Wimbedon

[Badriprasad Bumbabol]

Will have to give credit to Nanjangud Nanjundaiah for this topic.
I am going to Wimbledon this weekend. Anyone wants any photographs ???
Its been my Childhood Dream to see a Wimbledon match and its coming true. Looking fwd to it.
Anyone needs company ??
Tintin

[Greg Harris]

i wouldn't mind a couple pics of Hingis, Kornikova or Capriotti... but i guess you can't get into the locker room can you?

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

Get me Jelena Dokic's pic make sure that crazy boyfriend of hers isn't around!
Boy aren't you lucky to be going; I have always wanted to watch the top players. Will probably go to Cincinnati for the Masters Series in August, hope to see Pete, Guga, and others there!

[Andy Ceponis]

I would love for someone to explain to me why they like tennis. I have tried to watch it with the hopes of understanding the nature of the beast. I have been totally unsuccessful so far. Same goes with golf.

[Junilu Lacar]

Originally posted by Andy Ceponis:
I would love for someone to explain to me why they like tennis. I have tried to watch it with the hopes of understanding the nature of the beast. I have been totally unsuccessful so far. Same goes with golf.

See Greg's post. I'll settle for a pic of Anna K.
Seriously though, I think you have to try to play the game to really understand what it's about. Tennis is a lot more than just running around and whacking the ball. There's a lot of strategy involved and at the very highest level, it's a very "mental" game.
Don't know too much about golf but I suspect it's a challenge not unlike that of launching a rocket and getting it to land on another planet: small projectile, small target, large open spaces, plenty of room for error, lots of money involved.

[Greg Harris]

andy, this goes back to a thread from a couple months ago. golf and tennis are very mentally challenging games to play, but watching them is a completely different story.
when i was in college (the first time) golf, tennis or fishing were the shows of choice on a saturday or sunday morning after a heavy night of beer bongs... to watch these sports on television requires absolutely no brain activity, but when the sorority girl from the night before (the one who's number you have, but whose name you forgot) drops by your apartment, you look as though you are intelligent and socially refined. when, in reality, you are just another lazy, beer chugging guy.
fishing does not fall into the "intelligent" category, so it is best to have the remote control handy in order to change the channel to tennis or golf on a moment's notice.
however, i must say that being able to go to the Masters in Augusta the last 2 years has really been a treat! ticket sales have been closed for the past 20 or more years, so to get a ticket in the first place is very rewarding. the only way a ticket becomes available now is if the person who "owns" them dies or just decideds he/she does not want them anymore. i have a friend with 5 tickets in the family, so i get to go to at least 1 round every year.
[This message has been edited by Greg Harris (edited June 27, 2001).]

[Andy Ceponis]

Originally posted by JUNILU LACAR:
Tennis is a lot more than just running around and whacking the ball.

Wow, that sounds like it would hurt.....

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

Tennis can be a complete aerobic workout; and you get to exercise almost all muscle groups. It also sharpens reflexes, and can almost turn into a chess-like strategy game... at higher levels.
My Rx for total fitness: Yoga (mostly for flexibility), situps, pushups in the morning, Weight-training, and tennis in the evenings

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

I forgot to mention that it's a great fun game; all missed swings, strange spins, tricky drop shots, lobs that have the opponent standing at the net gawking at the ball passing overhead... all this is occasion for laughing out loud

[Junilu Lacar]

Originally posted by Nanjangud Nanjundaiah:
...have the opponent standing at the net gawking at the ball passing overhead... all this is occasion for laughing out loud

You must play with some very good sports... if you laughed at me while playing tennis, you'd be laughing with a ball up where you don't get sunburned

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

Originally posted by JUNILU LACAR:
...where you don't get sunburned

Er, actually I am a naturist (or is that a naturalist, I always get confused), and so I am evenly tanned, even there

[Badriprasad Bumbabol]

Sorry to Disappoint but Kournikova is not playing and hingis is out in the First Round. Looks like u will have to settle with pics of the William sisters.

[Greg Harris]

daniel, i got started with john mc. and conners as well. i loved john's attitude with the judges, but then came aggasi... he put on quite a show for his first 3 years.

[Rowan Brownlee]

"Get me Jelena Dokic's pic make sure that crazy boyfriend of hers isn't around!"
Crazy boyfriend? I knew she has a crazy father - who's the crazy boyfriend?

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

Actually I got it all mixed up. Jelena's boyfriend is Juan-Carlos Ferrero, pretty decent guy. The crazy guy I was referring to was Lleyton Hewitt (he is Kim Clijsters' boyfriend).
(Oops, I just realized you are from Australia. You a big supporter of this guy? I don't like him, he screams around too much.)
Adding to the reminiscences, I started watching tennis when Bjorg and McEnroe were in the twilight of their careers, and Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors were pretty big names. Then there was Stefan Edberg, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker.
Navratilova was still playing, so was Chris Evert Lloyd. Billy Jean King had just retired, I think. And slowly Steffi Graf arrived on the scene. And <sizzle> Gabriela Sabatini </sizzle>. Do you guys remember her? She was so ho-ho-hot And Arantxa Sanchez started at about the same time. It's amazing that she is still playing.

[This message has been edited by Nanjangud Nanjundaiah (edited June 28, 2001).]

[Dan Tillotson]

Wimbledon is fifteen miles up the road from my house. I enjoy tennis, but am irritated by the hysteria that greets all Brit players. The guy that took Sampras to five sets: the UK media have treated him as a world-beating celebrity, and yet he lost that match!! Sampras won. Now, if the Brit had won - that would been an entirely different kettle of fish...

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

Tintin, how was Wimbledon?! What matches did you see?

[Paul Ralph]

Navratilova was still playing...

Navratilova is still playing -- won a mixed doubles match just the other day. Check it out here.
Paul R
[This message has been edited by Paul Ralph (edited July 02, 2001).]

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

You are right; that's pretty amazing; she got knocked out of Ladies doubles, but still surviving in the Mixed doubles draw... she's not really human you know, she's a tennis mecha

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

(Rumors say an Indian in a business suit with a laptop bag was suspiciously pacing the Tooting Broadway station. Was that you Tintin? )
I saw the Sampras-Federer match: 4th set tiebreaker and 5th set today, during lunchtime. It was amazing; both were good, it was amazing how easily Roger could take on Pete's serves... he fully deserved to win.

[Badriprasad Bumbabol]

Right, after Standing 4 hours in the Queue I did manage to get into the grounds and It was worth every minute spent in the queue. Its a wonderful experience which all tennis fans should go through at least once in their life.
Unlike the other Grand Slams, there are no tickets for particular matches or grounds but a General Ticket which lets u enjoy any matches played in the 15 grounds(except the Centre Court). So u can enjoy a couple of sets here, have some Strawberry and Cream , go to another match, have a Bacardi Breezer and then go to another match and so on and that too for more than 8-9 hours for just 7�. I found that quite amazing and its a very good deal for the general tennis fan who cant spend much.
Abt the matches I saw, Navaratilova and Sanchez Vicario were too good for their opponents. Saw Kafelnikovs aces but he lost eventually. Marat Safin and his partner in their Mens Doubles. Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond(winners in 1999) beating their opponents in straight sets. Ditto for Bhupathi and his female partner. Its a shame though that they are fated to meet in the Quarters. Would have been a dream to see them against each other in the Final
And more than the tennis , its the festive spirit that stays with u after u have left the grounds. Its not the same in other tourneys. I chatted with Dokic's Coach for 10 minutes before he told me that he was his coach and other such incidents. People coming from far and near to enjoy.
It was really a party and I am going there next Year too. What a Shame there are no tickets available for the last 4 days.
And I also have got some amazing snaps. Will scan them and post it here if thats OK.
Tintin

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

Tintin, that was a good report. I guess Wimbledon has an aura and history associated with it, that no other Open has. Should visit someday, probably next year!

[Daniel Dunleavy]

Its Great that your fulfilling your dream.
I wish I could have gone about 15 years ago. Those are the players I would have liked to see. I am going to track down one of these senior tournaments and see who shows up.
Dan

[Badriprasad Bumbabol]

I am trying fanatically to find some Tickets for the Finals/Semis but no luck. Found a guy but he was asking 100� for the 40� Ticket. Looks like Will have to queue up right now for next years Finals/Semis Anyone else planning to go ??
Talking abt the Seniors, I was just amazed how Navartilova was playing. Even at this age, she was amazing. For the Indians, the Amritraj brothers were there too , in the senior tourney, of course and they werent too bad either.
Tintin

[Dan Tillotson]

Well, Tim Henman got through to the semis. He now faces Ivanisovic (spelling?). If Henman wins that match, I will happily (even greedily) suck on a pair of my old, unlaundered, socks. Henman cannot win surely... Could a Brit finally make it to the Wimbledon final?

[Dan Tillotson]

By the way: I am really enjoying John McEnroe's commentaries on the BBC. The guy still has it in spades. The man is a god.

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

You are right, Dan - Ivanisevic is playing probably the best tennis of his life. I saw a bit of his game with Safin - he totally steamrolled Safin as he shot out ace after ace. Should see his match with Henman tomorrow.
Another player worth watching would be Justine Henin... she's got a very confident style. Also she's actually beaten Venus once before, so that match should be fun to watch.

[Badriprasad Bumbabol]

THE END

[Nanjangud Nanjundaiah]

And what a glorious end it was! On Monday, I got to work at 9.30am... had to see the finals.
Everybody loved Ivanisevic; his English is quirky... but he still says funny things. Like that thing about watching the Tele Tubbies before the match. He can be nasty too... in the post-match press conference, he called the lineswoman who gave a bad call, "that ugly, ugly lady"!

[Conrad Kirby]

Wooohooo! Goron won! Yeah baby! The semifinal game took a whole 3 days, though . Anyone else watch it?

[Badriprasad Bumbabol]

Watched it but on TV and that too while working on my Part-Time job. God, where my Employees annoyed but I cudnt help it. Goran was playing some good tennis and I cudnt miss it for the world.
Tintin