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Meltdown of the Week

 

Finding Roger Federer Meltdown footage on YouTube is like finding a seat on the Number 4 Lexington Avenue subway at 9:30 in the morning. [Non-New Yorkers, take note: it's rare.] The Greatest of All Time usually deals with blown shots by dragging his middle finger across his forehead and tucking his hair behind his ear. Not this time. This was a semi-final match with Novak Djokovic at the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida. Djokovic just broke Fed in the third and deciding set and was up 15-0 when the Greatest of All Time took his eyes off a routine approach shot that could have evened the score. Federer went through lots of racquets when he was playing the junior circuit; wonder if he felt a little wave of nostalgia upon banging this one hard into the court.

On the Sideline

Entries in PJ Simmons (2)

Monday
Aug262013

This Congress Gets High Approval Ratings: US Tennis Congress

AuthorAmy Eddings Posted on DateMonday, August 26, 2013 at 5:00AM

My tennis hate for Road to 4.5 Tennis blogger PJ Simmons has just reached a new high.  It was already simmering when he told me it took him just five years to improve from a brand new, 2.5 beginner to a 4.0 player. (I've been playing for 10 years now, and have stalled at 3.0.)  When I learned that he's created the US Tennis Congress, a new tennis immersion experience for adult recreational players, my Tennis Hate churned into a rolling boil.

"I see Rafa and Serena and Roger and Sabine." PJ Simmons' magic racquet won't turn you into a tennis pro, but he hopes his US Tennis Congress will get you closer.

"Amy, I'm doing it!  I'm living my life around tennis!" he said as he slid onto the bench across from me at my favorite SoHo cafe.  We were meeting for the first time, after corresponding through e-mail and text.  I spotted him immediately.  He was carrying an unstrung tennis racquet.

Great, no strings. Easier to slip the racquet around his foot and trip him on his way to get his cappuccino.

Click to read more ...

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Sunday
Sep022012

US Open: Hlavackava Upsets Kirilenko, With Help of Swearing

AuthorAmy Eddings Posted on DateSunday, September 2, 2012 at 5:55PM

She's never been past the second round of a Grand Slam, and she's never played in the main draw of the US Open.  So 26-year-old Andrea Hlavackova surprised everyone when she beat 14th seed Maria Kirilenko, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, in the Grandstand on Saturday.

Haters, I'm happy to say swearing helped get her there.  In her post-match interview on the court, she revealed her inner monologue on match point:

"I keep repeating to myself: Don't worry you're going to get another chance... this is not a last chance... But damn, make it!"

Fellow tennis blogger PJ Simmons captured the moment on his website, The Road to 4.5 Tennis.  It, too, is about tennis, but emphasizes the "love" part more than the "hate."  Should I hate him for this?

No wonder Hlavackava was worried.  She was only winning 52% of her first serve points. (Kirilenko wasn't doing much better, at 53%).  She had 8 aces, sure, but she also had 6 double faults.  And the biggest stresser? She faced 11 break points.  Kirilenko, to her unending I Hate Tennis sadness, was only able to convert 3.  

This battle of the wimpy serves won't happen in her next match, that's for sure.  Andrea Hlavackava faces the best server in the women's game tomorrow, Miss Serena Williams.  

Perhaps Hlavackava's swearing in that match will be audible.

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