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Wait a minute — are you reading about the Australian Open? Yes, the farthest away and most unknown major tennis tournament has been going on for about a week now, yet goes mostly unnoticed due to the time of day — or night —it’s on.
With a live showing from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., most college kids are finding more efficient ways of spending those precious early morning hours than watching tennis.
Not me. At least not this year. Even with No. 1 in the world Rafael Nadal getting ousted in his quest for his fourth-straight major in the calendar, the tournament is still must watch TV.
In fact, it has been the women’s game that has overshadowed a lackluster male performance at this year’s Aussie Open — maybe the short skirts help with that.
Perhaps needing to account for a lack of draw without the popular Williams sisters — older sis Venus ducked out early with an injury, and younger sis Serena was too injured to compete at all — the women have resorted to a comedic attitude come post match.
To open the tournament, after No. 3 ranked woman in the world Kim Clijsters won her first round match she had an amusing conversation with Aussie Open correspondent Tom Woodbridge.
Apparantly, Woodbridge sent a text to a mutual friend, analyst Renae Stubbs, about Clijsters, who then went on to show Clijsters what had been said. Woodbridge texted that he thought Clijsters was pregnant. Upon hearing this aired on live TV, Woodbridge stood in shock.
“Oh, she did not!” Woodbridge said, as laughter erupted at Melbourne Park. Clijsters — getting a kick out of the entire situation — went on to recite exactly what the text read. “It said, ‘She looks really grumpy and her boobs are bigger,’” Clijsters said to Woodbridge, as he almost fainted on the hard court.
Thankfully for Woodbridge and his television career, Clijsters laughed off the situation, and even continued humorous banter Wednesday morning when she advanced to the semi-finals. Wondering where Woodbridge had been, as Clijsters was waiting for him after her matches, he replied, “I’ve been hiding in my bunker.”
The jokes didn’t stay between those two, as No. 1 ranked Caroline Wozniacki decided to have some fun in her interviews. After being criticized for giving the same answers, Wozniacki gave an opening statement, then proceeded to open the floor to questions about anything at all. Some included, but weren’t limited to, baseball, soccer, global warming and what she looks for in a guy.
After her fourth-round win on Sunday, Wozniacki continued her new and improved interview process. After getting asked, “What is the most exciting thing you’ve ever done?” Wozniacki decided to spin-off a humorous story about getting into a fight with a baby kangaroo.
“The other day I went to the park and I saw this kangaroo lying there,” Wozniacki said. “If you’ve seen, I’m playing with the thing on my shin here… As I went over to it, it just started to be aggressive and it actually cut me. So I think that’s pretty exciting.”
Even with a slew of follow-up questions, no reporter asked Wozniacki if she was serious. Some outlets reported the story as fact, which prompted Wozniacki to clarify that she had not been assaulted by a baby kangaroo.
However amused I have been by this banter, I think women’s tennis needs a bit more than a laugh here and there to help revive the sport sans the Williams sisters, as their days as big draws are behind them.
They could always make the skirts shorter.
Bangor Daily News