Say "the Olympic champion"

Very shockingly, maybe even more than Henin's "pseudo-retirement", I heard that Elena Dementieva annouced her retirement earlier today.

I have never really paid attention to her: her and Myskina's 2004 French Open final, the ugliest Grand Slam final I've ever seen, gave me such a hard-to-shake-off shadow. And that almost defines her in me: she is not the one.

She chokes, as all other Russian women do. What makes her the most unfortunate is that she doesn't have the SERVE, which I believe is just an insurmountable obstacle, unless--there is ONLY ONE exception in a hundred years of tennis history--you are Rafael Nadal.

One of many amazing things Elena achieved is that since she made it to the main draw of a Grand Slam event for the first time (1999 Australian Open), she had played in 46 consecutive Grand Slams (main draw) until this year's Wimbledon, the longest consective major attendance record in tennis. Ironically, it was her unbelievable consistency and fitness that betrayed her in this year's French, forciing her to retire in the semifinal against Francesca Schiavone.

At that time, the idea that "she may not get another big shot at majors" passed my mind. But stil,l I have to say, retiring now may prove to be the most regretful decision she has ever made. With the Sisters aging, Henin's bumpiness, Cljisters' "human" nature outside of NYC and all those -vic, or -ackis which essentially has NO GAME whatsoever, if she stays and waits, maybe, just maybe, she can win one, once and for all.

Of course she LOVES tennis. And very different from Henin, she never let the pursuit of glory overwhelm the noble, gentle human spirit. For such persons, it is probably easier to stay. BUt anyway, she decided it was not worth the wait. And she called it a career. She is convinced she got the memorables, and the valuables.

Still remember her heroine-ic performance (winning all her 3 matches, doubles and singles) in the neck-to-neck 3-2 Fed Cup final against France? And remember her career-defining gold-medal match in Beijing Olympics over Safina? She saves her best for her great country. And she steps down as eternal for that.

Even if you are as cynical about Russian tennis as me, please, from now on, DON'T SAY "THE BEST NEVER", say "the Olympic champion".