======================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
Nope, nope, and nope! I admit, I've not been paying attention the past four days or so - to tennis, US Open notwithstanding! Been very busy... aaaargh!
But, I surrendered a few minutes of my work time - at 3:30 AM... and on a Saturday, too! *sigh* Yes, I worked at those hours and day while "normal" people slept. :( I know, I need to seriously look for a less enslaving (and more rewarding) job! ;)
Anyway, back to tennis... I was almost blown away by "that" wailing scream as my TV came to life... I'm sure you know from whom - Maria Sharapova,
Maria Sharapova, "silenced" in the 2nd Round.of course! *sigh* Maria's screams and shrieks are the equivalent of the bubuzela in football - annoying... to the maximum level! Her determination to win is always admirable, you could almost ignore her obsessive concern for what she wears on court... but all that wonderful things about her champion-caliber self are lost in the deafening sound of her screams on court! It bores into one's brain - painfully! It's not fair to her opponent - and to the fans, too! Well, some, of course, (men, mostly, I must add) would endure that just to see her long, very shapely and nicely tanned legs cover the court in long strides... and to enjoy the "view" as the naughty New York wind does its work on her flirty asking-for-it skirt. *sigh*
Ah, so how do you solve a noisy problem like Maria? Well, ask Flavia Pennetta and she'd tell you how... three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, that's how! Yay! I really like this Italian
Flavia Pennetta, human bubuzela dispatcher.gal, with her quiet composure, great shots, class... and understated glamour - on and off the court! She ousted the Russian girl with an exaggerated American twang (okay, I admit, I'm being mean... blame it on Novak Djokovic! Haha...) in the second round of the US Open! And, beautifully, too! Pennetta took the early lead, winning the first set, but Sharapova came back, winning the second set. With the women 1 set a piece, I thought, Sharapova was going to make a remarkable comeback when she evened out to 4-4 with a hold of serve at 40-15 in the third set, after a 3-0 deficit. But, the Italian took a deep breath, held serve to 5-4, and then muffled the Russian's screams for good as she steadied herself to claim victory! Shaaaa-raaaaaaap! Sure, sure, I'm mean... sorry. =)
Nice job, Flavia. Thanks for sparing us from the bubuzela-like-induced annoyance in the next rounds... but more, importantly, superb showing out there, sister! All the best in the next rounds. :)
I'm really a big fan of women's tennis in the old days, when there were great champions to admire like Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, and then later, Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis. These days, women in tennis are most unrealiable in their ability to bring on entertaining competitive tennis, and most inconsistent in their performance. Exhibit A: most of the top seeds, including the 2011 French Open Champ, Li Na, are already out as early as the second round... the biggest upset so far was that of third seed Sharapova's ouster in the second round via a Pennetta win. Exhibit B: the #1 in the World, Caroline Wozniacki, has not managed to win a Major... and is a perennial casualty in big games, too. Oh, well...
Alright, speaking of "upsets"... that's all the fun I could have today. Back to work... and it runs until tomorrow evening - Sunday - too! Ugh! :(
***
Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website.
