Belgian Waffles Is Mighty Fine

Da Realist:

justine henin-hardenne. no one ever talks about her, but she has 4 slams and is playing in the semifinals of the french. she already has more grand slams than lindsay davenport and as many as jennifer capriati. if she wins this year's french she will have tied venus and martina hingis and will be just one short of serena.

yet no one talks about her at all.

Gangsta D:

She's Belgian. Most people don't even know where the Hell Belgium is. What's the last great thing to come out of Belgium? Hercule Poiroit? Plus she's not sexy. Maria Sharapova's won, what, two tournaments in the past three years? One major. People actually think she's the best female tennis player. Justine needs a makeover and renounce her Belgian citizenship.

Da Realist:

to each his own. the last cute tennis player i remember (besides anna) is gabriela sabatini. (who by the way, is even more sexy now than then. i saw her in the stands watching a match recently) besides her and anna k, none of them have been that cute to me. justine's about as cute as all the other "dolls". she's blonde, petite and she speaks french. and she wins. and she has the best backhand of all the women. what more can they want?

Waldini:

Unfortunately that will always be the issue with females and pro sports. Do you think anyone would pay attention to Danica Patrick's racing career if she was a dog? Don't you think the WNBA would be more popular if more than 1% of the player base was at least average looking? Guys like T&A Period. In tennis there wear tight clothing to accentuate that. But that means nothing to the average guy watching it if the girl has a million dollar body and a food stamp face. Henin-Hardenne is a phenomenal player. But in the majority's eye she's not eye candy. Steffi Graf and Martina Navratoliva (sp?) forced people to pay attention b/c they were racking up Grand Slams like crazy

Gangsta D:

She doesn't make you wanna sell your possessions and move to Belgium. I'm not saying it's morally right, but that's just the way it works. If Jessica Alba had a backhand, she'd be "the best tennis player" in the world. Women's sports are defined by either how dope the participants are or an incredible backstory. I will agree that Gabriela was the dopest. Isn't she divorced? Who would leave her? A badass athletic Agentinian? Where do I sign up?

Waldini:

In her prime, there was no one finer in tennis than her.

Da Realist:

so what makes martina hingis so fascinating?

you're right though. winning only trumps the "lack of drama" card after you've done a LOT of winning. but isn't 5 slams enough? monica seles isn't cute, but she won like 8 or 9 slams so she's a story. same for steffi and martina navratolova. i would think 5 slams would put you on another level whether you're cute or not. but i'm not sure if that is the tennis fan in me talking or not.

Gangsta D:

Remember, Martina started to dominate as a teen. She was named after Navratolova. Incredible backstory so to speak. Plus it helps if you win Wimbledon & the US Open. Winning the Australian & French don't quite add up. Has Justine won Wimbledon? If she does, her cache will go up. What she really needs to do is leak a sex tape. think she'll get some press then:)

Da Realist:

it's no doubt that wimbledon is the most prestigious slam. if you could choose one slam to attend which would it be? i like night matches so that knocks out wimbledon and the french. i heard the australian open is the most fan friendly but there is something about raucous new york under the lights...