Shortly after midnight, in between PS2 games of Uefa Champions League and NBA 2K7, I channel surfed, juggling through Star Sports, ESPN, HBO, Cinemax, ETC, Star World. I seldom miss Sportscenter at 1130 p.m. and had been following Wimbledon the past week. I had been watching happenings at Wimbledon unfold a few hours ago while I was at my desk in the office. There was nothing much going on because of the rain and play was again delayed. So with that in mind, I decided to pursue my Champions League ambitions using my thre favorite squads --- Manchester United (with Anderson, Nani and Hargreaves), Barcelona (without Henry) and Real Madrid (with Beckham). I stopped after steering the three clubs to the knockout stage.
So, while I was waiting for NBA 2K7 to load, I switched the channel to Star Sports. What I saw was perhaps one of the bravest performances in professional sports: Serena Williams in tears battling through the pain barrier, before a timely rain break allowed her to re-charge her batteries and finally break through the quarterfinals.
I admit I am not a big fan of Serena. Media has shaped and developed an image-based culture and they tend to dictate who is beautiful, apart from the skills and talent. That's partly the reason why I am a huge Maria Sharapova supporter ever since her masterful win over Williams at Wimbledon three years ago. Actually, it was a milestone for me and Maria: I was in Baguio City for the first time in my life, while she also won her first grandslam.
Going back to Serena, I was particularly inspired by her performance. It reminded me of famous quotes like "Adversity introduces a man to himself", "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" and "when the going gets tough, the tough gets going".
Williams was leading 6-2, 5-6, when she suffered the calf strain. She was barely able to walk, grimaced in pain and was in tears as she executed every serve and every return. Even so, her opponent, Daniela Hantuchova, perhaps out of concern and pity, seemed to have lost steam and refused to go for the kill. I can understand Hantuchova. She was in a dilemma as to whether she should be aggressive or just go through the motions seeing Williams in so much pain but still putting up a brave gallant fight will definitely have an adverse effect every opponent of hers.
After losing the tiebreak that forced a deciding set, Williams came back after the long break wearing long trousers that might have helped ease the pain. She broke Hantuchova in the sixth game before serving out giving her a 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2 triumph that will go down in Wimbledon lore as one of the bravest ever.
"I never had an injury like this ever, ever," Williams later said. "I didn't know what it was. When I went down I didn't expect to be able to get up. I just decided at one point it was over and I was going to die trying".
"I had a very bad acute muscle spasm in my left calf," Williams, who was shrieking while she was being treated, said. "Acute, as you know, is a really intense pain. I think I was crying at one point."
It seems Williams really has a penchant of coming up big everytime she's wounded and considering the rest she will have as rains continue to hit Wimbledon, that prompts me to install her as one of the top three favorites for the crown, after World No. 1 Justine Henin and Sharapova.
I did not catch Williams return to court. But her performance late in that second set was enough for me to set aside another NBA2K7 game. I've seen something special today and that gave me enough reason to doze off. *
No comments:
Post a Comment