Daily Bagel: A Roger Federer fan's look at semis loss to Rafael Nadal
The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.
• Yo, Billy Beane. Based on that incredible grab by the ball boy, I think it's time to do some scouting in Australia.
• A nice piece by a Roger Federer fan in reaction to his semifinal loss. The upshot: There's room for praise of both Federer and Nadal. "If Federer’s achievements and skills were not that imposing in the first place, Rafael Nadal would not have emptied his insides and spilled his soul to become the man and player he is today. If Federer’s quality is what we think it is -- the most beautiful tennis the world has ever seen, even at age 30, when Pete Sampras was sliding to No. 10 in the rankings (when men’s tennis was comparatively weak) -- then Nadal’s ability to pick Fed apart becomes that much more impressive."
• Tom Perrotta writes that it's time to embrace the unpredictable nature of women's tennis.
• In a completely bizarre series of events, Bernard Tomic locked himself inside his house in response to what he perceives as police harassment. The 19-year-old has been ticketed numerous times in his bright orange BMW M3, which he needs a special permit to drive. Bernard Tomic: unpredictable on and off the court.
• I enjoyed Steve Tignor's write-up of the ladies' finalists. "This one was a Houdini act from Sharapova," Tignor writes. "She seemed to hold on to her serve in the third set with a tennis version of smoke and mirrors. But she did what she needed to do: Stayed around until something broke her way."
• The Bryan Brothers are blogging for the Melbourne Age. Check out this glimpse of the players' personalities in the locker room. "Roger is Mr Relaxed," they write. "It will be five minutes before the Wimbledon final and he'll look like he's having an easy Sunday afternoon. Andy Murray is really into sports. He's into the fantasy basketball in the U.S. and is in a bunch of leagues. Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez definitely use more hair gel than anyone else. They're the pretty boys." Great stuff.
