#881 - My First Tennis Tournament

ENGLISH

Today is one of the historic days in my life. What happened today? Well, today I watched my first ever tennis tournament in my life! It was the Rotterdam Tournament in Rotterdam, not so far away from where I live now. Well, you might know that I am a fan of tennis and back in Indonesia, there was no easy opportunity for me to freely watch a tournament, namely a big one. This tournament in Rotterdam can be categorized as big tournament as it was part of the ATP World Tour 500, in term of level just below ATP Masters Series and Grand Slams.

Anyway, my ticket allowed me to watch both finals held today, singles and doubles. Actually, none of my favorite players made it to the final though (Andy Murray and Gilles Simon both lost in the first round of singles and the Murray brothers lost in the semifinals to Melzer/Petzschner in doubles). But still, I was so excited to finally watch my first tennis tournament!

So this morning I departed at around 10 AM from Delft and arrived there at Ahoy Stadium at almost 11 AM. As the first match would start at noon, I killed time by walking around the tennis complex. I was so excited! I mean, finally!! I got "wow"-ed. Anyway, when I reached the Centre Court (the main court), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was practising there! The second "wow" striked me.

Btw, I got a little problem in finding my seat. My seat number was a little unusual as my ticket indicated it was in G1 area. I asked the official and they said there was NO G1 area, so they suggested me to try Gi instead as the area should be indicated with "two letters" instead of one letter and one number. I went to Gi, but the seat number did not match (seat with the number indicated in my ticket was not in Gi area). So I decided to ignore the area and just found a seat with my number as I recognized that the seat-numbering continued from one area to another, so there was a good chance the area meant really nothing in the seat-numbering system. However, I was (partly) wrong (and a bit unlucky) as I got the wrong seat. A Dutch man said that that seat was his as it was in area Gc, so mine was not supposed to be that one. So, where the hell was my seat?? I went to the other part of the stadium, and finally also found a seat with that number. I did not pay attention to the area as the double match was almost started. Noone was sitting on that seat and so I just sat there, enjoying the match. During the break, I checked the area, and yes, it was G1 area, hahaha. Btw, I just realized one thing: it might not be G1 afterall, it might be Gl (Golf Lima)!! See!! Gl, typed with several fonts, looked like G1!! Well, now it just makes sense!! hahaha

Btw, that Dutch man was really kind. During the break between the two final, I met him when I was walking to the cafe to buy a drink. He approached me and asked if I found my seat! Wow!!

Anyway, so I watched the two finals. The doubles final was cool. Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner defeated Michaël Llodra and Nenad Zimonjić by 6-4, 3-6, [10-5]. There were several great and entertaining points. It was a bit a shame that Zimonjic double faulted in the last two points, giving the victory to Melzer/Petzschner away. Btw, the match was led by Mohamed Kalyani. Well, this guy is really one of the most entertaining chair umpire in the world! :-)

As for the singles final, it was also a great match. Well, none of Robin Söderling and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is my favorite player, so I was kinda in the neutral side today. Well, both players demonstrated a really high quality of play today. There were so many great points produced. In the second half of the match, actually Tsonga got the momentum. At one point, he even produced four consecutive aces, giving him one game free!! However, he did choke at one game in the deciding set, and this game proved to be the key to Robin Söderling's victory over him. Robin Söderling closed the championships with an ace and won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Well, for my first tennis tournament, I think it went really well. All matched that I watched took three sets (good, it meant longer match so I got more match to watch with the same price of ticket, lol). And all of them were really good quality! I think I am coming back next year! Btw, I am also looking for some affordable upcoming tournaments nearby. I am currently eyeing at the Brussels Ladies Open next May, it will be a Premier level tournament for the women played on red clay. But I need to see the entry list first before deciding whether I should go or not, hmmm.

::: Doubles' Final match between Michaël Llodra/Nenad Zimonjić and Jürgen Melzer/Philipp Petzschner.

::: Jürgen Melzer/Philipp Petzschner defeated Michaël Llodra/Nenad Zimonjić by 6-4, 3-6, [10-5]

::: Robin Söderling serving.

::: Closing ceremony of the 2011 ABM Amro World Tennis Tournament.

::: Robin Söderling was crowned as this year's winner, defending his title from last year.

::: Championships point for Söderling. Robin Söderling won this point, thus closing this year's tournament, with a beautiful ace.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Hari ini adalah hari bersejarah dalam hidupku. Mengapa demikian? Yah, karena hari ini aku untuk pertama kalinya seumur hidup nonton yang namanya turnamen tenis! Turnamennya adalah Turnamen Rotterdam di Rotterdam, nggak jauh dari dimana aku tinggal sekarang. Yah, mungkin pada tau lah kalau aku ini fans-nya tenis dan di Indonesia, nggak ada banyak kesempatan dimana aku bisa dengan mudah dan bebas nonton turnamen tenis, apalagi yang besar. Turnamen di Rotterdam ini bisa dikatakan besar, karena turnamen ini ada di level ATP World Tour 500, yang dari segi level hanya ada di bawahnya ATP Masters Series dan Grand Slams.

Ngomong2, tiketku memberikanku akses untuk nonton kedua final hari ini, tunggal dan ganda. Sebenarnya, pemain favoritku nggak ada yang amsuk final sih (Andy Murray dan Gilles Simon sudah kalah di babak pertama tunggal dan Murray bersaudara kalah di semifinal ganda dari Melzer/Petzschner). Tapi ya, masih aja dong aku bersemangat nonton turnamen tenis pertamaku!

Jadi, pagi ini aku berangkat jam 10 pagi dari Delft dan tiba di Stadium Ahoy sekitar jam 11 pagi. Karena pertandingan pertama baru mulai jam 12 siang, aku jalan-jalan dulu lah keliling komplkeksnya. Aku sangat bersemangat loh! Maksudku, akhirnya gitu!! Aku merasa "wow". Ngomong2, ketika aku sampai di Centre Court-nya (lapangan utama)m disana Jo-Wilfried Tsonga sedang berlatih! Yah, "wow" kedua menghampiriku.

Btw, aku mendapat masalah kecil dalam mencari kursiku. Nomer kursiku agak nggak biasanya karena tiketku menunjukkan kursiku ada di area G1. Aku bertanya ke panitianya dan katanya nggak ada tuh area G1, jadi mereka menyarankanku mencoba mencarinya di area Gi karena areanya diberi nama dengan "dua huruf" bukannya satu huruf satu angka. Aku kemudian mencarinya di Gi, tapi nggak ketemu soalnya nomer kursinya nggak ada yang cocok (nomer kursiku nggak ada di area Gi). Makanya kemudian aku memutuskan untuk mengabaikan areanya dan mencari kursi dengan nomer yang cocok denganku karena aku sadar bahwa nomer kursinya berlanjut dari satu area ke area lain, jadi ada kemungkinan sebenarnya area itu tidak berarti apa-apa dalam sistem penomoran kursi. Namun, ternyata aku (setengahnya) salah (dan agak kurang beruntung) karena aku duduk di kursi yang salah. Ada seorang Belanda yang berkata kalau kursi yang kududuki adalah kursinya karena kursi itu ada di area Gc, jadi kursiku ya bukan kursi itu. Nah, jadi dimana dong kursiku?? Aku trus jalan ke sisi lain stadionnya, dan akhirnya menemukan satu kursi dengan nomer itu. Aku nggak terlalu memperhatikan areanya karena pertandingan final ganda sudah mau dimulai. Nggak ada yang duduk disana ya udah aku duduk aja disitu, menikmati pertandingannya. Di saat istirahat, iseng aku mengecek areanya, dan bener, itu adalah area G1, hahaha. Btw, aku baru menyadari sesuatu nih: mungkin area itu bukanlah area G1 loh, mungkin aja adalah area Gl (Golf Lima)!! Lihat kan!! Gl, kalau diketik dengan beberapa fonts, kan kelihatan mirip banget sama G1!! Ah, akhirnya semua masuk akal sekarang!! hahaha

Btw, orang Belanda yang itu baik banget loh. Di sesi istirahat antara kedua final, aku bertemu dengannya lagi ketika aku lagi jalan ke kafe buat beli minum. Dia menghampiriku dan bertanya apakah aku akhirnya menemukan kursiku! Wow, ramah banget yah!!

Ngomong2, jadi aku menonton kedua finalnya. Final ganda keren juga tuh. Jürgen Melzer dan Philipp Petzschner mengalahkan Michaël Llodra dan Nenad Zimonjić dengan skor 6-4, 3-6, [10-5]. Ada beberapa poin yang hebat dan sangat menghibur. Sayang aja di dua poin terakhir Zimonjic melakukan double fault dua kali, memberikan kemenangan pada Melzer/Petzschner. Btw, pertandingan final ini dipimpin oleh Mohamed Kalyani. Yah, dan memang, orang satu ini memang salah satu wasit tenis yang paling menghibur di dunia deh!! :-)

Untuk final tunggalnya, pertandingannya juga keren banget. Yah, baik Robin Söderling maupun Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bukan pemain favoritku sih, makanya aku lumayan netral tadi. Keduanya bermain dengan sangat baik hari ini. Ada banyak poin keren yang dimainkan. Di setengah kedua pertaandingan, sebenarnya Tsonga yang lebih menguasai momentumnya. Bahkan, di satu poin, ia menghasilkan empat aces berturut-turut loh, memberikannya satu game dengan mudah!! Namun, ia agak "tersedak" sedikit di satu game di set ketiga dan memang akhirnya terbukti game inilah kunci kemenangan Robin Söderling's atas dirinya. Robin Söderling menutup turnamen dengan sebuah ace dan menang 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Yah, untuk turnamen tenis pertamaku, aku rasa turnamen ini keren banget sih. Semua pertandingan yang aku tonton berlangsung tiga set (bagus, artinya makin banyak dan lama pertandingan yang kutonton dengan harga tiket ini, lol). Dan semuanya juga berkualitas bagus! Aku rasa aku akan nonton lagi deh tahun depan! Btw, aku juga sekarang lagi mencari beberapa turnamen akan datang yang harga tiketnya terjangkau nih dan lokasinya dekat2 nih. Aku sih sekarang sedang memasang mata di turnamen Brussels Ladies Open bulan Mei nanti, sebuah turnamen level Premier untuk petenis wanita yang dimainkan di tanah liat merah. Tapi aku harus melihat daftar pemainnya dulu deh sebelum memutuskan akan pergi atau tidak, hmmm.

#877 - 2011 Australian Open

pre-note: this entry will only be written in English :-)

Last Sunday, this year's edition of the Australian Open, one of this year's grand slam tournaments, was concluded. As the first grand slam of the year, which is held in the end of January, of course this tournament is always very interesting to watch as we can expect a bit more upsets because some top players might still have not found their top forms yet. Anyway, let me elaborate my thought about this year's edition of the tournament.

Women's Singles

Even before the tournament started, about one month prior, there had been a big upset in the women's draw. The defending champion, Serena Williams, announced her withdrawal from the tournament because of the continuing rehabilitation of her foot injury. This left the women's draw to be extremely wide open: many players could be the champion. For me, before the tournament started, I had three players in my mind who were more likely to be the champion: Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki, and Venus Williams. Well, picking Venus Williams might be a "weird" one since she had been sidelined for most of the second half of 2010 due to knee injury, but she is one of the Williams sisters, of course she is still a contender to win the title. Even with that knee injury, she came so close to winning the US Open title last year.

::: Li Na of China

As the tournament progressed, I think my picks was proven to be a good one. Well, of course Venus Williams got eliminated in the third round, but it was because of an unexpected injury she suffered during her second round match (in a match that she miraculously still won). Both Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters made it to the semifinal where en route, Clijsters created a history by double-bageling a former world no.1 (Dinara Safina) in the first round, the first time ever in the open era it happened in a grand slam tournament. However, an underdog, Li Na of China, slowly and steadily dug deeper into the tournament. In the end, she beat the world no.1 Wozniacki after saving a match point to be the first ever Chinese player to reach a grand slam final. From the other side of the draw, Kim Clijsters emerged to be in the other side of the net.

Of course Kim Clijsters was the heavy favorite of this final match. Well, but then, it turned out that Li Na was mentally so strong! She was really calm in the first set, taking it 6-3! It was her first grand slam final, so it must have been very overwhelming for her, but she managed the pressure well. She definitely handled it way better than Dinara Safina two years ago (Safina lost the first set 0-6 to Serena Williams exactly two years before). However, in the second set, Clijsters proved why she had won three US Open titles and many other titles. She had all the experiences and she definitely took advantages out of that. While Li Na somehow could not maintain her level, Clijsters geared up and never looked back. She won the last two sets 6-3, 6-3 to claim her first ever Australian Open title.

::: Kim Clijsters with her Australian Open throphy.

Btw, there has been a rumor that 2011 might be Clijsters' last year on tour. It was getting more worrying when Clijsters did not say "See you next year" in her winning speech, hmmm...

Men's Singles

In the beginning, the men's draw was a bit more predictable. Robin Soderling and Andy Murray's ranking change (Soderling to number 4, Murray down to number 5) did not appear to be a major change as the two were still in the same quarter of the group (not like last year where Murray met Nadal in the quarterfinals). The favorite one was of course Rafael Nadal, who had won all three major proceeding this Australian Open and was chasing for "Rafa Slam" where IF he won this tournament, he would have hold all grand slam titles simultaneously (kinda like Serena Williams in 2003). The other favorites were familiar faces: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. Robin Soderling and Tomas Berdych followed silently behind them. My pick for the winner would be Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Andy Murray, and maybe Novak Djokovic (it was tough to pick one of these guys though, because they were pretty much at the same level and they were all hungry to win a major title).

As the tournament progressed, all these players proved that they were the favorites. Nadal lost in the quarterfinal to David Ferrer because of an apparent injury. But aside from him, Federer, Djokovic, and Murray moved to the semifinals. Federer lost to Djokovic there, and I was so happy because finally we would have a major final with no Federer nor Nadal. Well, do not get me wrong. Not that I do not like both of them, but it is just that the two of them had been dominating grand slam for the past several years. Some new names to be in that league are of course a really nice addition as the competition is getting more open, right? Anyway, in the other side of the draw, Murray managed to make his way to his second straight Australian Open final.

::: Andy Murray celebrating after winning a point.

For the final, I really hoped Murray would win, as I think it was already a time for him to finally win a major title. It had been tough for him, with all the expectations from UK media, and I think it would be nice for him to finally release that burden. Beside, I think he had all he needed to win a major title and he was not facing Roger Federer this time. However, somehow in the final, he just shrank!! I did not what happened to him but it was clearly he was not even close to his best. Djokovic controlled pretty much everything on the match, winning it in straight sets. I still do not understand why Andy Murray, so far, always shrinks everytime he reaches a major final, hmmm. Well, it actually does not matter if he lost in the final, as long as he played his best effort and games in that final, but the thing is, he was not playing his best in that final. That is what's strange for me, hmmm... . I still hope Andy will win a major title soon :-)

Doubles

The Bryan brothers created a history by winning Australian Open for the third time in a row, and women's doubles' world no.1, Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, won the women's doubles title. I do not have many comments about this though, hehehe

::: Novak Djokovic and his Australian Open throphy.

Anyway, so finally, congratulations for Kim Clijsters and Novak Djokovic for winning Australian Open this year!! And also the Bryans, Gisela Dulko, and Flavia Pennetta!!

note : All photos were taken from the official website, link above.

#830 - 2010 Wimbledon Championships

note : This entry will only be written in English due to its length

Last Sunday, the third grandslam of this year, the Wimbledon Championships, was concluded. This grandslam is always held on grass court and of course several grass-courter players were predicted to win. Still, there were several surprises!

First of all, occurred the longest tennis match in history, it was between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. The match took 11 hours and 5 minutes to complete, dwarfing the previous record of "only" 6 hours and 33 minutes", and spanned in three days! This particular match also broke some other records which you can find here. In the end, Isner won by 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7), 7–6(3), 70–68. Well, this is CRAZY!!

Anyway, in the ladies' singles, the two most favorite players to win are sisters Serena and Venus Williams. Prior to the tournament, they were ranked 1 and 2 in the world. So, this meant that they would be seeded 1st and 2nd and therefore they would only meet in the final. I personally think that the best final in Wimbledon this year would be between these two sisters, making another all-Williams final. Why? Simply because they are the best players on grass this era. Imagine this: Since the beginning of the millennium, only the final in 2006 where it didn't involve at least one of these sisters. This year, the sisters also performed promisingly. Serena Williams won the Australian Open but then had an injury and had to be absent for several months before playing again at Rome. Venus Williams won back to back titles at Dubai and Acapulco. Then she reached the final of two Premier Mandatory events: Miami and Madrid. Given their condition and their grass-suited style of play, no wonder these sisters were the favorite to win.

Venus Williams had a (seemingly) easier draw as she would face no threat (theoretically) until the SF where she potentially met Kim Clijsters/Justine Henin/Jelena Jankovic. Prior to the SF, she shouldn't face any threat. Serena Williams had a little tougher draw with potential clash with 2004 Wimbledon Champion, Maria Sharapova, in the fourth round. But before and after that, she shouldn't meet any problem.

However, Venus Williams surprisingly lost in the quarterfinals!! She lost to unseeded Tsvetana Pironkova!! Well, at that time, I have to say that Venus Williams beat herself. Tsvetana Pironkova, I still respect her though because she did make it to the SF, was not even in Venus' league. She played okay with minimum errors, but Venus blew her opportunities time after time. I can say that Pironkova was just simply being "lucky" as Venus committed too many errors. Had Venus Williams played okay (didn't have to be her best), I can say Venus would have won hands down. This is the most disappointing defeat this season!!

In the other part of the draw, Serena Williams was able to smoothly beat her opponents to reach the final. She overcame Maria Sharapova 7-6(9), 6-4 in the fourth round, which I think was Serena's hardest match in the championships this year. In the final, she beat grandslam singles' final first-timer Vera Zvonareva. Of course Serena Williams easily crushed her, by 6-3, 6-2 to win her fourth Wimbledon title. No surprise, the final was a lopsided. Had it Venus Williams in the other side of the net, it would have been much more interesting. But anyway, Vera Zvonareva was the one who made it to the final, so, still congratulations to her! Of course, congratulations for world no.1 Serena Williams!! You deserve that!! :-)

In the Gentlemen's Singles', another shock happened. Roger Federer, 6 time champion of Wimbledon (and 7 time consecutive finalist there) lost in the quarterfinals to Tomáš Berdych. This defeat followed his earlier defeat at the quarterfinals of French Open. Some said that this defeat shows the end of Federer's Dominance Era. Later on, Berdych progressed to his first ever grandslam singles final. In other side of the draw, French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, made it to the final after beating local (and my) favorite, Andy Murray. In his fourth Wimbledon final, Rafael Nadal beat Berdych in straight sets for his second Wimbledon title, no wonder!! Now, Nadal leads the ranking points comfortable with 3840 lead from the world no.2, Novak Djokovic. I guess, he is safe enough to be this year's world no.1 by the end of the year.



For the coming-up hard court season, I really hope some other male players, especially Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, to step up and perform more consistently. Well, this is to make the competition in men's tennis much more interesting to watch.



Anyway, congratulations once again to Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal!! You guys are truly the champions!!

ps :all photos were taken from Wimbledon's Official Website, link above

#823 - 2010 French Open

note : this entry will only be written in English, due to its length :-)

This Sunday, the second grandslam tournament of this year: the French Open was concluded. There were several surprising results throughout the tournament. Some of the "surprises" were good, but the other were really not.

Firstly, in the women's doubles, Venus and Serena Williams became the champions, beating world no.1 in doubles, Liezel Huber, who partnered with last year's champion, Anabel Medina Garrigues, in the semifinal. They only managed to lose one set throughout the tournament, at that match against Huber-Medina Garrigues. I think in some ways it was because Serena just had this super singles' quarterfinal match against Samantha Stosur not long before the match, where she lost in a thrilling three setter. Venus and Serena beat Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik in a relatively easy final, by 6-2, 6-3. With this victory, Venus and Serena Williams are the current doubles title holders in all four grandslam! (2009 Wimbledon, 2009 US Open, 2010 Australian Open, and now 2010 French Open). In total, they have collected 12 grandslam doubles titles, and they have never been beaten in any grandslam doubles final. Plus, this means that this Monday, Venus and Serena will rise to world no.1s in doubles for the first time in their career. Congratulations to the Williams sisters!!

::: Venus and Serena Williams with their women's doubles trophy. They just won the "Williams Slam", where they won four grandslam doubles titles in a row.

The women's singles experienced some upsets, IMO. The first quarter of the draw seemed to be the toughest one, putting Serena Williams (world no.1), Justine Henin (four times French Open champion), Maria Sharapova (former world no.1), and Samantha Stosur (superb form on clay recently) in it. Then, Samantha Stosur became the winner of this quarter, beating Justine Henin and Serena Williams both in three sets. Venus Williams was actually the favorite to be the finalist from the bottom half. But then she lost to Nadia Petrova. For the first time in many years now, all the semifinalists had never won a grandslam singles title yet: Samantha Stosur, Jelena Jankovic, Francesca Schiavone, and Elena Dementieva, even though Jankovic and Dementieva had reach one and two grandslam final(s), respectively.

::: Francesca Schiavone's winning trademark. She kissed the court after winning a match.

Then, for some frikkin' reasons, Stosur and Schiavone made the final!! Well, I was both so happy and felt kinda weird with this formation. Happy because this meant that Serena Williams and Venus Williams will still occupy world no.1 and no.2 ranking this Monday. Further, this means that they will be seeded first and second in Wimbledon, a grandslam on grass courts, where they are the best players this era on it. This guarantees that if they meet, it will be in the final. In other hand, this formation was VERY strange. Even if now I have to think about it, I still think it was so weird. With all respect to both player, I can see this final (Stosur vs Schiavone) in an international level or a Premier 600/700 tournament. Or in a grandslam, I can see this meeting in a fourth round, or quarterfinal at the furthest. But NOT the final!! I didn't feel the "grand" aura of a grandslam final from this combination. Well, it's true that some new faces are needed to make the game much more interesting, but there are some other players who would also be "new" faces in a grandslam final, named Agnieszka Radwanska or Victoria Azarenka, but would bring "grander" aura. Anyway, we still had to accept this fact. Plus, Samantha Stosur had played brilliantly throughout the tournament. She was clearly the favorite and this still could be an entertaining final. Schiavone got lucky this year. Sure she beat Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, but Wozniacki was hampered by injury. Then, Dementieva retired in the semifinal. Wow, fortune was really on her side. Then, in the final, Stosur crumbled. She did not play her best and lost 4-6, 6-7(2) to Schiavone! Francesca Schiavone won this year's French Open!! WOW!! This is totally unexpected. Two weeks ago, no one would predict she would win the title. But she proved it wrong! She became the first Italian woman to win a grandslam singles title. Next year will be such a challenge for Schiavone to defend her title. But for now, congratulations!!

::: Francesca Schiavone, 29, with her trophy with Eiffel Tower as the background.

On the men's side, (finally) Roger Federer fell in the quarterfinals. Thus, ending his 23 streak of semifinal appearances at a grandslam. Who beat him?? The guy whom he beat last year in the final of French Open: Robin Söderling. Well, not that I don't like Federer, but it's that this loss will make men's tennis much more interesting. Somehow, I am a bit bored with Federer and Nadal's dominance of the sport recently. Federer's dominance was clearly obvious from the rankings points prior to the French Open. He was world no.1 with 10,030 points, while Nadal, the world no.2, only had 6,880 points. However, with this loss, Nadal would be world no.1 if he won the title. Another new names rose to the table: Tomáš Berdych and Jürgen Melzer who reached the semifinals but lost to Söderling and Nadal respectively. So, the final was between Robin Söderling and Rafael Nadal.

This final was a promising final as Söderling broke Nadal's unbeaten record (at the French Open) by beating him in the fourth round last year. It was apparent that Nadal was troubled with his injury at that time (he had to skip Wimbledon and he went on a title-drought season until April this year). So, for Nadal, this was the opportunity to get his revenge. In the final, Söderling played unconvincingly, making 45 unforced errors. That gave the victory over to Rafael Nadal. Rafael Nadal won his fifth French Open title beating Söderling 6-4, 6-2, 6-4!! This win also brought Nadal to a record of 100% win on clay this year, and as I said before, to the position of world no.1! Congratulations Rafa!! One more good news for Rafa: he became the first player to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in London next November!

::: Rafael Nadal's famous bite.

::: Rafael Nadal posed with his trophy.

Well, again, congratulations to Venus and Serena Williams, Francesca Schiavone, Rafael Nadal, and (even though not mentioned in the entry) Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic for winning this year's French Open!! :-)

ps : all photos were taken from French Open's official website, link above.

#794 - 2010 Australian Open's Finals

note : this will be another post only posted in English

Finally, about an hour ago, the first grandslam of they year, the 2010 Australian Open was concluded. A lot of things happened in this tournament, and it actually has been a lot more interesting than the same tournament last year, I think.

::: Serena Williams posing with her trophy after winning women's singles final against Justine Henin in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

On the women's side, yesterday the dream final between first seeded Serena Williams and wildcard Justine Henin took place. I made a tiny guess here, predicting Serena Williams had a tiny advantage over Justine Henin and that Serena might win the tournament. Well, my prediction went on correct. Serena Williams beat Justine Henin in a very exciting three setter, by 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Serena lost her momentum in the second set, causing Justine Henin to take it 6-3. Serena quickly regained her momentum at the third set after leading 2-1. It was really a dream and perfect final for the women's singles. The match was tough and there were so many amazing points made by the two players. Well, this final was so different with last year's final, where Serena Williams easily crushed Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3. I agree with Serena, Justine is back, and she definitely will make the competition much more interesting :-)

::: Roger Federer with his trophy after winning men's singles final against Andy Murray in straight sets.

On the men's side, the final was between Roger Federer, three times Australian Open champion and already collected 15 major titles in his pocket, and Andy Murray, yet to win a major title. Well, I really wanted Andy Murray to win the title, which would relieve the burden on his shoulders (no British man has won a major title since 1936) and prove that he can be number 1. Beside, I am also kinda bored with Roger Federer's dominance on the game. However, the burden turned out to be too much for Murray, I think. This is reflected by his play in the final, which I personally think it was not his 100% best. He made too many unnecessary errors, giving away points for Federer. He got a little better in the third set, but it still wasn't enough, and still wasn't his best as he got broken while leading 5-3. Federer in the end won 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(11), through a very tight tiebreak in the third set. Well, Andy Murray actually deserves to win a grandslam title. He got every technique needed. He just needs more time and may be some more mental skill to play his best under enormous pressure.

::: Andy Murray drinking during his final match against Federer.

Anyway, in the end, congratulations for Serena Williams and Roger Federer to win the first grandslam title this year!! :-)

note : all pictures taken from the official website, link above.

#793 - Australian Open Women's Singles Final, Exciting!!

note:
- I will write about my holiday to BALI next week because the topic I am writing right now is very exciting and it needs to be written now, while it's up :-)
- this entry will only be written in English.

This year, one of the greatest tennis players during the 2000s, Justine Henin, came back to compete at the professional tour. She started the year at Brisbane International, after receiving a wildcard entry because after 20 months of retirement, she didn't (and still doesn't) have any point nor rank. There, she made it to the final and lost in a very tight match against, another comeback queen who was back to tennis pro last August and won the US Open title, Kim Clijsters. En route, Henin beat Nadia Petrova. After the match, Petrova said Henin's style of play is different with her style before the retirement. She is more aggressive right now, not much like a clay court player as she used to be. This new style is supposed to match hard court's characteristics more.

::: Justine Henin with her backhand was in action during a night match at 2010 Australian Open

Two weeks later, at the 2010 Australian Open, the first grandslam tennis of the year, against all odds, Justine Henin made it to the final beating Elena Dementieva, world no. 5; Yanina Wickmayer; and Nadia Petrova, whom annihilated Kim Clijsters and crushed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the earlier stages, en route. Her opponent in the final is no other than the current world no. 1 (and will still be no. 1 in the world after this match, no matter how the outcome will be), Serena Williams. Serena Williams defeated Samantha Stosur, local favorite; Victoria Azarenka, seeded 7 who already had 6-4, 4-0 lead at her match against Serena, but Serena still managed to turn things around and won the match; and Chinese Li Na, en route to the final.

Surely this is a must-watched match and is probably the best final combination for this year's Australian Open, especially after unstable performances by most top-ranked woman players, named Dinara Safina, Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, and Maria Sharapova, while some new comers, like Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska, and maybe Yanina Wickmayer, still need to prove their consistency.

::: Serena Williams vs Justine Henin, who will bring the trophy home this year?

The match is interesting, because the two have never met in a grandslam final before. Who will win the match? Well, it's a tough call, but let's check history and get some stats:

Head to Head Record:
Serena Williams 7 - 6 Justine Henin

Hard Court Head to Head Record
Serena Williams 4 - 1 Justine Henin

Last Meeting:
2008 Sony Ericsson Open, Key Biscayne, Miami, USA (Tier I Event), HARD COURT, Quarterfinal
Serena Williams WON by 6-2, 6-0

Final Stage Record
Serena Williams 2 - 2 Justine Henin

Well, from those stats, it's clear that Serena Williams is more likely to win, because Australian Open is a hard-court tournament. History shows that Serena is more dominant in hard court tournaments, while Justine Henin is (was) more dominant in clay-court tournaments. However, considering Nadia Petrova's comment, who has played Justine Henin three times since her comeback (one at exhibition tournament in Cairo, clay court match, two at professional level matches, in Brisbane and Australian Open), Henin has changed her style!! Therefore, the stats can be misleading this time, because of the major change.

Looking at their playing style. Well, Serena is Serena while Justine Henin, again, according to Petrova's comment, has changed, there's nothing much to say because it's still new. However, so far, it seems to have worked well for her. Still, there's no guarantee yet because so far Henin has only played one top 5 player, Elena Dementieva, in an amazing and nailbiting 2nd round match at Rod Laver Arena last week. It might be a good test for her new style of play, but it definitely needs more "real tests".

::: Serena Williams in action during a day match

So, the conclusion is - it's not conclusive enough tho actually because there are too many random factors taking place, LOL - it can be anyone's game. They are both fighters, they play amazingly, they are both champions (they have ever won Australian Open before, Serena with four titles in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009; Justine Henin with one title, in 2004). However, I think Serena slightly has an advantage over Henin. So, I'd go for Serena Williams for the win!!! Go Serena!!! :-)

Well, whoever wins this match (one of them will win anyway, and the other one will have to lose, unfortunately, but that's the reality of a tournament) doesn't really matter if we see the big picture. With Justine Henin's comeback, hopefully women tennis will become more competitive and exciting to watch. Right now, the Williams sisters are still dominating the draw. Sure, there are some shining players, but they don't tend to shine for long. Inconsistency, that's the major problem many younger female tennis players have right now. Hopefully, with Henin's comeback, along with the Williams sisters' dominance (they won another grandslam doubles title earlier today, beating world no.1s in doubles, Cara Black and Liezel Huber, in straight sets), things will be stirred up.

note: all pictures are taken from the official website, link above.

#773 - 2009 WTA Tour Championships

note: this entry will only be written in English

Last week, the WTA Tour Championships, a year end championships, of women professional tennis was held at Doha, Qatar.

Singles

At Doha, eight female tennis players were qualified to play singles. They are the eight female tennis player with the highest points earned during the whole 2009 season along with two alternates. They are, in order (and also the grouping in the tournament):
1. Dinara Safina (RUS) - white group
2. Serena Williams (USA) - maroon group
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) - maroon group
4. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) - white group
5. Elena Dementieva (RUS) - maroon group
6. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) - white group
7. Venus Williams (USA) - maroon group
8. Jelena Jankovic (SRB) - white group
9. Vera Zvonareva (RUS) - alternate
10. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) - alternate

This tournament was really dramatic and "full of stories". Aside from the 2009 US Open, I think this tournament is also the most dramatic tournament of the year.

This year has been filled with a debate whether or not Dinara Safina deserved to be world no. 1 while she has not won any grandslam title yet. Coming at the tournament, Safina was only leading 155 points ahead of Serena Williams. It means that whoever did better in the year end championships, she would be the world no.1.

However, Dinara Safina then retired at her first match against Jelena Jankovic. At the time, Serena Williams had already won her first match against Svetlana Kuznetsova. This means that Serena Williams is officially the year end world no.1 in 2009!!

As for Jelena Jankovic (JJ), who qualified for the tournament in the last minutes, she was really lucky. She was in the white group, which I personally think was the easier group as she was in the same group with debutants, Azarenka and Wozniacki, and Safina, who was struggling at the end of the year. JJ lost miserably at her first match against Azarenka. That was the end of her bad luck. At her second match, she only needed to play two games to win the match as Safina retired. At the third round, she played the exhausted and injured Wozniacki. Of course JJ won the match and she was through to the semifinal. I gotta say JJ was really lucky. Not that being lucky is bad, I think luck is one key factor in tennis match :)

::: Jelena Jankovic at Doha

Wozniacki, however, played her really best. She defeated Azarenka in a what seemed to be an easy match for Azarenka as of the first set. Due to Safina's withdrawal, Safina was replaced by Vera Zvonareva, the first alternate, to play Wozniacki's second match. The match was one of the most dramatic match of the season as both players were injured. Wozniacki even had a severe cramp at the last game of her match and fell to the ground. Wozniacki eventually won the match. However, the victory still didn't guarantee a semifinal spot for her and she still had to play JJ. Exhausted, she easily lost to JJ. Her faith was determined by the result of the last match at the white group, a match between Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska, the second alternate who replaced Zvonareva because of Zvonareva's injury. Azarenka looked like going to win the match easily as she lead 6-4, 4-0 at the second set. However, Radwanska stormed back and won the second set 7-5. At the third set, suddenly Azarenka feel exhausted and injuries attacked her. She retired at 4-1, Radwanska's leading. Thus, Wozniacki was through to the semifinal.

::: Caroline Wozniacki cramping

At the maroon group, Serena Williams was unbeatable as she won all her round robin matches. She was only down one set on her match against her sister, Venus Williams. Venus Williams, the defending champion, struggled at her round robin round as she lost her first two matches against Dementieva and Kuznetsova. V. Williams eventually won her match against Kuznetsova, thus still keeping her chance alive. The last semifinal spot was determined with Dementieva vs Kuznetsova's match. If Dementieva won, she would be through to the semifinal. If she lost, V. Williams would advance. Dementieva then lost to Kuznetsova, thus, V. Williams was through to the semifinal even with only one win at round robin. This was the second time it happened, the first one was Amelie Mauresmo in 2003.

In the semifinal, V. Williams would face JJ, and S. Williams would face Wozniacki. V. Williams beat JJ in three sets, thus, making her second consecutive appearance at the tournament's final. JJ played a lot better in this stage of the competition. In other hand, S. Williams played poorly in her semifinal match agains the injured Wozniacki. S. Williams should have won easily but she made too many unforced errors. Still, she won the first set 6-4. At the second set, she served first and was broken by Wozniacki! But then, Wozniacki retired from the match citing abdominal injury. Should Wozniacki was not injured, I think S. Williams would have lost the match with that level of play, hmmm. Anyway, it means that S. Williams would meet her sister for the second time in four days.

In the final, both Williams sisters played a lot better than before. But it was S. Williams who was in her peak of her performance, thus crushing her sister 6-2, 7-6(4) to win the tournament. She remained unbeatable at the tournament and recieved 1500 points, plus US$ 1,550,000 prize money in singles (She and her sister also played doubles, so, her prize money from this tournament must be bigger than the figure :) ).

::: Serena Williams and Venus Williams with their trophies

Anyway, during the tournament, I think Venus Williams didn't play her best. She made too many unforced errors and double faults. Plus, her second serve play was also weak. I think Venus needs to work on this to prepare for the 2010 season.

Now, Serena Williams is world no.1 and she is 1,275 points ahead Dinara Safina, the world no.2. It is a pretty good lead as the gap guarantees Serena Williams to be world no.1 at least until the conclusion of 2010 Australian Open, the first grandslam in 2010.

Doubles

In doubles, four teams with most points earned in 2009 qualified for the event. The four teams were (in order):
1. Cara Black (ZIM) / Liezel Huber (USA)
2. Serena Williams (USA) / Venus Williams (USA)
3. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) / Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)
4. Samantha Stosur (AUS) / Rennae Stubbs (AUS)

The "special" thing is the presence of Serena Williams and Venus Williams. They had only played FIVE tournaments prior to the year end championships, but still managed to be qualified for the event. Yea, they performed strongly. They played at four grandslam tournaments and Stanford, a premier-level tournament. They won four titles, at Stanford and three grandslams. Their only loss came at French Open's third round, to pair Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova.

Cara Black and Liezel Huber were the defending champion and they had been co-world no.1s in doubles since November 2007. The position was solid, until the "threat" from the Williams sisters became alive. Should they lost their semifinal match and the sisters won the tournament, the sisters would have taken their world no.1s position. Luckily for them, they beat Stosur/Stubbs at the semifinal, thus, securing their world no.1s title. However, the Williams sisters' run was ended in the semifinal as the lost in three sets to Llagostera Vives/Martinez Sanchez, whom eventually won the championships.

ps: photos were taken from many sources

#763 - 2009 US Open

note: being currently lazy writing bilingual, this entry will only be written in English :)


The 2009 US Open was concluded earlier this week and this grandslam was really the most exciting grandslam this year. There were so many surprises (good ones, bad ones) which really wowed everyone. After the infamous Serena Williams' Outburst on her semifinal match against Kim Clijsters, two more surprises happened on the final.

O yea, before writing about the surprises, eventually Serena Williams and Venus Williams won the women doubles!! So, this year they have won three grandslam titles!! They beat Cara Black and Liezel Huber, the world no.1s in women doubles and also US Open's defending champion in women doubles, plus their record also stands still as they have never been defeated in any grandslam finals.

::: Liezel Huber, Cara Black, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams (after the final ceremony of the women doubles final)

The first one was the victory of Kim Clijsters against Caroline Wozniacki on the women singles. Well, honestly, looking at the quarterfinal draw, I was sure the champion would be from the bottom half, since the only seeded player in the top half was Wozniacki, ranked 9. Of course Wozniacki was favorited to be in the final, which would be her first grandslam final. From the bottom row, only two players were most likely to be in the final, Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters. Evethough it was Kim Clijsters' only third tournament after her comeback (after Cincinnati and Rogers Cup, both were Premier 5 Tournaments), she had been strong and consistent. No wonder, she is still 25 and when she decided to retire 2 years ago, she was ranked 3rd. Also, she played well on her exhibition match against Steffi Graf earlier this May. However, between Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters, at first I thought Serena Williams would easily get through. Apparently, Kim Clijsters could tackle Serena Williams and advanced to the final!!

Between Wozniacki and Clijsters, my guess was Clijsters would win. Simply because Clijsters had more experiences on the tennis world, it wasn't her first grandslam title. While on Wozniacki's side, it was her first grandslam final. Even Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina (and also Venus Williams about 10 years ago) failed to win grandslam title on their first grandslam finals. My guess was right, Kim Clijsters won!! WOW!! Being not-ranked, she was able to win a grandslam!! That's a superb accomplishment!! Plus, the really sweet thing was her being devoted to her family, hehe...

::: Kim Clijsters and family

The second surprise was Juan Martin del Potro's victory over Roger Federer. Well, looking at the quarterfinals draw week back, I had a feeling the final would be del Potro vs Federer. It was kinda easy to guess since from the top half group, of course Federer would "easily" win the matches to get to the final. His only big obstacle would be Djokovic, but I believed he would still overcome Djokovic. From the bottom half, after the early loss of Andy Murray, only Rafael Nadal and del Potro who were the strong candidates to be in the final. Well, analyzing based on Nadal and del Potro's current condition, it was kinda obvious that del Potro was slightly in a better form than Nadal. Nadal had just got over from his knees injury which prevented him to defend his French Open and Wimbledon titles, and del Potro had been really strong in some US Open warming up tournaments, winning Washington and nearly Montreal. And yeah, my guess was right (hahaha)! However, from the del Potro vs Federer scenario, I was pretty sure Federer would win. Why? Because Federer was no stranger to grandslam final and US Open (he won the titles 5 years back to back), while it was del Potro's first grandslam final. Just like Wozniacki, I predicted he would struggle with his nevers, plus, he had never won from Federer before.

Apparently, after five gruelling sets, del Potro WON!! I was so surprised to find this news!! Well, the past few months, people had been talking about Federer-Nadal-Murray-Djokovic and the possibility of Murray's first grandslam title. They didn't really talk much about del Potro. And in the end, it was del Potro (not Murray) to win a grandslam this year!! Hmmm, it must be really great for him. However, I still think del Potro needs to prove himself tho. He hasn't been really consistent the whole year (compared to Murray or Federer). But if he can work this out, he will rise to the top. He's still young (at my age!!) and he still have plenty of times ahead!

::: Juan Martin del Potro with his US Open trophy

So, congratulations Kim Clijsters and Juan Martin del Potro for creating sweet world histories!! :)

note: all photos taken from the official site of US Open (link above)

#762 - Serena's Outburst

ENGLISH

By now, the fourth grandslam tournament of the year, the 2009 US Open, is nearly completed. The only two finals which haven't been played are men singles final, which meets defending champion and world no. 1, Roger Federer, vs Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro, and the women doubles final, which meets defending champions and world no.1s in doubles, Cara Black and Liezel Huber vs team that never lost in any grandslam final, Venus Williams and Serena Williams.

Anyway, there were many interesting and exciting things that happened during this year's US Open, making it (probably), the most "exiciting" grandslam of the year. One of the hottest might be Serena Williams' outburst during her semifinal match against Kim Clijsters. Williams, the defending champion, was serving at 15-30 in the 12th game in which Serena lost the first set 4-6 and now the position of the second set was 5-6. She was called by lineswoman for a foot fault, meaning Williams' foot were judged to be over the baseline. Williams' didn't think it was the right call, and she suddenly reached her boiling point saying to the lineswoman:

"I swear to God I'm F___ going to take this F___ ball and shove it down your F___ throat, you hear that? I swear to God"

The lineswoman found that threatening (no wonder) and reported it to the chair umpire, who later decided it was another code of violation (after Serena got one after her losing the first set and bashed her racket out of frustration). This caused the point was rewarded to Clijsters, who was already leading 40-15, which eventually gace her the game, and further the match!! What a timing!! Should it happened on another previous point, Clijsters would only "get" one point, not one match (according to the rule, a match was given to the opponent after four codes of violation). It was "only" the second code of violation but it led to giving the match away for Serena Williams. This shows how crucial the point was, and how "bad" the "timing" was for Serena Williams.

Well, tho it's not really a nice thing to do, especially being done by Serena Williams, one of the best female tennis player playing in the world tour today, I still understand the situation. I mean, the pressure was really high. She lost the first set, she was serving in the second set while Clijsters was pretty close to her match point, plus being frustrated for being dominated (and didn't play her best) against Clijsters. It's true that she was supposed to be able to handle her emotion, but she is a human also, where people make mistakes some times. It's true that the behaviour was not professional at all and Serena should get consequence for what she did. She is already fined $10,000 for what she did plus another $500 (source: here), and according to the rule it was already the MAXIMUM number of fine to apply to a player at that stage of a tournament. Beside, there's a chance that she will not be eligible to receive $350,000 for her achievement in this year's US Open singles.

It's a good thing that the tournament chose to decide against the decision to ban her from the women doubles final, since I think that's a bit too "far" and largely not fair for Venus Williams, her doubles partner, who did nothing. Beside, banning her from the doubles competition is also not fair for Serena, as there would not be enough time to review the incident and investigate what really happened, objectively, rite?

If I were the one who was in the comittee to decide what consequence Serena should suffer, well, probably the lifting of $350,000 as her prize for her achievement in 2009 US Open (plus the $10,000 + $500 fine) is enough and it might be the furthest the consequence should be. I have read some comments saying Serena should be banned from all tournaments toward the end of this year, plus, she should be evaluated for playing next year. I was like: "What?", it shouldn't be that far. I mean, if Serena was banned from playing, the women tour will "lose" another great and consistent player. It would be such a shame that Serena was banned while Clijsters just returned to the sport. She also doesn't need to be banned from 2010 Australian Open, in where she will be the defending champion. I think, it's just too far. She has already been punished for what she did, lost that match in such a way, she regretted what she did, and I think that's enough. People should move on, not to forget this incident, but to just keep it in the past and remember it as a good lesson (as for other players too).

But we will see :D

Anyway, I just read an official statement from Serena Williams regarding to this incident:

Serena Williams Statement, September 14, 2009

“I want to amend my press statement of yesterday, and want to make it clear as possible - I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the lines woman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA and mostly tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst. I'm a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I'm wrong. I need to make it clear to all young people that I handled myself inappropriately and it's not the way to act -- win or lose, good call or bad call in any sport, in any manner.

I like to lead by example. We all learn from experiences both good and bad, I will learn and grow from this, and be a better person as a result.”

::: outbursting Serena Williams

note : photo taken from Yahoo Sports.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Saat ini, turnamen grandslam keempat tahun ini, 2009 US Open, sudah hampir selesai. Dua final yang belum dimainkan tinggal final tunggal putra, yang mempertemukan juara bertahan dan peringkat 1 dunia, Roger Federer, melawan Juan Martin del Potro dari Argentina dan final ganda putri yang mempertemukan juara bertahan dan peringkat 1 dunia di ganda, Cara Black dan Liezel Huber melawan tim yang tidak pernah kalah di final grandslam mana pun, Venus Williams dan Serena Williams.

Ngomong2, ada buanyak hal menarik sekali yang terjadi sepanjang turnamen US Open ini, membuatnya mungkin menjadi grandslam paling "menarik" tahun ini. Yang paling seru mungkin adalah ledakan emosi Serena Williams pada pertandingan semifinal-nya melawan Kim Clijsters. Williams, juara bertahan, sedang memegang serve pada posisi 15-30 di game ke-12 dimana Serena kehilangan babak pertama 4-6 dan saat itu ia sedang tertinggal 5-6. Dia dikatakan melakukan foot fault oleh penjaga garis, berarti kaki Williams dikatakan melewati garis belakang. Williams tidak merasa itu adalah keputusan yang benar, dan tiba2 ia mencapai titik mendidihnya dan berkata seperti ini ke penjaga garis:

"I swear to God I'm F___ going to take this F___ ball and shove it down your F___ throat, you hear that? I swear to God"

Penjaga garis merasa terancam (tidak heran) dengan kata-kata itu dan melaporkannya ke wasit pertandingan, yang akhirnya memutuskan itu adalah pelanggaran aturan lain (setelah Serena mendapat satu peringatan saat ia membanting raket karena frustrasi setelah kalah di babak pertama). Ini mengakibatkan poin dihadiahkan kepada Clijsters, yang sudah memimpin 40-15, yang akhirnya membuatnya memenangkan game, dan artinya memenangkan pertandingan!! Bener2 waktu yang bisa 'pas'!! Misal hal ini terjadi di poin lain sebelumnya, Clijsters "hanya" akan mendapat satu poin, bukan satu pertanginan (karena menurut aturan, pertandingan diberikan ke lawan apabila telah dijatuhkan empat kode pelanggaran). Waktu itu, itu "baru" kode kedua yang diterima Serena Williams tetapi kode itu membuatnya kehilangan seluruh pertandingan. Ini menunjukkan bagaimana pentingnya poin itu, dan waktu yang "buruk" bagi Serena Williams.

Hmm, walau itu bukan hal baik untuk dilakukan, apalagi dilakukan oleh seorang Serena Williams, salah satu petenis wanita terbaik di tur dunia saat ini, aku sih masih memahami situasinya. Maksudnya, tekanannya tinggi sekali. Dia kehilangan babak pertama, ia sedang memegang serve di babak kedua ketika Clijsters berada dekat dengan match point, ditambah lagi frustrasi karena permainannya didominasi oleh Clijsters (dan tidak tampil pada kondisi prima). Memang benar kalau seharusnya ia mampu menahan emosinya, tetapi dia kan manusia, dimana manusia itu melakukan kesalahan. Benar kalau tindakannya itu tidak profesional dan Serena harus mendapat konsekuensi atas perbuatannya. Ia sudah dikenai sanksi $10.000 untuk apa yang ia lakukan ditambah $500 (sumber: disini), dan menurut aturan itu kan sudah jumlah sanksi MAKSIMUM yang dapat diberikan untuk tingkat itu dalam suatu turnamen. Di samping itu, masih ada kemungkinan juga kan ia tidak akan menerima hadiah $350.000 atas prestasinya di tungal US Open tahun ini.

Bagus sih turnamennya memutuskan untuk tidak melarang ia bermain di final ganda putri, selain karena aku rasa itu agak terlalu "jauh", itu juga sangat tidak adil bagi Venus Williams, partner ganda-nya, yang tidak salah apa-apa. Di samping itu, melarangnya bermain di ganda juga kurang adil bagi Serena karena itu berarti tidak akan ada cukup waktu untuk melihat kembali insiden itu dan menginvestigasinya dengan objektif, ya ga?

Kalau aku ada di posisi dimana aku perlu memutuskan konsekuensi apa yang harus Serena terima, hmm, aku rasa sih pencabutan hak hadiah $350.000 sebagai hadiahnya di tunggal putri US Open 2009 (ditambah sanksi $10.000 + $500) udah cukup banget tuh dan mungkin memang itu yang paling jauh yang bisa dilakukan. Aku baca beberapa komentar yang menyatakan Serena perlu dilarang main di semua turnamen sepanjang tahun ini dan dievaluasi untuk main di tahun depan. Komentarku: "Apa?", rasanya tak perlu sejauh itu deh. Maksudnya, kalau memang Serena akan dilarang bermain, tur wanita akan kehilangan lagi seorang pemain yang hebat dan konsisten. Lucu aja gitu ya melihat Serena dilarang main ketika Clijsters baru kembali ke tenis. Dia juga tidak perlu lah dilarang bermain di Australian Open 2010 dimana ia adalah juara bertahannya. Itu juga terlalu jauh menurutku. Dia sudah dihukum atas perlakuannya, kalah suatu pertandingan dengan cara seperti itu, dia juga sudah menyesali perbuatannya, rasanya cukup tuh. Semua sekarang perlu melanjutkan hidup deh, bukan berarti melupakan insiden ini, tapi mengingatnya sebagai pelajaran yang baik (untuk pemain lain juga).

Tapi kita akan lihat :)

Ngomong2, baru aja aku membaca pernyataan resmi dari Serena Williams mengenai insiden ini:

Serena Williams Statement, September 14, 2009

“I want to amend my press statement of yesterday, and want to make it clear as possible - I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the lines woman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA and mostly tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst. I'm a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I'm wrong. I need to make it clear to all young people that I handled myself inappropriately and it's not the way to act -- win or lose, good call or bad call in any sport, in any manner.

I like to lead by example. We all learn from experiences both good and bad, I will learn and grow from this, and be a better person as a result.”

#742 - 2009 Wimbledon

pre-note : Entry about my first mid-year holiday to Surabaya and Tanjung Kodok will be posted later. I just arrived at my home two hours ago :D

ENGLISH

The third grandslam of this year, 2009 Wimbledon just finished last Sunday.

In the gentlemen singles, one (probably) disappointment already surfaced even before the main draw of the tournament was played. The current world no. 1 and defending champion, Rafael Nadal, withdrew because of injury. Well, this put Roger Federer in a better position to win the title with Andy Murray became his bigger threat.

Both played brilliantly towards the semifinals. Andy Murray won a long match against Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round, slaming a record of the latest finished match at Wimbledon. However, he lost to former world no. 1 Andy Roddick in the semifinal. The final was between Roddick and Federer. Before the match, I thought it was a no-brainer match, Federer would win easily, considering his 18-2 head-to-head record against Roddick. However, the match turned to be brutal. I didn't watch the whole match tho, just the middle thru the end of the fifth set. On that part of the match, I still think last year final was still greater. Still, this year's final was also great. Federer in the end won his sixth Wimbledon Single Titles by 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14. Look at the fifth set's score: 16-14!! Whatta score!! By winning this grandslam, Roger Federer regained his world no.1 crown, putting Rafael Nadal at the world no.2 position. He also beat Pete Sampras' record, who won 14 grandslam singles titles during his carreer. With this victory, Federer has won 15 grandslam singles titles.

In the ladies singles, I was rooting for Venus Williams for the win even though I also rooted for Serena Williams. This year, the final was between the two sisters. At first I thought Venus would win the match, since she had been really consistent during the tournament. Plus, she owns grass more than Serena, seemingly. However, in the end it turned out that Serena Williams owned the court better than Venus, winning 7-6(3), 6-2.

Even with the win, Serena Williams, who have won three of the last four grandslam (2008 US Open until 2009 Wimbledon), stays at world no.2. Dinara Safina still holds the world no.1 position for this week even though she lost to Venus in the semifinals. Well, the women's ranking system has been critized by Serena, one of her (implicit) critics is in this interview in Wimbledon. She'd rather stay at No. 2 but hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be No. 1 and not have any.

In the ladies doubles, again, the Williams sisters showed her dominance on the surface. They won the title by beating Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs, 7-6(4), 6-4. Wow!!

::: Roger Federer winning the championships.

::: Roger Federer kissing his trophy.

::: 2009 Wimbledon Ladies Singles' Champion, Serena Williams, with her trophy, and runner-up Venus Williams.

::: Venus and Serena Williams with her ladies double trophies.

::: Serena Williams and Rofer Federer, 2009 Wimbledon Champions.

::: Look at Serena's t-shirt saying "Are You Looking at My Titles?".

note : ALL Wimbledon's photos were taken from the official website.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Turnamen grandslam ketiga tahun ini, Wimbledon 2009 baru saja selesai Minggu kemarin.

Di tunggal pria, satu (mungkin) kekecewaan sudah muncul bahkan sebelum babak utama dimainkan. Peringkat 1 dunia saat itu, Rafael Nadal, yang juga juara bertahan, mengundurkan diri karena cedera. Yah, ini sih membuat Roger Federer dalam posisi lebih diuntungkan dengan Andy Murray menjadi pesaing terbesarnya.

Keduanya bermain brilian sampai semifinal. Andy Murray bermain pertandingan panjang melawan Stanislas Wawrinka di babak keempat, membuat rekor sebagai pertandingan termalam yang selesai di Wimbledon. Namun, dia akhirnya kalah dari mantan petenis nomer 1 dunia, Andy Roddick, di semifinal. Finalnya antara Roddick dan Federer. Sebelum pertandingan sih aku kira akan menjadi pertandingan mudah ditebak hasilnya, karena rekor 18-2 antaranya dengan Roddick. Namun, ternyata pertandingannya seru juga. Aku sih nggak nonton keseluruhan pertandingannya, cuma set kelima saja, itupun dari pertengahannya hingga akhir. Dari bagian yang aku tonton itu, aku rasa sih final tahun lalu masih lebih seru. Ya biarpun begitu yang tahun ini seru juga koq. Federer akhirnya memenangi gelar tunggal Wimbledon keenamnya dengan skor 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14. Lihat tuh skor set kelimanya: 16-14!! Bener2 skor gila!! Dengan memenangkan grandslam ini, Roger Federer mendapatkan kembali posisi nomor 1 dunianya lagi, menggeser Rafael Nadal ke posisi nomor 2. Ia juga mengalahkan rekor Pete Sampras yang memenangi 14 gelar grandslam. Dengan kemenangan ini, Federer telah memenangi 15 gelar grandslam.

Di tunggal wanita, aku sih mendukung Venus Williams walau aku juga mendukung Serena Williams. Tahun ini, finalnya adalah antara dua bersaudari ini. Pertamanya aku kira Venus akan menang karena dia sangat konsisten sepanjang turnamen. Selain itu, rasanya dia masih lebih memiliki lapangan rumput daripada Serena, kelihatannya. Namun, akhirnya Serena Williams yang lebih menguasai lapangan rumput tahun ini daripada Venus, dengan menang 7-6(3), 6-2.

Walau dengan kemenangan ini, Serena Williams, yang telah memenangi tiga grandslam dari empat grandslam terakhir (2008 US Open sampai 2009 Wimbledon), masih akan berada di posisi nomor 2 dunia. Dinara Safina akan tetap berada di posisi nomor 1 minggu ini walau ia kalah dari Venus di semifinal. Yah, sistem pe-rangking-an wanita ini sudah dikritik Serena sih, salah satunya (implisit) ya lewat wawancara ini diWimbledon. Dia lebih memilih menjadi nomor 2 tapi menang tiga grandslam daripada menjadi No. 1 tapi tidak menang.

Di ganda putri, Williams bersaudara juga menunjukkan dominasinya lho di permukaan ini. Mereka menang dari Samantha Stosur dan Rennae Stubbs, 7-6(4), 6-4. Wow!!

#728 - 2009 Roland Garros

ENGLISH

Just a couple of hours ago, finally the second grandslam of the year, The French Open a.k.a Roland Garros, just finished.

This year, it has kinda been interesting actually, eventhough some results didn't go the way I wanted them to be. The first interesting thing is that Rafael Nadal had his first lost in the tournament, after 31 winning streaks. Yeah, he had NEVER lost in the Roland Garros before (he even won this grandslam in his first appearance and never lost since then, until last week). However, his streak was broken by 23rd seeded Swede, Robin Soderling, in the fourth round. Soderling eventually made it to the final, the best of his career so far.

Well, the lost of Nadal actually gave Federer a better chance to win Roland Garros for the first time. I'm sure most of us know that Roger Federer is one of the best tennis players in the world lately. He has won all three other grandslams (even more than once each), but he has never conquered the clay court grandslam, Roland Garros. His pursues were stopped by Nadal, the king of clay, several times. Therefore, with Nadal out of competition, on paper, Federer should win this title this year.

Yeah, Federer did it. Eventually he beat Soderling in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4. Eventhough Federer won the title, he will still be world no. 2 for now. However, there's still a pretty good chance for him to reclaim world no.1 title. Anyway, by winning Roland Garros, Federer just became the sixth male tennis player ever to claim all four grandslam singles titles. Congratulations Federer!!

While Soderling, eventhough losing to Federer in the final, will jump to world no. 12, his highest ranking ever, this Monday. Still, for me, he needs to prove himself, especially his consistency, on other tournaments.

In the women singles, Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Dinara Safina in straight sets, claiming her second grandslam title after 2004 US Open. This match proves that Dinara Safina still needs to prove herself to be world no. 1 (she is world no. 1 right now but has never won a grandslam singles title). She actually played really well and convincing, especially on the first rounds up to fourth rounds, only losing five games in total. In the QF, she lost 1 set against Victoria Azarenka but still managed to win. In the SF, she beat Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets. However, in the final, she seemed to be really nervous. It was her third grandslam finals, and also her third lost. She lost against Ana Ivanovic in French Open last year and Serena Williams in Australian Open this year, both also in straight sets.

I actually wish the women final would have been between Dinara Safina vs Serena Williams, especially after Serena made this comment. The match would have been interesting (tho I would still be rooting for Serena eventhough based on statistics, Safina had performed better on clay this season, haha). However, Serena lost to eventual winner, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the QF.

Clay season has ended, grass season is coming, Wimbledon is three weeks ahead. Aha!!

::: Roland Garros.

::: Court Philippe Chatrier (center court) at Roland Garros.

::: Svetlana Kuznetsova and her Suzanne Lenglen trophy, and runner up, Dinara Safina.

::: Roger Federer and his trophy.

::: Roger Federer and Robin Soderling

notes : all players' photos are taken from Roland Garros' official website.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Beberapa jam yang lalu, akhirnya grandslam tahun ini, The French Open atau Perancis Terbuka a.k.a Roland Garros, selesai.

Tahun ini, sebenarnya turnamennya agak menarik, walau beberapa hasil tidak berjalan sesuaiu harapanku. Hal menarik pertama adalah Rafael Nadal mengalami kekalahan pertamanya di turnamen ini, setelah 31 kemenangan beruntun. Ya, dia TIDAK PERNAH kalah di Roland Garros sebelumnya (dia bahkan memenangi grandslam ini di penampilan pertamanya di situ, dan tidak pernah kalah sejak itu, sampai minggu lalu). Namun, kemenangan beruntun itu dihentikan oleh unggulan ke-23, orang Swedia, Robin Soderling, di babak keempat. Soderling akhirnya masuk ke final, hasil terbaik di karirnya sejauh ini.

Kekalahan Nadal ini sebenarnya memberi Federer suatu kesempatan yang lebih baik untuk memenangkan Roland Garros untuk pertama kalinya. Aku yakin kebanyakan dari kita setidaknya pasti pernah dengar kalau Roger Federer adalah salah satu pemain tenis terbaik di dunia akhir-akhir ini. Dia telah memenangkan ketiga grandslam lainnya (bahkan masing-masing lebih dari sekali) tetapi tidak pernah menaklukan grandslam lapangan tanah liat, Roland Garros. Pengejaran akan titelnya beberapa kali dihentikan oleh Nadal, raja lapangan tanah liat. Oleh karenanya, dengan keluarnya Nadal dari kompetisi, Federer seharusnya memenagi titel itu tahun ini.

Benar saja, Federer memenanginya. Akhirnya dia mengalahkan Robin Soderling dengan straight sets, 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4. Walau Federer memenangkan titel ini, dia akan tetap menjadi petenis nomor 2 dunia saat ini. Namun, masih ada kesempatan bagi dia untuk kembali merebut peringkat nomor 1 dunia koq. Ngomong2, dengan memenangi Roland Garros, Federer menjadi petenis pria keenam yang pernah memenangi semua empat titel grandslam. Selamat Federer!!

Sementara itu, Soderling, walau kalah dari Federer di final, akan meloncat ke posisi nomor 12 dunia, peringkat tertingginya, Senin ini. Tetap saja, untuk aku, dia perlu membuktikan dirinya lagi, terutama konsistensinya, melalui turnamen-turnamen lain.

Di tunggal putri, Svetlana Kuznetsova mengalahkan Dinara Safina melalui straight sets, mengklaim gelar grandslam keduanya, setelah US Open 2004. Pertandingan itu menunjukkan bahwa Dinara Safina masih perlu membuktikan dirinya sebagai petenis nomor 1 dunia (sekarang dia berperingkat 1 dunia tetapi belum pernah memenangi gelar tunggal grandslam). Dia sebenarnya bermain dengan baik dan meyakinkan, terutama dari babak pertama hingga babak keempar, hanya dengan kehilangan lima games total. Di QF ia kehilangan satu set dari Victoria Azarenka tetapi masih bisa memenangi pertandingan. Di SF, ia mengalahkan Dominika Cibulkova dalam straight sets. Namun, di final, ia sepertinya sangat gugup. Itu adalah final grandslam ketiganya, dan kekalahan ketiganya pula. Dia kalah dari Ana Ivanovic di French Open tahun lalu dan Serena Williams di Australian Open tahun ini, keduanya juga dalam straight sets.

Aku sebenarnya berharap final putri adalah antara Dinara Safina vs Serena Williams, terutama setelah Serena membuat komentar ini. Pertandingannya akan menjadi sangat menarik (walau aku masih akan mendukung Serena sih, walau menurut statistik, Safina tampil lebih baik di tanah liat tahun ini, haha). Namun, Serena kalah dari pemenangnya (pada akhirnya), Svetlana Kuznetsova, di QF.

Musim tanah liat sudah selesai, musim rumput akhirnya datang. Wimbledon main tiga minggu lagi. Aha!!