missizzy

After two years of not going to see live tennis, and going to see it in Toronto instead last year, I actually initially thought I'd miss the Citi Open again this year, especially once I saw the highs predicted for last weekend, and the ticket prices. But then Saturday morning I took a look again, saw there were a handful of seats under the awning available that day and the prices had seemingly dropped, and decided to go after all. Later the guy sitting next to me told me my seat had been available because he'd given it back, after his plans to bring a companion fell through.
So I got to see much of the doubles final from up close, since there was open seating for that one, then I got to see Jessica Pegula and Maria Sakkari go three sets where they occasionally wavered in their quality but ultimately did well for a suspenseful two hours, before Sakkari finally took it, then we all cheered like mad for Coco Gauff, as she too wasn't always at her best but was more than good enough to take down a reigning champion not up to dealing with her that day. The crowd was more with Jessica than not, but Coco was getting almost universal support, and rather loud, too, people living and dying with every point. She won the title yesterday, too, and I think we'll all be glad to see her name up on the line of names that surrounds the court next year.
Yesterday proved an unexpectedly busy day as well, much occupied by trying to sort out what dress and shoes I can wear to the gala dinner accompanying the Trollope society meeting in Oxford, the sort of event where we Must Look Right(tm). After finding I no longer fit into the dresses I used to wear to such things, I ended up getting several new ones that either my sister had grown out of or her friend was trying dispose of after her mother's recent death. Shoes proved harder; it ultimately took four stores and way too much money to get me two pairs that hopefully won't injure my feet much. We emerged from the fourth store triumphant; and promptly got soaked silly by the downpour that had just hit. My sister declared herself one with nature, and our hair was all a mess. I'm amazed I managed to get mine back to normal that evening.
Today, on the other hand, when the storm warnings came with a tornado watch, the government closed early and sent us all running home around three without even time to stagger departures; we were all quite a sight streaming through and out of the Pentagon. This thankfully meant I was long home before the first downpour hit (and I probably would've got caught in it otherwise), and we were even able to cook and eat dinner before the power blinked out(though it was only out a minute.) It's not nearly as bad as advertised so far, though there's supposed to be more rain at 8....

I first read Serena's words in Vogue about retiring when I was eating lunch while sitting with my mom at our gate in Dulles, and the news definitely hung over all of us when we sat watching Coco Gauff play the current Wimbledon champion the next day. But I don't think it felt real for me until earlier today, when I saw the tweet announcing she's playing on Monday. Her career could end on Monday. At least they had the sense to give her the evening session, if the first slot. I don't think anyone's ready.
Next week my D&D group will also finally be meeting again, after we missed most of this month because every Wednesday at least one of us has been out of town. The campaign's likely to wrap up next Wednesday night. I'll be saying goodbye to Varvara Glowgrotto, the first character I came up with and the first I played either in person or for more than a handful of sessions. Her and the fate of her wolf companion Lon is also very much in suspense right now, and this ending's going to be bittersweet for them even in the best case scenario.
I suppose it's even possible Serena might lose her second round match instead, and both these farewells will come for me on the same night. I might even have to be checking the results during our mid-session break, or on the drive home with a guy who'll have said the same farewell to the most colorful character of the party. That'll be quite a ride.

Ultimately I decided that what with the multiple BAs apparently now floating about, and nobody wearing any masks anymore, I should probably got back to waiting for movies to be out at least a few more days before going to see them. So instead I spent the morning watching junior and wheelchair tennis, and the afternoon watching the ladies doubles final. Once again wasn't the happiest about the results-I may be developing a real liking for Alfie Hewett, and he really did look so heartbroken when he lost. But it was all still good tennis. Now left to be amused by the US Open having fun with the memes and still wondering whether I'll go there or not. People seemingly are already bitching about Novax being kept out, but I'm afraid I have my doubts about whether that'll be the case come August.

I've been reading Jeanine Basinger's book on American cinema, and I ended up reading her chapter on film noir this morning. My main thought is that even if he comes from a different genre than his friends, it's actually quite appropriate to have a noir detective in Exandria Unlimited: Calamity. It is, after all, a genre that portrays leads as hopelessly trapped by a situation beyond them in cities gone wrong, and usually end up facing their doom. I assume Travis knew all that. Brennan Lee Mulligan might have known it too, since that scene with him at the end of the episode definitely could've come out of a noir movie.
This weekend I've largely been watching the French Open, though at this moment I'm refusing to watch the Tsitsipas/Rune match Tennis Channel insists on showing. Watching Madison Keys lose this morning was painful enough. Though, really, with all the upsets going on, I'm just glad Coco Gauff's still making a good run, since she kind of needed it at this point. Also that I got a good look at Carlos Alcarez, whom I definitely wouldn't mind seeing take over, though at this point I'm hoping Rafa to get a more secure hold on the highest slam count, because really, better him than Novax.

The thing about anxiety is that if it gets you fixated on something you have to deal with in particular, it can wreck havoc with your state of mind for the entire day beforehand. And while you can sometimes feel relief afterwards, that ain't a given, especially if you don't think you handled it well. If that's what Naomi Osaka suffered anticipating her press conferences? No wonder she wanted a break from it. From about the time the slams decided she was someone they needed to crack down on, it felt like bullying on their parts, and now that we understand what they were truly demanding she submit to...and now of course they're expressing their sympathies and such, but that feels pretty false of them, quite frankly.
I just hope she takes as long as she needs and gets her mind into as good a place as she can manage, though anxiety and depression have a terrible tendency to be chronic issues. And that maybe next time the powers of the tennis world think twice before they act.

Once upon a time, I would not have been at all happy at the prospect of Roger Federer getting overtaken in his slam count, especially with how smug the fans of Rafa/Novak would be about it. But I'm pretty mellow about such things nowadays. And I really was impressed by a lot of the tennis Rafa and Novak played today, especially, of course, near the end, when the latter stopped losing quite as badly and made the former earn his big two-oh. It was also good to be reminded, by the way he handled himself during the ceremony, of what a decent person Rafa Nadal is, at least by all accounts. Goodness knows we need all of those we can get. Very much enjoyed Iwa Swiatek yesterday, too. Of course it would've been better had the two finals this weekend been a touch more competitive. But on a weekend where most looks I've taken at social media I've regretted, we take what good shows we can get.

After slogging through episode 68, I tore though the first two hours of episode 69. The resurrection scene was another one I'd seen a clip of already, but after the end of 68 got tears out of me last night, I needed the reassurance of seeing it again. Seeing both big moments for the second time, I was mostly struck by Laura Bailey's acting. Of course she wasn't the only one, and part of it was just how invested everyone involved had clearly gotten in their story and their characters, but the ease with which she deployed her craft was something else.
Having just watched the US Open final, my feelings about the pair of performances there were a little more mixed. The first two sets left me pretty dismayed, and while Theim and Zverev did play a lot of very impressive points, you do wish they hadn't fumbled things quite *that* much when it went down to the wire. But it'll probably be the most interesting men's final we have for a bit. After all, you know Rafael Nadal definitely will not be hitting too many reckless balls just because he's pissed off, especially not now.

Moment to moment, watching the U.S. Open, a lot of things feel comfortingly familiar. A point is still a point, each player has not changed in their essentials, and well, I really hope Coco Gauff is not going to go the way too many young sensations like her have, but her having loses like yesterday is maybe something she never could've avoided all together. At least the Trumpite went out too, while Naomi Osaka thankfully survived her own scare-a scare that didn't feel very unusual either, in the end. And even if there are only a handful of people in the stands, this is hardly the first tournament where that's been the case! But then the camera catches the older ballpeople, or the lack of linesman in the outer courts, or it pans out to show the tarps in the stadiums. Or the commentators remind you about how this is the Strangest Tournament Ever. Never mind we've got a likely similar French Open coming up right after this. Or they say Black Lives Matter, but one can hardly object to that, unless you object how performative it may be. (And it certainly isn't for Osaka and some of the other players, at least.)
The effect may cumulate over the next couple of weeks, especially when there'll be way less tennis being played in the second week. And if Serena can finally win that damn 24th here, her speech should be interesting. (Djokovic, sadly, can no longer be trusted.)
Also, I wonder how long it'll be before this live Hawkeye replaces linespeople all together. It may be a long time, but it'll probably still happen sooner or later, especially if this isn't the last pandemic that wrecks havoc with the world.

Yesterday mom and I went to have lunch with one of her former students and her husband, a pair of Canadians who happened to be in DC for a few days. We ate an an Italian place at the expensive side of Tysons' Corner (they paid) where I'm not sure whether it was their fault or the cold's fault I found myself not liking the pasta at all. They are both very highly educated people who are now trying to properly break into their profession. But despite his having a medical degree, they're finding it difficult to find places, the fact that they need to find them in the same location makes it all the harder, and he's actually overqualified for most medical jobs is also a problem. It really is true nobody can find a good job these days. They invited us to come see them in Canada at some point in the future, but they might actually end up in Germany.
They were of course excited about Bianca Andreescu having already made the U.S. Open final, so naturally they're now happy she won. And that is nice, but at this point Serena's continually losing in the finals is getting really frustrating. You figure if she keeps making them she's got to win one sooner or later...

To go to the Citi Open this year, I decided to put my wallet and other things I might need in a canvas bag, and then forgot to put my phone and keys in it, so I was without the former all day. Which is actually a problem at a modern tennis event, where one relies on it to know what it going on in the other courts; the Citi Open mostly shows ads during changeovers, rather than useful information. Also, when my sister soon found the direct sun of our box seats too much, we were also separated much of the time, and finding each other afterwards proved difficult.
Still, at least it made it easier to concentrate on the tennis. We got there just in time to see local girl Robin Montgomery win her first set over fifth seed Destanee Aiava. Despite the support of the crowd, however, she ultimately went down in three, getting out of trouble plenty of times but then getting into it a time or two too many. After lunch I first went to see Sasha Vickery play Noami Broady, but the latter was playing badly, and after the first bagel I didn't stay for the second. Instead I went to watch some doubles on a court with an awning, then returned to the stadium to see Victor Troicki beat another local kid, Andrew Fenty, though Fenty, with a bigger crowd to cheer him on, didn't make it too easy for him. The crowd had grown, of course, because up right after them was Coco Gauff.
The first match after your breakout tournament isn't easy, of course, although Coco was up against another American girl in the 300s, Meagan Menasse, who she was very much expected to beat. She broke early on, only to be broken back, and the first set plodded on for a while-until, at 5-4, she broke with a pretty great point to claim it. From there she cranked it up and let the ball fly. I think Menasse played better in the second set too, but that only earned her two games. The whole match took only 68 minutes. Though my sister got so concerned for how overheated I looked by then she took me into one of the air conditioned tents where they gave us ice, and we didn't stay for the last match. We went to dinner, and I am now back in time to watch the second semi-final in Atlanta.