Those Russian Woman Need to Step Their Game Up

No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova and No. 7 Nadia Petrova were both ousted at the Open today. Sharapova went down in three less than stellar sets loosing convincingly:  6-4, 1-6, 6-2 to 18-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska. Petrova meanwhile, put up even less of a fight, getting knocked all over the court in a straight sets route at the hands of Agnes Szavay.

A Peak into the Past

It was really nice seeing Venus Williams dominate in a Grand Slam again. I kept a close watch on Venus during Wimbledon because I noticed her playing great tennis in rounds 1 and 2, and I really did feel like she had a shot at winning. Did I actually think she would do it? Hell no! I mean she caught some serious breaks along the way. Most notably the fact that Marion Bartoli of France inexplicably beat the number one player in the world, Justin Henin. Venus only had to beat the number 18 woman (Bartoli) to take home her fourth Wimbledon title. Not to take away anything from what Venus did these past two weeks, because she did put on a spectacle. I don’t really think that Venus or her sister for that matter has a shot at becoming what they once were. Between them are 14 total Grand Slam titles. They were the dominate force and biggest draw in tennis from 1999-2002. They conquered the doubles game like no one before, and were generally fun to watch. It was a nice trip to the past this weekend watching Venus at the top of her game again. I see another grand slam or two out of Serena and Venus, but this may well be the last we see of the elder Williams sister in a major title appearance.

Truly the Greatest? Yeah, He Is.

This marks the third time that I’ve written this article, or something like it. This marks the second time that I’ve given this article the relatively same title. But this is the first time that I’ve changed my stance on the topic of this article. I used to believe that Roger Federer could not be the greatest Tennis player of all-time right now, because he couldn’t beat Rafael Nadal on clay. Well you know what? I was wrong. And when I’m wrong, I’m usually really wrong. Let’s break this thing down.

Federer is currently 25 years old and is already tied for third in all-time grand slams (11). Sunday, he won his fifth straight Wimbledon title, a feat only accomplished by the great Bjorn Borg (who watched Feds yesterday with a seemingly disgruntled look on his face). Picture this, by the time the 2008 US Open rolls around, Federer could potentially take away Pete Sampras’ historic mark of 14, and he would only be 27 years old! Sampras won his last title at the age of 31. That’s four more years and 16 grand slams for Roger to claim. And you can be sure that he is going to play past his thirty first birthday. He’s just in too good of physical shape not to. Just for the record, guess who else has never won at Roland Garros? Petey Sampras, who is widely regarded as the best that ever lived. And honestly, I really feel that before it’s all said and done, Federer will steal one title in France away from Nadal. All he needs is one, for the critics to get off of his back. Well, I’m already off, way off, and I’m not looking to get back on any time soon.

Americans Disgraced on the Red Court

With the glorious amounts of free time I now have on my hands, (it seems to be mid-day sports watching for me for the next 3 months), I tuned to NBC’s coverage of the French Open. In case you haven’t heard, the "stars and stripes" have not faired particularly well this year at Roland Garros. In just the third round, the USA is left with just one player, Serena Williams. Our powerhouses Andy Rodick, James Blake both fell this week in matches they should have easily claimed. To make it that much worse, our very own American commentators on NBC, John McEnroe and Mary Carillo were dogging their country. They had the privilege of taking in one of the most memorable games of tennis that I can remember, Rafael Nadal battling Albert Montanes. In game 5 of the just the first set, these two warriors played 32 total points and 14 deuces! The game was epic to say the least. Sometime around deuce number 10, McEnroe made a comment, something along the lines of: ”Good thing there aren’t any Americans left, because there’s no way they would want to play this long". This really caught me by surprise. Johnny Mac has been an ambassador to the American tennis world, and the fact that he took a stab at this country’s game is a bit disheartening. Granted, John was just being John. Making jokes on the air and trying to keep the aura of the booth loose. Which seemed to work, considering each of the other two commentators got a big laugh from the whole thing. I know McEnroe didn’t try to direct his joke at any one specific. And it really is irrelevant in the long scheme of things. But our country’s performance this year at Roland Garros, and McEnroe’s comment only fueled my distaste for the way our American athletes treat a loss on the world’s stage, tennis and beyond.