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Ten naughtiest moments at Wimbledon

2K views 21 replies 19 participants last post by  mcnasty 
#1 · (Edited)
Not sure if this has been posted.
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http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/m...7-10_ten_naughtiest_moments_at_wimbledon.html

Ten naughtiest moments at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England - It was very wet and then everybody got cranky and mean, just sitting around waiting. Fortunately, these are the perfect conditions and mood swings to nurture The News' annual 10 Naughtiest Moments at Wimbledon. There were plenty of candidates this year, too many to list. We tried not to mention people who personally annoyed us, like the IMG representatives who invited only one American journalist to the agency's Bjorn Borg private press conference. And note to Jonas Bjorkman: If you want to make the cut next year, you will have to throw a bigger tantrum than the one performed here over an umpire's overrule. Profanity-laced protests and spectacularly wicked attire always get priority. Slapping a chair umpire twice on behalf of your husband is the gold standard, an action by Benedicte Tarango still feted here on a yearly basis. Forget for a moment that well-behaved five-time champion, Roger Federer. Here, in reverse order, the 10 naughty winners for Wimbledon 2007:

10. Simon Barnes - The Times of London sports columnist is one of the brightest lights in newspapering, but his description of Nadal as a tennis terrorist was more than a bit bizarre, considering the timing - right after the failed bombs were discovered in the central city. "Nadal did a spot of terrorising yesterday and nobody died," Barnes wrote.

9. Marat Safin grumped about the quality and the price of the pasta on the Wimbledon grounds. He grumped about the security. He grumped about the grass surface. He might as well be a sports columnist, for all his complaining.

8. Nikolay Davydenko suggested that Wimbledon was the most boring tournament in the world and that there was nothing to do except tennis. "You constantly find yourself yawning," Davydenko told the Sovietsky Sport newspater. "There's no entertainment here." Like Safin, he was sounding like a sports columnist.

7. Venus Williams' hot pants. Twenty-two years ago, Anne White's white body suit was barred from the All-England Club because it allegedly violated the tournament dress code. But Venus wore skin-tight shorts here that were far more provocative, and got away with it somehow. She said the shorts were necessary because a dress that was specially prepared for her was too large.

6. Yuri Sharapov fumed when his own daughter, Maria Sharapova, was assigned to Court 3 against Venus. Then when Sharapova lost, Yuri went postal on a security guard as he entered the door to the women's locker room. He remains the most unpleasant of parents currently on tour, and that is not an easy contest to win.

5. Novak Djokovic became a serial racket thrower, and finally busted one while hurling it to the ground during his lengthy victory over Marcos Baghdatis. You have to throw a racket very hard to break it on grass, but Djokovic managed nonetheless. He received bonus points in the next round, when Djokovic grossed out everybody by displaying his infected, oozing little toe to the world, then defaulted.

4. Andrew Jarrett - The Wimbledon tournament referee mismanaged the rain-plagued schedule several times, forcing athletes like Rafael Nadal to play suspended matches over many days because of Jarrett's failure to call for tennis on the middle Sunday. We would still be out there today for the men's final if Novak Djokovic hadn't won a fourth-set tiebreak over Lleyton Hewitt, beating the rain by minutes on one night.

3. Richard Williams. Speaking after Serena Williams lost to Justine Henin, Richard said that Henin was timid, calling her a "duck in a dry lake," because she always looked to her coach when she was in trouble. "I wouldn't want to coach no one like that," he said. So far, Henin hasn't asked him.

2. Tatiana Golovin - Her bright red knickers were all over the tabloids and the chatter of the grounds. They were ruled legal, barely, because they were cut inside and above the hemline of her dress. She mischievously has promised to return next year with something just as naughty, only a different color.

1. Rafael Nadal and Robin Soderling - These two guys went at it for a five-day, five-set match and truly began to hate each other. Soderling mocked Nadal's mannerisms by yanking at his pants, while Nadal suggested that the Swede would probably rot in hell for eternity. "The truth is, is not nice, not for him," Nadal said. "We will see what's happening in the end of life, no?" Damning praise? Not quite. But good enough for the 2007 title, despite Federer's goody-two-shoes championship.
 
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#4 ·
Re: The naughtiest moments at Wimbledon

OMG, how did I miss that Nadal quote????

"The truth is, is not nice, not for him," Nadal said. "We will see what's happening in the end of life, no?"

That's pretty vindictive...and he did win the match...you'd think he could have gotten over it.
 
#6 ·
This was interesting to read. Thank you for posting it, Bijoux0021.

* I don't see why Safin and Davydenko's remarks were considered 'naughty'. They were just negative and not that negative.

* I think the writer should have included the fight in the men's doubles match if he thought Jonas' outburst was noteworthy. One of the teams included Melo/Sa.

* I disagree with the columnist's characterization of Roger as 'goody-two-shoes'. He's human and shows his emotions/displeasure whenever he feels like it. He was a ball of tension during the final. The Hawkeye system sent him over the edge for a while during the match.

EDIT: Oops, Jonas didn't make the cut. :eek:
 
#7 ·
7. Venus Williams' hot pants. Twenty-two years ago, Anne White's white body suit was barred from the All-England Club because it allegedly violated the tournament dress code. But Venus wore skin-tight shorts here that were far more provocative, and got away with it somehow. She said the shorts were necessary because a dress that was specially prepared for her was too large.
Don't understand this one, actually. Yes, the pants were hot, and look good on her :) - but how are they provocative? They still cover everything, and mind you, with those short skirts other girls are wearing, every time they serve we get to see their panties. So how is that less provocative than those shorts? :scratch:
 
#11 ·
I can't understand the sheer vindictive hatred that prevented Roger's Hawkeye meltdown from making the top 10... :devil: :devil: :devil:
 
#14 ·
They ignored Bjorkman, and also the Bryans?
 
#19 ·
Hard to believe Federer's S*bomb was not on the list, Bjorkman's little charade was quite hilarious, "you absolutely suck!", even funnier with the Swedish accent :lol:
 
#20 ·
I just point out this thread as proof that personality exists in tennis. Who says its boring? Also with Roger's bitching bout Hawkeye and saying something like "this thing is killing me" is priceless. Almost up there with Mac's "you can not be serious!".
 
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