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So Venus is the only Slam singles champion still left in the WTA Finals!

Hingis retires for the third time. Probably the best news Sania has had all year. Might have extended Sania's career by a few years.

Aren't we better than that? Aren't we the land of Yogis? What happened to forgive and forget? I don't know what happened between them. But, I wish well to Sania and wish well to Hingis too. If Hingis is behaving badly across the net, then Sania would do well to just ignore her. Avoid eye contact or whatever. That is the best answer to bullies. Here is a brilliant video

Doubles partnerships last only for a certain amount of time. At some point, things don't work. Time to move on. I have dropped Ph.D. students, stopped funding them, and asked them to get a different advisor. After a year or so, the student realized that that harsh treatment actually forced him to find an advisor whose topic and style matched with him. After he graduated, he somehow still tries to meet me everytime I visit his city and wants to go out for dinner! This is possibly an exception to the rule. Our relationship did not work. We just moved on. And, we are both better off for it. There is no point fighting over spilt milk (unless it is on an online bulletin board . Then, you absolutely positively have to have the last word and try to decimate your opponents with the utmost vitriol because they are nothing but pure evil. )

Great win by Wozniacki to take out Williams in the final in straight sets. Great run of 6 games in a row to go 5-0 up in the 2nd only for Williams to come back and take 4 in a row but Wozniacki broke to win the match. Deserved the win as she was consistently the best player during the week with the
backhand, forehand and serve working really well.

Venus has been strangely flat in all three of her big finals this year.
But I agree that Wozniacki deserved the title here. Hopefully she will overcome her big-match phobia and actually win a Slam soon.

Wrt Hingis and Sania, I think prasen9 misinterpreted what Samarth (S_K_S) was saying. Hingis/Chan had established a stranglehold on Sania (no matter who her partner) this year. Hingis' retirement should help Sania overcome that mental mountain in meetings against this pair. Also possibly provides Sania a partner in Chan...

Exactly, I had no idea that Sania and Hingis had even fallen out. My comment was based on the fact that this year when you wanted to know how far Sania would go in a tournament you looked for when she was playing Hingis.

Got it. Thanks PKB and Samarth for the clarification. Sorry for the misinterpretation.

Shocking to read that Jana Novotna passed away losing her battle to cancer. She had the most graceful grasscourt game that I have ever seen.

RIP, Jana!

- Varma

What's the story behind Astra Sharma? Aus Open Women's doubles WC winner. Looks like she is an American. Indian father or mother?

https://twitter.com/TennisAustralia/sta ... 9262342144

S_K_S wrote: ↑Fri Dec 15, 2017 11:03 am What's the story behind Astra Sharma? Aus Open Women's doubles WC winner. Looks like she is an American. Indian father or mother?

She is an Australian, currently studying at Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee ... In May 2017, she helped #5 Vanderbilt upset top-ranked Florida 4-2 to earn the team's first-ever Southeastern Conference regular-season championship.

Indian father, Dev Sharma.

Personal: Astra Sharma ... Born September 11, 1995... Daughter of Dev and Susan... Sister of Ashwin and Tara... Nickname, "Roo"... Majoring in Medicine, Health and Society... Started playing tennis at the age of five... Favorite tennis player is Justine Henin... Lists Thierry Henry as her favorite non-tennis athlete... Chose Vanderbilt for the ability to "go to an amazing school, and play top-level tennis".

Astra Sharma

Majoring in medicine and a tennis player. Wow!

Wrapping her Aussie nationality around her. "Astra" the first part of the country's name. No wonder her nickname is "Roo".

I think she was SEC Player of the Year.

prasen9 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 16, 2017 1:59 amWrapping her Aussie nationality around her. "Astra" the first part of the country's name. No wonder her nickname is "Roo".

The parents probably checked if that means something in India too. In samskRtam, it is anything that flies and strikes hard. "Arrow" or "Missile". I hope she serves astras!

jayakris wrote: ↑Sat Dec 16, 2017 2:05 am The parents probably checked if that means something in India too. In samskRtam, it is anything that flies and strikes hard. "Arrow" or "Missile". I hope she serves astras!

Interesting. I guess in Bengali, it got broadened to mean "weapon" generally, irrespective of whether it flies. I would call a sword an "astra" (pronounced astrow in Bengali). So, the senses got changed a bit when it went from Samskrt to Bengali.

"astra" means "weapon" in saMskRtam too. "Roo" might be a nickname she acquired in the states as a shortened form of "Kangaroo".

- Varma