A final for the ages

This photo says it all for me. Back in July I watched one of the best tennis matches I'll probably ever see. For a tennis fanatic like myself it was a thing of beauty. The Wimbledon men's final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal didn't finish until almost 9:30 p.m. local time. Centre Court at Wimbledon doesn't have any overhead lights, so Nadal accepted the trophy in darkness right after the match. Roger Federer was seeking an unprecedented sixth straight Wimbledon title this year. And Rafa scratched his way to a win in a five-set epic match over Federer on his third try in as many years. While I have no qualms about the tennis prowess of Roger, I love to see Rafa play. Not only is he a buff Spaniard who's pretty easy on the eyes, he's an awesome player. He plays his heart out on every point no matter who is across the net and when he does lose he doesn't give any excuses. I'm in awe of his play for a couple of reasons, but the main one is that he plays left-handed. He does everything else in his life right-handed, but for tennis he's a lefty. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to switch after playing with his right hand for years. But now, how can anybody question the brilliance of that move? Rafa won his quarterfinal match against American Mardy Fish early this morning in the US Open draw. I'm still cheering for Andy Roddick, the only American left in the draw now, but I can't help being awed by the game of Nadal.

I'm far from 15

Well, I'm pretty far from my promised 15 blog posts this month. But I'm working on a doozy that I'll be posting sometime this weekend. It's going to be a long one and for that I apologize. In the meantime I'm keeping busy with a job interview this week (more about the job later after I know something) and more contact with my former employer. Just haven't heard from either one that I am being offered a job. I'm trying to be patient.

I watched a lot of the Democratic National Convention this week. Mostly because my mom was watching it and I was there for the first two nights. Some of the speeches were very moving. That's enough about politics.

This past Monday was the beginning of the U.S. Open and I've been watching tennis when I can. One of my favorites, Tommy Haas, was defeated yesterday. I didn't see the match since it wasn't televised in its entirety, but apparently there was a line call that Tommy didn't agree with and then he self-destructed because he couldn't get past that. No challenge system was in place on that court either. But how about that Andy Roddick? He played a wonderful four-set match last night against Gulbis and won. I will admit that the television was on during the match, but I slept through most of it even though I had the best of intentions to stay awake.

More on the Open and tennis later. Right now I've got to go fold some clothes and maybe have a nap. I love three-day weekends!

Open update

I am sad to report that Tommy Haas lost in straight sets to a very unattractive Russian (name omitted to protect his privacy). Andy Roddick lost last night in straight sets to Roger Federer. The best news of the night: Andre Agassi was a guest commentator of the match with John McEnroe and Ted Robinson. They made a great team and I hope they have Andre back to commentate in the future. He's not only bald and sexy, but he has some insightful things to say!

To answer some of your comment questions...
1. Yes, I've played tennis in the past (not for about 3 years). I started playing when my friend, Joyce, asked me to take lessons with her. We were in our early 30s at the time. We made a pact that no pictures would be taken and there would be no laughter at another's expense. We both enjoyed it thoroughly.

2. Tommy Haas is slightly hotter than Agassi. I think it's the German accent that tips the scales!

I consider myself incredibly LUCKY to have gotten to watch Agassi on Centre Court at Wimbledon when I went four years ago. He was amazing. Or maybe it was just the experience of standing in the queue and then getting a ticket on Centre Court. But that's another post for another day.

Tennis, anyone?

I have a confession to make. I'm a tennis fanatic. Junkie. Lunatic. A super, hard-core fan. If there's a major tournament on TV it's likely that I'm watching it. If I'm at work, I check online for match updates between tasks. Especially during January (Australian Open), late May/early June (French Open), late June/early July (Wimbledon) and late August/early September (US Open).

Some people look forward to September because it's the start of football season. Not me. While I do relish the thought of cooler temperatures and the start of Pansy Mania Days at the local garden center, I really enjoy Labor Day weekend and the first week or so of September for the fact that the US Open tennis tournament is in full swing in Flushing Meadows, NY. Don't misunderstand, I like the other majors. I attended Wimbledon four years ago and it's one of my favorite tournaments. Wimbledon is proper and the fans are polite. But the US Open is gritty, in-your-face tennis and with New Yorkers in the stands sometimes it's anything but polite.

Although I've never been to the Open physically, I'm there emotionally at this time every year. This year's matches have been some of the best I've ever watched. The five-set match Monday between American James Blake and German Tommy Haas was one of the best ever. Haas is one of my all-time favorite players (right up there with Andre Agassi) even though he's never won a major tournament. Usually I will cheer for the Americans when they're playing or whoever is the underdog. I do love Blake's game and he's come back from a neck injury and is playing some phenomenal tennis, so Monday I was a little schizophrenic during the match. But in my heart I was rooting for Haas. And he came up with the goods.

Tonight there's a match between American Andy Roddick and arguably the best ever Swiss player Roger Federer. Guess where I'll be? That's right, in my recliner. So don't call me unless you're sure it's a commercial.