Sporting events are not exactly the biggest draw here at W&C, but after two weeks of watching the Australian Open... I am suffering some serious withdrawal (as usual) this morning... further exacerbated by the fact that there won't be any significant tennis television coverage until March... so, despite Kenneth already posted a brilliant (and succint!) recap of his own, but here are my rambling thoughts about the first Grand Slam of the year... I leave it up to you if it shows any brilliance...
So let's start off with the BAD:
Justine Henin-Hardenne: In about an hour's time, the former #1 player pretty much became tennis' version of James Frey... losing a lot of credibility which could have been easily avoided.
Henin has always been known and respected for her physical conditioning... particularly during her grueling 2003 US Open campaign and more recently successfully returning to the tour after a bizarre viral illness knocked her out of the game for a good six months.
But that reputation pretty much bit the dust after Henin decided to retire midway through from the women's final. The Belgian claimed stomach problems... later noted it could have been side effects of anti-inflammatories she was taking for a shoulder problem...
Regardless... popular belief now is that she quit because she was getting her ass-kicked and just showed up hoping that her her head-case of an opponent would choke.
Her opponent, Amelie Mauresmo (shown in the reflection of Henin's runner-up plate in this "how cool is that?" photo) did more than the show up... but despite her spectacular that lead to her first Slam title... tennis fans were left with one of the most "not so nice" moments in recent memory.
American Tennis: Not a great showing for the USA. Lindsay Davenport was the only American to get to the quarterfinals... but yet another freak on-court injury contributed to her loss in that round. Despite holding the #1 ranking for a good portion of the last couple of years, Davenport has not been able to add a 4th Slam title to her resume. Andy Roddick, seeded to make the finals, was bounced in the 4th Round. Remember those "Where's Andy's Mojo?" TV ads? Well, no one's laughing about that now. Venus Williams couldn't get past the first round. Serena made it through a couple of more rounds, but her inability to defend her title has dropped her down to #39 in the rankings. She pulled out of her next tournament citing that she needs "more practice time on the court in order to compete at the highest level." Not good.
Depth of women's tennis: Everyone seems to be talking about the increased depth in the women's game... 8 different women have now won the last 8 Slams. Dating back to the 2003 French Open they are: Myskina, Sharapova, Kuznetsova, Serena Williams, Henin, Venus Williams, Clijsters... and now Mauresmo. Great, huh? Well, while this is thoroughly and unpredicatably interesting. My theory is that it has little to do with depth and more that no one woman player can hold it together, either mentally or physically, to string together 7 match victories at one event. With Clijsters and Mauresmo finally adding themselves to the list of Grand Slam champions, I can't even come up with a candidate on the women's side that qualifies for "best player to have never have won a major" tag.
Okay, now the GOOD stuff and there was plenty of that:
Kim Clijsters: The Australian Open capped a remarkable comeback for the "nice" Belgian, who regained the #1 ranking this morning. Clijsters had what many feared was a career-ending wrist injury, but she was able to return to the Tour last March and became the first player to climb from outside the Top 100 to the top ranking in less than 12 months. Taking painkillers for a hip/back injury for most of her stay in Melbourne, Clijsters still made it through to the semifinals. Unfortunately her stay at #1 this time around may be short... she went over on her ankle during that semifinal match vs. Mauresmo and is expected to be out for 8 weeks.
Martina Hingis: Despite having some help (and luck) from the draw, Hingis' run to the quarters after a 3-year absence from the game is still mightily impressive. Hingis also earned her 15th Grand Slam title, winning the mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi. Hmm... I wonder who ever thought that could happen... thank you very much.
Marcos Baghdatis: Who can turn the world on with their smile? Me thinks, Baghdatis could give Mary Richards a run for her money! The 20-year old from the island of Cyprus stunned pretty much anyone and everyone (including himself, I am guessing) by reaching the men's final... and knocking out 4 seeded players along the way (most notably Andy Roddick). Already named "Man of the Year" in his island country for the past two years, I am guessing he has already has a lock on that title for 2006... rising to #27 in the latest rankings.
Baghdatis, a former #1 juniors player, has flashy game and the x-factor when it comes to personality... so one hopes that this introduction to the big time is only the start of good things. However, making an unexpected and flashy run to the Aussie final is not always an omen for immediate success in the Majors...
Amelie Mauresmo: The 26-year old French woman made it to the Aussie Open final in 1999. As an unseeded player with flashy one-handed backhand and an impressive build... it seemed only a matter of time that Mauresmo would go one match further and win a Slam. Not-so fast forward, 7 years later... Mauresmo finally gets back to a Slam final... and is finally able to lift the trophy... granted with some help from the tennis gods... in what has to be a Slam first, 3 out of her 7 opponents were unable to complete their matches. While this may put a taint on Mauresmo's win, the morning after scuttlebutt offers little resistance that Mauresmo was playing well enough to defeat even a healthy set of opponents. And despite being lured to say some (deservedly) nasty things over Henin's withdrawal, Mauresmo handled the situation with a great deal of aplomb... saying some things "between the lines" without adding fuel to the fire.
Roger Federer: What is there really left to say about Roger Federer? The superlatives have been exhausted and we just seem to be watch his inevitable march to "best ever" status every time he walks onto the tennis court. Federer remains undefeated in Grand Slam finals (7-0) and has a stunning 167-10 match win/loss record since the beginning of 2004 (that's two years, folks!). He maintained his winning streak on the hard courts (52 wins) and is the first player since Pete Sampras in 1993-94 to win three consecutive Slams.
Speaking of Sampras, Federer is now half way to the all-time Slam record of 14. Though, before penciling in that particular record to Roger, it is worth noting that Sampras was the same age and had competed in nearly the same number of Slams when he notched his 7th Slam. But most folks agree, that even at his best, Sampras did not dominate the game as much as this current run by the Fed-Express.
Federer was tested a couple of times during the Open... taken to fives sets by Fine Wine fave, Tommy Haas, in the 4th Round and also suprisingly challenged in the opening sets of the final vs. Baghdatis. The Cypriote (a word that I will not be too sad to not hear again for just a little while) looked as if he was about to be on his way in what would have been one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history early in the match.
But Federer has this uncanny ability to shift into second (and third, and fourth gear) when he needs it... it is almost as if he is toying with his opponent. He gives them the belief that they stand a chance and then just blind-side them... with the match over before you know it (just ask Andre Agassi, who played Federer quite tough for 2 1/2 sets in last year's US Open final).
Federer was quite emotional in his on-court victory speech (as seen in the first photo above). He is usually quite the cool cat, rarely showing any emotion on the court, but the tears flowed a couple of times after the match. Roger's water-works have made some appearances before (Wimbledon pops to mind)... but this time it was a bit of surprise... while the Aussie is a major title, it still does not have the aura of the other Slams. But most pundits agree that he was probably a bit overwhelmed to receive the winner's cup from Rod Laver, a true living legend in the tennis world. It is said that Roger is quite a tennis historian, so receiving the cup from the man who arguably holds the "best ever" status in the men's game was likely too much for Roger. I thought it was a really nice moment and confess to getting a little misty about it myself!
Since we rarely get to see him in "street clothes," I had to add that second picture of Roger. While I know he has kind of weird/pudgy nose/face, that probably would not get a second look if he wasn't a successful professional athlete... I am still liking me some Rog... as my fave Food Network gal, Rachael Ray, would say... YUM-O!
