Posts tagged serena

Honestly, it took me this long to get over the U.S. Open. When Djokovic hit that ridiculous return winner to save the first match point he faced against Federer, my only reaction was basically silence until the next point. Seeing Roger Federer set up for that routine midcourt forehand on the next point and have it hover in the air before landing just out, my reaction was basically, “Oh s***.” My mind immediately went back to last year’s semifinal. So did everyone else’s. Including Federer. First, there was the disbelief: “No. No, it’s not going to happen again.” Then, there was the enlightenment: “It’s going to happen again.” Finally, there was the disappointment: “I cannot believe that s*** happened AGAIN! F!!!!!”

I had to work Monday night, so I didn’t really watch that much of the Final. But, then again, I didn’t really need to. My Open pretty much ended after the first Semi; I wouldn’t have even flinched if Nadal had actually crossed the net and beaten Murray with his racquet. It’s such a strange phenomenon being an ardent supporter of a player or team. You invest all this time watching, reading about, living vicariously through your favorite player. When they win, you’re a winner. When they lose, you’re a loser. Capital L. 

On a very different note, Davis cup was the next weekend. It was interesting to see the players move on so quickly. I was even a little surprised that Federer actually made the trip to Australia. I think he was too. He went down a set and a break to Hewitt before realizing that he needed to actually play some serious ball if his trip down under wasn’t going to be a huge waste. Ultimately, he got two wins (he also beat Tomic in four) and Stan “the man who made Donald Young a man” Wawrinka pulled out a two-day, five-set win against Hewitt to take the tie and put Switzerland back into the World Group for 2012. Maybe the Australia tie will give Federer the confidence he needs after that heavy loss. Maybe he’ll win the Davis Cup for Switzerland and check off the only item missing from his resume. Maybe I’ll get another follower.

As for the Women’s final: So glad Sam Stosur won! So glad she beat a real, top player like Serena to do it! Not surprised by Serena’s outburst in the first place. And especially glad that Stosur was able to move past the drama and finish the job.