Very good match in progress between Jelena Jankovic and Justine Henin-Hardenne. Well it was good until the third set anyway--we shall see what happens.
When I tuned at the very start the first comments I heard were about all the "drama" on the women's tour. Mary Carillo called Jankovic a "drama queen" and John McEnroe said she was in good company. The genesis of the comments was the observation about all the injuries. Injuries of course seem to lead to a preponderance of trainers jogging out to the court during matches. I know this happened with Henin against Davenport but I hadn't seen Jankovic call a trainer (though admittedly I have not seen every match.)
I object to the term "drama" as it has been applied acritically to the women's tour. I know I have said this before but I feel the need to reiterate. I also think it's interesting that the term is usually just applied to the pretty girls on the tour. Henin calls the trainer--whether out of necessity or not, and we'll get to that in a sec--and it's games(wo)manship. Davenport calls the trainer and we get into a discussion of how old she is and how much longer she will be around. Jankovic lets it be known she has a back injury--she hasn't called a trainer yet this match or in her quarter round match--and she is a drama queen. The moniker is applied because she has personality on the court. Because she is "feisty."
My second gripe is that the commentators are talking about of both sides of their mouths with this one. There's plenty of commentary about the length of the season; the lack of a true off-season; the scheduling of the summer tournaments. All factors that everyone believes have lead to the preponderance of injuries this year certainly and for several of the past years. But when these injuries are being attended to we get "drama."
OK that's it. I am going to let this topic lie now. Promise. Well unless McEnroe says something particularly egregious. So I guess may be posting again within the hour.
2 comments:
I loved watching the match--thought that Jankovic would win but seemed to just cave. Funny how drama doesn't enter the men's draw!!??!! Usually it's temper and rage.
Wonder who will win the next match???
Mommia
I was really disappointed by this match. The chair umpire was a horse's ass--even McEnroe thought so--but in the end, it was Jankovic's inability to control her emotions that lost her the match. Prior to "the incident," she was killing Henin.
The chair umpire is not supposed to overrule except on a close call, but--according to the commentators--the USTA told them not to overrule at all so that they would not risk embarrassment. That is outrageous.
Despite today's meltdown, I think Jankovic has finally brought her game up to Grand Slam level--stinging groundstrokes, net brilliance, and a down-the-line backhand that Evert herself would be proud of. If she can get her emotions to the same level--watch out.
The biggest drama queen around is Marat Safin, who has spoken more than once about female players being "too emotional."
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