2011 Australian Open (Days 4 & 5): A Viewer’s Version

Eh, yeah, I kinda got a little behind and forgot that writing a daily post means you write one every day. Whoops. To make up for that I’m combining Day 4 and Day 5 into one post. I’m sure you’ve already seen the news, but perhaps not (all) the matches themselves. Here’s a recap.

Day 4

One player I’m sure no one is talking about is the ever-inconsistent Nadia Petrova. Herself a giant with giant strokes and a massive serve, it seems a little ironic that she was dubbed the “giant-killer” for part of last year (due to the fact that she toppled some major players at the Slams, like Clijsters at the Aussie Open and Venus at the French). However she’s really been the “silent killer” this year, moving through her first three matches efficiently and without any drama. While I don’t see her making a huge impact on the tournament — though her fourth-round opponent could be Clijsters, the woman she took down last year — it’s good to see her use her tools without making needless ruckus in the process.

2011 Australian Open (Day 3): A Viewer’s Version

Day 2: A Quick Finale

I think I discussed the majority of the matches occurring on Day 2, except for the ones that ended the day. So, here goes.

Ana Ivanovic. Now there’s a name with which I continue to be on the fence. She makes a horrible mess of the first half of last year, then goes on a tear towards the season’s end and finishes in the top 20. Just when I think she’s back on the track to the top, she loses in the first round to one of those gazillion Russians in the draw. In her favor were the facts that she lost to a former top 30 player in Makarova and that the match went to 10-8 in the third set. Neither played a good match, as their abysmal winners-to-unforced-errors ratios and poor second-service winning percentages prove, but someone had to win and I guess it wasn’t Ivanovic’s day yet again. I never really cared for her playing style, but her absence from the sport made me miss her impact on the game. Maybe she can reclaim some glory come the spring clay season.

2011 Australian Open (Day 1 & (part of) Day 2): A Viewer’s Version

 

Day 1

Alright, so I was a little behind in putting up a post about the first day before the second one started, which means I’m adding a little of Day #2 to Day #1. It was a pretty typical first day — no matter the tournament  — with most seeds moving through and a couple falling by the wayside.

The Art of Talking About Something and Nothing

Today I am going to talk about Tony Hoagland’s poem “The Change.”

Today I am not, however, going to teach you how to write an effective hook for a blog post. XD

So. You read it? The poem? Good.

Kinda weird, huh? Hoagland’s an odd guy. Not my favorite. But he certainly gets props for bluntness. After the jump, see what Michelle Minkoff had to say about this piece: