I cannot believe it's been 4 years since I studied abroad in Australia. Sometimes, it all seems like it was a dream... like all that stuff never happened. I wish I could go again, just to relive some of the amazing experiences that I had...and of course to redo things, or rather DO things that I didn't get to experience...
such as... PLAYING on the rebound ace (or what was then rebound ace) surfaces of the Australian Open courts in Melbourne.
Yes, January 19th rolled around, and my zombie days returned. ESPN360, when it doesn't flip out, kindly does justice to the tennis addict roaming around within the containments of my skin. While, the AO doesn't hold the same sort of excitement that the traditional and most prestigious Wimbledon does in my tier of slams, it provides for me the greatest kickoff for the year: the beginning of TENNIS SEASON.
(jumps around madly, head banging to imaginary music "WOOOOT!!!")
Already some disappointments and surprises.
AO 2009:
*Nadal: looking MIGHTY fresh for someone who doesn't start off with a bang down under... he's got a new look (i find the whole parallelism to "Emperor's New clothes" hilarious!) ~ STILL with the wedgie picking... and judging by his first two rounds... (he's tweaking his forehand... making it less topspin, more flat?) his serves are looking pretty nasty... his backhand better than ever...(thoughstill not as consistent as his forehand), his forehand DOMINANT... and his ballchasing skills, aka TORO, pretty beastly. in short, he's number 1. and andy murray's still got some chasing to do!
*Ana Ivanovic: I start off with this: ADJE ANA! and then.. wow, could she put me through any more pain than what Lindsay did? SHE ALREADY HAS. I miss the days when Ana would swing her forehand and everyone would just be O.O at the power and pinpoint accuracy. I miss her carefree serves that she executed with much finesse and grace. I miss the rapid fist pumps that REALLY boosted her already high riding self-confidence. THAT Ana Ivanovic who went to the finals of AO 2008 and won the French Open... THAT ana... is long gone...and replaced by a somewhat timid, sometimes inhibited, frequently "injured," and totally inconsistent middle round exiting player.
Watching her play against a world number 29 player (albeit, this youngn was on FIRE... her forehand and backhand reaches lines and crooks that nobody else saw coming), I couldn't help but notice how even as the higher ranked player with a slam under her belt, she came out looking like the helpless underdog, being yanked from side to side. For a long time, none could see even a glimpse of her dangerous form from last year... her ball tosses were erratic and displayed a total lack of self-confidence. Her backhands AND forehands fell short and left her at the mercy of the Youngn's carefree and whipping returns... OH the agony of watching the underdog!!! Of course, flashes of Ana's brilliance did eventually shine through... during hte second set, coming back from behind to win it... an occasional risky approach to the net that paid off... a risk that only a true champion who'd done it before would take... when it really WAS clutch (as opposed to evident wipeout), she stepped up and SLAMMED it out of the park....
so the question is... WHERE is that Ana the other 75% of the time? Where has she gone? Will a coach find her? will more wins find her? Will a change in the service motion find her? WHERE IS THE CHAMPION OF THE 2008 FRENCH OPEN ANA IVANOVIC????
I miss her.... DEARLY. and call me crazy, but I actually still believe that she'll come back, ROARING ADJE. Lindsay did. Kim Clijsters did. Jennifer Capriati did. martina hingis did.. MASHA did.
speaking of Masha...
Masha; Out with a shoulder injury. i won't lie. I'm anxiously awaiting her return.
THE WILLIAMS SISTERS: Venus is out! venus is out! Eh, I wasn't much fo a venus fan. But I am a serena fan. it's hard to root for someone who is that GOOD and that scary looking... but Serena is classy. and she's AMAZING. She looked slightly patchy in her last match, but I think she'll pull through. It'll be a fun match to watch her play against Dementieva.
andddddddddddd as for hte rest... I couldn't really care less.
I miss ana still. I really do.
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