10 Things Tennis Fans Can Be Thankful for This Year

News

Scores

Rankings

Lucky Letcord Podcast

Shop

Pro Gear

Pickleball

Gear Sale

Add to Flipboard Magazine.

10 Things Tennis Fans Can Be Thankful for This Year

By Chris Oddo

(November 21, 2012) -- The 2012 tennis season was a veritable feast that we'll still be digesting long into December. But before we start rolling out the year-end reviews, let's give thanks for how fortunate we, as die-hard tennis fans, were this year.

1. Diversity

Tennis is represented by all corners of the globe, all walks of life, and all styles of play. Hell, we even have a representative from Planet Redfoo running challenger events in Las Vegas! It makes the banter all the more intelligent, the tennis all the more sensational, and the reach of the game broader and all the more compelling. Think about it: How many sports can boast a sport as diverse tennis? I’ll give you futbol, but that’s about it. How many sports can say they give equal opportunities to men and women the way that tennis does? I dare say nobody. The sport, like the world, isn't perfect, but tennis is pretty damn close.

2. No Player Strike

Any hockey fans out there? If you are you know how dreadful a work stoppage can be for a sport. There are some who argue that a player's union and some real hard-ball tactics might be the only way for tennis's talent to grab a larger percentage of revenues, and that may happen someday. For now, let's be happy that it isn't and that a new season is less that two months away.

3. Andy Murray's Monkey

That poor monkey was living in captivity, sentenced to years on Murray's back with only bread and water and no vacations to speak of. Now he's back in the jungle where he belongs!

4. Richard Williams

Give Patrick Moratoglou all the credit you want for Serena Williams' breathtaking summer, but please, oh please, do not discredit Richard Williams' role in carving the heart and competitive spirit of his miraculously talented daughters. And while you're at it, a tip of the cap to Oracene Price might be a good idea too.

5. The Futures of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Yes, Federer's future is still bright, and Rafa just hit the practice courts this week, so the book is still open on the two greatest legends that the game has ever seen. How cool is that?

6. Tennis on Twitter

Did tennis even exist before Twitter? Of course it did, but none of us were even one-tenth as informed as we are now, thanks to the little tweety bird that could. Whether it's strange, cryptic late-night tweets from Serena Williams, the news-making musings of Pseudo Fed, or Matt Cronin inciting a riot by calling a certain player a certain name, it all can be found at cyberspace's No. 1 destination for tennis junkies.

7. Blue Clay

If it wasn't for blue clay, Roger Federer wouldn't have become the King of Blue Clay in Madrid this year. Thanks to the banishment of Ion Tiriac's pet project after one failed, miserable, slippery-ass experiment, fans of the Swiss Maestro have one more needle to stick in their Nadal voodoo dolls next time he falls short against the Spaniard.

8. Rufus the Hawk

Rufus is safe and sound after a harrowing experience that saw him kidnapped during Wimbledon this year. Long live tennis, long live Wimbledon!

9. Bernard Tomic

Don't you guys think we're all being a little too hard on Tomic this year? Just when the sport was getting a little bit boring at the end of the season, Tomic got into the Hot Tub Time Machine and reminded us all of how much we miss the bad boys of yesteryear in tennis. All that hard work and testosterone and all Tomic gets is lambasted by the press and reprimanded by pundits. I say, get over it people, and learn to embrace tennis's new bad boy. Remember the days when anger and energy went hand in hand? Remember those blood-curdling, spine-tingling rivalries where anything went? Tomic has the attitude to bring the good old bad days of tennis back. Now, if he could only find his missing confidence on the court.

10. The Season is Over!

It's time to relax, stop obsessively following the scores, and let absence make the heart grow fonder. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

(Photo Credit/ Andy Kentla)