I love tennis fights: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis...bal-stoush-with-verdasco-20180327-p4z6fs.html Kokkinakis is a frequent participant in such spats. Not as much as, say, Ryan Harrison, mind you, but he's def feisty. Not surprisingly, Kokkinakis and Harrison had a heated exchange when the played last summer. I sort of can't stand Harrison, btw.
Biggest win of Isner's career. I don't like him as a player, but he seems like a good guy. http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2018...-second-windtwice-win-miami-open-title/73053/
Anybody in the Nashville area going to see Davis Cup? https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2018/04/04/davis-cup-nashville-returns/467136002/
Former UT Vol Tennys Sandgren reached the finals of the US Clay Court Championship, which is held in this ridic posh country club in Houston. He's now up to 47 in the world. Keep in mind he played #3 at UT and we didn't win the national championship. We really should have. The top three on that team have either cracked the top 100 in singles , or come really close. And JP Smith has gotten up to #52 in the world in doubles. Rhyne Williams was the most talented of the three, and was outpacing the other two in singles results the first few years after turning pro, but he's had a number of back issues and is pretty much a shell of the player he could have otherwise been. Sandgren hopped on a plane right after the Houston final en route to Monte Carlo for the Masters 1000 tournament there. Ballsy move to do that. I'm not bullish on his chances of even getting out of the first round, but cool that he went ahead and made the trip. As a guy who is starting to have success later than most tennis players tend to, I think he really appreciates the opportunity he has with his current ranking. He can get into those Masters 1000 draws without having to qualify, and I think he wants to take advantage of his situation while it lasts. He's a very thoughtful guy. http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2018...ouston-title-against-inspired-sandgren/73340/ Tennys has his hat on backwards:
I don't know if there is a historical analog in any sport to how good Rafael Nadal is on clay. He just beat Dominic Thiem, the second best clay player in the world, 6-0, 6-2 His career record in five set matches on clay is: 104-2 http://www.tennisabstract.com/cgi-bin/player.cgi?p=RafaelNadal&f=ACareerqqB1P2 Just dirty.* *Pun not initially intended.
I was fairly stellar at 4-square myself. Best in my class throughout elementary school, and don't recall playing it after that.
KidB desireth smashy smash of the prurient variety. https://bustedcoverage.com/2018/05/...-hitting-batting-cage-video-photos-instagram/
He's now at 46 consecutive sets on clay. https://deadspin.com/rafa-is-somehow-still-setting-new-records-on-clay-1825577955 Nadal actually owns five of the seven longest clay-court set streaks in the Open Era: - 46 sets in a row: Rafael Nadal (2017-2018) (and counting) - 35 sets in a row: Guillermo Coria (2003-2004) - 34 sets in a row: Ilie Nastase (1973) - 32 sets in a row: Rafael Nadal (2010-2011) - 31 sets in a row: Rafael Nadal (2007-2008) - 30 sets in a row: Rafael Nadal (2012) - 30 sets in a row: Rafael Nadal (2006-2007)
We’ve got the green clay courts over here, but they aren’t as common as the regular hard surface. Red clay is mainly in Europe and it’s supposedly different to play on than the green, but I can’t say I’ve ever tried it.
Saw this poem and pic posted on FB: The world owes you an apology Not just the umpire Not just the French Open Not just racists who ask if you feel intimidated by Sharapova’s basic looks Or being drug tested more than The basic looking actual drug user The nurses and doctors who ignored Your knowledge Of your own body Almost causing your death Every time they questioned your Femininity Ability Strength Integrity Victory They did so because of your skin Asian parents who mold their children are Tiger mothers White parents who risk everything Turn sex tapes into millions Are momagers But your father who made legends out of Compton Concrete Shaping you and your sister Like Michelangelo chiseled David He is loud Obnoxious Insane The world owes you an apology But we know it will never come Because first they would have to acknowledge The hatred The racism It isn’t your black panther suit Your beauty Your millions You venting to a umpire A broken racket Or a demand of proper medical care It’s your blackness that offends Your power when you should be powerless Your confidence When you should always grovel Always remind yourself That you should thank them for allowing you To be on the courts at all As if a Queen tells the jester thank you for her Throne You are the living breathing embodiment of #blackgirlmagic The dream of our ancestors The power of our foremothers The strength that the Middle passage Slavery Jim Crow and America Could not break You are more than the GOAT You are goddess Fearless More than tennis You are a living black legend And they hate you for it Thoughts? Personally, while I thought the call was petty, I thought her response to it was a bit over the top. And it seems like you can’t really say anything negative about Serena anymore without being called a racist or a sexist.
She's obviously not the first athlete to be frustrated, and won't be the last either. I read that the fans were booing about the other lady winning and she stood up and said not to boo her, she just won her first major tennis championship, and there's something to be said about that. Classy person, and competitor. She is another role model for kids, I can't think of any major scandals she's been involved in.
She kind of comes across as a [itch bay] in the long video of the encounter with the umpire. She said a few things along the lines of (not exact quotes): “You owe me an apology.” multiple times “You will never umpire on a court where I am playing ever again.” And then turned it into a “you’re only doing this because I’m a woman. If I was a man, this wouldn’t be happening.” It went from a holier than thou act to a victim act. And as for her “standing up” for Naomi Osaka when the crowd was booing, that’s a crock of shit too. She had already de-legitimized Osaka’s accomplishment by throwing her little hissy fit in the middle of getting outplayed. The match wasn’t over, but Osaka looked primed to take the victory regardless of the penalty, and Serena’s outburst COMPLETELY stole her moment. It was this woman’s first grand slam title, and it will forever be remember for Serena acting like a petulant child throwing a damn temper tantrum in the middle of the match. That’s not fair to Osaka, and I feel terrible for her.
If it’s true that there is a double standard, and the rule and/or rules are not properly enforced between the male and female players, then that is a problem and she has a right to be upset. It doesn’t matter who she is playing or who ever else is playing. Should she take it as far as she did? Considering her point, again, if true, yes.
Stephen A pointed out multiple instances of this same umpire making very similar calls against male players in the past. Apparently the guy has a history of being a bit tedious, but not in any way “sexist.” Which I think makes everything Serena did even worse.