Watching The Australian Open

I hardly ever watch sports on TV, and I never watch the ESPN channel. Nevertheless, channel surfing on Friday evening, I became mesmerized by the 2012 Australian Open: in particular (and not surprisingly) by the women's singles tennis players.

I remember playing a bit of tennis in college. That was fun, but that was a long time ago. Excepting the 'power and strategy' part, it seems to be a distant cousin of dance, and thus quite enjoyable to watch.

One thing I enjoyed was that ESPN's cameras stayed on the players even as they 'relaxed' (if that's the proper term) between games. I was struck by Sabine Lisicki, and her constant focus, focus, focus. She never stopped moving, even at rest. You could practically see the wheels turning in her head. What the life of a champion must be like!



Lisicki's going to play again in an hour against Maria Sharapova. The commentators hinted that Sharapova would devour Lisicki like an after-dinner mint:

Sharapova can’t - and doesn’t - expect things to be so easy in the latter stages. The draw here has put her up against Sabine Lisicki in round four. Lisicki has a game that is well suited to hard courts, and her serve is about as ferocious as any on the women’s tour.

"Lisicki has a lot of power, big serve," acknowledged Sharapova ahead of their clash.

Expect Sharapova to be given a tougher test, but she should progress to the quarter-finals.

I hope this analysis is off-base. I will have to watch!