Day One Roundup
Mostly I only care about women's tennis, since I'm a woman and I've thought for years that the men's game lacked depth and interest, but I'll talk a little about men's tennis.
Anastasia Myskina
Here's Russian Anastasia Myskina in her Round One match against qualifier Katerina Bohmova. Myskina won the match 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 but she's still not on form. In 2004 she won the French Open; in 2005, she crashed out in the first round. Yikes. Plus, looking at Myskina I wonder what happened to the once-modest dress codes at Wimbledon. Hot pants and bare tummies don't really fit in at the A.E.L.T.C. in my opinion!
Kim Clijsters
Is it me, or does Kim Clijsters look like that chick "Chloe" from "24"? You decide:
They look a lot alike to me. Anyway, Kim Clijsters took the pathetic Englishwoman, Katie O'Brien, to school, wiping the court with her 6-2 6-3 in just 50 minutes. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
Elena Baltacha
Why does this poor woman come back every year? They call her a "British hope" but she's actually Ukrainian. She's ranked 126th in the world and her highest ranking to-date is 118. She has never made it past the third round in singles at Wimbledon and has only ever played in the first round in doubles at Wimbledon. Why does she bother? I think the UK is never going to see a female Wimbledon singles champion if this is the best they can do.
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay's raising her hand because she's SURE! She humiliated Alina Jidkova of Russia on Centre Court 6-0 6-2 on Monday. Despite not having won a grand slam title in five years, Davenport is the world number one and she demonstrated why on Monday. I'm looking for her to make a serious run for the singles title this year. She won it in 1999 and it would be a great way to cap a terrific career.
Amelie Mauresmo
I don't know why Amelie Mauresmo hasn't won a grand slam title yet. She dispatched Melinda Czink 6-3 6-2 on Monday and is definitely one of the most powerful women on the tour. Her best grand slam performance to-date was runner-up at the 1999 Australian Open. She turns 26 shortly after Wimbledon is over and needs to really step up her game if she's going to win a grand slam before she retires.
Greg Rusedski
Rusedski dispatched Alberto Martin in the first round 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. I don't know why he bothers, though. He'll never get back to his 1997 form, he'll never win a grand slam, and he'll always be second fiddle to Tim Henman, who has also never won a grand slam. How embarrassing must that be? Rusedski turns 32 this year and isn't getting any younger. If he was going to win a major, he would have done so by now. I think the man is doomed to mediocrity.
Roger Federer
The 2003 and 2004 men's singles champion needed less than two hours to finish off his hapless opponent, Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. We all knew he'd win his first round match. The man seems virtually unstoppable here. He's an easy favorite to win the tournament. I don't think anyone can touch him here, but time will tell.
posted by American in the UK @ 1:59 PM
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