Some records are made to last

3 years is a long time. In life, and perhaps a bit more so in tennis.

3 years ago, Federer still looked pretty much invincible sans a gnarly kid from Majorca. I woke up our first kid while watching him beating Djokovich in the final.

Who would’ve thought that was the beginning of the end. Not the least Johnny Mac.

Last year he got a break from the knees of the gnarly kid from Majorca.

Come 2010. Oh boy. Even the Gods can’t bear not seeing him in US Open final. Only for a day, though, as tomorrow the sun will shine on a gnarly kid from Majorca, except that he’s not a kid any more, and he’s truly gnarly now.

Both J and I had the same thought as we witnessed the inevitable loss. It’s better than winning because he doesn’t stand a chance against the gnarly man from Majorca.

Still, at the 2nd-to-last game when Djoker hit it wide to yield 2 match points, I called “OUT!” in ecstasy.

It woke up our 3rd kid sleeping in the same bouncer at the same location.

That’s exactly what you call “deja vu all over again”.

Except that he’s not making any record this time.

And he’s not going to break Sampras’s total number of weeks at No. 1, even though he’s only one week short.

Unless he makes an Andre-esque comeback in another 3 years, after the gnarly man from Majorca and Djoker and Söderling and whoever else all burn out Borg-ishly.

Count on me being at the court side of Arthur Ashe when that happens.

For only one thing is absolutely certain: there won’t be any new infant in our family to be disturbed.

 

Federer’s Grand Slam history

From his official results pages (bold – final, red – lost since his first Grand Slam):

Year	Australian	French	Wimbledon	US
1999		Rafter	Novak
		1st	1st
2000	Clement	Corretja	Kafelnikov	Ferrero
	3rd	4th	1st	3rd
2001	Clement	Corretja	Henman	Agassi
	3rd	QF	QF (beat Sampras in 4th)	4th
2002	Haas	Arazi	Ancic	Mirnyi
	4th	1st	1st	4th
2003	Nalbandian	Horna	Philippoussis	Nalbandian
	4th	1st	3:0 (7-6, 6-2, 7-6)	4th
2004	Safin	Kuerten	Roddick	Hewitt
	3:0 (7-6, 6-4, 6-2)	3rd	3:1 (4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4)	3:0 (6-0, 7-6, 6-0)
2005	Safin	Nadal	Roddick	Agassi
	SF 2:3 (7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 7-9)	SF 1:3 (3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6)	3:0 (6-2, 7-6, 6-4)	3:1 (6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 6-1)
2006	Baghdatis	Nadal	Nadal	Roddick
	3:1 (5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2)	1:3 (1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6)	3:1 (6-0, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3)	3:1 (6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1)
2007	Gonzalez	Nadal	Nadal	Djokovich
	3:0 (7-6, 6-4, 6-4)	1:3 (6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4)	3:2 (7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2)	3:0 (7-6, 7-6, 6-4)
2008	Djokovic	Nadal	Nadal	Murray
	SF 0:3 (5-7, 3-6, 6-7)	0:3 (6-1, 6-3, 6-0)	2:3 (6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 7-9)	3:0 (6-2, 7-5, 6-2)
2009	Nadal	Söderling	Roddick	del Potro
	2:3 (7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2)	3:0 (6-1, 7-6, 6-4)	3:2 (4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14)	2:3 (6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 6-7, 2-6)
2010	Murray	Söderling	Berdych	Djokovic
	3:0 (6-3, 6-4, 7-6)	QF 1:3 (6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 4-6)	QF 1:3 (4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6)	SF 2:3 (7-5, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 5-7)

 

Tilden-Vines Tour

In 孙曜东’s fascinating memoir 浮世万象, there’s a chapter about a tennis exhibition match between “two of the world’s best players” that he helped organized. I was slightly suspicious about the “world’s best” part, so I looked it up and he sure didn’t bluff.

The only account of the event I can find online is a section of a concise tennis history, but Bill Tilden and Ellsworth Vines were true stables in the tennis hall of fame. Vines was indeed No. 1 in 1936 when their oriental tour occurred.

And what a shame that Tilden is all but forgotten as one of the all time great, if not the greatest ever. At 43, Tilden was past his 1920’s prime and would be considered advanced Alzheimer nowadays, but he could still rip a “cannonball” serve and beat anyone 20 years younger if he really wanted to.

 

2008 Olympic Tidbits

(I’m trying to clean out some really old blog drafts. This one has a perfect(ly bad) timing on this opening day of the Winter Olympics.)

51/100. Wow. It’s an incredible feat no matter how we look at the “state-run sports system” issue. Speaking of which, here’s a blog that has a very good point.

And how about the brave Sydney Symphony Orchestra coming out to support our efforts?

And the 8888 superstition is largely due to NFL, college football, and USTA. Scratch another -1 for China.

Closing ceremony: in quite a few occasions the memory tower looked like a colony of cockroaches. I don’t mean to vilify the performers at all–they worked their hearts out. But seeing from afar it’s really that gross.

I thought the London Mayor is a joke, until I saw this blog. If Stephen Colbert will run for president, I will do anything to get citizenship so that I can vote for him.

• Baseball: what a unbelievable shame for US.
• WSJ reports that collegiate olympic teams are being scaled back parted due to the dominance of football.
• Oksana Chusovitina: 33, 5 Olympics
• Sheila Taormina: 39, 4 Olympics, 3 sports (swimming, 2xtriathlon, modern pentathlon)
• Dara Torres: 41, 5 Olympics from 1984!!! (She missed 1992 and 1996)

 

Money can buy happiness

9 years is a long time. We “became” Yankee fans since it’s just easy to pick the winning side.

2001 was a heart breaker particularly after 9/11, but it taught me Baseball 101: pitcher rules.

2003 was great even without the rings.

2004 was unfathomable. And it got worse.

Yankee’s $201m payroll in 2009 is actually some $7.6m less than 2008, but it’s still almost double of Phillies, and more than the 4 teams with lowest payroll combined. The 4 top teams have more payroll than the last 10. The world is unfair.

So money CAN buy happiness. You just have to spend it right.