Screaming in tennis

It's about time this issue was addressed again. This is no longer grunting. It's loud, annoying, and distracting.

Thankful to see the Serena match today on NBC. Good commentating by Mary and John. What was that "she spit up" that they referred to? Sounded like Serena puked. She sure didn't look sick. That was a top knotch match by both. Interesting.

Thanks, that was my comment about her outfit. Let's face it, Serena is heavier than she was 7 years ago, when she wore bare midriffs and catsuits. This design, color and fabric choice is more flattering on her current build.

As a fun info tidbit, one of my friends is an NFL agent, and most of his black football players watch all of Serena's matches....and it's not because they love tennis. They just think she is beyond hot. i know she is not everyone's cup of tea, but they love her. She sure doesn't seem very popular with the French fans.

Personally, I just love her aggressive play and competitive fight. She seems like a lovely woman as well.

Thanks for that tidbit, it's a great one. Serena IS hot. She's a lotta woman -- beyond any Russ Meyer or R. Crumb fantasy. Faster Serena, Kill Kill!

The rest of the WTA must be pissed at Martinez-Sanchez for that shadiness. Not just because it blemished the sport -- because it pissed Serena off.

NO ONE wants to play a pissed-off Serena.

Serena was hilarious in the press conference afterward. Her expression and then reaction when asked whether Martinez-Sanchez felt the ball was hilarious.

OK, this was a pretty big night for me as a hard core tennis fan. I am in Paris on business, unfortunately, not to watch the tennis.

Tonight we went to a casual Italian restaurant for dinner and I noticed Bud Collins, his wife, Dick Emberg and a young guy eating at the table next to us. I was excited and commented to my friends, " wow, those are famous tennis commentators next to us".

My associates replied, "oh really? and that's Andy Roddick and his wife, right there". I was so busy looking at Bud Collins that I didnt even notice the presence of adorable Andy 10 feet away. They were with Larry Stefanki, Doug Spreen, and a guy I didnt recognize. Andy is super tall and cute, shy and hot. Swoon. Bud Collin's wife is super sweet and said, "I can tell you all are fans, so please go on Bud's site! "

Oddly it continues if your interested, while walking back to the hotel, Bethanie Mattek walked right past us alone and looking sort of lost. I stopped her and asked if she was still in tournament and she quietly said, "yes, we beat the Williams sisters today". I had to give her a high five for that! (even though I love Serena and Venus, that's pretty huge). She was so nice. Don't know why she out alone on a dark street in Paris at midnight, but OK.

That's it. Don't want to come off as a name dropper but just thought I would share because I know we all love tennis so much!

That story is great.

Not only does Sveta have the physical gifts of a Williams sister, she's friends with Serena...



Q. You get along with Serena pretty well offcourt, don't you? Some other players find herintimidating. Can you just talk aboutyour relationship with her and why you don't find her to be a person to befeared.

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Well, first of all, Irespect her a lot. She achievedunbelievable effort in tennis, you know. Every player dreams to achieve what she did in tennis. I respect her for her achievements.

Outside of the courts,she has great personality. We text onBlackBerry. Definitely in thesetournaments we talk less, but we listen kind of similar music. We have similar interests. We laugh a lot, you know.

I don't know, maybe before when I was comingto the tour, you know, they were ‑ her and her sister, Venus ‑ theywere kind of intimidating.

But lately, you know, we're in kindof the same ‑‑ I mean, top 5, top 10, we don't intimidate each other, youknow, because we face each other every week.

So it's not really ‑‑ we'relike friends, but in the court, it's business, you know. It's two different things.


http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/int...3861034502.html

Are you kidding? That is realllly interesting stuff. Thank you for sharing. I loved every word.

I only caught the tail end of the Jankovic match - namely, from when she flubbed things serving for it at 5-4 in the third. I thought she might repeat her Paszek escape from last year's AO, but it didn't reach double digits this time as she was finally conquered at 9-7. So she has gone out before the quarterfinals for the second Slam running. She's not alone however - at the Slam where the three star Serbs reached the semis two years in a row, this year none of them even made it into the quarters. I guess 'Serbian slump' is alliterative, if nothing else.

Cirstea thoroughly earned the win, however - each time you'd think 'Well, this is it ... she's got nothing left' she would play some fearless stuff while red-dialing her game. It took her four match points but she never got down on herself for missing the first three. She's the one who should be in the semis, in my view. I hope Razzano will be her opponent, but only because she's on home turf and would lend a bit of extra flavour to an otherwise unremarkable quarterfinal match-up, not because I want to see her Sarah Jessica Parker mug hang around. [Edited to add: Nevermind. Stosur is already spanking her 6-1, 2-0. When was the last time an Aussie woman made the quarters of a Slam? And who would have thought it would be at Roland Garros, rather than the AO or Wimbers?] No matter what, the winner between Serena and Sveta should be in the final, an outcome I like, but who knows the way things have gone at this year's FO.

Brava Sorana! I pegged her to break through this year, but didn't expect this.

Doesn't hurt that she's flat-out gorgeous.

There's a definite sweetness to this win for her, because Romania lost a notorious Fed Cup tie to Serbia the other year, with Nastase being Nasty in the immediate aftermath.

The Romanian tennis players are some of the less orthodox and most interesting ones in the WTA, though Cirstea is probably the most conventional. I hope Cirstea and Dulgheru keep getting these kinds of results.

I'd love to see Sorana in the semis though I don't fancy her chances much if she gets there.

Against Serena, no. But if it's Kuznetsova, you just never know.

Hmm...I don't know. Safina is playing the best of any of them but she hasn't been tested. Will all these easy matches come back to bite her in the end? Sharapova's story is one that is great and is a reason I wanted to see her back on tour. She's not a pretender. All of her rounds have been 3 setters and she fights to the bitter end. Cibulkova has been playing quite nicely but is she up for the moment. Azarenka should be Safina's first real test, but Azarenka is still not nearly as comfortable on the surface as Safina. Kuznetsova and Serena? Aye aye aye. If it was any other surface than clay I'd say ok...Serena is in the second week of a slam...quarters...peaking...watch out. But Kuzzy moves better on the surface and can hit with Serena and outmaneuver her on this surface. But its Kuzzy. Will she rise to the occasion or flame out like she did in Australia and other big occasions. It will be interesting. As for the other two...who knows?

I would just note that in the last three slams Serena has won (Aussie 09, US Open 09, Aussie 07) - she's had her toughest matches in the quarters. It's almost like this is the point in a slam where we find out if her game is truly on. If it's on and she gets through her quarters test, it's onward to the final, and probably the title.

As for predicting Kuznetsova vs. Serena -- I feel like it's a toss-up precisely because of what you said. Sveta is the more natural claycourt player. But in some crazy way does that make Kuznetsova feel more pressure that she really should be able to beat Serena? And does this end up making her tighten up? On any other surface, Kuzzie could just zone out and swing freely, because she knows she's not expected to win.

If it's another quarterfinal finish for Serena, please don't let it be some Serena-inexplicably-subdued affair like the French 07 and the Aussie 08 and even last year's French. I hope at least she fights to the bitter end.

Kuzzy would be better for her.

But I like the ring of Serena vs. Sorana.

Especially as a lead-in to Serena vs. Safina.

Wow...Azarenka just handed Safina's ass to her in the first set. But, Dinara has a break in the second. I figured Azarenka could not keep that up but wow. Still not over though. I knew this would be Safina's first real test. All those easy early round matches are not always good for a player.

Does Martina Navrat ever shut the hell up? I hate her commentary on the Tennis Channel. I wish there was a way to just mute the commentators. My god she's annoying.

A genie grants me 3 wishes. Forget that money thing, that always ends badly in those stories. First wish....mute button that quiets the commentators! While some comments are good sometimes, and several commentators make good comments, generally they all need a short list of don'ts:

- Don't talk over the point, especially if you're not commenting on that point or some theme of the match.
- Don't drone on and on about what will happen 3 matches from now if this match ends the way you have imagined after the most recent 3 or 4 points.
- Don't believe the hype about the latest stamped out frozen patty from the factories in Florida.
- Don't make the hype about any one player as being greater than Laver/Borg/Becker/Court/Evert/Graf because they looked good making the QF.
- Don't wax with coconut oil about how great the player is, without describing how/what makes the player great. (And then look up great in a dictionary, realize that good is a good word, reread about hype, and tone it down to how things are, not the Barnum & Bailey world.)

While I'm at it, in some other sports:
- Don't pair up LeBron and Kobe before they've even played the conference finals as if it were a heavyweight prize fight when they play a team sport. Oh, and the other teams have a say in the outcome too.
- Don't talk over the music in figure skating.
- Don't avoid the subject of PE drugs when showing track & field.
- Don't pan the crowd for the celebs (every time I think I might be inclinded to pull for the Lakers at any point, inevitably they show Jack Nicholson. Who is impressed because actors are there watching a game?). Yeah, yeah, I know that's not actually the commentator, but in good commentator mode I went outside the topic. Hey, maybe I could get paid for this. lol

If there was a worship smilie for your post GH, I'd use it. Ever seen Thief of Baghdad?

Azarenka's backhand is no joke. She has a teeny-tiny attitude problem though. She'll be glad to be off the clay. I haven't soured on her as much as she seems to have soured on herself, but she sure as hell isn't winning me over as a fan.

Brava Dinara. The real #1 clay player of 09 on the men's and women's sides going into the French.
Win this thing.

Thank you Dinara for reminding some that its a BEST OF 3 set match, and that just because someone dominates you in a set doesn't mean they will go on to win the match!! This test will only help Dinara from here on out. She's played the best on the clay this season beating some real contenders. Of those that are left, I can only see Serena beating her. No clay isn't Serena's surface but Serena becomes a beast in grand slam finals, and Dinara still doesn't have one. But I still have a feeling the Kooz could send Serena packing. Kuznetsova and Safina have played the best clay tennis this year. Each of them won two of the biggest clay tournaments this year so I wouldn't mind a Safina/Kuzzy or Safina/Serena final. I could see Kuzzy blowing it though because she just doesn't have it between the ears. Dinara's confidence right now is amazing. Ever since taking #1 she has really owned it and I think that first ever win over Venus really added to that confidence.

Also, if it is a Serena/Safina final....Safina will be on a MISSION to make Serena eat those "We know who the REAL #1 is". Safina would have a chance to really humble Serena (if thats possible). I love my girl but sometimes she needs to just play and let the results show who the best is.

Not just a bridge too far for Sharapova -- more like a detour to a spanking machine.

Gotta love Maria's fight though! She had me laughing my ass off as she blasted winners throughout those last three games. Cibulkova was about to pee herself with panic.

If Sharapova had come back from 6-0 5-0 match point down to win, it would've been karma. Cibulkova defaulted as Ai Sugiyama had match point against her in a three-set match last year. There is NO excuse on earth that justifies that.

Cibulkova is a spark plug and has a solid game. (More solid than Kuznetsova's, though she doesnt have Sveta's weapons.) But Safina just needs to enforce herself out there in the semis. The angle and especially height of her shots could make Cibulkova look shorter than she is.

I can't even remember the last time I was interested in any "American" players. Probably Navratilova was the last, and she has to have an asterisk by the name for nationality. I really don't care what country a player came from. All those Russian/Eastern block women have me completely not looking at their nationalities. And who would say that Sharapova is a Russian anymore?
I have to think twice to remember that Roger is Swiss.

Cibulkova was Maria's first test and as expected, Cibulkova came through. Maria has nothing to hang her head about though. Quarterfinals at a grand slam in just her second tournament back from being off for almost a year. She's a fighter and its something none of Maria's previous opponents showed. They couldn't close it out against Maria. Safina should be able to handle Cibulkova with ease though. Dinara through to the final.

OMG....who is doing the scheduling? Cirstea and Stosur get Chatrier tomorrow and Serena and Kuznetsova are sent to Lenglen?? You can't tell me Cirstea and Stosur are a bigger draw!!

Yeah I thought the same thing at first. But as they try to do at all the other Slams, they try to give all the players at this round a shot at the big stadium before the semifinals.

Dinara wasn't particularly spectacular today, but I liked how she stuck to her gameplan and didn't get flustered by Azarenka's outrageous start. She basically kept trying to move the ball around, hit with some topspin for safety and most of her winners seemed to me to be shots to the open court with a decent margin for error. It's the sort of play that tends to win on clay.

Definitely not. Can't find any logical reason, based on ranking of the players, country, recent success, anything....so it must be some sort of scheduling fenageling, based on who is before them. (sp).
Kutzy v. Serena could be very interesting. On the other hand, I am thrilled to see Stosur in a semi. I am pretty sure she has never gotten this far in singles. And against Cirstea ... a newcomer, she has a good chance. The muscles on that woman are Nadal-like. Um.

I wonder what is worse torture...waterboarding or listenng to Martina do commentary? Seriously I am ready to confess to kidnapping the Lindberg baby and that I am the Zodiac Killer. She was talking earlier in the match this mornin about....TALKING! they were promoting her Sinature Series special on Tennis Channel and she said it was hard work and she never talked so much. I beg to differ.

Good first set from both players but Serena started slow down 0-3. But Kuz able to pull out the set in a tiebreak.

So after this slugfest Serena and Kuznetsova are having right now the winner is going to have to go back out tomorrow for their semi? How did the scheduling end up with one pair of women's quarters yesterday to play their semi tomorrow and another pair of quarters today with their semi tomorrow?

***Spoiler Alert***

Kutzy got ahold of her nerves and converted on the 3rd match point.

Against Stosur in the semis. I might be standing in TV store watching that one.

Wow....hat tip to both girls. Only Serena Williams could come in with a 4 match losing streak, not having done shyt on clay and taking the second best clay courter of this year to 3 tough sets. Bravo to Svetlana who arguably could've won it in straight sets. When it got to a third I believed Serena would roll. She got up a break but blew one of her service games after being up 40-love. That was crazy. That allowed Sveta to tie it up and I don't think Serena has played a game of this length for awhile. So with no tiebreaks in the third I was like hmm. But this was a match that I expected Sveta to once again blow in the third, especially when Serena fought off those first two match points. Amazing. Match of the tourney and congrats to Sveta for coming through. This win could do WONDERS for her mentally. I hope she has enough in the tank for Stosur. Now I'm rooting for a Dinara/Sveta final. Fitting I guess since they are the best 2 on clay this season.

I love ya Serena and I so wanted you to win this French to have won all the slams at least twice, but you are too vulnerable on clay. I am still pissed they didn't put this on Chatrier. This one is gonna hurt for her. So close. Can't believe she let a 3-2 40-love lead slip in the third. That was the changing point. So unSerena like. Coincidentally that was the same time the commentators talked about how well she was serving. Then she couldn't buy a first serve the rest of that game. (i.e. commentators jinx). But no jinx in this one. Serena ended quite poorly and I think would've pulled it out had she gotten to 4-2. She also had a break point opportunity at 3-3 and had a set point in the first. So....she had her chances to win in straights and to pull it out in the third. Kuznetsova kept it together didn't choke as usual. I want her to now win the tournament.

It may be Wednesday on the calendar but it was Freaky Friday on the court with Sveta and Serena. Serena did well to fight off match points but for the most part Sveta had more in-it-to-win-it vibes. Serena played very strong but her mood out there wasn't so fiery.

Sveta played some of her best tennis in a long time, especially in the first half of the match. Looser and more improvisational. I like her coach's calm and smart courtside presence.

That semi will be interesting because the quarter was so grueling and Stosur -- who has always had a solid game -- steamrolled Cirstea, who isn't ready for prime time yet.

Congrats to Kooz - and congrats to Serena for continuing her reign as the least gracious, hardest hitting champion ever. Claiming she handed it to Kooz, that Svetlana had nothing to do with the win - well, Serena speaks for herself oh so well. I hope Kooz wins the whole thing...and hopefully she and Dinara will bring their best, get to the final and give us one to remember...

Here's the actual quote:

"I think I lost because of me and not because of anything she did," said a demoralised Williams.
"In the third (set) I had an opportunity but I was a bit tight. I basically handed it to her. It was like: 'Here, do you want it? 'Cos I don't.' And she was like: 'OK.'"

Usually I roll my eyes at these Serena comments, but this time its more true than her "lucky shots" crap comments of the past. Up 40-love 3-2 to go up 4-2 and then had another break point at 3-3 to get the break back. Yes, one has to give Svetlana credit for not choking as usual. This one I think I will give Serena the choke award. She admitted she got tight and its a credit to Sveta that she took advantage of it...FOR ONCE!! Very unSerena like in that moment of a tight 3 set match. But credit to the Kooz again. Hopefully she recovers tonight and the two best clay courters of the season finally give us a good final.

I didnt get to see the match. Sucks there had to be a loser if it was that close. Kuz was def the favorite coming in but I reallllly wanted to Serena to take down all the haters. But Kuz is a great girl. Like Oracene, said, "She gave it all she had" . Sure looks like it from the scoreline.
"
Geez I cant believe Serena blew a 40 love lead at 3-2 in the third? Shit. That sucks for her.

Funny how she fails to mention that Kuznetsova "handed it to her" when she was up a set and a break in the second. I bet Serena thinks that was only because of what she did too and had nothing to do with Kuz getting tight. Or her rolling over on her ankle and possibly being shaken up. She is just incapabale of being gracious. And, at least from what the commentators were saying, they are friends.

They both kept handing it over. Serena did have a set point in that first set. Then Kuzzy won in the tiebreaker and couldn't close it out in straights. Match of the year to me because it being a slam and the back and forth was so intense. Great stuff from both girls. Clay thankfully is about to be over and then onto the lawns and hard courts.

Ultimately, clay has been and will always be Serena's nemesis. She hasn't won a major red clay title in YEARS!! In track terms, Serena and Venus are sprinters. There's a reason that in many matches, rallies that go longer often favor the opponent of either of them. I think there was some stat earlier in the tournament in which they said rallies under 8 shots Serena won most of them and rallies over 8 shots she lost most of them. Serena and Venus like to whack the serve or whack the return and want the point to be over after a few shots. They are sprinters, not long distance runners. On the clay, thats just not happening. Serena couldn't rely on that powerful serve to get her out of all of her jams today. The clay has been the achilles heel of some of the greatest champions of the sport. At least Serena can say she has won it at least one time and be grateful for that. She can just really be exposed on the clay, and so I said before that if it were any other surface than clay I'd pick her over Kuznetsova.

Interestingly enough, Kuzzie agrees with your assessment that the result mgiht have been different on a hard court:

Q. This match in Australia was an experience that you used today?

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Well, basically I repeat the same mistake. I think I only start to play in the third set better, and still kept fighting. On clay, can I do it and manage to win this match.

If today would be a hard court, it would be much more difficult. So I still have this mistake to close it in two sets. But now even I close it in third set I have more confidence to play next time, and hopefully to close in two and to play better.

So if serena had beaten dinara in the final, safina would still be the #1 player. Damn. 3 majors and a final over 12 months should make you #1 even if u never play another tournament.

The WTA needs to fix it's system. That is all!

Oh, congrats to Stosur for a great tournament! Cibulkova too.

So sad that Serena couldn't win.

I was sad too. For a day. Now I'm happy for Sveta. If she has turned the corner on her mentally suspect ways this should be a great final. Okay, I'm jumping the gun in assuming that she will beat Sam. The aussie is having an awesome tournament, but here's hoping for a Russian-Russian final without the head case issues.

Routine win for Dinara. Second straight French Open final. Best clay courter this season. Congrats to her. She's played some great tennis.

Sveta is on her way to the final too and it will be appropriate that the two best clay courters of the season face off in their 3rd and most significant final of the clay season. They are 1-1 this season on clay.

Are you kidding? She totally could have. It was very close. Kudos for fighting hard in a long, tough match.



Huh? You aren't Snicks. I am listening live, and it's 2 tight sets, one each so far.

Ugh...just when I thought it was safe to think that Sveta's big win over Serena would help her mentally. She so had that second set and got super tight!!

Well, it sounded like Stosur put up a good fight also. So.....Sveta v. Safina. I am picking Safina, but I hope it's a good match again. Like to see Svetlana win another major.

The final doesn't include the "real" #1. But does include the 2 best clay court players this year. The winner will be fairly crowned. I would like to see Safina win it, since she has continued to improve her game and her results. Sveta....oy.....a good result already, but she seems like such a weak champion. Winning would give lie to that impression, but I will be very surprised if she can produce under the pressure. Here's hoping she plays well, regardless of the outcome.

I don't know if anyone else watched it -- since I'm having a cold from hell and am on Pacific time, I caught the latter half of Sveta-Stosur.

First, it was a high quality second half, with winners overs UEs for all but a few stretches.

Sveta didn't really choke so much as not slam the door when she had a chance. Maybe that's the same thing in some people's books, but the basic fact is that Stosur came up with some terrific clutch play in the latter half of the second set.

It's good to see Stosur this late in a major. Her game and form is so much more solid than much of the WTA, partly since she came from doubles. Her serve can be impressive. And she's a true jock. I've always liked watching her play.

The cheering camps today were 'family' from what I could gather. Stosur had a trio or quartet of women yelling for her and Sveta's cool coach and a young guy sitting to her left gave off vibes.

Knock on clay, I think we're going to get a quality final. And the players in it are the ones that most deserve to be there.

They are both of the "it's not a big deal anymore to be out" generation. Stosur is pretty candid about it, while Sveta stays private. But they are both gay.




real.

I'd love to see her live up to it. She thinks she should be there. Let's see it happen woman.

Exactly how well are Dinara and Kuzzie playing claycourt tennis at this moment?

If Justine is tuning into the final, does she say "I'm glad I retired." Or does she think, "Maybe I should have wildcarded into the draw. Those two could tag team me Mortal Kombat style and I'd still beat them in 4 straight sets."

My guess:

I don't think Justine has the physical wherewithal to straight set Safina on clay in 2009. I could see her winning a match against Dinara, and losing one, but I'd lean towards her losing.

Sveta is another matter. She is playing better now, but she still has lapses. Henin was like Federer in terms of changing the momentum and scoreline shockingly quick.

Justine would've kicked all their asses. Not a fan but her game was beautiful and she was a BEAST on clay.

Beast-itude doesn't always get the clay win, that much is very clear this year. And Dinara's defeat of Justine on clay last year probably figured in her retirement. Plus Dinara is better this year than last.

Justine retired because she lost passion for the game. It was evident in her play. No way that Justine fell off that fast just because, and the Justine who won all those Roland Garros titles would beat Dinara and Kuznetsova on the surface with all that variety, particularly since both continue to have jitters in big moments. And who was a beast on clay this year and it didn't show? Dinara and Svetlana were and both of them split the two biggest red clay titles and are both in the final.