Kimi Raikkonen had a great run, with his one-stop strategy. The only problem was, his tire gave way just after his first pit stop. And that was ridiculous because the only way he could have gained 10 spots was through pit strategy, and he was truly on track to win it and push Alonso to P3.
But it was not to be. Kimi had to pit again to replace his tire and as a result he ended up at #4.
#4 is still not a bad finish, much better than out of the points. But it gives Alonso an even bigger cushion going into the last few races.
Also, with Fisi ending up at #3, it was even more difficult for McLaren Mercedes to close the gap on Renault.
Had a nice weekend off in San Francisco and was away from the internet. Was able to catch the USC game at a sports bar in SF but not the F-1 race. Saw it after coming back yesterday (DVR-ed). Will write about that and some meaningless cricket separately.
Kimi Raikkonen’s run of bad luck continues with McLaren Mercedes. They had to replace the engine right before qualifying and as a result, no matter what he did in qualifying he was going to lose 10 spots.
And what ended up happening? He finished on pole!! With Juan Pablo on second position, it would have been perfect for both Kimi and McLaren, but that’s just a fantasy.
Now, what will be the strategy? Kimi on heavy fuel, maybe taking one pitstop less? I am sure, with the track record that McLarens have, they will be able to pass a few guys with no problems - heavy fuel or not.
The US Open media reps are just going goo-goo gaa-gaa over Sania Mirza. After all the exposure that I have talked about that Sania has gotten on TV, read this “news article” on usopen.org.
Notable quotes:
Top-seed Sharapova reached the fourth round for the first time, blasting past German Julia Schruff, 6-2, 6-4.
The tall Russian with tremendous Q-quality will meet a personality laden 19-year-old who may someday steal her mantle in the form of India’s Sania Mirza. Mirza became the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam when she bullied France’s Marion Bartoli, 7-6, 6-4.
Sania may steal Sharapova’s mantle??
Sharapova and Mirza have never faced off, but fans will be busting down the gates to see this match-up between two teens who not only can belt the ball but are widely considered two of the most popular players on the planet.
“It’s gonna be another tough one. I haven’t really seen much of how she plays,” Sharapova said. “I heard she’s got a big and powerful game. It’s hard to predict things, but I’m sure it’s going to be a good match."
Sania Mirza Friday, September 2, 2005 Sania Mirza Transcribed Interview
S. MIRZA/M. Bartoli
7‑6, 6‑4
An interview with:
SANIA MIRZA
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Sania, please.
Q. When you’re not really controlling the ball like you want to, the balls are going out in a big match, does that bother you? What’s going through your mind at those times? SANIA MIRZA: I think, first of all, we need to… hold on one second. Sorry about that. First of all, I think we need to start thinking that every tennis player is human and we all make errors in every match that I play. I don’t know what you mean by not controlling the ball when you want to, I guess we all make errors, forced or unforced. It does irritate you sometimes, yeah, but that’s the way tennis goes. You can’t hit every ball perfectly.
Q. Being a bit more positive, are you very happy to be as far as you are in another Grand Slam? SANIA MIRZA: Yeah. Obviously. I mean, every round of a Grand Slam is very important, especially fourth round at the US Open. I’m, you know ‑‑ I just came here thinking I wanted to win one round and won three. I’m very happy about it.
Q. How far do you think you can go? SANIA MIRZA: I don’t want to think anything because I just want to, you know, have fun out there. I have a big match against I don’t know who yet, but I’m looking forward to it.
Q. 45 winners to only 4 from Bartoli which is a pretty good statistic. That’s what they’re saying? SANIA MIRZA: I don’t know about that.
Q. She’s a hard hitter. Did you feel you were dictating most of the match? SANIA MIRZA: I did play much better than I have in the past two matches, and I still feel that I could have done a bit better, you know, I probably could have finished the first set a bit earlier than I did. But, I mean, you know, she’s a very different kind of player. You have to think. She makes you think what you have to do. She hits the ball pretty cleanly. But you have to play smart tennis out there. I think I, uhm, I don’t know about the winner count, though, but I did hit quite a lot of winners. I’m happy about the way I played.
Q. Was this last match good practice for your next round, like Sharapova? SANIA MIRZA: I think we still have to wait if Sharapova is winning or not. Every match that you play out there is a good preparation. I’ve played a lot of sets already. Yeah, she was, it was good practice for me. I’m not sure when I’m going to play my next round, but I’m hitting the ball much better than I have been.
Q. Are you surprised with how fast you climbed the rankings in the past year? SANIA MIRZA: It was quite fast. I’m not sure if I was surprised. But, you know, I don’t know. It just kept ‑‑ you know, I was just enjoying the moment, I guess. It just kept happening. I never surprise myself. I always believed I could do it. It was just a question of when I could do it, and I guess it was sooner rather than later.
Q. What were the reasons for your sudden breakthrough? SANIA MIRZA: I don’t know. I think I’ve just, you know, some training, I think I worked on a few weaknesses that I thought I had. Especially my fitness, you know, I’ve been injured. I was injured for about almost three months this year. Apart from that I think I’ve had a great year. It’s just that I guess I’m just playing like the best tennis I ever have.
Q. If you play Maria, it might be on Ashe stadium, probably at night. Will it be the biggest match of your career? SANIA MIRZA: I don’t know. It will be one of the biggest matches of my career. You know, I think I played Wimbledon Centre Court. It’s definitely going to be one of the biggest matches in my career, but hopefully I’ll have the crowd there again. I mean, it’s great. It’s the biggest stadium in, you know, in all the Grand Slams, so I’m actually very excited.
Q. How much of a test will it be for you mentally trying to keep your nerves and being able to play your game without letting the occasion overwhelm you? SANIA MIRZA: Just give me time. Let this sink in, come on. Don’t hurry up (smiling). I don’t know. I mean, you know, I really ‑‑ I am not even thinking about it right now. I just want to enjoy this moment right now. Then when I’m gonna go out there, I don’t think I’ll be ‑‑ you know, I don’t think I’ll be intimidated but, you know, it’s obviously a very big match for me. So let’s see.
Q. Have you met Sharapova at all? SANIA MIRZA: No, not at all. I’ve seen her around since the Juniors and, you know, here. But only three, four years, but I never played her or met her.
Q. How do you feel your game matches up with hers? SANIA MIRZA: I don’t know (laughing). I think we both hit the ball pretty hard, so that’s one similarity I see. The others, I think we should wait and watch.
Q. Do you analyze your rivals before playing them? SANIA MIRZA: I think everyone does. You kind of have to have a game plan before you go on court, whether you played them or not, doesn’t matter. So you just have to, you know, do ‑‑ it’s just the question of how you execute it when you go out there. We all have game plans when we go out. I had a game plan today and it worked so…
Q. What was going through your mind when you finished the match? You’re in the fourth round of the US Open, and an Indian hasn’t been there. SANIA MIRZA: That’s not what I think every time I step on court, that an Indian never did this, an Indian never did that. I’m just there because I just want to be there. I’m happy, I’m starting something. I’m not thinking who did it or who’s gonna do it. Nothing. What was I thinking? I was actually absolutely blank. I was just enjoying the moment. I loved playing out there, loved playing for the people. They all seemed pretty happy by the performance, so I just loved being out there.
Q. Are you impressed that Sharapova was able to win Wimbledon by 17 and get to the No. 1 ranking by 18? SANIA MIRZA: I mean, obviously, I think the whole world is impressed. 17 to win Wimbledon, it’s absolutely great. She’s been ‑‑ she’s obviously a very, very good player. You know, it’s great to come out. She had a history, she came from Russia, stuff like that. So it’s really good.
Q. Can you just talk a little bit about yourself, about your growth curve and getting to where you want to. You’re a little older than she is, but you obviously grew up under different circumstances? SANIA MIRZA: Yeah, I mean, you know, when you come out from a country like India or one of those countries, it’s obviously much tougher for you because ‑‑ I guess now, if there are people starting tennis now, it’s easier because the facilities are improving. But at that time, I mean, I played in clay courts where it was almost, you know ‑‑ there were almost craters on the court. I twisted my ankle about a dozen times a day. So the first time I got coaching outside India was last year, and, I mean, whatever I did to last year was playing in India, so I don’t think it would be that bad. But, you know, it’s obviously ‑‑ I just started going for swimming and just started playing tennis just for the fun. I never thought it would be this professional. But after a certain point, yes, we did.
Q. People are curious about your T‑shirt. Why didn’t you wear the ones with the sayings on them? It’s hard to tell what today’s says. Can you tell us? SANIA MIRZA: (Laughing). I think I’ve said this enough, a number of times, but oh, my God, this is the last time I’m going to wear a T‑shirt in a press conference that says something. It’s no big deal. I’m 18 years old. Give me a break. I’m just trying to have some fun here. I’m bored of the stripes or checks or the lines. It’s nothing. I always say if I have to make a statement or say something, I can speak, I don’t have to wear it. I can always tell people what I want to.
Q. Is Sharapova secretly someone you want to measure yourself against? SANIA MIRZA: Secretly? No, never. I mean, she’s obviously the younger one out there who’s world No. 1, so I still have nothing to lose if I’m going to play her. There’s obviously no pressure on me. I don’t think a lot of people expect me to win. So I never really wanted to play her, but, I mean, she’s one of the players I haven’t played on the circuit ever, so that will be interesting.
Q. You made such a quick rise this past year. Do you remember the last time you walked on court and you were intimidated by your opponent? SANIA MIRZA: I think when I played Serena in Australia I was a bit nervous, to be honest. Actually, that was the beginning of everything to happen. I played, you know ‑‑ it was just that I woke up and I couldn’t sleep the night before because I was going to play her.
I guess once you’re on the circuit all the time, you kind of get used to seeing them around and playing against them. So I don’t think a lot of people intimidate me now.
Q. Will you be able to draw on this experience for this match against Maria? SANIA MIRZA: Yeah, I’ve played on big stadiums before. I’ve played in front of big crowds. So, you know, all that just counts and all that experience that you get from playing in those matches and, you know, playing on all those big courts, it just pays off, like hopefully it will in a couple of days.
Q. Can you tell us, how big of a thrill was it for you to win a title in your home town? SANIA MIRZA: Winning a WTA is great, and I guess winning it at home was just the icing on the cake for me. You know, just in front of my family, friends, in front of all the fans, in front of my country, it was actually my hometown. So it was just amazing. I think there was a lot of pressure, even though I was ‑‑ you know, I was the last one to get in the main draw, but there was a lot of pressure. People didn’t expect me to lose. I’m just glad I stood up to their expectations.
Q. Have you met Sachin Tendulkar? SANIA MIRZA: Yes, he actually gifted me a car.
Q. A car? SANIA MIRZA: Yeah, after I won the junior Wimbledon doubles.
Q. His nickname is Little Master? SANIA MIRZA: Yeah.
First of all, there was no Shane Bond. Also, there was no Vettori.
Yet, Dravid was not able to go the distance and win it for India. So much for him being the perpetual matchwinner for India.
Sehwag got among the runs, but again, there was no Bond to take him out early.
Ganguly failed yet again. God, when is he going to get out of his slump?
Kaif capitalized on the opportunity and played a good innings.
Yuvraj got out lbw to Patel. I did not see the game, so I can’t comment on whether he was or was not comfortable against the spin. He usually isn’t, so I won’t be surprised if he got out trying to sweep or something.
Agarkar got 2 wickets - for those who were waiting for a flop show this time after his 4-fer in the match against Zim must be disappointed.
So as expected, it will be an India/NZ final. With NZ at full strength, I doubt if this Indian side will be able to make a dent.
Stumbled upon DesiPundit, a great site for quick news related to India. One of the more recent posts were about Bangalore’s bag of woes and it really looks like the situation is getting really out of hand.
Some tech bigwigs decided to pull out of BangaloreIT.com (or BangaloreIT.in as it is called now). Seems like a lot of the companies are p-eed off at the promises that were made to them and have not been fulfilled. Damn those politicians - so typical of them to say something to push things out for a while. I am sure that now that a ruckus has been created again, they will come up with some strange 2-year plan and hope that the companies will forget about it.
But the Silicon Valley of India needs to really wake up because it is not only the city’s pride at stake, but the entire country’s reputation of providing a great place to work that is being threatened.
Buckle up, Bangalore. Improve now or regret forever. The China threat is looming and the one place that India does not need to give in to overdevelopment and underplanning is your city. Stand up!!
What’s up with Gap? Who is in their IT department managing this supposedly exciting new site upgrade? They have been out since Aug 24 and have no real idea of when the site is going to be back up and operational.
The site upgrade better be so good that it makes people sign in and buy a lot of stuff because 2-3 weeks of downtime of a corporate website is unheard of, especially from a retailer like Gap.
Or are they setting a trend where having a website offline for an extended period of time is a-ok?
I had predicted that Mig would be the next one to go and that Ty may last longer.
But it was quite shocking that Ty was let go. And that comment he made at the end about how the voters don’t like him because he is black and that he is too soulful, was quite emotional for him. I really felt for him. He was usually one of the best performers every night and yet he kept coming back to the bottom 3.
I also think that Mark Burnett productions probably felt that they should keep Jordis in the running to keep the male to female ratio in somewhat of a balance, and probably keep JD to have the drama going on.
Either way, it is sad that a talented singer like Ty is gone.
But I was right about Suzie getting the encore call! Yay! So from back-to-back bottom 3’s, she went to back-to-back encore calls. That’s quite a turnaround.
But you know what, last few episodes (including the vh1 episodes, of course) seem to be ‘Suzie McNeil show’ episodes….and no wonder she is getting the voters out :-)
And one final thought - I think Marty is probably the most mature individual out there.
As promised, some pictures of Sania Mirza with her bling showing. These are of course not mine, and just got them from the internet. Also, I could not find any good pics of hers from the US Open.
Finally, some ‘journalist’ (aka mainstream media, MSM) hints at what I have been saying for quite some time now - that Andy Roddick does not really have game, but is more a product of the media hype machine.
US is desperate to find some hometown heroes. Tennis is increasingly becoming an international sport with players from more and more countries making it to the main draws of Grand Slam events. In fact today I saw Sharapova playing someone from Madagascar!! (as a sidenote, all USA Network could come up with about Madagascar was their giant hissing cockroaches)
And whichever decent player comes around, the media jumps on them and pumps them up to no end. Roddick is certainly one of those hyped up players. I mean, he has a serve, but no all round game. He cannot for sure beat the top ranked players with just media hype. He’s got to perform and perform consistently to be able to justify the front page coverage he gets all the time.
For a change, he has decided to rest and come back only when he is 100% ready.
I guess one of the factors must be the fact that it is Zimbabwe and not Australia. But in any case, I am glad that he is not going to rush into coming back.
As for his replacement, I have not heard much of Dheeraj Jadhav, so I can’t comment. But I guess Kaif and Yuvraj will both be in the XI now and Jadhav may be limited to nets and drinks.
I am not a ‘news’ breaker. My blog is not ‘live’ blog. So this may have already shown up in various blogs already, but I will ‘report’ it anyway.
Sania Mirza has won her second round match at the US Open and becomes the first Indian woman to reach that stage. Ever.
Nice.
Since I took the day off today, I was fortunate enough to see some of her game. Before I get into the game, I’d like the mention that USA Network commentators were raving about Sania. Also, she got a match on Louis Armstrong stadium and did get featured on the USA Network’s coverage despite the fact that Sharapova was playing on the other court.
So having seen her for the first time in action I can say a few things:
1. She does have some power - some of her shots ripped through and I was quite impressed. Her frame does not truly suggest that she could generate that much power. 2. Conditions were quite windy so some of it could be attributed to the wind, but she has a lot of unforced errors. At various important stages of the match, she committed a silly error and gave up momentum. 3. She is certainly not comfortable at the net and with overheads. I know both are special skills and a lot of tennis players are not comfortable at the net or with overheads, and Sania is just one of them. Again, the windy conditions could be a factor there too. 4. She has an air of confidence around her. She does not look like an 18-year old playing her first US Open. (Is it her first US Open?) 5. She has a lot of bling on her! There was so much talk of Serena’s bling, but Sania’s earrings show a lot of bling too! I will try to look for some pics of her and post them to this blog later.
It is heartening to see that she does have the fundamentals to go deep into tournaments and I won’t be surprised if she keeps performing like this or better in the next few years. And I also hope that she creates more tennis players, female in particular, in India. And there is the Russian female revolution to use as inspiration. Now that sponsors are willing to throw some money at them, and with the overdose of cricket, maybe tennis could be an interesting career option!
I was a little skeptical, I will admit. But I think Suzie McNeil completely nailed it. The house band was classic and created a fantastic atmosphere for that song (and others).
I would say Suzie is getting the encore call tonight.
I worship Pink Floyd. So when I saw last week that Wish You Were Here was one of the songs for this week, I was hoping it is not butchered like Jordis butchered Dream On last time around.
But I was first of all relieved that Marty was performing that song. And of course, the rendition was quite a good one. And with the extra string music and the choir joining in, the version sounded awesome.
And I have to say it once more - the house band is excellent!
It was a very good night. Pretty much all of them performed well. I still stick with my previous assessment that it will be Mig’s turn to go this time. He was good, but I guess he was probably the worst of the best.
I would say the bottom 3 may be JD, Mig and perhaps Jordis.
Marty’s performance of Wish You Were Here was also very good. Till Suzie performed, I thought he would get the encore call.
But Suzie’s performance of Bohemian Rhapsody was fantastic - I think she will get the encore call AGAIN!
After spending some time over the weekend at FreshBlog and the network of links from there, I was able to set up my blog so that I could start tagging posts under various keywords (categories).
Once I set most of my historical posts with some relevant tags, I hope to create a drop down on the right, which will help readers (and myself!) to get to all posts with certain keywords, quickly and easily.
Currently, you can go from any post’s “Filed In” section and click on any of the tags and it will take you to my del.icio.us page with the posts that match that tag listed. Clicking on any of the results there will bring you back to this blog.
Also, the little ‘Add to Delicious’ link at the bottom of all posts will let you add my posts to your bookmarks with your own tags. Enjoy!
There was a comment made on one of my earlier posts where I said Dravid failed again and the gentleman informed me that he had scored some fifties recently and all that.
But I think it is fair to say that given the lofty standards he has set, scoring under 20 against a hapless Zimbabwe attack is a failure on his part.
I have chronicled his innings so far and have tried to make a focal point:
* He is dependable, but we tend to get blinded by his successes and ignore his failures. This is perfectly ok with any player, but I think when we compare his performances and Sachin’s, for some reason, Sachin’s are always ‘discounted’. I don’t like it, and hence I had to take this step.
And I think I am making the point. He either has scored against minnows (West Indies) or has failed to take India to the win. Just what the Sachin bashers used to talk about his innings all the time.
Sure, India was expected to beat them. And sure, they bowled well to destroy them with 65 all out.
But was the batting up to the mark? No. It proved that India still has a lot of work to do up the order. The middle order also seems to be sputtering. 200-odd vs Zimbabwe is just not a good thing.
So India proved that they deserve to be ranked higher than Zimbabwe and the bowling will probably get a much-needed morale boost. But I think it is the batsmen that need more of a boost in confidence and morale.
But hey, a victory is after all a victory. Sometimes these things can be quite weird - maybe it will help get the team into some sort of a habit.
Is it me or it just seems like 90% of the musicians are hip-hop/rap artists? There were so many artists that I have never heard of and had names that I would strictly laugh off, that it felt strange.
Kelly Clarkson tried to show a rocker image and I don’t think it worked too well for her.
There was a real overdose of Diddy aka P Diddy aka Puff Daddy aka whatever.
The Killers performed Mr. Brightside from some hotel, and that was a good performance.
Green Day was ok.
All the collaborations were so-so. In fact some of them I skipped through on my DVR.
All in all, I think it was a good idea to have DVR-ed it because I would have given up on it within 10 minutes :-)
Saw the extra episode of Rockstar:INXS this evening and am curious to see how Suzie’s version of the Queen classic turns out. Not sure what others are singing but I know for sure that JD has to have a killer performance or else he may be out.
And from the recording clinic I realized that maybe my picks JD and Marty may not be truly ‘right for INXS’. JD was an utter disaster and he seems to be a slacker - don’t think INXS is going to like that attitude as well as work ethic. And Marty is forcing a modern sound on INXS but he does not realize that a) he is too loud for a band like INXS and b) INXS has not really moved on to the new rock scene; their song both the earlier unnamed song and the new one that they made everyone record, are both kinda mellow and like the old INXS.
I still think though, that Suzie is the leading contendor if they are ok with a female lead and it may end up being a toss up between Ty and Marty if they are going with a male lead.
England has really ripped open the Aussie heart. Their batting has been so good, the Aussies are looking in their pockets, trying to find a way to get some wickets. Ponting had to call upon himself to get wickets, which he did, thankfully for Australia.
229/4 at the end of day 1 was sort of an ok end of the day for Australia. They must have hoped that if they get a couple of early wickets, that they could restrict the first innings total.
Neither of that happened, and England was able to pile up 477. Flintoff probably would be the man of the series, adding a quick century to his name.
And then, I am not sure what happened, but Australia came out completely defensive. I have not seen this happen in a long long time. But the bottom line is that Australia are probably just hoping to not lose the Ashes.
They just lost the woefully out of form Hayden and the problems at the top continue.
So let’s see: Bowling has no firepower, at least not without McGrath. Fielding has given up some easy catches. And the batting has not fired much.
Kinda makes me think I am talking about the Indian team! Did not think that would happen with Australia.
So there is no reason for Dravid fans (most of them also Sachin bashers) to say that Dravid is India’s savior and such. He has not done much meaningful this season and he continues to flop.
But that is not to say that the other top and middle order bats were good. They were all miserable, and/or Bond was too good. I have started not liking the much cliched “The name is Bond, Shane Bond”.
I did not see the match, so I don’t know how the wickets fell and who was responsible. But all I can see is that the Indian innings was at 44-8 at some point and that is not pleasant at all.
This team has reached new lows now and someone has to give that shot of enthusiasm and positivity from somewhere. Desperately.
Every week, Rockstar:INXS keeps impressing me more and more. I keep comparing it to the obvious comparison to it - American Idol, and then I also compare it to the other reality-based competition-style TV shows. And there are so many things Rockstar:INXS does so much better than the others:
1. Songs are all classic rock songs. American Idol can get weird in terms of choice of songs. 2. Nothing is too predictable. Like the choice of original songs last time. Like the unplugged night with ballads the other time around. 3. There is no drama among the judges. Dave Navarro is pretty darn good in terms of his comments, and so are INXS. They really sound sincere, and I wish there would be a Rockstar:INXS every year. 4. Brooke Burke is not just eye candy. She does a great job of hosting the show, and being eye candy is just a bonus. She may be reading the stuff off the teleprompter, but she does it well and makes the transitions seamless. 5. There is not much drama in the behind the scenes coverage. There is just enough shown of life at the house to create some conversation in the studio. No extended episodes about just how the contestants prepare (except the 30 minute show on vh1), and no unnecessary controversy. 6. The house band is unbelievably awesome! How they are able to play so many songs flawlessly, I don’t understand. But a huge part of the enjoyment of the show (classic rock songs as well as INXS stuff) is the excellence of the house band.
So many reasons to like the show. I love it. Two thumbs up.
WOW! I could not believe it! There was tension in the air when they were about the announce the encore performer. And it was Suzie McNeil! She had a great performance with that body surfing at the end being pretty cool! But frankly, I thought Ty would get the call tonight. What happened afterward was of course shocking.
Firstly, Ty was in the bottom three.
Secondly, Marty was in the bottom three.
And most shockingly, Jordis was NOT in the bottom three.
What the heck! Are you kidding me? Marty had a solid performance and Ty had a darn good show. Still, I guess the public does not see it that way. The problem for the rockers is that they have to first please the band members of INXS and at the same time understand that ultimately, the voters are the general public. And what INXS likes in the hall may not be what the public would like outside and on TV.
Its a tough show.
Anyway, I knew for sure that Marty would be safe. I have said before that my personal ‘last 3 standing’ would be JD, Marty and Suzie.
Last night, during and after the show, I told the wife that Deanna would be the next to go and she was. I did not guess the encore correctly because I thought Ty would have the encore. And I thought Mig, Jordis and Deanna would be in the bottom 3. I was so wrong there.
I think the next to go logically would be Mig. We’ll see what happens next. Now that the field is decreasing, I suspect more trickery coming into the competition.
