belated round 3 thoughts

during the french open yesterday, the 2nd day of round 3, i was able to catch two women's singles matches. the first one was an all-russian affair: sharapova versus chakvetadze. a grand slam titlist versus a fresh-faced teenager. both were slim, with long blond hair (the number two seed had hers in a glorious pony tail while the younger player had hers in a thick braid) capped by a visor, wearing crosses on a gold chain. and get this: similar outfits. feminine tennis dresses that highlighted their lean legs and beautiful figures. the only way i could tell them apart was by the colour of their clothes. sharapova was in nike pink while chakvetadze was in light blue. it was quite uncanny. and it definitely provided eye candy to the appreciative members of the audience. i'm sure my dad and brother enjoyed the match immensely, even if it was lacklustre in the area of rallies and winners; it was a slugfest that was lost rather than won. statistics revealed an embarrassingly high number of unforced errors. you can read the story here.

the second women's match was like watching wonder twins power activate. i thought i was seeing double. the split screen with the players warming up for the match showed two women wearing the same grey and white adidas outfit, from the cap to the shoes. both players even had the same length of hair, were wearing similar stud earrings, and sported the same body build (stocky and short). they both had a bit of tummy bulging a little over the mini skirt. it was amusing, to say the least. i later found out it was belgium's pride, justin henin-hardenne, against the hardy spaniard, anabel medina garrigues. i could identify henin-hardenne by the bandage on her hamstring but otherwise, it was difficult to ascertain who was who during the rallies, especially if i didn't know who had served the game. you can read the story here.

all in all, i thoroughly enjoyed what i did catch. the clay courts at roland garros are heating up as we enter round 4. this is still my favorite grand slam event. i've seen priceless matches on this surface, my favorite being the french open finals the year steffi graf retired (right after winning the french open from martina hingis). what a match!!! the german powerhouse in a slim package outclassed the impetuous swiss miss who resorted to all sorts of tricks and tears to win. if anything, it probably also signaled the demise of hingis' career.