Forty Deuce

The Love Affair Between The Wimbly Netcords and Ana Is The Stuff Of Legend.

I swear to God, kid, you're going to be the death of me.

Man Hands saved two match points and earned two match points on a netcord. 

 

I haven't seen the match yet so I can't comment on the level of play, but from what I can tell, the toss was wonktastic today.  But she gutted it out and maintains her streak of never losing in the first round of a Slam.  I believe the only active players (who've played enough so that it counts) that can brag about that are Ana and Serena.

I know she hasn't done anything lately to earn a bigger show court, but given the sheer volume of pics of her match I'm not sure Court 4 could house all the photogs let alone the throngs of fans that crushed her for autographs afterwards. 

Now That You're Off It At Least You Can Go Smoke It

LOLz.


What is really left that hasn't been said?  He's hot, he's crazy, he's talented. 

And now he's out, losing to Jesse Levine in four.

Afterwards, Marat got all philosophical and semi-nostalgic. 

And county:

Clearly All That Fashion Was Weighing Her Down

Gotta love it.  MaKiri actually wins a match but now that she's no longer wearing Stella there are no pictures of it anywhere.  But at least she won.  Bethanie, Cone, and Chak all crashed out *and* there are no pics of them. 

But now let's not wallow in the negative.  Let's give some love to some of my favorite B-Listers:

Melanie Oudin notched a three set win over #29 seed Sybille Bammer.  Well done, kid.

Wimbledon frontrunner, Slammin' Sammy Stosur, needed three sets to take out Bethanie.  Sad that B-Matt had to take one for the team here but, "Sammy Sammy Sammy, Oi Oi Oi!"

And Nails kept it classy in covering up her tat and tossed a bagel Voskoboeva's way. 

Go China!

Without Photo Evidence, I Refuse To Believe It

But in other dude news, A-Rod came out of the gate with a somewhat impressive performance over newly-shorn Jeremy Chardy, who all of sudden looks Robredoesque.  Rod made only 9 unforced errors.  On grass.  That's, and I hate to phrase it this way, Rafa-like.

Then again, he still needed four sets to seal the win.  Which seems to indicate that maybe he was playing a little too safely on his return games.  I'm not asking you to go all Blah on us, Andy, but you really do have to pick it up and play more aggressively on the green stuff.

Elfy also pwned on his first match on grass since last year's Wimbly and in a somewhat shocking development, Gilly and his one good knee won in straight sets.

According to the Wimbledon website, Ernie won.  I checked my calendar and its not April Fool's, Christmas, or my birthday.  So...nice try, Wimbledon.  I will not fall for your poorly edited scoreboard.  And also, that is a mean mean joke.

Stoop! Stoop A Loop!

Nope, that's not who you think it is. 

Nice try, Stoops, but Bepa came out today and closed down shop, taking the last set 64.  Stoops tried to steal some of Bepa's mojo but no one, NO ONE, hides under a towel like the UNESCO ambassador.

Awesome Is In The Building

Yeah, baby.  The Flavs is in full effect.  Didn't get dumped out in the first round, coming back from a set down to 'stick and bagel NLV.

Let us celebrate!  Flying Birds for all!

And of course, the Momes.  Another one I like to see on grass.

Long Line of Levers.

It really is something seeing Venus on the grass courts of Wimbly.  Her gangly lankiness, which for some reason looks awkward and off-putting on other surfaces, looks downright awesome and gracious on grass. 

There's no rational explanation for it, really.

Anyway, Venus kicked off her title defense with an easy 3 and 2 win.

I Can't Believe I'm Doing This

But I've been getting emails from a bunch of people asking about the whole Twitter/Facebook thing.  So here you go. 

To follow FD on Twitter: http://twitter.com/fortydeucetwits

To follow FD on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fortydeucetennis

And just so my soul doesn't die a little bit everytime I look at this post:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Twitter Frenzy
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

No More Wimbly and No More Worm

Well, Nicole Vaidisova found some way to lose to clay court specialist Rossana de Los Rios, who, Ana fans will recall, Ana demolished in the first round last year.  But more interesting than Nikki's loss are these tidbits from Kamakshi's Wimbly Live Blog:

Some interesting off-the-court news ... Nicole Vaidisova and Radek Stepanek split up sometime after the French Open. That's according to the Czech journalists whom fellow scribe Tom Tebbutt and I managed to collar after Vaidisova's native-language news conference.

Vaidisova lost in three sets to Rossana de Los Rios, who prefers clay and is one of the rare moms on the circuit.

Vaidisova was in the interview room for more than 15 minutes, but the Czechs said they couldn't get anything substantive from Vaidisova on her slump. Everyone is mystified by the talented 20-year-old's swoon during the past couple of seasons -- her only notable result has been the quarterfinals here last year.

I went out to Court 11 in the middle of the third set, and the match came down largely to whether Vaidisova was hitting her serves and forehands in.

She hit some beautiful forehands to save match points down 5-4 in the third set but missed two in a row to finally give De Los Rios the match. Clearly, she's struggling with rhythm and confidence, but the shots are still there.

Vaidisova will drop to about No. 130 in the rankings, which means she'll have to contend in wild cards and qualifying very soon.

Nikki in qualifying?  Doesn't that presume that she even plays non-Slam tournaments anymore?  When's the last time any of us even saw her on a drawsheet?

Thanks to Mrs. Saifn for the link.

*whispers* you know he's scottish, right?

Did anyone actually go to work in Britain today? 

I know y'all are excited but seriously, it's going to be a looooong two weeks.

The Great White Hope came through in four against a solid Robbie Kendrick.  Kendrick served big and played some key points well.  I was impressed with his serve and volleying as well.  But the dude ran out of gas and Muzz was able to play steady and pull away.

I'm digging the classic Fred Perry look.  Nothing special but clean and classy.
 

Snot Rocket Out. But Not Before Getting The Last Word.

Bummer.  I was really hoping she'd be able to make a run here but it sounds like she's still struggling with her fitness.  She lost to Malek in three sets.

But just as she was in Australia, she was nothing but candid in her presser. 

Q. I understand your reluctance to talk about your father. There has been speculation in the last couple weeks about some kind of reunion between the two of you.

JELENA DOKIC: Once again, I've said it a million times: I have absolutely nothing at all to do with him. So I don't see why people would think that I would reunite with my dad when every single question I answer is about me not doing that.

So, you know, there were reports I was there during Eastbourne, and I was practicing three times a day at Eastbourne in front of players and people. I don't understand where all these articles come from.

But it's okay. Now and forever, there is nothing, no way that I would ever, uhm, reunite with him or ever have a relationship with him, so...

This is the last sentence ever you guys will hear from me, and that's the way it is.

We're rooting for you, kiddo.  Get better and bust some nuts during the hard court season.

Air Quotes: Ok. Nevermind. I Don't Want To Be British.

Jee.Sus.

Q. This is not an accusation, but do you feel as though you’ve let a few people down today?

ANNE KEOTHAVONG: I feel like I’ve let myself down more than anything. You know, Wimbledon is such a special tournament to me. And, you know, this year especially, I just felt, you know, I’ve overcome so much just to get where I am (tearing up.)

Q. Did you put more pressure on yourself, do you think?

THE MODERATOR: Can we stop for a few minutes.

(Pause in interview.)

ANNE KEOTHAVONG: Sorry.

(2 questions later...)

Q. The way the Brits are going out today, it’s shaping up to be a pretty dark day for British tennis at Wimbledon. Do you feel sort of a collective responsibility, or are you solely focused on your own results?

ANNE KEOTHAVONG: You know, I can’t speak for the other girls. I can only focus on my own tennis. You know, that’s hard enough as it is.

You know, the other girls, I’m sure, have tried their hardest. You can’t guarantee the results at the end of the day, but I think you can definitely guarantee that all the British girls have tried, you know, 110%.

That's One Way To Go

Why is JJ covered in wet toilet paper?  Did she get TP'd by Agi before the match? 

Sneaky Poles.


It didn't stop her or her new Kung Fu style though. 

Or the droopy bloomies she's got going on under there. 

She took her match in straight sets.

I Would Totally If You Seek Amy You

Janko's got a hankerin' for some Brit Brit, y'all:

Janko Tipsarevic has always been something of an eccentric but it may surprise one or two of his fellow professionals to learn he is currently hooked on Britney Spears. The Serbian, who lost to Andy Murray at this year's French Open, was overheard probing one of his team over Britney's latest Tour dates — aptly named Circus', given he would make a fine ringleader. Unfortunately for Janko, Britney's tour left these shores last week to head for Paris so don't be surprised if he isn't too disappointed should he lose his second-round match tomorrow.

Thanks to donkeygrooming for the link and for being a good friend and following tennis this week when I totally know you don't care, and for spending your otherwise very important work hours googling hot tennis players.

Don't Let The Pictures Fool You. She Won.

Sure, she won in straight sets.  But it was still a Safin on grass.

So, you know.  Things happened.

But I'm loving the Adidas kit.  Sure, the cut is boring, but Ad Dassler's company has done a great job selecting colors this year.  The red and white, while kinda medic-y, works.  It's bold while still respecting the Wimbly traditions.  I'm 50/50 on the sleeves but I'll go with it.

 

Separate Ways

Still kinda unconfirmed if you ask me, but for Neil Harman is reporting that Rafa's parents have separated:

Right now, such sensitive matters are on the mind of Nadal, at home in Majorca. For many weeks there have been whispers that all was not uncomplicated in the Nadal household, that his parents, Sebastian and Ana María, who hugged their son on the most joyous day of his life a year ago, had separated. Yesterday, we discovered that that was, in fact, the case, that Nadal had been playing in such a fog for the past couple of months, he should have been wearing luminous clothing. He is crushed and any fair-minded person has to be crushed for him.

Imagine what it has been like, trying to do your duty by yourself, your team and your profession and yet having to perform when your heart is elsewhere, the distressing nightly calls home, the wish that it were not so, the desire for a reconciliation.

Nadal never mentioned it, he played and hoped. He talked about resetting his body after having to withdraw from the championships with problem knees and yet he has a more difficult task, resetting his entire life. We wish him well.

I still hope it's not true.  And to be fair, it's still unconfirmed.  But yikes.

Thanks to V for posting the link.

Remind You Of Anyone?

From Tignor's write up on L-Rob and Burrito:

Unfortunately, the serve was also Robson's biggest enemy today. She double-faulted consistently, especially during the biggest moments, including match point. That said, it didn't look like her mechanics broke down, a la Dementieva; she just overhit, mostly because of nerves—her one errant toss came, not coincidentally, when she went up a break in the second set—but also partly because she hasn't had time to develop a second serve of iron-clad reliability. At this point, it remains virtually identical to her first one.

Not surprisingly, Bollettieri was also right about Robson's weaknesses: her movement and her big-loop backhand. The two are not unrelated, according to Nick. "Her backswing is too high," he leaned over and graveled, "so when she's rushed her contact point can be late, and that's trouble." Hantuchova had success taking Robson's time away by going right at her forehand. The Brit, who is already 5-foot-8, didn't catch up to that shot all afternoon. "Let me tell you," Bollettieri intoned with a tap of his hand on my knee, "movement is going to be the key with Laura. She's got to get in the best shape of her life and make herself as fast as possible."

"She's a great girl," Nick leaned back and said just before walking away. "Great girl, very nice. Maybe too nice."

Like a guy at the end of a first date, a young player does not want to hear the phrase "too nice." Robson is indeed charming, as she proved in her jam-packed presser today. Poised, proper, smart, snarky, she parried questions from every corner of the room—about her recent exams, about Federer vs. Murray (she's picking Federer, but hopes "Andy proves me wrong"), about her coach ("he's nothing special" she said with a dry smile), about the fact that she blew a set and a break lead ("thanks for rubbing it in"), about whether she has time to socialize ("what do you want me to say, I've got no friends?"), about whether Henman Hill should be renamed Robson Ridge ("it's not really a ridge, is it?")—with the kind of self-possessed wit that Americans believe is the birthright of all Britons. I walked out trying to imagine myself in that situation when I was 15. All I could do was shudder.

I hope for tennis' sake that Robson isn’t too nice, that she doesn't have too much personality, too much variety in her brain. Not that she's pretending to be an intellectual—she's too smart for that. When Robson was asked what she does in her downtime, she said, "Uhm, I watch Gossip Girl. But no, season two is finished. I'm so depressed." I hear you, Laura.

Though, a quick point of clarification for Steve.  L-Rob and Burrito are not Queen Bee's.  Not even close.  Not yet.

With JJ, You Kinda Actually Maybe Really Believe It.

According to ESPN, JJ's new coach is Chip Hooper.  He is the big dude in this video.  And he is amaaaaaaaazing.

Pic This: A Picture Of Ana Ivanovic Practicing At Wimbledon

Yes, as a matter of fact I do run out of mildy witty post titles from time to time.

Also, Baby E updated her diary.  Her dress was D&G, she just picked up her Adidas kit, and she was practicing with Kuzzie.  Cliff's Notes, baby.

"I solve the riddle. That's my life story."

A bunch of fun BBC Videos.  Thanks to gauloises for the head's up.

Vince Spadea, issuer of bagels, does a rap for the BBC.  Vinceness ensues.

Oh, and I am officially convinced that something is going on with Ana and Adam Scott.  The Kings of Leon thing, the golfing for no apparent reason, and she said "heaps".  When has she ever said "heaps of fun" and who is this person who is introducing this stuff to her?  TELL ME!  WHO!!!

SW19: Tuesday OOP

Centre Court 13:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Venus Williams (USA)[3] v. Stefanie Voegele (SUI)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) v. Andy Roddick (USA)[6]
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Andy Murray (GBR)[3] v. Robert Kendrick (USA)

Court 1 13:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)[5] v. Arnaud Clement (FRA)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Dinara Safina (RUS)[1] v. Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) v. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)

Court 2 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[9] v. Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Michael Llodra (FRA) v. Joshua Goodall (GBR)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round To Finish 4-6 7-6(5)
Alex Bogdanovic (GBR) v. Tomas Berdych (CZE)[20]
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Bobby Reynolds (USA) v. Gilles Simon (FRA)[8]
5. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Akiko Morigami (JPN) v. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[5]

Court 3 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Julia Goerges (GER) v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[6]
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Tommy Haas (GER)[24] v. Alexander Peya (AUT)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round To Finish 6-7(5) 7-6(0) 6-3 4-4
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) v. Robby Ginepri (USA)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Fabrice Santoro (FRA) v. Nicolas Kiefer (GER)[33]
5. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)[17] v. Melinda Czink (HUN)

Court 4 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)[12] v. Daniel Evans (GBR)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Patricia Mayr (AUT) v. Anne Keothavong (GBR)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Radek Stepanek (CZE)[23] v. Alejandro Falla (COL)
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Lucie Hradecka (CZE) v. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)[13]

Court 5 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Victor Hanescu (ROU)[31] v. Ivan Navarro (ESP)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Marta Domachowska (POL) v. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)[20]
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Taylor Dent (USA) v. Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Kristina Kucova (SVK) v. Aiko Nakamura (JPN)

Court 6 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) v. Na Li (CHN)[19]
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) v. Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Riccardo Ghedin (ITA) v. Ernests Gulbis (LAT)
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Alexa Glatch (USA) v. Shuai Peng (CHN)

Court 7 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Jelena Dokic (AUS) v. Tatjana Malek (GER)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Fabio Fognini (ITA) v. Denis Istomin (UZB)
3. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) v. Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[15]
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[11] v. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)

Court 8 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Olga Govortsova (BLR) v. Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Monica Niculescu (ROU) v. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Brian Dabul (ARG) v. Viktor Troicki (SRB)[30]
4. Gentlemen’s Doubles - 1st Round
Eric Butorac (USA) v. Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)[6]
Scott Lipsky (USA) Marcin Matkowski (POL)[6]

Court 9 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) v. Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Benjamin Becker (GER) v. Roko Karanusic (CRO)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Thiago Alves (BRA) v. Andrei Pavel (ROU)
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Pauline Parmentier (FRA) v. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)

Court 11 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Oscar Hernandez (ESP) v. Leonardo Mayer (ARG)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) v. Rossana De Los Rios (PAR)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Christophe Rochus (BEL) v. Pablo Cuevas (URU)
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Vania King (USA) v. Mariya Koryttseva (UKR)

Court 12 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Samantha Stosur (AUS)[18] v. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Kevin Kim (USA) v. David Ferrer (ESP)[16]
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[19] v. Eduardo Schwank (ARG)
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) v. Agnes Szavay (HUN)[30]

Court 14 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Katie O’Brien (GBR) v. Iveta Benesova (CZE)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round - To Finish 3-6 6-0 4-2
Vera Dushevina (RUS) v. Alize Cornet (FRA)[22]
3. Gentlemen’s Singles
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)[26] v. Wayne Odesnik (USA)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Potito Starace (ITA) v. Jose Acasuso (ARG)

Court 15 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Petra Kvitova (CZE) v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Frederico Gil (POR) v. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
3. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Sara Errani (ITA) v. Stephanie Dubois (CAN)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Pablo Andujar (ESP) v. Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG)

Court 16 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Doubles - 1st Round
Simone Bolelli (ITA) v. Daniel Nestor (CAN)[2]
Andreas Seppi (ITA) Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]
2. Ladies’ Doubles
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[6] v. Tamira Paszek (AUT)
Ai Sugiyama (JPN)[6] Olga Savchuk (UKR)
3. Ladies’ Doubles
Jarmila Groth (AUS) v. Gisela Dulko (ARG)
Renata Voracova (CZE) Shahar Peer (ISR)
4. Gentlemen’s Doubles - 1st Round
Rogier Wassen (NED) v. Maximo Gonzalez (ARG)
Igor Zelenay (SVK) Juan Monaco (ARG)

Court 17 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Victor Crivoi (ROU) v. Bjorn Phau (GER)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Sybille Bammer (AUT)[29] v. Melanie Oudin (USA)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Rajeev Ram (USA) v. Philipp Petzschner (GER)
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) v. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)

Court 18 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)[10] v. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round To Finish 7-6(0) 4-6
Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[7] v. Georgie Stoop (GBR)
3. Ladies’ Singles
Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)[32] v. Sabine Lisicki (GER)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Jesse Levine (USA) v. Marat Safin (RUS)[14]
5. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) v. Kaia Kanepi (EST)[25]

Court 19 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Nicolas Devilder (FRA) v. Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Alberta Brianti (ITA) v. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Mischa Zverev (GER) v. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)[25]

TBA Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Elena Baltacha (GBR) v. Alona Bondarenko (UKR)
2. Ladies’ Doubles
Serena Williams (USA)[4] v. Virginie Razzano (FRA)
Venus Williams (USA)[4] Aravane Rezai (FRA)
3. Gentlemen’s Doubles - 1st Round
Prakash Amritraj (IND) v. Stephen Huss (AUS)[16]
Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) Ross Hutchins (GBR)[16]

"In My Butt!"

I feel like I've posted this before but it probably had nothing to do with anything.

At least now it's relevant.

Pic This: Awesome Shit From Day 1

And so it begins.  Yet another two weeks of frazzletastic tennis a (what non-tennis fans would call) ridiculous surface.


Have I mentioned lately how awesome Shazza is?  No?  Oh, ok.  CUZ SHE IS.


As is the Flying Falcon, who looks like he can hit a leaping overhead and jack himself off all at the same time.


Momo?  So awesome that even douchey white dudes with popped collars like her.  Her awesomeness knows no demographic bounds.

 
Is Fed awesome?  Depends on the definition of awesome we're using.  But you know what needs no definitional clarification?  Fed's awesome mooseknuckle, which he goes out of his way to show off all the time.  Seriously, I must have at least 15 GOATknuckle shots on my hard drive.


Jay-Z.  Always awesome, even when beating other awesome players.


Wait, how'd This Fucker get on the list?  *shakes fist* Damn you, Sod. 


Nads? Awesome.  That dress?  Not awesome. 

Is that a ruffle bandolier?  Because that would easily be the absolute gayest thing to ever come out of Mexico.


Nipple shoes.  Always awesome.  Because I get to write the word "nipple".


Come on.  The definition of.


Jude Law?  Not awesome.  But who's that I see two seats to the left?  Is that the ever awesome ex-Mr. Jolie JONNY LEE MILLER???  Yes, yes, I think it is.  Someone needs to get me some Eli Stone/Slackers/Edmund Bertrum, stat!


Fed's propensity for statuesque poses.  He makes tennis look pretty.  And fancy. 


Tuxedo's eyebrows.  A-some.


Adidas' new grass shoes, judging by the pictures, are clearly 92% better than Nike shoes.


700,000% awesome.

A Dicey Argument, But I Get It. Kind of.

While I take issue with the way Pete gets there (and choice of language does matter here because of the very uncomfortable "dandy" implication) I tend to agree with the sentiment behind his argument against Fed's fancy pre-kit.

Roger may enjoy all this elaborate role-playing in a harmless way; down deep he probably thinks it's really cool that he can go out there looking so Brideshead Revisited and still leave opponents bleeding from the eardrums. But I think these costumes really send an awful, reactionary message, and can't help but think that Roger's being naive. It may be cool to look like an utter weenie and then kick buttski left and right, rubbing the dirt of your greatness in everyone's face. But at the end of the day, too many people are going to see Roger's kit and think: Guy's a heckuva tennis player, but he looks like such a weenie. I guess that's still what tennis is all about.

In the big picture, Roger Federer deserves to have a better image than that, and tennis certainly could be better represented as a sport that transcends all the socio-economic associations and stereotypes Federer's recent costumes conjure up. Roger, you're being used. Man up, call and ask Tiger about it.

Sometimes Fed reminds me of Jean Girard from Talladega Nights.  On one hand, there's a level of hilarity in the fact that this suit wearing, Rolex toting, espresso drinking, friend of Wintour is absolutely obliterating the field while barely breaking a sweat.  On the other hand, it really doesn't help me in my personal quest to prove to all my Sportscenter watching friends that tennis really is more than just a country club sport, reserved for the wealthy and the privileged.  I know, I know, I should probably just get over it and accept that fact that this is a rich man's sport.  But that'll just make me hate myself for liking it, and I really don't think I can deal with anymore self-hatred.  I've got that in spades.

As some of you have pointed out, it's entirely unfair that Fed gets painted as the rich, classy, dandy, while Rafa gets the "benefit" of somehow having street cred when he too came from (as I understand it) a wealthy family as well.  This notion that these two are worldly opposites isn't fair to either player.

But marketing is marketing and when you're a player of a certain GOAT-like stature, you do have some say in how you're marketed.  And if in fact you acknowledge that you're seen as a spokesman for the sport, maybe you should take that into consideration. 

I'm not saying the guy should come out looking all chav or anything.  But I do wish, especially at Wimbly where all eyes are on him, that he'd tone it down a bit with the grandpa clothes.  I actually really liked the idea of that modern, clean, jacket.  It looks like something from the cover of Details. 

But the vest!  MY GOD THE VEST!!! 

A friend of mine wrote me an email this morning that said, ever so simply, "Seriously?  You watch this stuff?  How can it be a sport if you can wear a three piece suit to play?"

Yeah.  I got nothin', dude.

Oh, Canada.

So CanWoz and Dancey go out.  Which makes me sad on a number of levels but even more so because I was getting really excited about using this picture...

Monday's Scores

Remember these?  Yes, I know they still sell them but I'm sitting here wondering why the hell I haven't had one in years.  They're fantastic.

Not a great day for the warm-up tourney breakouts.  S'hitogenbosch winner Tammy went out to a qualifier, Birmingham winner Rybarikova goes out in straights, and Eastbourne semifinalist CanWoz goes out in three, though to be fair to her she had a tough first round draw against Tranny.

Ladies Singles - First Round
(2) Serena Williams (USA) d. (Q) Neuza Silva (POR) 61 75
(4) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 64 61
(8) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Severine Brémond Beltrame (FRA) 62 ret. (left knee injury)
(10) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. Anastasiya Yakimova (BLR) 61 61
(12) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) 60 60
(14) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Julie Coin (FRA) 64 36 63
(16) Zheng Jie (CHN) d. Kristina Barrois (GER) 76(2) 76(4)
Ai Sugiyama (JPN) d. (21) Patty Schnyder (SUI) 64 64
Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. (23) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 46 64 64
(24) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (Q) Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) 75 64
(26) Virginie Razzano (FRA) d Tamira Paszek (AUT) 60 31 ret. (low back injury)
(27) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) d. (Q) Sesil Karatantcheva (KAZ) 62 75
(28) Sorana Cirstea (ROU) d. Edina Gallovits (ROU) 75 61
(31) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. Petra Cetkovska (CZE) 62 62
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. (WC) Laura Robson (GBR) 36 64 62
Elena Vesnina (RUS) d. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 61 61
Gisela Dulko (ARG) d. Stéphanie Foretz (FRA) 63 75
Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. Ayumi Morita (JPN) 62 62
Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) 63 62
Shahar Peer (ISR) d. Maria Elena Camerin (ITA) 62 76(3)
Jarmila Groth (AUS) d. Lucie Safarova (CZE) 63 36 63
Urszula Radwanska (POL) d. Masa Zec Peskiric (SLO) 63 63
Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU) d. Nathalie Dechy (FRA) 16 76(0) 62
Sania Mirza (IND) d. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) 62 26 62
Mathilde Johansson (FRA) d (WC) Melanie South (GBR) 75 76(5)
Jill Craybas (USA) d. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 64 75
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) d. (Q) Vesna Manasieva (RUS) 61 46 86
(Q) Regina Kulikova (RUS) d. Karolina Sprem (CRO) 46 75 63
(Q) Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) d. Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 64 64
(WC) Michelle Larcher de Brito (POR) d. (Q) Klara Zakopalova (CZE) 62 75

Suspended due to darkness
(7) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) is tied with (WC) Georgie Stoop (GBR) 76(0) 46
Vera Dushevina (RUS) leads (22) Alizé Cornet (FRA) 36 60 42

Doubles - First Round
Jans/Rosolska (POL/POL) d. (Q) Fedak/Jugic-Salkic (UKR/BIH) 64 63
Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (CZE/CZE) d. Bammer/Glatch (AUT/USA)
62 26 75

 
As for the boys we have two relatively significant upsets as Blah and FeLo go out. 

Sad.  FeLo looks great in his Joma kit.

Gentlemen's Singles - First Round

[2] R Federer (SUI) d Lu, Yen-Hsun (TPE) 75 63 62
[4] N Djokovic (SRB) d J Benneteau (FRA) 67(8) 76(1) 62 64
[7] F Verdasco (ESP) d [WC] J Ward (GBR) 61 63 64
[9] J Tsonga (FRA) d A Golubev (KAZ) 63 57 76(4) 76(5)
[11] M Cilic (CRO) d A Martin (ESP) 63 64 64
[13] R Soderling (SWE) d G Muller (LUX) 67(4) 75 61 62
[15] T Robredo (ESP) d [Q] L Gregorc (SLO) 76(4) 64 57 76(3)
A Seppi (ITA) d [17] J Blake (USA) 75 64 76(5)
[18] R Schuettler (GER) d [Q] X Malisse (BEL) 67(9) 64 76(3) 61
[LL] K Beck (SVK) d [21] F Lopez (ESP) 16 75 63 46 10-8
[22] I Karlovic (CRO) d [Q] L Lacko (SVK) 63 76(4) 63
[27] P Kohlschreiber (GER) d F Serra (FRA) 76(3) 61 64
[28] M Fish (USA) d S Roitman (ARG) 63 62 41 ret.
[29] I Andreev (RUS) d E Korolev (RUS) 46 76(2) 64 76(4)
[32] A Montanes (ESP) d [Q] G Zemlja (SLO) 64 64 64
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d A Calleri (ARG) 62 63 62
I Minar (CZE) d M Gonzalez (ARG) 64 36 75 60
M Gicquel (FRA) d [Q] A Mannarino (FRA) 62 62 64
N Almagro (ESP) d J Monaco (ARG) 67(3) 67(7) 76(5) 64 86
D Sela (ISR) d [Q] S Gonzalez (MEX) 64 46 76(2) 63
V Spadea (USA) d P Capdeville (CHI) 60 64 75
J Tipsarevic (SRB) d J Hernych (CZE) 64 64 76(4)
M Granollers (ESP) d A Beck (GER) 62 64 67(4) 62
S Bolelli (ITA) d D Koellerer (AUT) 67(3) 26 75 64 64
G Canas (ARG) d D Junqueira (ARG) 61 62 62
S Koubek (AUT) d [Q] E Roger-Vasselin 75 63 46 36 63
K Vliegen (BEL) d [WC] N Mahut (FRA) 63 76(6) 57 57 64
S Darcis (BEL) d F Dancevic (CAN) 64 76(4) 63
S Querrey (USA) d *[LL] D Udomchoke (THA) 63 64 64
[24] T Haas (GER) vs [Q] A Peya (AUT) 67(5) 76 (0) 63 44 - to resume Tuesday
M Llodra (FRA) vs [WC] J Goodall (GBR) 46 76(5) - to resume Tuesday

*[LL] D Udomchoke (THA) replaced I Ljubicic (CRO) - ankle

Doubles - First Round

S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) d F Fognini (ITA) / P Starace (ITA) 61 64 57 64
[12] J Coetzee (RSA) / J Kerr (AUS) d D Ferrer (ESP) / M Lopez (ESP) 61 62 75

Air Quotes: Metamucil Murray. At Least We Hope.

Q. A lot of people are talking about Andy Murray, Roger Federer as the main title contenders. Are you happy?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Very happy.

Q. To be below the radar or hype in the building?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Look, I've been playing really well in the last two, three years. Obviously, people were talking about me, having won a Grand Slam in Australia, put myself in the position to be a candidate for a Grand Slam title in basically each Grand Slam I have played.

So right now, Andy Murray is in the spotlight, and he deserves it. I mean, he was playing fantastic tennis in last seven, eight months. And it's good. I mean, releases kind of a little bit of pressure off me so I can play relaxed on the court.

Q. And we've spoken before about how you two developed together coming up through the juniors. Is the ego kicking in a bit now?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: To be honest, I'm happy. You know, I'm happy to see ‑‑ for the sport, it's good to see, you know, some young players coming up: him, Del Potro, Cilic. Hopefully these guys are the future of the tennis.

Casper And The Cone Keep Me On The Edge Of My Seat.

Play has been suspended for the day and four matches are in progress. 

Of particular note, we have the curious case of Casper, who is in a bit of a dogfight with Georgie Stoop (seriously, awesome name).  They've split two close sets (76 46) and will play the third in full tomorrow.  I'm fairly certain the pic above was her reaction after winning the first set 7-0 in the tiebreaker.  Curious, indeed.

And in a brewing "upset" The Cone took the first set off Vera Dushevina got bageled in the second, and is now a break down at 4-2 in the third.  Oh, Cone.  Why in the world do I still care?  I'm not even sure I'm actually a fan of yours yet you keep me hangin' on [cue Kim Wilde].

The other two suspended matches have Tommy Haas up two sets to one and on serve 4-4 in the fourth, and mkeller favorite Michael Llodra has split the first two sets with Josh Goodall.

Someone Call A Medic!

Loving Nole's red and white duds, which were totes appropes for his injury riddled match against Apricot Bars.

"It's merely a flesh wound."

 

Le Bars twisted his ankle earlier in the match and needed an MTO, and then ran into the wall on a point that would give Nole match points. 

It would have been comical if it didn't look so damn painful.  Poor, Bars. 

Pic This: Elena Makes It Work.

Apparently this dress got Alla Kudrywhatever's stamp of approval because she folded like a lawn chair for Lena D.  Which basically means that our favorite shit-talking-fashion correspondent is smoking crack.

Seriously, does Yonex even have designers?  Do they even bother?  Or did they just run to Victoria Secret and find the only nightie they could find a whiteish color and slap that on Lena?  Yeesh.

Pic This: Aww...Are you Fernando's Little Brother?

Look at that baby face! 

But sorry, I still like my Nando greased up and wielding a Sig Sauer.

Fer went through in straight sets.

Air Quotes: Introducing Serena Williamsova

Some interesting stuff in ReRe's presser.  She still crazy, don't get me wrong, but the presser was actually interesting. Girl was in a good mood, I guess.

Q. You and your sister have dominated Wimbledon for so many years now. Dinara Safina is the No. 1 seed this year. Wimbledon deserves the right to change the seedings. Do you think you or Venus should have been the No. 1 seed, especially with Venus defending?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I think Dinara should be the No. 1 seed. She's been really consistent the last couple months. She's earned that No. 1 ranking.

Q. A moment ago you gave your opponent today credit for lifting her game in the second set. What is your feeling after a match about giving credit to an opponent? As you know, different players approach that different ways. They either focus just on how they played, or they analyze how their opponent played. What is your approach when you speak to the press and you speak to others about assessing your opponent's game?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Uhm, I don't know. My approach is just to be me, and I never thought about that. I've never been asked that question all my years of playing.

So hurrah for a new question (smiling).

Q. After the French, some said maybe you should have given more credit to your opponent who defeated you. How tough is it, after a loss, to analyze the defeat and assess credit for your opponent?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, I feel like I did give credit to Svetlana. I get along with her well. There's no problems between me and her.

I feel like I choked. I should have won the match and I didn't, and she went on to glory. That's just the bottom line. There's nothing else to be said about it.

Air Quotes: What Is This A Deposition?

Ok, Burrito's grunting annoys me.  But this whole presser is off the charts.  Gotta love the moderator's attempt at...moderating.  Moderation 8%.

Q. Did you purposely turn down the voice level today after the complaints made by your opponent in Paris?

MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: Well, I tried to be quiet for you guys today (smiling).

But, no, I mean, today I played really well. I start off good, and I didn't think it was necessary to really go any louder than I was today. I was playing good.

No, the grunt goes through my intensity, and today I played good and I stayed solid throughout. So I don't think it was necessary to go much louder.

Q. Do you find if you're under pressure, is that when you make more noise playing the game of tennis?

MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No. It just depends. I mean, you play, and it kind ‑‑ the grunt goes itself. Like if my body feels like it needs to grunt more, it grunts. If not, it stays quiet.

Q. Were you asked by Wimbledon before the match not to do it?

MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No, no.

Q. You weren't?

MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No.

Q. Or even just to watch it?

MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No, nothing. I just went out there. Nobody told me anything, 'cause I don't think it's necessary for anybody tell me anything 'cause it's part of my game. It's something I do.

Q. Have you been upset by the criticism that you've had because of the noise levels?

MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: Well, if I did, I don't think I would have played so well like I did today. Just winning my match today, it just shows you that it didn't really affect me, or else I would have never played as well as I did today.

THE MODERATOR: Perhaps we could move off the noise question.

Q. There's one thing I don't understand. You said it's the body that kind of makes the noise, but you also said, and I don't know if you were joking at the beginning, that you wanted to keep it quiet for everybody.

MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No.

Q. What is the reality? Is it mind over matter, or is it just something that happens? How much control do you have over this?

MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No, I was actually joking.

No, it's just something I've done at a very young age. And, yes, it is my mind, my body. It's just how the match goes. I just grunt. I have nothing else to say about it.

THE MODERATOR: No more noisy questions. Can we move on to tennis or other aspects of the match we've seen.

Pic This: Hide Your Daughters, Gentlemen

Judy's in the house.

Air Quotes: Laura Robson Gives Good Press. Fact.

I'm sad she's out of the main draw but at least we'll get more pressers when she jumps into the junior draw.  She rules.

Q. Do you feel more disappointed than pleased with yourself?

LAURA ROBSON: Uhm, yeah. I’m a bit ‑‑ I’m just a little bit upset, but I’m pretty proud of myself. I mean, I thought I played really, really good for a good part of the match, and then in the end just a couple things let me down a bit.

But, yeah, I thought I played a good match.

...

Q. Why do you think you lost the initiative? You were obviously in charge.

LAURA ROBSON: Yeah, a set and a break up. Thanks for rubbing that in (laughter).

Q. Sorry.

LAURA ROBSON: Yeah, I don’t know what happened. But just the game, when I was the break up in the second, I just got really nervous. You know, I made a couple more mistakes than I should have.

But she started playing more balls in the court and getting more returns in.

Q. What was going through your mind in the dressing room beforehand, just about to go out there?

LAURA ROBSON: Nothing really (smiling). I was kind of thinking about what the towels were going to look like this year. They’re really nice (laughter).

I'll Fly Away

Serena's pre-kit, which basically consists of an oddly cut update of her 08 trenchcoat.

I mean, it's fine and all.  I generally think double-breasted anything makes well-endowed women look like a sausage.  But this doesn't, so well done Nike.

But what's with the weird sides that are cut longer than the rest of the jacket?

Like the upper back stuff though.  That's cute.  But those sides are killing me.

It's Probably For The Best

 

L-Rob did well for herself to take the first set off Dani, but she ran out of steam and Dani upped her game to take it in three and eliminate Britain's Other Great White Hope.

Seriously, though.  This is a good thing.  Let's let Muzz carry the torch this year, kiddo.   

Yup. They Totally Switched Jackets.

Goodness.  So glad you're back, dude.

Here's Masha's pre-kit.  If Fed represents "X&Y" Coldplay, then Masha's definitely channeling "Death and All His Friends" Coldplay.  Nike sure is rocking a military them this Wimbly, no?  Makes me sad that we won't get to see Rafa don his military gear.

As for the dress, I liked it.  Don't like the weird shirring around the boobal area, but otherwise it's a simple dress with some cute embellishments around the skirt.

Ok, Fine. I Give You This One, Vika.

No ripping on Victoria today.  She actually showed some genuine concern when Severine Bremond was forced to retire today. 

Thanks for the sportsmanship.  Keep it up.

Bring In The Clowns.

Ok, so I can't really rip on the jacket because I have a similar one by Stella and it's like, my favorite thing in the world.  So fine.

That said, are we sure he didn't grab Masha's jacket by mistake?  Where the hell did those shoulders come from?  The jacket makes him look like a pinhead.

But the vest?  The vest was...an unfortunate choice. 

SW19: Monday OOP

Centre Court 13:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) v. Roger Federer (SUI)[2]
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Neuza Silva (POR) v. Serena Williams (USA)[2]
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Julien Benneteau (FRA) v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[4]

No. 1 Court 13:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Maria Sharapova (RUS)[24] v. Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Robin Soderling (SWE)[13] v. Gilles Muller (LUX)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[7] v. James Ward (GBR)

No. 2 Court 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) v. Laura Robson (GBR)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Andrey Golubev (KAZ) v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[9]
3. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) v. Elena Dementieva (RUS)[4]
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Michael Llodra (FRA) v. Joshua Goodall (GBR)

Court 3 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
James Blake (USA)[17] v. Andreas Seppi (ITA)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[8] v. Severine Bremond Beltrame (FRA)
3. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN)[23] v. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Tommy Haas (GER)[24] v. Alexander Peya (AUT)

Court 4 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[27] v. Florent Serra (FRA)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Maria Elena Camerin (ITA) v. Shahar Peer (ISR)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Nicolas Mahut (FRA) v. Kristof Vliegen (BEL)
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[7] v. Georgie Stoop (GBR)

Court 5 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)[31] v. Petra Cetkovska (CZE)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Dudi Sela (ISR) v. Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Evgeny Korolev (RUS) v. Igor Andreev (RUS)[29]
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) v. Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP)

Court 6 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) v. Agustin Calleri (ARG)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Nathalie Dechy (FRA) v. Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Paul Capdeville (CHI) v. Vincent Spadea (USA)

Court 7 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Jie Zheng (CHN)[16] v. Kristina Barrois (GER)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Jan Hernych (CZE) v. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
3. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Tamira Paszek (AUT) v. Virginie Razzano (FRA)[26]
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Alberto Martin (ESP) v. Marin Cilic (CRO)[11]

Court 8 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Karolina Sprem (CRO) v. Regina Kulikova (RUS)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Roberta Vinci (ITA) v. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) v. Stefan Koubek (AUT)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Sam Querrey (USA) v. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)

Court 9 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Gisela Dulko (ARG) v. Stephanie Foretz (FRA)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Marcel Granollers (ESP) v. Andreas Beck (GER)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Simon Greul (GER) v. Michael Yani (USA)

Court 10 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Doubles - 1st Round
Simon Aspelin (SWE) v. Fabio Fognini (ITA)
Paul Hanley (AUS) Potito Starace (ITA)
2. Ladies’ Doubles
Iveta Benesova (CZE) v. Sybille Bammer (AUT)
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) Alexa Glatch (USA)
3. Ladies’ Doubles
Yuliana Fedak (UKR) v. Klaudia Jans (POL)
Mervana Jugic-Salkic (BIH) Alicja Rosolska (POL)

Court 11 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Ivo Minar (CZE) v. Maximo Gonzalez (ARG)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Lucie Safarova (CZE) v. Jarmila Groth (AUS)
3. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) v. Vesna Manasieva (RUS)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Grega Zemlja (SLO) v. Albert Montanes (ESP)[32]

Court 12 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) v. Juan Monaco (ARG)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Anastasiya Yakimova (BLR) v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[10]
3. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Aravane Rezai (FRA) v. Ayumi Morita (JPN)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Diego Junqueira (ARG) v. Guillermo Canas (ARG)

Court 14 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) v. Sania Mirza (IND)
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Mardy Fish (USA)[28] v. Sergio Roitman (ARG)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Tommy Robredo (ESP)[15] v. Luka Gregorc (SLO)
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Vera Dushevina (RUS) v. Alize Cornet (FRA)[22]

Court 15 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Edina Gallovits (ROU) v. Sorana Cirstea (ROU)[28]
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Simone Bolelli (ITA) v. Daniel Koellerer (AUT)
3. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Jill Craybas (USA) v. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Steve Darcis (BEL) v. Frank Dancevic (CAN)

Court 17 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Adrian Mannarino (FRA) v. Marc Gicquel (FRA)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)[14] v. Julie Coin (FRA)
3. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Michelle Larcher De Brito (POR) v. Klara Zakopalova (CZE)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Ivo Karlovic (CRO)[22] v. Lukas Lacko (SVK)

Court 18 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Karol Beck (SVK) v. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)[21]
2. Gentlemen’s Singles - 1st Round
Xavier Malisse (BEL) v. Rainer Schuettler (GER)[18]
3. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Yung-Jan Chan (TPE) v. Marion Bartoli (FRA)[12]
4. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) v. Elena Vesnina (RUS)

Court 19 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)[27] v. Sesil Karatantcheva (KAZ)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Masa Zec Peskiric (SLO) v. Urszula Radwanska (POL)
3. Gentlemen’s Doubles - 1st Round
Jeff Coetzee (RSA)[12] v. David Ferrer (ESP)
Jordan Kerr (AUS)[12] Marc Lopez (ESP)

TBA Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Melanie South (GBR) v. Mathilde Johansson (FRA)
2. Ladies’ Singles - 1st Round
Ai Sugiyama (JPN) v. Patty Schnyder (SUI)[21]

Oh, Falcon. You Are Awesome When You Unclench.

It's just too much. I just want you to be happy, Falcon. Fly away and be happy.

Many thanks to Ringo for sending these along!

Pic This: We're Getting The Band Back Together!!!

Does Dinara know you stole her PJs?  Cuz she'll cut a bitch.


Wow, she's really mastered that little tape job, no?


First though: OH SHIT HER THUMB!!!  And then I calmed down.  A little.


Ana, Sven, Darren, and Byrnsey?  I am ok with this. 

Until she crashes out in the second round.

Oh, God, please make the second round.

Pic This: Wimbly Warmup

 
I've been a bit lazy with Wimbly practice pics.  I shall try and make amends now.


There's been a bit of ankle grabbing going on during the practice sessions.  Both Serena and Blah were having some trouble with their footing and weren't looking particularly comfortable.


So what do you guys think?  Are you taking Williams sisters or the field? 


Fed's been looking relaxed, no surprise as to why.  Lots of laughs with the boys.


Nole on the other hand seems to have been Mr. Serious on the practice courts. 


Is Nole planning to rock a sweater vest?


Obligatory "A-Rod Looks So Fucking American" pic.


Lots of folks picking Shazzy to at least make the semis. 


Just cuz.

 
gomuzz [/whisper]

Huh. Didn't Know Coldplay Could Possible Get Whiter.

Fed's Coldplay-esque Wimbly kit.  Somehow I think he's doing this just to fuck with me and my whole Vida La Vida thing.

Touche, GOAT.  Touche.

But you will never take away my joy from watching this

I want. So badly. To be to there.

Pole Position

Nice profile by the NY Times on the Polish surge in the WTA. 

Dear Adidas: Just give the Rads and CanWoz a contract already.  Then you'd have all 5, which would be like grabbing the entire side of a Monopoly board (I'll leave it to you guys to decide whether it's the "Park Place" side or the "St. James Place" side).

Pic This: No Words. None. Nada.

 

The racquet blocking the crotchal area was a choice move. 

As is, oh, EVERYTHING ELSE GOING ON IN THAT SHOT.

(Pics from DinaUpdates twitter feed)

Just When You Thought Doubles Pairings Couldn't Get Weirder.

Congrats to Agkul and Ai for upsetting the Indigo Girls (Stosur/Stubbs -- I realized after I wrote that that I probably needed to clarify) and taking the Eastbourne dubs title. 

How'd these two get paired up?  First names on the list maybe?  So random.

For serious, when I saw this pic I thought there had been another breach of security.


"Arrrrgh.  Agkul ANGRY.  Agkul crush you all!!!"

"I've Got Blonde On Blonde On My Portable Stereo"

Despite suffering from the same "Good Lord Is That Shirt Eating Him???" dilemma that only comes from living in the States for far too long, Dima still brought his game and finished up a nice grass court run by beating Fancy Dancy on his way to the Eastbourne title.  Unfortunately the win came at a price: Dima twisted his ankle towards the end of the match.  He hung in to win but let's hope he can get back to 100% in the next few days.

On the ladies' side, Boots picked up her second trophy of the season, beating the Gypsy 76 75.

Apparently the Gypsy forgot Boots' name during the ceremony.  Everyone had a nice chuckle.

So nice runs for Dancey and Gypsy.  Hope you heal up, Dima.  And I'm glad you proved you can play on grass, Boots, but I don't think you're going to have a great run at Wimbly.  She just doesn't have the firepower (yet) to hit through people.

Now that I've said that, please prove me wrong. kthxbye!

Pic This: Yeah, No Shit.

(See more pics at NadalNews)