TENNIS.
written: 1:22 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009

Roger apparently lost. I say 'apparently' because I slept the match away, and the first thing I heard in the morning was my mom telling me, "Do you know the score?"

(I must say I don't understand the logic in her trying to have a conversation with me when she comes into my room in the morning to turn off the air-con or whatever, in a bid to wake me up. Like, for crying out loud, I'm barely even awake yet. My eyes have not opened. What in the world makes her think I'd be able to even hear the words that are coming out of her mouth, let alone understand them? Let alone respond?)

10 minutes later my dad told me Roger lost to Tsonga, got broken while serving for the match at 5-3 third set, then lost in a tie-break. I thought he was joking at first, but nope, he wasn't.

Okay, now I don't feel like watching the match I recorded anymore. I have zero interest in watching matches that he lost, though I am quite curious as to how the second set managed to end 6-1. And how Roger got the 3-0 lead in the third; according to my dad, it was quite brilliant.

Nevertheless, ex post facto, totally glad I didn't stay up. The match would've dragged, and it would've ended unfavourably for me. Oh well, at least I like Tsonga. Now I hope he beats Murray to meet Andy in the final, where he loses to Andy. That's my favoured outcome.

Andy TOTALLY defeated Djokovic. YESSSS. That's the match I should've recorded; I really wanna watch it but I'm too lazy to download and 22 isn't repeating, dammit. I like Djoke, but I love Andy, so my allegiance is obvious. And Djoke's stupid chest-thumping REALLY puts me off him, so whatever.

Nadal also lost. To Del Pot. I expected this, so no surprises there. This means he's in grave danger of losing #2 to fucking Andy Murray which is all kinds of "omg gross please gag me NOW", not to mention ten million variations of "OMG THE DEMISE OF TENNIS IS NEAR". I hate ballpushers and I'm not a fan of a style that's overwhelmingly defensive, like Murray's, Nadal's, Simon's. Gilles Simon, at least, is cute; I can't say the same for Murray. At all.

I feel sorry for Nadal. I'm quite over the Nadal hate, so I derive little pleasure from his losses now (though I'd still root for his opponent. Unless his opponent is Murray. That's the only time in which I'd root for Nadal), and it must suck to see all your efforts go to waste because of some physical, which you can no longer control. Of course, the busted knees are completely because of the way he plays tennis, but that's still the way he plays tennis, and it got him to the top of the game. And for someone who loves winning, this losing streak must really suck.

Not to mention he's going to lose a ton of points for failing to defend the title. Oh my god, I'd DIE if Murray becomes #2. That's just gross. That's partly why I was hoping Nadal would win, just to keep his ranking and keeping Murray in check, but no. It's a sad day for tennis indeed.

I hope Tsonga does what he's supposed to do, but I'm sure he's going to lose. Unless he comes out with his game completely clicking, which is not going to happen because he's as erratic as he's brilliant and talented, he's going to die by the same sword that sometimes wins him titles: his attacking style of play. A near-perfect attacking game will always defeat a perfect defensive one, but sadly, Tsonga doesn't have it. Whenever I see him play he's always making errors left right centre, such that sometimes it's a miracle he's able to win matches.

That said, he's PHENOMENAL when he's on. Like, oh my god, his all-court game is actually intelligent, and the way he plays the game, the way he moves, it's so natural and swift, almost tribal (though not in a racist way at all), and he's such a natural talent. He's really a joy to watch when his game is clicking.

When it's not...well. It's pretty painful. I hope he disposes of Murray, but I'm not counting on it.

If Murray wins this, he should be happy with another Masters series title. Because that's the best he's gonna do. He's not going to win the US Open, or any Grand Slam anytime soon. He can try again after Roger retires. Which is likely to be after 2012. Murray doesn't perform in Grand Slams; it's a fact. Last final he reached was the US Open last year. And he was slated to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and he lost in the QF and SF respectively.

Sorry, he's all hype, little substance. I can push a fucking tennis ball around the court too if I trained as hard as him. Doesn't take any talent for that, and sure as hell doesn't require any brain cells. He has flashes of brilliance (the backhand defensive, on-the-run pass is pretty brilliant I must admit), but god, I cannot stand the way he just waits for the fucking error. It makes tennis so boring. This stupid baseline game is just...I wish the players would mix it up a bit.

Anyway, I don't really care that Roger lost. I'm sure he doesn't care THAT much too. Of course, it's retarded that he lost while serving for the damn match, but whatever. I want the US Open. These little Masters Series can be left to the other players to lap up; these Masters Series are Roger Federer's scraps. Bwahaha.

I'm totally biased, obviously. And if for some reason Roger doesn't get the US Open (okay, not even a possibility that I really wanna entertain. Because if that really happened, I'd be damn sad. DAMN. SAD. Because last year's US Open was the first tournament I ever followed, and the first trophy I ever watched him win, and it was A-MAZING), Andy should get it. RAndy. Roddick, Andy. DUH. I love them both.

I BLOODY WANT THE RODDICK/DJOKOVIC MATCH.

*

Speaking of bloody, it's time for me to clean up a mess I left in the car. I swear, I fucking hate getting my period. HATE IT. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE. I cannot believe how damn inconvenient it is, and I refuse to let it get in the way of my tennis. So I played in the morning despite it being the first day and therefore quite heavy flow-wise. And yeah, my forehand can just go to hell.

Oh wait, it's already IN hell. That's the only explanation for why it's made of utter shit. And the worst part is, I have actually developed a fear for it, such that I mentally start to freak out when the ball's coming to the forehand side. It's such a mental thing, this tennis, because if you don't believe you can do it, you're not committed to the shot. So what happens? Legs become lead. Legs become cement. You're almost rooted to the spot in fear, and your legs feel so heavy, you literally cannot get them to move to the optimal position in time. And tennis is a lot of timing - you mis-time a shot and it goes haywire. You don't get to the ball in time and you miss it, and even if you do get to the ball, if you're not in the optimal position (and there is one), you simply can't hit it properly.

It's so irritating. I don't wanna talk about it anymore.

Okay I have nothing else to say at the moment so that's all.

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