hail, queen justine!

So deliriously happy. Justine is back as world number 1 and won the Year-end Championships. Hail, Queen Justine! What more can an obsessed fanatic like me hope for? Well, there’s the elusive Wimbledon title, of course, but there’s always next year. Right now I’m so so so ecstatic, thrilled, elated, in high spirits, blissful, exultant, delighted, overjoyed, and on cloud nine (thanks, thesaurus), and I’m sure Team Justine and the rest of her fans all over the world are too.

Such a great week in Madrid. I wasn’t really expecting too much from her because she was recovering from an injury and she wasn’t able to play any warm-up matches prior to the event. But she showed everyone that she truly is a fighter and gave her all in her matches. And believe me, when she gets aggressive and takes all her chances (which was sorely lacking in the US Open finals), she’s absolutely incredible to watch. This has been an amazing year for her, and she’s definitely gonna enjoy her vacation driving her brand-new Porsche around.

And what did I enjoy the most? Justine beating Maria in the semi-finals. Take that, Screamapova. Revenge is so sweet. *manic laughter* No, really, it’s not just about avenging that loss in the US Open. I just think that Maria is waaay overrated considering her talent and technique. The fact that she’s probably the fittest and healthiest of the bunch but still wasn’t able to grab the title proves that she’s just a product of media hype. Hee. (All right, I may be exaggerating a bit, but lots of real tennis fans would agree with me.)

Anyway, Justine and coach Carlos should know by now that Justine delivers better results when she’s well-rested before a major tournament. When she joins warm-up events kasi, she plays to win and often reaches the semis or finals (of the warm-up), so she’s a bit tired entering the Grand Slam. Other players tend to join just for the sake of joining, giving just 50% in their matches. In a way, this is a good strategy because they save their energies and technique for the bigger event, but it’s unfair to other players and the viewing public. Maybe Justine should hold herself back just a tiny bit during warm-up events so she could be fresh for the Grand Slam. This is especially crucial during the grass court season (Wimbledon), which starts just two weeks after the clay court season (French Open).

Hmm… Now the downside in the Madrid Masters. Justine herself admitted that it wasn’t her best tennis all throughout the tournament, and I agree. Of course, I wasn’t expecting her to bagel (tennis lingo for 6-0) her opponents because they’re the elite 8 after all, but there are times that she could’ve played better. Or maybe her opponent just raised their level of playing in those moments. I don’t know.

I was also a bit disappointed that the championship point was a double fault from Mauresmo. I kinda felt that Amelie gave away the point na lang so as not to prolong the agony, as she was down 5-3 40-15 in the second set. A very long rally culminating in a backhand winner from Justine would’ve been more thrilling. But hey, a win is a win no matter what, so I ain’t complaining.

A bigger disappointment for me was that Justine won only 6 out of 17 break points (actually just 6 out of 8 games, most of the break points are from the never-ending deuce). Had she converted more break points, she could’ve closed the match quickly. Of course, credit is due to Amelie because she managed to save several break points and didn’t let her nerves get the better of her during those crucial moments.

So there. Thus ended the 2006 tennis season. Can’t wait ‘til the Australian Open next year! Allez, Justine!

talent over hype

i couldn't believe it. justine beat maria sharapova 6-2 7-6 (7-5) in the semi-finals. yay, justine! i think i'm the happiest girl in the world. haha. imagine, la shrieka committed 34 unforced errors to justine's 17. whoa, right? talent prevails over media hype! :P

so this means whatever happens in the finals (which will be against amelie mauresmo who beat kim clijsters. tsk, no chance of all-belgian finals.), justine already is ranked number one in the world. how great is that? i love justine! too bad she's straight.

allez, justine!

Don't look now, but I'm turning into The World's Most Boring Person of the Year. My current obsessions? Classical music and crossword puzzles. Goodness. Classical music is all right, but crossword puzzles? I mean, that's for old fuddy-duddy people waiting at bus stops and train stations. Oh well. Blame it on Justine's right knee and the two kittens I keep in my room. I actually copied several CDs of classical music to my PC then moved my PC to my room so the kittens could hear Chopin and Mozart while they sleep. Crazy, huh?

Back to Justine. She had to rest for several weeks because of her injured knee, so she didn't play in any tournaments after the US Open and the Fed Cup finals. Watching TV and surfing the internet suddenly wasn't as fun anymore 'cause there weren't any news about her (OMG, how will I manage after she officially retires? Oh, the agony!). Besides, I couldn’t bear to watch La Shrieka Sharapova’s amazing streak post-US Open (3 titles in 1 month! And after a Grand Slam at that! Is that even humanly possible? Makes you wonder what they put in their water in Russia. Or in MaSha’s bananas.) and how confident she is of her chances of winning the WTA Year-end Championships in Madrid. Blech. Of course her chances are big. I mean, the better players are beset by injuries (Justine and her knee, Kim Clijsters and her wrist, sige na nga, Mauresmo and her shoulder), and the others just aren’t mentally tough enough to withstand Glam Girl’s pornographic shrieks (J. Zafra’s description, not mine) on court.

I know what you’re thinking. Pau is just bitter because Maria (in an Audrey Hepburn-inspired outfit) beat Justine in the US Open. Well, of course I am! So so so frustrating that tough-as-nails-with-a-backhand-from-God Justine lost to a player of Maria’ caliber. Maria might be focused and determined as hell, but I’m sorry to say, she’s nowhere near the talent of Justine and Martina Hingis, sequins or no sequins (still not over that dress, aren’t we?).

But Maria did win, you would say. I tell you, it’s just luck. And probably a bit of draw-rigging by the WTA powers-that-be. I mean, look at the draw! Justine faced tougher opponents like Jelena Jankovic, Ai Sugiyama and Lindsay Davenport, and she could’ve had Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva or Nicole Vaidisova. Fine, Maria had Hingis, Serena Williams and Mauresmo in her half, but Hingis and Williams weren’t in their top form yet, Mauresmo is always attacked by nerves, and Maria would only face either Williams or Mauresmo in the semi-finals. I even read somewhere that it’s strange that Maria almost always never gets to play the hottest players of the season in any of her tournaments. I guess the WTA recognizes Maria as a crowd drawer and they want to milk her for all she’s worth. Or they’re just trying to make up for the hype over Anna Kournikova several years back (hell, until now) that they’re parading Maria around. “Look, guys, another blonde teenager from Russia like Kournikova, but hey, Maria actually gets past the second round!”

*buntong hininga* Well, that’s the way it is. Sports is fast becoming showbiz-y, with all the TV and internet coverage. But I digress. So where’s the crossword puzzle connection? Well, duh. With Justine out of the circuit for more than a month, I turned to solving crosswords in the PDI. Later, I bought this crosswords magazine/digest in Book Sale and I’ve been staying up late every night this week just to finish the damn thing. But, no, actually, I was just looking for an excuse to write about Justine (and gripe about Sharapova). Hee.

Anyway, so excited that Justine is playing in the Madrid Masters this week. That in itself is already an achievement according to her, considering that they weren’t even sure until last week if her knee would heal in time, plus the fact that she missed the event for the past two years due to injuries. She won her opening match against Hingis last Tuesday in three sets. Justine choked in the second set, but that was understandable since she wasn’t able to play in any warm-up tournaments in Madrid. Next up, Nadia Petrova (yet another blonde teenager from Russia!). Allez, Justine!


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In other news (non-tennis related, that is), I’ll be walking down the aisle this December. Not as a bride, mind you, but as a bridesmaid for my cousin’s wedding. I haven’t seen the design for our gown yet, but the motif is baby pink, so I’m cool. I just hope it wouldn’t be full of ruffles or frills. Eew. Haha.

I have a little more than a month to prepare for the big day, so must play badminton more often, stay out of the sun as much as possible and eat healthful stuff. Right.