Saturday, August 16, 2008

The one where the Olympics rocks

While watching the Australian Open I made the observation

"If she ever gets some focus, Na Li will win a major".
(Or, her name may properly be written Li Na...I've seen it both ways, and I don't fully understand Chinese names...) I'd only seen her play a doubles match, lackadaisically, and they lost in straight sets, but apparently I still have my eye. This week she beat the world No.3, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the opening match and an American named Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, coming back from 1-4 in the first to win in straight sets.

She just lost in semis to Dinara Safina--she lost the first set tiebreak, then served for the second at 5-4 but couldn't finish and lost 7-5. But she's still in the hunt for the bronze, and if you get a chance sometime you should watch her play. Apparently she's kinda old (26), so maybe a major is unlikely, but I've never seen a woman who so consistently hits her spots, with unbelievable angles and troublesome depth. Such nice strokes!

Speaking of the Olympics, I just watched the end of her match live. The streaming video is awesome. And does anyone have any idea how Phelps won the race shown above? And I thought tennis was a game of inches?

1 comment:

Vector said...

Congratulations on your new Sunday best!