Serena Williams Ousted 1st Rd in Rome After Disparaging Safina

****No sooner had Serena Williams claimed she was the No. 1 player in the world, instead of the computer-chosen Russian Dinara Safina, and the American was sitting on the sidelines, stunned by an opening-round loss on red clay early Wednesday morning in Rome.****

did anyone ask her opinion on “real number one” in her press conference?

Come on Serena, we like you, but please!

May 6th, 2009 at 10:16 am

Earlier I had made a joke about Nadal/Serena making babies. This was purely because of the potential for numerous physical attributes; one ‘outstanding’ one in particular.

In of-the-court deportment department, the two are exact opposites.

This ‘I am the best’ nonsense causes me to have regret pairing the two, even in light of the spirit of my quip.

I thought she had outgrown the arrogance that had so plagued her in her ‘youth’.

The bottom line is results. If she is the best, it is because she is winning, not because of her mouth nor the opinions of anyone else.

I am beginning to warm (back) up to Nole. I feel his past displays of arrogance (not the imitations – those are in good fun) have bit him on the backside and he has learned. While I wish the finger-pointing to the chest would stop – as well as the racket smashing, I feel his post match deportment is becoming pretty great again.

These people are very young and have become rich and famous fast – it must be difficult to not let it all go to their heads (Hingis was also one of the worst).

Federer was great in that department … when he was on top.

It is nice when they grow out of it. Hopefully Murray will follow suit soon. It is much more fun to have more than one favorite at the top.

This is why I love Rafa. At no point in his career was he like this. Regardless of what anyone feels about his ‘anal’-retentive habits (which I believe are merely that – VON and I disagree there) I still have yet to be directed to an example of him screaming at the top of his lungs, breaking rackets, making excuses (Indian Wells 09 – “the wind will not always be there”, Wimbledon 08 – “the darkness”)crying in public (despite ‘his’ level of wealth, while most of the rest of the world is struggling with the economy) nor ever making boastful claims about his ranking, abilities etc.

If you are a fan of one of the other guys, please don’t get vicious nor divert the subject if you address this. Just calmly prove me wrong with facts. I will be happy to retract my comments.

In the meantime, I think Serena is past the point of growing up in that regard. She is too much like her father and not nearly enough like her sister whom I think is generaly lovely and gracious.

May 6th, 2009 at 11:18 am

Now safina vs Zheng

http://www.justin.tv/petertelevision3

May 6th, 2009 at 11:38 am

I wrote about a year ago of the arrogance of the players. This is not the first time they go out with “big words” and then go out with empty mouth.

For example, last year Serena did a lot of talking about French open, speaking like she’s going to win it 100%. And then she lost in 3rd round (I think).
Of course no one can forget the beginning of 2008 when everyone talked about Roger and him overtaking Sampras’ record. But then, all of the sudden he lost in SF.
So, it’s better to keep your mouth shut and just to go match by match. At least, you wouldn’t be ashamed of your statements after that.

@Rsutherland : I agree with you about Nole. It seems that he learned a lot from his mistakes. He had a bad other half of 2008 and fought with himself. But I disagree with you about his chest pumps and racket smashes. Chest pumps aren’t really related to the crowd but to hisown box, to Marian Vajda. I think there’s nothing bad about it, but I guess some people don’t like it. And racket smashes…well, he’s very emotional, and I think that’s what makes him so interesting. When he does that, he simply feels the need to do it. And often after that he plays much better.

May 6th, 2009 at 11:44 am

Rsutherland,

too much has been made of Rafa’s pant picking which you call as anal-retentive.What about some players constant picking at their “front”? Why does that not hit anyone as offensive? Those same players also yell at umpires, abuse ball kids and admit that they win by bullying younger players. But none strikes people as offensiove? and everyone wants to pick on Rafa because of this one habit?

About Serena, I think she got the response to her comments pretty fair and square. I would like to see the press conference.

May 6th, 2009 at 11:45 am

Any links to Serena’s presser?

May 6th, 2009 at 11:49 am

Thrilled to see Serena being put in her place.
Did anybody see the match?
She smacked her racket off the ground after she lost match point. It’s very disrespectful, then she hit her racket off her chair (or maybe her bag) after shaking hands with Schnyder.
I hope she left Rome feeling like an idiot, because she certainly looked like one.
Her arrogance sickens me.

May 6th, 2009 at 11:51 am

Bojan,
I agree about chest pumps. I don’t like the expression in Djoko’s face when he does that, but I guess many may not like Rafa’s Vamoses and fist pumps or Murray’s rants at his own box.

I think as long as the behavior is not abusive towards others, it is fine. If his fans like it, then let it be. He has good habits too. He frequently applauds good shots of his opponents and is fair when it comes to ball calls and points.

He has grown up a lot and has learned from his mistakes. More importantly . his stay at top 3 was not an anomaly. He is consistent and he is trying to improve. All these are great attributes.

May 6th, 2009 at 11:52 am

Rsutherland,

I think yours is a reasonable post; I agree w/you mainly about Rafa although it’s interesting that many found his leaps and fist-pumps and “lawn-mowers” offensive as first, but now have come round to them (here’s a relevant article which touches on just this:http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/index.html). They never bothered me as I like it when players show their heart. Rafa did cry publicly once, after losing Wimbledon 2007, but I thought he handled it well, as he let it out at his chair and then was gracious and positive during the ceremony. His little tics -the pant-picking, the water bottle placement and so forth – seem to me like they are sub-conscious so those don’t bother me.

Hi Bojan,

I agree that Novak has shown increased maturity in the past few year and that he’s one who learns from his mistakes; he measures all of his post-match comments quite carefully now. I also agree that a lot of his chest-pointing and whatnot is to his box, showing them, his efforts. It reminds me very much of Murray’s post-win “bicep displays” for a while there; those were for his box, to show them that the hard work was paying off on the court.

What bothers me about this whole Serena scenario is that it’s boastful. She knew exactly what she was saying and it was overtly denigrating to Safinia. Of the two Williams sisters I have always preferred Venus style – both on and off the court.

May 6th, 2009 at 12:31 pm

Is anyone going to watch the Djo/Tipsy match? I have an appt. but will try to watch. I think it’s 8pm Rome time.
Channelsurfing.net or atdhe.net.

May 6th, 2009 at 12:38 pm

sar, I’d like to watch it but I have a meeting in a few hours, so I’ll see if it works out.

May 6th, 2009 at 12:46 pm

“Well, we all know who the real No. 1 is,” “Quite frankly, I’m the best in the world.”

And people talk about Fed as a smug… LOL!

May 6th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

The match is on now. They are warming up. I have to leave in an hour, so I won’t see it. Hopefully the match goes well. Nice crowd. Nole family must be very proud of what they have accomplished.
Poor Serena, eating humble pie. I think this situation will be good for her. I bet she will be ready when the FO comes around. I don’t think she thinks about how her words affect other people. I mean did she not think that this would make Safina feel bad. I mean she is already taking flak like JJ on not having a GS title–she knows she has a lot to prove. Definitely in poor taste. I wonder what Venus is thinking about this whole situation? I don’t remember Venus making proclomations like this. She comes in confident in her talent and ability but does not talk like Serena. She needs to follow her big sister lead.
Blake just won his first round match against Gil–that is good news.

May 6th, 2009 at 2:16 pm

Jane – thank you for the link to the Nadal analysis – excellent! I learn more and more from this blog.

Zola – I think people fuss about more than Nadal’s butt picking, but also the time spent between points. Once again, I think this is merely because he is anal-retentive (no pun intended here). I do not believe it is gamesmanship; done to annoy or throw off the other player.

Von – on that last point (whereas it was referenced my previous entry) I should have written that ‘I….respectfully…disagree with VON’. We have made peace afterall :)

Since this is supposed to be about Serena and not the love of my life, let me second a plea to see her post-match press conference. Now that should be entertaining.

Cheers to all

May 6th, 2009 at 2:50 pm

Rsutherland,
I think people pick on Nadal, because he is such a competitor and they can’t find any other flaws in him. He never disrespects his opponent, breaks a racquet or yells profanities at the umpires, as you wrote in your first post. But as I said, if Rafa’s butt-picking bothers you, I would like to know what you think about Roddick constantly touching his front? Every player has his own habits. As long as they don’t bother others, I think they are fine. If it is all right to make fun of a player for his tics, then it should be allright to make fun of others too.

May 6th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

I believe Gimelslob is in the stands.

May 6th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

Al
( and ayone interested in ATP brackets) If you want to compare brackets, look for the tennis-x group on ATP bracket site.

May 6th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

Instant Karma for Serena. No grace. No class.

As to Rafa, perhaps he does that on purpose. The criticism doesn’t stop him nor seem to bother him.

Maybe he does it so that the media will have an easy target to “pick” at….instead of focusing on stuff that would bother him.

Probably not but it was just a thought I had.

May 6th, 2009 at 5:28 pm

Excellent article

Federer Fails to Deter Nadal in Fight to Be Richest Tennis Star Options

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=a8HFqsqo.3wA&refer=home

May 6th, 2009 at 5:53 pm

Serena can say whatever she wants, she is the holder of the last two grand Slams. If you guys don’t like it then ..TOUGH. She is been in the final of Wimbledon, win US and AO. Great consistency from her that is lacking in WTA tour. Way to go Serena, show them who is the really number one.

But if you think about it, Serena also perform very poor in Sydney then went on to win the AO. Seriously though, how is that possible? This WTA tour is a joke. I can’t imagine somebody be so unfit in the ATP tournaments leading to the GS and then goes to demolish everybody else in a GS. I am absolutely dumbfounded.

Anyway, she is done it before and she can do it again. she is now aiming for another “Serena slam”, she [only] needs FO and Wimbledon. I said “only” because, the way the state of WTA tour is right now, I would not be surprise if she gets them.

May 6th, 2009 at 6:41 pm

I thought this thread was about Serena? Well, here we go round whatever with Roddick. To be truthful, I see a lot of the male players fixing their athletic cups in front. I don’t think I need to explain the reason why and the discomfort there. I’m not going to get into a debate with the “jaws of life” here and make comparisons about Nadal’s ‘anal retentive habits’, per RSutherland, who also very fairly pointed out that it’s Nadal’s time violations that are really a huge problem. I personally find this to be ‘cheating’. It might not be tantamount to gamesmanship in Nadal’s or his fans eyes, but it is nevertheless unfair to his opponents and does detract from the enjoyment of the match, but also makes the match overly drawn out. Anyway, I digress, because I do not derive the pleasure some do of reiterating the same nonsense, over and over and over, again. This kind of stuff is a breeding ground for inane chatter and some thrive on such garbage.

Serena should be careful about her remarks because she sounds like sour grapes. The No. 1 ranking was hers to hold had she not been so lackadaisical about playing in more tourneys. At one time in Serena’s career, she could have gotten away with this type of talk, because she had the wherewithal to back up the talk, but she’s no longer the player she was then, hence it would be more prudent for her to be quiet and let her game do the talking. This way, if she loses early or wins, she’ll not have egg on her face. Comeuppance is a b**ch, and it always comes back to bite you whenever you sit down.

Kimmi: I disagree that Serena can say whatever she wants because of her record. There’s no excuse for bad manners and boastful behavior. I don’t agree with others about Venus either. Venus is very hypocritical, in that she’s incongruent and sugar-coats everything. Gosh I’m proud of the Williams sisters for their achievements and they’ve held up the US standings in tennis, but I also wish at times, they could represent our country with more savoir faire. However, no one is perfect, hence I also digress.

And, since others are talking about Djoko’s behavior, I think he has matured somewhat, and I kn ow from reading some posters comments that his chest beating has some significance in his country, however, he should realize that he’s an international player and what is culturally accepted in his country is definitely frowned upon in other parts of the world, especially the English speaking countries, and it’s the reason we see such comments deploring such behavior.

As I’ve mentioned before the player’ antics breaking racquets, umpire tiffs, et al., do not bother me because they are not done at every point. On the contrary, the injury timeouts and time violations are annoying because I feel that they have an adverse impact on their opponents and the matches in general.

__________________
RSutherland: Per my promise, I did try to temper my remarks, but as you can see, it’s not easy — the temptation is always there, peck, peck.

May 6th, 2009 at 7:26 pm

Zola I added myself to the ATP tournament bracket for tennis-x group. I am Allie208.

May 6th, 2009 at 7:57 pm

Al,
great. My picks for Rome was a disaster. I hope to do better for Madrid.

*******
If constant picking on one player is fair, then it should be fair on other players too. A discomfort in the “front” is approved, but one in the “back” is constantly teased. Why?
And if time violation is a problem, is yelling at umpires and bullying young players a problem too? Talk about double standards.

May 6th, 2009 at 8:08 pm

Von,
You call me “Jawas of life”. You have called me many more names in the past too. Note that I have never called you anything other than your name.

I believe that you pick on Rafa not because of time violations, but because of other reasons. I do not approve Rafa’s taking longer time in between points. But I have seen Djoko, Del Potro and many other players take long time between the points too.

My reply was to Rsutherland’s comments about Rafa’s pant-picking and I asked him if he shows the same sensitivity to other players doing the same but on the opposite side of their pants.

Anyway, my intention is not to start a verbal war with you. I am just pointing out that if we are going to constantly pick on players’ antics, then it should not just be about Rafa. Let’s talk about them all.

May 6th, 2009 at 8:25 pm

I guess it’s true that Venus can be annoying in a different way, namely “sugarcoating” things as opposed to Serena’s directness, but I still think Serena is generally the more irksome of the two.

Von, I think people were saying that the finger in the air had significance to Djoko’s culture not so much the chest-pounding. I’ve seen others do the chest-pounding also, Baggy comes to mind immediately. Maybe it’s also because Djoko’s more high profile being number 3. Anyhow, hopefully he continues to evolve.

May 6th, 2009 at 8:36 pm

oops- I mean, #4. :(

May 6th, 2009 at 8:36 pm

Von,If Serena was taking her “sour grape” attitude to the court then I would agree with you, so is Venus with her “hypocrisy” attitude.

Both Venus and Serena have been respectful and fair. As long as they don’t engage themselves with on court antics and gamesmanship, I am all happy and will support them all the way.

Why is it OK for other sports to talk aggressive and big on their chances and not OK for tennis? Why? Is it just me who thinks most tennis fans are just too sensitive, they need to lighten up a bit. They get offended about little things, and it’s just too sad. If players were allowed to talk without this bickering from fans, then I think the expectations, the suspense will make it very interesting.

I actually enjoyed what Djokovic did at the US open, what Soldering did to Nadal at Wimbledon and about Serena or some people also say Federer arrogance.

I guess what everybody would prefer is the kind of talk we are getting now; “I will do my best “, “He is the best player in the world, he is always the favorite” etc. I actually find that very boring and predictable. I enjoy very much when players are confident, aggressive and talk big on their chance, win or lose.

May 6th, 2009 at 8:50 pm

Kimmi
***This WTA tour is a joke. I can’t imagine somebody be so unfit in the ATP tournaments leading to the GS and then goes to demolish everybody else in a GS. I am absolutely dumbfounded.***

this is absolutely true that WTA is not fun to follow at all. I hope these new players can change things a bit.
Still, I don’t think anyone as good as they might be, should talk like that and diminish the achievements of the younger players. Serena said that about Jankovic too. If she wants she can play more tournaments and get back to number one. True that Safina and Jankovic do not have GS titles, but theyt have accumulated those points by playing in many tournaments that Serena has chosen not to participate it and by going higher in some events that Serena has crashed out of them.

Serena is one my favorites on WTA.I like watching her matches and I like her fighting spirit and I think she has a certain elegance to her face. But remarks like this makes me really disappointed.

May 6th, 2009 at 8:51 pm

This is from SI.com. Sorry of it has been posted before:

*************Once again Serena Williams comes off as lacking grace. Why can’t she congratulate Dinara Safina and say she’ll redouble her efforts, play more tournaments and earn back the No. 1 ranking? She could easily do it. Why denigrate a fellow player?
— Laura, Arnold, Md.

• I’m over it. I’m through calling out Serena on these kinds of remarks. Does one wish that her PR instincts or sense of sportsmanship were sometimes more finely tuned? Sure. But let’s face facts here: We all know the identity of the best player in the women’s game. And it ain’t Dinara Safina. The truth is, at least half of the players in the top 10 rack up the points at smaller events, but are scared to win big matches. In Serena — and, conflation alert, her sister — we have a player who wins when it matters most, who stands and delivers, who will retire with double-digit Grand Slam titles. If a few impertinent, self-glorifying remarks — however true they might be in this case — are an unpleasant by-product, so be it.

******************

May 6th, 2009 at 9:03 pm

Zola:

I’ve seen posts where you’ve referred to me as ‘it”, “she” “her”. Just recently to when yolu were thanking one of the posters for “taking heat”, as you put it. I call you “jaws of life” because you never let go. People have limitations you know and I never said I wanted to be canonized as a saint. I wanted to become a nun, but my husband changed that. The Ursuline order has him blacklisted and he can’t show his face there any more. LOL.

Don’t start with the “I dont like Nadal for other reasons” excuse to give yourself leverage, because it’s simply not true. I quietly rooted for him several times recently, but I wasn’t going to admit it to you, because you are fixated in your thoughts and I let you believe what you want. I used to like him very much, but believe it or not, some of his antics have been discouraging and you’ve contributed to that as well. You don’t like the Americans and show outright hatred for them. I find that hard to accept since you live here. Gosh, it’s like treason to me.

Have you not seen me mention Del Potro, Djoko, and Berdych’s time violations? I’ve mentioned Del Potro many times. The guy is like a walking dead man. I mentioned Berdych’s towel incident. I recently stated that Nadal and Verdasco played at a “snail’s pace” in their match. They were both abusing the time rule, big time.

I believe in speaking about the incident and then moving on. You on the other hand bring up stuff perpetually. The Nishikori incident was over a year ago, and was a writer’s sensationalism with respect to what actually transpired. However, if we were to look at that thread you posted so much over and over and over, and did so for weeks. And, here we are a year later and you’re still referring to it.

I’m not saying you can’t talk about the players’ demerits, but do so and move on. Not this sore that never heals bit — that’s too much.

We both have something in common TENNIS and we like discussing it here on these threads. So how about if we just try to co-exist peacefully. I’m a very reasonable person and I don’t hold grudges. You bend a little and I’ll bend even more, but please don’t let’s get into this recycling thing; it needs to stop. PAX

May 6th, 2009 at 9:04 pm

Von,
I don’t recall calling you “it”. It might be a typo. “She” and “her” are not namecalling. Have you never called me “she” or “her”?

I have no problem with you or anyone else talking about Rafa or any other player. But recently ( since your come back) the frequency has increased and I don’t understand why.

As I said, players have habits. All of them. If picking on one is allright, then it should be fine to pick on others too.

You tell me I never let go. What about you? This is the first time I mentioned Roddick. How many times have you written about Rafa? just in the past week? It gets tiring at a certain point.

Yes, by all means, let’s discuss TENNIS.

May 6th, 2009 at 9:14 pm

Kimmi:

“Why is it OK for other sports to talk aggressive and big on their chances and not OK for tennis? Why? Is it just me who thinks most tennis fans are just too sensitive, they need to lighten up a bit. They get offended about little things, and it’s just too sad. If players were allowed to talk without this bickering from fans, then I think the expectations, the suspense will make it very interesting.”

I’m with you on the above. Where are you when I write that the fans who don’t like what they see can turn off the TV or they can watch something else other than tennis? Some of these fans want perfection, well it ain’t gonna happen. I like players who are feisty and it’s the reason I root for them. I want to see some life on the court not robots. I believe all the players do stuff and none is a saint. However, from what we see here you’d think there are many saints playing tennis. I disagree.

I like Serena and Venus, but I don’t like some of Serena’s comments. They are in poor taste. She does not need to get down to that level, her GS record speaks for her achievements so why not let the current No. 1 have her day of glory? No need to take that away from her. Serena has had her years of glory and no one put her down, I don’t see the need for her to do so when the shoe is on the other foot. Totally unnecessary nonsense.

May 6th, 2009 at 9:16 pm

Kimmi says ” Is it just me who thinks most tennis fans are just too sensitive, they need to lighten up a bit. They get offended about little things, and it’s just too sad.”

No, it’s me too! I think tennis fans are overly sensitive. We should just let the players be themselves, flaws and all, and sure, we can talk about it, but it’s the SPORT OF TENNIS that we all love, and it matters that we see great competition and fun matches. If there’s extra drama along the way, so be it.

That said, I still think Serena could’ve made her point more tactfully, but coulda, shoulda, woulda. It’s done and she’s eating crow now anyhow. Although she may have the last laugh at the French Open; we’ll see!

May 6th, 2009 at 9:18 pm

Wow Von – we nearly posted the same thing in repsonse to Kimmi. Great minds and all … lol.

May 6th, 2009 at 9:20 pm

Von: “You don’t like the Americans and show outright hatred for them.”

Ha ha, LOL. Sorry Von, I guess I have strange sense of humour but I thought this was funny.

I think President Bush should be blamed for that, the approval rating for americans around the world was less than 25% when he left.

May 6th, 2009 at 9:28 pm

Von,

***You don’t like the Americans and show outright hatred for them. ***

you are hopeless. forget about whatever I wrote. do as you wish!

May 6th, 2009 at 9:31 pm

Zola:

I mentioned Nadal in a discussion with some posters on his matches. One was with Kimmi. You got offended and i told her that I’m going to stop interacting with her because of that problem. I don’t start off by mentioning his faults. The faults come up as an aside but is not the focal point of my discussion. What really angers me is the fact that you don’t like to see anything written which you interpret as negativity towards him, be it match play, or behavior. You interpret everything as hatred or idiotic. It’s unmitigated gall to label someone’s comments as “idiotic” because you don’t like them. I’m not an idiot nor do I write idiotic posts.

This is not the first time you’ve mentioned Roddick. You mentioned him several times recently. Look at the recent threads. Even though it’s not negative nor positive, you were pushing a discussion on his missing of Monte Carlo and then Rome about the points he’ll lose, etc. To me you were just looking for an opening to start something, because there was nothing before or after to think you were following a discussion path. I know you Zola, you pretend to innocently start these by the way discussions in the hope someone who doesn’t like him will take it up and begin bashing him. And, I must say on many occasions you have craftily succeded.

I’m at the point where I’m afraid to mention the guy’s name, because I don’t want to see ‘hatred’ mentioned. It’s a word or an emotion I don’t like. It’s not good for the blogs to prevent people from speaking up except when posters start with the aspersions and take on names of the players.

OK I’m done, let’s see what you’ll do in the future.

May 6th, 2009 at 9:32 pm

Von, please tell your husband that I am congratulating him for Man. United win. Yea I know, Arsenal lost… I’m very sad right now but FYI, most of the Arsenal’s players are below 23 years old so I put a lot of hopes in them to show their true colors next season. Gunner Rulezzz…

May 6th, 2009 at 9:40 pm

Ezorra: Thanks I will. Yes, there’s plenty of good days ahead for Arsenal, especially the fact that they are young, while Man/United’s players are aging. My husband always talks about the great Bobby Charlton. I doubt my husband was even born then, but who knows what he’s seen and not seen. I’ve only lived with him as an adult, and he’s been following them since he was 7 years old.

Yippee for Gunner!!

May 6th, 2009 at 9:58 pm

jane: Yes, strange things happen simultaneously.

With repect to Baggy doing the chest thing, I don’t think people care much about when he does it because he’s around so infrequently. Unfortunately for Djoko, he’s a high profile player and people will seek out his faults. I didn’t like Murray’s arm pumping or whatever he did, but it was a one-off. Had it continued I probably would have mentioned something.

May 6th, 2009 at 10:03 pm

Kimmi:

“I think President Bush should be blamed for that, the approval rating for americans around the world was less than 25% when he left.”

Despite it all our country will be the last one standing, you can bank on that!

Laugh all you want, I’m not mad. Hey President Bush’s father closed down my agency back in 1990 and I had to transfer to another agency I disliked, but yet I don’t hate the man. I suppose he did what he thought was best at the time, even though I have never understood why.

May 6th, 2009 at 10:14 pm

Zola;

I’m not going to forget about what you wrote. I appreciate your taking the time to do so. We’ve both aired our thoughts so let’s just leave it all in the past and start anew. Is that OK with you? PAX.

May 6th, 2009 at 10:16 pm

Von, I just thought that was funny and I am glad you are not mad, because I know the issue is sensitive to you.

“Hey President Bush’s father closed down my agency back in 1990 and I had to transfer to another agency I disliked, but yet I don’t hate the man”

But why? You must have a good heart. Anyhow, this is not for politics issues it’s all about tennis. And let’s hope for fair, enjoyable and competitive tennis season. Have a good night.

May 6th, 2009 at 10:32 pm

Does anyone know how to look up the pressers for Rome?

May 6th, 2009 at 11:00 pm

Hi Sar,

Here’s the link to the pressers as ASAP Sports, under Tennis. Just select INTERNAZIONALI BNL D’ITALIA (MEN), and then the date you’d like to read.

cheers!

http://www.asapsports.com/show_year.php?category=7&year=2009

May 6th, 2009 at 11:12 pm

Let’s be back talking a bit about Serena. Compared to Nole, he’s only 19,20 last 1-2 years when he’s always big mouthing and so were his parents. But he’s changed significantly this year. He learnt how to praise Rafa and not to insult Federer. He’s learnt good lessons a lot within 1 year.And he’s just 21 by far.

Serena’s already 27, so surprised she’s learnt nothing as time went by. How could she let that kind of stupid words out of her mouth? Last year I still read that she said she wanted everything Venus had..OMG..that poor,jealous girl talking that thing to the public.

The more she said, the less she’s deserved that no.1 spot ( neither the real nor the official one). And I might not be surprised if she will keep on losing. I don’t think anyone could be winning with this kind of attitude to the sport and to his/her opponent.

Hope she learn some soonest.

May 7th, 2009 at 3:52 am

Serena talks like this all the time. She doesn’t care and it will not change. I wish she didn’t say what she did because I am sure Safina feels weird about the whole situation enough. Everyone was on JJ case for a while, including Federer but what can you do. My thinking is that this is what motivates her to win. At least she is honest about what she thinks. The other players on the other hand are rather bland in their press conferences, they might as well not have them from what we hear.
She wants everything–I am sure Nadal thinks the same way but he just smiles and is humble about it. They way he plays on the court though, even though he continues to say that Federer is No.1, he knows that he is the best. He just won’t say it.

May 7th, 2009 at 8:49 am

I see Kutzie beat JJ in this tournament. Kutzie is playing really well lately. That is good to see. I think this may be her year to win the FO. I was always surprised that she had not won that tournament yet. I think her game is perfectly suited for clay.

May 7th, 2009 at 8:59 am

“Last year I still read that she said she wanted everything Venus had..OMG..that poor,jealous girl talking that thing to the public.”

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of jealousy emanating from Serena towards Venus, who doesn’t seem to indulge in that rivlary/mindset. When they play each other, if Serena loses, her anger is ostensible and there isn’t a smidgen of joy for her sister. Venus, on the other hand, seems genuinely happy that it was Serena who won. It’s unbelievable. Hence, it would be somewhat safe to assume that if Serena is not devoid of jealousy towards her own sister, how can we expect her to be any different to the other players?

I remember one time at one of the slams when Serena won and Venus lost, Serena said something to the effect that at least the money remains in the Williams family. I thought to myself, wow, this girl is extremely mercenary. I don’t know whether Carillo remembered that statement, but this year when they beat the Serbs in the exho matches, Carillo stated, ‘well the Williams family will eat dinner tonight’. I mean WOW, it’s obvious the ESPN crew thinks that money is the underlying motivator for that family — the driving force. Ergo, it’s no wonder that they only want to concentrate on the slams because that’s where the big bucks are, more endorsements and they only need to show up 4 times per year.

May 7th, 2009 at 12:34 pm

Nice to see Kuznetsova game coming together. Always thought she has lots of talent, but she never knew what shot to play, she is one of those players that has always been very poor mentally. I hope she now found that switch that allows her to use her full potential. I always thought her FH is great to watch when is on, sometimes it reminds me of Federer a little.

Al, you are right about French open, I hope she wins it. It’s probably too early to put big expectations on her but she is definitely going the right direction. Tomorrow she has the tough match with Azarenka. If Kutzy play well then we are in for a very entertaining match since Azarenka is on a very good form too— difficult to predict the winner here. Safina though needs to turn up early, the last 2 matches she started very slow, she was lucky her opponents knew how to choke. If she starts slow with Venus then bye bye safina, Venus seem to have started to find her form. Two great matches.

Serena is tough, hungry and not shy to tell like it is. This kind of attitude is what contributes to her success. Other girls need to step up in GS if they are offended by her attitude. That said, I think the three loses in a row she had, does not bode very well with her FO preparation. Hope she bounce back soon, her matches are always great to see, love her never say die attitude.

May 7th, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Safina trailed 2-5 in the third set before forcing a tiebreaker and eventual victory.

“I’m practicing and I’m playing great and aggressive and suddenly I come on court and it’s completely like 360 degrees, a completely different person playing on the court,” said a close-to-tears Safina following the match. “I just don’t understand what’s going on with me, like what is it with my brain.”

“I mean, every time I go on the court I go, ‘Okay, I’m trying to play aggressive,’ and I do totally the opposite thing,” Safina said. “Way too passive and not the way that I have to play. This is just too frustrating and too sad.”
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Love to read Safina interviews, very much like Safin.

She is right, her brain always goes walkabout in her matches. The amount of matches she scrapped and win from the jaws of defeat is unbelievable. Last year FO she won from defeat –matches with Sharapova and Demantieva. She did the same in this year AO, I think with Cornet ? I recall seeing few more matches she is done exactly the same. She seems to play better when she is really down. Strange!! It’s not the best way to win matches Safina, if she finds an opponent that can serve big and aggressive she will not have a chance.

May 7th, 2009 at 6:27 pm

Jane, that may 4th interview with Serena is very boastful. LOL
They don’t have one of her after she loses to Schnyder. Doesnt’ a player have to give a presser after a loss?

May 7th, 2009 at 11:54 pm

sar, usually a player does give a presser after a loss, yes; I would think especially after slam and Masters Series events. So it does seem strange that Serena wouldn’t’ve done a presser after that loss. Hmmmm…

May 8th, 2009 at 3:09 am