tennis, life and a few things in between

Foremost, she won two grand slam titles, French Open 2011 and Australian 2014, has just retired for the second time on 19 September, 2014. She is pregnant, expecting her first child this summer. This 60 Minutes segment is just a feel good piece, nothing is unknown. Lesley Stahl called Li’s career “remarkable” and applauded her standing up to Chinese government. Li has the reputation as a rebel, which the New York Times Magazine portrayed her in 2013.

In this 60 Minutes interview, Lesley Stahl said, “Li Na is one of the wealthiest female sports figure in the world. She’s probably China’s most famous athlete and an idol to young Chinese not only because of her ability but because the way she stood up to the Chinese system.”

Ms. Stahl. .. “..  .. Li Na became one of the highest paid and most watch female athletes ..  state run sport system… .. leaving the sport after a remarkable career. Remarkable, not just because she won two grand slams, but because she stood up to the Chinese authorities, to win some freedom.”

wenxue; file 21519

The NYT reports: Another Loss for Nice Guys, but This One Wins Raves on Tim Smyczek, a qualifier from Milwaukee ranked 112th, playing third-ranked Rafael Nadal in the second round at Australian Open.

As Nadal served for the match ahead by 6-5, 30-0, in the fifth set, a fan hollered during the toss of his first serve, disrupting his motion. The serve sailed long.
As the crowd began to boo, Smyczek caught the attention of the chair umpire and held up two fingers, indicating that Nadal should be able to have both of his serving opportunities. Once the umpire announced that it would again be a first serve, Nadal gave Smyczek a thumbs-up sign and a small wave, and several members of Nadal’s team stood to applaud the gesture.

..

Despite clinging to ideals of gentlemanliness and fair play, tennis has had its low moments in sportsmanship. Justine Henin’s declining to give Serena Williams a second chance at a first serve after holding up her hand midway through Williams’s service motion at a 2003 French Open semifinal serves as a counterpoint to Smyczek’s gesture. Medical timeouts, bathroom breaks and illegal coaching from the stands are common forms of gamesmanship.

底线 on wenxuecity

If was a day match in the 1992 at the Louis Armstrong Stadium. The former champ Ivan Lendl got a questionable line call in his favor. Back then there was no instant replay. Line umpires and chair umpire wielded the absolute power over each shot. The player could only confer with the chair umpire which Lendl’s opponent did but the chair empire upheld the call. However the next shot another line umpire called a close shot in the opponent’s favor.

We cheered. It’s vigilante justice I suppose.

Lendl protested,
“You don’t have to give him back so quickly.”

We laughed, then despised him. Tennis is really a gentlemanly sport. You compete fair and square. If you think the call is wrong, you correct it. Which, Thomas Muster did during a tournament. Muster felt the call in his favor was wrong and gave it back to his opponent Michael Chang. However a few games down the road, when another close call occurred but Chang did not reciprocate, Muster got mad. He eventually beat Chang, feeling vindicated. Not many people like Lendl and Muster. I admired Muster for his conduct. Also his come back to win the same tournament in Miami in 1997 where he was hit by drunk driver (1989). A side note, Muster had just beaten Noah after losing the first two set early in the day in the semi final and was scheduled to play Lendl for the final.

易中天: 你问当下中国缺什么？我看最缺底线.