A classless exit

I was driving down to North Carolina when the semi-final match between Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters was being played so what I am about to comment on I did not see live but rather I have read about and watched video on the incident.  From what I gather the foot fault call that the line judge called on Williams was a bad call. Again, I didn’t watch this live but from what I’ve read this seem to be the consensus. That being said, there is absolutely no excuse for the verbal bashing Williams  gave the line judge. To threaten anyone, ever, is completely unacceptable. To yell at someone, “I’m going to shove this ball down your f—— throat”, is behavior that warrants the penalty that the U.S. Open enforced. Williams lost a point, which in turn lost her the match, which in turn lost her the semi-finals. She was on her way out and as Chris Chase from Busted Raquet said:

“The explosive end is sure to obscure the fact that Serena probably would have lost the match without the foot fault. Clijsters was playing great and Serena couldn’t win a point on her second serve. The end was coming, Serena’s outburst merely hastened its arrival. Maybe that was the point.”

I will state for the record that I have never been a Serena Williams fan. I have always felt she has lacked a sportsmanship that in a sport like tennis and truly any professional sport you need to exude. I remember in Wimbledon when she lost in the finals against her sister Venus she couldn’t even be congratulatory towards her own sister. Look, I understand that this is your job, this is what you work tirelessly for and to lose after coming so far has to be such a deep disappointment, but thats what good sportsmanship is, losing gracefully.(If you need to see evidence of how to do this please rewatch the Andy Roddick-Roger Federer 2009 Wimbledon match) I believe in order to do that you need to have class and this is something time and time again Serena has proven she doesn’t have.

It is incredibly unfortunate her run in in this U.S. Open ended because of the what started as a bad call but the reason her trip to this Open ended was because of her actions after wards.  I suggest she look to her older sister Venus for how to professionally bow out of a series and how to become a true professional sportsman.

 

It’s just the beginning…

Well Folks,

What a weekend! With the 3rd round of the U.S. Open today and the beginning weekend of college football, I don’t really know where to throw my attention. Throughout today I have been watching the Oudin vs Sharapova match and the USC vs San Jose State game.

At the point I am writing this today we are at 2 hours and 45 minutes for the womens’ tennis match. Oudin the the American newcomer who’s surprising win brought her to play the 2006 U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion, Sharapova. Listening to the commentary of the game everyone is commenting on Oudin’s positive attitude, and knowing that sports comes down to the mental state of the player I have to believe she wearing Sharapova down. Although Oudin, only 17 years old has given up some crucial break points she is making Sharapova fight hard for her comeback. The 29 ranked former champion has been hoping for the U.S. Open to be her comeback stage but with 22 double fault serves (this was the number at the time of post) and a series of lost break points, one wonders if the mental state of the 17 year old Oudin is outweighing Sharapova’s experience.

On the other screen I have the USC-San Jose State game. I am a USC fan, after all that is Los Angeles’ (my hometown) NFL team. With Matt Barkley taking on the Quarterback roll after Matt Sanchez has entered the NFL, USC has taken a slightly conservative approach to his first  game. At the time of writing there is 30 seconds left in the half. Barkley has 9 yards and no touchdowns, yet USC is winning 28-3 due to 3 rushing touchdowns. If this is an indication of the Trojan season then I hope to see you in the National Championship.

UPDATE: Since writing the 1st paragraph Melanie Oudin has beaten Maria Sharapova in a surprising upset after a 2 hour and 58 minute game play. She will advance to the 4th round. After someone who’s goal was to make it to the U.S Open and to the top 50, it looks like she is well on her way to achieving much more. Congratulations Melanie!

 

Masterful Footwork

I have fond memories of my oldest brother playing tennis growing up. He is 6 years older than me and I remember watching him play his tournaments and matches at the tennis center down the street from our school. I have always had an interest in tennis because of him, strictly as a spectator. With the U.S. Open Tournament in full swing I find myself, probably like many others, closely watching Roger Federer. I find his sportsmanship and his graceful execution of plays a joy to watch.

I received an email from my brother today about an examination of Federer’s footwork. It’s a short video, but really interesting into the art of play of the World’s greatest tennis player.

I encourage you all to watch the breakdown of his moves.

New York Times

“Federer’s Footwork: Artful and Efficient”