(no subject)
Maria Sharapova was scheduled to play the last game of Thursday evening on Court Philippe Chatrier, the premier stadium at Roland Garros. I had the live radio feed going during work and was all set for the match to start up around 1pm EST... but it ended up getting bumped to this morning when Philippe Chatrier was taken hostage by the second-longest contest in French Open history, a mammoth 6-7(2) 6-4 6-4 3-6 18-16 victory by Paul-Henri Mathieu over the last American man in the draw, John Isner.
What this meant for me was that I might get to watch Sharapova play on tv, for the low low price of waking up at 5am today. Well, wake up I did, and I was met with a joke as the schedule had been redrawn overnight, with Maria now playing second of the day on Court Suzanne Lenglen. "Second of the day" means the start time was ambiguous, so I reset my alarm conservatively and snuck in an extra bit of sleep. Now, she's finally up next, and with any luck will be televized in a minute here when her match starts.
I'm not particularly happy with the postponement in general, because it means that the world #2 spent hours yesterday trying to stay warmed up that all amounted to nothing. It's a day of rest lost, and puts her on a track that might lead to playing on consecutive days sometime next week. You have to take these setbacks as they come, and Maria's champion spirit won't be fazed, but I'm a little miffed on her behalf.
To end on a bright note, there have been several delightful defeats in the past few days. Both Serena and Venus Williams were unceremoniously dismissed from the tournament by their second-round opponents; the younger sister had been undefeated on clay this season (except one retirement) and a favorite to win this slam. And as a bonus, the first match on Suzanne Lenglen today featured the rousing failure of Serbian Ana Ivanovic, whom I have hated since she knocked Sharapova out of the latter's first French Open semifinal in 2007.
And we're underway! Back in, like, an hour when she wins.
What this meant for me was that I might get to watch Sharapova play on tv, for the low low price of waking up at 5am today. Well, wake up I did, and I was met with a joke as the schedule had been redrawn overnight, with Maria now playing second of the day on Court Suzanne Lenglen. "Second of the day" means the start time was ambiguous, so I reset my alarm conservatively and snuck in an extra bit of sleep. Now, she's finally up next, and with any luck will be televized in a minute here when her match starts.
I'm not particularly happy with the postponement in general, because it means that the world #2 spent hours yesterday trying to stay warmed up that all amounted to nothing. It's a day of rest lost, and puts her on a track that might lead to playing on consecutive days sometime next week. You have to take these setbacks as they come, and Maria's champion spirit won't be fazed, but I'm a little miffed on her behalf.
To end on a bright note, there have been several delightful defeats in the past few days. Both Serena and Venus Williams were unceremoniously dismissed from the tournament by their second-round opponents; the younger sister had been undefeated on clay this season (except one retirement) and a favorite to win this slam. And as a bonus, the first match on Suzanne Lenglen today featured the rousing failure of Serbian Ana Ivanovic, whom I have hated since she knocked Sharapova out of the latter's first French Open semifinal in 2007.
And we're underway! Back in, like, an hour when she wins.