Saturday, June 20, 2009

Wimbledon and other miscellany

Laura Robson is keeping a very low profile these days. Virginia Wade and Martina Navratilova think that she and her family are handling her career nicely.

A recent study shows that--surprise!--sports reporters have problems writing or speaking positively about gay athletes and Title IX. The problem with Title IX, of course, is that the great majority--I'd say 90%--of "experts" who write about it do not have a clue about what is included in the legislation. It has to be the most misinterpreted piece of legislation ever. But writers and television reporters, like so many other people, refuse to let facts get in the way of their prejudices.

All week long, Tennis Channel has shown the 1973 Wimbledon final between Billie Jean King and Chris Evert. King won the first set 6-0, and the second set 7-5. It's an interesting match to watch, and it was just Evert's second Wimbledon (she got to the semifinals in her first Wimbledon); she would win the tournament in 1974.

A reader was kind enough to direct me to this feature in the New York Times.

The Telegraph has listed the top 10 "grunters." The problem is that only two of them--Kournikova and Clijsters--grunted. You could actually stretch that to three because Seles did something that was not really a grunt but certainly not a scream. It seems that no one can get this rather significant distinction right.

Laura Golarsa was the first woman to win what used to be called the DFS Classic in Birmingham. But she is probably better known for being two points shy of taking Chris Evert out of the 1989 Wimbledon quarterfinals. Here's a look at a bit of that match--take note of Evert's three consecutive passing shots!

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