Anyone like Tennis?

Sorry - it's "Anyone Like Tennis?", not "I Love Tennis"...

????????????

2 or 3 of us sit in our armchairs watching a couple of matches last night and keeping company whilst enjoying the tennis, that's all, and you wanna make an issue of us not discussing Serena.

Good grief!

I think you're way out if you insinuating something.



I really don't get why you have to do that Snood. I was naive to your thread a couple years ago, or was it last year, and had no idea until the thread developed what you were talking about and the debate that then followed. It's such a damn shame, if you doing that here about this, that you're making an issue of something that is not relevant to what we were doing last night.

I really like you Snood, value your opinions and have huge respect for you ... but dayum, that just makes me sad.

serena was dominant, toying with her opponent last night.
they should revive the old battle of the sexes thing from the 70's, and let her play one of the guys.
i could see her beating roddick...

Sorry if I made you sad, but Serena DOES NOT get her due. The sports headline in the Washington Post the day after Roddick got eliminated was "Yanks Out of Open" - I immediately thought, "Did Serena change her citizenship or something?" I don't see bias everywhere, Izzie... but I see it consistently in the way that people treat the Williams sisters vs other tennis greats.

Yes, I hear you - and after the thread way back when, I see that too.

I can't even begin to imagine the biases you feel and see Snood and I don't mean that to be patronising or anything like that. I realise there are biases, tho I'm not quite as naive as I used to be, I have learned a lot about the way the US and some other countries think since being on a mainly American forum, which has opened my eyes considerably.

I am still amazed on another thread I am reading, about Israel and Palenstine, how some people see the world in such a different way than I do - it's actually quite scary, almost to the point of paranoia - yet, that is how that person feels.

I agree that any person should get their dues if they are great and exceptionally talented at something regardless of any other factors. That doesn't mean tho that people will like them no matter how good they are.

I personally think the Williams sisters are absolutely brilliant and have said so on countless occasions - I don't believe I think of their colour at all when I see them play - I have no idea how to be politically correct in what I'm saying to you because... tho I am very aware of racism ... I just don't think along those lines. They are great because of their ability.

Had you come on the thread and said anything about Serena playing, I woulda been chittering away about how brilliant she is. To be honest, I didn't know anything about the US tennis other than Dutchy had mentioned watching it and Osso gave me a noodge last night because she knows I love the game and Federer was playing. It was actually really nice just being able to watch the matches knowing Osso was seeing the same thing I was (if that makes sense) and commenting between matches.

Serena didn't have a great summer at Wimbledon and there was a lot of talk over here about how both sisters have had the toughest year, making their achievements even more quite remarkable after overcoming injuries etc.

I don't think Serena endeared herself to folk this year as she complained loudly about not having her prelim matches on centre or court 1 - which actually I think is understandable her having a hissy fit about - she was the reigning champion and had the right to be on the top courts - but at the end of the day, it's not going to win her fans and tho there may be a battle of the sexes issue regarding that - I don't believe it had anything at all to do with colour.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/8595262/Wimbledon-2011-sexism-row-as-Serena-Williams-accuses-SW19-of-giving-best-courts-to-men.html

No, she shouldn't have to endear herself to anyone, it should be just about her sport - but sport has changed over the years and the persona is all part of the fan-base now for many sports personalities.


She is a fantastic tennis player. Entertainment wise - I would choose to watch a match like the Novak / Federer match... why, because that's simply my personal taste. Not that I don't like her or don't think she's great, but I enjoy the persona's as much as the game. I sometimes choose to watch the "over the hill and beyond it" oldies matches over the top ticket paid matches as I enjoy watching the people - not solely the game.

Please don't put everyone in the same category as the biases you see - we're all individuals and making remarks on a thread like this about how 'interesting' it is that we're not discussing it, well, I can say for certain that from my standpoint, it's simply not the case.

I have no idea what the media or newspapers are saying about the Williams', especially not the US media, as I have no interest in reading them. I watch the matches and interviews on the TV myself and (even if interviews are staged) try to form my own opinions about that person.

I guess I won't ever see through your eyes but that doesn't mean I'm blind or wish to be short-sighted - and I'm glad you make people aware of what you're seeing, your points are of course valid and worthwhile making... I'm just sad that you thought it necessary to do here referring to the bantering we were having.

Of course, you're entitled to your opinion and can say anything you like and this is as good a place as any.

Anyhoo... in essence, I agree that they should get their dues.


<I'm sorry that you don't know how I speak or the tone I'm using either and that I find it hard to convey my meaning - it can so easily be misconstrued - but I do hope you will consider what I'm saying>

Huh?

I was impressed, but half asleep, or maybe 3/4ths asleep.

Projecting much?

Yeah, I could too.

"" I don't see bias everywhere, Izzie... but I see it consistently in the way that people treat the Williams sisters vs other tennis greats. "


by "people" you mean the media?

or you're attending a lotta tennis matches to observe these things...?

I also feel badly that Venus has been diagnosed with Sjogren's.

But, my saying that now sounds like I'm trying to placate you, Snood.

Speaking of not being up on people, Dutchy mentioned Sammy Stosur yesterday and between one thing and another I didn't look her up. Still haven't. Women's finals start in about twenty minutes... Serena and Sammy. I'll put my dollar on Serena, given how she shellacked Caroline.

Oops, not on yet. The doubles final before it is closing out right now.

No, rockhead I'm not fortunate enough to be aboe to attend any pro tennis matches. And (even though I think parsing my words misses the point entirely in this case) I meant in my opinion, I think the Williams sisters have had a double standard applied to them generally. They are only acceptable to the public at large when they are exceptional in performance and perfect in deportment. I don't see the expectation of that for anyone else, certainly not the men who regularly curse and throw their rackets, or those like the consistently underachieving Roddick.

the public at large scares me...

I think the women have always gotten short shrift.

grand theatre all that...

Neither are many of us able to do that, Snood. You have no clue of my income.

As Rockhead implies, we don't know what the people at matches think and you don't either. We could follow blogs if we all had the time + interest. You might be right, that there is a bias against them by individuals and media. I have been interested in how they made their way from their upbringing to becoming grown women with individual character.

The Williams sisters have tough affects, seemingly; at least that is the obvious take from press material over years. They are not Kournikova or Sharapova or Wozniaki in girlishness-isity. Which means they don't fit the athletic sex kitty format. I think things are cloudier that you take them.

Looks like Serena is still suffering from her foot injury. Last night they had to give her a medical time out to have it looked after and so far today, she's not up to her usual level of play.

Oh, I missed that. Told y'all I was sleepy. That could be very too bad. (see Manning)

I read that Nadal considered stopping tennis because of foot problems too, but not the same as Serena's.

Me, tennis neophyte at best in the past, has high arches with easy ball of foot pounding - wouldn't last even if I was technically good at it, which I wasn't. So, I'll claim a friend who was junior champion in sweden in some year. That she would play at all with the rest of us was a window to her kind heart; usually played with guys. This was all in a marina apartment complex a million years ago, a place and friends that were fun to visit.

She just had a bad call made against her and it seems to have awoken the fighter in her.

Here's the history of her foot injury from Wikipedia:



Last night it was apparently acting up again. She had the big toe and ball of the foot all bandaged up.

Ok, 2-1 second set.

Are you listening on the u s open site, butrflynet? Who is the woman commentator? I was wondering about her last night (while snoozing)..

meantime, I'm starting to understand her speech. Don't know the background..