[wonderbang]

dOotsiez, you've probably read this already but if you haven't, check it out!


http://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld...8/07/venus.html


this is gotta be one of my favorite posts by far from peter bodo.

[dOotsiez]

Actually I haven't, I've been avoiding Bodo's blog after Wimbledon. As he would say, I'm currently suffering from the 'Wimbledon hangover'. This year especially, with the watertight schedule we've had, and months of intense tennis.

Totally agree with what he said though, unfortunately the women's final was overshadowed by the men's (and I think every single tournament for the next few years probably will too), but I loved it nevertheless. The William sisters play at a level of consistency and variety that no other player on the WTA tour can match (with the exception of the retired Henin). Venus just 'gets' grass, and that showed in the final. A beautiful thing to watch. I would follow the WTA more if we had more players like Venus and Serena. Unfortunately, the rest of the tour looks like they've been mass produced by tennis academies: moderate talent + the death of variety.

[StealthGnome]

Why did Henin retire again?

[dOotsiez]

Because her gut told her to. But surely, there's still a small voice in her head going 'Wimbledon, Wimbledon, Wimbledon, Wimbledon...'

[wonderbang]

I did read that when Henin was asked recently if she would never make a comeback, she said something along the lines of "I hate to say NEVER." I have a feeling that both her and Clijsters will attempt another comeback sometime soon. They're both young (and talented) enough to do so!

[dOotsiez]

Well imagine if you were Henin, French Open is just around the corner, you're probably thinking 'now how many times have I won that again? I have nothing more to achieve in this game'. You have a couple of bad losses, it's June and you only have one title, and the thought of retirement pops up in your head and wouldn't go away, so you listen to your guts and call it quits.

And one month later, Wimbledon. You see Sharapova crash out. You see Ivanovic crash out. And then Jankovic is out. And it's the William sisters in the finals, same old same old. And you think 'oh yeah, that's right! I don't have a Wimbledon. Oh that's right, didn't I win every single match I played in from Wimbledon onwards last year? Hmmmmm.....' Never a fan of hers, but I do miss her presence in the game.

[wonderbang]

Uncanny how similar we think dOotsiez lol. Yeah, I was never a fan of Henin either but that didn't stop me from respecting her legacy in the game one bit. Any tennis aficionado, fan or otherwise, would miss Henin's presence. Like I said, I think she'll be back eventually......in my mind, it's a question of when not if. Of course...this is pure speculation at its greatest.

[Volts]

i might be wrong but didn't she said she wanted to have a family of her own ? i miss her backhand, probably one of the nicest i've ever seen

[wonderbang]

i might be wrong but didn't she said she wanted to have a family of her own ? i miss her backhand, probably one of the nicest i've ever seen

she did say that along with other things like living life away from tennis and so on. honestly, it boils down to her being severely burned out and injuries exacerbated the situation.

[dOotsiez]

I think her words were something like 'I want to start living my life as a woman'. Funnily enough, these days, living life as a woman = starting a family, as opposed to being a competitive, aggressive, fierce female tennis pro.

A little annoyed that Ivanovic retained her no 1, I think we're going to see a lot of leapfrogging in the rankings over the next few months. I'm a little hopeful that that won't happen for ATP, but my hopes are fading. Somehow I don't see TMF finishing another year as the no 1

[wonderbang]

i never follow the rankings as closely as i follow results.....for the most part, rankings can be inflated....tournament wins are legitimate.

edit: uuu i topped another page...what luck (or cursing) haha

this is for dOotsiez who must miss the master....a recent picture of Federer with his coach Higueras practicing at the rogers cup

[Pogichinoy]

Are you talking about on or off the court?

It makes a big difference haha

Off the court.

The Williams sisters look more scary off the court.

[dOotsiez]

^ Serena maybe, but Venus's been looking quite good recently. Buying my morning paper today and saw an FHM poster, had to blink twice when I saw the name on it - Anna Ivanovic? So wrong.

Here's something I haven't seen before, Federer & Mirka vs Hewitt & Molik at the Hopmans Cup in 2001. Hewitt was no 1, and Federer no 13, and Peter Carter still alive. Adorable interview at the end though.

'And the guy you're with, is he very nice?'
Mirka: 'yes, he's very nice....'giggles

can i say ... awwwwwww?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGvh_nnDERM

[Volts]

little survey for you guys ! i thought this might be fun

Favorite forehand ? Roger Federer
Favorite backhand ? Richard Gasquet
Favorite serve ? Pete Sampras
Favorite net-play ? Pat Rafter


feel free to add anything else !

[dOotsiez]

Tempted to say Federer for all of them, lol, jk

Fave Forehand: Federer, honorable mentions for Nadal (for the spin), Gulbis (precision) and Verdasco (fluidity). Female - Ivanovic, Graf
Fave Backhand: surely the great Justine Henin? Also Gasquet, or Youzhny, Wawrinka, .... Federer? I like my single handed backhands, and there aren't that many of them around.
Fave Serve: Roddick or Karlovic....*bites lip from saying a certain swiss*
Fave net-play: agree with you there, going to go with Rafter. Funny you didn't mention any WTA players, but I'm going to say Navratilova, been going through 90s WTA matches in last few weeks.

More specifically
Footwork? Federer and Gasquet, hands down.
Slice? Federer, Steffi Graf
Drop shots? weird one, but Gulbis?
Lobs? Martina Hingis
Volleys? Rafter, Hingis, Sampras, Federer, what can I say, the man's got every shot in the book.

[Volts]

ahah yeah unfortunately i haven't really followed the womens side for quite a while now. I can't believe i didn't mention Henin backhand ! I tried to emulate her style but it didn't work out...

Favorite serve-returner ? Probably Agassi for me
Favorite hustle(?) Michael Chang ! i still remember seeing him on tv when i was a kid and thought to myself how can he run the ball so fast ?

[mistapooh]

Favorite forehand ? Roger Federer, but I win more hitting strictly topspin like Nadal....
Favorite backhand ? Gustavo Kuerten: That shoulder rotation is something I keep in mind every time I play.
Favorite serve ? Federer: just because of the motion
Favorite net-play ? Sampras: volleying with that 85 is incredible!

Well, off to hit doubles ^ ^.

[kisstherainn;]

Tennis is the best. haha (:
i have to friends that are Pro-Tennis playyers.

[wonderbang]

little survey for you guys ! i thought this might be fun

Favorite forehand ? Roger Federer
Favorite backhand ? Richard Gasquet
Favorite serve ? Pete Sampras
Favorite net-play ? Pat Rafter


feel free to add anything else !

Uuuu...I like this!

Since it's mostly been ATP players, I'll do WTA (and I'll limit it to only currently active players).

Forehand? Ivanovic.
Backhand? Sharapova.
Serve? S. Williams.
Net Play? V. Williams.

And as you can see I chose mainly the top, more noticeable players...a lot of the players outside of the top 10 have some awesome weapons too that can rival the best (Szavay, Azarenka, and Vaidisova to name a few...)

[Pogichinoy]

Favorite forehand ? Sampras
Favorite backhand ? Sampras
Favorite serve ? Sampras
Favorite net-play ? Rafter