Thursday, September 28, 2006

Welcome to the slumping players Club

Pemulis and Gonzo are sitting on a couch; they both are glued to the TV. Gonzo moans something in a possibly foreign tongue: “What’s wrong with Ana? Two 1st Round losses in a row, 2-3 record since Montreal, she’s playing like a crap... steamrolled by the Williams Sister, first Serena, and then Venus..hmhmmm...”
Pemulis is positively strip-mining his right nostril when he yells at Gonzo: “Don’t mess with me, OK?”
Gonzo: “Pardon ? ‘”
Pemulis: “And I don't wanna get fuckin' bothered by the same shit, slumping players, upcoming players, underrated vs overrated. C’mon Gonzo, how long does it take to stop believing the hype ?”
Gonzo: ”I don’t understand, a couple of days ago You told me...”
Pemulis: ”Never Mind, Gonzo. Never mind. But what's on my mind at this moment isn't the last slumping player on the Pro-tour, it's the last episode of “Lost”. But it's shit like this that's gonna bring this situation to a boil. Relating to Ana, I’m gonna make the same arguments made about James Blake: don’t wanna say she is a one-dimensional player, (she) is talented, just a little unbalanced: her game relies too much on serve and cracking forehand, and over all, on his speed of the ball. She has little patience in long rallies. As far as I know in every match since Montreal her first serve % has been around 40% which is pretty disappointing. That’s why when Ana is in a good day plays awesomely (Ask Martina Hingis to explain what does it means), and when she is bad, she can lose seemingly easy matches. Winning or losing. She cannot play defensive. That’s about it. So we're cool?”
Gonzo: “Yeah man, we're cool”.
Pemulis: “Now, let me watch the “Lostees”, please, 'cause I luv it”.

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Terza di Copertina.

"Cementi di Gloria" è l'opera prima di Paolo Ricaldi, aka Mr. Pemulis, che nell'estate 2007 ha girato in lungo e largo i tornei di preparazione agli Us Open - il c.d. minicircuito chiamato Us Open Series - è tornato sano e salvo, anche se un po' intossicato di Tennis, e ci ha raccontato quanto visto, sentito e percepito nel Nuovo Mondo.
In questo reportage, che è un viaggio picaresco nel nordamerica, intorno al "vuoto" dello showbiz, l'autore alterna con grande potenza espressiva cronache sportive esilaranti, pagine di letteratura minimalista, storie surreali, incubi metropolitani abitati da personaggi dai nomi improbabili e aneddoti irresistibili; e lo fa utilizzando una vasta gamma di registri, che vanno dal comico al noir. Ne risulta un inno sghembo al tennis e alla vita in generale, che fa' di Ricaldi, la "next big thing" del panorama letterario mediterraneo.