U.S. Open semifinals set
Maria Sharapova, losing her serve repeatedly and then regaining her mental edge, knocked out Tatiana Golovin, 7-6, 7-6 to enter the semifinals of the Open. Sharapova gained her edge so decisively at the end that she won the second tiebreak 7-0.
In a heartbreaking (for me) match, Justine Henin-Hardenne once again defeated Lindsay Davenport. The scoreline was a respectable--6-4, 6-4, with one break in the first set and three in the second. Davenport, try as she might, can no longer beat Henin-Hardenne. One more Grand Slam lost for Davenport, who is nearing the end of her career.
World number one Amelie Mauresmo cruised through her match against Dinara Safina, and yesterday, Jelena Jankovic--now known in the locker room as the JJ Express--ran over Elena Dementieva, 6-2, 6-1.
On Friday, Henin-Hardenne will play Jankovic and Sharapova will play her nemesis, Mauresmo. I expect Henin-Hardenne to defeat Jankovic, and I also expect Jankovic to finally get a case of nerves, which--so far--she has not shown. Of course, anything can happen. I also expect Mauresmo to beat Sharapova again, despite what must be Sharapova's hunger to finally win a match against her and to get into another Grand Slam final. Mauresmo, with her incredible variety--from the lowest slices to the highest lobs--knows how to pull Sharapova around the court, and for all her talent, Sharapova still isn't the best mover. But I think it will be close.
If things turn out as I believe they will, Henin-Hardenne and Mauresmo will face each other in a third Grand Slam final this year. The first was the infamous Australian Open final, still being talked about, in which Henin-Hardenne retired, robbing Mauresmo of the thrill of having her first Grand Slam championship point. The second was Wimbledon, where Mauresmo "proved herself" and beat Henin-Hardenne in three sets.
Everyone, it seems, loves a rivalry--except me. I loved the Evert/Navratilova rivalry because they were close friends and it was special. And I enjoyed the Graf/Seles rivalry, but only up to a point (I enjoyed the Graf/Sabatini rivalry more). But I am tired of the Clijsters/Henin-Hardenne rivalry, and I never liked the Williams/Williams Grand Slam matches. As much as I love seeing Mauresmo beat Henin-Hardenne (and I do love it), I really don't want to see them in another Grand Slam final. I like fresh blood and would like to see Jankovic advance to the final. Of course, there is a possibility that Henin-Hardenne will face Sharapova in the final, and that would be interesting to see, too, though very disappointing to me. If Davenport can't win, I want Mauresmo to.
On the bright side, it would have been maddening to see Davenport and Mauresmo, two of my three top favorites, face each other in a Grand Slam final. At least I have been spared that.
In a heartbreaking (for me) match, Justine Henin-Hardenne once again defeated Lindsay Davenport. The scoreline was a respectable--6-4, 6-4, with one break in the first set and three in the second. Davenport, try as she might, can no longer beat Henin-Hardenne. One more Grand Slam lost for Davenport, who is nearing the end of her career.
World number one Amelie Mauresmo cruised through her match against Dinara Safina, and yesterday, Jelena Jankovic--now known in the locker room as the JJ Express--ran over Elena Dementieva, 6-2, 6-1.
On Friday, Henin-Hardenne will play Jankovic and Sharapova will play her nemesis, Mauresmo. I expect Henin-Hardenne to defeat Jankovic, and I also expect Jankovic to finally get a case of nerves, which--so far--she has not shown. Of course, anything can happen. I also expect Mauresmo to beat Sharapova again, despite what must be Sharapova's hunger to finally win a match against her and to get into another Grand Slam final. Mauresmo, with her incredible variety--from the lowest slices to the highest lobs--knows how to pull Sharapova around the court, and for all her talent, Sharapova still isn't the best mover. But I think it will be close.
If things turn out as I believe they will, Henin-Hardenne and Mauresmo will face each other in a third Grand Slam final this year. The first was the infamous Australian Open final, still being talked about, in which Henin-Hardenne retired, robbing Mauresmo of the thrill of having her first Grand Slam championship point. The second was Wimbledon, where Mauresmo "proved herself" and beat Henin-Hardenne in three sets.
Everyone, it seems, loves a rivalry--except me. I loved the Evert/Navratilova rivalry because they were close friends and it was special. And I enjoyed the Graf/Seles rivalry, but only up to a point (I enjoyed the Graf/Sabatini rivalry more). But I am tired of the Clijsters/Henin-Hardenne rivalry, and I never liked the Williams/Williams Grand Slam matches. As much as I love seeing Mauresmo beat Henin-Hardenne (and I do love it), I really don't want to see them in another Grand Slam final. I like fresh blood and would like to see Jankovic advance to the final. Of course, there is a possibility that Henin-Hardenne will face Sharapova in the final, and that would be interesting to see, too, though very disappointing to me. If Davenport can't win, I want Mauresmo to.
On the bright side, it would have been maddening to see Davenport and Mauresmo, two of my three top favorites, face each other in a Grand Slam final. At least I have been spared that.
posted by Diane at 10:26 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Davenport's ouster from the Open gave me pause. Being of an age that I, too, must soon consider my own departure from my chosen field, I ask myself "Am I staying too long?" and "Do I still have what it takes to compete?"
I'm certainly no world-class athlete, but a competitor's heart is hard to still. The allure of the applause, the acclaim and the money has to be so hard to walk away from. But champions also tend to be very proud, and faiure grates hard upon their psyches, so they hang around thinking 'Look, you just had a bad day, you'll be okay'. Self-delusion becomes the order of the day.
Then, all too often, we witness performances only slightly below expectations that slowly erode into total collapse, leaving us, as adoring fans, to agonize at the realization that the end is near, until finally he or she gives it up. Witness Andre Agassi...
I think that's why I admire John Elway and Pete Sampras so much. They probably could have stuck around for a while longer, but walked away before embarrassing themselves.
Are you listening, Brett Favre?
By
Bubba, at
7:15 AM
I think what has made Lindsay stick around, Bob, is that in the last couple of years, she has played much better than when she was younger and won the Slams. It is very unfortunate that when her game improved, she didn't win any more of them.
The long-ago Slam final with Venus notwithstanding, her "almosts" have been heartbreaking. She had that incredible hardcourt run in 2004, winning every tournament except the one she didn't enter, then got to the semis of the U.S. Open and injured her foot, thus assuring Kuznetsova of an easy win. (Prior to that, she had had that meltdown at the Wimbledon semis during the rain break when she was leading Sharapova.)
At the 2005 Australian Open, she played doubles with her best friend, Corina Morariu, who had just recovered from cancer. They made it to the finals, and the combination of getting to both finals and the incredible heat stopped her in her tracks--literally--during her final with Serena. There was no way she was going to bail out on Corina, though.
Next, of course, was the epic Wimbledon battle with Sharapova, when Lindsay actually held a match point.
I think if Lindsay's game had gone down, she would have already retired, but it has gone up, making it very hard for her to walk away. Of course, she had the back injury that kept her out for a few months, then she fainted and sustained a concussion, then she hurt her arm, causing her to retire in the Pilot Pen final.
I can't blame her for chasing that last Slam. She three Slams and an Olympic gold medal, but if she retires without having won a fourth when her game has improved so much and she has come so close, it will be really sad.
By
Diane, at
1:27 PM
Okay, but trust me when I tell you that Brett's admirers/agents/promoters are telling him the same thing. Have you heard of the saying "S/he's lost a step"? Yes, you have considerable skills; yes, you still compete at a high level; yes, the chances of you winning still exist-- but you don't because the field gets stronger and deeper every year while you continue to lose that 1-2% of your admittedly copious skills. Agassi could still bring the strong game in spurts, and he's probably still skilled enough to beat players outside the top 10, but 95% of Andre Agassi will win him only a few tournaments, and then probably not any Grand Slam events.
Please don't think I'm judging Ms. Davenport in any way. I'm merely saying that the decision to retire can't be too far off, no matter how well she plays the remainder of this season and next. The fact that she can endure the physical pain that that level of competition can induce is testament to her courage and dedication. If she wins another Grand Slam, wonderful... but if she walks away right now, I think her legacy is safe.
At some point, it becomes difficult to explain away losses where victories would have occurred in the past. I think it will probably take that to happen before she'll finally hang up her racket.
By
Bubba, at
3:31 PM
My guess, Bob, is that she is going to play the Australian Open (where, if uninjured, her chances are still very, very good), then retire at Indian Wells, "her" tournament. That will rob thousands of fans of seeing her retire at the U.S. Open, but Lindsay has never liked much attention, as opposed to Agassi, who says he doesn't like it, but turned his retirement announcement into a year-long event.
By
Diane, at
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