[Jesse Pentecost] Those Lethal Cocktails

[britbox]

US Open, Fourth Round Recap by Jesse Pentecost at the Tennis Frontier:

http://www.tennisfrontier.com/blogs/jesse-pentecost/those-lethal-cocktails/

 

[Moxie]

RE: Those Lethal Cocktails

Thanks for the recap, Jesse. I have to say I laughed at this:

"Time and again Robredo simply stood his ground. By the third set even he stopped looking surprised when Federer hit the ball straight back to him."

Also, particularly good on Youzhny/Hewitt.

 

[tented]

RE: Those Lethal Cocktails

Thanks for the recap, Jesse. I have to say I laughed at this:

"Time and again Robredo simply stood his ground. By the third set even he stopped looking surprised when Federer hit the ball straight back to him."

Also, particularly good on Youzhny/Hewitt.

His description of Youzhny/Hewitt is spot on. I liked this about Hewitt: "Contrary to popular opinion, he was never an accomplished frontrunner, and even during his eighty weeks atop the rankings would often permit leads disastrously to slip. There have been a few players more habituated to producing monuments, but Hewitt is nearly unmatched in his capacity to make routines matches unnecessarily monumental."

And this about Federer made me giggle: "His movement was sluggish, his decisions were poor, his returning patchy, his serve lacked bite, and his outfit didn’t match."

Great post, Jesse. Thanks.

 

[I.Haychew]

RE: Those Lethal Cocktails

Being a Youzhny fan, I'll comment on the post match interview with Youzhny. I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure that Pam Shriver was the interviewer. I thought it was a terrible interview because it seemed that almost the entire interview was about Hewitt. I realize that Hewitt is a fan favorite, is a legend and two-time major champion, and that he's come back from major injuries to get to this point...But for crying out loud, Youzhny is the one who won the match. Stop talking about Hewitt! Had Hewitt won the match, Youzhny's name probably wouldn't have even been mentioned. Call me bitter. But that rubbed me the wrong way.

Also...
I watched some of the re-play this morning on Tennis Channel. Courier and some other guy were commentating. Once again, it was all about Hewitt. Hewitt this, Hewitt that, blah, blah, blah. They didn't come out and say it, but you could tell that those guys wanted Hewitt to win. Courier was a Chatty-Kathy until Youzhny broke and then served-out the match. I don't think he said a word during those last two games. That rubbed me the wrong way, too.

I will say this, though...During the broadcast, Courier did mention that Hewitt has never been a very good front-runner. Said he has always been better when playing from behind.

Rant over, and...Good re-caps/good read, Jesse!

 

[Andrew William]

RE: Those Lethal Cocktails

I loved it! I'm with Tented on the attire quip. You just know it's a bad day when that happens to the maestro.