I worked the U.S. Open tennis tourney again this year; upon flying home, several friends asked me about the tournament. Sadly, no one wanted to know about the "REAL" storylines that unfolded in this year's Open (inspiring wins by Juan Martin Del Potro & Kim Clijsters). Instead, everyone - - and I do mean EVERYONE only asks one thing: "So were you there for the Serena incident?"
Th
e answer to the question is, yes...I was there. But how and why did THAT become the story of the tournament? Let's not forget that she was about to lose that particular match anyway. Let's not forget that Clijsters was unseeded, coming back from retirement, childbirth and honestly - probably just hoping to make a respectable showing on her way back to competitive tennis. Instead she became the first mom to come back from maternity retirement and win the U.S. Open. Awesome story right there. Let's not forget that Juan Martin Del Potro blew Cilic off the court, then knocked out Rafael Nadal, then had to go through Roger Federer to win the title. Awesome storyline right there. Playing so many stout matches in one tourney proves that his win was no fluke - it wasn't as if he got lucky and let someone else take out the big guns before him. No, Del Potro did it the hard way - and fully deserves his big fat paycheck and crown.
e answer to the question is, yes...I was there. But how and why did THAT become the story of the tournament? Let's not forget that she was about to lose that particular match anyway. Let's not forget that Clijsters was unseeded, coming back from retirement, childbirth and honestly - probably just hoping to make a respectable showing on her way back to competitive tennis. Instead she became the first mom to come back from maternity retirement and win the U.S. Open. Awesome story right there. Let's not forget that Juan Martin Del Potro blew Cilic off the court, then knocked out Rafael Nadal, then had to go through Roger Federer to win the title. Awesome storyline right there. Playing so many stout matches in one tourney proves that his win was no fluke - it wasn't as if he got lucky and let someone else take out the big guns before him. No, Del Potro did it the hard way - and fully deserves his big fat paycheck and crown.It is really sad that a great tournament with two great champions, both fighting long odds to win their titles, is completely overshadowed by one person's tantrum. Serena is a great tennis player in her own right, but let's keep the focus where it belongs - on those who rolled up their sleeves and played the best tennis in Flushing.
2 comments:
Couldn't agree with your more Steve. I only caught some of the women's matches and was so excited to see Kim win with her storyline. I watched her match with Venus and was amazed a the story line and how well she was doing.
Unfortunately the big names always get the press. Look at golf. No matter who is doing awesome in a tournament you only here about Tiger and see every shot he makes.
That's true Kevin...I work a lot of golf and it's amazing at how much fizzle seems to leave a tournament when Tiger isn't atop the leaderboard.
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