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Sunday, June 8, 2014

Roland Garros 2014: 2 for 2

For the first time since I started this format for tennis's Majors (this is the fifth tournament of the current regime), I got both of my champion picks exactly right: Nadal and Sharapova.  Rest assured, this will probably never happen again.
via Live Tennis Guide
Rafael Nadal's ninth Roland Garros title in ten tries is insane - just plain old crazy.  No other man has even won the same Major tournament as many as eight times.  The King of Clay is without peer in Paris.  Meanwhile, the plot thickens in the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) discussion...

Nadal has now won 14 Slam titles, the same number as Pete Sampras.  He is still three behind Roger Federer's 17.  Assuming overall Majors is the best metric to consider, Rafa probably noses ahead of Pete because he has a Career Slam, meaning he's won each of the four tournaments at least once.  Sampras never won Paris, the blemish on his otherwise stellar resume.  For the record, Rafa has now also matched Pete for overall tour titles with 64.

Maria Sharapova has a Career Slam, too, but only five Major titles overall.  The top two seeds in the women's bracket - Serena Williams and Na Li - lost in the early rounds but Sharapova persevered.  She even vanquished Serena's conqueror, Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain.  Sharapova is 27, theoretically on the down slope of her career trajectory.  But the top tennis pros are regularly contending into their 30s these days so who knows?  Apparently, the women's final between Sharapova and Simona Halep of Romania was brilliant.  I missed it as I was running the Girls on the Run 5k with my daughter - easy choice, that one.

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12 comments:

  1. angryparsnipJune 9, 2014 at 2:21 AM

    Yea ! Good job with the picks.
    My pick lost The Belmont so I was kinda bummed this weekend.

    cheers, parsnip

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    Replies
    1. The Armchair SquidJune 9, 2014 at 12:42 PM

      I forgot all about the Belmont until Sunday morning. I'm usually on top of those things, especially with the Triple Crown possibility...

      Delete
  2. SallyJune 9, 2014 at 7:26 AM

    Nadal is my favourite! I thought Novak was below par mentally/emotionally, he is physically able to match Nadal but perhaps the situation/venue got to him.
    I watched the women's match - the noise sent my husband to the other end of the house where he swears he could still hear the screeching and screaming. It was a brilliant match, Simona Halep is one tennis player to watch with interest.

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    1. The Armchair SquidJune 9, 2014 at 12:44 PM

      Djokovic clearly was not 100%. I still think he'll need to wait for age to catch up with Nadal before he has a shot at the French.

      Delete
  3. M.J. FifieldJune 9, 2014 at 11:03 AM

    The women's match was quite excellent. I agree with Sally that Halep is a player to watch.

    And like angryparsnip, my pick lost the Belmont.

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    1. The Armchair SquidJune 9, 2014 at 12:44 PM

      Halep had been labeled an underachiever at Slams so this is a great result for her.

      Delete
  4. Maurice MitchellJune 9, 2014 at 2:24 PM

    Armchair Squid running with your daughter trumps everything else and I'm wishing you a splendid Monday buddy!

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  5. Kelly SteelJune 9, 2014 at 4:37 PM

    Interesting and informative post. Thanks.

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  6. SpacerGuyJune 9, 2014 at 5:44 PM

    No Paris win for Sampras, ouch! He must be smarting over that one.

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    1. The Armchair SquidJune 9, 2014 at 11:24 PM

      He has long identified it as his biggest regret as a player. Mind you, he never even made it past the semis at the French, nowhere near the same player on clay that he was on grass or hard courts. The top players now are much stronger all-surface threats than they used to be.

      Delete