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Black20Ice
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 Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 6:23 am Post subject: Serena Williams Announces Her Retirement From Tennis |
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Serena Williams Announces Plans to Retire From Tennis
| Quote: | | She was not explicit about when she might stop playing, but hinted on Instagram that the U.S. Open could be her last tournament. “The countdown has begun,” she said, adding, “I’m gonna relish these next few weeks.” |
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/09/sports/serena-williams-retirement#serena-williams-retirement-vogue |
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Omar Little
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 6:39 am Post subject: |
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Good luck champ.
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“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel |
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methdxman
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 7:36 am Post subject: |
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| Best female tennis player of all time! |
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governator
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:14 am Post subject: |
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| Wood - MJ - Brady - Phelps - Bolt - Serena - Jeter - ?Gretzky? |
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numero-ocho
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:34 am Post subject: |
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True sports legend and pioneer. She has nothing left to prove and wish her all the best in retirement. It's provided me with a lot of enjoyment watching her play for the last two decades.
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"Suck it up. Don't be a baby. Do your job." - Kobe Bryant |
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LongBeachPoly
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 10:39 am Post subject: |
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Sucks that she won't get the record. The pregnancy really derailed her career. She was never the same after that.
She won her last grand slam in 2017 at the Australian Open, her 23rd grand slam title. She went on maternity leave after that and never won another grand slam title.
In the first 18 yrs of her career (at grand slam events), she went 21-4 in grand slam finals.
In the last 7 years of her career, she went 2-6 in grand slam finals, including 0-4 after her pregnancy.
She really gave up her career to have a baby.
------------------
She started playing professionally in October 1995, at the age of 14 (barely turning 14 - born Sep 1981).
This is her 28th yr playing professionally. Wow!
| Quote: | Her first professional event was in October 1995 at the Bell Challenge in Quebec, where she used a wild-card entry to circumvent age-eligibility rules.
She lost in the first qualifying round to then 18-year-old American Annie Miller, winning just two games. |
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Omar Little
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:43 pm Post subject: |
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| governator wrote: | | Wood - MJ - Brady - Phelps - Bolt - Serena - Jeter - ?Gretzky? |
Jeter is the outlier in that group.
_________________
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel |
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ChickenStu
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| Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 3:18 am Post subject: |
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I saw a twitter account post the following accomplishments for Serena, which of course are exceptional...
--73 singles titles
--23 Grand Slam singles titles
--14 Grand Slam doubles titles
--4 Olympic gold medals
I couldn't help but be struck by Martina Navratilova's accomplishments, when I looked at those of Serena. I will note that former players like Chris Evert and Navratilova herself have almost universally said that they believe Williams is the GOAT of women's tennis. I'll take their word for it, particularly when it comes to singles, and my own eye test (and is there a better standard, really?  ) happens to agree with that assessment. However, no one will be able to argue with me that if you include doubles, Navratilova is the greatest tennis player who ever lived, male or female, relative to their peers. Her accomplishments...
--167 (!!!) singles titles
--18 Grand Slam singles titles
--31 (!!!) Grand Slam doubles titles
I didn't even mention that she won 10 mixed doubles Slams, the last of which occurred when she was 49 years old in 2006. She won 3 of those Slams after she turned 45. Think of the difference in racket technology between when she first started out in the 1970's, compared to the mid-2000's!
Anyway, I don't mean to diminish Serena's accomplishments, and I don't think any woman has ever been better than she was in singles when she was at her best. I'm also aware that Serena played a more limited schedule throughout her career than Navratilova did, which partly accounts for the massive disparity in Navratilova's edge in singles titles won, and I'm guessing the fields were more limited in some of the tournaments that Navratilova won in the 1970's and perhaps the 1980's as well. I just saw Serena's doubles tally and my brain went right to Navratilova.
Time catches up to all of these legendary athletes. We won't be able to enjoy Serena for too much longer. So depending on what sports you follow, enjoy athletes like Brady, LeBron, Tiger, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Katie Ledecky, Megan Rapinoe, Diana Taurasi, etc., while you still can. They won't be around forever. Although their memories do last forever; I still go down the YouTube rabbit hole of re-living some of them. I can't tell you how many times I watch Carli Lloyd's hat trick in the 2015 World Cup Final against Japan, particularly the golazo from the middle of the field that majestically sailed through the air and beats the keeper, who was off her line, and I only watch it with Andres Cantor's call in Spanish. But I digress.
Yes, Serena's run is coming to an end. She's had a turbulent time of it at the US Open, and I hope the crowd gives her the sendoff that she deserves. |
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Black20Ice
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Posts: 1860
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| Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2022 5:04 am Post subject: |
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| ChickenStu wrote: | I saw a twitter account post the following accomplishments for Serena, which of course are exceptional...
--73 singles titles
--23 Grand Slam singles titles
--14 Grand Slam doubles titles
--4 Olympic gold medals
I couldn't help but be struck by Martina Navratilova's accomplishments, when I looked at those of Serena. I will note that former players like Chris Evert and Navratilova herself have almost universally said that they believe Williams is the GOAT of women's tennis. I'll take their word for it, particularly when it comes to singles, and my own eye test (and is there a better standard, really? ) happens to agree with that assessment. However, no one will be able to argue with me that if you include doubles, Navratilova is the greatest tennis player who ever lived, male or female, relative to their peers. Her accomplishments...
--167 (!!!) singles titles
--18 Grand Slam singles titles
--31 (!!!) Grand Slam doubles titles
I didn't even mention that she won 10 mixed doubles Slams, the last of which occurred when she was 49 years old in 2006. She won 3 of those Slams after she turned 45. Think of the difference in racket technology between when she first started out in the 1970's, compared to the mid-2000's!
Anyway, I don't mean to diminish Serena's accomplishments, and I don't think any woman has ever been better than she was in singles when she was at her best. I'm also aware that Serena played a more limited schedule throughout her career than Navratilova did, which partly accounts for the massive disparity in Navratilova's edge in singles titles won, and I'm guessing the fields were more limited in some of the tournaments that Navratilova won in the 1970's and perhaps the 1980's as well. I just saw Serena's doubles tally and my brain went right to Navratilova.
Time catches up to all of these legendary athletes. We won't be able to enjoy Serena for too much longer. So depending on what sports you follow, enjoy athletes like Brady, LeBron, Tiger, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Katie Ledecky, Megan Rapinoe, Diana Taurasi, etc., while you still can. They won't be around forever. Although their memories do last forever; I still go down the YouTube rabbit hole of re-living some of them. I can't tell you how many times I watch Carli Lloyd's hat trick in the 2015 World Cup Final against Japan, particularly the golazo from the middle of the field that majestically sailed through the air and beats the keeper, who was off her line, and I only watch it with Andres Cantor's call in Spanish. But I digress.
Yes, Serena's run is coming to an end. She's had a turbulent time of it at the US Open, and I hope the crowd gives her the sendoff that she deserves. |
From the early to mid 80's Martina had one of the greatest runs you will ever see in sports. She was indomitable. |
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jodeke
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| Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 10:12 am Post subject: |
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Serena's doing a farewell tour. Went out in the 1st round at the Open.
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Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
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Black20Ice
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| Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 4:51 am Post subject: |
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John McEnroe Makes Opinion On Serena Williams Very Clear
| Quote: | "Serena’s the greatest female athlete, to me, in the history of sports. I don’t care who you could come up with. She’s one of the greatest athletes period – male or female. She’s put herself along the likes of Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, whoever you wanna say … She’s 40 years old. She’s done everything in tennis. She’s got nothing to prove," McEnroe told Fox News.
"It sounds like she wants to have more kids, awesome. She’s got a lot of other interests. People want to be a part of what she’s doing. She’ll be doing just fine. We were sort of expecting this to happen. She wanted to win a couple more, one or two more, break the all-time record, win a couple after having her daughter. That doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen but that, to me, doesn’t take away that she’s the greatest of all time." |
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/tennis/john-mcenroe-makes-opinion-on-serena-williams-very-clear/ar-AA10E8w8?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=2c9a1b2327a04f55a531066d6f400858 |
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focus
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Posts: 2526
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| Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Black20Ice wrote: | John McEnroe Makes Opinion On Serena Williams Very Clear
| Quote: | "Serena’s the greatest female athlete, to me, in the history of sports. I don’t care who you could come up with. She’s one of the greatest athletes period – male or female. She’s put herself along the likes of Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, whoever you wanna say … She’s 40 years old. She’s done everything in tennis. She’s got nothing to prove," McEnroe told Fox News.
"It sounds like she wants to have more kids, awesome. She’s got a lot of other interests. People want to be a part of what she’s doing. She’ll be doing just fine. We were sort of expecting this to happen. She wanted to win a couple more, one or two more, break the all-time record, win a couple after having her daughter. That doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen but that, to me, doesn’t take away that she’s the greatest of all time." |
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/tennis/john-mcenroe-makes-opinion-on-serena-williams-very-clear/ar-AA10E8w8?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=2c9a1b2327a04f55a531066d6f400858 |
Exactly. She was the GOAT a while ago to me. Such a unique path, overcoming so much. I read her farewell article in Vogue. Serena seems like she has a big future in business and in general beyond sports, like Kobe was on his way to. I think she will spend a lot of her time in family life, but she was always such a renaissance girl then woman that she'll probably keep managing her time to do lots of things. |
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governator
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| Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 6:03 am Post subject: |
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| Omar Little wrote: | | governator wrote: | | Wood - MJ - Brady - Phelps - Bolt - Serena - Jeter - ?Gretzky? |
Jeter is the outlier in that group. |
umm, who'd you pick for baseball? |
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LongBeachPoly
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JerryWest_44
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| Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 7:38 pm Post subject: |
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| governator wrote: | | Wood - MJ - Brady - Phelps - Bolt - Serena - Jeter - ?Gretzky? |
Gretzky without a doubt …. I would trade Kareem’s basketball achievements over MJ
and Jeter is not even close |
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jodeke
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| Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:44 am Post subject: |
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| JerryWest_44 wrote: | | governator wrote: | | Wood - MJ - Brady - Phelps - Bolt - Serena - Jeter - ?Gretzky? |
Gretzky without a doubt …. I would trade Kareem’s basketball achievements over MJ
and Jeter is not even close |
In my mind what puts Jordan above the rest is, the Bulls 3peated, he retired for 2 years, came back and they 3peated again. I've always wondered if he hadn't retired for 2 years would the Bulls have tied or eclipsed the Boston Celtics 8 championships in a row? Keeping in mind he did it in a more difficult era with more games, teams, and IMO, bigger and more athletic players.
Centers, Russell, Jabbar, Chamberlain in no particular order.
Kareem best all around
Chamberlain best individual
Russell best team player
Serena's farewell tour has been winless so far. Still, she's on the Mount Rushmore of tennis.
_________________
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Last edited by jodeke on Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:15 am; edited 2 times in total |
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aprevo15
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| Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:58 am Post subject: |
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| Time sure flies. It felt like yesterday when Serena came on to the scene and was just dominating everyone. Now she is retiring. She is and will forever be a legend in the sport. Thank you Serena for entertaining us for years with your great talent. |
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ChickenStu
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2022 6:10 pm Post subject: |
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SERENA, MF'ERS!
That was the best she's looked in at least a couple of years. I still highly doubt that she could play at the level she showed tonight for 5 more matches, but she was legit tonight. Kontaveit actually played quite well and she was the #2 seed. I know the women's game is wide open so that seeding doesn't mean a ton, but she's obviously a quality player and she legitimately played well. Serena's level was just better.
Serena's going to be favored to beat Ajla Tomljanovich in the next round, but it's still one of those things where she could lose to anyone at any time. |
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focus
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2022 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| ChickenStu wrote: | SERENA, MF'ERS!
That was the best she's looked in at least a couple of years. I still highly doubt that she could play at the level she showed tonight for 5 more matches, but she was legit tonight. Kontaveit actually played quite well and she was the #2 seed. I know the women's game is wide open so that seeding doesn't mean a ton, but she's obviously a quality player and she legitimately played well. Serena's level was just better.
Serena's going to be favored to beat Ajla Tomljanovich in the next round, but it's still one of those things where she could lose to anyone at any time. |
All I had to do was read the first line here in caps and I knew you watched the match just like I did. She was f'in brilliant at times. Her movement was so bad in Canada and Cincinnati, it was tough to watch. I thought she just couldn't move. But in the first match here, I saw definite signs of better movement, but still not great although the serve was just like the old days. But tonight? Tonight, she was old Serena moving amazing and not just left to right but forward, and hitting so beautifully. And using her mind on huge points. And Kontaveit I have never seen her play so well for most of that. She definitely raised her max level, and I think Serena brought that level out of her. I dismissed her seeding too because she hasn't played that well this year, and even last I didn't see her as a top player really. Konteveit played great tonight (not just well IMO), and Serena just took it up to a higher level, played the score beautifully, attacked at just the right time to shake her up. Serena's movement...wow. Can't believe it's the same player. GOAT.
Then there is the whole aspect of the fan experience of that match, the ebbs and flows. Serena breaking then getting broken back. Felt like a huge event, this second round match. Tiger in the audience. Anyone watching that knows the electricity around it. It is on replay at ESPN watch. Just an event.
Could she do it?...Hmm. One match at a time, as always. |
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ChickenStu
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2022 8:53 pm Post subject: |
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| focus wrote: | | ChickenStu wrote: | SERENA, MF'ERS!
That was the best she's looked in at least a couple of years. I still highly doubt that she could play at the level she showed tonight for 5 more matches, but she was legit tonight. Kontaveit actually played quite well and she was the #2 seed. I know the women's game is wide open so that seeding doesn't mean a ton, but she's obviously a quality player and she legitimately played well. Serena's level was just better.
Serena's going to be favored to beat Ajla Tomljanovich in the next round, but it's still one of those things where she could lose to anyone at any time. |
All I had to do was read the first line here in caps and I knew you watched the match just like I did. She was f'in brilliant at times. Her movement was so bad in Canada and Cincinnati, it was tough to watch. I thought she just couldn't move. But in the first match here, I saw definite signs of better movement, but still not great although the serve was just like the old days. But tonight? Tonight, she was old Serena moving amazing and not just left to right but forward, and hitting so beautifully. And using her mind on huge points. And Kontaveit I have never seen her play so well for most of that. She definitely raised her max level, and I think Serena brought that level out of her. I dismissed her seeding too because she hasn't played that well this year, and even last I didn't see her as a top player really. Konteveit played great tonight (not just well IMO), and Serena just took it up to a higher level, played the score beautifully, attacked at just the right time to shake her up. Serena's movement...wow. Can't believe it's the same player. GOAT.
Then there is the whole aspect of the fan experience of that match, the ebbs and flows. Serena breaking then getting broken back. Felt like a huge event, this second round match. Tiger in the audience. Anyone watching that knows the electricity around it. It is on replay at ESPN watch. Just an event.
Could she do it?...Hmm. One match at a time, as always. |
I'm still not ready to buy in to the idea that she could play well 7 matches in a row to win this. Then again, Raducanu won last year and that really feels like a fluke, so who knows. |
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jodeke
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| Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2022 7:52 am Post subject: |
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I haven't been watching Serena, though I want to, for the same reason I didn't post in the game thread when the Lakers were on a winning streak, I don't want to jinx either. I'm torn about watching Serena tonight. If I do and she loses I'll be very sad. I think I'll record the match.
_________________
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
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DaMuleRules
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| Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2022 7:14 am Post subject: |
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Fun (but nerve-wracking) final match for her last night. If she could have pulled out that first set, what could have been . . . Serena was not going to go silently into the night, even that 6-1 final set was a battle.
Cheers to the GOAT.
_________________
You thought God was an architect, now you know
He’s something like a pipe bomb ready to blow
And everything you built that’s all for show
goes up in flames
In 24 frames
Jason Isbell
Man, do those lyrics resonate right now |
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ChickenStu
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| Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2022 3:19 pm Post subject: |
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| DaMuleRules wrote: | Fun (but nerve-wracking) final match for her last night. If she could have pulled out that first set, what could have been . . . Serena was not going to go silently into the night, even that 6-1 final set was a battle.
Cheers to the GOAT. |
I was worried when I saw that she was only a -135 favorite going into the match last night. Thought that was a fishy line, and Serena ended up being unable to close out both of the first 2 sets. She should have won the first, and even though she won the second, she had to fight tooth and nail just to get to the third. And she held serve in the first game of the 3rd set and had 15-40 to go up an early break. When she didn't get that break, it seemed to deflate her a bit, and then I think the energy that she had expended to that point came back to hurt her. |
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DaMuleRules
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| Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2022 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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| ChickenStu wrote: | | DaMuleRules wrote: | Fun (but nerve-wracking) final match for her last night. If she could have pulled out that first set, what could have been . . . Serena was not going to go silently into the night, even that 6-1 final set was a battle.
Cheers to the GOAT. |
I was worried when I saw that she was only a -135 favorite going into the match last night. Thought that was a fishy line, and Serena ended up being unable to close out both of the first 2 sets. She should have won the first, and even though she won the second, she had to fight tooth and nail just to get to the third. And she held serve in the first game of the 3rd set and had 15-40 to go up an early break. When she didn't get that break, it seemed to deflate her a bit, and then I think the energy that she had expended to that point came back to hurt her. |
Yep. Unfortunately, she was caught feet planted a few times in those several games of the third.
_________________
You thought God was an architect, now you know
He’s something like a pipe bomb ready to blow
And everything you built that’s all for show
goes up in flames
In 24 frames
Jason Isbell
Man, do those lyrics resonate right now |
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jodeke
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| Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2022 6:58 am Post subject: |
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Serena ran out of gas. She spent too much energy playing doubles with Venus.
_________________
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. |
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