MELBOURNE — Call it Woeful Wednesday. It was the day the Australian Open lost its leading man very unexpectedly – Rafa Nadal. And professional tennis lost one of its most appealing champions. For good, this time – Justine Henin. Put them together and it was a huge, staggering hit for the game. There would be new champions. Roger Federer would fall to a confident Novak … [Read more...] about A PAIR OF HORRENDOUS AUSSIE LOSSES – RAFA, JUSTINE, SHE SADLY FOREVER
Justine Henin
BRUSSELS SPROUTS ADD SPICE TO WOMEN’S TOUR
LONDON – If they had been shooting at each other in a Western, one of the antagonists might have threatened, “This country ain’t big enough for both of us.” The country in question is tiny Belgium. Not much cactus, sagebrush or prairie there, but the firing was fierce as they tried to drive one another out of a Wimbledon canyon called Court 1. No canyons in Belgium … [Read more...] about BRUSSELS SPROUTS ADD SPICE TO WOMEN’S TOUR
A SECOND ROUNDER TO REMEMBER, BETTER THAN MOST TITLE BOUTS
Why go on? The match of the tournament has already been played. I doubt that anything in the female precinct will top a second rounder sure to glisten and bounce about in my neural mush for years. That was Wednesday’s triumphant hello-again for the ex-champ Justine Henin, her 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), victory over Elena Dementieva, a fireworks display that lasted almost 3 … [Read more...] about A SECOND ROUNDER TO REMEMBER, BETTER THAN MOST TITLE BOUTS
BRUSSELS SPROUTS, JUSTINE AND KIM, ARE THE COMEBACK KIDS
Remember that great western, “Shane”? Sure you do. Shane, the hero, after wiping out the bad guys, of course rides off into the sunset while the young boy who idolizes him, cries out in anguish: “Shane! Shane! Come back, Shane! Come back!” No luck. The movie had used up its time. I felt like that sorrowful kid when the erstwhile “Brussels Sprouts” — Kim … [Read more...] about BRUSSELS SPROUTS, JUSTINE AND KIM, ARE THE COMEBACK KIDS