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Daily Dispatch: Cranky Del Potro Makes Appearance at US Open

30 August, 2012

First round action at the US Open concluded this afternoon. The career of tennis great Kim Clijsters’ career ended at the hands of Laura Robson. Thanks for all the great memories, Kim. You will be missed.

A few great player quotes:

Li Na, on losing to Kim Clijsters at the 2012 Australian Open: “After I lose the match, I was like, What was going on? Everyone was so happy without me, so I was like, Okay, just take the beer and totally drunk. Next day I wake up, I was like, Okay, forget what I do yesterday. You know, in China, how you say, if you lose the day, they are feeling a whole year is not so lucky. So I said, Okay, c’mon.  I have four match points. Suddenly I was lost. I was like, Okay, totally lost. I just drink all the time, yeah.”

Tommy Haas: “You know what, I love this game. Even days like today, this is part of the sport, even though I’m obviously very, very frustrated. I’m going to be in a shitty mood for a couple days, that’s for sure. You know, you look back, you look at some of the wins that you had and the feelings that it gives you, the positives, the negatives, and it’s always a rollercoaster ride when you’re in sports or competing. That’s what you get to love about it, but it can also be brutal. That’s certainly one moment right now. But I’ve put myself in a position to pretty much have a full calendar year next year. And why not?”

Tonight’s ESPN broadcast featured John McEnroe speculating on the possibility of Andy Murray becoming year-end World No. 1. Since World No. 1 Roger Federer is almost 5000 ATP points ahead of Murray, it would probably require a sudden withdrawal from every tournament on Federer’s part, and a winning streak through every tournament until the end the year for Murray. So, probably unlikely. I suppose that’s what happens when one is required to make conversation through five hours of uncompetitive tennis.

Former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki will drop out of the top 10 after the US Open with Marion Bartoli’s win over Romina Oprandi today. Wozniacki has had an extremely tough 12 month stretch, failing to win a tournament since 2011 New Haven. But she can take comfort from the fact that she’s only landing just outside the top 10. If she’s able to regain some of her confidence and get healthy, she may be able to force herself back into the mix.

Few things entertain as much as Juan Martin del Potro when he gets cranky during a match. Many consider him to be an incredibly nice person, but he puts on a good show when he’s not playing as well as he wants to.

Exhibit A:

Today, during his match against lucky loser Florent Serra, del Potro seemed to take issue with every call that went against him. He was staring down the line judges for a good portion of the match. Cranky Delpo seems to mostly appear during the early rounds of Slams, so tune in for his second round match against Ryan Harrison so you don’t miss it.

On the flip side, let’s not forget del Potro’s endearing willingness to joke around with the ball kids during a hotly contested match:

Today’s awkward ESPN post-match exchange:

Pam Shriver to Maria Sharapova, talking about Sharapova’s new candy line: “It’s a little weird chewing on your lips.” “That’s awkward,” Maria replied.

I think Nike Tennis may have been playing a prank on us with its Tomic ad:

 

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