Mornin' Tribe: Most of you know that some sort of glitch in my browser prevents me from posting comments to thank you, add to the debate, or even defend myself against various charges, including daring to re-think my analysis of a match involving a certain Swiss gentleman, xenophobia (for calling Heinz Gunthardt "a sneaky little Swiss" - all I can say, dude, is, do you really think I would sit down and have breakfast with people who aren't friends of mine?), acting with classic- build-them-up-just-to-knock-them-down journalistic cynicism.
The short version is: I'm here to write about what I find interesting and, more to the point, what you find interesting. Nothing sinister or manipulative about it, to my mind. Sometimes I hit the mark, sometimes not. I'm not here to canonize or demonize anyone, but I'd like to praise the worthy and criticize the faulty. And as in everything else that I bother to think about long enough to write about, I change my mind sometimes (not that I did in any substantial way in the post about a certain Swiss gentleman; I just looked at the match through a different lens).
This post is sounding way more tetchy than I'm actually feeling, but I need to get moving here. I realize that because of the inconvenient time difference here, the posts seem to come at random times, so my game plan as of now is to finish this and write a preview of the men's final, then an analysis of the women's final, which begins here in about an hour.
Meanwhile, as per a suggestion from comment-poster JJ, let's make this an "Ask Pete" post. Feel free to post any questions you have in the Comments, and please don't go off-topic; it will make my job sifting through the questions easier. Feel free to ask anything, except to do your homework for you ("What was the score in the Safin-Roddick match?) and keep in mind that my time is somewhat limited. I'll check the comments on the trot, and post answers right in this space (as I can't do it in the Comments)
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Tim - I saw her yesterday briefly, and am supposed to have dinner with she and Roger tonight. They've just finished their camp session for aborigine kids here in Melbourne, and she's doing some hosting for Am-Ex. Hope I get out of here early enough for dinner, and our fall back is breakfast tomorrow. She's sweet as ever.
PS - got to write men's preview now, will check back with you all a little later. Steggs and Tari, please email me (for different reasons).
Lisa- interesting question. Andy did not get fined. But they nailed Paul Capdeville for two grand! One thing to keep in mind is that there's a discretionary element, and it's the chair umpire making the call. So I don't see any institutional trend to protect top stars here. It would be crazy to assume that the tour would protect Andy but not Hewitt or Marat (who did get fined).
Slice - I'll grab Margaret C. if I can, but it's unlikely.
TLS - The word I get from my French pals is that Amelie is sort of backsliding; it looks like the planets will have to be aligned just so for her to play at a high level at majors, but the good news is that she's not a choker anymore.
Viv - equal prize-money is such a touchy issue that I don't want to undertake it here, but I think if you go with a more practical and less "social justice" approach to the subject, you come up with different results. I do think that one thing Serena demonstrated today is that the women need all the talent they can put out there, every event - especially warrior-grade talent. Of which there is precious little. And in this, the women's tour certainly is nowhere near the men's, quality-wise.
Tim - Breakfast with Evonne and Roger tomorrow.
Lleytsie-fan - I don't know, it's a very tough call. My gut reaction is, "it is what it is." That is, this is the direction Lletyon's life has taken, he's got to ride with it - ride it out. I'm not sure that being married to a show-biz personality of the typical kind (if that's what Bec is) is a good match. One star families seem to work better for tennis players, men or women - at least when you're talking about stars in different disciplines. But all that aside, it also seems that Lleyton was suffering from some form of burnout, and he's got the kind of game that, without the fire-in-the-belly factor, is a tough sell in today's game. Remember, this kid's been driven, hard, by his family, from a very young age.
Highpockets - I don't care what Jet Boy was feeling. He was not only fit enough to step on the court, he ran around like a jackrabbit. Any injury is, to me, irrelevant. In the Big Picture, I'd say that transcending "clay court specialist" status has prove a little more difficult for Nadal than many hoped or believed, Wimbledon nonwithstanding. I think he's capable of winning a non-clay major, but it's a bigger ask than I anticipated, with more potential obstacles along the way. Which means, we get to see this year just how serious JB is about his intent to become a player for all surfaces. I hope he does it.
Andrew - I may ask Serena in our upcoming small-group
Creig - See PS at my Baby's Got (it) Back post. Serena's regular presser was collegial, and she was very, very upbeat. She told a great story about Yetunde, producing one of the best lines of the tournament. After Serena beat some chica at Roland Garros, Yetunde apparently told her, "You beat her like she stole something."
Dennis - Pat Mac had to go home on Thursday to take care of some family business.
Ruth - love you, hon, but the homework quotient is very high in that one. I'll say this, the performance that came to my mind after the Fed/Roddick match was, ironically enough, a Colgate Championships in which Martina Navratilova blew out Tracy Austin - a very dangerous rival at the time. John McEnroe and Pete Sampras also played occassional matches that hit the same level as Gonzo/Fed.