urgh. la shriekapova vs fat-a$s serena in aussie open women's singles finals. double urgh.

caught between a rock and a hard place. on one paw, i don't particularly like serena, plus it would look so bad for the tour if an unfit player with very little training would win a major. on the other paw, i definitely do not want glam girl maria to hoist another grand slam trophy for the second time in a row. *sigh* why didn't the heat do her in during the first round? why is her draw always so ridiculously easy? why wasn't kim able to beat her in the semis? *sigh*

i miss justine. the women's singles has been very boring so far, with the players just slugging it out from the baseline. the men's singles is slightly more exciting (despite the fact that federer is sure to win again) as the players ventured to the net once in a while. oh well.

She's not gonna play in Aussie!

Shocking news: Justine withdrew from the Aussie tour due to "personal family problems."

Dammit! I can not believe this! What a great way to start the year. Pfft. And I was soooo looking forward to watching Justine play in the Aussie open this month. I’m depressed all over again. Ooh, I bet Screamapova is jumping for joy with the number 1 rank practically handed to her in a silver platter. Dammit dammit dammit!

Oh well. Murphy's Law at work. Or maybe she did something terribly wrong in her past life that the gods of cosmic karma are toying with her like a cat with its prey. Just when everybody thought her career is back on track again... Tsk. Poor Justine. I wonder what those problems are. Of course, there are a lot of speculations in the media, but I’d rather wait for her official statement on Friday. I hope it's nothing serious...

Stop kidding yourself, Pau. Withdrawing from several tournaments in one go, especially when she's the reigning world number 1? It's gotta be very serious. Nyargh, can't stand the suspense of not knowing why. But then again, maybe I don't wanna know.

Being in a limbo is so frustrating.

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!


* * *

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.

OMG! adidas! Sale! Up to 50% off! Selected stores nationwide! Until September 30 only! Aack!

*sigh*

Another reason why I hate being stuck here. :(

Is there anybody out there who could buy me Justine's gear from adidas? I will love you forever, I swear.

And throw in a tennis racket while you're at it to complete my tennis buff look. :P

Dear Justine,

Congratulations on being only the seventh woman since 1968 to reach the finals of all four major Grand Slams in the same year. You join the ranks of Martina Navratilova (quite a mouthful, isn't it?), Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis. Granted, being second place is probably the most disappointing place ever, but no one can’t deny that you have had the most impressive season so far. No amount of bananas or pretty shirts can buy you that.

Kisses, Pau

a long and rambling post

Part I

I blame my father for making Justine drop a set in her semi-finals match against Jankovic. He kept saying she’ll double fault, or her return would be too long, or Jankovic would hit a winner. He was just sending negative vibes to NY that I was thankful he went to bed at the start of the second set. So there I was at around 2:30 am this morning, rooting for Justine. Jessica Zafra has this theory about tennis players and their fans. Something like the fans can actually will their player to win. And not just the fans in the stadium itself, but the millions worldwide watching the match live on TV. More on that next time.

Anyway, that this morning’s two-hour semi-final between Justine and Jankovic is thrilling is an understatement. More like cardiac arrest-inducing. At least for a JHH fan.

During the first set and early in the second set, Justine was clearly frustrated. Jankovic was on a roll from her previous matches with top 10 seeds, so she was more relaxed, therefore played well. It was also her first time to reach the semi-finals of a major tournament, so she was understandably excited and bubbling with energy.

I think I actually burned calories just by watching the match. My heart was pounding so fast; I don’t know if I’d ever been that nervous before. At one point (probably when Jankovic was leading 3-2 in the second set), my hands were shaking that I almost dropped a glass. For several moments there, I thought Justine was going to lose in straight sets.

But Justine showed her maturity and experience as she began to turn the match in her favor in the middle of the second set. She was down 2-4, but she broke Jankovic’s serve. Justine regained her composure and seemed more relaxed from then on. She went on to win the second set 6-4. Justine then held all her serves and broke all Jankovic’s in the third set, clinching the match at 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Anyway, during the first half of the match, it seemed to me that Jankovic wasn’t playing so seriously. It was as if she was more concerned with putting a show for the crowd. Jankovic’s theatrics probably rankled Justine, who may have wanted to scream at one point or another “A Grand Slam title is at stake here! Focus, girl!”

But really, you cannot possibly know how nervous I was while watching the match. I knew that anything less than the finals in the US Open would be disappointing for her. Plus, I didn’t want her to lose to the 19^th seed who had this 0-10 losing streak earlier this year. If Justine had to exit before the finals, I’d rather have her lose to, say, Davenport or Dementieva (Jankovic’s opponent in the quarterfinals). At least they’re established players.

Told ya Jankovic’s luck would run out when she meets Justine. Allez, Justine!

Part II

Jankovic is such a brat. I was reading the transcript of her interview after her loss to Justine in the semi-finals, and Jankovic really sounded like a whiny loser. She kept complaining about the umpire and implied that Justine was just faking her back pain in the first set and half of the second.

JJ: I was up 4-2 and lost my concentration with the umpire, and then with her, she was kind of saying, Oh, I have pain in my back, I can't do this and that.
And then when she started winning, she starts playing all of a sudden so good, so well, and serving big and everything changed.

Q. Did you hear her say anything when you say, Oh, my back? Did she actually say her back hurts?
JJ: No, but she was like (bending over holding her back). … But I think from my point of view, I think you should play fair. And if you have pain, you have pain. But then when you if you have really pain, then you gonna have pain when you're winning, as well. But then how come when she's winning, she serves like 120 mile serve, and then when she's losing, she barely pushes it back? Just to kind of say, Oh, that's why I'm losing or something.

I mean, duh! First off, Justine has every right to stretch her back in between serves. The commentator was even saying that Jankovic should thank Justine for making her serve wait. Jankovic had time to catch her breath and relax a bit. Besides, what can you expect of Justine during the first half of the match? Her service is a disaster, her opponent is completely dominating the rallies, and she’s racking up unforced errors. Of course she’s gonna feel her pain more acutely than ever. Later, when she had gained her rhythm back, she could ignore the pain, coz, hell, she’s winning!

And there was that crap about the physiotherapist. So what if Jankovic had to see a physio after her doubles match? Justine had to see a medical trainer during her match with Davenport. That levels everything off. It’s just so annoying of Jankovic to insinuate that Justine acted that she was in so much pain to deliberately throw her game off. I mean, wow, how unprofessional could you get, right? Jankovic was right when she said she could’ve won the match, only that she lost her focus during the latter half. But by complaining about the umpire, the wind, Justine’s “acting skills,” it was like she was blaming everyone but herself for her loss. I understand that she was disappointed, but she crossed the line by making those disparaging remarks. She just came off as a sore loser.

What really pissed me off was what she said in the end of her interview. “… I don't like to talk about the other players. I prefer if I can say something about the player, I prefer to say something nice. I don't want to say any negative stuff about the players.”

Oh, really now? Grr...

Part III

Justine will face Maria Sharapova in the finals. Interesting tidbit: Win or lose, Maria will still remain as number 3 in the world. However, if [when] Justine wins, she’ll climb to the number 1 spot again. Ooh… so exciting. Another cardiac arrest-inducing match.

on to the [semi]finals

Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Lindsay Davenport 6-4 6-4 in the US Open quarterfinals. Justine will face 19^th seed Jankovic in the semis tomorrow, Friday.

Yay, Justine! Damn, she’s so good.

I did find the channel covering the US Open. Good news: they broadcast the matches live, then replay it several hours later. The catch: the live broadcast is on 11 pm, and the replay 7 am (usually) the next day. Haha. The matches start at 11 am in Flushing Meadows, NY kasi, so there’s (more or less) a 12-hour time difference.

I was so frustrated because I wasn’t able to catch any of Justine’s first four matches. I did see her third round match against Ai Sugiyama but it was a replay in this Japanese channel, so obviously they showed most of the first set (coz Sugiyama won it) and only bits of the second and third sets. I actually got out of bed early yesterday (like 7 am) because Justine and Lindsay’s quarterfinal round was originally scheduled in the night session (7pm in NY). But it rained and rained in NY so all matches were suspended. Their match was moved to the afternoon the next day. So I stayed up until around 4:00 am this morning watching Justine play.

It was worth the wait, of course. Actually, people weren’t expecting Justine to win in straight sets, thinking that Lindsay, who won the US Open in 1998, would at least take a set. But I guess Justine has the advantage of relative “youth” (she’s 6 years younger than Lindsay) and more time on court this year (she’s been to the finals of the three Grand Slams this year plus several lower-tiered tournaments, while Lindsay hasn’t played in months). I’m not saying that Justine shouldn’t have won. It’s just that Lindsay is taller and more powerful than Justine so she could’ve had put up a stiffer resistance.

Anyway, she’s facing Jelena Jankovic (pronounced as ye-LE-na yan-ko-vich) in the semis. To tell you the truth, I’m more scared of Jankovic than Davenport. Jankovic is younger (and taller) than Justine, and went to the famed Nick Bollettieri tennis school (Sharapova was one of her “batchmates”). Jankovic already disposed three top seeds to reach the semifinals: Vaidisova, Kuznetsova and Dementieva. I was able to watch her matches with Kuznetsova and Dementieva, and I was struck by how cool and calm she was. In contrast, her opponents were obviously becoming more nervous and frazzled as the match progressed, racking up lots of unforced errors. Jankovic is really on a roll in this tournament. But of course, as a dedicated JHH fan, I know that Jankovic’s luck (how else will you explain her streak?) will run out when she meets Justine in the semifinals tomorrow. For sure. :D

Allez, Justine!

I can't seem to find any telecast, live or replay, of the US Open 2006. I keep switching to ESPN because it's supposed to be covering the last Grand Slam of the year, but it's always golf or football/soccer. OK, we did see the Agassi-Pavel first round match last Monday (which was probably the most thrilling first round match EVER, partly because Agassi will retire after this year's US Open so this is his last shot EVER), but it was in another channel. And then no more tennis in any of the sports channels sa cable. Oh sure, there were news bits in this Sport Update channel, but then they showed updates from all sports so you had to endure boring news about rugby and cricket before you could watch news from tennis. And they kept repeating the same stuff for several hours until more recent news could come in.

*sigh*

If it's any consolation, I could always get news from the internet. But then it's just not the same as watching the whole match. Oh well. Grr... So frustrating.

Justine won't be playing in the Roger's Cup in Montreal. Darn it. Boo. Boo-hoo. Kainis.

It's been nothing but golf and boxing on TV lately, and I'm getting impatient for tennis. No, Andie, this has nothing to do with tennis skorts. What's underneath the skorts, though... Haha, just kidding. :P

Here are Justine's upcoming tournaments. Just can't wait.

14/08	Rogers Cup
28/08	US Open
16/09	Fed Cup Final 2006

P. S.

That longer entry I promised? Uh... It's gonna be delayed. Very delayed. I had to have this computer fixed and reformatted, and it took days. And the stupid thing is, it still ain't fixed. *roll eyeballs* So there. Plus the fact that I've been braindead for the past week. Oh well.

Justine Fever

Justine is pretty enough as she is...

victorious concentration (www.wimbledon.org)

... but make-up really glams her up. :D


lovely. just lovely. :P click on the picture for a larger image. (www.henin-hardenne.be)

I'm so sad I can't even watch the replay

“Amelie was just too good today,”

Justine Henin-Hardenne was gracious in her defeat in the 2006 Wimbledon Finals by Amelie Mauresmo, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Darn. I was unfortunately right in thinking that Justine ought to win in straight sets, otherwise, she’ll have a hard time getting the third. So sayang. She played exceptionally well during the first set; her best so far in the tournament, if the commentator is to be believed. But then Mauresmo gained momentum in the second set (probably because her fans kept shouting “Go, Amelie!” to boost her confidence) and Justine was already tired from playing almost nonstop since the French Open, so Mauresmo won.

Tough luck. First runner-up again. Tsk tsk. She must be very disappointed, especially because she piled up so many unforced errors. Oh, well. There’s always next year, right? But she better improve her forehand! I mean, Mauresmo knew Justine’s backhand is deadly, so she kept forcing Justine to use her not-so-spectacular forehand. Granted, Justine had a lot of forehand winners in that match, but then again some of her crucial unforced errors were due to her faulty forehand.

Dammit. I’m feeling depressed for her. I think I’m gonna be listless for several days, just like the time when I finished reading HP6. I just feel so f*cking helpless and disappointed. She was so damn close to winning the title. I guess this is why I’ve never been a big sports fan, because it’s so frustrating to see your player/team lose after such a stellar performance.

(What makes me feel even more frustrated is that the runner-up doesn’t get to triumphantly climb the bleachers to reach her coach and family at the end of the match. I so want to know how she and her husband would react. Would they just hug, or would they actually kiss? I mean, they’re married, after all. Haha, showbiz ba? :P)

But look on the bright side, HH fans. The Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam title that has eluded her so far, so she won’t stop playing until she wins that. Ergo, she won’t be retiring soon. That would give me time to save enough money to travel to London and watch Justine play in the Wimbledon. Yay! Hehe. Libre lang naman mangarap, di ba?

Happy for Henin

So friggin’ happy. Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Kim Clijsters in the semifinals, 6-4, 7-6. It was a very close fight – HH almost lost the second set. Thank goodness she was able to catch up and force a tie breaker. YAY, JUSTINE! One step closer to reaching your Wimbledon dream. (I still do not know who she’ll face in the final round, though. As of press blog time, Mauresmo has won the first set against Sharapova.)

So Justine won the six previous rounds in straight sets. Her play was quite aggressive and she was unrelenting to her opponents. Each round was more or less an hour, save for the quarterfinals, it was 83 minutes. Such grit and determination. Although that might work to her disadvantage, if, for example, the final round stretches to three sets. Can she handle one or two more hours in the court? Again, it’s gonna be tough, but I believe in her. I’m fervently hoping she’ll finally add the Wimbledon title to her collection of Grand Slams.

Anyway, additional stuff for my previous post.

Dont' take that "who cares about the World Cup" seriously, okay? I think football is a great sport, and that we Pinoys would be better off in football than in basketball, coz let's face it, we're just not tall enough to shoot hoops. We even have to import players fercryinoutloud. It's just that I'm more familiar with tennis players than football teams, so Wimbledon it is. Ayt?

Back to Justine. When she's serving, she doesn’t purse her lips pala. It’s kinda weird, I dunno if I could explain it here. Her mouth is half-open and her lower lip kinda curls over her (lower) teeth. It's like she's grimacing in concentration. Gets? Probably not. Just look for her pictures in the Wimbledon website. :P

I mentioned that Justine’s back hand is said to be superb. I was wrong. It’s not just superb. It’s one of the best in the world.

I watched some replays, and I realized she didn’t have a relatively easy time getting to the semifinals. Severine Bremond, her opponent in the quarterfinals, was a fighter. Bremond was unseeded, yet Justine had to work hard to win those 12 games. Bremond certainly didn’t give in easily. She did not “go gentle into that good night,” so to speak. According to the commentator, Justine seemed rattled while Bremond was quite relaxed during their time off in the middle of the second set. Justine was leading then, but the score, I think, was 4-3, so it was very close.

Bremond is definitely worth watching out for. After her terrific tennis in the quarterfinals, it won’t be surprising to see her among the Top 20 in the next two years or so.

Two reasons why I think Belgium is so great: chocolates and Henin-Hardenne! Heehee. Yay, Justine!

Wimbledon Fever

Who cares about the World Cup when there's Wimbledon?

Semi-finals na, and it's getting more exciting, not to mention tension-filled. Henin-Hardenne vs Clijsters and Mauresmo vs Sharapova. I can't explain why, but I'm rooting for Henin-Hardenne. Probably coz she's won all the Grand Slam tournaments except Wimbledon. So she's very very very determined to win this year. And coz she's cute *idiotic grin*. Just don't look at her face while she's serving, though. Her eyes get really huge and her lips are pursed in concentration; it's actually scary.

I'm kinda scared for her. In her past matches (in Wimbledon), she's had a relatively easy time, making mincemeat out of her opponents and always winning in just two sets. But it's the semis now. It's the battle of the WTA Top 4. She's facing fellow Belgian Clijsters, ranked number 2. And when she gets past Clijsters (oh, she will, I'm telling you), she'll face either Mauresmo, number 1, or Sharapova, number 4 (lang :P) who won the tournament in 2004. Tough, tough, tough.

But then again, I have complete faith in her. I mean, she's not WTA number 3 for nothing. And she just won the French Open this year. And her backhand is said to be superb. And, as I already mentioned, she's very very very determined to win. So tomorrow night, my father, uncle and I are gonna be glued to the TV screen. And I'll be rooting for Henin-Hardenne. Yay, Justine! You go, girl!





Click here for Wimbledon's official website
Click here for Justine's official website