Hopman Cup 2019

wcr wrote:

Lil_Jay wrote:welcome back my friend....really great to see you wcr.

Right backatcha man!  I need to hear Tood Woodbridge/John Fitzgerald call matches before I lose my mind.

i feel your pain bro!!! im on eurosport coverage here so mine's not too bad!

stick around the next few weeks, i need you & the guys' post-match assesments!

^^^
I'll be around.  Just caught a replay of the mxd dubs match Suisse/German at the last Hopman Cup.  It was either Fitzy or Woodbridge calling the match with a female sportscaster whose voice I didn't recognize.  The difference Fitz/Woodbridge make in the entertainment value of calling a match is unbelievable.  

On another front, former Dallas Cowboys Quarterback - Tony Romo - is now considered the best sportscaster in the NFL.  One of the things he offers listeners are his calls about what he thinks the players are going to do before play begins.  He leads listeners them into the point and then shuts up and lets the players take over.

Sportscasters can be average and boring or they can be great which is true in any profession.  If they invest the time to listen to the greats and learn their craft, they can make a huge difference.  John McEnroe doesn't give a damn what listeners/fans think.  He's in love with the sound of his own voice.  Paul Annacone calls matches like a third grade teacher to students who speak English as a second language.  Robbie Koenig, Jason Goodall and Nick Lester sound like they haven't read a good book in 10 years.  Their vocabulary remains unchanged.  James Blake speaks in a monotone.  Courier reads books, uses great analogies and vivid imagery and he's turned into a fine gentleman.  Mary Carrillo is hilarious.  Mark Knowles is smart and is so staid, he can put you to sleep. Jon Wertheim must go and take Jimmy Arias with him.

I just sent my post to the universe! I am glad that I could see Fed and Belinda: they played really well together. Those doubles matches, with the new rules, they are so fast, needing lightning fast reflexes and smarts at times, that one can actually watch them twice to be sure just what had happened. Zverev sounded a little disappointed: but he should look back at his win at the Masters Cup!
Very pleased for Roger and Belinda. I bet Mirka feels a trifle wistful, when she remembers playing on court with Roger, but she looked very happy for them.
WCR, good to see you, so to speak. I was wondering where you were. What you say about commentators mirrors my feelings too! Some of the overchatty ones, who think they are the main course, can irritate me, as well as Koening, almost always, and Fowler, who had improved, but still is not talking out of a deeper sense of understanding by relying on data and worshipping Johnny C.
A good, enjoyable way to begin the year. My only outlook for this year is that something good will emerge, materialize, be created by Roger. Let us hope that the rest of the weather is kind to us world over, and in all other ways, too. I don't like the general world tensions. But we do have some good tennis ahead.
That Roger, the Federer one from Switzerland, he is really quite something, isn't he?

P.S. I saw the match between Batista Agut and Djokovic and I was impressed by Agut. He is a good player, but he went all out. I am pleased for him and he deserved to win that match. It's as though he's been liberated and was able to do things he couldn't always carry out. At least I hope that's the way it is, and not Djoke taking things a little easier inlight of events to come.

HeartoftheMatter wrote:[…]
Very pleased for Roger and Belinda. I bet Mirka feels a trifle wistful, when she remembers playing on court with Roger, but she looked very happy for them.
[…]

Yes, she was. She even gave them a kiss!...

And what a lovely team, these two!  


 

From Belinda, the peRFect trophy picture...  

Teaching an “old” G.O.A.T new tricks #selfie #benderer @rogerfederer pic.twitter.com/QRnggmUDqM

— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) January 5, 2019

 

And this is the (official) peRFect picture...


 

Such a nice line of jaw Roger, has, so defined and in harmony with his features. What the heck, the rest of him looks pretty good too.
A very feel-good event, especially when you win, which is not an easy feat, because as Roger said about tennis, you have to do it alone, rely only on yourself.....in the singles, at any ratee, which is true.
BRAVO, Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic!