Since her final in the Australian Open in 1999, the news of her coming out and the jibes she received have all been forgotten and been replaced by what seems to be more founded criticism. Here lies the question: does Amélie Mauresmo have what it takes to win a Grand Slam title? If yes, when is she going to finally show it?Us French are always very critical. Ask Marie-José Perec, the football team (post 1998 - 2000 high), or really, anyone who has carried the hopes of a nation on their (sometimes frail) shoulders only to be torn apart when those hopes have not been materialised by gold medals or other silverware. Mind you, when you see the treatment poor Paula Radcliffe received from the British after the Athens marathon, I wonder if we're actually THAT harsh...
But anyway! Amélie... Little darling of French tennis now that we're "ok" with her being a lesbian, an icon like we haven't had one since Yannick Noah and maybe Henri Leconte in the early 80's, maybe even since the Musketeers (Lacoste, anyone?) and Suzanne Lenglen before them in the 20's. Try to imagine that... First female tennis player since Suzanne Lenglen to REALLY have the potential to go all the way and go all the way more often than not. Of course, the pressure is on the poor girl and the longer it takes her to win one, the worse it's going to get!
It's not the draw that matters. She's been beaten by much lower-ranking players, even if not often. What Amélie does, is hold just be as good as her ranking is, no more, no less. Her track record in the US Open? 1/4 finals in 2001, 2003 and 2004, 1/2 finals in 2002. It's good, steady, but by no means brilliant.
I'll tell you who IS brilliant, even if inconsistent and certainly no longer at the peak of her tennis abilities: Mary Pierce. She's never been Number 1 (unlike Amélie) but she holds 2 Grand Slam titles and her recent final in Roland Garros was a fantastic achievement from someone nobody longer expected this kind of performance from. Even now in the US Open she's there, ready to attack every ball she gets, enjoy every point and create a surprise... Amélie rested in between Wimbledon and the US Open, probably desperately looking for a new game plan since the failure of the "Noah Effect" in Roland Garros and her first round match was a nice warm-up.
Will Amélie reach the 1/4 finals? I have no doubt. Will she reach the semis? Well, she might just. Will she win it? I'd love to say yes but probably not. Will she send our hearts racing, make the whole country stand behind her, encourage her and just want to hug her? Probably not. If someone's going to give us the passion... it's going to be Mary.
Oh... And that one is for Suzy...
6 comments:
Swooooon...sigh...so much more swoonable than Mary Pierce...and more pleasant and polite too so I hear. :-)
But we have to believe in her. We do we do. We have to get passionate about her and her chances - she's a sister!! Do you think that the media has become less critical of her sexuality because they believe she has a chance to win something big or because they genuinely don't care about her sexuality?
Suzy: Not sure if Amélie is more polite but the thing that does scare me about Pierce is her new-born Christian attitude...
La Bamba: it is a very interesting question and given the general attitude towards homosexuals in France at the moment, I do think so her sexuality has been "accepted" (in fairness, she was never going to play it down so what other option was there?) because France was on to a winner there and as long as she plays in the Fed Cup and wins it for us, as long as she goes to the Olympics and gets the silver medal for us, we'll "forgive" anything...
The same happened to Mary Pierce... Before she won anything big, as a nation, let's be honest... we didn't particularly like her. She was booed and insulted... I mean... she was half American, right? She could hardly speak French... Now? oh boy, how the tables have turned... What do you mean, Mary Pierce has American roots? Oh but that doesn't matter anymore... She wins for France now. Of course, the fact that has tried a great deal to endear herself to the french public hasn't really hurt either...
The French are a lot more patriotic than they are biggots, at the end of the day. What actually triggers the move might not be the honorable reason, I agree and those changes happen on an individual basis. Just because Amélie's a lesbian and we have accepted that doesn't make homosexuality acceptable, just because Mary has seen the light and now plays for the "right" country doesn't make the American people more liked. But for greatness and the benefit of the country... exceptions are made.
But doesn't that French patriotism often manifest itself in rather cruel ways? I mean, surely patrotism means supporting your country through good times and bad and not, as we see with the french media and public, berating the unsuccessful teams and individuals??
As an aside there's some speculation that Chiraq has suffered a stroke (I suspect it's mere speculation but anyway) - is the French media likely to report on him sympathetically because he's ill or will they retain the recent negative attitude towards him??
I remember the hushed tones about Mitterand and his illness as he ended his term of office. I was present at one of his last appearances in Paris and even then everyone all knew that he was dying but no-one talked about it. Something very French? I don't know.
Then there was the controversy that he had been ill for years and had been hiding it. (Le Grand Secret)
Mauresmo is een vent.
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