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| A gorgeous Trophy! |
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| Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge, the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world and top of the list for thrill seekers exploring the area on foot. It stretches 494 metres (1,621 feet) across the Zermatt Valley, and intrepid hikers are rewarded with unparalleled bird’s-eye views of the surrounding scenery. Cutting the journey time across the valley by four hours, the bridge takes a mere 10 minutes to traverse, but is certainly no walk in the park. |
With the return of the WTA to China we are reminded of Peng Shuai. In November 2021 she accused Zhang Gaoli, a retired Chinese Vice-Premier, of sexual assault. Since then, outside of what appeared to be staged situations, she has disappeared from public view. We hope that reports that she is safe and living with her family in Beijing are accurate.
Peng is now officially retired from tennis, but she had a wonderful career. She won the doubles trophies in Wimbledon (2013) and Roland Garros (2014) with partner Hsieh Su-wei. In singles she reached a career high ranking of No. 14. Another highlight was winning the gold medal at the Asian Games in 2010.
The reality is that China, having suspended tournaments during the Covid pandemic, has allowed them to resume, and both the WTA and the ATP are back. But it is important that we do not forget Peng Shuai.~ Shirley
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Chinese actress Li Li-Hua was an opera-trained megastar at home when she became one of the first Chinese women to star in a Hollywood film. In 1958, she acted alongside Victor Mature in the romantic drama China Doll |
This year, a handful of Americans made strides into the second week of the USO: - Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Jessica Pegula. Ben Shelton and Madison Keys went as far as the SFs. But the big news is that the youngest of all the Americans at 19 years old went the distance and lifted the trophy for the women's championship - CoCo Gauff - her 1st Major title after winning the Cincinnati Western & Southern Open 1000 just the week before!
Canadian art for Hartt
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| Bubbles by Canadian artist Kelly McNeil |
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| Yes he is!!!!! I could not resist.... |
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| We know peeps who resemble this...... |
To quote Peter from the last thread “the Shadow of Wimbledon looms.” Sounds like a line from Hitchcock movie (dun dun dun dun) and sounded so dramatic but oh so appropriate. No wordy intro this week folks but you do have a working thread…….Enjoy the continued run up to Wimbledon - my favorite Slam. This is a bit slapped together - hey if you think I would cut my jaunts to Napa Valley and Yountville (what a name) to perfect a blog - well no……typing on the IPad in the back seat of the car is just……
(PS - send me any corrections I will try and get to them ASAP…..)
That need for excellent movement is best exemplified by having the ability to “slide” around the courts.
The game’s natural sliders—players such as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer among the men and Kim Clijsters and Francesca Schiavone for the women—make it seem as no ball can be hit out of their reach on a clay court.
“Your footwork and balance on clay are probably more important than on any other surface,” says longtime coach Nick Bollettieri, who has seen a number of his pupils past and present—from Monica Seles to Andre Agassi to Jelena Jankovic—post solid clay‐court results. Embrace the fact that the ball kicks up into their strike zone enough for them to put their opponents on the run.
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| One of the most traditional and famous rice dishes in Spain, paella comes in several varieties, but if you can, try Valencia paella. Valencia is the region in which this dish originates |
CONGRATULATIONS Billie Jean King Cup final qualifiers:
Spain, Czech, Republic, France, Canada, USA, Italy, Germany, Kazakhstan, Slovenia. The teams will meet again at the finals in November 7 - 12, 2023.
CONGRATULATIONS: Monte Carlo Open Champion - Andrey Rublev
On the ATP side a friend keeps talking about The Fab Four. Who are the Fab Four and when did they become the Fab four? Eh she then reeled off the names - Sinner, Rublev, Fritz, and Medvedev. What? No Novak, no Tsitsipas, no Zeverev and what about Alcaraz, Rune, Ruud and Tiafoe? Ok she said The Fab Five - Sinner, Rublev, Fritz, Medvedev, Alcaraz. Uhm I told her but, but, but Rune is now 8-2 vs Top 10 players in France......She crunches up her nose and says "well I don't like him...." Yeah fandom is irrational and strange.
So MCMer experts who are your Fab Four or Fab Five? Do we even want to start that label? Is the consistency there? Storylines are floating all over the tennis world, especially with Novak's loss at Monte Carlo, Sinner's loss to Rune and Rublev's championship run.
Nary a mention of Rafa and I wonder if Feliciano will formally retire on his home turf? I might be the only one with this POV but I sense that Novak is a bit vulnerable as we move along on the tennis calendar. I know the high expectations for him this year and I don't ever rule him out, but I believe the pressure by the young, hungry and very talented players definitely pose a threat. On any given day and all that......
Let's see what's on tap for this week.....
"Gerry, please default me; it could get dangerous for everybody," the "I don't want to play here on this surface" and the "It's already bad surface! I cannot do damage to the bad surface!."
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| The Eisenhower Cup Mixed Doubles Contestants (teams l-r: Wawrinka/Bencic, Tsitsipas/Sakkari, Badosa/Norrie, Fernandez/FAA, ΕwiΔ tek/Hurkacz, Jabeur/Ruud, Pegula/Paul, Sabalenka/Fritz |
Hey I did a map as I accidentally deleted the thread and had to start over. Sheesh!
Came across this article in Mens Journal on the difference between a great athlete and an almost great athlete. We have discussed some these points before and of course as the last paragraph states that "new research published in Frontiers suggests attitude and how athletes face or deal with obstacles has a lot to do with what distinguishes champions among the rest. “We’ve found that there are universal psychological characteristics amongst those who are aspiring to get to the top,” the study’s lead author Dave Collins said in a press release. “We have a good idea of what makes people excellent and how we can help them reach peak performance.” “Super-champions” have a natural inclination, commitment, and internal drive to excel that “almost” athletes lack. Elites athletes also have a “never satisfied” attitude.....". (Thought of Andy Murray after reading that last sentence.) Here is the link...
Ok what do we have cooking this coming week as 2023 marches on? This week we are in Dubai UAE, Acapulco Mexico, Santiago Chile, Austin Texas, and Monterrey Mexico. Who is playing?.....
