I started playing and following tennis in 1977, and I must say the '00s were by far the least interesting decade of my life, to date. (Biggest problem? The "rivalry" between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, in which Nadal wins every important match -- OR loses earlier in the tournament leaving Roger to clean up.) Nonetheless, the always-entertaining Jon Wertheim gives a thoughtful review of the last 10 years for Sports Illustrated HERE.Friday, December 18, 2009
We Miss You, Marita Redondo
I started playing and following tennis in 1977, and I must say the '00s were by far the least interesting decade of my life, to date. (Biggest problem? The "rivalry" between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, in which Nadal wins every important match -- OR loses earlier in the tournament leaving Roger to clean up.) Nonetheless, the always-entertaining Jon Wertheim gives a thoughtful review of the last 10 years for Sports Illustrated HERE.
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Um, did you forget when Federer won Wimbledon over Nadal in '06 and '07? You're SUCH a hater when it comes to present day tennis...ugh.
Those were before Nadal figured out grass (he's young). And what happened once he did?
I wouldn't say he "figured" it - he's only beaten Federer on the surface once and it happened to be one of the best played and most closely contested matches of all time. Sure, Nadal leads their H2H but c'mon, give Federer some credit...
I've been an avid tennis fan for a decade longer; love this sport!
In good fortune, I watched two Conner/McEnroe matches live at Transamerica/Cow Palace/San Francisco finals; caught a Borg/McEnroe and a Borg/Conners live too! Even had a chance to watch Evert/Navratilova live. Great fun.
Nonetheless, the past decade has been most exciting and most enjoyable to watch. I remember watching the early 2005 French Open matches, and pointing out this young (17 at the time) first timer to my BF, and saying "Jesus, this kid is good. If he keeps his play up, he might win." "What's his name?" "Rafa something."
Watching the new younger playing growing up in the sport, taking on the champs, there has been much good tennis. Yes, the mojo ran from Andy Roddick one year, but the next, my god, his match against Federer! Novak's win over Federer in Melbourne! Those very handsome Spaniards and their Davis Cup wins.
And on the women's side, has there ever been a time where so many have challenged for No.1? Even with Venus and Serena to beat?
I root for good tennis and don't care at all which country the player comes from. From an American point-of-view, we no longer dominate the sport; thus the sport is less interesting to the US market. Pity, because I believe that the sport and the overall quality of play has much improved. My conclusion: the 00's one of tennis' best decades.
Marita Redondo. Funny, I just read this on Chrissie's Facebook page today:
* 1976 (Mar. 5) Evert def. Marita Redondo 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (0). SF Virginia Slims of San Francisco (carpet). A Californian of Filipino descent, Redondo has pushed Chris all through the juniors and on into their pro careers. With her booming groundstrokes, Redondo could beat anybody on a given day, and here in San Francisco she has upset Virginia Wade 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 for her latest shot at Chris. The crowd of 6,000+ at Civic Auditorium witnesses the first match in Virginia Slims history to involve three tiebreak sets. Unleashing a barrage of winners from both wings, Marita comes to match point in the second set and seems to have it won three separate times with her bullet forehand, but Evert scrapes them all back and finally charges the net to force a Redondo error. Far from wilting in the third set after coming so close, Marita charges to a 5-1 lead only to have Chris make a valiant five-game run. Redondo’s ankle cramps in the 12th game, and although she fights through it to achieve 6-6, she can’t manage a single point in the last tiebreak.
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