2019 Running Tennis thread

Dominic Thiem, racist.

Dominic Thiem accuses Serena Williams of showing 'bad personality' in press-room row

 

I can admire how good Serena is as a tennis player -- honestly, how can you not? But I completely agree with this.

 

"I am 100% sure Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal would never do something like that."

Federer said he understood Thiem's frustration, adding that players who had won their match, as Thiem had just done against Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas, are usually given priority over those exiting the tournament.

 

I know I was, in a tennis vein, and I still think McEnroe is one of the best tennis analysts ever. So smart and insightful. But when they acted like jerks, and were at their on-court worst, behaviorally speaking, I had the same reaction to them that I do to Serena's poor losing. This all has little, if anything, to do with race.

 

Probably Serena. Really...

 

Martina was as demeaned and defamed as any athlete since Jackie Robinson for a time. First she was a commie robot, after she defected she was body shamed. Then she was shunned because of her sexuality. She had few defenders in the sport and media. If Monica Seles was white she wouldn’t have been stabbed on the court.

Serena courts the animosity. She’s her daddy’s little girl.

 

Two of Williams biggest and harshest career rants were against women's officials.

All three have all been at the US Open. I think it's that event. I think it means a lot to her, there's some evidence that she thinks players should have more freedom to express themselves there - "I got a code violation because I expressed myself? We're in America last I checked" - and...who knows what else. If a NFL player told a ref he was going to shove a flag down the guy's throat, the guy's getting ejected and fined.

Williams is like most of us. Complex, compelling, full of strengths and weaknesses. She's actually become much more graceful toward those who beat her - for a long time, it really did read as sour, sour grapes - in recent years, and the meltdown last fall...I suspected those were behind her. And maybe they were - until 2018.

I felt sadness watching it. Because I knew what was coming in the aftermath - a lot of thinkpieces that way overdid criticism of her and pieces that tried to make her rant into some larger social statement.

 

Maybe for you..

 

Race is part of the discussion on both sides.

Glamour headline after 2018 outburst: At the U.S. Open, Serena Williams Demanded the Apology All Black Women Deserve

 

Borg
Evert
Graf
Clijsters
Dementieva
Federer
Nadal
del Potro

Those have been the players I unfailingly have been rooting for through the years. None of them perfect, but each comported himself/herself as good as one could hope. Loved to watch Connors vs. McEnroe for the theatrics, but hated knowing that one would win.

 

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Putin strikes again!

Well, Putintseva, actually.

KOs free-falling Naomi Osaka in first round at Wimbledon. Owns a 3-0 record against the two-time Grand Slam champion, who hasn't done squat since firing her coach shortly after winning the Australian Open.

In other news, 15-year-old Cori "Coco" Gauff beats Venus Williams. Already had made history as youngest to make main draw by qualifying.