Sporty spice
What an amazing weekend at the Australian Open! I was up until 5:30 a.m. this morning watching the Federer/Tipsarevic match, because there's no way I'm going to bed when Federer is being pushed to a fifth set. It's an unusual occurence in itself, but for him to have to go to 10-8 in the fifth to win in the third round of a Slam is unreal. Obviously he wasn't in his best form, but it was a terrific match. Full marks to Tipsarevic for hanging in there and giving Roger a fight. I was really worried for Roger a few times in the match, and I'm glad he pulled through. Four and a half hours is a long time to be playing tennis.
Then this afternoon I saw the airing of the Hewitt/Bagdatis match, which also went four and a half hours, ending at 4:33 a.m. Melbourne time -- the latest finish for a Grand Slam tennis match ever. It says a lot about the Aussie fans that the stadium was still pretty full. I loved it when the American commentator (not Patrick McEnroe, the ESPN guy) was like, Is there a waffle house around here? I need some breakfast. Hee.
I really love Baghdatis, who never gives up and has a great personality and big smile. I've never been a huge Hewitt fan, but I'm happy for him to get that big win in his home country. Now he's got Djokovic in the next round, and I expect that'll be the end of Hewitt, but we'll see. Nice how Baghdatis came around and they had a long embrace and talk. I enjoy good sportsmanship.
Here's a neat picture of Marcos, trying to find the strength to battle on:
Also some shots from the Federer/Tipsarevic match, as well as my fave head shot of Janko. YUM.
There's also figure skating this weekend (Canadian Nationals), so I'm in heaven. I'm so, so happy for Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay. She skated so many years with Patrice Archetto (who was a dickhead by many accounts) and never could quite win the title. Skating with Cody, who just seems to be an absolute dear, she's so happy and now they're champions.
And Patrick Chan! Wow, what an amazing performance that was. Even though I'm sad for Jeff Buttle, Patrick skated one of the best long programs I've seen this year, and he richly deserved the win. Youngest male champion ever, and his future is so, so bright.
Like I said, I'm really happy for Anabelle and Cody. I was shocked Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison were in fifth after the short and that the judges didn't prop them up more. Not that I think it's bad that the judges didn't, but it was surprising. I was very glad to see Jess and Bryce skate a good long program, and really, if they had to lose their title, this wasn't a bad time to do it. Still a couple of years until Olympics.
I was also impressed with the brother/sister team of Kyra and Dylan Moscovitch. There's always a bit of an ick factor with sibling pairs -- you've got to get pretty handsy with your sister -- but they're quite talented. The unison on the spins is fantastic, and considering she's only 14 (he's 23), they could really get better over the next few years. However, they'd better hope she stops growing, because they just won't be able to do the tricks if she's too tall.
Back to the men: I'm thrilled for Shawn Sawyer getting the bronze, and I really wish there was a third slot for Worlds. *glares at Emanuel Sandhu* Speaking of Sandhu, I didn't miss him at all. I hope he stays gone. It was great to see Jeffrey Buttle have a good competition, but that fall on the triple axel in the long did him in. He was so disappointed to lose the title, but at least he can be proud of his skate.
Looking forward to Virtue and Moir in the free dance. Not really too invested in the women; I'm sure Joannie Rochette will win. I'd have loved to see Lesley Hawker get second, but it doesn't look like that'll happen.
Then this afternoon I saw the airing of the Hewitt/Bagdatis match, which also went four and a half hours, ending at 4:33 a.m. Melbourne time -- the latest finish for a Grand Slam tennis match ever. It says a lot about the Aussie fans that the stadium was still pretty full. I loved it when the American commentator (not Patrick McEnroe, the ESPN guy) was like, Is there a waffle house around here? I need some breakfast. Hee.
I really love Baghdatis, who never gives up and has a great personality and big smile. I've never been a huge Hewitt fan, but I'm happy for him to get that big win in his home country. Now he's got Djokovic in the next round, and I expect that'll be the end of Hewitt, but we'll see. Nice how Baghdatis came around and they had a long embrace and talk. I enjoy good sportsmanship.
Here's a neat picture of Marcos, trying to find the strength to battle on:
Also some shots from the Federer/Tipsarevic match, as well as my fave head shot of Janko. YUM.
There's also figure skating this weekend (Canadian Nationals), so I'm in heaven. I'm so, so happy for Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay. She skated so many years with Patrice Archetto (who was a dickhead by many accounts) and never could quite win the title. Skating with Cody, who just seems to be an absolute dear, she's so happy and now they're champions.
And Patrick Chan! Wow, what an amazing performance that was. Even though I'm sad for Jeff Buttle, Patrick skated one of the best long programs I've seen this year, and he richly deserved the win. Youngest male champion ever, and his future is so, so bright.
Like I said, I'm really happy for Anabelle and Cody. I was shocked Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison were in fifth after the short and that the judges didn't prop them up more. Not that I think it's bad that the judges didn't, but it was surprising. I was very glad to see Jess and Bryce skate a good long program, and really, if they had to lose their title, this wasn't a bad time to do it. Still a couple of years until Olympics.
I was also impressed with the brother/sister team of Kyra and Dylan Moscovitch. There's always a bit of an ick factor with sibling pairs -- you've got to get pretty handsy with your sister -- but they're quite talented. The unison on the spins is fantastic, and considering she's only 14 (he's 23), they could really get better over the next few years. However, they'd better hope she stops growing, because they just won't be able to do the tricks if she's too tall.
Back to the men: I'm thrilled for Shawn Sawyer getting the bronze, and I really wish there was a third slot for Worlds. *glares at Emanuel Sandhu* Speaking of Sandhu, I didn't miss him at all. I hope he stays gone. It was great to see Jeffrey Buttle have a good competition, but that fall on the triple axel in the long did him in. He was so disappointed to lose the title, but at least he can be proud of his skate.
Looking forward to Virtue and Moir in the free dance. Not really too invested in the women; I'm sure Joannie Rochette will win. I'd have loved to see Lesley Hawker get second, but it doesn't look like that'll happen.