Saturday, January 24, 2009

Jankovic Yanked Out Of The Australian Open

I give you two tennis players.
One looks like she was carved out of wax by a sculptor looking to create the ultimate physique for tennis excellence.
The other doesn't.
One is touted as the best player in the world.
The other isn't.
One has a classic collection of strokes, right out of a how-to book.
The other swings like she's wearing chain mail.
In the topsy-turvy world of women's tennis, who do you think won the match when these two played today?
Number one in the world Jelena Jankovic took the court today looking to continue her dual quest of winning her first Grand Slam and resolving the question of who will be the best women's tennis player this year. Her fourth round match should have been an easy thing. But nooo, she decided to show the mental toughness of a soft-boiled egg and lose in two sets to 16th seed Marion Bartoli.
Bartoli came out with her quirky double-fisted strokes and continued women's tennis baffling trip into egalitarian hell. First Ivanovic loses, now Jankovic gets ousted. To be fair, Bartoli has a serviceable game, and did reach the Wimbledon final a few years ago, but she should be easy pickings for the number one player at a Grand Slam.
In contrast, Rafa Nadal, who is going to be in a for an all-year brawl for his number one ranking, demolished Tommy Haas in 3 easy sets. The point being, if you're number one, you've gotta play like it. When women's tennis finds the personality that can live up to that credo, the game will be in better shape.
On the current events front, can't stay awake, but it looks like Roger Federer may just rally from 2 sets down to beat Tomas Berdych, but we'll see in the morning

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