The delightful Li Na. Congratulations anyway!

Notice how Li Na seemed happy even in defeat at last Saturday's Australian Open Final? She looked thrilled to just be there at the end of a hard fought match. She was delighted, and having a good time at the finish.

Li Na played a great tournament all through, especially a top class semi final and final. She went down fighting to Kim Clijsters, and dominated the match until the middle part. She likely won ten-fold more admirers in the tennis world with this performance (despite asking the umpire to tell loud Chinese fans not to 'teach me how to play tennis' in the II set).

And at the end, there was no disappointment shown externally. Li Na had quietly gone further than any Asian in Grand Slam singles competition. She was no 'storms in, crashes out' first round specialist. 

She smiled as she sat courtside after her loss, smiled as she chatted with Kim C on the podium, and then gave a graceful, cheerful speech. Gamely, in English, to a vast audience. It was all a good feeling.

As she posed for post match pictures, all dressed up as she held her runner-up plate, she still looked as pleased.

(Now watch for several new Chinese players on the tour. They'll have added this to their production lines)

Kimiko Date - the active, winning grande dame of tennis

Amidst all the talk about the longevity of some sportspersons - fifty-year old golfers, cricketers that play on for four decades, and first round and doubles specialists in tennis - here's a real achiever at the highest level. And in a sport where being past 23 is considered 'old' for singles competition.

Kimiko Date turned 40 yesterday and continues to amaze the world of tennis. She turned professional in March 1989. A little Japanese giant conqueror among (giant) young tennis pros.

She came back after a 12 year layoff ('96) in 2008, and has since beaten the best in tennis, won several ITF titles, and a WTA Tour title. This year she's won against Dinara Safina (twice), Nadia Petrova, Maria Sharapova, and Daniela Hantuchova (second time since '09) - all highly ranked players, and younger by more than a decade.

Impressive.

Take that, teen prodigies! (And where are any these days, btw).

2009 US Open - Djokovic vs. McEnroe

Let's take a break from 'Marietta Munchkin' hoopla (no gripe) for a minute:
Over and above his considerable playing talent, Novak Djokovic is an absolute delight with his amazing player imitations. Among others, he does Sharapova and Nadal spot on.

This performance (see below) at the US Open after his fourth round win yesterday was even more entertaining than usual, and it starred John McEnroe. It was just great to see Johnny Mac come down from the commentary box to play a couple points with Djokovic. They even traded imitations. What a sight! I was smiling long afterward. =)

A great sporting weekend - Tennis, Football, (and swimming).

And there have been several such before.

• Fri,a stellar Australian Open semi final: Nadal vs. Verdasco. List this among the all-time great five setters.
• (Sat, disregard the women's final. Boring. More reason to not watch any of these one siders. Had actually stopped watching a few years.)
• Sun, an amazing men's final. Too bad FeDex lost again to Rafa, but what else could he do to save the match?
• Sun, a thrilling Super Bowl. It all happened in the final two minutes for the Steelers, but it was almost the second (or third?) coming of Kurt Warner. Think his performance was enough to qualify.

No wait, there's more -

• Sun, swim legend Michael Phelps demonstrated his ability to smoke from a bong.

He said:
"I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public -- it will not happen again."

And last time, he'd said:
"Getting into a car with anything to drink is wrong. It's dangerous and it's unacceptable. I'm 19, but was taught that no matter how old you are, you take responsibility for actions, which I do,"

So we look for when he'll say:
"I'm 27 years old, and...."

Mats Wilander is candid

It's not just about the recent clay court, and the current grass court season. I seem to have started to follow tennis again, the way I did many years ago. I actually know who the top ten players are - again.

Speaking of players from years ago, I came across this candid interview with Mats Wilander in the Guardian Unlimited, 6/22/07. Here's an excerpt:

Are there any good young Swedes coming through we should watch out for?
'No, we have absolutely nothing.'

It's a funny interview. Read it here.