Rain and Justine Henin are the only dominating factors so far this Wimbledon. Rafa is struggling in the fifth set and Nicole Vaidisova dusted Amalie Mauresmo.
Please don't tell me! No not again!
Yes indeed, here comes the rain
That was the major Wimbledon Story
And it makes Rafa Nadal real sorry
Guy Monfils was sent packing
His mental game sorely lacking
Lleyton Hewitt knew he could do it
Maria and Venus had to say ___ it
But that's Wimby; nuthin above it
raining or not, you just gotta luv it
Rafa Nadal is Pure Athlete
Game point at 2-2 in the fifth is why I gave Nadal a chance to win this thing coming in...that was before all the rain. On that point, he hits a pretty good approach which one wouldn’t expect to come back with such pace and placement, but Soderling did rip a low backhand up the line. Nadal launched himself to the right, hit a diving half-volley, dropshot winner that drew wild applause from the gallery, and my living room. Granted he didn’t intend to hit that shot, but the effort, the athleticism, the hand-eye coordination was simply phenomenal.
Delays Favor Soderling over Nadal
That shot will definitely make the highlight reel, and it may be the shot that got Nadal through the match. And then at 3-3, Nadal goes down 15-40 and comes back to hold. He may not win this thing, because all the interruptions of play is a huge disadvantage to a rhythm player and one who is as ritualistic (can we say OCD) as Nadal. Again, only his fighting spirit gives him any chance of even surviving this match. He has looked as shaky as I have ever seen him look against Soderling
Is Djokovic Pulling a Chokovic?
Sticking with the men, can somebody tell me how in the world Novak Djokovic can go up 4-0 in the second set tiebreak, lead at 6-3, have a set point at 6-5, and then lose the set? If the Williams sisters are drama queens, then Djokovic holds the seat on the men’s throne. He’s looking a little shaky, so getting out of the bottom half might be more of a challenge for him than just getting past Nadal.
Shades of the Old Mauresmo
On the women’s end of things, please remind me never ever to pick Amalie Mauresmo to do anything good in a tournament again. Her champion’s trophy had to be made of plastic cuz she totally melted down against Vaidisova. It’s not the first time against Vaidisova either. Last year I believe she was up 6-1, 5-2 in Moscow on carpet and lost 6-1, 5-7, 6-7. She has apparently returned to her former life as a talented, but mentally fragile, player.
Silent Kuznetsova a Threat
Well, Kuznetsova took out my talented teen phenom, Tamira Paszek, in straights, 6-3, 6-2; so now that Mauresmo has wilted like a fragile flower in desert heat, I’m going to have to throw a few nods Kuznetsova’s way. Unless she pulls a Mauresmo (which she has been known to do) she should be the favorite to come out of the bottom half. Nothing’s changed on the top. The winner of Henin-Williams takes the whole thing.
Other than this tournament being all about the rain, that’s about it for today. Game, set, match....
