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by PAM
I fell asleep, exhausted from the day's activities... some serious technical editing of something seriously technical, and an initial experimental run on something... uhm, experimental. Haha... And then those "experimental ventures" that are not really... uhm, actually, shouldn't really be treated "experimentally". But enough about being cryptic on "real life"... 'cause there are quarterfinals worth investing time on over at the City of Lights.
The "warm-up rounds" are over and the toughest are hangin' tough... the heat is on! QF in the 2012 French Open, bebeh!
***
Novak broke back... and broken back, back-to-back!
So, I found a comfortable watching position somewhere in the middle of the second set of the aaargh-ugh-huh?-whoa-inducing QF match of the World #1, Novak Djokovic, and World #5, the French livewire tennis court showman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga....
With the first two sets gone and the men even on set winning, 6-1 and 5-7, Djoker taking the first and Tsonga taking the second, the third set was a "killer set". The ice in my coke melted in just a couple of minutes from all the heat the two power-hitters generated from the scorching red clay. At 1-1 on Tsonga's serve, he couldn't move on from a shot called long... and flopped a
Novak Djokovic, eyeballing the ball.slam, sending it to the net, 0-40. That bouyed the spirit of the visibly distrought Djoker who lost the 2nd set in a heartbreaking game that saw his serve broken by Tsonga. Djoker maintained his composure, or what's left of it... and he broke Tsonga on the Frenchman's serve... only to give up his own service game right after, 2-2. Whew!
At 2-3, 15-15 on Djoker's serve, the Frenchman showed a volley masterclass, digging deep to pick up a Djoker fine dropshot to send the ball right on the sideline - beautiful! The crowd erupted in glee! Uhm, yeah... and me, too! But the Serbian World #1 with beautiful blazing eyes held, 3-3. After flopping an easy volley big time, Tsonga sent a winner that Djoker had no hope of returning, 30-30. And the Frenchman sailed, 4-3. The eight game was intense, Djoker trying to hold and Tsonga trying to steal a game... and the set. But Djoker found his mojo... and his ace serves, and held, 4-4. Tsonga came back... wild! I mean, oh-yeah, wild! Two consecutive BIG crosscourt winners and unreturnable serve, 40-0! Djoker, stunned, almost visibly sinking... and Tsonga took the score to 5-4, with him on top. Hot!
Next game, at 40-30 on Djoker's serve, big rally ensued... Tsonga prevailed - and in a big way, too - with an impressive winner. Djoker regrouped and sent an ace and then followed it up with a BIG winner! He held. Tsonga came back firing... but Djoker was running, yelling and unleashing the big ones, forcing errors from the Frenchman, 0-30. Djoker miscalculated a shot... then forced an error from Tsonga, which Tsonga made up for next, and Djoker felt the heat and commit an error himself, deuce. Argh, these men, whew! Tsonga, playing smart... served up an ace, "Advantage, Tsonga". And then the Frenchman sent one to the net, back to deuce. Two swings of points, deuce! Ugh! Beautiful exchange of volleys... Djoker blinked,
Jo-wilfried Tsonga, serves up power.the crowd erupted and Djoker walked back to his half of the court like a blind man with beautiful unseeing eyes. Huh? Tsonga served up an ace, and he held, 6-5. Djoker sought solace from his box, his team stared back - no answer there.
And then came Djoker's biggest test in the 2012 French Open so far: serving, one game behind an opponent who was the crowd favorite, and understandly so, too! At 30-15, Tsonga put Djoker on the defensive, rushing to the net, powering a return... Djoker blinked, 30-30! Tsonga committed an error, 40-30... and Djoker sent one wide, deuce! Ugh! Mini rally, Djoker sent the ball to the net, "Advantage, Tsonga"! Aaargh, don't we know it! The crowd erupted in frenzied glee! Rally... crosscourt shots, beautiful exchange... Djoker played the ball with a beautiful volley that should've been a winner... on fine days! But Tsonga came back with a crosscourt return that the Serb just had no way of chasing. And Tsonga broke the Djoker serve, winning the set. And, whatta BIG WIN there, too!
Was that the end of Djoker's dominance of men's tennis now? Uhm, wait... he wasn't quite finished yet.
***
You and me... me and you... fight!
Fourth set... a must-win for Djoker if he wanted to be the first guy to hold the 4 Grand Slam silverware - all at the same time - since 43 years ago when the legendary Rod Laver had his hands and arms full with the glistening cups.
Tsonga opened the set... showing off a little, fresh from his mighty dismantling of the World #1 in the third set. Djoker, shaken by his third set defeat, elected to keep it simple and took the first point with a fine return. While Djoker tried to figure out a way of digging himself out of the one-set deficit ditch, Tsonga just troweled off more clay powder from under Djoker's feet, 1-0.
Djoker smiled... a little too sarcastically from his desperation, and started talking loudly to himself. His turn to serve... winner, error, winner error, 30-30! Some beautiful, beautiful shotmaking, dropshots there, volley here, and Djoker prevailed...
Pushing through... hard!with some nice touches there, too. He saved his service game. Tsonga served tremendously, 40-0! Whoa! Djoker's beautiful eyes went blank... but he managed to steal one point away, and then Tsonga walked off with his game intact at 40-15... and then going 2-1. At 2-2, 40-40 on Tsonga's serve, the big guy unleashed an ace, only to cancel it out with an error, deuce again. One more swing of brilliance from both men, and it was back to deuce! A Djoker error, an ace from the Frenchman, and the Frenchman was up one set and one game over the mighty Serb on the fourth set.
I began to ask the cheese coated potato chip I was about to munch, "Is there hope for Djoker here?" He, Djoker, not the chip, picked up the first point from his service game with an error from Tsonga. How's that for an answer? At 30-15, Djoker reacted angrily at himself after netting a big shot, 30-30. That's right, Djoke, you're looking like a second-rate player out there opposite Jo-Wil. Better get it together, dude! He fired himself up with his new-found anger and won his service game, 3-3. On Tsonga's serve at 0-15, Djoker hurt his left leg returning the ball ferociously from the baseline... and sacrificed a point, too, 15-15. His team stared open-mouthed... was he seriously hurt? At 30-30, nothing seemed to work for Djoker... two errors, and it was 4-3 - to Tsonga. There seemed to be very (very, very) little hope for the #1 in the World at that point... surprisingly, he didn't seem eager to break through either as per his body language. Tsonga wasn't even playing extra-ordinarily great... he was just playing his usual game, not even being flashy and all fired up out there... just being, uh, matured and focused. Oh, well... good on him!
Djoker dug deep... and dipped, and found a 40-15 winning formula... taking the score eventually to 4-4. He tried his new found faith in his shots and picked up the first point in Tsonga's serve. Rally! Both men making gut-stirring noises that matched the tremendous energy they were unleashing at every shot, 15-15. Intensity, you are so welcome! With forced error each, it was 30-30. Whew! Djoker channeled a Rafa Nadal, topspin return
Holding his clay, er, ground.that Tsonga sent to the heavens a la Sergio Ramos penalty kick against a German young gun, Manuel Neuer, in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals (Hahaha...), and it was 30-40. Tsonga calmed down, collected himself, and served up an ace, followed it up with a winner and another ace... and he led Djoker into the 10th game, 5-4!
It was "now or... now" for Djoker! Or he'd wait another year to get the chance to have his hands on all four Big Ones - all at the same time. There was no fire in his beautiful eyes. He looked like he was feeling the heat... well, there was too much heat to not feel it, actually... handing Tsonga the first point with a shot that went long. Another one of that... and it was 0-30. Yaiks! One BIG ERROR that on "normal days" would've been a winner, and Tsonga had two match points! Oh, dear... Djoker steeled himself and SAVED BOTH, skimming and unleashing whatever Djoker-ish shot was floating on his highly diluted brilliance juices in his unbelievable steel gut right there, deuce. Dang, this man is incredible - seriously! He went up for a deep breath, dove in the French dirt, and then ran like an indestructible warrior to take the game to 5-5. Whew!
Tsonga came back blazing... BIG, BIG, BIG brilliant shots... it was 40-15 in no time. Mini rally, Tsonga couldn't power a volley enough to go over the net, 40-30. Mini rally.., and the Frenchman toyed Djoker with beautiful volley and a dropshot that Djoker could only stare at, 6-5, to Tsonga! Ahhh, awesome! :)
Djoker's turn... some go-for-broke shotmakings from the Serbian #1 and this-is-my-territory defiance from Tsonga, and soon, it was 30-30. Great shotmaking and a beautiful crosscourt dropshot from Tsonga... match point - for Tsonga... AGAIN!! My, oh, my! Djoker's stubbles at the beginning of the match seemed to have grown to full beard right there! But he did recover, deuce! Great shotmaking, and Tsonga went on advantage... must I say it again? Another match point! The World #1 went for broke and saved yet another match point, back to deuce! Whew, I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E! Djoker making BIG noises at every shot, almost screaming in one shot, and he went on to "Advantage, Djokovic"! He powered a shot, won his service game and stayed in the match, 6-6.
A SCREAM... with the now too familiar Serbian growl about it!!
***
A matter exclusively for those of steel guts
Tie break... first two points went to the now fired-up Djoker. But Tsonga punched back with a beautiful dropshot... some BIG SHOTMAKINGS, Djoker underpowered a return, and it was 2-2! Oh, gosh!!! Longest rally, 17 blistering, mindblowingly intense shots... Tsonga sent the last good shot, 3-2! And then Djoker sending the ball long, 4-2... to Tsonga! Whew! Djoker's
Beautiful eyes a-blazed.shoulders slumped... not in a good way either! Man! Djoker somehow managed to salvage a point... and another one via an incredibly intense rally that was hard for me to watch, 4-4!
Oh, dear... what's wrong with these men??? One of you win it already, why freakin' don't yaaaa??! Yep, I was on the verge of heart attack right there!
My mouth went totally dry, it was punishing. Djoker found some remnants of his great game after being diluted from that Seppi fourth round match two nights ago that was so intense, too, I can't get myself to type a word on my iPad to take notes. Djoker steeled himself... and he went two points up, 6-4. But that lead was not going to stay long... Tsonga retaliated and picked up a point back, and then served up an ace, 6-6!
Oh, man!!!
Djoker recovered one point out of sheer desperation and, and... anger, maybe? Well, I was already getting angry just watching them like that. And then, lady luck, probably like me, was getting tired of all the nerve-wrecking back-and-forth gut-smashing testosterone overdrive amidst the flying red French dust, and made her decision... Tsonga showed nerve and netted a return. Boom! Djoker took the set!
FIST PUMP and A SCREAM!!! Nah, that wasn't from me... it did ring some Serbian he-man growl, that's for sure. It's the sort of thing reserved for the #1 in the World, especially these days when men's tennis is teeming with incredible talents.
***
A sumptuous ending... for some Serbian WAG!
The fifth set was a completely different story. Having hauled himself out of the ditch to go two sets even with his incredible French opponent, Djoker, the #1 Player in the World in Men's tennis was back... winning the first three games in less than 15 minutes.
Tsonga was understandably still hung up after working so hard, with several match points that he couldn't finish in the fourth set.
Fresh from the ditch, and rushing to win.You gotta feel for the Frenchman, seriously. The smart Djoker, of course, was all business and showed no signs of feeling for Tsonga... in fact, he took advantage, rushing from one point to another. But on his serve, at 0-15, Tsonga found his 2nd to 4th set form, holding. Djoker tried to keep things simple, merely protecting his lead... but Tsonga recovered from his 4th set defeat... on Djoker's serve, the Frenchman managed to bring the score to deuce. But, after an intense mini rally, he sent a return just wide... he almost slammed his racket. He was not going to return to the match from then on. One more forcing-through point from Djoker, and he brought the score to 4-1. Djoker then broke Tsonga's serve, not very easily, but he did, 5-1. He then rushed to his own service game, winning the match with a fantastic winner that zinged past Tsonga's shirt's right sleeve, burning it a little, I imagine.
The victory saw some WAG darting to their feet, cheering like there was no tomorrow - as always. The now bespectacled Serbian WAG
WAG delight.stole a glance at the giant screen, and fixed a fired-up expression of pride and glee, making sure the whole world knew that that victorious man out there, amidst the French powder dirt, was her man. :)
Tsonga was almost in tears... the crowd cheered him, giving him a very well deserved standing ovation. He took his time leaving the court, and Djoker was made to wait before his own courtside interview. The Serb didn't look too pissed waiting. =)
Oh, and, uh, for the ladies... Djoker looked good in his court get-up. The material clang.... oops. I was going to elaborate, I want to... but I'm still officially a "boring academic" with a "boringly conservative" reputation to uphold and protect! Hahaha.... ;)
***
Etc.
Am I putting Roger Federer's QF incredible five-set, 3-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-0, 6-3, win over his 2010 US Open one-man demolition crew, Juan Martin del Potro, in the "etc." category? I know it's "tennis sacrilege"... but I didn't see the match live! Does that expel me from the "RF Fanatico,
RF, five sets and a QFwin.Inc." already? But I was paying attention to all his record-grabbing winnings the past months... I was just too preoccupied with "official stuff" these days to write about it, and Lionel Messi's incredible feat, too, this season. Yep, too busy to write about tennis and football, wouldn't you believe it? Just when I am already (unoffically) "retired". Ironic? Ya can say that. ;)
But, yeah, Djokovic and Federer, both dug themselves out of a deep hole that their ferocious challengers buried them in at the beginning of their QF matches. For the fighting spirit-filled steel-gut Djoker, that wasn't really something new... but for the usually mental-breakdown-prone Federer, that sort of win is an incredible feat... especially against a hard-hitting big guy like JMdP. The #1 and #3 in the World champs will be back to reminisce their 2011 semi-final at Roland Garros that saw the end of Djoker's 43-win streak in 2011. The brilliant men will see what one year had done to their clay games via another semi-final match in a couple of days. This time, records are at stake... for Djokovic, it's to take over Rod Laver's 43-year old record... and for RF, it's to stop Nole accomplishing the incredible feat that, ahem, should've been his! :)
I know that is going to be another hard-to-watch match for me, being in the Board of Directors of the Federer Fanatic, Inc. and a Djoker Awesomeness, Ltd. founding member. Hehe... Plus... I have work to do!!! Aaaargh... so, how do you define "retirement" again? Really! ;)
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Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!
