The women's side of the US Open tennis tournament didn't turn out the way I'd hoped. Serena Williams defeated Jelena Jankovic in the finals 6-4, 7-5.
I really wanted Ana Ivanovic to win, but she lost in the second round. Then I started rooting for Lindsay Davenport, but she lost in the third round. Noticing a pattern? Then I rooted for Patty Schnyder, but she lost in the quarterfinals. Then I rooted for Elena Dementieva. She lost in the semifinals. By the time the finals rolled around, I didn't care who won.
I'm not a fan of Jelena Jankovic. She complains constantly about her injuries and you want to ask her why she simply doesn't pull back from a few tournaments and get healthy. The thought never seems to occur to her. I'm also not a fan of Serena Williams. She can be quite gracious in victory, but in defeat, she tends to downplay her opponents. Remember her comments last year at Wimbledon after a tough three set loss to Justine Henin? Here's what she said:
"Definitely not 100 per cent at all," Williams said. "It was probably at 40 or 50 — max. If I had been healthy I think I would have won, 100 per cent."
So, we were supposed to believe that she pushed the number one player in the world at the time to three sets, but that she was only playing at 40 or 50 percent. Yeah, right.
All tournament long this year, we heard about how open the women's game is and it is that, but it's only open because Henin retired while she as at the top of her game. And because Kim Clijsters did the same thing a couple of years ago. Now we have six or seven players who can win majors, and that's not a bad position to be in, but we don't seem to have the total package at the top--the player who can do it all and still be gracious.
