Thursday, July 1, 2010

Match of the Day

Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia (L) shakes hands with Andrea Petkovic  of Germany after defeating her in their match at the French Open tennis  tournament at Roland Garros in Paris May 26, 2010.
Reuters

This is the match of the day not because it was good, but because of all the head scratching moments that occurred. Andrea Petkovic came to play today against Svetlana Kuznetsova who finally seemed to have found her game when facing 3 match points and seeing her ranking drop like the Titanic. Sveta started hitting hard and deep, pushing Petkovic all over the court and forcing errors. Petkovic needs to know how to hold her nerve in these pressure situations. No way do you serve for a match, have 4 match points on your own serve and lose the match. No way. I have been following Petkovic since Paris indoors and I have seen this apple stuck in my throat moment too many times from her. I thought when I saw her serving for the match and hold 3 match points on the first go round that she had conquered those demons. Clearly she has not. She lost in 3 sets to Sveta 4-6, 7-5 and 6-4. Sveta will either build on this victory or get dumped in the next round. She has not won 4 matches in succession all season so perhaps the chance to defend a title will motivate to find whatever it is that ails her.

Drama of the Day

Italy's Fabio Fognini (R) contests a decission referee Stefan  Fransson (C) during hismen's second round match against France's  Gael  Monfils  in the French Open tennis championship at the Roland Garros  stadium, on May 26, 2010, in Paris.
Getty

The most intriguing match that was called due to bad light involved drama queen Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini. I am not sure why the officials felt the need to ask the players whether they wished to continue. It was 9:30 pm local time, the only lights that were available were the exit signs and it was clear that neither player could see where to hit the ball hence we saw quite a lot of off-pace shots in the middle of the court. This is a Major not some two-bit tournament. Either the officials install lights or they fast track plans to relocate the current

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