Please do enjoy...
DAVE'S FAVORITE MOMENTS:
I'll start with snark. My favorite moment of the Australian Open? The last time I had to see the Forever Melbourne ad. You know, the one that goes, "Like (inaudible) leads into another world, like an oyster holds a secret, holds a pearl..." How many hundreds of times did this same spot air in a two-week span? Seriously?! If ever there was a reason to produce a SERIES of ads, rather than a standalone spot, this was it. Take note, advertisers.
On to tennis. Unfortunately, Google has failed me. I've searched several dozen variations of the following phrase, to no avail:
"serena williams getting knocked over by madison keys forehand"
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| Not the moment, but same expression. |
Absolutely loved Sharapova's gracious concession speech, following her loss in the women's final. Read my post, and watch the video here.
Hingis is a Grand Slam champion once again, winning the mixed doubles title with Leander Paes. Didn't get to see any of the action, which is annoying. But, I'm happy for both of them.
This is silly, I suppose, but I loved Wawrinka's photo shoot with the puppies -- puppies! -- of Guide Dogs Victoria. (This was right before his semifinal loss to Djokovic.) Stan seems like such an affable guy. I just wish I found his brand of tennis as charming. Maybe his game will grow on me?
Honestly, I have very little to say about the men's draw, and certainly few, if any moments, that stand out as spectacular. I honestly found most of the matches to be incredibly dull and uninspiring. And, of course, my heart sank when Nadal and Federer both lost early. I'm not sure what the men's game needs. But, at least for me, I'm currently bored by the ATP.
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| Drying the court with towels? What?! |
My absolute favorite moment of the Australian Open? There's just no doubt about this one. How about the army of ball kids drying the court with towels? Right?! If you missed this moment during the women's final, you missed a classic. The whole absurdity and antiquity of this situation still makes me laugh. Invest in some drying equipment, already!
Let's see what Bess found to be memorable...
BESS'S FAVORITE MOMENTS:
That pre-tournament interview with Hewitt/Federer, after a Fast4 exhibition match. The whole thing is pretty entertaining, but it's 14+ minutes long. For the highlight, FF to the 9:52 mark and hear Roger pause as he's asked to think of a loss that really hurt him. Love how Lleyton interjects, "You couldn't come up with one! That is a real problem! That's what happens if you have 1,000 wins!" Great fun.
Tim Smyczek's sportsmanship, and Rafa's reaction. I blogged about it here, but this brief video shows what went down...
The crowd and Rafa laughing during his match against Kevin Anderson as the ball kid is instructed to pick up Rafa's toppled water bottle. Everyone knows how finicky Rafa is about the placement of the water bottles. I love how careful the ballkid is... and the crowd's reaction... and Rafa's genuine smile and laugh--rare to see on court!:
The clip of Chris Evert looking askance at something one of her co-commentators said. This is me half the time when I read Dave's blog posts. ;-) Kidding, D!
The clip of Chris Evert looking askance at something one of her co-commentators said. This is me half the time when I read Dave's blog posts. ;-) Kidding, D!
Hat tip to Courtney Nguyen who linked to this hilarious Vine video featuring Maria Sharapova. Painful!
One of my favorite writers, Anne Lamott, frequently tweets about grand slam tennis. While her Aussie Open tweets were too few and far between this year, they still make me laugh. And I just like knowing she and I share this common interest:
I get that there are different dynamics in the Serena/Keys relationship compared to the Maria/Bouchard relationship (especially because Serena and Keys are both Americans and therefore likely more familiar with one another) but... this image contrasting the warm Serena/Keys hug at net and the icy Sharapova/Bouchard barely-a-handshake at net was striking. After all, Keys and Bouchard are up-and-comers who were both playing (and losing to) their former idols. Sheesh. Lighten up, Genie!
(As I was Googling for the Sharapova/Bouchard image below, I came across this short piece on the topic.)
After being caught on camera cursing during the Murray/Berdych match (and subsequently Gif'd and Vine'd to death--see Dave's post on the matter), Murray's fiancee Kim Sears showed up to the men's final wearing this shirt. Sears for the win!
(As I was Googling for the Sharapova/Bouchard image below, I came across this short piece on the topic.)
After being caught on camera cursing during the Murray/Berdych match (and subsequently Gif'd and Vine'd to death--see Dave's post on the matter), Murray's fiancee Kim Sears showed up to the men's final wearing this shirt. Sears for the win!
We could go on, but... it's time to wrap this up. Admittedly, we see a fraction of the coverage, so likely have missed some key highlights!
TENNIS FANS: Are some of our favorite moments also yours? What did we miss that stands out for you?
Interesting take on the state of the men's game, Dave. I actually thought this was a really fun tournament on both sides, with a number of interesting and/or fun storylines. On the men's side, I thought the number of five-setters in the early rounds made things more interesting than those rounds often are. The young Aussies also added a fun dynamic and some rousing late night matches. I like the continuing narrative of the newcomers knocking on the door, but not *quite* being able to force their way in.
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