Sitting one out

Wow, the Australian Open tennis tournament came and went, and I saw next to none of it. I was too busy to watch during the early rounds, which are always the most interesting, with players of all ages and stripes going at it. And when it came down to the end, I couldn't bring myself to tune into the big matches even if I could find the time. 

On the men's side, it was obvious from the start that Novak Djokovic of Serbia was going to win. And after one of his late-round victories, his father was jumping around happily and posing for the cameras with Russian flags and "Z" insignia all around him. "Z" means support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Between his anti-vaccination madness and now his grooving on World War III, I have given up any hope of ever liking the Djoker. I tried. He beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who despite being quite a player, hasn't quite been able to capture the big trophies in the major tournaments to this point.

On the women's side, the finals boiled down to two other natives of Putinland, and the winner was Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. Leaving the politics aside, I can't watch her play, at least with the sound on, because she screams like she's being tortured with every swing of her racquet. It's not grunting with exertion; it's screaming like a banshee. So stupid. She beat Elena Rybakina, last year's Wimbledon champ, nominally from Kazakhstan but everybody knows she's from Moscow.

And so the sport is off to a rough start from my perspective. We'll see if I can get back into watching it over the next several months. The French Open isn't until Memorial Day. Let's hope the good guys put on a better show then.