This is titled #2, since #1 was the post on Davydenko during AusOpen 2006, even though it wasn't titled so. Of course, the numbers are in chronological order rather than ordered by significance.
Amidst the gloom of Friday and Saturday, with Argentina and Andre Agassi missing out on their respective dates with July 9th, Andy Murray elicited a smile. I had never seen him in action previously and realised yesterday that he had never been past the third round of a Slam prior to Wimbledon'06. But had read pages and pages that dissected his game and plotted his rise to World No.1 among other stuff. You guessed it.....he's British!
Anyway, within a few games of watching him playing Roddick, I knew that I had seen it all before. The deceptive movement around the court, the incredible angles and the clincher....the vulnerability to a power player. That's right....men's tennis has its own Martina Hingis!
Forza Murray!!! oops...wonder where the Italian influence came from. I mean, was it from the World Cup semifinal or the Ferrari 1-2 at Indy this weekend :D
PS: Actually, to be fair, we have had Fabrice Santoro for ages. For those wondering "Fabrice WHO??". Here's an FYI...7-2 Safin, 3-4 Sampras, 3-3 Agassi....that's his career H to H record against those players. In spite of these incredible stats, Santoro has never been able to put together good enough results to enter the elite top 10. Thus, he has hardly ever had the benefit of TV coverage. Exception: US Open'05 - played Federer on Center Court and I swear that it was one of the most enjoyable tennis matches that I have witnessed.
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Iam devastated by the show put up by Argentina against Germany. It was not their normal game. Firstly, there was no reason to start with Tevez, which meant that Crespo was isolated. Starting with Lucho was the only good positive move by Pekerman. It is now part of Buneos Aires folkfore of Pekerman's subsequent subs. Abbondozieri is a screw-ball, heard that he was okay the following morning but cudnt bear the pain for another 20-40 minutes-shame on him.
Anyway Kudos to Italy and France for entering the final. The knock-out rounds of this WC are a pain to watch. FIFA shd ban the cautious approach of these teams. Its becoming a tactical affair only with no skills; even the irresistable Sorin, who keeps doing those outrageous back-heels , was largely qiuet and refused to play up-front. The worst part is these Latin American teams, in particular Argentina (as I feel that Brazil no longer play jogo Bonito since 1994), are also trying to emulate these europeans in a cautious approach rather than playing to their strengths. In hindsight it was good that Argentina lost as it would have set the trend for the future as in the case of Brazil with CP's team of 1994.
No doubt Pekerman is a wonderful coach and Argentina gave a strong display of its sublime skills that it was capable of. But in the knock-out stages, especially against Germany, they were playing worser than England (the ultimate insult). Anyway, I frankly did not expect this team to go past the 1/8 as the team was in total disarray 3 months back. Its a tribute to Pekerman that he was able to make the team play so well and so fluidly. The future looks extremely bright for Argentina with some real good talent in the final third of the field esp with Messi, Tevez, Aguero, Saviola (he will be 29 in 2010), Alessandro (he will be 28, but i rate him very highly, to these eyes he is more talented than Totti, CR7, Lamps, Stevige.. but did not make into the 23!!!!), Ustari (thankfully that shit named Abbondozieri will no longer be there), Palacio, Mascherano, and plenty more.
And the wait continues....
True, the wait continues. It has been nothing but disappointment since 1994, hasn't it? There was a sense of inevitability to the penalty shootout outcome. As time was ticking down in regular time, I was constantly looking at the clock and trying to run it down quickly. But out of the blue came the thunderbolt! Devastating, for sure! And yeah, it was surprising that Pekerman went so defensive to protect the lead.
Anyway, now that it has been more than a week since it happened, I realise that it is not all bad. Unequivocally, everyone accepts that the Argies played the most attractive football. And I don't think that they played this style during 94,98 or 02. So, they did leave some plesant memories.
And based on what you mention, they are brimming with talent. I couldn't believe that Messi didn't play a single minute. But then, Maradona did not play in 78. But again, I would prefer that Messi would win it in 2010 rather than wait till 2014. Lets see...
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