I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

Tag: rafa nadal

Reminiscing Wimbledon: A Golden Era of Tennis

What’s that sound I hear – that tick, tock, tick, “tocking” away? Must be time passing through this year…winter turned to spring, and now summer brings heat, thunderstorms, and always at our casa wherever we lay our heads, the thrilling sounds of Wimbledon, the third major tennis event of the season. Manic Monday is no more, Federer and Nadal have retired in recent years; Red, Annie, and Spike have been called to higher ground, but return with me to a Golden Era of tennis and enjoy this blast from the past. The year was 2017, and we had moved that spring from our Casa de Canterbury to our Casita de Cardinal where we remain nine years later.

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive…it’s a train, it’s a plane, it’s Super Manic Monday at Wimbledon tomorrow and my head will be spinning like one of those old antique tops that we recently sold at our spectacular yard sale for Casa de Canterbury this weekend.

Roger Federer in 2012 following his win

Daddy WON Wimbledon again! Thank you, thank you

(one of Roger’s twin daughters at the match in 2012)

I lost at Wimbledon again – why me, o Lord, why me?

(Andy Murray was the runner-up in 2012)

The Red Man in the bleacher seats at

Casa de Canterbury during Wimbledon in 2012

(The Red Man was a serious Tennis Addict)

Paw Licker Annie entertained herself in 2012…

(she much preferred licking her paw to tennis)

Spike’s first Wimbledon experience –

he didn’t quite catch the thrill in 2012

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in

2014 Wimbledon Final

Daddy lost Wimbledon…oh, no

Rafael Nadal leaving Wimbledon in 2014

(win or lose, Nadal likes to stay fresh)

Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray a/k/a the Big Four will be flailing away at yellow tennis balls again tomorrow at the All England Club at Wimbledon in the round of 16 players still standing in both the men’s and women’s draws after the first week of tournament play. The ESPN commentators have dubbed this day Manic Monday because it is the final time both the men and women will be playing on the same day on the grass courts of the 2017 tournament.

With the yard sale in her rear-view mirror, Pretty will be up with me to catch the Magic Marathon that is the beginning of the second week of one of the 4 Major tennis tournaments of 2017. Roger Federer won the Australian Open earlier this year, and Rafa Nadal won his record-setting 10th. French Open title a few weeks ago. His 10th. French Open. Truly awesome.

These guys are “oldies but goodies” as my friend Robin Lee says whenever she sees me.

That’s how I feel about the men and women who continue to loom large in international competition even as they pass the 30-year-old hurdle that used to be the sign of the end of times for tennis players. Good for them. They crash their own glass ceilings every time they step on Centre Court. And we haven’t even mentioned the legendary Venus Williams who is playing in her 20th Wimbledon at the ripe young age of 37. You go, girl.

Spike has grown fonder of tennis in the past 5 years and will watch Wimbledon with Pretty and Charly and me in our new bleacher seats at Casita de Cardinal this week. We have to hope The Red Man and Paw Licker Annie will have the best seats in their home away from home, too. Red will pull for Roger with Pretty, and Annie, well, she will keep her preferences to herself.

Spike and I both love Nadal whether he has a shirt on or not. Vamos!!

Enjoy a fantastic week of tennis if you are a fan and have access to sports channels on your TV.

Thanks for staying tuned.

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The second week of Wimbledon 2026 is off and running with upsets galore in both the men’s and women’s draws – who will raise the trophies at The Championships? Possibly a new name will be written down in glory. Regardless, the competition will be epic.

July 8, 2026
my motivation is tomorrow

I am celebrating two twenty-three year anniversaries in 2024: the first and most important one will be on a specific day in February (the 9th.) because that was the day my life with Pretty began; the second anniversary has no specific date, but 2001 was also the year Rafa Nadal became a professional tennis player who captured my admiration and affection throughout his lengthy career. I admit to shedding a few tears this morning as I watched him wave to the crowds in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia following his 3-set loss to Australian Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International tournament which I expect he knew was his last hurrah with the crowds in the stands there.

The New Indian Express June 03, 2017

Nadal’s passion for perfection in the game of tennis has been a thrilling journey that has entertained millions of fans around the world. His humility regardless of outcomes in the battles on the tennis courts has been a unique indication of the character that makes him a role model for professional athletes in any sport.

Just one day at a time, right? Rafa, Pretty and I have been together for nearly a third of my life, and I will miss watching the dynamic Spanish tennis player whose motivation has always been to make tomorrow better with the illusion he was going to get better that day. I believe Pretty and I will continue to share his dream one day at a time with each passing year we are fortunate enough to be together.

All of us can make 2024 a better tomorrow if we meet each day with an expectation that there is an opportunity, there is the possibility of doing better than we did the day before.

I will close with the words I’ve heard Rafa say countless times during the on court interviews following his wins in a match, “thank you, thank you very much.”

January 5, 2024
changing of the guard in Queens (New York, that is)

As Serena Williams said in her farewell on-court interview following her loss this year in the US Open, there would be no Serena if it weren’t for her sister Venus. Tennis fans who have followed the professional tennis world for the past twenty-five years echo this sentiment. The two sisters have been prominent figures who not only set new records in the sport but also contributed to changing the evolution of women’s tennis players toward a more powerful game.

Selected Women’s Singles Champions at the US Open:

1999 – Serena Williams (17 years old)*

2000 – Venus Williams

2001 – Venus Williams, Serena Williams Runner-up

2002 – Serena Williams, Venus Williams Runner-up

2008 – Serena Williams

2011 – Samantha Stosur, Serena Williams Runner-up

2012 – Serena Williams

2013 – Serena Williams

2014 – Serena Williams

2017 – Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys Runner-up

2018 – Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams Runner-up

2019 – Bianca Andreescu, Serena Williams Runner-up

2022 – Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur Runner-up

*Serena Williams was eliminated in the third round of the 2022 US Open on Arthur Ashe Stadium in the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York. Williams was 24 days shy of her 41st birthday. She holds the most combined major titles with thirty-nine: 23 singles, 14 women’s doubles and 2 in mixed doubles plus four Olympic gold medals representing the United States.

Venus (l.) and Serena Williams win 1st Major Doubles

together at US Open in 1999

Carol Newsome/AFP/Getty Images

2022 US Open Women’s Doubles Runner-up Team

Caty McNally (l.) and Taylor Townsend

photo by Pete Staples/ USA

The Open this year marks, in my opinion as a tennis fan for more than fifty years, the beginning of a changing of the guard in both women and men’s tennis. New names emerged this year – names unfamiliar to the television viewers perhaps but nonetheless those we will need to learn how to pronounce, to watch for, and to embrace as they make their own places in history.

Iga Swiatek won 2022 Women’s Singles at US Open

from Poland – also won French Open in 2020 and 2022

19-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz won 2022 US Open (l.)

while runner-up was 23 year old Norwegian Casper Ruud

Getty Images

The US Open win for Alcaraz meant he was the youngest man ever to become #1 in the world in the ATP rankings. The year 2022 has not been a total changing of the guard in men’s tennis; Rafa Nadal won the Australian Open and the French Open, Novak Djokovic took the Wimbledon Championships. However, Roger Federer didn’t play at all in 2022, Nadal has many physical issues as well as becoming a father for the first time this fall, and Novak Djokovic has Covid vaccination problems. I do sense a shift in the winds away from the Big Three and their stranglehold on the majors in the Golden Era of men’s tennis for the first two decades of the 21st century. Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Carlos said one of the greatest inspirations for him was Serena Williams. He grew up in the generation that watched the magical play of Serena. “She inspired me and a lot of players, you know,” he answered when asked what player on the WTA had inspired him.

“It’s passion, it’s power, it’s everything; she is the GOAT for me, plain and simple,” said Casper Ruud on Serena Williams.

photo of Iga in selfie with Serena at US Open

posted by Dzevad Mesic in Tennis World

“Her legacy is so big. She has shown us that it’s possible to play so good consistently for all these years and also play, and have a great business, and be a mother. She has shown us that there’s hope for that and for us.And with hard work, you can achieve really great things. So Serena is a legend of our sport for sure,” Swiatek said about Williams in a video for the WTA.

The final word belongs to Pretty, of course, who has allowed me to quote her on Serena. “Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and every other kid in America who picks up a racket – male or female – will do it because of Serena Williams.”

There you have it. End of story except to say Serena will always be my Queen of Queens, and it’s hard to say goodbye.

September 12, 2022
Winding down…Under

“Sport is unpredictable. I kept remembering how many times I lost here like 2012 [5 hours, 53 minutes in five sets to Novak Djokovic] and 2017 [Roger Federer in five sets]. I was not ready for these battles, but today was the day I gave everything.” (Press conference in Melbourne following Rafael Nadal’s victory at the 2022 Australian Open)

Down the first two sets in the best three of five against the second seed twenty-five-year-old Daniil Medvedev, the thirty-five-year-old Nadal who was seeded sixth in the tournament said following the match that his win in this year’s final at the Australian Open was the greatest comeback of his career. I say amen, Brother Tennis Man. For five hours and twenty-four minutes, you gave everything.

Pretty asked me Saturday night if I planned to watch the men’s singles final beginning at 3:30 a.m. Sunday, and I replied no, I think I’ll just record it. Pretty looked surprised since I watched the women’s final at that mad hour Saturday morning and had watched Rafa’s previous six matches to get to the final. No one, including me, was surprised with Aussie Ash Barty’s win over American tennis player Danielle Collins in straight sets in the women’s singles final. I enjoyed the match, but I had no intense feelings about the outcome.

The Nadal/Medvedev match was a horse of a different color. My love for Rafa has grown over the past twenty years along with the increased coverage of televised “live” tennis tournaments. I like his passion for playing each point regardless of the score, the work ethic he brings to preparation, the respect he has for his opponents, his own love of sport in general and tennis in particular. I even find his obsessive compulsive behavior entertaining. Whenever I had the opportunity to watch Nadal play on television, I took advantage of it. So when Pretty asked me if I was getting up to watch the final at 3:30 a.m., she thought I would say yes.

Uncharacteristically I said no, I don’t think so. Too much was on the line in this match for Nadal. He was tied in the race for men’s Grand Slam singles tennis wins with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic at 20 each. History was hanging in the balance in the AO final for him. He had only won the Australian title once in his twenty year career – in 2009 when he defeated Federer in five sets. That was one win in seventeen tries. Not a great track record down under. Plus I knew Rafa had been plagued for the past six months with surgery and rehab on his left foot that was always a problem for him so he had limited preparation for this tournament. In addition, Rafa had tested positive for Covid in December, been very sick for two days and wondered what effect the virus would have on his stamina. I believed it would take a miracle for him to win against Medvedev, and I honestly didn’t want to see it “live.” My nerves would be jangling, I thought. That’s why I said no when Pretty asked me if I was going to get up at 3:30 a.m. Sunday.

But of course, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. wondering about the match. Curiosity got the best of me, and I staggered into the den to click on ESPN. As I feared, Nadal had lost the first set 2-6; but as the second set began, I saw something in the way he was competing that appeared more forceful than I had hoped. I was hooked, but he lost the second set in a tiebreak that was, oh so close.

Mind over matter. The spirit must be willing for the flesh to suffer as Nadal often says his uncle Toni Nadal taught him from the age of three when he began learning to play tennis on the island of Mallorca in Spain. Uncle Toni’s training has been reinforeced by Carlos Moya who is Nadal’s team captain, the leader of a small group of friends on his team that supported Rafa as he transcended tennis history to become the first man to win twenty-one Grand Slam Titles in singles at the 2022 Australian Open. It was Nadal’s version of the Mallorca Miracle in the final three sets – a clinic in determination, persistence, and brilliant problem solving under immense pressure. Billie Jean King says pressure is a privilege and if she’s right, no one is more privileged than Rafa Nadal was in the last three sets of the AO final.

2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 was the score when the last gong sounded for Medvedev who had competed like the champion he is in the long, grueling match that pitted the two men like sweaty prize fighters in a boxing ring instead of the Rod Laver Arena with a seating capacity of 14,000+ fans that were overwhelmingly supporting Nadal. The Aussies love their tennis – Nadal is a favorite – the crowd was pulling for Rafa. Poor Daniil who Rafa said afterwards “always has been nice to me.”

“I’m so tired I can’t even celebrate,” Nadal said to the reporters at his press conference following his victory. He had to ease down in the chair provided for him to sit and answer questions about the match and his future.

“I know no one expected me to win…but the support of the crowd helped me…I understand what 21 means, and I feel honored. Of course it means very much to me…my love for the game, my passion for it, my working spirit to play a beautiful sport that makes me happy. I know I have fewer chances to win so I stay more in the moment now than looking toward the future…”

Alana Holmberg for The New York Times

I was never a very good tennis player when I was a member of the tennis team in high school but I enjoyed playing for fun in college and the years beyond. My serve and volleying days are over, but my passion for the game lives on. Thank goodness for the magic of the fuzzy images of the small screens that became larger ones in high definition in my lifetime. I’m grateful to have lived in the golden age of the Big Three men plus a diverse collection of women legends over the past six decades that includes Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, and the Williams Sisters (Serena and Venus – not Pretty and Darlene).

I said farewell to the 2022 Australian Open this past weekend – Pretty is hopeful the clay court season starts soon and that The Tennis Channel will have better coverage for me than ESPN did for the summer down under.

Rafa Nadal at the Australian Open in 2012

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Stay safe, stay sane, get vaccinated, get boosted and please stay tuned.

February 1, 2022
VAMOS! Oh, to be 18 again

Eighteen year old Carlos Alcaraz Garfia upset the #3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas under the Friday night lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2021 US Open Tennis Tournament last night to earn a trip to the fourth round in the second week of the tennis major – a victory intensified by the always enthusiastic New York City fans. Even from my bleacher seat in front of our tv I saw Hurricane Carlos blow through that stadium with every swing of his explosive forehand or the delicate touch of a well placed drop shot. The guy was magnificent with self confidence oozing toward his player box after every point whether he won it or lost it.

When Alcaraz won the fifth set in a thrilling tiebreak, I also felt the tennis world shift in cosmic concert with the fans. Move over, Nadal. You have company that will soon be vying for the top spots in tennis, and the last name is not Djokovich or Federer. This name is one that will roll off your tongue with perfect pronunciation because he shares your Spanish heritage. Carlos Alcaraz Garfia.

Nadal (l) and Alcaraz played in Madrid in May, 2021

photo from FirstSportz

Nadal won in two sets in the Madrid match but was effusive in his prediction of greatness for Alcaraz in his press conference following the match. “When you make a salad, you need the best ingredients. Carlos has the best ingredients for tennis,” said Nadal.

Rafa rocks the semis in the 2013 French against guess who? Djokovich

Alcaraz with the infamous Spanish Vamos to fire up himself –

and the fans

photo by Marca

Alcaraz wasn’t the only teenager with an upset last night; I was impressed by the play of the Canadian Leylah Fernandez. She came from behind to get the best of Naomi Osaka in a three set match. I thought her composure was impressive as Osaka lost a major battle with herself in a sizzling public meltdown. I fear we will not see Naomi again on a tennis court for a very long time, if ever.

Finally, what a pleasant surprise to check the scores this morning for the only match I couldn’t watch yesterday because it was played too late for these old tired eyes. American Frances Tiafoe upset the #5 seed Andrey Rublev in what must have been another great match. Another five setter that ended around 2 a.m. today. Whew – what an unbelievable week for tennis at the US Open which, by the way, has traditionally been my least favorite of the majors in the sport. Keep going, Frances – you’ve got spunk. I love spunk.

I have had the privilege of watching Venus and Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovich compete in tennis tournaments for the past 20 years. Looking back, I know how fortunate I am to have had this opportunity. Luckily, I have had the good sense to appreciate this so-called Golden Era.

Although the Williams sisters, Federer and Nadal have not competed in this year’s US Open, I am surprised I haven’t missed them as much as I expected. Forgive me, Nadal. You will always be first in my tennis heart of hearts, but I confess I have two new young guys whose energy, enthusiasm and excitement are creating new flutters in my tennis heart: 20 year old Italian Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Their young hopes revitalize my old memories.

Please retire to a well deserved rest, Rafa. Your work is done – you have fought the good fight over and over again. Those who follow in your footsteps will rely on your awesome example.

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Stay safe, stay sane, please get vaccinated and please stay tuned.

September 4, 2021