Author Archives: Jesse Pentecost
Rite of Passage: The Poling
The second week of the grass court season almost never sustains the excitement and intrigue of the first, especially when the first ends in a blood-haze of punctured shins. For all that I believe the grass season should be longer, … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour, Placeholders
And At His Age
Queens, Final (6) Cilic d. (10) Nalbandian, 6/7 4/3 default When Tommy Haas – who I am contractually bound to point out is 34 years old – upset Roger Federer in the Halle final, you would have been forgiven for … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour
A Modest Proposal
Halle, Semifinals The finalists at both Queens and Halle have been decided, and the line-up is about what one might expect, assuming you have just emerged from a decade-long coma. (If you have, then allow me to be the first … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour
Such As It Is
The grass season, such as it is, has arrived. Terre battue has, finally, given way to emerald sward, although in Halle the sward always looks at risk of being churned into muck. Although I’m partial to the event – I’d … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour
The Sun King
French Open, Day 16 (2) Nadal d. (1) Djokovic, 6/4 6/3 2/6 7/5 Rafael Nadal has won Roland Garros for the seventh time, which is the most times anyone has ever done it. There is presumably no one interested in … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
On Place, and the Holding Thereof
French Open, Day 15 (2) Nadal leads (1) Djokovic, 6/4 6/3 2/6 1/2 Those expecting any kind of recapitulation of the unfolding, stuttering, lurching, despair-inducing, adjective-laden Roland Garros men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are bound to feel … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams, Placeholders
Scarlet Billows
French Open, Day 13 (2) Nadal d. (6) Ferrer, 6/2 6/2 6/1 (1) Djokovic d. (3) Federer, 6/4 7/5 6/3 By the time a tennis tournament has been reduced to just four men – continuing with my nuclear chemistry theme … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
By His Design
French Open, Day Eleven Tuesday’s French Open quarterfinals provided a pair of matches that were about as fascinating as discerning tennis fans could reasonably hope for, although those same fans might reasonably query the wisdom of scheduling both for precisely … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
Les Particules élémentaires
French Open, Day Ten Much like other radioactive substances, the tournament draw at the 2012 French Open cleaves to a more or less fixed rate of exponential decay, weather permitting. After a slow start, the event discards precisely half its … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
The Second Week
French Open, Day Nine The definition of when the second week of a major truly begins is contested, fraught and ultimately not very interesting, which is why I’m going to spend some time on it. Much like Douglas Adams’ recipriversexcluson – … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams