OK, the rain delays are hopefully over, they’re actually playing tennis out there now, so it’s time for a thread.
Some thoughts:
Roddick has looked unstoppable in the matches I’ve seen him in. I didn’t catch all of his last match, but what I caught he was just creaming the other guy, winners all over the place.
Serena Williams looked OK but not invulnerable in her match with Serna. She was creaming Serna pretty good when I had to leave. Serna’s play was OK, but she also had a very nice butt. I mean, really filled out her tennis dress when she got in the ready position. Yowzah!
Sarapova and Frazier are playing as I watch. Frazier’s putting up a strong game against Sarapova, who’s looking strong but I think she’ll have to do a better job against someone like Frazier if she wants to take on the top guns. However, with her look, Sarapova’s gonna be in product endorsement heaven if she can win a major or two.
I’ve been very disappointed in the matches I’ve been able to catch thus far. The best was Arazi/Hennmen (sp), until Arazi fell apart.
Roddick… I just enjoy watching his shirt fly up.
I caught the Serena/Serna match, which was, what, 35 minutes? The entire time, every time the announcer said “Serna” I thought he was mispronouncing “Serena.” I could not get over that mental block, and it made the match frustrating.
I got pretty pissed at the crowd during the Arazi match, “Peoples Sunday” or not, the cheering was out of hand. They were much better during the Serena match, apparently because Serena specifically told them to shut up.
I love Wimbledon, but this year something seems…off.
The cheering was probably out of hand in your opinion because Henman is the only player us Brits have got to cheer for. Personally I think it’s good to see the crowd getting behind him as he often needs it to get him firing on all cylinders.
Karolina Sprem may have had a bit of luck with the incorrect tiebreak score, but she was far better than Venus Williams anyway and deserved to go through. She looked very good against Maggie Meleeva today too. She’s got Davenport next - could be an interesting match.
I respect that, and the crowd was very evenhanded with Arazi also, which was sweet, but they were just…loud. Cheers are okay. Wolf-whistles are pushing it. "You can do it, Henman/Arazi/Ump!"right as the kiddies are going to serve is just over the top.
They were clocking Serena’s serves at ~114 mph (kph?). Is this speed comparable to the mens? Or are they up in the 130s?
You said it. She’s won two tough matches since beating Venus (four straight tiebreak wins is damn impressive) and has earned her spot.
I think that speed would be lower than average. She’d beat Sjeng Schalken, but that’s about it.
The current men’s record during a match (Tilden or others may have served faster out of competition) is held by Roddick, who hit one at 153 mph a few weeks ago.
Oh, and I have to agree with Captor that Roddick is looking very good. One of the commentators said that he’s lost about 15 pounds of muscle, and the extra speed is really helping him on the grass. That would give him a better chance against Federer, although I think Roger should win it again. I didn’t see much of his match today, but beating that giant Karlovic is a test for anybody. It was a tough three-set match that should help keep him sharp for the rest of the week.
She’s not up there with the fastest men, but she’s up there with a lot of the guys. I’ve seen plenty of serves clocked at that speed or less in the men’s play. First serves, too. Granted, she’s not up there with Big Bill Tilden, but then, unlike him, she believes in bathing. So that puts her way ahead of him in my book. Plus, she’s never been busted for being a gay pederast, also putting her one up on Big Bill.
Capriati and Williams made short work of their opponents. Capriati’s opponent (Sharpova?) sure looked formidable, but her play seemed kinda off for whatever reason. And Williams made her opponent look like a big, gawky kid. The commentator said, “I like her attitude … she just can’t believe she’s getting blown away up here.”
That said, I loved Golvin’s belly shorts. They kept me in suspense throughout the match, because they looked like they could give up and fall to her ankles at any moment. I have no idea what was holding 'em up … but it’s fun to theorize.
What a star Maria Sharapova is. That was some incredible play, she really took Serena Williams apart and never gave her an opportunity to get into the match.
Fantastic. A thoroughly deserving champion.
Heh. And now she’s trying to phone her mom in Florida to tell her she won before the presentation can take place.
Cruel shot, dude. I dunno anything about the Williams’ sisters sexual tastes, but they ARE incredibly muscular – it’s not just that they look as muscular as some guys, it’s that they look as muscular as some NBA players.
It did, and then some. What a terrific match! Roddick gave it everything he had, I haven’t seen anybody push Federer like that in the last two years. And Federer had the answers, but it never looked easy. Couldn’t have asked for more in a final. My youngest brother is a big Roddick fan, and I remember telling him last year that I didn’t think Roddick would ever be able to approach Federer’s shotmaking and all-around game. From the first match when he was moving so much better, to the final today when he returned so well and made Federer work so much, he’s proven he will work hard to get to another level.
Great match from Federer, who still has all the shots, and showed some emotion in this one. I think that could be a good thing for tennis. He’s so cool on the court, and while it’s not like he freaked out or yelled like Hewitt, he showed he wanted this one and then he made sure he took it. Bravo.
Admittedly I’m not a tennis fan but I’ll be glad to see the end of Wimbledon so we can have our summer back. The forecast does look a lot better next week!
It was a good match, but I knew Roddick was going to lose in the fourth set the first time he had Federer down 0-40 for a break and couldn’t seal the deal. Happened in several other games, too. Still, really sharp play from both guys. If Roddick continues to improve – and there’s no doubt he has improved – Federer’s gonna have to learn some new tricks if he wants to stay number one.
True. I thought Roddick was done a couple of times, but even though he never won another set, he kept it close and threatened Federer on a number of occasions. Against a lot of people, Federer would have cruised to victory after that tiebreak, or even after that break following the rain delay. That Roddick was competitive the whole way through was a real achievement.
Should be fun to watch. I’m sure Roddick will want even more to equal Federer by repeating in New York.
