french open

This tag is associated with 43 posts

Chris McKendry:What he said, really meant and definitely did not


Victoria Azarenka at 2009 Roland Garros, Paris...

 

What he said:

“She’s the noisiest player we’ve ever heard, so to say she’s ‘quietly’ sneaking through the draw would be absolutely crazy."
Chris McKendry complaining about Victoria Azarenka’s noisiness on court.
 
What he really meant:
“Azarenka’s a fog-horn on court.Definitely not going through the draw silently.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I can play better than Victoria.”

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Great Balls of Babolat: Players having a ball at Roland Garros?


Tennis ball

They’re harder, they’re fluffier, they’re Babolat.

They’re better?

They’re faster—sure, at first.

They’re the fresh tennis balls of Babolat.

It’s goodbye, Dunlop. A new sphere dawns.

French balls at the French Open. Did you expect less?

Shouldering a heavy workload at the French Open? All that running and sliding and now this…

A song-and-dance about nothing, you say?

Well, let’s give the musical some lyrics and a tune.

Here’s to ballsy folk at Roland Garros.

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French party at Roland Garros 2011 (Humour)


2009 US Open

Image via Wikipedia

It’s official.

This year’s French Open is not about Roger Federer. Was it ever? Except for that little aberration in 2009, with Rafa missing.

It’s centres on that Serbian upstart Novak Djokovic and that muscled monster, Rafael Nadal.

Who’s Roger, indeed?

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Maria Sharapova conquers Rome and Samantha Stosur: Paris awaits


Maria Sharapova at 2009 Roland Garros, Paris, ...

Up until the 15th of May 2011, Maria Sharapova had two clay court titles under her belt.

Strasbourg 2010 and Amelia Island 2008 were her only clay court trophies of 22 on the WTA Tour.

But not now. With her victory over Samantha Stosur at Rome on Sunday, the Siberian staked her claim to the French Open this year.She stalked her adversaries and crept up on her prey, unsuspecting. Beware—Maria, the huntress, is on the prowl.

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Tennis Bytes: Barcelona,Julia Goerges and 2 year rankings


You  think that maybe he’s vulnerable , that maybe, just maybe, the challenge of Djokovic and the younger brigade is too much to push back; it’s just too much pressure to hold on but then along comes clay season, and Rafael Nadal rises to the occasion, undulating effortlessly to the top.

“You can’t touch me here, I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee” is what the Majorcan sings out, scything through the field like a knife through melted butter.

This Sunday, it was the Barcelona Open making it two out of two for the Spaniard on his favourite surface this year.

Once again, it was his compatriot David Ferrer who succumbed to the No. 1’s might.

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A Gallery Of Roguish Quotes At The US Open 2010


What they said, what they really  meant and what they definitely  didn’t.

 

Our beloved tennis players are eminently quotable. They can rise to the occasion and serve up wonderful sound bytes  – some terrific , some terrible – when accosted at their press conferences and when grilled at interviews.

A sampling from the articulate geniuses.

 

Quote of the day:
To be pleased with one’s limits is a wretched state. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Can Samantha Stosur Go Far At The US Open?


NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 26: Samantha Stosur of Australia returns a shot to Nadia Petrova of Russia during the Pilot Pen tennis tournament at the Connecticut Tennis Center on August 26, 2010 in New Haven, Connecticut. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Samantha Stosur cuts a striking, even imposing figure on court with her trademark baseball cap and dark shades.

She brings to the tennis court her unique persona and style.

She started out as a doubles player and was ranked No. 1 in the world with Lisa Raymond.

Samantha Stosur is the Australian No.1. She goes into the US Open ranked No. 5, her highest ranking ever at Flushing Meadows.

If 2009 marked the rebirth of Stosur in her singles avatar, 2010 confirmed her status as a challenger to beware of.

2009 saw her reach the French Open semis and 2010 saw her go one better reaching the finals only to cave in to an uninhibited Schiavone. Ironically, it was Schiavone she knocked out in the first round at the 2009 edition of the French Open.

2010 has been her best year ever on the WTA tour. Her career high-ranking of five has come on the back of her stupendous showing at the French Open. This period also includes seven successive quarter-final appearances, a record of sorts.

Quote of the day:
Any woman who thinks the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach is aiming about 10 inches too high. – Adrienne E. Gusoff

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Capping It All!


Jennifer Capriati at the Wimbledon tournament,...

Image via Wikipedia

If you were a newbie following women’s tennis when Jennifer Capriati won the Australian & French Opens in 2001 and followed it up with the Australian Open again the following year, you would not have been surprised to see her at the pinnacle of women’s tennis, holding the No. 1 ranking.

But as avid followers of the game can testify, there is a very interesting and heart-warming story behind Capriati’s success.

Capriati was a prodigy—a teen prodigy no less—and made her professional debut on March 5, 1990,  three weeks before her 14th birthday.

Success was quick to follow!

She reached the final of her debut tournament at Boca Raton, Florida, losing to Gabriela Sabatini in the final.

She reached the finals of her next tournament as well, losing to none other than, in her own words "the lege", Martina Navratilova.

Quote of the day:
Whoever ceases to be a student has never been a student. – George Iles

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Nadal , The Ferocious!


Jun. 07, 2010 - 06007490 date 06 06 2010 Copyright imago Schreyer Rafael Nadal ESP Playing The Final of The 2010 Tennis French Open in Paris AT Roland Garros 06 06 2010 Tennis men French Open Roland Garros ATP Tour Paris Award Ceremony Single Vdig xkg 2010 vertical Highlight premiumd RG Man Men Hommes Men Tennis Athlete Sportswoman Grand Slam Paris Roland Garros Clay France France Boulogne French Open 2010 Open French Tennis Championships Final Rafael Nadal Trophy Cup Victory Ceremony Award Ceremony happiness Emotion cheering Cup.

There’s nothing more dangerous than a wounded or cornered tiger and Nadal was a wounded tiger who had been licking his wounds ever since he was diagnosed with acute tendinitis in his knees in 2009. After being out for the most part of 2009 and unable to defend his 2008 Wimbledon crown, Nadal decided that it was time to ration out his appearances in the clay court season this time around. A little bit of rest and recuperation for his much abused knees could do no harm!

 


Quote of the day:

You can only be young once. But you can always be immature. – Dave Barry

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Francesca hews Samantha!


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Image by martin jančovič via Flickr

“And the mighty oak came crashing down, not with a single wield of the ax, but with multiple incisions made by a crafty little customer.” If Stosur was the mighty oak, Schiavone was the craftswoman who used all the skill and guile at her disposal to bring the more powerful Samantha to her knees; she was surgical in her demolition job making Stosur seem pedestrian for the most part of the match.

Quote of the day:
Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip. – Will Rogers

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