I don’t think anything more could have happened this week in tennis! First, Mr. Roger Federer, The Chosen One, lost in his second straight Masters Series tournament, this time in Paris. And who was the victor? None other than David Nalbandian, AGAIN, who beat Federer for the second time in two weeks! The guy is on fire right now, as I talked about just last week. Props again to Nalbandian (something you will probably never hear me say again, haha).
Also, kind of like déjà vu, Davydenko lost in Paris, too. The scores were very one-sided as Marcos Baghdatis won 6-2, 6-2. I am sure you know what is coming next. Was it fixed with bettors? The chair umpire thought so again. Look at what the ump said this time:
“Serve like me,” the chair was heard telling Davydenko on the television broadcast. “If you serve like me, you put it in the box. That's it.”
This was in reference to the 10 double faults and five loss of serves that Davydenko suffered in the match. No fine this time, but still much speculation. Davydenko has been complaining about his elbow, but no evident pain or medical records have shown that there is something wrong with the arm. So, you are the judge, just another off day or another possible fixed match? Like I said, the guy will never get a break…
Read about everything here.
Then, as if all of this isn’t enough for one day, the biggest news of the week, possibly even of the year, involves Martina Hingis. I first found this news on People.com, CNN Headline News, and my AOL welcome screen. When I see something in these places before ESPN, I know something is up and was a bit shocked after seeing all of this happen.
Martina Hingis, one of the most respected and successful woman tennis players ever, has been accused of testing positive for cocaine. A urine and hair sample showed amounts of the drug present in her body right after this year’s Wimbledon tournament, where Hingis bowed out in the third round. Hingis is strongly denying that this is true, stating the accusations are “so horrendous, so monstrous…I am frustrated and angry. I believe that I am absolutely 100 percent innocent.”
What is even more shocking is that Martina decided to hang up the racket and retire from tennis for good as a result of this. Due to the press that this would receive, the further testing methods, the court costs, and the headaches that this case would cause her, as well as Hingis' impending injuries from the sport, Martina is officially retired.
Hingis’ lawyers have said that they have found “various inconsistencies” with the testing methods and outcome, but have said little on how much effort th
ey will put into fighting it. Now that she is not playing the game anymore, it might not be that big of a deal. It will still be important to clear her name, but she will not be in competition with possible illegal drugs in her system and the media pounding her after each match.
I have always, always, always enjoyed watching Martina Hingis play. She is poised, confident, and is such a great talent. I was sad to see her retire from the game the first time and so happy to see her challenging the top players again when she came out of retirement last year. I remember her blatantly saying that she came back because she missed playing the game. There was much passion there and it is such a shame that she is now leaving tennis again amid drug allegations and injury.
Also, kind of like déjà vu, Davydenko lost in Paris, too. The scores were very one-sided as Marcos Baghdatis won 6-2, 6-2. I am sure you know what is coming next. Was it fixed with bettors? The chair umpire thought so again. Look at what the ump said this time:“Serve like me,” the chair was heard telling Davydenko on the television broadcast. “If you serve like me, you put it in the box. That's it.”
This was in reference to the 10 double faults and five loss of serves that Davydenko suffered in the match. No fine this time, but still much speculation. Davydenko has been complaining about his elbow, but no evident pain or medical records have shown that there is something wrong with the arm. So, you are the judge, just another off day or another possible fixed match? Like I said, the guy will never get a break…
Read about everything here.
Then, as if all of this isn’t enough for one day, the biggest news of the week, possibly even of the year, involves Martina Hingis. I first found this news on People.com, CNN Headline News, and my AOL welcome screen. When I see something in these places before ESPN, I know something is up and was a bit shocked after seeing all of this happen.
Martina Hingis, one of the most respected and successful woman tennis players ever, has been accused of testing positive for cocaine. A urine and hair sample showed amounts of the drug present in her body right after this year’s Wimbledon tournament, where Hingis bowed out in the third round. Hingis is strongly denying that this is true, stating the accusations are “so horrendous, so monstrous…I am frustrated and angry. I believe that I am absolutely 100 percent innocent.”
What is even more shocking is that Martina decided to hang up the racket and retire from tennis for good as a result of this. Due to the press that this would receive, the further testing methods, the court costs, and the headaches that this case would cause her, as well as Hingis' impending injuries from the sport, Martina is officially retired.
Hingis’ lawyers have said that they have found “various inconsistencies” with the testing methods and outcome, but have said little on how much effort th
ey will put into fighting it. Now that she is not playing the game anymore, it might not be that big of a deal. It will still be important to clear her name, but she will not be in competition with possible illegal drugs in her system and the media pounding her after each match.I have always, always, always enjoyed watching Martina Hingis play. She is poised, confident, and is such a great talent. I was sad to see her retire from the game the first time and so happy to see her challenging the top players again when she came out of retirement last year. I remember her blatantly saying that she came back because she missed playing the game. There was much passion there and it is such a shame that she is now leaving tennis again amid drug allegations and injury.
I am believing Martina and taking her word that there are inconsistencies with the testing methods. Just this week in class, we talked about the wrongful testing methods and drastic inconsistencies with Tour de France champ Floyd Landis. Martina is strongly denying her allegations and I trust her. I don't understand why all of this is coming out almost five months after the testing, so I think something is fishy. However, Martina's abrupt decision to leave the game directly after these allegations may never allow her to escape them. The press and analysts can and will continue to go crazy with this one, especially since the drug is a street drug. Why did People.com report this? Well, cocaine is more interesting to report than steroids or something. Steroids may have gotten a mention, but the red-fonted "Breaking News" title over the story headline would have most likely not been present for some other performance-enhancing allegation.
I know that this will bog down Martina for a while, but I think that she will come out on top. She has always been a strong person who carries herself maturely and classy, and I think that lawyers will find a way to prove that her accusations are indeed "100 percent false." I just feel sorry for her. She should have left the game amid the bright lights, fans, and tennis balls that she missed hitting on a Centre Court. This is not what a champion deserved.
ESPN is doing a great job of dealing with this. Take a look and see what you think.
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