Today saw some fantastic eyebrow-poppers in the men's and women's singles of the Australian Open!
My
wife is excited to see that the Canadian, Eugenie Bouchard (30th)
bested Ana Ivanovic (14th) to earn a spot in the women's semi-finals.
This was no small feat. Ivanovic, herself, brought down the number one
seed, Sarina Williams in the sweet sixteen.
On the
men's side, Djokovic, seeded # 2 and the odds on favorite to win the
Grand Slam event, was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Stanislas
Wawrinka in a grueling five-set match (2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7). His
opponent in the semi-finals is Tomas Berdych, and that, too, is an
attention grabber. For only the third time in a major tennis event
(French in 2010 / US Open 2013), Berdych has advanced into this level.
The
twenty-eight-year-old Czech turned pro in 2002. He has played in each
of the Grand Slams (Australian / French / Wimbledon / US Open) ten
times. This is his eleventh year in Australia. His highest international
ranking has been 5th. Presently he ranks 7th. When not in the big ones,
his record in regular tournaments is 430 wins to 240 losses. Just
reading the stats makes me think of this man as an example of quiet,
unassuming tenacity.
How Berdych would explain his
perseverance I do not know. However, I wonder if he might have escaped
one of the dangers we face in life-goals. That is the danger of dreaming
so much of the big one that we lose patience with the routine and
conclude, too soon, that we're "never" going to achieve what we hoped.
To be sure, very few find themselves in the confetti parades they
imagine; but any who will accept, through confidence in Christ, the
also-ran events of life, and show up at the next event and the next,
have the promise that there will be more than enough to celebrate when
God reveals what he was doing along the way.
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