Australian Open, tennis, roof,heat wave

I feel the extreme heat policy at the Australian Open benefited just the American players and not all the players involved......
Why did it come into play after Serena lost the 1st set...just to break Kuznetsova's rhythm? it was really unfair for the latter...however you see it.
and
Where was the policy when Djokovic was wilting?
feels very weird....

Doubly relieved

~ Australian Open 2009
Couldn't bear the thought of Dinara Safina losing.... I am so so so glad she got it together and won the match..yay
Federer made an unbelieavable come back against Tomas Berdych...yay yay yay.
I love the color of the outfits the linesman and Ball kids(love their hats too!) are wearing.
There should be a mandatory minimum length of the outfits women can wear...I am not trying to be moral police but come on Jelena Jankovic's outfit is too short....weird colored...that may be the only reason I am happy she lost :)
and ....I love Nadal's cute look...
courtesy:tennis.com

Been there Played that

~ CommonWealth Championships Charlottesville, Virginia 2009.

• This was in Boars Head Inn tennis center, one of the best I have seen and played at.


• Enjoyed playing some outdoor tennis inspite of the cold weather.


• Enjoyed with "Matchpoints" team, the drive to Charlottesville, the lunches, the dinners, the cheering, and most important the playing


• Charlottesville was hilly and beautiful, cold crisp,fresh.
• We went, we played, we reached the finals, but we just fell short ( a wee bit)

We lost but it is good to have been there done that!

Everything Tennis

cute little things I got from a tennis shop for my tennis buddies. My 6.0 mixed doubles team has reached the Common Wealth cup playoffs to be held in Charlotesville Virginia next weekend.
That is where I plan to give these goodies
There are 2 tennis photoframes, 2 coffee mugs, some comfortable socks, one christmas tree ornament, a tennis penholder, some tacky racquet grip and not to mention a tennis racquet embossed soap :)

Battered Ego

Well first came the USTA year end ratings and I am not bumped up to 3.5... bummer and then I lose 4 matches in a row....
they were not matches that I had no chance at winning.... In one of the matches I had 2 matchpoints and lost from there and in the following match I had a set point... leading 5-2 in that set and then lost 5 games in a row!.. lost the set and then finally the match.
You get the picture!
I was not sure that the USTA would finally smile upon me and say ...okay so you are a 3.5 now but you know this was the year I had a winning streak of 13 matches! ..went to Mixed doubles districts and then to Sectionals(My team didnt make it to the nationals but I had won all my matches) won some great matches in the Women's league etc etc
but yes I did have some bad matches as well especially after I returned from India, jetlagged et al I lost the first few matches with scores like (6-1,6-2) (6-0,6-2) (phew :()
secondlyMixed doubes winnings are considered only with you play mixed doubles exclusively!
and plus my net game still sucks
so all in all I guess I still have lots to do before I get there!

The new face of 2008

I love watching Dinara Safina(Right now she is firing away against a Venus Williams in the Doha Year end Championships)

She has that tomboyish, brazen serve of Marat Safin and also has a hunch just like her Elder bro.

For me Dinara is the best thing to have happened to women's tennis in 2008....in a year where one of the best ..Justine Henin retired.

Buddy running with Sam

Sampada my friend invited me to join her cheerleading squad in WashingtonDC on october 26th where she was planning to run the DC Marine Corp Marathon ...her first ever Marathon.

I had never witnessed a Marathon much less experienced running one so I didnt know what to expect but I was thrilled nevertheless.

Running 26.2 miles...can you imagine?

Her other friends had meticulously read the marathon route, figured which mile marker Sam would cross at what time...I just knew my time 11.30AM at the 18 mile mark.

When I reached the decided place I was immediately swept into the frenzy that was the marathon; I saw a river of human traffic, some running some walking and I so immediately wanted to be part of it(I later learnt there were 30 thousand participants!). I saw bystanders calling out names of the runners and cheering them...realized they were just calling out to unknown people by the names written on their t-shirts...how cool is that..the true human spirit.

I was so happy to spot Sam and chugged along with her. There were people holding out water, powerade, placards, infact when crossing the potomac river saw a bunch of people on a boat waiting just to cheer the runners.
By the time I had met Sam, she had run most of the marathon.. 18 miles! and I could feel how every step was becoming more difficult for her...she was at a point where she was fatigued and her mind was throwing out irrational arguments and questioning the point of running the marathon....
But run she did..finish she did... and in her own words "I was able to overcome my injuries and my demons and run to the finish line smiling. I can now call myself a marathoner. "

Congrats Marathoner.. I am so proud of you...indeed in finishing this one you proved that there is no limit or boundaries to the human spirit... if we want... we can!
and thanks so much for letting me be a part of it!

p.s. you can read Sampada's experience here