Tennis: Australian open: Women's tennis..the pain continues

She defeated the first seed Davenport, fought back to send the fierce Sharapova packing, and was well on her way to becoming the champion. It was heart breaking to see Justine Henin-Hardenne, the eight seed from Belgium to go out due to retirement. Amelie Mauresmo was crowned the 2006 Australian open champion.

I would like to continue the thread "Tennis: Australian open: Hantuchova watch ends" on 1/22/06" regarding Sharapova's grunts. Clisters had to retire in the semi-final due to an injury. Henin had to go out due to lack of energy. She was on anti-inflammatory tablets for her shoulder, and she was having an upset stomach too. Suddenly the game doesn't seem idyllic anymore. I like to think of the champions as genuinely talented players, who are at the peak of their game, having fun playing. It’s disheartening to see that the players are in pain, grunting to stay there. It reminds me of games where performance-enhancing drugs are a norm.

Trying to remember why we started playing in the first place, because it certainly was not for money, or stardom. Unfortunately, I am not the only one who seems to have forgotten.