RG Day 14: Now With My Words
Posted by gauloises1 on June 8, 2010
Sorry, I couldn’t resist turning things over to the eloquent Ms. Schiavone in my previous post. Who could? She fistpumped the end of her own national anthem. Fried gold.
Anyway. Tough day for Sam Stosur. She played such a great tournament, absolutely demolished JJ in the semis, looked to be rolling … and then came up short.
I feel for her. In fact, I started off the final rooting for her. And I don’t think she played her absolute best, with her big weapon just MIA one too many times, even when she had the chance to really unleash on it as she did with such success throughout the tournament. But I don’t know how much difference it really would have made, because at the end of the day, she came up against an opponent playing the match of her life.
What a performance by Francesca Schiavone. Hard to believe that she’s only five foot five – or that she’s almost 30 – because she played like a giant and with absolute fearlessness. It wasn’t quite Stosur’s day and it was 100% Schiavone’s. How does that happen?
My enduring memories of this match: the one-handed backhand returns Schiavone hit off Stosur’s phenomenal kick serve, and her reaction in the tiebreak, two points from the end of the match, when she celebrated like someone who wasn’t going to be denied. Oh, and of course her actual celebration when Sam framed on match point.
I honestly think Schiavone said it better than I could have, but really … pure heart. Pure passion. Pure will. And a women’s final that was purely fantastic sport.
Thank you, ladies.
Grazie mille, Francesca.
AmyLu said
I thought this match was phenomenal (and no, I don’t think Sam played her best, but I also think she can hold her head high — she didn’t choke in the final, and the outcome had much more to do with her opponent than it did any poor play on her part). In general, I thought the matches on the WTA-side were entertaining, dramatic, and competitive. One of the first times in recent memory where most of the memorable matches for me (and memorable for good reasons) occurred on the women’s side.
On the sixth « raindelaysplay said
[...] you a taste of what we’re missing, check out these posts about day nine at Wimbledon, and the women’s final and day four at Roland Garros 2010. You can stalk her @newballsplease, but only if you’re [...]