This formerly equal opportunity tennis fan has gone off the Slams of late. I turned on my television to see what was happening on the Tennis Channel and saw that it was a repeat of the men’s final of the 2010 US Open for several hours. Yes, my TV is going to be held hostage by Djokovic and Nadal!
Then a thought occurred to me, will I have to deal with a resurgent Nadal for the rest of the year? Or maybe more? That’s when I thought back to the common denominator of the past tennis season: Nadal vs someone else in the last three Slam finals! Now I can see what folks who find Federer less than compelling have had to deal with for these past few years and I say to you: I get it and I’m sorry. Nothing is more enervating than watching a player that doesn’t do it for you at the culmination of the majors. It’s really a yawner and it makes tennis on TV a chore.
I’m eagerly looking forward to the Barclay Tour Finals in London, because it was a blast last year. But last year, I had Delpo, Federer, and Soderling to make it worth my while. Now that Nadal has put this championship on his year end to do list, I fear I may have to contend with his battering the field. Yikes!
Here’s hoping that the Asian swing will awaken some sleeping giant slayer who can make this World Tour Final not a foregone conclusion. Somebody, anybody? I’ll even take Davydenko who certainly kicked some butt last year!