Tonight Wozniacki beat Schiavone in three sets. Two days earlier, Schiavone played the longest women's match in Open era history at over 4 hours with the final set taking 3 hours of that time. Schiavonne won the French Open last year, and I'm really sorry I missed that now.
I don't think I'm going to see better matches in this tournament than the last two I've seen with Schiavone. She plays a brand of tennis no one else dare play. She's wild, in your face, explosive, funny, and a fighter. She talks to the ball, to herself, she laughs at her mistakes, diggs big holes from crazy aggressive points, and then fights her way out them.
Tonight against Wozniacki, she could've easily gone out a lot quicker. You see it all the time. The concentration is smashed. The player is lost. They miss shot after shot. Shiavone says 'Hell No' to that!
And I have to wonder, what makes her fight to the end with such guts. There are great tennis players, and then there is great tennis. Tennis with shots that surprise you, shots that they don't teach, because they're not high percentage. Shiavone uses these shots with such charisma, that even when she loses, it's thrilling to the core.
So here's to you Francesca Shiavone. You inspire me because when everyone else is thinking, oh this is it. You smile at the odds and give it everything, your way, and on your terms.
this image is from this site http://tennis.it/schiavone-jankovic-portorose/
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