i am clearly not procrastinating packing in any way.
I am not as wordy as crystaleyesd, but I did steal this idea from her. My tennis loves. With pictures. And some words. (I have gone back and added player photos aka whoring myself out for my loves! ♥)
the one who made me love tennis
andy roddick
Yeah, this is no surprise. ♥ On a cold, windy Friday in June 2001, my dad took me to Wimbledon for the very first time. I remember begging my dad to take me the year before and he promised that when I hit 15, he'd take me instead of my mother. He kept true to his promise, and my dad is the person I blame for this love of tennis. We sat on Centre Court and it was freezing; my dad gave me his jacket and he froze instead. We watched three matches and it only rained a little bit. Of course, this being Wimbledon, I had to record the tv coverage to see if we were on tv at all. We were not on tv (years later we would be, though under different circumstances!), but watching back the coverage I saw an eighteen year old kid play Goran Ivanisevic. His name was Andrew Stephen Roddick, and the rest will always be history. The moment I fell in love was the moment he looked SO EXCITED to break Goran's serve, and I will never forget it. Ever. It's weird; I'd watched Wimbledon as I'd grown up, my first tennis memory is the Agassi vs Ivanisevic 1992 final, but Andy made me want him play, rather than watch Wimbledon. When I watch Andy his wins make me happy, but his losses still devestate me. I'll never have another Andy Roddick, and I don't think I want to.
the one who i am endlessly fond of
juan carlos ferrero
Another of my first tennis loves. Juan Carlos I did see play on that day in Wimbledon 2001; he lost, to Greg Rudedski of all people, but he did get a piece of my heart in the process. When I got home I read up as much about him as I could. :) I like that he can play on other surfaces other than clay, even though he's Spanish. He is a player I never fell hard for, but I will always love, and to see him winning matches even now (okay, he's injured now, but hopefully soon :S) makes me smile.
the one who breaks/broke my heart (over and over)
marat safin
What can I say about Marat Safin that other people can't? Nothing. But he did steal my heart a little bit, and there were times he played beautiful tennis, and he had this great personality and tennis needs personalities. But, Marat Safin is a heartbreaker, a headcase and a complete retard sometimes. Everyone who is a Marat Safin fan understands this. When his game was on it was one of the most beautiful and amazing and flawless tennis games to watch though. It just wasn't on often enough. (Yeah, Marat retired over a year ago, but I still miss him, and he'll always be a favourite.)
the other one who breaks my heart but i've come to expect it
mardy fish
Yeah yeah yeah, go away all you Mardy Fish haters. (Friends with Andy, lived together, Fish puns, we've heard it alllll before commentators. Reallyy we have.) Watched him play for the first time possibly when he played Andy Roddick in the Cincinnati 03 final. It helped that I thought he was cute, and he was cute with Andy. Since then he has not lived up to expectations, especially because John Roddick thought Mardy was going to be better than Andy on the pro tour, but oh well. His wins make me happier than Andy winning, because they come so rarely.
the one who i fall in and out of love with
roger federer
The love-hate relationship I have with Roger Federer is still ongoing. I really didn't care about him until Wimbledon 2003, when I started actively hating him for beating Andy. A year later, after they played in the final and Roger Federer had crushed my teenage dreams, I figured that if Andy Roddick could not hate his guts, then I could too. Since then I've admited the way he plays, because it can be a thing of beauty, but his dominance bores me to tears and sometimes he makes these comments that just make you go WHAT ROGER, WHAT IS THIS. I do like him, and I love watching him play because it's beautiful, but I will never love Roger Federer the way I do others. I see-saw quite a lot over him sometimes.
the one who makes me think seriously britain, get over it already
andy murray
I admit; I did not like Andy Murray. For a very, very long time. I hated the hype. It made me angry. I hated Henmania and Murraymania was even worse. Especially when he was just a kid in 2005. And I carried this on for years. I didn't need a reason to dislike Andy Murray, I just didn't like him. Then Cincinnati 2008 happened. I watched Murray practice on the court next to Marat Safin, and he looked like a nice guy. I watched him play great tennis in 40 degree heat, and I watched him be completely fucking adorable with Novak Djokovic. I sat in an airport with him for eight hours and learnt that he is a lovely guy, and we shared a plug socket because we both had adaptor issues, and he looked at Tim Henman's ATP page and looked on Facebook and was so utterly normal and answered idiotic questions from Americans. And I fell in love a little bit. Have a bonus photo. ♥ Ignore the terrible sunburn.
the one who has my heart wrapped up in a little bow
novak djokovic
I kind of hated Novak for a long time too. He was always 'the cheater'; I remember watching his match against Monfils in 2005 at the US Open and his admission he kept calling for the trainer to put Monfils off, and I hated that. I actually saw him in a hotel in NYC in 2006 and refused to ask for a photo, because hello, he was a cheater and I didn't like him. In 2007 I watched him beat Andy Roddick, and that made me have more issues. I liked his impressions, but hated that he did them after matches. 2008 was a Novak turning point; clo and I watched him lose to Marat Safin from the front row at Wimbledon. Then Cincinnati happened. See, adorability with Andy Murray and beating Nadal. After that, I was definitely on board the Novak train. Now Novak's grown up a bit I adore him... he might actually be my second favourite now. I don't mind if the attitude comes back, but the cheating/retiring really shouldn't.
the one who should be in spamalot
(sir) robin soderling
Sir Robin first came to my attention when he mocked Nadal in the middle of a match in 2007. I will admit, I laughed. Hard. Then he disappeared until Roland Garros 2009, when he beat Nadal and everyone and their mother hated him. The thing was, I didn't hate him. Not for what he did, and especially because he looked so completely adorable while he was winning. He seems so shy off court, and has an epically awesome girlfriend and a game I love watching. In 2009 it was a horrible thing to like him and to want him to win. In 2010 it definitely wasn't. :)
the one who is height of adorability (get the pun?)
juan martin del potro
Awww, bb. ♥ I saw Juan Martin play at Queens one year when he was teeny tiny and had massive hair and it was all so ridiculous. But he looked the part. Two years later and he was the part. He's sweet and adorable, and is far too tall but it all adds to his charm. He also hits these amazing forehands which helps. I was so wonderfully happy when he won the US Open in 2009, and missed him so much last year.
the honourable mentions
fernando verdasco, fernando gonzalez, john isner, sam querrey, ernests gulbis
the one who made me love tennis
andy roddick
Yeah, this is no surprise. ♥ On a cold, windy Friday in June 2001, my dad took me to Wimbledon for the very first time. I remember begging my dad to take me the year before and he promised that when I hit 15, he'd take me instead of my mother. He kept true to his promise, and my dad is the person I blame for this love of tennis. We sat on Centre Court and it was freezing; my dad gave me his jacket and he froze instead. We watched three matches and it only rained a little bit. Of course, this being Wimbledon, I had to record the tv coverage to see if we were on tv at all. We were not on tv (years later we would be, though under different circumstances!), but watching back the coverage I saw an eighteen year old kid play Goran Ivanisevic. His name was Andrew Stephen Roddick, and the rest will always be history. The moment I fell in love was the moment he looked SO EXCITED to break Goran's serve, and I will never forget it. Ever. It's weird; I'd watched Wimbledon as I'd grown up, my first tennis memory is the Agassi vs Ivanisevic 1992 final, but Andy made me want him play, rather than watch Wimbledon. When I watch Andy his wins make me happy, but his losses still devestate me. I'll never have another Andy Roddick, and I don't think I want to.
the one who i am endlessly fond of
juan carlos ferrero
Another of my first tennis loves. Juan Carlos I did see play on that day in Wimbledon 2001; he lost, to Greg Rudedski of all people, but he did get a piece of my heart in the process. When I got home I read up as much about him as I could. :) I like that he can play on other surfaces other than clay, even though he's Spanish. He is a player I never fell hard for, but I will always love, and to see him winning matches even now (okay, he's injured now, but hopefully soon :S) makes me smile.
the one who breaks/broke my heart (over and over)
marat safin
What can I say about Marat Safin that other people can't? Nothing. But he did steal my heart a little bit, and there were times he played beautiful tennis, and he had this great personality and tennis needs personalities. But, Marat Safin is a heartbreaker, a headcase and a complete retard sometimes. Everyone who is a Marat Safin fan understands this. When his game was on it was one of the most beautiful and amazing and flawless tennis games to watch though. It just wasn't on often enough. (Yeah, Marat retired over a year ago, but I still miss him, and he'll always be a favourite.)
the other one who breaks my heart but i've come to expect it
mardy fish
Yeah yeah yeah, go away all you Mardy Fish haters. (Friends with Andy, lived together, Fish puns, we've heard it alllll before commentators. Reallyy we have.) Watched him play for the first time possibly when he played Andy Roddick in the Cincinnati 03 final. It helped that I thought he was cute, and he was cute with Andy. Since then he has not lived up to expectations, especially because John Roddick thought Mardy was going to be better than Andy on the pro tour, but oh well. His wins make me happier than Andy winning, because they come so rarely.
the one who i fall in and out of love with
roger federer
The love-hate relationship I have with Roger Federer is still ongoing. I really didn't care about him until Wimbledon 2003, when I started actively hating him for beating Andy. A year later, after they played in the final and Roger Federer had crushed my teenage dreams, I figured that if Andy Roddick could not hate his guts, then I could too. Since then I've admited the way he plays, because it can be a thing of beauty, but his dominance bores me to tears and sometimes he makes these comments that just make you go WHAT ROGER, WHAT IS THIS. I do like him, and I love watching him play because it's beautiful, but I will never love Roger Federer the way I do others. I see-saw quite a lot over him sometimes.
the one who makes me think seriously britain, get over it already
andy murray
I admit; I did not like Andy Murray. For a very, very long time. I hated the hype. It made me angry. I hated Henmania and Murraymania was even worse. Especially when he was just a kid in 2005. And I carried this on for years. I didn't need a reason to dislike Andy Murray, I just didn't like him. Then Cincinnati 2008 happened. I watched Murray practice on the court next to Marat Safin, and he looked like a nice guy. I watched him play great tennis in 40 degree heat, and I watched him be completely fucking adorable with Novak Djokovic. I sat in an airport with him for eight hours and learnt that he is a lovely guy, and we shared a plug socket because we both had adaptor issues, and he looked at Tim Henman's ATP page and looked on Facebook and was so utterly normal and answered idiotic questions from Americans. And I fell in love a little bit. Have a bonus photo. ♥ Ignore the terrible sunburn.
the one who has my heart wrapped up in a little bow
novak djokovic
I kind of hated Novak for a long time too. He was always 'the cheater'; I remember watching his match against Monfils in 2005 at the US Open and his admission he kept calling for the trainer to put Monfils off, and I hated that. I actually saw him in a hotel in NYC in 2006 and refused to ask for a photo, because hello, he was a cheater and I didn't like him. In 2007 I watched him beat Andy Roddick, and that made me have more issues. I liked his impressions, but hated that he did them after matches. 2008 was a Novak turning point; clo and I watched him lose to Marat Safin from the front row at Wimbledon. Then Cincinnati happened. See, adorability with Andy Murray and beating Nadal. After that, I was definitely on board the Novak train. Now Novak's grown up a bit I adore him... he might actually be my second favourite now. I don't mind if the attitude comes back, but the cheating/retiring really shouldn't.
the one who should be in spamalot
(sir) robin soderling
Sir Robin first came to my attention when he mocked Nadal in the middle of a match in 2007. I will admit, I laughed. Hard. Then he disappeared until Roland Garros 2009, when he beat Nadal and everyone and their mother hated him. The thing was, I didn't hate him. Not for what he did, and especially because he looked so completely adorable while he was winning. He seems so shy off court, and has an epically awesome girlfriend and a game I love watching. In 2009 it was a horrible thing to like him and to want him to win. In 2010 it definitely wasn't. :)
the one who is height of adorability (get the pun?)
juan martin del potro
Awww, bb. ♥ I saw Juan Martin play at Queens one year when he was teeny tiny and had massive hair and it was all so ridiculous. But he looked the part. Two years later and he was the part. He's sweet and adorable, and is far too tall but it all adds to his charm. He also hits these amazing forehands which helps. I was so wonderfully happy when he won the US Open in 2009, and missed him so much last year.
the honourable mentions
fernando verdasco, fernando gonzalez, john isner, sam querrey, ernests gulbis