![\"The](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/IMG_5270-e1468260454992.jpg\")
<\/a>The exterior of Centre Court Wimbledon. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
I\u2019m beginning to think tennis may feature way too much of a gladiator mentality for me. It\u2019s a giant crowd cheering for one person to basically annihilate another. It\u2019s getting hard to take. I\u2019m too much of an Empath to be able to enjoy the sport much longer, (even though, at times, I\u2019m one of those cheer-ers.)<\/p>\n
But anyway, since I took the following notes each day, as the action unfolded, here are my thoughts on the second week of Wimbledon. (When I mention the commentators and analysts, they\u2019re all the ones on ESPN.)<\/p>\n
[Note: I\u2019m sorry so much of this is about the Williams sisters, but they both did get to the Semis, so they played a lot this last week, which means I had many commenting opportunities.]<\/p>\n
MONDAY CONTINUED<\/strong><\/span> (because I began it last week, in my Wimbledon Updates column, which, if you\u2019re interested, you can read here: itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/tennis-wimbledon-2016-updates<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014Okay, now I\u2019m going to vomit.\u00a0 Pam Shriver just said that the reason that Serena Williams lost in the US Open semis last year was that she had played her sister Venus in the round before, and that \u201ctook a lot, emotionally, out of Serena.\u201d\u00a0 That is so rude to lovely Roberta Vinci, who beat the pants off Serena in that match, fair and square.\u00a0 I wonder if Pam\u2019s ever going to get her nose out of the Williams sisters\u2019 butts. \u00a0 It\u2019s up there pretty solidly right now.<\/p>\n \u2014These women are delusional. Pam Shriver: \u201cCrowds around the world have really embraced Venus.\u201d\u00a0 Mary Jo: \u201cShe\u2019s become the sentimental favorite.\u00a0 Everybody\u2019s rooting for here, everybody\u2019s behind her.\u201d\u00a0 What???\u00a0 The crowds at Wimbledon have barely even been applauding<\/em> her!\u00a0 I\u2019ve hardly ever heard such little cheering, unless it\u2019s for her sister, who the commentators make believe people root for, as well.<\/p>\n Elena Vesnina (facing us) embracing her doubles partner, Ekaterina Makarova, after she had beaten her in the singles. Nice girls. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014But, all that being said, I do<\/em> give Venus tons of credit for still playing…at thirty-six!\u00a0 And doing well, too.\u00a0 And she did give a lovely post-match interview, which I really believe she meant this time.\u00a0 She basically said the crowd roots for everyone<\/em>, and that she\u2019s honored to be able do do \u201cthis job.\u201d\u00a0 So, good for her!\u00a0 (But this is funny\u2014she said she loves her job because she gets to \u201cplay outside and get a lot of sun.\u201d\u00a0 She added, \u201cWho could beat that?\u201d\u00a0 I<\/em> can!\u00a0 I hate to be outside in the sun, especially in heat!\u00a0 More proof of the \u201cdifferent strokes\u201d theory.)<\/p>\n \u2014It\u2019s hard to watch a match when you like both players, as in the Makarova-Vesnina and Cibulkova-Radwanska ones.<\/p>\n Bernard Tomic. Doesn’t he resemble Spongebob Squarepants? Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014Here\u2019s another instance of great sportsmanship, which you know I love. Elena Vesnina beat her good friend and doubles partner, Ekaterina Makarova, in an uber-long Round of 16 match, yet Ekaterina really embraced Elena after it.\u00a0 (Elena won the last ten points! That is sooo hard to do, especially in the later rounds, where there\u2019s much parity among the sixteen players who are left.) And then they played a doubles match together a couple of hours later! Wow.<\/p>\n \u2014I never realized before what a weird body Bernard Tomic has.\u00a0 He looks like Spongebob Squarepants.<\/p>\n \u2014I like new analyst Jason Goodall\u2019s good speech, and enjoy what he has to say.\u00a0 Well, what I can hear of it anyone.\u00a0 They need to amp up his mike because I can barely ever make-out what he\u2019s saying!<\/p>\n My favorite image of the tournament. (That’s why it’s at the top of this page, as well.) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, (on the right,) carrying the heavy bag of his injured opponent, Richard Gasquet, (on the left.) I’m getting choked-up just looking at the picture. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n –I have just seen the ultimate in sportsmanship.\u00a0 And, of course, I\u2019m all choked-up over it.\u00a0 That special moment, which I will always remember, came courtesy of two Frenchmen, Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, were playing each other in the quarterfinals. Richard hurt his back in the very first set, and had to retire from the match.\u00a0 Instead of Jo-Willy celebrating his own victory, he walked right over to Richard\u2019s seat, to talk to him some more.\u00a0 Then he didn\u2019t even go on the court to take a bow.\u00a0 He just acknowledged the politely-applauding crowd from the side.\u00a0 Then, as Richard was struggling with this big tennis bag, my natural instinct was to hope Jo would carry the bag for him.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t show the guys walking off the court, (instead going to replays, to see where Richard had injured himself,) so I thought that was that.\u00a0 But when they showed the guys off the court, walking towards the locker room, I noticed Jo carrying Richard\u2019s bag as well as his own.\u00a0 I loved that, so much.\u00a0 ESPN didn\u2019t catch the kind gesture, so I\u2019m glad I can share it with you.<\/p>\n \u2014I never thought I\u2019d be rooting for Tomas Berdych, but he got screwed every which what way.\u00a0 He was playing his Round of 16 match very late. There was virtually no light left, and he begged to stop, to continue the next day, when they could see. [Note: Wimbledon does not have lights on any court but Centre, when the roof is closed.] Then, when they finally stopped it, he asked to let the match continue on the lit Centre Court, where no one else was playing for the rest of the night. That way, he\/his opponent would not have to be the only men who would have to play three days in a row, in this crucial second week. But the officials said not to that idea, as well. Very unfair of them. (I\u2019m glad to report that he did<\/em> finally win the match the next day, as he deserved to.)<\/p>\n TUESDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Serena Williams’ eyebrows. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014You\u2019d think that, with all her millions, Serena could get her poor unfortunate eyebrows fixed by now.<\/p>\n \u2014I can\u2019t believe my ears\u2014Venus just said she has to take a \u201cdeep bref<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014I can\u2019t believe how nice Venus seems now.\u00a0 She\u2019s been saying the loveliest things during her interviews, making it about all<\/em> the players, and not just herself.\u00a0 Kudos to her.\u00a0 If it gets to the sisters in the Final, (bite my tongue,) I\u2019ll be rooting for her, (even though I\u2019m sure she would throw it, so her sister could make history.\u00a0 She\u2019s like the best big sister in the world.)\u00a0 She\u2019s like a completely different person than she\u2019s always been.\u00a0 It\u2019s like she\u2019s on mega doses of St. John\u2019s Wort!<\/p>\n \u2014I am very impressed that Venus Williams made it back to the semis\u2026at thirty-six!\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 That\u2019s some accomplishment!\u00a0 I know I\u2019m not the only one who has counted her out for years now.<\/p>\n What is that hairdo on Venus?! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014But then she had to ruin it by saying, \u201cYou have this infinity inside of you that feels like you can go forever.\u201d\u00a0 What the heck is an \u201cinfinity inside of you?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014Pam Shriver and Patrick McEnroe are delusional.\u00a0 They kept saying how emotional Venus was when she won her quarterfinal.\u00a0 All she did was smile<\/em>!\u00a0 And not even a lot.<\/p>\n \u2014I finally have to say something about Venus\u2019 \u2019do.\u00a0 Why would she want to pile all that fake hair on top of her head?\u00a0 Why would she want that extra weight?\u00a0 Especially when it\u2019s so unattractive.<\/p>\n Can you tell who won this match? It’s Elena Vesnina, on the right. Isn’t Dominika Cibulkova, (on the left,) the most pleasant loser ever?! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014You could not tell who was the winner of of the Dominika Cibulkova-Elena Vesnina match was; they were both so happy and smiley at the end.\u00a0 (I\u2019m not kidding. I turned-off the sound, and asked Mr. X to come in and tell me who the winner was. And he said, of course, it was the little one! [Dominika.] And it was not!) My hat goes off to Dominika for being so upbeat after she got trounced, despite being the favorite in that one.<\/p>\n \u2014What a lovely girl Elena Vesnina is!\u00a0 And she speaks English better than many of the Americans<\/em> there!\u00a0 She expressed herself so beautifully in her post-match interview.<\/p>\n WEDNESDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u2014My tweets finally worked!\u00a0 For perhaps the first time ever, ESPN studio host Chris McKendry did not add an \u201cl\u201d to the end of \u201cdraw!\u201d\u00a0 Hallelujah!<\/p>\n \u2014Why do they always invoke the \u201cBig 4,\u201d (Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy murray,) when Stan Wawrinka has won as many Majors as Andy?!<\/p>\n Roger Federer’s uber-shiny hair. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014Roger Federer has the shiniest hair ever for a guy.\u00a0 (His wife has the same.\u00a0 And beautiful hands, too.\u00a0 Their kids must be cute.)<\/p>\n \u2014I love that Roger said that he felt bad for Marin Cilic in his post-match interview.\u00a0 I\u2019ve actually never heard any player say that before.\u00a0 And he said that Marin is one of the nicest guys on the tour, which I also loved hearing.<\/p>\n \u2014That Federer-Cilic match was so emotionally draining that, for the first time ever, I had to take a couple of hours break from watching tennis to re-group\u2026with myself!\u00a0 Thank goodness that match went the right way!<\/p>\n \u2014I always wish I knew which guys Roger would rather play, so I know for whom to root!<\/p>\n And Mirka Federer’s gorgeous hands and nails. And rings! (She has good hair, too, by the way.) Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014This is a tad strange\u2014it sounded to me like the crowd was rooting more for Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga than for their own national hero, Andy Murray.\u00a0 And I could swear Jo got a louder ovation after the match.<\/p>\n \u2014It just dawned on me how pleasant this tourney is without Rafa in it, and without Novak in the second week.\u00a0 It somehow feels a lot calmer to me.\u00a0 (Yes, of course I know it\u2019s partly because I\u2019m a Roger Federer lover, so I don\u2019t like those other two hanging around in the latter stages.\u00a0 But it\u2019s really more than that.\u00a0 I can\u2019t exactly put my finger on it right now, though.)<\/p>\n \u2014It\u2019s the first tourney that they never once mentioned that the Williams sisters could meet in the Final, and now it\u2019s actually a possibility.\u00a0 They usually say it about ten times a day, at least.<\/p>\n THURSDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u2014Before the Ladies Semi-Finals begin, let me say that, despite all my negative thoughts on the Williams sisters, both now and over the years, I am very impressed with their on-court accomplishments.\u00a0 To be still playing pro tennis, especially in their mid-30s, is an amazing feat.\u00a0 So, I do always give them props for that.\u00a0 (But why do I feel they were missing in action for some of their twenties?\u00a0 Is that correct?)\u00a0 Venus had fallen to #137 just four years ago!\u00a0 So, for someone that old to fight her way back to #9 is pretty amazing.\u00a0 Most female players her age want to retire from the sport and start families, and then go into either coaching or broadcasting careers, so it\u2019s pretty interesting that she wants to stay in it so badly.\u00a0 (The other two oldest females in Wimbledon history, at thirty-nine and forty respectively, are Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King.\u00a0 And we know that they had no interest in children.)\u00a0 Even twenty-three-year-old American Sloan Stephens said that she can\u2019t even imagine still playing in ten years!<\/p>\n Serena Williams, looking great in her white tennis dress. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014Sam Querry speaks so well, not only voice- and diction-wise, but with what he has to say.\u00a0 There\u2019s no pretense with him.\u00a0 He\u2019s just open and honest and intelligent.\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait for him to become a broadcaster in a few years!\u00a0 He must do that!<\/p>\n \u2014Well that’s interesting!\u00a0 Creepy Hannah Storm just told Angelique Kerber, \u201cLet\u2019s hope that it\u2019s a great day of celebration for your country,\u201d meaning for Angie to win her Semi-Final against Venus Williams!!\u00a0 I think Hannah must have just mis-spoken, but still\u2026 Oh wow.<\/p>\n \u2014I just realized\u2014I think Serena looked good in this tourney!\u00a0 That dress looked really cute on her, and I think this is the least heavy she\u2019s ever been.<\/p>\n \u2014On the other hand, her eyebrows are perhaps crazier than ever.<\/p>\n Elena Vesnina again, on the left, right after losing her Semi-Final match to Serena Williams, on the right. Elena is always happy, win or lose. That’s the right attitude to have! I became a fan during this tournament. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014I\u2019ve never seen a more pleasant semi-final loser, (who was decimated in the match, by the way,) as Elena Vesnina. I\u2019ve become a fan.<\/p>\n \u2014Chris Fowler just said that Angelique Kerber is twenty, and has been to thirty-three Majors.\u00a0 Since there are four a year, how is that possible?\u00a0 She was playing women\u2019s pro tours since she was twelve?!\u00a0 I don\u2019t think so. [I checked, and she\u2019s twenty-eight, not twenty. Big error on his part.]<\/p>\n \u2014I like him otherwise, (especially since he answered one of my tweets a couple of years, saying that he knew he had said something wrong,) but Chris Fowler is such a bad commentator when\u00a0the Williams play.<\/p>\n \u2014Just when I was beginning to like Venus, she snubbed the fans as she walked off the court after her semi-final loss.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>