love letter for tennis

[krisherdown]

crystaleyesd had this rather cool idea of doing a letter explaining why she likes the players she does.  It's actually a rather intriguing topic, especially reading the essays both she and calzamante wrote on the subject.  There is one difference in mine - I've been a lover of tennis long enough that my initial loves have retired and new ones have filled the gaps.

Comments

[calzamante]

This is lovely. I have enjoyed these so much, they have all been so jam-packed full of love and heart. I think the looking back thing is particularly interesting, and I look forward to the day when I've been watching as long as you have so I can do the same. :)

[krisherdown]

It was fun trying to write this :) Glad you enjoyed.

[slyreflection]

Haha Kris, your Anglophile is showing ;). Tim always got his own little special spot among my favorites as well, and though I can never quite decide how much I like Andy Murray, he always gets bonus points for associating with Tim XD.

Edberg. Before my time but I had a fun time watching Marat lose to him in the final of an old guys tour. Despite Marat being, you know, not old. XD

Dustin Brown sounds like he's going to be interesting. I don't think I'd ever invest in him as that kind of favorite, but I'd love to see someone follow in the steps of Fabrice Santoro, if that's even possible.

\o/ <3 <3 <3 for Ferru (and Juanqui) being on here! Also, Russians at the very end XD.

Great, reflective, and clearly well thought out list! Interesting to see who your favorites really are, and serious props for writing way way way beyond what you have here- only going by your fic, I don't think you could get half of this! :D

[krisherdown]

Does it really shock you the Anglophile bit? It was just funny how even Edberg got involved in that angle.

You were likely surprised by the Ferru. Which is proof that what I write doesn't correlate with my actual loves since I think I've written fic starring him once or twice (and he's collateral damage in main fics) and I'll likely never write Dustin since he toils on the Challenger circuit.

When Dustin got to play Andy at the US Open, I was happy in the sense that he'd be playing at Arthur Ashe and he'd be seen by a broader audience. He has a different way of seeing the game, which I guess merits the Santoro reference.

Glad you appreciate the work. ;)

[slyreflection]

Of course it doesn't shock me, I just like teasing you about it a bit XD.
It's completely necessary though, otherwise Britslash in all its various forms would not get enough love in fandom ;).

Ferru is so easy to love, your description of him as the one who sneaks up on you is definitely apt. But yes, very little Ferru in your fics! Then again, other than Rafa you don't write that much Spaniard-centric fic unless you're poked into it lol.

[creepy_shetan]

Um... Hi?
6^^;;;;;;
Eeek, please don't throw things at me!

I know, I'm horrible, I suck, I'm shady. Haven't talked to you since June or so... B/c of RL, yeah, but I was also burned out on tennis before and after the US Open. I haven't been around LJ much, in general, so it's not just you, really. >_<;;;
I lurked by sometime around Thanksgiving, read some chapters of Smart People, and then ran away again... Honestly, I thought I'd be able to comment on them that week. Too optimistic, I guess. =/ There's prob a request fic or two I need to read, too...
(I wrote all this out in a private message a while ago, but my internet was being dodgy that day and Firefox ate it. x__x;;)

So long story short, I'm still interested in Smart People (currently around Ch. 15), I plan to read some one-shots (Isner/Mahut~? :D), and I hope it won't be another seven months before you hear from me again. I really am sorry.

[creepy_shetan]

Now, onto your love letter... This is so well-thought-out, it makes me wonder how much time and energy you put into it. Personally, I knew some late-90s/early-00s names in tennis b/c my cousin was a fan and a couple of my friends played, but I didn't actually watch it until the 2006 USO, then truly became a fan during the 2007 AO. (I started following college tennis that spring, too.) I'm only in my fifth year, and I always have problems remembering what happened when or where. How do you keep track of it all, Kris? ...Maybe I'm still just a newbie, aha. XP;

Oh dear, the Roddick & Federer situation. The latest Wimbledon final between the two was heart-breaking enough, I can't imagine the ones before.

I've liked Richie since I saw him play in-person in 2007 (one of my biggest regrets to this day is not talking to him when I had the chance), but holy hell it's torturous being his fan. x__X;; When 2008 ended up being the "Year of the French (Minus Gasquet)" and then 2009 managed to be even worse for him, I realized I actually loved

[krisherdown]

OMG. Am I happy to see you back! *hugs*

I wish I could claim my memory is that good (well, it is about the Andy R-Andy M-Richie merry-go-round at Wimbledon because all three of those matches are burned in the brain for different reasons). The ATP site jogs my memory.

I feel really sorry for someone who's been a fan of Gasquet back when he was actually in the Top 10 or before. That we both think of him as an idiot yet have hope says it all.

Goran played doubles with Marin at the event in Zagreb, likely to boost interest in Croatia. I'll link to the blog about it, which includes video of an amazing point from the opponent.I am okay with Novak winning the Aussie Open. No hard feelings regarding him. He's been the best player the last two slams. I will say that sometimes he really gets on my nerves but the last month or so had built a lot of goodwill with me. You may notice at tennisslash there's been an explosion of Novak/Andy fic thanks to Hopman Cup, Rally for Relief and the gushy interviews both gave related to the final.

[creepy_shetan]

*hugs back* ♥

Okay, good. It's not just me, lol. =P Of those, Andy beating Richie sticks out in my mind the most... I only remember it so well b/c they kept showing highlights from it over and over... I actually had to change channels whenever that happened.

Doubles with Marin? Huh. Throw Mario in there somewhere, and you've got the trifecta. >=3 And wow, that point~! Haha, and Goran's reaction~! Awesome.

Over the years, my feelings toward Novak have been all over the map. All the signs pointed to him winning another Slam (esp USO final + DC title), but a big part of me was in denial during that final. Then, predictably, Andy's Andy-ness decided to take a break. Novak was good; Andy was not. I just fear this has become a pattern. D:
...On a side note: how great were Hopman, R4R, and those interviews? ^_^ I can't be upset with Andy for long, and Novak's making it really hard to dislike him, too.

[crystaleyesd]

This is wonderful - always fascinating to see how people's tastes change over the years, especially seeing as you've loved the game for so long. I always loved Edberg as a child, despite only being a casual viewer back then - if he'd been playing now he'd definitely have been on my list! And yeah, quite a lot of them *do* surprise you. They're sometimes the best ones :)

[krisherdown]

:) It was fun trying to do this. Great idea. Glad you enjoyed my version.