Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Passing shots

Rosie Casals, the Family Circle Cup's first champion, will be on hand for events in Charleston next week. Casals, known for both singles and doubles expertise (and a mighty on-court fashion sense), will be part of the Cup's 40th anniversary celebration.

On May 30th, the Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear the case of Yanina Wickmayer. The Belgian player is appealing a one-year ban placed on her in 2009 because she did not make available her whereabouts for drug testing. In the meantime, she has been permitted, through a Belgian court injunction, to continue playing on the tour. This matter has been hanging over Wickmayer's head for so long, it's hard to imagine how she has managed to cope with it.

If you've been watching the Sony Ericsson Open, you'll surely want to get to know Garbine Muguruza Blanco. The Spanish wild card had a very impressive run in Miami, and her victims included Vera Zvonareva and Flavia Pennetta.

Martina Navratilova's time on Dancing With the Stars has ended. A combination of judges' scores and audience voting knocked her out of the competition. The excessive, transparent "praise" she received for looking so "feminine" and "beautiful" was, in a word, sickening.

Dominika Cibulkova acknowledged to the press that she backed off from her aggressive play and then hoped Victoria Azarenka "would beat herself" in their three-set match in Miami. Cibulkova led 6-1, 5-2, but could not close the match. Beaten in several three-setters this season, Cibulkova said "It's just frustrating right now and pretty sad."

3 comments:

Sunny nine said...

1. I don't think Wickmayer did deal with the ban thing hanging over her head. Her play seemed to go down when she seemed to be heading upwards. Beating Clijsters must have been a boost for her.
2. Navritalova-maybe it is hindsight, but I would have liked to see her just walk out after what the judges said the first week (referring to what you said, Diane).
3. Do you think Cibulkova got tired and that is why she backed off? Or did she think Azarenka was just getting tired and would make the errors. Anyway, it was bad for Dominika not to just go for it. Although I wanted to see the streak continue. I just wish Azarenka would get the same press Djokovic got last year. Whether it is longer or not, it has been impressive especially when it is her first time winning a Major.

Diane said...

I guess it's all relative. Wickmayer's game definitely went down, but she showed up and kept going, so she was coping in some fashion.

I don't think Cibulkova got tired. This has been a pattern of hers this season, and seems to reflect a lack of confidence.

Nondisposable Johnny said...

Re: Martina

I am really hoping that Evert will continue to have the good sense to resist this nonsense.