Monday, January 28, 2008

Well Done, Nole!

Novak Djokovic, aka "Nole," aka my current favorite tennis player, just rolled through the field and won the Australian Open, knocking off the immortal Roger Federer in straight sets along the way!

The fact that he's the first Serbian player to win a men's singles title strikes me as kind of cool as well, though why that is I can't really say. Doesn't everybody root for Serbian stars in every sport (assuming their name isn't Darko Milicic) anyway? I kind of see Serbia as the inner-city of the Europe, so when a player comes out of there and achieves success (even if their background wasn't exactly destitute) it seems a little cooler somehow.

Anyway, as he's only starting to break into the mind of the American sports fan, I thought I'd show another clip of Djokovic goofing around before a match that shows the humorous, self-aware qualities that make him my current favorite player on the tour (with no disrespect meant to the brilliant Federer or the nearly as brilliant Raphael Nadal):

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

josh I hope other chatterers enjoyed this as much as i. I thought of you immediately when he beat federer. I think he is just getting started. the fact that he is so much fun is appealing, I love that tennis give more room for personality then almost any other sport as it is so personal, so individualized (and golfers though fascinating are rarely interesting). Please keep us updated on Nole's exploits!
-james

Josh said...

C'mon James, you know I can never get through a single tennis match without thinking of our days as a hypercompetitive (if not always winning) tennis team. Those were, without questions, some of the best moments from my childhood.

Anonymous said...

certainly mine as well. I thin I may have the esteemed distinction of the only tennis partner of both better chattererers. and for somereason i felt the need to share that fact. but yes the best and oddest of memories will keep us attached as long as felt narrowly misses tape.
whatever it takes to win after all!
james