Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Tennis, Anyone?
That was a
very common expression in the Sixties. I can neither tell you its
roots, nor its true meaning. But I do love the game, and I am more
than happy to write about it.
Rafael Nadal
won the French Open last weekend, for the tenth time!
None of the great players from the past has come close to that total.
One of the main reasons that he has done so well at the French has to
do with the surface of the court. The courts at Roland Garros are
based on clay. Players slide back and forth across the court, chasing
shots. One commentator indicated that no one has ever understood clay
courts as Nadal does. He hit many forhand and backhand winners right
to the corners, often smudging the tape.
The
Australian Open and the U. S. Open are played on hard surfaces.
Wimbledon is played on grass. Understandably, balls bounce
differently on each surface. Players often tap their sneakers in a
manner similar to a batter approaching home plate to clean the bottom
of their shoes. Clay courts generally play much “slower” than the
hard courts. Players tend to play from the base line, whereas on the
hard courts there is more “serve and volley” tactics.
Nadal's
opponent in the final was Stan Wawrinka from Switzerland. Stan was
exhausted after his semi-final victory over Andy Murray. It was a
five set affair that went on for several hours. Nadal, on the other
hand, breezed into the final, and easily disposed of Wawrinka in
three straight sets: 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. There was a major upset in the
women's singles' final as Simona Halep fell to her unseeded opponent
Jelena Ostapenko, from Latvia. Halep won the first set 6-4, then
dropped the next two 6-4, 6-3.
Nadal
has victories in 15 major tournaments, one more than Pete Sampras.
Roger Federer has won 18 major titles, and is still playing very
well. They could conceivably meet at Wimbledon.
Gabriela
Dabrowski, a Canadian player from Ottawa, won the mixed doubles title
with her partner Rohan Bopanna. She is the first Canadain woman to
win a major title. Quite an accomplishment! Previously, her best
finish in a major event was an advancement to thr third round at the
Australian Open in 2015. They lost the first set, but went on to take
the title, winning 12-10 in the fianl set.
Three
Canadian men have won doubles titles: Daniel Nestor, Sebastien
Laureau, and Vasek Pospisil. No Canadian has ever won a singles event
in a major championship.
The
Toronto Blue Jays returned home from their west coast trip with more
victories than they normally have on those tough coastal trips.
Canadian fans showed up in big numbers in Seattle to add support.
They began a five game home stand last night at the Rogers Centre.
The
Pittsburgh Penguins captured their second consecutive Stanley Cup on
Sunday night. There was a disputed goal called back on the Predators.
But the official had lost sight of the puck, he had blown the
whistle, and that was all she wrote. Sidney Crosby continued his
stellar play, winning the trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. Hia name
should be mentioned in the top ten best players ever. He is that
good.
And
the Golden State Warriors returned home Monday night to continue the
series with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Game, set,
match. That is now finished for another year.
James
Hurst
June
13, 2017
# posted by James Hurst @ 8:10 AM 
