US Open '09: Viva Juan Martin!

Ladies and gentlemen, there's a new man in the tennis town and he's a 20 year old Argentine named Juan Martin del Potro.  Juan Martin did the near impossible by beating world No. 1 Roger Federer in the US Open men's final 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

And it wasn't easy.  He was two points from losing to Federer in the 4th set at 4-5, 30-30, but an ace and a smokin' forehand kept him in the match. 

As the match wore on, Federer's crappy serving got worse and worse.  In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him serve so badly in such an important match.  It could have had something to do with del Potro's crushing returns and his devastating forehand.

Though Federer always looks like a Baryshnikov on the court, all balletic moves and power, del Potro was more like an overgrown little leaguer:  all arms and legs and unharnessed power, that in this match at least, he learned to channel very quickly.

In the post match press conference, del Potro said:

Well, when I lay down to the floor, many things come to my mind. First my family and my friends and everything. I don't know how I can explain, because it's my dream. My dream done. It's over. I will go home with a trophy, and it's my best sensation ever in my life.

It's too early to explain. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week I will be believing in this. But now, I don't know. I don't understand nothing.

Federer's battle with the Hawkeye challenge system continued as he railed against its accuracy and then got understandably pissed at the umpire when he allowed del Potro an excessive amount of time to decide to challenge.

The umpire made the mistake of telling Federer to stop complaining and even the usually calm Federer let fly with some expletives.

Roger however has nothing to be ashamed of.  He's had an incredible year personally--getting married, having twins; and professionally--finally winning the French, winning another Wimbledon and surpassing the men's all time number of Grand Slam titles, so don't weep for him.  He'll be back.

I do have some regrets however for Rafael Nadal because I really, really want to see him win a US Open title.  Hopefully he'll be able to keep himself healthy enough next year to get to the final and then take it all.

Meanwhile, Viva del Potro!

 

 

US Open '09: Congratulations Kim Clijsters! **Updated with Serena Apology**

It took Kim Clijsters three years to defend her US Open title but it took her little more than an hour to defeat No. 9 seed Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3 to do it.

In the post match press conference the 26 year old Belgian talked about why she retired two years ago:

Well, the motivation was missing then. It was something that, yeah, I came to an age where I really felt like, you know, combined with the injuries, I think, I wasn't really 100% focused on my tennis anymore.

You know, as a woman, I came to a stage in my life, too, where I wanted to get married. We wanted to start a family, and I was glad. I feel very lucky that I got this chance to, you know, be back here now and that I made that decision, because it's obviously been a good choice.

But, again, being a mother is obviously my first priority, and being a wife, so...

But I'm just very lucky that I'm able to combine both and that my family supports me in doing this.

This all came of course the night after Serena Williams' meltdown in Saturday's semi-final against Clijsters.  Serena has been fined $10,500 by the USTA and released a statement of regret yesterday:

Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job. Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don’t agree with the unfair line call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly. I would like to thank my fans and supporters for understanding that I am human and I look forward to continuing the journey, both professionally and personally, with you all as I move forward and grow from this experience.

It didn't go as far as the apology she should have made, but it was something.  We'll see what kind of statement she makes today if she and sister Venus win the US Open doubles title.

After that comes Roger Federer vs. Juan Martine Del Portro in the men's final.  It should be a match that's Federer's for the taking, but Del Portro has been sharp as a tack, so we'll see.

Meanwhile, congratulations to Kim Clijsters the 2009 US Open women's champ!

******Updated Info******

Serena has issued an apology on her website and via Twitter:

I want to amend my press statement of yesterday, and want to make it clear as possible - I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the lines woman, the USTA, and mostly tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst. I'm a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I'm wrong.

I need to make it clear to all young people that I handled myself inappropriately and it's not the way to act -- win or lose, good call or bad call in any sport, in any manner.

I like to lead by example. We all learn from experiences both good and bad, I will learn and grow from this, and be a better person as a result.

All righty, then.

US Open '09: Serena Loses It In More Ways Than One

Serena lost it.  She lost her temper and because of that, she lost her match.

Now honestly, she might have lost the match anyway because her opponent Kim Clijsters was out playing her and was a couple of points from winning with the score, 4-6, 5-6, 15-30.

That's when, on a second serve, Serena was called for a foot fault.  That made the score 15-40, match point for Clijsters.

Serena started to go back to the baseline to serve and then let fly verbally at the line judge who called the foot fault.  Depending on what mics you listen to, it sounds like Serena told the woman she would like to shove a tennis ball down her f*cking throat.  Or something to that effect.

The line judge went to the umpire and the umpire gave Serena a point penalty.  That's what cost her the match.  Serena got the point penalty because earlier in the match, after losing the first set, she got a warning for smashing her racket.

After a warning, you lose a point, then a game, and then the match.  Serena lost a point.  It was too bad it was on match point.  Game over.

Oh, by the way, the foot fault call was wrong.   But since there is no challenge system for foot faults, Serena was out of luck.

Serena ignored it all during the post match press conference, refusing to say what she actually said to the line judge and basically brushing off the whole thing.

Bottom line, Clijsters is a great player and doing amazingly well for someone who was off having a baby the last three years.  She was beating Serena on every level and though Serena may have pulled it out in three, God knows she's done it before, you do the crime, you do the time.

She screwed up by chewing out the judge, she got penalized and she took it like a woman.  She still didn't do nearly the kinds of stuff some of the men do, and over the years, she's held her temper surprisingly well considering some of the stuff that's happened to her on court.

So congratulations to Kim Clijsters, she won it fair and square.  Oh and she'll probably pound Caroline Wozniacki in about twenty minutes during tonight's final.

Melanie Oudin Rocks the 2009 US Open!

If you're Svetlana Kuznetsova, you might think twice about wanting to face a certain 17 year old from Marietta Georgia named, Melanie Oudin in this week's US Open quarterfinals.  After all, at this year's US Open, Melanie has been knocking down veteran Russian players like so many bowling pins.

First there was Elena Dementieva, then shockingly Maria Sharapova, and now Nadia Petrova.

By all rights, Oudin should have lost her match today against Nadia Petrova.  But despite Petrova's position as the No. 13 seed, everyone in tennis knows she can crack like an egg when pressured and that's exactly what happened.

Oudin lulled Petrova into a false sense of security by losing all her serves in the first set and then losing the set 1-6.  But then in the second set, Melanie pulled it together and the pressure was on.  With a crowd full of screaming New Yorkers solidly behind her, Oudin hung tough against some excellent serving by Petrova and came back from a break down to win the second set in a blowout of a tie breaker.

To her credit, Petrova did try to change things up in the third set by coming in to the net but Oudin hit winner after winner and defended like nobody's business. 

Petrova was ready to be scrambled.  Oudin won the match 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-3.

Melanie's twin sister, who'd flown into town last night for the match sobbed in the stands while Oudin reveled in the roaring crowd.

So right now Svetlana Kuznetsova is playing Caroline Wozniacki in Arthur Ashe stadium.  She's just won the first set 6-2 but it's tied up 2-2 in the second and the former US Open champ is starting to look shaky.

Maybe she's thinking about taking my advice and letting Wozniacki take a crack at Oudin.

Oh, and in other action, Serena Williams is still in it and looking like winning the whole thing, Dinara Safina finally got her unconscious wish and lost, Rafael Nadal's knees look solid and sturdy, Roger Federer looks like Mirka's doing all the night feedings and Kim looks like her hubby did all of theirs.  

Go Melanie!

Wimbledon 2009: Serena Williams & Roger Federer at the Champions Dinner

There's nothing like the smile of a champion...unless it's the smiles of two champions!



Roger Federer and Serena Williams show off their Wimbledon trophies at last night's Champion's Dinner at the Hotel Intercontinental in London.

 

After you check out Serena's very glam dress, you can hear some of Serena's post match interview on the official Wimbledon website.

New hubby Roger is also about to become a Dad.  Wife Mirka will give birth before the US Open--timing is everything.

Excuse me now while I go into my official Wimbledon Withdrawal. 

Wimbledon 2009: Roger The Great!

What can I say?  Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player ever and once again he proved that today by beating American Andy Roddick, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14. in the longest match, in games, in Grand Slam history.  The final score in the fifth set was an unprecedented 16-14.

In addition, this sixth Wimbledon win gave Federer a total of fifteen Grand Slam titles, more than any man in history.

But man, spare a thought for poor Andy Roddick.  He was broken only once in the entire match and that was for Federer to take the fifth set and the championship.  As in the match against Andy Murray, Roddick played the best I've ever seen him and it really appeared in that fifth set that Roger would be the one to get broken to set up a game where Roddick could serve for the match.

Wimbledon 2009: Serena Williams Crowned Queen of Wimby

Serena Williams has always had a fabulous smile and today that smile flashed again as the smile of a Wimbledon champion.  She beat big sister Venus in the finals 7-6, 6, 2.

Spare a thought for Venus.  After the first set tiebreak, Venus couldn't quite get back in it.  Her serve let her down and Serena was relentless.

After a marathon semi-final against Elena Dementieva that almost saw Serena packing her bags for home, it was great to see Serena recover to take the crown once again.  Especially since the All England Club thinks of her and Venus as so "unattractive."

Congratulations Serena!

Wimbledon 2009: Roddick Trounces Murray, A Country Weeps

American Andy Roddick blasted Andy Murray off the court at Wimbledon in the men's semi-finals to set up a third shot at Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final Sunday.

Roddick played the best I've ever seen him play and will hopefully give Roger a look at his own tennis mortality.

Don't get me wrong, I like Roger a lot, but Andy's put in the work to get himself to this position, and I wouldn't be upset at all if he won.

Congratulations Andy and Good Luck!

Wimbledon 2009: The Williams Sister Act In The Finals

The heart of a champion:  Serena Williams.

 

Elena Dementieva at her best.

 

Serena prevails at last!

Memo to Dinara Safina: that chick you sent to play for you at Wimbledon today was crappy. Fire her.





Venus Williams crushes Dinara Safina to set up a date with little Sis.

Wimbledon 2009: Only "Babes" Allowed On Centre Court, Plus Williams/Williams On A Roll

During a Wimbledon where the biggest story on the women's side is the Williams sisters making mincemeat of anyone in their path and the smallest story is the women players' grunting, a new story has emerged.

Something most tennis fans have assumed for years was finally confirmed by a rep of the All England Club:  if you're what's considered a "babe" by the Wimby powers that be, you're more likely to get your match on centre court.  Whereas if you're built more like a jock, are not Vanity Fair-ready, or you're black, you end up on courts 1 or 2.

As Jon Wertheim said in his weekly question and answer column for CNNSI:

Far as I'm concerned, here's the shocker of the day: both Wimbledon and BBC officials confirming looks matter when making scheduling decisions. Wow. Eagerly awaiting WTA outrage.

Yeah, who knows, we may have to wait awhile for that outrage to materialize.  The Daily Mail of London has a pictorial of who got what courts this fortnight, based on looks.

Kate Norcera of the New York Daily News put it this way:

Wimbledon promoters called it "The Battle of the Babes" when Victoria Azarenka, seeded 8th in the tournament, took on Cristea, seeded 28th, at Centre Court on Friday. The same day, second seed Serena Williams, undoubtedly one of the great players the sport has ever seen, was relegated to play her match on the No. 2 court.

Many of the seats on Centre Court for the "Babe" match remained empty. Die-hard tennis fans who came to the event seemed to know better - which indicated the move had more to do with television ratings.

Sunday night, the All England Club admitted that good looks were a factor when considering the play schedule. Spokesman Johnny Perkins told the Daily Mail that "good looks are a factor."

"It's not a coincidence that those (on Centre Court) are attractive," he said.

This is wrong it so many ways, where do I start?  First of all, that definition of attractiveness is the white, male All England Club's definition.  Venus and Serena Williams are some of the most gorgeous ladies out on the court.  But see, this is about being blonde and leggy.  If you're not blonde and leggy, you're not attractive.  Never have been, never will be.

It's about being the reincarnation of the "never won a tournament on tour" Anna Kournikova or "for the longest time all I had was one Wimbledon title," Maria Sharapova.  Of course, Sharapova has a whole lot more talent than Kournikova and she's won two more Grand Slams since that lone Wimby.  But for awhile there, you would have thought Sharapova invented the game of tennis the way the tennis Gods promoted her.

Wimby's big problem this year, besides an expensive new rain roof and no rain, their usual go to glamour girl, Sharapova flamed out in the early rounds.

So who are they left with?  Two of the greatest women tennis players ever.  The very attractive, Serena and Venus Williams.

Go Williams!

French Open 2009: Roger Federer Finally Conquers Paris!

The 2009 French Open is over and not only has a new men's and women's champion been decided, but tennis history was made.

By winning the men's tournament Roger Federer completed a career Grand Slam and tied the record of all time men's Grand Slam titles at fourteen.

And as far as I'm concerned, he's cemented his place as the best men's player to ever pick up a racquet. Hands down.  No question.  No discussion.

Andre Agassi was there to present Roger with the winner's trophy and still looked like he could take some sets off a couple of the top one hundred men.

French Open Tennis 2009: Rafa's Reign Is Over!

After four consecutive French Open titles, the King Of Clay and number one player in the world, Rafael Nadal was dethroned by Sweden's Robin Soderling 6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.  It had to happen sometime.  It's just too bad it wasn't in a five set final. 

On the bright side, now he, like Venus Williams will have more time to practice on grass for Wimbledon.

Still love ya' Rafa!

There will also be a new women's champion since Ana Ivanovic was bounced by Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3.

Yesterday, Serena won in three sets and overcame bad sportsmanship by her opponent to do it.

 

Gael Monfils also won yesterday in a match that showcased his athleticism and on court smarts.

 

Before today's big Rafa upset, there was yesterday's upset of 4th seed, Novak Djokovic by Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

After this weekend's upsets, those who have to be happier with their chances, Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.

Israeli Shahar Peer Denied Visa For Dubai Tennis, WTF?

Israeli player Shahar Peer was denied a visa for entry into the United Arab Emirates this week preventing her from competing in the Barclay's Dubai Tennis Championships. 

The supposed reason for banning her visa was for her own protection.  The UAE was reportedly afraid of protests against Israel and threats to Peer's safety.

Larry Scott, head of the WTA explained in a quote from Telegraph Sport why the tournament wasn't pulled this week over the issue:

"I spoke to Peer on the phone, and she said she didn't want the tournament to be cancelled. She said she was the one with the Israeli passport, and she was being punished for that, but she didn't want all her fellow players to be punished as well.

"Peer's words were that she expects us to 'think about this deeply'. It was decided not to cancel this year's tournament, after talking to Peer and her family, and as most of the other players were already in Dubai, but the fact that the tournament is going ahead, that should not be taken to mean that we accept or condone the fact that Peer has been denied a visa. We don't."

You can read Larry Scott's official statement here. 

The following is a portion of Peer's response to the visa denial:

While this is a very difficult moment for me personally and professionally, and the fact that the visa denial was issued at the last moment, I firmly believe that my fellow competitors should not be harmed the way I was - they were in or on their way to Dubai and denying them the right to play in this year's tournament at the last moment would not make the wrong right.

Reportedly the WTA could pull the Dubai tournament altogether.  There should be no "could" about it.  It should be a done deal and pulled off next year's schedule right now.

The Tennis Channel has actually refused to cover this week's event over this issue.  “This is an easy decision to come by, based on what is right and wrong,” said Ken Solomon, the chairman and chief executive of the network in comments first reported by The New York Times. 

Good for them.

People this is just wrong.  Short of having done something illegal, none of the host countries for WTA tournaments should be allowed to ban a player who's otherwise qualified to play.  And the top players should be backing her up by marching their expensive tennis shoes off the courts of Dubai for good. 

Venus Williams is quoted in the New York Times on the issue, “All the players support Shahar,” Williams said. “We are all athletes, and we stand for tennis.”

That's great, but you know what?  Venus, Serena, Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva and men on the ATP tour like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, all need to do more than just support her.  If the WTA and the ATP don't pull this tournament, and God knows, despite Larry Scott's words right now, that's entirely possible, the players need to ditch the tournament and for good. 

They don't need the money and they risk their integrity by letting this go obvious discrimination go unchallenged.

Sometimes Out Of Death Comes Life: Happy Birthday Megan's Minute!

Sometimes out of death comes life. 

A month before I started Megan's Minute, a good friend of mine, I'll call him CR, had a stroke and died.  He was 59 years old.

He was a brilliant, funny, often infuriating man who lived and breathed, photography, film and literature.  He was proudly anti-social, unapologetically liberal and would have been as astounded as anyone to see that a black man was now President of the United States.

CR was also an incredible writer, but when he died, his novel was unpublished and his screenplays unmade.  Only those of us who knew him well knew what a wonderfully entertaining and imaginative writer he was.

The last time I saw CR was months before he died.  My last contact with him was exchanged emails the Christmas before he died saying how we had to get together soon.

After hearing of his death, I was devastated that the "get together" would never happen.  And mixed in with the grief of his loss was the thought that no one else would ever read his work.

Why am I telling you this?

It's simple.  I've always believed myself to be a writer.  I've written stories, screenplays, and portions of novels, but never had the courage or the commitment to jump in feet first and find out if I had what it took to make a living as a writer.

After CR died, I discovered I desperately needed for someone to read my work.  Even if it was only five people whose names I never knew.

I'd already been considering blogging thanks to my friend Island Girl.  And after CR died, that was the push I needed to get me past the fear of my work not being good enough, or perfect enough, or whatever.

I chose Valentine's Day 2007 for my first post because it was a Valentine to myself.  A commitment to myself, my work and what I hoped would be a new future.

So at 11:55PM--it took me until the end of the day to summon my courage--I clicked "post" and  my first Megan's Minute post went live.

Congratulations to Aussie Open Winners Serena Williams & Rafael Nadal

What an exciting 2009 Australian Open! And not just because two of my favorite players, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal won.

From the thriller semi-final between Fernando Verdasco and Rafa to the slugfest between Serena and Elena Dementieva, this year's grand slam down under had it all.

The women's final between Serena and Dinara Safina was a total blow out 'cause this year Serena would not be denied.  By winning the match, she also reclaimed the number one ranking.

The jewel in the crown of this so-called Asian slam was the men's final between number one Rafa and number two Roger Federer.  It's still weird saying that...number two, Roger Federer.  It's hard to think that any match could come close to their five set final at Wimbledon, but if there was a hard court version, this one would come close.  Except for the fifth set where Federer mentally collapsed, the match was a high quality chess match between two players who know each others games so well, they often anticipated shots by instinct alone.

Despite Rafa's five hour plus semi-final against Verdasco, he defied all the predictions of fatigue and let determination pull him through.  Now at age 22 he's got six grand slam titles on three different surfaces and the sky's the limit.

Though I was pulling for Rafa, I would have been very happy if Roger had won because he's such a talented, classy guy.  Who didn't want to jump through the TV set and hug him when he started sobbing during the awards ceremony?  I know I did, but Rafa---no slouch in the classy department himself---did it for me.  How cool was that?  What a great kid.

Now if the brain trust that runs tennis would move the Aussie Open away from the Super Bowl and later in the year, someone else other than Aussies and the few other die-hard tennis fans around the world might have heard about the continuation of the on and off court relationship of these two amazing athletes.