Before Venus and Serena came along, the most celebrated tennis player by the name of Williams was a Philadelphian: Richard Norris Williams, II. Quite a handle, but he preferred that his pals call him Dick. Dick almost didn’t make it much past his 21st birthday because he happened to be riding on a steamship called the Titanic that didn’t make it past the interruption of its … [Read more...] about TWO-WOMAN SORORITY SENDS FOES TO THE BOTTOM, LIKE ANOTHER WILLIAMS’ TITANIC
Archives for June 2009
A GERMAN REVIVAL, THEN THE ROOF CLOSING GIVES BIG W LONGEST DAY
They closed Wimbledon’s retractable Centre Court roof for the first time. Why? A Monday afternoon sprinkle that was soon over, but the folks at the All England Club were itchy to play with their new $140 million toy. The weather was acting too nice in this corner of the world that has long been known as the tropical rain forest of Southwest London. Sunny day followed sunny … [Read more...] about A GERMAN REVIVAL, THEN THE ROOF CLOSING GIVES BIG W LONGEST DAY
MAIDEN OF MARIETTA, MELANIE OUDIN, MAKES HER DEBUT
And so it’s no longer Venus and Serena and nobody for the U.S. Well, she was Little Miss Nobody prior to the 6th day of Wimbledon when Melanie Oudin knocked off ex-No. 1 (current No. 6) Jelena Jankovic as the grass sizzled on another hot day – and so did she. A year ago Melanie lost in the second round of the juniors. This year she dodged 2 match points in the opening … [Read more...] about MAIDEN OF MARIETTA, MELANIE OUDIN, MAKES HER DEBUT
RUSSIANS EVERYWHERE DOMINATE THE TOP TEN, BUT DON’T FORGET THE SISTERS SLEDGEHAMMER
Sister Serena has said she sometimes wakes up feeling that she’s a Russian. Probably because in her business she’s surrounded by so many of them. Five in the current Top Ten. Sixteen in this Wimbledon draw, and 6 others who didn’t make it all the way through the qualifying tournament. However, only one Russian doll has conquered the Big W — Maria Sharapova as a … [Read more...] about RUSSIANS EVERYWHERE DOMINATE THE TOP TEN, BUT DON’T FORGET THE SISTERS SLEDGEHAMMER
FOR SAMANTHA AND LLEYTON – A RARE AFTERNOON FOR “WALTZING MATILDA”
For a while – for an afternoon at least – it was like the old days when fearsome Aussies were sod gods at Wimbledon, striding the lawns as conquerors. People named Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Roy Emerson and Lew Hoad – and others – were hoarding the championships. The last one was combative little Lleyton Hewitt, who ruled 7 years ago, … [Read more...] about FOR SAMANTHA AND LLEYTON – A RARE AFTERNOON FOR “WALTZING MATILDA”