Once again here are my personal favourites:
Comeback player of the year: Even Martina Hingis' most ardent fans might not have predicted how surely and methodically she made her way back up to the top 10 after three years of tennis inactivity. Does it say more about her or the competition? That's debatable, but no one can dispute that her brand of shot-making is still an effective tool. Hingis scrambled up the rankings week by week, won two tournaments, stayed healthy, went 53-19 and finished at a season-high No. 7. It will be interesting to see if she can improve on this year's 5-12 record against top-10 players.
Yep, that's what I'll be looking forward too:D.
Determined-to-go award: Kim Clijsters, 24, stuck to her guns, saying 2007 will be her last on the tour because of her other priorities, which include starting a family with fiancé and former Villanova basketball player Brian Lynch, getting more education and perhaps working with children.
Can't say I disagree, but I will definitely miss her on the tour. She's such a great competitor.
Most provocative public scolding: Chris Evert penned a letter in Tennis Magazine that called out Serena Williams for recent subpar results that were "hard to fathom."
"I wonder whether 20 years from now you might reflect on your career and regret not putting 100 percent of yourself into tennis," Evert wrote. "I don't see how acting and designing clothes can compare with the pride of being the best tennis player in the world."
Amen to that Chris! lol. No one else but her would have the courage to say that publicly.
Unfortunate irony:
It seemed as if the Williams sisters spent almost as much time in a courtroom as they did on the tennis court this year, testifying in a breach-of-contract case brought against them and father Richard Williams in West Palm Beach, Fla., by the would-be promoters of an exhibition event.
Such is the price you pay for not sticking to your commitments.
Best sporting gesture: Vera Zvonavera reacted quickly and compassionately when Mary Pierce tore up her knee during their match in Linz, Austria in October. Zvonareva rushed over with a bag of ice -- arriving before the trainer -- and stayed on the fringes of the group attending to Pierce until the veteran was carried off on a stretcher. Pierce faces a long rehab of the potentially career-ending injury.
That's what I'm talking about respect and good sportsmanship.
Worst sporting gesture: Maria Sharapova literally turned her back on former Bollettieri Academy classmate Tatiana Golovin as the Russian-born French player writhed in pain on her end of the court after injuring her ankle late in their match in Miami. Golovin had come back from a set down to win a tiebreaker and was making the third set a barn burner until she hurt herself. No one expects a player fighting for her competitive life to be Mother Teresa, but Sharapova's willful obliviousness, bouncing a ball and jogging beyond the baseline with nary a glance toward or inquiry about the condition of her opponent seems the height of cold, not cool.
Another proof the woman is a freakin' cyborg, she could give "The Terminator" a run for his money lol. Oh, wait he actually understood human emotion, never mind.
Testiest exchange with reporters: This was Sharapova's post-U.S. Open championship press conference, which she initiated with a schoolmarmish: "Let's make this a positive session tonight -- please, por favor." Things deteriorated from there. Sharapova tried to shut down talk of her posse's obvious signaling from the stands -- "I just won a Grand Slam. The last thing I'm going to talk about is some fingers or a banana, all right?" -- but spent much of the session verbally chopping fruit salad. WTA officials are considering scrapping the prohibition on remote coaching. If that would spare us similar unpleasantness, all we can say is, muchas gracias.
Ah, the words of a gracious champion *snort*.
Click here to read the whole article from ESPN.
No comments:
Post a Comment