NBC, sure the network is insulting the game with its tape jobs and reluctance to admit that it is showing a tape delayed event, but Evert's foot is firmly placed in her mouth forever.
By the way, Mrs. Evert is looking a lot bigger on top then she used to in her prime, perhaps old age and motherhood is to blame?
As to who will win the lady's and the men's titles, How do I know, ask John and Chris!
8 days left until the great Ivan Lendl is inducted in the tennis Hall of Fame!
July 4, 2001 - Premature crash
America's only hope at the girls junior Wimbledon, Ashley Harckleroad, who happened to be the number one seed, crashed and burned in the round of 16 to the number 14th seed Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic, 6-3,6-2.
Life is sport, sport is life, no other human invention, (some may argue i.e., me, that we engage in such activities, not by choice , but by design) can properly illustrate life's ironies and unpredictabilities. We like surprises, we like failures, we like redemption, we like to kill, we like to love, sports gives us all of our needs and then some. There we are 2001 and Goran Ivanisevic is playing like it's 1991.
He likes to claim that there's two Gorans, I agree, the first one died, the second one has risen from the dead and is now in tennis heaven on Earth. Capriati and Goran winning the title would be the biggest story.
I do not want Henman to win, no matter how badly the Brits want it, Tim Henman should not be their savior , not this year, and perhaps not ever. He is the lucky beneficiary of a major choke job by Roger Federer, who lost two tiebreakers after being up 6-3, and 5-2 respectively and failed to win another point in both instances.
I'm glad to see that Marat is still alive and playing somewhat up to par, I'm looking for a strong hard court season and another title in NY.
I have decided to never again comment on a Richard Williams statement. It's a complete waste of time!
9 days until the great Ivan Lendl is inducted in the Tennis Hall of Fame!
July 3, 2001 - Hogwash!
They're supposed to be tough, strong, in fact too strong for the rest of the field, but when the going gets rough, they run for the bathroom.
Why did Serena get sick playing Jennifer Capriati and not Magdalena Maleeva? If you are two points from victory, one can hardly blame it on sickness, but more so on nerves, perhaps it's a case of fake hair poisoning?
Americans failed to reach the 3rd round of the junior boys Wimbledon, while Ashley Harkleroad was the only Yankee in the girls division.
Justine Henin is an amazing little tennis player, her small size is not a problem against the top muscle builders of the WTA tour.
It's anyone's ball game, the 2001 grass title could belong to any of the remaining players, but an Henman/Rafter final would be very appealing.
10 days until the great Ivan Lendl is inducted in the tennis Hall of Fame.
July 3, 2001 -The King is dead, Long live the king!
Even though it happened, the warning signs were everywhere, watching the greatest grass court player of all time finally losing was an earth shattering affair. I'm now joining all the pundits who predicted the end of the Pete Sampras era. His game is not worse then 5 years ago, it is simply a matter of the field catching up with the horse and the horse not having the will, power and ability to step up the gallop.
The players have realized that if they stay close to Pete, there's a very good chance that he will pack his bag and fold. It's not old age, it's the quality of the men's tour, it demands another gear and Pete simply does not have that extra speed.
Why can't Thomas Enqvist or Marat Safin win Wimbledon?
I take it back, the 32 seed field is a good idea. The first week is the regular season and the 2nd week is the playoffs, getting to the 2nd Monday of a major will now be an even bigger feat. Every remaining match is a big ticket battle royale. Let's hope the rain stays away.
You'd think that Boris Becker would learn from the mistakes of Steffi Graf? He apparently thought he could get away with not "Paying" his taxes, his payment due is $11 million. I should start a "help Boris fund", will you contribute?
(c) 1stserve