9 мин.

100 интересные моменты в теннисе 2011 года - часть 2

546

 

Автор Ravi Ubha описал самые интересные моменты мужского и женского тенниса в 2011 году.

Конечно это его мнение. Но кажется его память поможет нам вспомнить если не 100 лучших, то 100 интересных моментов.

Внизу можете прочитать вторую часть: моменты 80 - 61 

перевод на русском можно прочитать здесь:

http://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/nitkina/271038.html

А перевод первой части, моменты 100 - 81 можете прочитать здесь:

http://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/nitkina/270820.html

в блоге  Юлии Ниткиной.  

Оригинал первой части можете прочитать здесь:

http://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/dennytenn/270401.html

 

80. The mosquito is still buzzing

Juan Carlos Ferrero probably won′t return to the top 10, no less reclaim the No. 1 ranking, but the Spaniard still has plenty of fight. How else to describe the 31-year-old′s display against Gael Monfils at the U.S. Open? Ferrero, who missed the first three majors of 2011, topped Monfils in five sets and nearly five hours in the second round on the gracious Frenchman′s birthday.

79. Royalty at Wimbledon

Centre Court at Wimbledon was abuzz on the second Monday, and not only because Andy Murray took on Richard Gasquet. Newlyweds Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge watched from the royal box, even doing the wave at one stage.

"If I′d known they were coming, I would have shaved," Murray said. "I was thinking to myself as I came off [court] I was sweaty and very hairy."

78. More drama in Bercy

Semifinal Saturday is the day to watch at the Paris Masters. In 2010, Robin Soderling and Monfils saved a combined eight match points against Michael Llodra and Roger Federer, respectively, to advance to the final.

This year, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, willed on by the home crowd, saved three match points to fend off John Isner in 2 hours, 59 minutes. Unfortunately, organizers blundered by replacing last year′s lightning-quick hard court with a much slower one.

77. ′Rafa′

Rafael Nadal′s autobiography, released in the summer, wasn′t entirely riveting (compared to Andre Agassi′s), but hey, if Murray came out with one, why not Rafa? "Everybody knows a little bit more my life without the book than Andre′s life without the book," Nadal said at the U.S. Open.

It′s written in perfect English -- which is a shame.

Nadal′s Spanglish is highly endearing, no?

76. Tipsy′s time

Early this year, Viktor Troicki was the firm Serbian No. 2 behind Novak Djokovic.

Janko Tipsarevic then blew past him.

Tipsarevic produced the kind of tennis many thought he had in him, winning his first two titles, reaching a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal and finishing in the top 10. He even made his debut at the World Tour Finals, replacing the injured Murray.

75. Maria rips Andrea

Tennis fans generally adore Andrea Petkovic′s "Petko Dance," and why not? There′s nothing wrong with a bit of personality in the game.

But as Djokovic discovered with his imitations, fellow players aren′t as keen.

When Petkovic comfortably downed Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open, out came the dance. Two months later in Miami, Sharapova got her revenge and subsequently took a swipe at the German. "More than anything, I sensed that she was tired, probably a lot of the dancing that she′s been doing," Sharapova said.

Ouch.

74. Andrey′s swoon

Andrey Golubev shone in 2010. The powerful Kazakh (who was born in Russia and trains in Italy) shot up almost 100 spots in the rankings, ending at 36th.

There was another dramatic move for Golubev in the rankings in 2011 -- this time in the wrong direction. He′s now hovering barely inside the top 150.

At one point, Golubev lost 18 straight matches at the highest level to approach Vincent Spadea territory.

73. Jankovic runs out of gas -- really

Tennis can be cutthroat, as Jelena Jankovic found out.

The car Jankovic was riding in on her way to practice in Cincinnati ran out of gas (it had to happen to her, eh?), and she claimed players who saw her on the road didn′t stop to help. Jankovic eventually arrived to the site, played later in the day and beat Iveta Benesova. "Pretty funny," Jankovic said. "It′s not how you begin the day, it′s how you end it, so I′m glad I got my win and we got going."

72. Oz revelation

When Fabrice Santoro retired in 2010, the game lost a showman. Santoro was the antithesis of today′s plethora of power players, bamboozling opponents with his change of pace and trickery. Alexandr Dolgopolov Jr. has that in his arsenal, too, although he also can blast the ball on his serve and forehand.

Dolgopolov announced himself to the tennis world in January, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

"He′s got a very unorthodox game," said Murray, who beat Dolgopolov in the quarters. "He has a game that can make you play strange shots or, you know, not play that well."

71. Nadal versus Verdasco, slugfest Part 2

Nadal′s battle with Fernando Verdasco at the 2009 Australian Open was one of the best matches in tournament history. Nadal triumphed in five sets -- and 5 hours, 14 minutes.

In a similarly bruising affair, Nadal edged Verdasco 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (9) in 3:38 in Cincinnati, closing it out after initially relinquishing a 5-1 lead in the third-set tiebreaker. Verdasco, who slipped to 0-12 against Nadal, actually won more points, 128 to 123.

Nadal fell to Mardy Fish the next day in the quarterfinals.

70. Dokic reunites with dad

Who saw this coming?

Former Wimbledon semifinalist Jelena Dokic, an often tortured soul, confirmed in September that she reconciled with controversial dad Damir Dokic.

Damir Dokic coached his daughter before an acrimonious split. He recently spent about a year in jail for threatening to blow up the Australian embassy in Belgrade.

"I am in a very positive and confident frame of mind in my life, and I really wanted to do this because I believe it is the right thing to do both for me and for all of my family," Jelena Dokic said. "My father was very receptive, and I believe he has changed greatly."

69. Cancer hits Kleybanova

Every so often, the idyllic tennis world gets gate-crashed. It happened in July.

Russian Alisa Kleybanova revealed -- on her 22nd birthday -- that she was undergoing treatment for Hodgkin′s lymphoma, a type of cancer.

"This is the toughest time in my life, and I hope it always stays the toughest time in my life," said Kleybanova, a gritty competitor but bubbly character off court. "I′m sure I′ll be able to overcome this -- it′s just a matter of patience and time."

We wish you well, Alisa.

68. Zvonareva crumbles in Istanbul

It wasn′t as bad as her meltdown against Flavia Pennetta at the U.S. Open in 2009, but Vera Zvonareva′s 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 loss to Agnieszka Radwanska at the year-end championships was still painful.

Zvonareva′s first mistake was letting a tired Radwanska back into the match after cruising in the opening set. Then in the third, she failed to take advantage of three match points on her own serve. Radwanska helped saved the third match point, however, with some unbelievable scrambling.

Instead of tears from Zvonareva, there were painful looking smiles.

67. Ailing Andy

Andy Roddick, after being blessed with good health for most of his career, is now having a hard time staying fit.

As the defending champion in Miami, Roddick encountered breathing issues and moved gingerly in a second-round loss to Pablo Cuevas. A shoulder injury ruled him out of the French Open -- and hampered his Wimbledon prep -- before a problem with his oblique meant he had to skip a portion of the U.S. Open Series.

It′s been, I think, the toughest year I′ve had," Roddick said in Shanghai. "I feel like I′ve been starting and stopping a lot." Despite the lack of fluency, Roddick managed to finish inside the top 15.

66. To Russia with love

Alex Bogomolov Jr. was named the most improved player on the men′s tour, climbing more than 130 spots in the rankings. His season got even better when his desired switch from U.S. to Russia in the tennis world became official this month.

Bogomolov, a longtime U.S. resident, is suddenly the Russian No. 1, which means he′s a lock to be on the Russian Davis Cup team when it meets Austria in February. Bogomolov was appreciative of the help the USTA gave him in his formative years but said the opportunity to represent the country of his birth was too great to pass up. "I′m going to do the best I can for my family," he said. "That′s my main priority, my kid, my family."

65. Murray sizzles in Asia

The field might not have been as strong as in years past, as Roger Federer so eagerly pointed out, but Andy Murray winning in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai in consecutive weeks was quite the achievement. Murray responded in the best possible fashion after yet more disappointment at a Grand Slam (the U.S. Open).

"This is one of the best runs I′ve had, and I′m playing very well," Murray said.

Minor injuries surfaced thereafter, so he couldn′t keep it going.

64. A classic tiebreaker

Novak Djokovic had to deal with not only the elements on a windy day in New York, but an unorthodox, unpredictable opponent in Alexandr Dolgopolov Jr. Their fourth-round clash produced arguably the best tiebreaker of the season.

Dolgopolov began by taking a 4-0 lead, only to see Djokovic win the next five points. The seesawing continued. Djokovic saved four set points and ultimately converted on his sixth attempt to win 16-14. Dolgopolov went down tamely in the next two sets.

"It was an interesting first set," Djokovic said.

The women′s tiebreaker of the season also stemmed from a fourth-round match in New York. Maria Kirilenko edged eventual champion Sam Stosur 17-15.

63. Clijsters capitulates

Making her first French Open appearance in five years, this wasn′t what Kim Clijsters had in mind. Clijsters blew a set and 5-2 lead, as well as two match points, in a stunning 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 second-round defeat to tall, shy Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus.

Clijsters had missed the previous two months with an ankle injury, but that was no excuse. The inexperienced Rus was ranked 114th at the time. "I started doubting a little bit," Clijsters said. "That′s definitely the wrong attitude to have, especially for me on clay."

62. Seven in a row for Rafa

When all else fails, Rafael Nadal can count on winning in Monte Carlo.

Nadal, not having to confront Djokovic, made it lucky No. 7 -- in a row -- at the posh Monte Carlo Country Club after toppling good pal David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5 in a punishing final.

"It would have been impossible to imagine a few years ago winning seven titles here," Nadal said. "I′m a lucky guy to have done this by age 24." When will Nadal lose in Monte Carlo?

61. Tennis players going splittsville

Two longstanding tennis romances involving Eastern Europeans came to an end.

Tomas Berdych and the oh-so-nice Lucie Safarova went their separate ways, with the former now dating a much younger model and the latter linked to a cage fighter.

Kirilenko, a former SI swimsuit model, and Igor Andreev also cut ties. Kirilenko moved on quickly, to Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin.

Ovechkin posted a picture of himself and Kirilenko on Twitter; "Me and my girlfriend Maria....she is my queen!!!!" was the accompanying caption.

 

 

logoATP
logoWTA