It looks like the start of 2008 is not good for most of my favorite names in sports.
Justin Henin, to me the best in women’s tennis circuit these days and seeded 1st at the Australian Open, got stumped by 5th seed Maria Sharapova on their quarterfinals match. I was hoping she’d win the first grand slam of the year but there she was, defeated quite early on.
I knew her draw was tough – she will face Serena Williams next if she got past Maria. And when Serena was beaten by Jelena Jankovic, a Henin-Jankovic match would have been a different story coz Justin had the better stats between the two.
But hey, to most oglers in tennis, the championship match was the best – Sharapova vs Ivanovic – two of the youngest (both in their 20’s) and sexiest players in the women’s tour. Sharapova has long replaced Ana Kournikova’s posters in men’s locker rooms while Serbian Ana Ivanovic was touted by journalists as the Catherine-Zeta Jones of tennis.
But still, it’s about tennis, not a beauty pageant. And I would have enjoyed it more if Henin is playing. Her forehand and backhand volleys are a lot sexier than Ana’s short skirt and Maria’s annoying grunting.
The biggest disappointment was from the Men’s division where my top two faves got trounced. My number one, the divine Roger Federer who was also the top seed, was outplayed by 3rd seed Novak Djokovic on their semi-final round. It would have been a glorious win for Roger if he captured this year’s Aussie trophy because this will put him at one win closer to tying the grandslam record of Pete Sampras who has 14 trophies to his name.
My second best after Roger, Rafael Nadal (2nd seed) was humbled by an unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also on the semis. That’s a double blow to my pride! And oh yes, it hurts!
To top it all, my favorite in men’s figure skating, France’s Brian Joubert, faltered in his free skate program and finished 3rd in the final standing of the European Championships in Zagreb. Tomas Verner (Czech Rep) got the gold and Switzerland’s Stephan Lambiel got the second place.
I hope he does better at the World Championships. I’d love to see him again kill unconventional routines like his Matrix and James Bond programs – more powerful and more masculine than that of the just-recently retired Plushenko’s ballerina-like skating.
I hope my favorite track stars fare better when the athletics season start. I’d have to watch closely how Russian Yelena Isinbayeva and Jamaican Asafa Powell will do on the track later. Hope they’re luckier.
Justin Henin, to me the best in women’s tennis circuit these days and seeded 1st at the Australian Open, got stumped by 5th seed Maria Sharapova on their quarterfinals match. I was hoping she’d win the first grand slam of the year but there she was, defeated quite early on.
I knew her draw was tough – she will face Serena Williams next if she got past Maria. And when Serena was beaten by Jelena Jankovic, a Henin-Jankovic match would have been a different story coz Justin had the better stats between the two.
But hey, to most oglers in tennis, the championship match was the best – Sharapova vs Ivanovic – two of the youngest (both in their 20’s) and sexiest players in the women’s tour. Sharapova has long replaced Ana Kournikova’s posters in men’s locker rooms while Serbian Ana Ivanovic was touted by journalists as the Catherine-Zeta Jones of tennis.
But still, it’s about tennis, not a beauty pageant. And I would have enjoyed it more if Henin is playing. Her forehand and backhand volleys are a lot sexier than Ana’s short skirt and Maria’s annoying grunting.
The biggest disappointment was from the Men’s division where my top two faves got trounced. My number one, the divine Roger Federer who was also the top seed, was outplayed by 3rd seed Novak Djokovic on their semi-final round. It would have been a glorious win for Roger if he captured this year’s Aussie trophy because this will put him at one win closer to tying the grandslam record of Pete Sampras who has 14 trophies to his name.
My second best after Roger, Rafael Nadal (2nd seed) was humbled by an unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also on the semis. That’s a double blow to my pride! And oh yes, it hurts!
To top it all, my favorite in men’s figure skating, France’s Brian Joubert, faltered in his free skate program and finished 3rd in the final standing of the European Championships in Zagreb. Tomas Verner (Czech Rep) got the gold and Switzerland’s Stephan Lambiel got the second place.
I hope he does better at the World Championships. I’d love to see him again kill unconventional routines like his Matrix and James Bond programs – more powerful and more masculine than that of the just-recently retired Plushenko’s ballerina-like skating.
I hope my favorite track stars fare better when the athletics season start. I’d have to watch closely how Russian Yelena Isinbayeva and Jamaican Asafa Powell will do on the track later. Hope they’re luckier.
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