So there they were, in this fabled tournament of champions: the heavenly (yet earthly) King against the talented Court Jester*, and the valiant (though depleted) Knight** against the brilliant (but yet-unproven) Tactician***.
The King humbled the Court Jester, and the Tactician outsmarted the Knight.
Finally, the King met the Tactician in an epic duel.
Except it wasn't epic. The King's grace and power were too much for the Tactician, who fell in three straight sets despite a brave fight.
So the King continues his reign for one more year--his fifth--on the courts of Flushing Meadows. It had been a grueling year for him, having lost epic, bloody duels with the tenacious Knight at the courts of Wimbledon and Roland Garros after having survived a crippling disease which left him weaker. There were--and still are--those who doubted the King's ability and wanted to see him fall in defeat. But as he has proven in his latest victory, he is healed and ready to lead the Kingdom of Tennis once again with the talent and genius only he possesses.
May King Roger reign forevermore, in tennis and in our hearts!
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I had way too much fun with that. Wasn't Roger amazing? He's BAAAACK!
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*Novak Djokovic, known as the Joker. "Court" jester seems appropriate, right?
**Rafa Nadal. "Knight" seems to fit him pretty well. Grounded, unpretentious, tough, and athletic.
***Andy Murray. Roger himself called Andy a tactician...who am I to doubt his words?
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
It's great to be a Jamaican or a Spaniard these days, isn't it?
The Jamaicans took all the medals in the women's 100m dash final and Bolt smashed the world record for the men's event with room to spare.
Spain has won the Euro Cup, the Tour de France, and Wimbledon this year.
Now Nadal is in his first day as world #1, and undoubtedly in great spirits...but being the modest, unpretentious guy he is, he won't let it get to his head. I like how he downplays his success and always shows deference to Federer (though not to the extent that he would be willing to give up his dignity, of course) even though he has proven time and again that as least as far as their rivalry is concerned, he is the superior of the two. That's the attitude of a champion.
I'm hoping for more epic Nadal vs. Federer showdowns in the future because it's always a thrill to watch them play each other, especially when the stakes are high (even though I'm sometimes too chicken to watch). I still want to see FedEx beat Sampras' record, even if he never quite reaches the heights of the past 5 years. All he needs is to practice more often, perhaps bulk up a little, and reduce the no. of commitments to anything other than tennis.
Am I the only tennis fan on earth who likes both of them equally?
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Poor Liu Xiang...to miss the marquee event because of an injury has to make him feel absolutely awful. So many millions of fans were counting on his reaching the medal stand to make China proud.
The Jamaicans took all the medals in the women's 100m dash final and Bolt smashed the world record for the men's event with room to spare.
Spain has won the Euro Cup, the Tour de France, and Wimbledon this year.
Now Nadal is in his first day as world #1, and undoubtedly in great spirits...but being the modest, unpretentious guy he is, he won't let it get to his head. I like how he downplays his success and always shows deference to Federer (though not to the extent that he would be willing to give up his dignity, of course) even though he has proven time and again that as least as far as their rivalry is concerned, he is the superior of the two. That's the attitude of a champion.
I'm hoping for more epic Nadal vs. Federer showdowns in the future because it's always a thrill to watch them play each other, especially when the stakes are high (even though I'm sometimes too chicken to watch). I still want to see FedEx beat Sampras' record, even if he never quite reaches the heights of the past 5 years. All he needs is to practice more often, perhaps bulk up a little, and reduce the no. of commitments to anything other than tennis.
Am I the only tennis fan on earth who likes both of them equally?
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Poor Liu Xiang...to miss the marquee event because of an injury has to make him feel absolutely awful. So many millions of fans were counting on his reaching the medal stand to make China proud.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Usain Bolt is just nuts. 9.69 seconds to smash the world record, and he took some kind of leisurely stroll in the last 20m; he even looked around to see how far ahead he was! I can't imagine how much faster his time would have been had he actually focused through the entire race. He's just like that kid in class who fools around and never pays attention, yet aces every test and makes everyone dumbfounded.
The guy makes the 100m dash seem like child's play while the other guys seemed to struggle. Most exciting 9.69 seconds ever! Here's hoping the doping test results come back negative.
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The U.S. crushed Spain in basketball. Serves the Spaniards right for that stupid ad.
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Federer may not be no. 1 for much longer, but at least he's got something to smile about after a tough year. He won gold in the men's doubles tournament, and you could see his happiness pouring out when the two men hugged each other and jumped up and down like kids. They played around, with Fed pretending to massage his doubles partner on the court. It's so nice to know that he's finally got the Olympic gold he's always wanted--ironically, during the year in which he lost his no.1 ranking and his near-invincibility on the court. It'll be tough for him to beat Sampras' record now...
The guy makes the 100m dash seem like child's play while the other guys seemed to struggle. Most exciting 9.69 seconds ever! Here's hoping the doping test results come back negative.
----
The U.S. crushed Spain in basketball. Serves the Spaniards right for that stupid ad.
----
Federer may not be no. 1 for much longer, but at least he's got something to smile about after a tough year. He won gold in the men's doubles tournament, and you could see his happiness pouring out when the two men hugged each other and jumped up and down like kids. They played around, with Fed pretending to massage his doubles partner on the court. It's so nice to know that he's finally got the Olympic gold he's always wanted--ironically, during the year in which he lost his no.1 ranking and his near-invincibility on the court. It'll be tough for him to beat Sampras' record now...
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Li Na defeats Venus Williams!
It's been an amazing couple of months for Chinese tennis--first Zheng Jie in the semis at Wimbledon (a first for China), and now this! She will be a national hero in China if she wins gold, and this win will certainly boost her confidence.
On a sadder note...WTF is up with Federer? What happened to that indomitable "Emperor of Tennis" whose strokes were like works of art? He still needs to break Sampras' record of Grand Slam victories, and I'm confident that he won't let himself become irrelevant in his sport until he has done so. I for one am not quite ready for him to slip from the #1 spot he's held for these past 4.5 years. It's like he's been #1 for so long that the association is forever cemented into our minds.
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Ok, so China got thumped by the US in basketball, but at least they've proven that they can't be taken for granted.
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Phelps is still superhuman.
It's been an amazing couple of months for Chinese tennis--first Zheng Jie in the semis at Wimbledon (a first for China), and now this! She will be a national hero in China if she wins gold, and this win will certainly boost her confidence.
On a sadder note...WTF is up with Federer? What happened to that indomitable "Emperor of Tennis" whose strokes were like works of art? He still needs to break Sampras' record of Grand Slam victories, and I'm confident that he won't let himself become irrelevant in his sport until he has done so. I for one am not quite ready for him to slip from the #1 spot he's held for these past 4.5 years. It's like he's been #1 for so long that the association is forever cemented into our minds.
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Ok, so China got thumped by the US in basketball, but at least they've proven that they can't be taken for granted.
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Phelps is still superhuman.
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