The man in black came through once more. Nole had his chances, over and over again, he had leads, he had breaks, he had break chances...and every time he was denied by our champion. It was a good match to watch though, and even though it finished in straight sets, you can't get too much tighter than 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. Nole served notice, though, that he belongs in the same breath as Roger and Rafa. Maybe even inching ahead of Rafa? Maybe so, especially since, for the second straight year, Rafa has kind of disappeared during the summer hard court season. Nobody questions his dominance on clay, but that is only one of three surfaces.
Our champion, Roger Federer, the man in black, Darth Roger:
Rog and Nole before the match...I really liked this picture:
And our runner-up, in what is arguably his break-out year:
Some other thoughts:
*Sharapova was in the Djoker's box. Hmmm. However, she was not donning the Adidas YOC shirt that the rest of the box decided to sport today...which I thought was totally cool by the way.
And yes, the rumors have already started.
*The first time they showed Mirka she was chewing...oh great, more ammunition for the people who pick on her weight. Then the next time, she was checking her watch...maybe hoping Rog would wrap it up soon? Then, finally, she was cheering him on. One thing though...with all the money she and Rog have, and with how much they 'hang out' with all these top designers...I can't stand the clothes she wears. Really strange stuff, and the top she had on today was not good at all.
*Mary Carillo sounded like she was sick and/or congested. She sounded like a man!
*We all know about the Djoker's habit of bouncing the ball a bazillion times before serving, especially under pressure. But against Roger he seemed to rein it in...do you think he was afraid of ticking off his opponent and then suffering the wrath?
There was other tennis and champions crowned today:
Women's doubles winners Dinara Safina and Natalie Dechy with runner-ups Yung-Jan Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang:
The juniors wrapped up today as well. From left to right we have girl's runner-up Urszula Radwanska, girl's champion Kristina Kurcova, boy's champion Ricardis Berankis, and boy's runner-up Jerzy Janowicz. The countries they represent are Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Poland, respectively. Think the Bloc is catching up? I think so.
And that's a wrap.
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Only it is not a wrap. Because this blog is also about *my* tennis game, and well, there is no off season for me! Though if there were, the next few months might be considered one, just because I'm not playing the fall women's season. I do, however, have two tournaments coming up in the next month, and the MCM10k at the end of October. My foot has been feeling much better...it still hurts from time to time, but I ran four miles today with nary a hint of pain, and very little afterward. I just wish I knew what it was that was making it better, so I'd make sure I keep doing it. Buying new shoes for school may have helped, plus all the various inserts I've been experimenting with. Who knows?
Carol has struck the same deal with me that Greg did, that if I organize and run an evening singles flight I will get another year of free membership dues. That would take care of me up through April of 2009! Sweet!
And I took my first clinic with my new women's indoor team on Saturday morning. It was a long morning of tennis, as I had my lesson with Carol at 9am, then I stuck around and hit serves for a while, then buzzed down to Springfield for the clinic at 11am. The women were all quite a bit older than me, except for Susan (who I knew and met during outdoor season), who is maybe only a few years older. So yeah, youngest on the team again. But that is fine, because I'm there to play singles, and while these ladies definitely have skills (some wicked slice from this one woman, it was insane!) they aren't about to run back and forth a lot. Me and Susan are the new singles players.
Now, my plan will be fine as long as I don't get moved up. Two months ago I was dying to get moved up to 3.5, but since I play up anyway, the master plan is to play 3.0 singles and 3.5 doubles. If I do get moved up, I could appeal down, but I'd be eating crow, as I was very vocal about my displeasure regarding some players who did that last season. Oh well, it would be the first time I ate it!
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