Thailand Open 2008 final - Djokovic v Tsonga
written: 5:06 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008
OH MY GOD DJOKER DROPPED THE FIRST SET.
Okay so I was hoping Tsonga would break him back (which he did) after Djoker had an early break to keep the match interesting, and maybe a part of me was hoping Djoker would lose the first set too so that his eventual win would be more interesting...
But now that it's actually happened?
NOOO NOLE YOU HAVE TO WIN!!!
Also, totally laughed at Nole taking injury time for this tiny little scab above his eyebrow. SERIOUSLY. JUST A SCAB. BE A MAN.
But he does have very, very pretty eyes.
**
5.42 p.m.:
OMG Nole got broken. ARGH WHAT WHY HOW. 5-4 Tsonga and he serves for the match. Oh my god I think Nole's gonna lose.
**
6.08 p.m.:
I hereby accept full responsibility for Nole's loss. If I hadn't wanted him to be broken in the first set, maybe he would've won.
Right. It's all about me, right? Right. In all honesty though, Tsonga drew me to his side with his impressive play. Nole got outplayed, pure and simple. First, Tsonga made the match interesting when he broke Nole back in the first set, then made the tie-break interesting when he lost his 3-0 lead but fought back to win. He was hitting these backhand down-the-line winners all over the place and I just couldn't help but be impressed.
Nole did what he could too. And to his credit, he really made Tsonga serve out the match. Nole had 3 (or 4? Can't remember) break points when Tsonga was serving for the match and a few times he came really close to breaking. But he didn't. That last game was so thrilling and I couldn't help but want Tsonga to get it because he was really fighting tooth and nail for his points. And this is apparently his first singles title, like, ever. He deserved it; he was really damn good.
I do wonder what in the world Nole was thinking with that botched between-the-legs shot though. He looked like he could've gone for a more orthodox shot but he chose the between-the-legs, and that was the game when he was broken in the second set. Silly Nole; no wonder he's the Djoker. Hahaha.
On another note, I'd like to express my red-hot hatred for ESPN and their stupid commercial breaks. SuperSports' coverage of the US Open didn't cut to commercial breaks when the players rested between games. What if I want to see Roger Federer drink water or change his shirt (especially change his shirt)? How can ESPN deny me that right? I'd much rather watch the players sit there and do nothing than to watch ESPN's stupid commercials...unless, of course, it's Roger's Gillette commercial which they did show a few times. But still.
Thankfully Stockholm's showing on SuperSports. StarSports is covering the Masters series and hopefully it won't be as annoying as ESPN but I doubt it. Grah. ESPN robbed me of laughing further at Djoker's injury time. GRAH. He injured himself when he hit his face with his own racquet. How come I didn't see it? ESPN, you suck. Need to Google a video of this.
On yet another note, if I have to sit through another American coverage of a grand slam final, I will fucking kill someone. When I watched Wimbledon 2005, I thought I'd finally get to listen to a non-American commentary since it's Wimbledon...but it turned out it was an upload of MSNBC's coverage of the tournament. And, yeah, I get that Andy Roddick is American and everything, but did the coverage have to be so biased towards him? John McEnroe and the other guy obviously wanted him to win but they did credit Roger when he displayed his amazing tennis skillz (which was 99% of the time), but the bloody cameraman couldn't keep his lens off Roddick. And when they replayed points that Roger won, they focused on Roddick. WHO CARES ABOUT RODDICK WHEN FEDERER WON THE DAMN POINT. I WANT TO SEE HOW HE DID IT. I hate American coverages.
I've discovered that Andy Roddick is actually quite cute. It's just too bad that he looks absolutely fug on court in his baseball cap and perpetually oversized La Coste shirts. Does La Coste hate him or something? I don't get why they dress him like shit. Sure he's tubby, but so is Roger (Roddick is tubbier though) and if Nike can make Roger look a million dollars (though Roger inherently looks a million dollars), I don't see why La Coste can't dress Roddick in more complementary, fitting clothes. Roddick is perpetually looking hassled and frazzled, and the constant tugging up of the sleeves does nothing to help that.
I also cannot stand the way Roddick serves - that curved upward left hand, the awkward backward bent, it looks awful. I'm not denying that he's a damn good server, but I just don't like the way it looks. And if he's still throwing racquets after so many years of playing pro...well, I have nothing else to say. Djoker almost wrecking his racquet last year against Rog in the US Open final was excusable, considering he was merely 20 and was playing in his first grand slam. And yeah, I get that Roddick's professional life consists principally of losing to Roger Federer, but still. The whole throwing racquet thing just doesn't reflect well on you as a player.
I do enjoy watching Roddick's post-match interviews after losing to Roger though. They crack me up. He comes off as awfully defiant and petulant and acerbic - absolutely hilarious.
Anyway, I can't wait for Stockholm Open and the rest of the Masters series - Madrid, Paris and Shanghai. I hope to see Roger win all four of them! Sorry Djoker, I like you, but I love Roger, so there.
before sunrise // before sunset
Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010