Forty Deuce

RG: Thursday OOP

Court Philippe Chatrier 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Marion Bartoli (FRA)[13] v. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)

2. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Jose Acasuso (ARG) v. Roger Federer (SUI)[2]

3. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP) v. Serena Williams (USA)[2]

4. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Victor Crivoi (ROU) v. Gael Monfils (FRA)[11]

Court Suzanne Lenglen 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[5] v. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)

Not Before 12:00

2. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Lucie Safarova (CZE) v. Venus Williams (USA)[3] (To Finish 7-6(5))

3. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd. 

Alize Cornet (FRA)[21] v. Sorana Cirstea (ROU)

4. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Juan Monaco (ARG) v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[9]

5. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[4]

Court 1 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Jeremy Chardy (FRA) v. Simone Bolelli (ITA)

Not Before 12:00

2. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)[10] v. Diego Junqueira (ARG) (To Finish 4-6 6-3 6-0 2-2)

3. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd. 

Virginie Razzano (FRA) v. A. Medina Garrigues (ESP)[18]

4. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)[32] v. Pablo Andujar (ESP)

5. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Jelena Dokic (AUS) v. Elena Dementieva (RUS)[4]

Court 2 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[7] v. Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ)

2. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Jill Craybas (USA) v. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[10]

3. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Arnaud Clement (FRA) v. Christophe Rochus (BEL)

4. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Andy Roddick (USA)[6] v. Ivo Minar (CZE)

5. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Serena Williams (USA)[5] v. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) (To Finish 6-1 3-5 4-3)

Venus Williams (USA)[5] Lucie Hradecka (CZE)

Court 3 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Tommy Robredo (ESP)[16] v. Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)

2. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP) v. Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR)

3. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Jurgen Melzer (AUT)[24] v. Guillaume Rufin (FRA)

4. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Josselin Ouanna (FRA) v. Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)[4]

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) Mark Knowles (BAH)[4]

Court 4 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Jarmila Groth (AUS) v. Mariana Duque Marino (COL)

2. Women's Doubles - 2nd Rnd.

Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)[11] v. Mathilde Johansson (FRA)

Patty Schnyder (SUI)[11] Pauline Parmentier (FRA)

3. Women's Doubles - 2nd Rnd.

Lucie Safarova (CZE) v. Vera Dushevina (RUS)

Vladimira Uhlirova (CZE) Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)

4. Women's Doubles - 2nd Rnd.

Jill Craybas (USA) v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[8]

Carly Gullickson (USA) Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[8]

Court 5 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) v. Igor Andreev (RUS)[25]

2. Women's Doubles - 2nd Rnd.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v. Iveta Benesova (CZE)

Francesca Schiavone (ITA) Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)

3. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Johan Brunstrom (SWE) v. Igor Andreev (RUS)

Jean-Julien Rojer (AHO) Evgeny Korolev (RUS)

Court 6 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Andreas Seppi (ITA) v. Maximo Gonzalez (ARG)

2. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Leonardo Mayer (ARG) v. Tommy Haas (GER)

3. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Samantha Stosur (AUS)[30] v. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)

4. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Robby Ginepri (USA) v. Bob Bryan (USA)[2]

Robert Kendrick (USA) Mike Bryan (USA)[2]

Court 7 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Alexa Glatch (USA) v. Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP)

2. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)[5] v. Viktor Troicki (SRB)

3. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Andreas Beck (GER) v. Marc Gicquel (FRA)

4. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) v. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[12]

Court 8 11:00

1. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Jamie Murray (GBR) v. Leos Friedl (CZE)

Pavel Vizner (CZE) David Skoch (CZE)

2. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Simon Aspelin (SWE) v. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)

Paul Hanley (AUS) Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

3. Women's Doubles - 2nd Rnd.

Maret Ani (EST) v. Vania King (USA)[13]

Kaia Kanepi (EST) Monica Niculescu (ROU)[13]

4. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

David Ferrer (ESP) v. Ivo Karlovic (CRO)

Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) Lovro Zovko (CRO)

Court 9 11:00

1. Women's Doubles - 2nd Rnd.

Olga Savchuk (UKR) v. Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)[9]

Tiantian Sun (CHN) Shuai Peng (CHN)[9]

2. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Jeff Coetzee (RSA)[11] v. Jaroslav Levinsky (CZE)

Jordan Kerr (AUS)[11] Igor Zelenay (SVK)

3. Mixed Doubles

Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE) v. Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)

Christopher Kas (GER) Ashley Fisher (AUS)

4. Mixed Doubles

Virginie Razzano (FRA) v. Cara Black (ZIM)[2]

Jeff Coetzee (RSA) Leander Paes (IND)[2]

Court 10 11:00

1. Women's Doubles - 2nd Rnd.

Zi Yan (CHN)[16] v. Klaudia Jans (POL)

Jie Zheng (CHN)[16] Alicja Rosolska (POL)

2. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Marcel Granollers (ESP) v. Philipp Petzschner (GER)

Santiago Ventura (ESP) Alexander Peya (AUT)

3. Mixed Doubles

Severine Bremond Beltrame (FRA) v. Julie Coin (FRA)

Robert Lindstedt (SWE) Nicolas Mahut (FRA)

4. Mixed Doubles

Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) v. Zi Yan (CHN)[7]

Bruno Soares (BRA) Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[7]

Court 11 11:00

1. Women's Doubles - 2nd Rnd.

Julie Ditty (USA) v. Kveta Peschke (CZE)[2]

Maria-Emilia Salerni (ARG) Lisa Raymond (USA)[2]

2. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Eric Butorac (USA) v. Michael Kohlmann (GER)

Scott Lipsky (USA) Alexander Waske (GER)

3. Mixed Doubles

Lisa Raymond (USA)[3] v. Rennae Stubbs (AUS)

Marcin Matkowski (POL)[3] Ross Hutchins (GBR)

4. Mixed Doubles

Raquel Kops-Jones (USA) v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[4]

Eric Butorac (USA) Max Mirnyi (BLR)[4]

Court 14 11:00

1. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Rik De Voest (RSA)[14] v. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE)

Ashley Fisher (AUS)[14] Frank Moser (GER)

2. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Daniel Nestor (CAN)[1] v. Lucas Arnold Ker (ARG)

Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[1] Horacio Zeballos (ARG)

3. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Fabio Fognini (ITA) v. Petr Pala (CZE)

Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) Radek Stepanek (CZE)

4. Mixed Doubles

Elena Vesnina (RUS)[6] v. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (FRA)

Daniel Nestor (CAN)[6] Thierry Ascione (FRA)

Court 16 11:00

1. Women's Doubles - 2nd Rnd.

Severine Bremond Beltrame (FRA) v. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[12]

Julie Coin (FRA) Elena Vesnina (RUS)[12]

2. Women's Doubles - 2nd Rnd.

Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[7] v. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)

Ai Sugiyama (JPN)[7] Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP)

3. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Mathieu Montcourt (FRA) v. Lukasz Kubot (POL)[9]

Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) Oliver Marach (AUT)[9]

4. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Simone Bolelli (ITA) v. Sebastien Grosjean (FRA)

Andreas Seppi (ITA) Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)

5. Mixed Doubles

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) v. Sybille Bammer (AUT)

Filip Polasek (SVK) Lukasz Kubot (POL)

Court 17 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Petra Martic (CRO) v. Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN)[24]

2. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Melinda Czink (HUN) v. Sybille Bammer (AUT)[28]

3. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) v. Olivia Rogowska (AUS)

4. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[29] v. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)

Air Quotes: How Rude

Q. Do you feel that she's [Ana] capable of winning this tournament?

DINARA SAFINA: For what I am here?

Q. What's that?

DINARA SAFINA: For what I am here? I mean, you are telling me she can win this tournament, and for what I'm sitting here? I guess I also want to win the...

Q. Sure, but you were the finalist last year and she was the winner, so...

DINARA SAFINA: I don't know. We'll see.

Smile. You Got Some Grit In Your Teeth.

I mean come. on.

Maria had no business winning this match.  She's not moving well and her serve is not even close to a weapon.  After taking the first set 62 it seems like the tank was out of gas she dropped the second set to Nads, 36.

Then came the third, where Mash quickly found herself a break down and serving at 2-4.  And holy shit, Nads had break point to go up 5-2.  So what did Mash do?  She served three unreturnable serves, one of which was an ace.  In the third set.  On a bum shoulder.  And you're telling me this kid doesn't know how to fight?

It was awesome to watch.  And to be clear, Nads didn't go away completely.  She still gutted out some solid points and it looked like she might eventually weather the storm.  But Mash just kept coming.  She clawed her way back to level and went on to take the last set 8-6.  After the match Nads would say the difference was that she wasn't courageous enough.  I'd have to agree.

Masha will face Yakimova next.  Can you really bet against her getting into the fourth round?

This Is What It Sounds Like When The Doves Cry.

 

Oh, Marat.  You can't do that.  You can't be both brilliant and a fucking retard all at the same time.  You can't claw your way back from 2 sets down with crazy forehands and brilliant serving, saving two match points along the way, and, I don't know, ACT LIKE YOU CARE, only to revert back to the Marat of late, wildly flailing at a forehand that goes wide to give some French noname (sorry, I'm sure you're a nice dude) the win.  Why couldn't you just lose in three easy sets and call it a clay career?  Why did you have to give us hope?  Why did you have to remind us why we love you so and wake up at godawful times in the morning only to watch you break our hearts?  How can you be so fucking loveable and infuriating all at the same time?

Oh, yeah.  You're The Marat.  Duh.

While we're saying our goodbyes, how about a magician's farewell to the Fabrice, who couldn't summon any more magic to beat Rochus today. 

[SQUIRT]...Uh, sure, but where'd the lighter fluid come from?

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...

I really kind of meant it in a "lookit all those straight set wins" kind of way, but then I found this...

... and this...

Ha.

That, of course, is the pride of Great Britain, taking a dive on his way to a tough 4-set victory over Potito Starace.  It's a good sign that he could tough out a win on a surface he's clearly uncomfortable on, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that RG 2009 is not where Muzz is going to have his Grand Slam breakthrough.  His next match, where he'll face either F-Lo or Tipsy, could be a real struggle for him.

Back to all those straight setters... Nando, Gilly, Marin, Gonzo and Victor Hanescu (okay...) are all through to the third round in straight sets.  Nando, Gilly, Gonzo and Marin had almost absurdly easy times of it out there, with Gilly in particular picking up speed as the match progressed.  Good for him, it would be great for him to be able to turn around his season a little at his home Slam.  Arnaud Clement, C-Roch and Nico Almagro are through in 4, the latter meaning that-- of course-- we must say goodbye to Ernie.  Oh Ernie.

On the women's side, Kristina Barrois is gunning for my personal "least favourite person" award for failing to take out Vika, even after being up two breaks in the first.  Oh well.  Agnes had an impressive 0 and 2 win over Lena V and Nails also had a competent win (1 and 4) over Timea Bacsinszky (known to me as the only player who wears more makeup than JJ).  The Cone managed to finish off her match from yesterday in 2, so good for her.  Pavs is also through, headband and all, in two sets over Julie Coin.

(Sorry for the rushed, picture-free quality of this post; I've got my goddaughter the rest of the day and somehow her mother didn't think "watch TV with Aunt Carrie" was the best idea for an activity.  Bummer.)

Dina's Deli Service Expands; Now Includes Breadsticks

I guess since she sucks so bad at tennis, Dina needed a backup plan.  Looks like she's got one.  Baking is as good as any, people like to eat.

6-1, 6-1 in 55 minutes. The bad news for AKO is that Vitalia Diatchenko managed to get a hold and a break off Dinara, the good news, I guess, is that at least she dragged the match out a little longer. I'd never seen Diatchenko play before, and from the way she approached the match, I'd venture a guess that Dinara hadn't, either. I don't know, am I too hard on her? I feel like the only person who's not completely bowled over by her level of play so far. Nevertheless, serving 74% for the match and having a positive winners/UE ratio is pretty good. I guess. Diatchenko, for the record, has the wackiest serve ev-ah. Stand aside, Mono.

Diatchenko also apparently was out for two years with a shoulder injury, so well done to her for getting this far. She tried to take the ball early and has fairly good ability off both sides (two-handed on both... seriously, she's like the Mono X-Treme). At the end of the first set, she had one more winner than Dinara. Nevertheless, according to the Tennis Channel online streaming commentator, "One of the biggest problems Safina's [had] this match is her hair." 

Ouch.

Ok, I'm Not Convinced She's *Not* A Gypsy

This is one of the more hilarious pressers I've read in quite some time.  I don't know if it's the translation or what but it's full of unintentional awesomeness.  All the crazy metaphors, references to gypsy tricks, and somehow Dina's been #1 for a while now?  Ok, Gypsy.

Q. Well, it's probably quite pleasant to have such a nice match for the first round. It's never obvious.

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: It was not easy. You know, I was really happy with the quality of my style. The match was interesting,and playing her for the first round was not easy, against Daniela Hantuchova.

It's the same for her. I'm not that easy to beat. We thought the match would be really difficult. She was ready and I was ready. We saw it immediately when we started the first rally, the first game, the first set.

She was highly concentrated. I was concentrated. High level of play. We knew we had to go for it at the very high level and play our best from A to Z.

Q. What would you say about your style on clay at present and the near future?

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Well, quite good, I think. As you can see today, it's really wonderful. It's great. I think I know how to play, and my level is quite good. I'm rather satisfied. I was very happy to win this match today, and as usual, I'll take match after match. I'll play my best level. I'll do the tricks I can do really well.

So I have many tricks on clay, a wide pallet of points I can play.

Q. We thought you were on the ring, boxing. We thought it looked like boxing. Would you say that mentally you were quite ready to win the match?

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Well, I think, you know, mental preparation is very important, but also your physical condition is very important. Daniela or myself had to be ready for it, and physically, as well. All the points were tough to win, and almost all of them were winning points.

I don't think that we made any unforced errors, or not many unforced errors. Usually they were forced errors. So all in all, we had to go for it. We had to be daring and bold when necessary,when the moment was right and ripe.

We had to choose these moments and seize our opportunities. I did it. She did it. We didn't give many points easily. As you said, it was like boxing. Yes. She would fight; I would fight. She would hit; I would hit. Nice points, interesting, pleasant.

Q. Statistics are really interesting in terms of returns of serve.

VIRGINIE RAZZANO:...We have more or less the same game, the same style. We love that. It was not kicks and it was not like the Spaniards, you know. It was like kicking each other on the ring, you know. The one who physically can defend can be more aggressive. The one who's solid in terms of baseline style, and of course, it's about serving, about returning serves, as well. We've had all sorts of points, the drop balls, the returns of serves.

Q. Would you say that you help each other out?

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Well, you know, the atmosphere is good. Marion complimented me in the cloak rooms. It was from the bottom of her heart. I found it so cute from her, so nice. She said, You don't like Hantuchova at all, do you?

Hantuchova or another girl, no, I want to do my match. I want to do my job as usual. It's true. I was so happy to win, and that's the way it is.

She congratulated me. I said congratulations, as well, for what she did yesterday, even though it was against a French player. You know, we support each other, and, you know, tennis is not an easy sport compared with other sports. It's quite a difficult sport, and we've seen this at least for the women tournaments.

It's not always easy, not always pink. You have to look at the brightside of sides. If you get support from the other French girls, it's a good thing.

Q. (Off microphone.)

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Yes, she's really a good player on clay. She's Spanish. On clay, she was born on clay. But today, you know, it doesn't mean much. Anybody can beat anybody else, can win against anybody else.

But for women, tennis has changed so much. It's more and more complicated. We've seen this. If you look at Ivanovic, she's gone down in terms of her ranking, and at present, you know, she's no longer in the top10. Well, it will take time before she's back. It changes all the time, except for Safina. She's still No. 1, and that's been the case for a while now. Anybody can beat anybody else. That's for women.

Pic This: And By Rabbit I Mean Rochus.

Yucky day.  Wet and windy conditions for all.  Not that it really had any impact on play.  Overall, kind of a boring day on the courts.


Hold up.  He ain't done yet, folks.  Let's see if he can pull a rabbit out of his hat tomorrow.


Snot Rocket and furry friends scampered away with a win.  Thank God.  I was getting worried.


I am digging the yellow that Nike's rocking for the boys.  So fresh and so clean.


Fed is balletic, Rafa is powerful, but for my money, Nole has the best action shots in the biz.  And if I haven't said it yet, mucho kudos to Adidas on their choice of blue for the clay court season.  It looks fantastic against the red clay.


Oh, Gypsy.  I want so badly to hate you, especially when you bounce Dani "Just Give Her A Damn Chocolate Tart" Hantuchova. But then you smile that dorky but sweet smile and not even my hater heart can...well...hate.


I'm gonna go out on a limb and say those are some British fans. 

I don't know what gave it away...


Dear Cone.  Please win tomorrow.  I miss your "Sacrebleu!" game faces.


I could stare at those long gangly Elf arms all. day. long.


One word.  700,000 syllables. 

Comfortability.


I'm not sure beating Blah on clay is worth "shitting the pants" but ok.


Jo Belly!


Phillipe Chatrier is officially christened.

Bring on Round 2!

Confidences

Ugh, is this going to be this year's "karaoke"?  I guess it's a little better than the photo booth last year, but it's still not as good as Rafa bopping around to "La Bamba".  There's some interesting info, I guess (I didn't realize that Tomas and Lucie had been together six years already... aren't they like 14?) but so far The Cone's is definitely the best.

The Cone, child TV star. Who knew? 

Others:

Fernando Gonzalez 

Virginie Razzano

Tomas Berdych ("Where are we going?"  "It's up to you!"  Heh.)

Air Quotes: ZOMG.

Um...Jo wore a tie to his presser.  Over an Adidas shirt.  He is awesome.

Q. You put the tie on just for us?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: And for you and also for me. I'm happy I played my first match. This is my first victory here. I celebrate this victory like this.

Q. So the idea of the tie, where does it come from?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: In other sports when you come to a press conference, you have to respect, to comply with a dress code, so I thought that in tennis, too, we could show we have certain ethics. I believe it's important. We have beautiful tournaments, and we should show a bit of respect.

Q. Are you going to wear a tuxedo in the quarterfinal or in the final?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes, I wanted to come with a tuxedo in the beginning, but my equipment provider didn't really want to. Now I found a solution.

Q. Are you going to wear a butterfly tie?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: If I win, I'll wear whatever you want, but not a string.

Well shit, if you're not going to wear a g-string why the hell am I rooting for you?

Lose, Frenchie.  Lose.

RG: Wednesday OOP

Court Philippe Chatrier 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Andy Murray (GBR)[3] v. Potito Starace (ITA)

Not Before 12:00

2. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Alize Cornet (FRA)[21] v. Maret Ani (EST) (To Finish 6-4 4-4)

3. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd. 

Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) v. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)[8]

4. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Josselin Ouanna (FRA) v. Marat Safin (RUS)[20]

5. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Venus Williams (USA)[3] v. Lucie Safarova (CZE)

Court Suzanne Lenglen 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Dinara Safina (RUS)[1] v. Vitalia Diatchenko (RUS)

Not Before 12:00

2. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Fabrice Santoro (FRA) v. Christophe Rochus (BEL) (To Finish 6-3 6-1 3-6 5-3)

3. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd. 

Robert Kendrick (USA) v. Gilles Simon (FRA)[7]

4. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Nadia Petrova (RUS)[11] v. Maria Sharapova (RUS)

5. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Rafael Nadal (ESP)[1] v. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS)

Court 1 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Julie Coin (FRA) v. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)[27]

2. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Polona Hercog (SLO) v. Aravane Rezai (FRA)

3. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Radek Stepanek (CZE)[18] v. Mathieu Montcourt (FRA)

4. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)[10] v. Diego Junqueira (ARG)

Court 2 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[9] v. Kristina Barrois (GER)

2. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Philipp Petzschner (GER) v. Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[8]

3. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Nicolas Massu (CHI) v. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[17]

4. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Dusan Vemic (SRB) v. Michael Llodra (FRA)

Mischa Zverev (GER) Fabrice Santoro (FRA)

5. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) v. Serena Williams (USA)[5] (To Finish 6-1 3-6 4-3)

Lucie Hradecka (CZE) Venus Williams (USA)[5]

Court 3 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)[12] v. Rui Machado (POR)

2. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Dudi Sela (ISR) v. Marin Cilic (CRO)[13]

3. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Iveta Benesova (CZE)[32] v. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)

4. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[7] v. Emilie Loit (FRA)

Ai Sugiyama (JPN)[7] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)

Court 4 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Arantxa Rus (NED) v. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)

2. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Elena Vesnina (RUS) v. Agnes Szavay (HUN)[29]

3. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[8]

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[8]

4. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (FRA) v. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[12]

Alize Cornet (FRA) Elena Vesnina (RUS)[12]

Court 5 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Victor Hanescu (ROU)[30] v. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)

2. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) v. Olga Govortsova (BLR)

3. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Kinnie Laisne (FRA) v. Maret Ani (EST)

Stephanie Vongsouthi (FRA) Kaia Kanepi (EST)

4. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) v. Jill Craybas (USA)

Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) Carly Gullickson (USA)

Court 6 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) v. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)[28]

2. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)[20] v. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL)

3. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Gisela Dulko (ARG) v. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)

4. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Robin Soderling (SWE)[23] v. Denis Istomin (UZB)

Court 7 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Na Li (CHN)[25] v. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)

Not Before 12:00

2. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)[21] v. Arnaud Clement (FRA) (To Finish 3-6 6-3)

3. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd. 

Michelle Larcher De Brito (POR) v. Jie Zheng (CHN)[15]

4. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Nicolas Kiefer (GER) v. David Ferrer (ESP)[14]

5. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Andrey Golubev (KAZ) v. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)

Court 8 11:00

1. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Sophie Lefevre (FRA) v. Alona Bondarenko (UKR)

Aurelie Vedy (FRA) Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)

2. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Marc Lopez (ESP) v. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)

Tommy Robredo (ESP) Eduardo Schwank (ARG)

3. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Jan Hernych (CZE) v. Andreas Beck (GER)

Christophe Rochus (BEL) Jean-Claude Scherrer (SUI)

4. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Stephen Huss (AUS)[13] v. Jose Acasuso (ARG)

Ross Hutchins (GBR)[13] Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)

5. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

A. Medina Garrigues (ESP)[3] v. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)

Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP)[3] Virginie Razzano (FRA)

Court 9 11:00

1. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Julie Ditty (USA) v. Marta Domachowska (POL)

Maria-Emilia Salerni (ARG) Tamira Paszek (AUT)

2. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)[14] v. Ipek Senoglu (TUR)

Sania Mirza (IND)[14] Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)

3. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) v. Mariya Koryttseva (UKR)

Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ)

4. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Marcelo Melo (BRA)[10] v. Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)

Andre Sa (BRA)[10] Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)

Court 10 11:00

1. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Tathiana Garbin (ITA) v. Kveta Peschke (CZE)[2]

Roberta Vinci (ITA) Lisa Raymond (USA)[2]

2. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Cara Black (ZIM)[1] v. Melinda Czink (HUN)

Liezel Huber (USA)[1] Natalie Grandin (RSA)

3. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) v. Frantisek Cermak (CZE)[12]

Juan Monaco (ARG) Michal Mertinak (SVK)[12]

4. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)[6] v. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)[6] Francesca Schiavone (ITA)

5. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Jelena Dokic (AUS) v. Petra Cetkovska (CZE)

Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)

Court 11 11:00

1. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Ekaterina Dzehalevich (BLR) v. Eva Hrdinova (CZE)

Andreja Klepac (SLO) Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)

2. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Julian Knowle (AUT) v. Oscar Hernandez (ESP)

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) Albert Montanes (ESP)

3. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Liga Dekmeijere (LAT) v. Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)[9]

Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) Shuai Peng (CHN)[9]

4. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Rajeev Ram (USA) v. Andrei Pavel (ROU)

Bobby Reynolds (USA) Horia Tecau (ROU)

5. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

David Martin (USA) v. Travis Parrott (USA)[15]

Sam Querrey (USA) Filip Polasek (SVK)[15]

Court 14 11:00

1. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)[6] v. Sebastian Prieto (ARG)

Marcin Matkowski (POL)[6] Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG)

2. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Vera Dushevina (RUS) v. Nathalie Dechy (FRA)[15]

Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) Mara Santangelo (ITA)[15]

3. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Rohan Bopanna (IND) v. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)

Jonathan Erlich (ISR) Sergio Roitman (ARG)

4. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) v. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)

Aravane Rezai (FRA) Urszula Radwanska (POL)

5. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Max Mirnyi (BLR)[7] v. Wesley Moodie (RSA)

Andy Ram (ISR)[7] Dick Norman (BEL)

Court 16 11:00

1. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Mathilde Johansson (FRA) v. Violette Huck (FRA)

Pauline Parmentier (FRA) Laura Thorpe (FRA)

2. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Jeremy Chardy (FRA) v. Bruno Soares (BRA)[5]

Marc Gicquel (FRA) Kevin Ullyett (ZIM)[5]

3. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[4]

Selima Sfar (TUN) Rennae Stubbs (AUS)[4]

4. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

James Cerretani (USA) v. Nicolas Almagro (ESP)

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) Ivan Navarro (ESP)

5. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Christopher Kas (GER) v. Martin Damm (CZE)[16]

Rogier Wassen (NED) Robert Lindstedt (SWE)[16]

Court 17 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[31] v. Ernests Gulbis (LAT)

2. Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.

Lucie Hradecka (CZE) v. Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)[22]

3. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Julien Benneteau (FRA) v. Jerome Haehnel (FRA)

Nicolas Mahut (FRA) Florent Serra (FRA)

4. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Arnaud Clement (FRA) v. Pablo Cuevas (URU)[8]

Nicolas Devilder (FRA) Luis Horna (PER)[8]

5. Men's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)[3] v. Sebastien De Chaunac (FRA)

Leander Paes (IND)[3] Benoit Paire (FRA)

Why DVRs Were Invented

So I can go back and enjoy things like this, see?

Looks like it's time for these two to settle down with a steaming plate of Rice-a-Roni and a copy of Breaking Back. As a fellow ESPN commentator said to PMac, "It's a good thing this isn't Davis Cup, right?" Both defeated at the hands of Argentinians, the Sockless Wonder went out in 4 sets to Maximo Gonzalez, who is at least ranked in the top 100. But Blah... Blah went out in straights to a qualifier (God bless Leonardo Mayer)! Who was playing his second major, ever! So, uh, good work there, Blah. Since I possess an almost complete inability to watch American players on American TV (so sycophantic!) I didn't see much of either match, but I saw more of Blah's and he was his usual Blah self-- waddling around the court, looking petulant, pouting to himself about when he could finally get back on a hard court and play some real tennis... As soon as possible, looks like. 

The upsides (well, the upsides besides two of my least favourite people in tennis losing on the same day): 

• Two fewer Americans to show, so now when there are actual interesting matches going on, ESPN will be less tempted to kick me to some outside court where some jackass is looking completely uninterested in what's going on around him. Although, they'll probably just show me more Williams sisters matches. Okay, so maybe never mind on that one. 
• No more ridiculous posturing about Blah's chances at RG, due to his "great clay season" coming in. Zilch. His chances are nonexistent, y'all. 
• Drastically increases Sammy Q's chances of making the Davis Cup team for Croatia! (Hey, at least he lost to Ernie.) 

One last note...

Pretty sure that only works for Safins, Mardy. Nice try though.

Air Quotes: Rafa Needs a Woobie. Volunteers?

"Being home alone at night makes me a bit nervous. If I’m at home alone I have to sleep on the sofa—I can’t face going to bed. I’m there with the TV on and all the lights on. I’m not very brave about anything in life… In tennis, yes. In everything else, not very."

-- Rafa, on his vulnerabilities

(Via Tennis Served Fresh)

She *Does* Have A Word Of The Day Calendar

Woman!  Close your legs!

1-1

That's Serena's new record against Klara Zakopalova for the '09 clay court season.  So... there's that.  I can't really say anything about anyone's level of play since I didn't watch very much of it, but I can say that Serena's knee wrap looked oddly high tech.  Although I could be making that up in my head.

I don't think she's even wearing jewelry from her own line. What kind of marketing strategy is that, Serena?  

There were other matches this morning, of course, mostly wrapped around a two hour rain delay...

Jelena's new not-entirely-horrible, but not-entirely-awesome Anta dress made its debut today. That's also a pretty good summary of how she played against Petra Cetkovska-- it's kind of like her game is currently on a factory reset: the big problem is gone, but none of the old programming has been reinstalled yet. Competent, and certainly enough to get her through the first two or three rounds, but not entirely solid yet. Meanwhile, look who's wearing pink!

Man. If, in some alternate universe, it ended up being a Dinara/Sveta final, Sveta would immediately have the upper hand because Dinara would be so. Jealous. Sveta played a really solid match against Claire Feuerstein, a French journeywoman who turned out to be much better than anyone thought she'd be-- possibly including Feuerstein herself.

'Round the ATP side, Nicolas Lapentti did his part to get Philippe Chartrier back on schedule by retiring down 4-6, 1-3 to Nole.  

  

Lapentti rolled his ankle-- which was already heavily taped-- towards the end of the first set, and obviously never got comfortable again. Nole looked calm and collected, had some silly misses, but mostly looked in perfectly good shape for the beginning of the tournament. 

Other results thus far: Monfils, Kohlscreiber, JMDP, Gicquel, Seppi and Disco Tommy all through easily in straight sets. Juan Monaco just knocked out Marcos-- Marcos, we hardly knew ye.  Caro, unsurprisingly, took the third set against Vera D fairly easily (6-1). The Gypsy prolonged Dani's misery by beating her in straight sets, Ruano Pascal did the same to Nikki V. Aleks Wozniak went through in 3, U-Rad went out in 3. Lena D through in straights, but went down a couple of breaks in the first. Sania's out and Dokic is through (only her second win since the AO?!). Quality guy Ivan Ljubicic is in a deciding set with Ferrero and Jo Willy and Apricot Bars are locked down in battle on Chartrier, but ESPN2 has decided I'd rather watch Blah. They are incorrect. Thank god for livestreaming. One note: conditions today have been terrible-- hours of rain delays this morning, terrible wind ever since. It looks like hell out there.

Pic This: "Marlon Brando, Jimmy Dean, On The Cover Of a Magazine"

Thanks to Holly for sending along these every so tasty pics of Rafa pulling a Pink Steel for Vogue.


Hummina Hummina.

Pic This: Dina's Deli Is Full Service

Day 2 and come and gone.  But it left us with some great Kodak memories.


Shirtless Kolya!

or...

Shirtless Kolya?


Augh.  I've totally been there, Igor.  You should probably switch to Dailies.


"Do you want them toasted with schmear?"



I don't know what was going on in Tammy's match vs. Camille, but it seemed like a dance party.


Seriously, Andy.  One size.  That's all I ask. 


Jeremy, you're borderline offensive, too.  I'm sure there's a way to wear Lacoste so that it fits.


Mmmm.  Pretty.

I See Your Swimming Pool And I Raise You A Wall.

TTC's profile on Boots. Much props to TTC for doing these profiles on "lower profile" players (read: Not the Williamses or Masha).

But man, *those* are some braces.

Radness.

TTC's profile on the Sisters Radwanska (that's "Radwineska" in case you're wondering). Best part? Agi taking a chomping bite out of that pizza.

Fed Gets Blushy

Try and ignore the megadouchiness on the left side of the screen. Fed's embarrassment over the Mirka questions is adorkable.

"I'm Losing My Edge. The Kids Are Coming Up From Behind."

Maria gave a pretty interesting presser today after win.  Looks like Zen Maria is here to stay.  Kinda.

As Sharapova said, this is a second career for her, one in which she must reestablish herself and learn to put losses (as well as victories) in a different light.

"It's the first time in my life where I couldn't practice for such a long period of time," she said. "Everything about it was just bizarre. It was some things were just taken away from your life. In a strange way, it's a little calming. Even though it's obviously stressful, because you don't know if you're ever going to get the chance to be out here again and you always have to be positive. Don't get me wrong, there are many days where I was really hesitant, and you try to do the best things, but there are so many different paths, voices and so many opinions, and at the end of the day, you have to try and choose the right one."

Sharapova chose to listen to herself, as well as to her parents, coach, doctor and a couple of close friends. The advice she received was to stay patient and not rush herself back. They told her that she'd eventually heal and be able to do what she loved the most — although some of her critics would contend her real loves are fashion shoots and commercials. In many ways, Sharpova's still the little kid who worked her way out of Siberia, spending thousands of hours honing her skills on back courts in Florida in the blazing sun.

Although she's the world's richest female athlete, she's not going to go the way of Anna Kournikova: quitting the game rather than holding up to the heat of competition.

"Tennis drives everything — drives myself, drives my business, drives everything that I do," Sharapova said. "You miss it. You want to be out there. It's from the hour you're in the locker room and putting your dress on to the 15 minutes before your match, where you're warming up and you're pumping yourself up and going to get out there in front of 20,000 people. I certainly missed it."

And this from her presser:

Q. If this is act 2 of your career, given that you've had a lot of time to think about things, is there anything you feel like you'll approach differently?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think my losses, you know, because I was ‑‑ I am still and I was a big competitor. The losses are very tough to take and no matter what brave face you put on, it's always difficult, especially the next day or so, but I think after going through this long process with the shoulder,you know, stuff, I think ‑‑ I don't think I'll treat those losses that emotionally bad.

Q. You're known as a fighter. It's practically attached to your name. How difficult was it to encounter a situation where really fighting did not help?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: To be honest, it really did. I think if I was ‑‑ if I was a mentallyweak person or individual, I think I wouldn't be here today. I'd be on some island. I mean, sounds good to me, probably sounds good to everyone in this room. You know,with a nice cold Pina Colada and a nice cold towel they hand around at the pools.

But I love being here,and there's no better feeling than waving to the crowd after you've won. There's no better feeling than going on courtwhen they call your name, and, you know, there's a job in front of you and, youknow, especially in these days, to know that you have an opportunity to go outand play and have a job.

I'm interested in seeing how this new "perspective" affects her.  Is she going to lose her edge?  I mean, she'll still be a tremendous competitor.  That's just how she's hardwired.  But something tells me we're not going to get this anymore:

Here's hoping the edge is still there.  How many matches have we seen her win simply because she wanted it more?

Forgotten Falcon

ESPN gives some ink to the forgotten one, who many tap as the one with the best chance to take down The Pink Bull:

"I would put him as the second favorite right now," ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe said. "He's a little more solid on clay than Roger is, technically. He doesn't have Roger's shot-making ability, but his high backhand is a good shot, and that's obviously Rafa's go-to play against Roger.

"His game matches up better [with Nadal's] than Roger's does on clay. He's more solid off both wings. He's a little bit better defender. He's got that penetrating two-handed backhand, he can just rip it crosscourt and maybe you get Rafa stretched out wide on the forehand. Then you attack his backhand. It's hard to believe he's going to beat Rafa on clay in a best-of-five, but then again, it's hard to believe anyone's going to beat him."

Djokovic wisely has refrained from making any bold proclamations about being the world's second-best clay-court player, but before the tournament started, he did admit that Madrid "gave me even more self belief that … in our next encounter I might win against him." "If you talk about my matches on this clay-court season against Rafa, you know, basically looking at each match getting closer and closer," Djokovic said. "So there's only one more point to go. But it's not that easy. Again, I'm saying I played probably one of the best matches in my life against him on the clay court, even though I lost it.

"I must be proud of myself with the way I performed. And as I was saying to my coach after the match, you know, if I didn't go for the shots, if I wasn't aggressive enough when I needed to be on the match points, I would be angry with myself. But it was the opposite way. You know, he had to make some unbelievable shots to win those points, which he did, again."

The quality of the match was so high that Nadal's mentor, Carlos Moya, felt compelled to tell Djokovic it was the best three-set match he'd ever seen played on clay. ESPN analyst Mary Carillo agreed.

"Honestly, there was nothing between them," Carillo said of Djokovic and Nadal. "He went after Nadal, he was aggressive when he needed to be, he was very smart. And it took everything Nadal had to turn him back. I have not seen Roger do that to him. "

He'll have to get past Fed first.  But it's nice to see Nole getting the respect that he deserves.

Blink And You'll Miss Them

They came, they saw, they said "Nah...I'm over this."

Too bad.  Makiri's white and purple Stella number looks, as always, rad.  And what's up with Chakky's overheatedness?  Did the pink skirt bring out the color in her face?

Love ya, Bethanie.  But is that skirt made of basketball short material?  Just checking.

Oh, Flavs.  Sadness.  More sad?  The fact that Sergio Tachnini NEVER gives you anything fun or cool to wear.  Would it kill them to migrate away from the navy blue pallette?

Just Did It.

 
I'm digging both NIke kits.  Rafa's is subversive in its own way and Fed in light blue with the orange trim actually makes him look fresh and not like the old fogey that he is. 

See?  I can be complimentary.

Stan survived a 5 setter over Devilder.  Nice job, Stanley.

3.5 Americans won on clay!

Masha came back from a set down to eventually win fairly easily.  Serve and dress notwithstanding she was looking really good off both sides. Lateral movement looked good and she's still able to whack the ball into the corners and find some angles.  But she's faced with the same questions Ana is: Can she hold serve against the bigger hitters?

And Venus "gave away" the second set to Bethanie before pulling out the three set win.  Tough luck for Bethanie, who looked like she was struggling with a right wrist problem during the match.


And is Alexa Glatch the real deal?  Again, it's not that she's beating top 30 players, she's demolishing them.  Benesova, Kvitova, and now Flavia, 1 and 1.  Where'd this kid come from?


Jay Z won and K-Bond is the only Bond left in the draw as she took out Peppermint Patty.


One match didn't finish.  Vera D and Caro are locked at a set a piece before the match was suspended for darkness.  Come on, Caro.

RG: Tuesday OOP

UPDATE: Boots and Vera D to finish second on Court 2

CHATRIER 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[5] v. Petra Cetkovska (CZE)

2. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[4]

3. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Julien Benneteau (FRA) v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[9]

4. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Alize Cornet (FRA)[21] v. Maret Ani (EST)

LENGLEN 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[7] v. Claire Feuerstein (FRA)

2. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Bobby Reynolds (USA) v. Gael Monfils (FRA)[11]

3. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Klara Zakopalova (CZE) v. Serena Williams (USA)[2]

4. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Fabrice Santoro (FRA) v. Christophe Rochus (BEL)

Court 1 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)[5] v. Michael Llodra (FRA)

2. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Virginie Razzano (FRA) v. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)

3. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) v. Elena Dementieva (RUS)[4]

4. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

James Blake (USA)[15] v. Leonardo Mayer (ARG)

Court 2 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Nathalie Dechy (FRA) v. Sybille Bammer (AUT)[28]

Not Before 12:00

2. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Vera Dushevina (RUS) v. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[10] To Finish 6-4 5-7

3. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd. 

Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) v. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)

4. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)[21] v. Arnaud Clement (FRA)

5. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Samantha Stosur (AUS)[30] v. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)

Court 3 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Marc Gicquel (FRA) v. Rainer Schuettler (GER)[27]

2. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) v. Mardy Fish (USA)[22]

3. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) v. A. Medina Garrigues (ESP)[18]

4. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) v. Serena Williams (USA)[5]

Lucie Hradecka (CZE) Venus Williams (USA)[5]

Court 4 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) v. Melinda Czink (HUN)

2. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Brian Dabul (ARG) v. Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)

3. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) v. Zuzana Ondraskova (CZE)

Court 5 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Mara Santangelo (ITA) v. Petra Martic (CRO)

2. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Evgeny Korolev (RUS) v. Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)

3. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) v. Urszula Radwanska (POL)

4. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Carly Gullickson (USA) v. Sorana Cirstea (ROU)

Court 6 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) v. Sania Mirza (IND)

2. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Tommy Robredo (ESP)[16] v. Adrian Mannarino (FRA)

3. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Jelena Dokic (AUS) v. Karolina Sprem (CRO)

4. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Andrei Pavel (ROU) v. Tommy Haas (GER)

Court 7 11:00

1. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) v. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)

2. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[29] v. Bernard Tomic (AUS)

3. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) v. Juan Monaco (ARG)

4. Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Shuai Peng (CHN)[31] v. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)

Court 8 11:00

1. Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.

Ivan Navarro (ESP) v. Andreas Beck (GER)

2. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Patricia Mayr (AUT) v. Severine Bremond Beltrame (FRA)

Anastasiya Yakimova (BLR) Julie Coin (FRA)

3. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Iveta Benesova (CZE) v. Sybille Bammer (AUT)

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) Janette Husarova (SVK)

4. Women's Doubles - 1st Rnd.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)[10] v. Ayumi Morita (JPN)

Nadia Petrova (RUS)[10] Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)

Fashion Faux Pas

Look, ladies.  I know Paris is all about being all á la mode and shit, and that can be a lot of pressure, and it might push you to try things that you wouldn't otherwise do.  I get it.  But you're both seasoned competitors, experienced clotheshorses, built like a designer's dream... so there's no excuse for what I had to look at today.

First up, Miss Venus Williams:

This picture actually makes this dress look about as good as possible.  I looked all over, but the others must have been so bad no one could justify posting them.  I never think Venus's dresses fit her, and this is no exception. It's exactly the same design as her other one, and I'll skip right over the fit problems (skirt fixed too high, straps too loose, etc. ad nauseum) and go right to the colour scheme. Is tie dye supposed to be back? I think Venus is trying to convince me, but she's failing. Colour block tie dye, even if well-executed, is never advisable. And this is not well-executed. It looks like the light reflection in an oil slick. About the best thing I have to say about this is that at least she finally figured out that she needs to be wearing a bra.

Next, Miss Sharapova:

Yeah, that's how your dress made me feel, too. The cut reminds me of JJ's Anta Maternity line (circa AO), and the way it billows out in action reminds me of when I was 10 and was obsessed with drawing ball gowns with bustles on them. The overall effect is just kind of bizarre, like a 10th grade Home Ec sundress gone terribly wrong. It's not terrible standing still, but in action it's a nightmare, and the action is the point, n'est-ce pas? 

Oh well. At least you both won your matches. Maybe one of you can borrow Flava Flav's très chic and flattering Sergio Tacchini dress, now that she won't be using it anymore. Bonne chance.

(A)KO

Poor Anne.

She really didn't play badly, certainly nowhere near the level where you'd expect someone to get double bagelled. An awful lot of those games went to 30-30 or deuce, sometimes multiple deuces. She had a great clay season coming into Roland Garros and even with an unlucky draw, deserved better than that. After all, Dina's had problems with players a lot worse than AKO.

But Dinara was just on a mission today. It wasn't her best performance by any means, but she did the most important thing-- she played the big points big. In the middle of the second set, AKO was up 40-0 on her own serve and the crowd went wild-- but a few minutes later, Dinara had heartlessly broken her once again. Sad for Anne, who really played well enough to win a few games, but an important start for Dinara, proving to herself that she can hold it together and decimate an in-form player.

In other news, Kleybs is out; Aravane's in; Kolya's through; Rafa is serving for the second set in a surprisingly close match (!!!) with a guy Justin Gimelstob assures us has "played a lot of Challengers"; The Burrito got bagelled in the first set by Melanie South; Stan's just into a 5th set against Devilder, and Venus is at a set all (!!!) with Bethanie Mattek, but up a break in the 3rd. The most stunning news from that match, of course, is that Bethanie is not the worst dressed player on the court.

"He was always positive." Really?

TTC's profile piece on Dina. Good stuff, though her weird blank stare into the camera makes me giggle.

Pic This: RG Day 1

The RG Sunday start.  Nothing quite like it.


Not a great day for French ladies.  Mathilde blew 8 match points, all on her serve, double faulting on half them. 

Yeah, a bit nervy these French, no?


Uh uh.  No one gets into Allison "Mom Jeans" Lang's face.  No one.


Fired up Gilly is the hottest Gilly of all.


Quietly confident Muzz is most def the hottest Muzz of all.


Fed must have gotten a haircut.  Cuz I think he's cute again.

As for Pico...yeah....


 Yin and Yang. 

I just love Daveed's totally zen "Come to Jesus" look.  HOT.

 
Nice little keg you got going there, Lleyton.


Baby E's pigeontoedness can't be helping.  Still...I want her tan.


That is some impressive sweating, Ernie.  Well done.


ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?!?

Glam Slam No More?

I know, I know.  Lots of people hate Ana and Masha.  The ajdes, the fist pumping, the shrieking, I get it.  I can see how they grate . But I heart them both and I do worry that we're never going to see another high profile match between these two. 

Which leads me to Bonnie Ford's recent article on the Glam rivalry that may never be:

When Sharapova and Ivanovic dueled for the 2008 Australian Open title, the matchup was hailed as a burgeoning rivalry with literal and figurative legs, glamour versus glamour, a marketer's dream. Cast both women in a James Bond movie, and 007 would become an afterthought in a hurry. They're fascinating hybrids: Sharapova's steel can sometimes mask a warm personality, while Ivanovic's bubbly enthusiasm can obscure her fierce competitive drive. Both have childhood backstories of successful seekers in promised lands, Sharapova from Siberia via Florida, and Ivanovic from Serbia via Switzerland.

Although Sharapova won convincingly in Melbourne, there was reason to hope for many more reprises between these two players, who were born just seven months apart. But they haven't played since. Given their current form, the odds of a potential rendezvous in the semifinals here seem slim. (They met in that round here in 2007 in a match Ivanovic won handily.)

On some sick and perverse level I was actually hoping that Ana did draw Masha in her 1/8 of the draw.  Just to see them take the court together.  Alas.  Though, I guess it could still happen at Wimbly.

Rafa Hates NCLB

One of my favourite things about Grand Slams-- besides the tennis and never sleeping and ridiculous commentary/fluff pieces-- is Rafa blogging.  Always genuine, never cookie-cutter, generally entertaining.  Today was the first installment of his Q&A with fans for RG and he weighed in on many important issues, including 5th set tiebreaks at Slams, whether or not Roger has a chance to win RG this year, and the slimming qualities of his new Nike kits.  But here was my favourite part:

What sort of things in life make you lose your temper?  
Elizabeth, London
RN: Bad education of people. Not sure I get to lose my temper but close.

He must have watched the ATP Favourite Books video and been completely appalled that many of his colleagues either don't read or think that Angels & Demons is historically accurate.  It made me mad too, Rafa.

(Okay, I know he means ill-mannered.  But the other way is more fun.)

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Hmmm, what was that I'd said about not being all Dina, all the time? Oh well, promises are just air, people. Here's an interview with Marat and Dinara (see-- Safin Sibling Double Time, you don't want to miss that, do you?) done at what looks to be the Adidas party at RG. Conducted by none other than the extremely MIA Tatiana Golovin! (A little sumpin' for everyone. Or, at least a little sumpin' for Tati fans.) Actually, C Note dug this one up, but as Forty Deuce's resident DinaKAD + Francophone (skill set of the stars), I got to do the translation (after the cut).

RG: Monday OOP

CHATRIER 11:00
1. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Dinara Safina (RUS)[1] v. Anne Keothavong (GBR)
2. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Rafael Nadal (ESP)[1] v. Marcos Daniel (BRA)
3. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Alberto Martin (ESP) v. Roger Federer (SUI)[2]
4. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Marion Bartoli (FRA)[13] v. Pauline Parmentier (FRA)

LENGLEN 11:00
1. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Ai Sugiyama (JPN) v. Aravane Rezai (FRA)
2. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Venus Williams (USA)[3] v. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)
3. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)[32] v. Laurent Recouderc (FRA)
4. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Andy Roddick (USA)[6] v. Romain Jouan (FRA)

Court 1 11:00
1. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Nicolas Devilder (FRA) v. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[17]
2. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Anastasiya Yakimova (BLR) v. Maria Sharapova (RUS)
3. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Bjorn Phau (GER) v. Jeremy Chardy (FRA)
4. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Vera Dushevina (RUS) v. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[10]

Court 2 11:00
1. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)[10] v. Stefan Koubek (AUT)
2. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (FRA) v. Jie Zheng (CHN)[15]
3. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Guillaume Rufin (FRA) v. Eduardo Schwank (ARG)
4. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[14] v. Alexa Glatch (USA)

Court 3 11:00
1. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) v. Camille Pin (FRA)
2. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Franco Ferreiro (BRA) v. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)[28]
3. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Rossana De Los Rios (PAR) v. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[12]
4. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Fabio Fognini (ITA) v. Igor Andreev (RUS)[25]

Court 4 11:00
1. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Mischa Zverev (GER) v. Potito Starace (ITA)
2. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) v. Albert Montanes (ESP)
3. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) v. Jill Craybas (USA)

Court 5 11:00
1. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)[23] v. Polona Hercog (SLO)
2. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Rui Machado (POR) v. Kristof Vliegen (BEL)
3. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Patricia Mayr (AUT) v. Mariya Koryttseva (UKR)

Court 6 11:00
1. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Robin Soderling (SWE)[23] v. Kevin Kim (USA)
2. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Lucie Safarova (CZE) v. Sabine Lisicki (GER)
3. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Robby Ginepri (USA) v. Pablo Andujar (ESP)
4. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Jarmila Groth (AUS) v. Kinnie Laisne (FRA)

Court 7 11:00
1. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Stephanie Foretz (FRA) v. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL)
2. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)[12] v. Jiri Vanek (CZE)
3. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Simone Bolelli (ITA) v. Tomas Berdych (CZE)[19]
4. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Tathiana Garbin (ITA) v. Ayumi Morita (JPN)

Court 8 11:00
1. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Nicolas Massu (CHI) v. Daniel Koellerer (AUT)
2. Men’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Diego Junqueira (ARG) v. Paul Capdeville (CHI)
3. Women’s Singles - 1st Rnd.
Irena Pavlovic (FRA) v. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)

A Post That Gives Me No Joy.

There is no joy in Mudville.  Our vaunted Momo has fallen to ALG in straights, 64 63. 

And so the Paris curse continues.

Viko won easily, beating Vinci 4 and 2.  And she's rocking the 80s headband too.  I'm too sad to make fun of her. 

But if I wasn't, I would. 

Back In Black

So far so good on the men's side on Sunday, which saw all the seeds through though not without a battle of two.  Muzz didn't need much time at all in his opening match against Chela.  He took care of the Argentine, 2 2 and 1, in an hour and a half.  Not sure how I feel about the all black Fred Perry kit, but if it produces these kinds of results, I suppose I'll deal.

Both of these guys are hot.  Both of them are smurfing the Adidas blue.  And both are prone to fits and starts.  One had an easy three set win and the other had to gut out a 5 setter. 

But I guess I just gave it away seeing as how if Marat were the one in the 5 setter we all know he would have lost.  Nice showing by the Captain who was businesslike in his 4 4 and 4 win over a French qualifier.  Gilles on the other hand needed 5 sets to outlast the America Rafa.  Nice win for Gilly and happy to see him feed off the home energy (as opposed to pulling a Momo and buckling under the pressure).

Not even a confuzzlingly large ice towel could cool down Sex on Fire.  He beat another Frenchman, Serra, 2 1 and 4.  And fellow Spaniards Daveed and Nico also made it through in straight sets.

Nice comeback win from Lleyton, who took advantage of a physically fading Ivo (who served a record breaking 55 aces in the match) to come back from two sets down.  I'm not sure I'll ever really understand Ivo's fitness issues.  I know he's a big guy and everything, BUT ALL YOU DO IS SERVE.  Like, his service games are so economical that I'm blown away he can get all that tired.  And it's not like he engages in ridiculously long rallies during his opponent's service games, either.  Go run some hills, Ivo.

Survival Is The Name Of The Game

Was it pretty?  No.  Does any Ana fan really care?  Nope.

A win's a win these days and though Errani had her chances, in the end Ana's bigger weapons (namely her forehand) brought her through.  Iffy serving, a nervy backhand that fell short, and some poor decision making on key points made the match closer than it should have been.  But all credit to Errani.  She played well.

My take?  Her forehand's in good shape and with that weapon alone she should be able to get to the fourth round.  I really expected her to spray that thing all over the place but she's got a good measure of it.

In non-elephant related news, Bad Ass Nails was the first woman into the second round with a 4 and 2 win over Marta Domachowska. 

And Pavs wiped the floor with Olaru, 3 and 2, and TImmy gutted out a three setter to beat Loit, 64 46 61.

As for the men, nothing too notable quite yet, though Rendy Lu retired in the first set of his match.  Maratski and Marin seem on their way, Lleyton is coming back against a tired Dr. Ivo, and Fer just took the court against Serra.

More Top Notch Reporting

From CNN:

Pic This: I Would Expect Nothing Less

A-Blond didn't win today.  She wasn't happy about it.

She lost to Romanian qualifier who will surely party like nobody tonight. 

Tennis Racquet. Violin. Same Diff.

If you haven't seen the not-so-fab pics of Gilly and Jo in French Men's Fitness, check out G's write up.

But doesn't that pic remind you of something? 

Something fabulous? 

Something so amazing? 

So moving?

So life-changing?

So...Norwegian:

The Buzz Around The Grounds

"Yeah. I definitely think Nadal is probably a big-time favorite."

-- Serena, in response to who the favorite is.

"And it's always a pleasure playing at Roland Garros - coming back here gives me a special sensation."

-- Rafa, on the chills that multiply when he comes back to RG.

“I was at the draw, so it would be hard to miss it.”

-- Baby E, in response to a reporter's question on whether she knew who her first round opponent was.  Unfortunately I'm positive this wasn't as snarky as it reads.

“I’m taking it a match at a time. I’m not putting any pressure on myself. I don’t have anything to lose this year. I’m more confident than I was a couple of weeks ago. I think that’s a step in the right direction.”

-- Serena, on her outlook going into RG. Tom Tebbutt reports that she was curt and vague and he thinks that there's some concern in the Serena camp.

“We’re a bit different persons, me and him. He can maybe practice one and a half hours a day and it’s enough for him. I’m a little more stubborn. I need to have like four hours on the court. He was like (telling me) ‘no, just practice half an hour and it’s fine for you.'  But now he doesn’t go into the tennis (with me). I think he respects me more now.”

-- Dina, on the worst tennis-related advice Marat ever gave her.

“The one thing I’ve done better this year is not to treat it as a completely different surface. And that’s totally changed my game-style. I still play the same way as I do on hard courts but I just need to move better, and I have done.”

-- Muzz, on *not* changing his tactics after Key Biscayne

"As world No 1 she's backed it up by winning the last two tournaments, in Rome and Madrid.  She's yet to win a Grand Slam, but she has proved she's the most consistent player out there. She puts herself on the line and you can't really argue with that. If someone competes well at the big tournaments week in and week out then they deserve to be where they are."

-- AKO, on whether her first round opponent deserves the #1 ranking. Pfft.  What does she know?

“I literally just walked out there 10 seconds before I got asked, ‘what do you think of the roof?’ I was like ‘I don’t know.'"

-- Muzz, trying to explain his awesome"it's a nice roof, compared to other roofs" quote.

“Carlos Moya, we all know he was a former No. 1 and winner of his Grand Slam here, he came up to me and said it was the best three-set match that he ever watched on this surface. Of course, all the people that have watched the match and have the opportunity to tell me something, they’ve all been saying positive things and comments regarding that match. So, I must be very proud.”

-- Nole, on the greatest compliment he's received since his 3 set heartbreaker to Rafa in Madrid.

“I feel good, a lot of control, much more control than Madrid. The feeling in Madrid was [that] the ball wasn’t inside the racquet, no? You touch the ball with the racquet and the ball go out of the racquet very fast and very early, no? Here the feeling is the ball stays here [again indicating inside the hitting area of the frame]. You can feel more the ball. But, yeah [the conditions] is heavier, and the ball too. My feeling is easier [for me] to play.”

-- Rafa, on home sweet Paris home.

"I'm not even listening to what people are saying. I'm just focusing on myself, just taking one day at a time. I don't think about what I want to happen in 14, 15 or 16 days' time. I live for today. Today I had a practice. That's all. Tomorrow is another day."

-- Dina, doing her best Scarlett O' Hara impression.

“I still believed in myself. I always worked hard and knew I was on the right path. But having to repeat yourself and explain yourself, wasn’t really fun. Sometimes you almost start to think about it being better not to play a tournament. You just want to train and do things without always being watched.”

-- Fed, doing his best Mr. Cellophane interpretation.

"I prefer shouting"

-- Muzz, on racquet thowing.  Thanks, Captain Obvs.

Premature Much?

Bonnie Ford and Greg Garber debate whether Rafa can win the single season Slam and both conclude no.

Alrighty then.  Why is this debate happening between the first and second Slam of the season? 

Serbian Bromance 92%

Congrats to Team Serbia, who beat the home team, Germany, to win the World Team Championship.  What's the WTC you ask and why are you just hearing about it now?  It was a team based competition that took place in Dusseldorf this week that I didn't bother covering until now.  So there.

Much love for the adorably hot boys of awesome hair and perfect skin.  Must be something in the water.


Ah.  Guy love.  Always win.  Have we ever seen Janko so happy?

LOL @ "Hoot"

In a somewhat surprising move, Baby E opens up a bit on her Fer Fling:

Generally, she does not complain about the media attention, but was shocked by the intensity of it when she started dating Spanish player Fernando Verdasco towards the end of last year, a relationship that lasted only a few months.

"It was something new for me," Ivanovic said. "I hadn't realised that people would be so interested in my private life, but all of a sudden that changed. People followed us around and took photographs. To be honest, it took a lot of energy out of me.

"All of a sudden I was facing these questions and everyone was approaching me about it. Whenever I went out people were looking at me. I was always in the spotlight. I just felt: 'I can't even have an evening to myself, an evening in private'.

"I have learnt from this experience. Next time I would handle things differently and talk less about it. I just think it's important to live your life. Obviously, being in the public eye you have less privacy, but it's important to keep a bit of your life private."

And she talked up living in Basel and trying to stay under the radar in Belgrade:

"Not as much. And even if people do recognise you I think they're more used to seeing famous people. There are quite a lot of famous people who live in Basle, like Michael Schumacher, so they keep their distance and give you privacy.

"That's something that I like. They also have a different mentality. They're much more laid-back and reserved than Serbians, who can be very emotional and have short fuses."

The success of Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Novak Djokovic has transformed the Serbian sporting landscape.

"Tennis is now one of the major sports and everyone knows about us," Ivanovic said. "Even if I'm just sitting in a car people hoot their horns and stop. I'm recognised everywhere. It's impossible to go for a walk in the city by myself or with a friend. In fact, I rarely go out of the house. I just stay with my family or go to the houses of relatives and friends.

"There is one restaurant near the river that I like to go to occasionally with my parents, but people still come up and ask for photographs. Some even come over to offer me advice on my game."

The kid is shy, y'all.  In case you didn't know.

Air Quotes: She's A Charmer.

"If I only knew."

-- Momo, in response to a question on what the key is for her to win RG.

Is *Now* A Good Time To Stop Being Catty?

Times Online profile of Viko and Caro.  Apparently the kids want to put an end to the cattiness on the WTA tour:

If the pair possess potential in abundance, they also share a refreshing attitude. Though both are committed to their tennis, they want to enjoy other things in life and certainly don’t subscribe to the cat-fighting that seems so prevalent at the top of the game, such as Serena Williams’ recent attack on Safina’s climb to the summit.

Both have witnessed the hostility of those above them and don’t like it. “I am a very open person, I like to keep in touch with a lot of people and a lot of them are my fellow tennis players,” said Wozniacki. “Vika is one of my really good friends and I don’t see that as a problem. If we play each other we are determined to win but when we leave the court things get back to normal. Isn’t that the way it should be?”

Azarenka agrees. “The guys in the top 10 seem to respect each other and get on well,” she said. “Look at Nadal and Federer, they have such a healthy relationship based on mutual respect. The players at the top of the women’s game should be a little more like them.”

Pardon me while I try to stop laughing.  Oh, Viko.  You're such a comedian.

Pic This: Pink. The Color of Love.

More pics from the draw ceremony.


It's fun to see these two get on so well. 



It *just* occurred to me.  They're matching.


Looking!  LOOKING!!!


Touching!  TOUCHING!!!

And damn those two are tan.
 

I Want That Sweatshirt

The Muzz's site is great.  So many fun behind the scenes tidbits. 
The most recent post has pics from his pre-Paris training in London.

But the main reason to follow it is the neverending tennis-footie/forfeit drama. 


It's been a while since Andy's lost one.


Much to Jez's chagrin.

Pic This: Claymates

Pics from around Roland Garros. 

Given the gross grip on that Prince racquet, I think we all know who that is.


What's up with the blue and yellow, Adidas?  Are those going to be the summer colors? 
Also?  Shorts and Ana just do not get along. 


Who the hell is Flashman?



Game faces.


All of a sudden I'm craving beef jerky.  Mmmm....


And chicken wings.  Shit, I really need to get out of bed and eat lunch.


Please tell me she's wearing go go boots too.


Is it just me or is A-Rod wearing a shirt that almost kinda fits him?


Hey Muzz!  Get to the semis and then lose to Rafa 60 60 60 in 48 minutes, k? 
That's the gameplan.  Break!


Dude!  Stop it!


Roger's planning a Surfin' Safari, apparently.
 

Does that tape on her shoulder *really* do anything? 
All it seems to do is scream "HEY LOOK!!! I HAVE A BAD SHOULDER!!!"


Ah.  The backwards cap of dorkitude makes a triumphant appearance.


Gilles x 2.  I know this is super random, but I have always found G Mulls to be kinda cute.


The BunBand is back, folks.  Dina means business. 
And she's practicing more "Ecstasy on Clay" moves.


You're hot.  We know.  Stop it.  Or don't.  I don't know.


Only Jo's smile could distract me from the dead raccoon on his head.


Run, cameraman.  Run.  It's like fuckin' Cloverfield.

RG: Sunday OOP

Let the frazzling begin.  Ana losing to Errani would not shock me.  Marat losing to *anybody* would not shock me.  Gilly losing to American Clay Phenom Wayne Odesnik would not shock me.  And Momo losing to ALG on Parisian clay would not shock me.  But any of these results could break my RG spirit.

So yeah.  Can I get some of that Xanax?

CHATRIER from 11:00 am
1. Errani vs. Ivanovic
2. Sidorenko vs. Safin
3. Odesnik vs. Simon
4. Groenefeld vs. Mauresmo

LENGLEN from 11:00 am
1. Diatchenko vs. Johansson
2. Serra vs. Verdasco
3. Petrova vs. Embree
4. Murray vs. Chela

COURT 1 from 11:00 am
1. Hewitt vs. Karlovic
2. Vesnina vs. Bremond
3. Stepanek vs. Gaudio
4. Azarenka vs. Vinci

COURT 2 from 11:00 am
1. Loit vs. Bacsinszky
2. Granollers vs. Ouanna
3. Sanchez vs. Rus
4. Gulbis vs. Querrey

COURT 3 from 11:00 am
1. Olaru vs. Pavlyuchenkova
2. Llagostera Vives vs. Coin
3. Almagro vs. Calleri
4. Gil vs. Ferrer

COURT 6 from 11:00 am
1. Gremelmayr vs. Golubev
2. Hernych vs. Cilic
3. Shvedova vs. Kanepi
4. Salerni vs. Barrois

COURT 7 from 11:00 am
1. Li vs. Domachowska
2. Lu vs. Montcourt
3. Benesova vs. Goerges
4. Brands vs. Kendrick

COURT 17 from 11:00 am
1. Sela vs. Lisnard
2. Polansky vs. Petzschner
3. Paszek vs. Dulko
4. Lepchenko vs. Kudryavtseva

Vera Vacates

Poor Casper.  You have to think she showed up in Paris hoping to play, but it was just not in the cards.  She'll be replaced in the draw by lucky loser Katie O'Brien.