(no subject)
0 0 9 "Goodbye Carlos Moya"
It's not how I dreamt of ending my career.
After a foot injury in early 2009, followed by recurrent hamstring problems, hip issues and peroneal
tendinitis, Carlos Moya called time on his career on November 21st, 2010. Moya, a former French
Open champion, was the first Spanish player in the Open Era to claim the number one ranking.
The Mallorcan retired in London with a ceremony held by the ATP, honoring his achievements and
surrounded by close friends and peers.
0 0 8 "She's Baa-aack"
A flame I thought was extinguished forever, suddenly lit up again.
In January 2010, Justine Henin stormed back into women's professional tennis with a wildcard entry
at the Brisbane International Tournament. Though very close to winning, she was defeated by Kim
Clijsters in the final. Justine's main reason for returning to the WTA has been to win Wimbledon,
the one Slam she has yet to best. Since June, Henin has been injured with a ruptured tendon in her
elbow. The Belgian plans to make her second comeback in January 2011 at the Hopman Cup in
Perth, Australia.
0 0 7 "Lucky Number 13"
Hey, Billie, I got you!
Serena Williams won the Australian Open earlier in the year, making that her 12th career major
title. She had now equaled Billie Jean King on the All-Time list. In July, she would win
Wimbledon and 13th major over-all, by beating Vera Zvonereva 6-3, 6-2. That's the most among
active women and gives Serena sole possession of sixth place on the all-time list.
0 0 6 "Serbia Stands Alone"
It's historic. This is our biggest success as individuals, as a team, as a country.
With a historic win over France, Serbia became the 13th nation to win the Davis Cup since its
inception in 1900. Viktor Troicki was the hero for his country as he thrashed France's Michael
Llodra in the decisive rubber to give the home side their first Davis Cup victory. Serbia only made
their Davis Cup debut in 1995, a fact which did not elude any of the teams' players. Before the
final, several members said that winning the title would be the greatest achievement in the
nation's short sporting history. According to Novak Djokovic, winning the Davis Cup was "the best
moment of my career and probably of my nation. This is like winning the World Cup for us."
0 0 5 "Nothing Is Impossible"
This means that everybody has a chance, to be who you really want to be, and to do everything in your life. This is what’s happened to me.
Francesca Schiavone, at age 29, did the unthinkable by winning the French Open in June 2010.
She became not only the first Italian woman to win the title, but the oldest first-time female
Grand Slam champion in the Open era. Schiavone’s career rode a long plateau before
taking slow rise over the past year. She made the French Open quarterfinals in 2001 but left
most Grand Slam events in the first week. She said she always dreamed of winning the French
Open more than anything else. “Maybe it was far away in the reality,” she said, moving her
hand to her heart, “but, here, never far away.”
0 0 4 "Sweet Sixteen"
“It’s also very special the first Grand Slam as a father...you get the best out of me.”
Last year, Federer sobbed when Rod Laver presented the winners’ trophy to Nadal, having
missed a chance to equal Pete Sampras’ record 14 career majors. But he recovered from
that defeat to claim his first clay court major at the French Open, completing a career Grand
Slam of titles and equaling the Sampras record. After winning at Wimbledon, he added the
2010 title to his wins at Melbourne Park in 2004, 2006 and ’07, becoming only the fifth man
to win four Australian titles. This victory also gave Roger Federer his 16th Grand Slam title,
further deepening his stamp on history.
0 0 3 "Elena's Farewell"
While I look forward to the next chapter of my life, I will miss all of you very much.
Elena Dementieva retired from tennis on October 29th, 2010 after a loss to Francesca Schiavone
at the WTA Championships in Qatar. She left the sport with 16 titles, but none in majors, giving
her the dubious distinction of greatest player to never win a Grand Slam. During the ceremony,
she was joined on the court by the other players in the tournament, including two who didn't have
any scheduled matches for the day. That simple gesture by players in a notoriously unfriendly
sport said more about Elena Dementieva than any hole on her resume possibly could.
0 0 2 "Epic"
Nothing like this will ever happen again. Ever.
At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, in the Gentlemen's Singles tournament, the American
23rd seed John Isner beat the French qualifier Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis
history, measured both by time and number of games. The match began on Tuesday 22 June
2010 and ended on on Thursday 24 June. After 11 hours, 5 minutes of play over three days, the
final score was 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7-9), 7-6(7-3) 70-68 (183 games). Former tennis Champion John
McEnroe said, "This is the greatest advertisement for our sport. It makes me proud to be a part
of it. We often don't get the respect we deserve in tennis for the athletic demands it places on
players, but this should push that respect way up." It was, put simply, epic.
Records That Fell
* The "longest official tennis match in history."
* It is the longest Grand Slam match, surpassing the previous record of six hours and 33 minutes at the 2004 French Open (Fabrice Santoro bt Arnaud Clement).
* According to the BBC, the fifth set is the longest ever to have been played in a tennis match.
* It has seen the most number of games ever played in a match, beating the previous highest of 112 (singles) and 122 (doubles).
* It is the longest match at Wimbledon, beating six hours and nine minutes, set in the 2006 men's doubles quarter-finals.
* It has featured the longest set at Wimbledon. The previous longest was 62 games, set in a men's doubles match in 1968.
* It has seen the record number of aces served in a match at Wimbledon, with both players beating Ivo Karlovic's 51 in 2005.
0 0 1 "Career Grand Slam"
It's more than what I dreamt.
On September 13th, 2010, Rafael Nadal won the US Open and became only the 7th man in
history to have won all four majors. This win over Novak Djokovic (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2), also made
Nadal the first male tennis player to hold three Grand Slam singles titles on three different
surfaces at the same time. On how he played: Rafa was vulnerable and imperfect; he converted
only six of 23 break points, to his opponent's three from four. But, ultimately, Nadal had the greater
reserves of genius on which to call, on the surface that was supposed to be beyond him. Djokovic
put it best and most simply at the end: "Right now he's the best player in the world and he absolutely
deserves this title."
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--obviously this is subjective, so it's cool to disagree
--the layout is totally inspired by ilovedyoufirst
--don't repost on tumblr and don't hotlink
--enjoy!