Okay, so I SO want Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win in Paris. Can you think of anyone who deserves it more? His year started out so well, but I was really worried he'd be a one-hit wonder after he was out for so long with injury. But not so, it seems. Winning Paris-Bercy would really cap off a stellar breakout year for him, I feel. He's got the talent and the game to be in the top ten - hell, he's got the ability to knock Djokovic and Murray off their perches and form a whole new Big Three. He had a fabulous win over James Blake in his semi-final. The Australian Open was a spectacular preview - winning in Paris would be a sure-fire way of saying, 'hello, tennis, Jo-W is in the house!'
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Not that Nalbandian doesn't deserve to win - and we all know he has the ability to, as he won he last year as part of that big late year surge. It would certainly be good in the lead up to Davis Cup to have Nalbandian on a hot streak: to have a Nalbandian at the height of his powers plus the undeniably hot Juan Martin del Potro would certainly make for an awesome final. Rafa's ability can never be in doubt, but he seems to have a wee bit of an injury, and also he's never beaten Nalbandian, and it's on Nalbandian's favourite surface... add to which the other Spanish singles player will probably be David Ferrer, who has been Maratishly sketchy of late, and you have a tie and a half.
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Back to Paris, and this should be a very intriguing final. There are definitely pros for either guy winning - Jo-W to cap off his breakout year and Headbandian for Davis Cup purposes - but I have to say that my heart is with Jo-W, purely because of his personality. He's so vibrant and exciting to watch and is so clearly into his tennis in a big way... and Headbandian is so dour and monosyllabic. He's fun to watch, but when it comes to the post-match interview he leaves much to be desired. Maybe that's part of why Federer is so good - he is wonderful on and off court. You'd never catch him being all sour like LameDave or stupidly provocative like Djokovic. Even when he hates something - like HawkEye - he hates it diplomatically and maturely.
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And that's what part of being a true champion is, I think - being a statesman. Rafa is in this mode as well, on the whole: excellent player, excellent statesman. So when my prediction comes true and Tsonga knocks off Djokovic to become the latest member of the Big Three (God, that makes it sound like a boy band!) he too will have to learn this skill if he wants to be one of those real champions, who is great on and off court.
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I'm not exactly sure how this preview of an exciting final turned into musings on how to be a champion... sorry about that philosophical digression. To sum up: good work Jo-W and Headbandian, for taking out Blake and Davydenko. And tomorrow... go Jo!
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Today's Results
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BNP Paribas Masters (Paris)
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David Nalbandian def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-1 5-7 6-4
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. James Blake, 6-4 6-3
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Bell Challenge (Quebec)
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Nadia Petrova def. Angela Haynes, 6-1 6-3
Bethanie Mattek def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3
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2 comments:
Hi, Jodi!
I personally pull for Nalbandian, because I love his meat-and-potatoes style of tennis. I wish he'd play like this for a whole season. But I love Tsonga's swing-for-the-fences play. Anyway, I think we might have to eliminate the "big three" and make it maybe "big five". :)
Word on Nalbandian. If he had more consistency, he would be a major player. But Jo-W is just so much fun to watch! I think he might be the most explosive tennis player we've seen since Safin took out Sampras in straights at the US Open in 2000.
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