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by Philipina A. Marcelo
I am totally putting myself in a lot of "trouble" sitting here writing this rather than enslaving myself some more... to work! It's my "free day" from work... but I have "six-feet tall" of workload beside me as I write this, almost "killed" myself yesterday from crazy workload. I've already given up "my" Sunday for lab work, and now used six hours of "my" day on work stuff... so, maybe, I deserve some "fun time"? No? Ah, whatever! My brain says "fun", and refuses to recognize things like "refrigeration", "mechanical energy losses in pipelines", or "permeate flux"! "Love", "deuce", "ace", "goal", and their variants are all that it recognizes right now... so, "fun" it is then! Yay!
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US Open, finally!
It is unbelievable that the US Open is already on its eighth day today and I only got to sit to pay "serious attention" to the goings on at Flushing Meadows. I did say that work was threatening to crush me flat this month... and the threat turned to a real crushing force. *sigh* And this is why, I need some serious fun time. :) Besides, after seeing the Rafa Nadal "cramping episode" during his press conference yesterday (and reading about the funny comments from people later), I got really curious! Haha... uhm, ahem, excuse me... sorry (hahaha...).
Moving on...
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Excitement in the women's singles
Ah, finally, World #1 Caroline Wozniacki triumphed in a BIG match - against Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia. It was an exciting match... I know, it sounds weird that the word "exciting" is in the same sentence as "Caroline Wozniacki" (hehe...), but there is no other word to describe that match though. It was exciting... and mostly because of, ahem, the Kuznetsova forehand! =)
The first set was stretched to maximum tension in a tie break, where Kuznetsova assumed the "attacker's role", and Wozniacki took the
Wozniacki, on a fighting mode.defensive end. Both were fantastic in the roles they chose for themselves. Between the two, Kuznetsova had the bigger artillery of shots, with her tricky Nadal-like topspins and incredible forehand as her biggest guns, therefore, she fits the offensive role like a glove in this match. She took several shots at Wozniacki with her forehand, and Wozniacki defended with fast reaction and her usual ball-scampering moves. Wozniacki wore her "wheeled tennis shoes" today, and she covered the court with it without reserve as she tried to return the spinning balls from the Kuznetsova racket. But, everytime, Wozniacki's attention strayed in split second, the Kuznetsova forehand collected points... and so, the first set went to the Russian's way, 7(8)-6(6).
The second set started with a Wozniacki defeat written all over it, with a break of serve in favor of Kuznetsova... until the Russian's tank ran empty at around the 8th game when Wozniacki pulled Kuznetsova's cushion of break of serve under the Russian with a break of serve of her own. The young Dane, whose biggest attributes are stamina and positive attitude (that, sadly, is enough to catapult one to the top of the women's ranking these days), recognized the weakening forehand and the less lethal topspins as Kuznetsova started to succumb to fatigue. The smart Wozniacki then went for a reversal of roles, using her speed to beat the Russian to the points by
Svetlana Kuznetsova, running on empty tank. split seconds. The delayed reaction of the Russian to the Wozniacki balls erased her early lead as Wozniacki snatched the second set. And, in the third set, Kuznetsova was not only running on empty tank, but she was running on flat tires, too. And the Dane took advantage of it, rushing to every point with a speed that the fatigued Russian cannot match. With that, Wozniacki received her pass to the quarterfinals to meet with 10th seed, Andrea Petkovic of Germany, who earlier took out the returning-to-top-form, Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, in straight sets.
So, how do I feel about Wozniacki's chances this year in the US Open? Hopeful, but not exactly excited. While she won a big match against Kuznetsova, she won it by her tenacity to run after the ball, and Kuznetsova's lack of fitness, rather than by talent and patented shots. She will continue to outdo less fit and less patient players along the way... but once she's faced with fit and talented players, she'll assume her boring defensive position again. She might bag the US Open this year... and keep the #1 Rank... but that doesn't mean she's the best in the women's side. In fact, she will continue to be the symbol of the lackluster bunch of inconsistent performers, so lacking of passion for the sport, that women in tennis have become these days... until she
Williams and Ivanovic, former #1 in the World both,
when ranking was still a reliable barometer of
greatness in women's tennis.packed her bag with exciting shots artillery the next time she steps into the big stage, of course. I hope that that comes soon enough. Well, she's dressed quite decently - by her patented "free-skin peek" standard - for the US Open this year. That's a start. :) While she's no sister - yet - I still wish her the best, of course.
In the other big matches in the women's side, two former #1 in the World ladies, Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic, exchanged fire powers. Williams prevailed in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, but not without a fierce resistance from Ivanovic, especially in the second set. The American is on collision course with Wozniacki in the semis. If no one upsets the Dane along the way :), Serena would have a chance to show the #1 in the World who, actually, was boss in women's tennis. :). Well, that would be a must-see. Another Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, moved on to the QFs after outlasting the 2010 Roland Garros champ, Francesca Schiavone of Italy, in three sets. I have yet to see the Aussie, Sam Stosur, in action... I like her brand of tennis, actually. She will meet the #2 seed, Vera Zvonareva, tomorrow in one of the first women's QFs. Hmmm... I hope to find a hole in my packed sked tomorrow to catch that. Good luck to me! =)
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The men are on fire... as usual
Roger Federer, finally! Yeah, it's my first time to see
Roger Federer... oy!him in action in the 2011 US Open - I'm serious! :) That's how monstrous my work sked is these days. :( Oh. well... but, let's be positive and think about the RF shots hotness, shall we? OK... so, he was awesome! He took out Lionel Messi's compatriot, Juan Monaco of Argentina in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0. Yeah, I know... poor Monaco! RF played like a man who needed to get home soon to feed her little twin girls... and didn't carry an umbrella, and the rain threatened to pour at Arthur Ashe. :) He didn't give Monaco time to get into the match at all. It was a victory obtained in a hurried New Yorker's pace! :) But, he did give the fans something - a lot of things - to dream about. Whew, hot! But that's all that I'm willing to say right now, considering he's facing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga again in the QF. Remember, 2011 Wimbledon QF? And then three weeks ago, Montreal? I hope he... nah, I'll stop here. :)
Speaking of Tsonga, he beat the top American player, Mardy Fish, in their
Fish and Tsonga, impressive.incredible fourth-round five-setter match earlier today. Tsonga claimed the first set in his characteristic energetic game... and then Fish fought back, in a fantastic way that I've never seen him play before, to claim the next two sets - deflating the Tsonga livewire enthusiasm. But the "comeback kid" Tsonga, accepted the fact that the New York crowd will not play "I heart Tsonga" with his "showman antics", which included changing his shorts on the sidelines within a makeshift wall of towels held by the ballboys. =) The Frenchman refused to go for a restroom break as suggested by the chair umpire, and insisted to change on the sidelines after Fish received naughty whistles when he changed shirts there during the break. Oh, well... that's Tsonga for you! :) And then at two-sets all, on the fifth set, with the men one game a piece and at 40-40, Tsonga started talking to himself instead when the NY crowd refused to side with him. He sucked it all in, moved on... and then claimed victory from the pained Fish - on his own! :)
World #1, Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, while claiming a straight-sets victory, 7(16)-6(14), 6-4, 6-2, over Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, was tested rather heavily in a totally
Djokovic and Dolgopolov: talent,
focus, adventure and sense of
humor.entertaining match! Both men were unleashing ferocious shots through awesome athletic, sometimes even acrobatic, moves. The tie break in the first set was of championship quality - a crazy exchange of great shots that sent the NY tennis fans in Arthur Ashe to their feet. After snatching the prized win of the first set, The Djoker celebrated like he's already won the tournament... and quite understandly so!
I was almost sad to see Dolgopolov exit. While defeated by the #1 man in tennis on the planet, NY showed tremendous appreciation for the Ukrainians's performance - and he totally deserved it, too. Dolgopolov is one very talented chap! He will rise to the rankings soon, that's for sure... uhm, Andy Murray, are you paying attention? =)
Speaking of Murray, I did see him in action - albeit fleetingly and
Murray and Haase, incredible
match - uber!without my full concentration - when he crossed swords with Robin Haase of Netherlands in the second round as I prepared to go to work. The match started out as a "sigh-sigh-sigh-what-are-you-thinking-Andy" sort of a match as I watched Murray being hammered by Haase in the first two sets... and then, Murray seemed to wake up from a trance induced by the fourth-in-the-world boredom, realized he hasn't won a major, and this might be his chance... and pouced back! His "awakening" was too powerful that in the fourth set, Haase looked like he didn't know what tsunami was attacking him - Murray won that set, 6-0! Simply amazing! He won the match eventually... well, I found out about the result after work... I had to leave Murray's in his third round saga in the middle of the fifth set for... uh, work, what else! :(
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Ah, these scene stealers...
When you see news stories like this, this, and this... and, well, this, it's hard not to pay attention! :)
After watching the new UEFA Champions League video magazine which featured Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Cristiano Ronaldo, pangs of guilt bit painfully. I've been meaning to write
Midfield Maestro, Xavi Hernandez.a feature on Xavi when UEFA announced last July the Top 3 contenders for the inaugual of the "UEFA Best Player in Europe Award": two of Barça's superplayers, Messi and Xavi, and Real Madrid's Ronaldo... with Andres Iniesta - another Barça genius - coming in as a close fourth. Of course, we know now that Messi won the award in an overwhelming domination of votes two weeks ago.
While I am a BIG Lionel Messi fan, I am also a HUGE admirer of the "Midfield Genius", Xavi... and I have to admit that, while I am happy to see Messi collect those individual awards, it's kinda painful, too, to realize after the jubilation that Xavi missed yet another opportunity to be recognized for his own genius. Okay... I'll save this topic for when I have enough time to write about it. Xavi is too awesome, he deserves full attention.
'Til later...
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Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks.
