Andy and Serena were in London to attend the Burberry show. Poor L-Rob was in Japan struggling to stream the thing. I honestly had no idea you could stream fashion shows.
You're cute. I don't care what anyone says. Even though I totally know Kim dressed you. Because I refuse to believe that your brain could concoct that much casual awesomeness.
The sneaks, the scarf, the coat, the fact that you love Burberry.
I LOVE BURBERRY, TOO, ANDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
Call me!
(Pics from Daylife)
So I'm sitting here catching on a month's worth of Tivo and I started going through my files. Sometimes, as you're surfing the interwebz, you just see funny or interesting photos and you save them, not having any idea if you're going to actually have a reason to use them in the future.
So here's me unloading a few randoms on you.
Too cute.
Vania and Shveddy at the Wimbledon Champions Ball.
I...don't want to talk about it.
If there's one thing we know about Igor, it's that he likes pretty things.
Ah. A classic.
Masha, about to eat her dinner.
Robbo and one of her two pooches.
Sorana looking...normal.
Swoooooooooooooon.
Leather brings out the best in everyone.
Yowza.
Never forget.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
PUT THE SUNGLASSES BACK ON, YOU ALIEN!
Oh put a ill-fitting extra-large sock in it, James.
Stop taking fashion advice from Rausa, Christy.
Where was I?
Oh, right. I realized this afternoon that I never did a proper Pic This entry for the USO. Shame on me.
So here we go....
Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days. But my energy and attendance at the USO has been a bit on the spotty side so here's my attempt to catch up.
As you may have noticed if you follow me on Twitter (seriously, it's the easiest way to keep track of me and my tourettes-like musings), the schedule of play is stacked so that almost all of my favorites play on the same day. For example, Ana and Sam, both in the same part of the draw, are always a double header. Which makes it so that I'm really excited one day and kinda bored the next.
With that in mind, I took Day 4 off and just hung out in and around my hotel, catching up on some reading, doing some errands, and hanging out with friends. It was a much needed respite. If you want to catch the full day's action you're pretty much up at 8am, out the door by 9:30 and on the grounds at 10:30am through midnight, and getting home around 1am. When you throw in an uncontrollable urge to tell people what happened that day (i.e., blog) then you're really not getting much sleep at all. Do that day after day after day and...yeah, you need to recharge.
So yeah, I didn't go on Thursday. Which was fine because nothing major happened, though I would have liked to have seen that Petko vs. Bethanie match.
But Friday was going to be a big day. Ana, Sam, Andy, and Rafa were all on tap, with Ana and Sam scheduled to have some potentially tricky opponents. On top of that there was the stress of a potential hurricane, which is totally a new thing for me as I have never actually been in or around a hurricane. So seriously, I was kinda stressed.
Sam was up first against Errani, who she played last week in New Haven and had to save four match points against (hmmm...sounds familiar) to win.
But it was all good. Sam won easily in straight sets and it was super fun to watch. As always.
And with that, Sam was into the fourth round. Whee!
After that I had some time to kill, so I got a little bit of food and drinky drink. Thankfully I arrived back to Armstrong just in time to see that fanny pack. There are no words.
Then it was Ana Time. I saw alongside NYAnafan, who I met a few years ago at Indian Wells. Quite nice to be on her turf this time to watch our favorite player go at it.
Just a really amazing match against Razzano, who had just beaten Marion in the prior round. The first set was fairly tight, with Ana getting frustrated with her inability to get the ball through the court. Mind you, it was a bit gusty.
But then those guys in the white caps arrived. And they were cheering WILDLY for Ana. And I got worried that they would freak her out.
But they didn't, and she totally got her focus back to take the first set. It was kinda funny. After she won and shook hands at the net, she came out to do her crowd salute, and immediately took off her wristbands to throw to them. For a split second I was scared she was going to just start stripping.
Team Ivanovic in the hizzee. I was hanging out by the media center/practice courts/Heineken bar (seriously, it's the best area to chill out) and I saw Dragana walking out of the media center. She stopped to rustle through her bag to find something (my immediate thought -- "Is there a latte in there?"), clearly found it, and walked out of the gate. As I had been drinking vodka for two hours, I compulsively yelled out "Good luck to Ana today!". She stopped, she turned, I screamed (in my head), she smiled, and said "Thank you" in the *exact* same way Ana does. I smiled and then started giggling to myself as she turned to walk away. It was awesome.
From there I had more to drink as I wandered to the grounds. And low and behold I saw Hannah Storm drunkenly hitting on my boyfriend, who looked absolutely cuddly in his Adidas hoodie. Step off, Hannah. Not only can I properly pronounce player names and speak about tennis intelligently, I also have a knife. And trust, I know how to use it.
I didn't have a night session pass and I was EXHAUSTED by the time the sun came down, so I headed home. The hurricane never came, thankfully, and everyone I loved won. So I was all gravy.
So I leave Cincy for New Haven on Friday and while I'm in the air and on trains, this happens:
I mean, really.
So now Cincy gets what they want. An American in the final (Fish) and their beloved (Fed). Seriously, I saw so many Fed fans roaming about in their red Swiss shirts and whatnot.
Enjoy that. I've moved on.
A Moose presser is a thing of beauty. First of all, he walks in like a grumpy teenage boy whose mother has just russled him out of bed to do his chores at the crack of dawn. He's oddly out of breath all the time, too. And then he proceeds to answer all the questions in his slow, deep monotone, giving very little by way of animation or energy. He definitely doesn't waste any energy in the press room.
Hey, you.
Sticking to tradition, Andy drove from Toronto to Cincinnati, so he only took to the practice courts for the first time yesterday. But it was glorious for a number of reasons.
First, he took the court over from Fer and Feli, who were practicing for their dubs match later in the day. Basically everything you need to know about my friendship with DG can be captured in this picture of our two favorite players. She dresses to the nines and looks sharp pretty much 24/7. I on the other hand consistently rock a confused and sullen look and am a dork. So there you go.
"Yo, Andy. Say hi to your mutha for me, ok?"
And then there was this girl, who stood up against the fence when no one else was, holding up a picture of Andy that she wanted him to sign as though it were the boombox in Say Anything. It was adorable. I wanted to join her with an actual boombox.
And then he grabbed his ass. And I squealed. No, really, I did.
But last and not least, my new buddy Andrew (@BigShots_Photo) caught me photobombing. Which, let's face it, is pretty fucking awesome.
After a waterlogged final that morphed into more of a test of mental strength than anything else, the Moose reigned supreme in the land of...well...moose.
I didn't see the match so I can't comment on much else (for those who did see it, feel free to discuss in the comments). But it's nice to see all that hard work pay off, Andy. What a fantastic run, beating Nalby, Rafa, and Fed to hoist your first title of the year (I know, right?).
I look forward to licking your birthmark in Cincy.
A fantastic pair of back-to-back matches for Moose, as he backed up his dominant display over Nalby with an equally impressive straight setter over Rafa. He's moving well, serving well, and, to the relief of his fans, cracking that forehand aggressively when he should. It was sexy stuff.
And Andy knew it:
A little bit of this...
A little bit of slap...
Hell, even Rafa threw in a little nipple rub.
I'm right there with you, Rafa. Right. There.
(pics: Yahoo! Sports)
Moose played beautifully in his straight set win over Nalby. Even Nalby gave him a "too good, too good" at the net. So Andy's quest to retain his #4 ranking (he has to make the final) continues and Nalby gets a bit of break going into Cincy, which I honestly think he needs. I know you're excited, Dave, but let's keep our eye on the New York prize, shall we?
No! Don't eat it! Stay hungry!
I feel like every single fucking day I'm writing some form of "Nalby makes a statement with his win today over [insert defeated foe here]. BUT THIS TIME I REALLY MEAN IT.
He takes out #5 Robin "Evil is as Evil Does" Sodz in three sets. And as far as I can tell, Sodz wasn't stinking up the joint either. With each win the bettors keep moving Nalby up the charts, though I'm still a bit worried he's shooting his load too early. He'll play Moose next, who played an idiot dumb match with Gael, winning 62 06 63. Gael kept hurting himself diving on the court. Like repeatedly. Like, "Hey, I hurt my shoulder diving on a hard court and had to call a trainer but I guess I'll just keep on diving onto that shoulder!" dumb. Whatever. Thanks for keeping him out on court for two hours, Gael.
See you tomorrow when I have figure out yet another way to say that Nalby's back and he's taking scalps instead of cake orders. Can't wait.
(pics from Daylife)
The big boys are back, which means I'm happy. Don't get me wrong, I like the smaller tourneys as much as the next guy. But shit gets real when you have the #1-5s playing. Throw in a resurgent Nalby (who destroyed Robredo today to set up a 3rd rounder vs. Sod on Thursday) and we got ourselves a happy C Note.
Rafa sported some craaaaaazy hot pink and was pushed hard by a "why won't you go AWAY" Stanley. The first set took over an hour and half and saw Rafa finally take the breaker 14-12. I didn't see the match but from what I could tell via Twitter, that breaker was insane. Rafa would take the second 6-3 after a total match time of 2 hours and 21 minutes. How's that for a welcome back workout?
As for my headcasey stable, Andy somehow took the first set over X-Man 75. Seriously, I don't know how he did it. I could be wrong but I think X was serving for that first set at one point. Anyway, he got away with it and cruised in the second.
And as for the Tiny Thoraxed One, it seems my predictions via the podcast may come true. The dude was WHEEZING throughout his match, clearly bothered by the heat and humidity. I just feel so sorry for the guy. It's not that he's not fit or isn't working hard. He clearly has a physiological issue that he hasn't found an answer to. He struggled in his win over Benneteau but he was hitting some amazing groundies that gave me hope. Who knows if he'll be able to get through this US hardcourt season though. It'll only get more brutal in Cincy next week.
That's his happy face.
In a nutty scoreline, Muzzard takes out his mom's Deliciano, 60 16 64. He'll take on Querrey California and the Samurai in what must surely be one of the least photogenic finals in recent memory.
Go get it, boyfriend.
Hello...(hopefully)... KILLER!
I haven't had a whole bunch of time to digest the information but my gut reaction is this: It's weird timing given the fact that the USO, Andy's favorite Slam, is in less than two months. But if he indeed is able to land Killer, I am super intrigued as to how that will play out. Killer's laid back personality and positive energy would be great and maybe Andy's finally ready to listen to someone tell him he needs to be more aggressive.
So I'm cautiously happy if this pans out.
Sorry to 90% of the LA tennis fans, but Nole has withdrawn from LA for undisclosed personal reasons.
BUT! BUT! BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT!
Andy's in. My heart's aflutter.
Considering the crappy weather that's been interfering with his training in Miami, this seems a good move. I assure you won't get rained on in LA. Have fun at the Cheesecake Factory.
Oh, and Sod withdrew from Legg-Mason for personal reasons, too. That really has nothing to do with the theme of this post but it seems newsworthy.
Nice to see these two pasty kids together on vacay.
I have no comment on those shorts though.
(Source: New Balls, Please)
Q. What about Andy, you said to him after the match that he could win a major.
RAFAEL NADAL: I wished him best of luck for the rest of the season, and sorry for today. I know it was an important match for him I think because he play at home, and this is a chance for him to win probably the most important title for him win here at home in Wimbledon.
Just I felt sorry for him because he's a very nice person, very good person. I am sure he gonna win a Grand Slam very soon, because when you have final in US Open, final in Australia, semifinals here this year and the last year, you are there all the time. So one day you win. I am sure he gonna win. He deserve to win.
Q. How well aware are you that he's such a big fan of yours? He kept talking about you're his favorite player to watch.
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, just can say thanks. He don't need to admire a lot of things of me because he's too good to admire me.
Q. Did you feel you got into the rhythm of your own game during the match?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, yeah. But, I mean, you're not going to be able to play every single point on your terms against the best player in the world, one of the best players ever. You can't.
You know, you're going to need to, you know, go through periods in the match where he can be dictating, and there's periods in the match where, you know, I was dictating.
You know, it was tough. But, yeah, I didn't feel like I wasn't in a rhythm. I won a lot of points off my serve. You know, until the end of the match, he didn't have a breakpoint until the last couple of games. Was obviously doing something right.Q. Talk about the extra weight on your shoulders because of trying to win it for the home team here.
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, there's a lot much pressure playing here. You know, it doesn't affect the outcome of the matches. It's not a valid excuse to make. I've played really well the whole tournament. I obviously want to win for myself. I want to win for the guys I work with. I want to win for, you know, the UK.You know, a little bit more disappointing than other Grand Slams because this one is, you know, the biggest one of the year for me. And, uhm, yeah, it's tough.
Q. What did Rafael say to you after the match?
ANDY MURRAY: He said, Bad luck. I just said, Good luck for the rest of the tournament. You know, that was it.
But, you know, I've said it for a few years. I love watching him play. He's my favorite player to watch. That's why I enjoy playing him so much. So I hope he wins.Q. Is it annoying to have to wait so long to receive serve?
ANDY MURRAY: No, I don't care. He can take as long as he wants on any point. I love watching the guy play. No, I don't care. He can take as long as he wants.
Q. Coming off court, Rafa said he thought you'd win a slam and win one soon. What does that mean to you when someone you respect so much has got some faith in your ability?
ANDY MURRAY: I mean, yeah, it's nice. Nice obviously to hear. Uhm, doesn't make losing in one any easier.
Hoss.
That's what you are. Relentless, unforgiving, immovable, gutsy, and courageous.
You put everything I love about you on display today to absolutely crush my heart.
Oh, Andy. Andy, Andy, Andy. Unlike against Fed 6 months ago, you brought your game today. You showed up, you played well. In fact, for some stretches of the match, you seemed like the better player. You served so well! You were moving beautifully. You were serving and volleying and otherwise getting to net!
But you couldn't summon your absolute best when you needed to. Serving for the second set, after Rafa gifted you a set point with a double fault, you couldn't get your first serve in. Up a break in the third, you couldn't capitalize on Rafa's dip in form and gave the break back and then couldn't hold off Rafa's charge. You absolutely did not play poorly. You absolutely played well.
But you absolutely won't be winning Wimbledon this year.
And I am absolutely gutted for you.
For 99.9% of FD readers, tomorrow is an awesome day. Fed's not involved and there's every reason to root for each of the final four to win. For Tomas, it'd be a hard earned reward for accomplishing the impossible. For Nole, it would be a roar of "I'M RELEVANT, GODDAMMIT!" and further cement his #2 ranking. For Rafa, it would be a cap on an amazing two-month run and further solidify him as the #1 player in the world. And for Andy, it would finally shut up the British press. OK, that last one is wishful thinking, but it would at least make him the first Brit to win a Slam since Fred Perry.
All great narratives. All worthy of a final berth. All feel good stories.
Fuck that.
You should be rooting for Nole and Andy. And here's why:
Another ridiculous day at Wimbledon. God bless and help us all.
"I loved you in Teaching Mrs. Tingle!!!"
Andy: "Well I was able to dominate him with my serve. Didn't think he played particularly well today. Couldn't hurt me with his serve and his forehand was rubbish."
Jarkko: "Dude. I'm right. here."
brb.
zomg! r u ok?
"But why is the other one wearing ski boots?"
Souvenir shopping, with Mohamed Lahyani.
"Alright, gentlemen. Whip 'em out. I brought a tape measure today."
Lovely.
"Psst! Judy! You brought the Bacardi, right?"
You confuse me. So much.
Your loss, Queenie.
Ruh roh. Halpert started a fashion trend.
"The old hag never comes to any of my matches and she shows up to that miserable git's second rounder? Fuck 'em all."
Q. Your bow had a lot of rhythm to it, tremendous depth. Some critics thought it might be a tad overproduced. Can you analyze it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: My bow didn't go the way I wanted. I didn't get my wrist action that I thought I would have, and then I got nervous. So my knee kind of got tight, and I felt a lot of pain in my left knee, so I couldn't get as low as I wanted to.
Q. So you're blaming your injuries?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm going to blame my injury....
Q. Yesterday Venus told me your curtsy was unreal. She also said you'd beat her in a curtsy‑off. Do you think there was too much hype for your curtsy?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it was definitely too much hype. I feel like I had the number one curtsy and then I just got nervous. Next time I'll have to take more Advil.
I definitely handle pressure way better on the court than off. No comparison....
Q. How did you find playing on Court 2?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I have mixed feelings about that. You know, I don't think I should be out there. But in a way, I feel like, you know, with my popularity, it's cool to see ‑‑ when I was leaving, I stayed for a while, and I signed tons of autographs. A lot of these people can't get into the Centre Court and stuff.
Other than that, that definitely made up for it, to see fans I wouldn't normally see....
Q. You talked in Paris about the strings you're using, giving you more spin. Do you feel the same kind of effect here on the grass with the ball?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, always the same, no? The string can help you, but you are the person, you are the player, not the string. You play; the string doesn't play. That's my feeling.
Sure, the string can help you for moments, for maybe the string is better than the other one because give me the chance to feel the ball more time inside the racquet. That's give me a little bit more control. But that's my feeling, that you are the person. You lose, you win, not the string....
Q. How did you feel when you woke up this morning physically? What did you do to prepare for this afternoon's match? Did you weigh yourself today and whether you lost any weight?
JOHN ISNER: I actually haven't weighed. I told myself I wanted to do that. When I go back to the locker room, I will.
But I'm one of the heaviest guys actually, I am the heaviest guy on the tour. I have a little bit of excess in the stomach area (smiling). I knew that was going to come in handy one day. It was kind of the reserve tank.
It's not that I eat unhealthy. I work hard. I just can't get rid of it.
Q. Is it still there?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah. It went down a little bit, I think (smiling)....
Q. After shedding so much weight in the last 24 hours, do you think you would make a good face of Weight Watchers in America?
JOHN ISNER: I guess. It's not like I'm a heifer or anything (laughter). Maybe....
Look at that fucking hipster.
The Queen showed up and The Moose put on a show. He served huge and sliced and diced his way to a solid win backed up, importantly, by a solid performance. If that didn't impress you, Queen Lady, I don't know what will. It was really beautiful tennis.
I love, so much, how nervous Muzz seemed to be about the whole ordeal. Apparently the idea to drop their bags was Jarkko's, as he was worried he might fall down if he had to bow with it on his back. The hand behind the back? A classy and adorable move.
Kim approves!
Round 1 is done (almost) and 64 players are drowing their sorrows in champs and berries.
In the grand scheme of things, that doesn't suck.
I just really dig that dress on Dani. Way to save Adidas, girl.
Yeah, you fuck that air, Daveed. Vamos!
The Architect Of My Discontent. Like, 15 times over.
Aw, shit. Game on.
And by "Game On" I mean, "I'm leaving Wimbledon drunk, poor, and working off my debt owed to Pimmy by doing things that I dare not write on a blog that my parents read."
Q. How difficult was it to play someone that played a lot of grass court tennis lately?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: She's a quality opponent. She has been ranked a lot higher than what she is. For whatever reason, she slipped back. She's definitely played a lot of matches recently as well. She qualified at the French as well as here and been playing well.
So, you know, it wasn't an easy first round by any means.
Q. If someone came to you before the clay season started and said, Here is the deal, you'll get to the Roland Garros final but out first round of Wimbledon, what would you say?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Uhm, well, I guess you'd kind of be happy, but also you'd hope to do better here. Yeah, that is what happened. I guess looking at it, the whole picture, I've got to be very happy with what I have achieved over the last few months.
I would have loved to have done better here, but it wasn't to be. But I'm definitely going to look at the last few weeks and go home pretty happy.
Q. Francesca also lost. Is it kind of hard going from this huge moment of high pressure, the great run, to crank it up all again a couple weeks later?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, for sure it's difficult. But, uhm, you know, that's the way it is. The champions of the game can do it back to back. And I guess that's the kind of pedestal that you want to try to look up to and try to get to yourself.
Yeah, neither of us had made it that far at the French and then had to turn it around in such a quick time frame.
You know, that's the way it is. You have to deal with that, try and cope as best you can....
Q. Can you talk us through your outfit today.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, we dubbed it Strawberries and Cream. Strawberries, is that the correct enunciation of it? I don't have a good British accent. The red is strawberries and the white is cream. It's not like a pure white; it's more of a cream. Also the red kind of symbolizes a lot of things I do in Africa, along with a lot of the work, like the red laces. Everybody that buys a pair can pretty much save a life in Africa.
I really kind of wanted to tie that all together with this championship. Since it means so much to me, I thought it could work well. The tournament means so much to me as well as the things I do in Africa. I thought it could also work well together.
Q. Your nails look good today.
SERENA WILLIAMS: They have strawberries on them, too. If I would have thought about it, I would have put a strawberry instead of a heart. They're hearts. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. I could have had a strawberry....
Q. What are your thoughts about Thursday with the Queen's visit and how are your curtsy practices going?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I was going to curtsy today on the court afterwards, but I think I flubbed it. So I'm definitely going to work on it a little more. I'm trying to tone down my wrist action (laughter).
But my curtsy is really fun. It's something that she'll definitely never forget, if I ever even get a chance to meet her.
No, we really don't do that so much in the United States, so I'm really working hard on it....
Q. Going back to the Queen, quite a lot made of a suggestion you might not bow to her on Thursday. Can you tell us about how you're feeling meeting her, if you will bow, and what you might say if you meet her?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know what I'll say exactly. I'll probably be a little bit nervous, understandably. I guess I don't want to mess up at all.
But, yeah, the plan was to bow to the Queen, as everybody would. It's just you wanted to get the right etiquette for what we were doing on the court. A few years back it definitely changed. Both players, when you went on Centre Court bowed, and they went out together. When they left the court, they left together, bowed again. Obviously, it's changed.
What I was trying to say, which I think was unfairly reported, was I wanted to make sure what the etiquette was before we went out on the court....
Q. I wanted to ask you a question about the tour. You've had a great early career, reaching No. 2, great run in New York. You're not going to be a teenager much longer. There really hasn't been a big breakthrough by a teenager on the WTA Tour since Maria here. Why do you think that is?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I think I'm an exception to that. And I think that reaching No. 2, it's not easy. Not everyone can do that.
I think the tour has just become very tough. A lot of players are playing well. Just look at the clay court results that have been, you know, Martina Sanchez winning Rome, Rezai winning Madrid, Schiavone winning French Open.
I mean, there's a lot of good players out there. It's not easy to be in the top of the rankings. I'm happy about my own progression, the way I've been playing.
Tennis is an individual sport. So I think about myself. I really think that age doesn't matter. I think you can be 30 and be on the top of the ranking, and you can be 17. It really doesn't matter. It's just about going out there, doing your best, and you can see how far you can go, how far your own limits are....
Q. Have you gotten to talk to Sasha much about his championship and did you get to watch any of the parade online or anything?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No. But I got a lot of pictures from it. It seemed really crazy. Yeah, I'm very happy for him and the team.Q. Couldn't have been much easier, could it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, it always could (laughter).
The faves were looking sharp today and in the case of Rafa and Muzz, they saw their draw potentially open up. After falling behind an early break to Hajek, Muzz turned on the afterburners, blitzing his way to an easy and very fun to watch straight set win. It was a sexy performance and one I haven't seen in quite a long time. Andy was attacking his returns, cracking backhand winners, and dictating play with his forehand. Lovely stuff and hopefully an omen of good things. The other good news for him: a gassed Fernando was upset by FaBrows Fognini. Then again, Andy would probably rather play Fer on grass than Jo, who notched a four set win. So...six in one, I suppose.
Rafa notched a fairly straightforward win over Project 45, who, I thought, acquitted himself well. Kei didn't roll over, instead making tactical adjustments as the match progressed to give himself a chance. I was impressed and I hope the kid stays injury free. Incidentally, my sister, who's been living in Tokyo for the past year and is in town for a visit, informed me that it's not "Cup 'o Noodles". It's just "Cup Noodles". Check the package next time. This totally blew my mind.
I love love LOVE Masha's kit. Love the jacket, love the dress, and love that she dished a stick and bagel while wearing it. As for Serena, well, her tennis was dominant. She fired down 15 aces. And thankfully she left that piece of fabric on her shoulders in her bag while she played. All I know is that while Serena makes me want to donate blood, I feel like hiring Masha to sue the shit out of Serena for fucking up the donation procedure.
But this is a tennis blog and I know you tune in to hear my always insightful analysis. So here it is:
These four players played good.
Fin.
Girl, that's a really easy way to get pink-eye.
It's like a cheat sheet in case he ever forgets!
Fairly certain this is Team NewBallsPlease chillin' in the queue.
I'd flick it.
Thirty, flirty, and thriving.
Brasil? Huh.
Yeah, cuz Paris was just a can-full of warm and fuzzy memories, huh, Moose.
Q. Putting that to one side, you do have Sam Querrey down the line potentially. Do you put him below the top echelon of guys, yourself, Roger, Rafa included:
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, he's a big guy, big game. Obviously played very well at Queen's. But, you know, there's a good chance that, you know, one of us is going to lose in the tournament. So it could come early; it could come later on. It's just, you know, very disrespectful to the rest of the guys in the draw, I think, to just look ahead of who's in front of you. You know, if Sam does well, I do well, there's a good chance we'll play. A lot can happen at Grand Slams.
Q. With regard to last night, I'm not going to ask you to comment about what went on on the pitch, because I know that's a mine field for you. In terms of the weight of public, national expectation, do you have some sympathy with Wayne Rooney?
ANDY MURRAY: The one thing that I do know is that when you are sort of in the heat of the moment, when you have just finished the match, when things haven't gone as you would have liked, you can say things you don't, you know, necessarily mean. You can be upset or angry about the way you played and therefore say something, you know, that you might regret, you know, even 20 minutes, 30 minutes afterwards.
But it is difficult. It's obviously a lot of pressure on England to do well at the World Cup. You know, it's the same, you know, with the tennis players here, with a lot of sport in this country because, you know, it gets a lot of coverage.
Everybody loves -- well, most of the people I know love watching sport, especially the big events. People want to see him do well. When you don't, they're not best pleased.
Q. From the nation, from the media. Are we too desperate?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know if it's desperate. You know, I just think, you know, obviously being a quite wealthy country, there's been a lot of money invested in sports. We'd probably like to see a little bit more sort of rewards and titles for it.
In all of the matches that I played at Wimbledon, the support that I've had has been great. Everybody has got behind me. Played in some of the best atmospheres I've ever played in. They support very well.
But, you know, I think to win a World Cup is incredibly difficult. To win Wimbledon is incredibly difficult, as well. These are very, very, hard, hard things to do. There's been a lot of people that have come close the last few years, last 10 or 15 years with Tim, and myself last year. You know, we just need, yeah, the support. If we get that, hopefully one day we'll be able to change it.
Q. You were telling us a few nights ago the nerves do kick in here.
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, that's great. I love it.
Q. How have they been?
ANDY MURRAY: No, right now I'm not nervous. I'll be nervous probably the night before the match. And then, yeah, when I get on the court, you know, I'm sure I'll be nervous at the start. But being nervous is one of the best things for a sports person. You know, it shows that you care, that you're ready to play. If there's no nerves, that's when I get worried. If I don't have that adrenaline... I feel like I play my best tennis when I have the adrenaline, when I'm nervous. I hope, come Tuesday, I'm very nervous when I go on the court.
“I’m on my best behavior at Wimbledon anyway, so I’ll try,” he said dryly, breaking into a wide smile.
-- Moose, on his attempt not to cuss in front of the Queen. Also, depending on what his opponent wants to do, he may or may not bow. Myself, I root for a Moose Curtsy.
I'm a bit busy with some personal stuff this week (don't worry, it's nothing serious or anything) so I apologize for falling behind on the blogging. To be honest, I normally don't feel bad about it (because I'm a dick) but seeing as how Wimbledon starts in less than a week, I feel particularly derelict in my responsibilities to you, the sometimes-loyal-but-would-totally-stab-me-in-the-back reader.
Thankfully there are other great tennis bloggers who aren't ignoring the tennis. I don't really like churning links, but again, it's the week before Wimbledon and I feel like if I don't set the table for all the jokes I plan to drop in the next couple of weeks, well, the jokes will fail. And nothing pisses me off more than someone making unfunny jokes especially when that someone is me.
So here's my churnalistic attempt to get you caught up with the goings on in Yellow Ball Land. And by "Yellow Ball Land" I mean tennis, not Asian porn. Get your head out of the gutter and into the game, pervies.
Rafa's going to go home to Mallorca and chill out for a bit after losing to Feli in the Queens, which if you ask me, is a good thing. That hamstring injury is a blessing in disguise.
And Andy dropped a third-set tiebreaker to Punch-and-Run Fish. So all the top seeds are out of Queens. Remaining? Feli, Querrey, Fish, and Schuettler.
So...anyone think the U.S. can actually beat England tomorrow?
Well, Queens had everything on the menu today. We had upsets, injuries, and Americans once again proving that if it ain't football, baseball, or basketball, we are a bunch of p-words.
Rafa was pushed in three tight sets by Istomin, 76(4) 46 64. More problematic than the challenge was a Rafa calling the trainer to look at his famous ass. Afterwards, Rafa complained of some pain the back of his leg and up to his bum. It sounds like a typical grass court injury (the players, used to the balls bouncing high on clay now have to get low for the balls on grass). He said he'll get some tests and hopes he can play tomorrow. Let's just be happy it wasn't his knees.
You knew it was going to be a bad day at the office for A-Rod when Dudi broke him in his second service game. Gilbert observed that the grass was playing a bit slow and I have to agree. Dudi played some inspired tennis though. You have to think Andy needs more than just two warm-up matches for Wimbly though.
Then Nole got bounced by ATomic Killer X-Man. Yeah...I don't know.
And then, to cap it all off, Mardy No-Socks had to pull the most chickenshit stunt I've seen in quite some time. After splitting sets with Muzz and jumping to a 3-0 lead in the third, No-Socks would drop the next three games to even it up at 3-3. At that point, he started bitching and moaning about the light (it was about 8:30pm), the tourney referee was called out, a conversation was had (which didn't include Andy), play was suspended, and then No-Socks abruptly packed his shit and walked off the court. Moose was livid and ripped the umpire for a good while. As he pointed out, No-Socks was perfectly happy to play 10 minutes ago when he was up in the set and "politely" reminded the chair that he had played until 9:30pm last week in Paris. The crowd wasn't too pleased either.
Seriously, Britain. With the amount of fight and lack of guile displayed by the Colonies these past few weeks, I have no idea why my dollar bills don't have the Queen on them. Maybe instead of muskets and frigates you should have just rolled out some grass turf back in 1775, poured yourself a hot cup of tea, and watched as we all ran to Canada.
Dear England: Please hand us our asses on Saturday. I'll be rooting for you.
The MurBros also won their doubles match over Sam Querrey and someone not named John Isner.
Well, that was definitely one way to go, Jamie.
You know it!
With the two ladies of his life sitting courtside, a freshly-shorn Moose kicked off his Queens campaign with a straight set win. He looks good!
I want to grab his ears. But anyway.
Moose Mania begins as Muzzard is in Queens to defend his title against a stacked field.
Guess the dude is ready for his close-up. Either that or the boys at 19 Entertainment held him down for a quick clip.
That tape sure does make me nervous, though.
And so another RG comes to a close. All in all, it was an odd tournament that had some unexpected twists and turns that ended in two memorable feel good moments that made you happy and proud to be a tennis fan. You can't ask for more than that.
Autograph request fail. Or win. I'm actually not sure.
Come to Mama. I'll make it all better.
Hey, does anyone have 3-Across?
It's all fun and games until Rafa doesn't show up.
I'm happy to see you too, Andy. At ease.
Please keep playing well. We need your brand of crazy on a more regular basis.
And I have a whole notebook full of poetry dedicated to you. You're my muse!
Ah. The irony of yellow.
Scuba! Scuba! Scuba!
Embrace your inner Techno.
No snark here. I just found this series of photos sweet and Rafa's look at the end hilarious.
Glad to see there are still Rudolf Fekete fans. Never forget!
"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."
Continue reading "Pic This: RG Days 5-9 (I Have Some Catching Up To Do) " »
It's never a good sign when, playing Tomas Berdych in a Slam, *you're* the headcasey one. But so it goes for Moose who is packing his bags to return to London to get ready for the Marijuana Slam. Andy couldn't find his game against the composed (huh?) and steady (huh???) Big Berd, and, as it happens with Andy, he pretty much beat himself up verbally all match. Pissed at the conditions, pissed at the rain delay, and, based on his post-match comments, pissed at himself for not being able to raise his game.
Much deserved congrats to Tomas. The power is in the hair. He's proven once again that if you're a big lanky hitter, you can hit through Andy Murray on any surface. At least this time Andy seemed pissed about it, as opposed to the listless sorry performance he put in against Cilic at USO09. Tommy will play Mischa in the quarters.
Roland Garros Semifinalist Tomas Berdych?
HUH???????????
Lord, those pictures are so fail (and those aren't even the worse ones!). I'd still hit it.
Great profile piece on Moose. Nothing particularly new but it's chock full of glum, monotone quotage from the man himself.
What was the difference watching this match from here instead of on TV? From my pressroom monitor, errors appeared to have been produced by mental lapses or stupid risks. “How could Petkovic hit that into the net? She must be choking. Kuzzie, will you ever learn?” But when you get on the court, you can see that while there are pointless misses, the majority of them come because each player feels that she must live with a certain amount risk in her game—Petkovic aims for the baseline; Kuznetsova swings from the heels—because if they play it safe, they’re going to get killed on the next ball. Women’s tennis 2010: Don’t call it a bash fest; call it an arms race. For better and worse, hitting the hell out of the ball is playing percentage tennis. Only seeing it up close, closing the distance between yourself and the players, will let you appreciate this. Stylistic variety? That's an aesthetic element of the sport which is emphasized by the colder, distanced view of the TV camera. Here you feel the sparks of the athletic combat that goes on beneath.
...
From an emotional standpoint, you might see Murray as a whiner, a guy who’s always got some niggling complaint about something. Up close you can hear him mumble to himself, take deep breaths, get annoyed at an invisible person in the audience. Taken together, these little tics and gestures begin to seem like Murray’s method of competing, of bracing himself, bit by bit, moment by moment, for the psychological strains of a match. It’s the pep talk of a fundamentally pessimistic person, and it doesn’t look like an easy act to pull off. When Murray tells the crowd to shut up a few inches from me, it isn’t anger that I see in his face. It’s embarrassment over his missed shot, over his small failure. Every tennis match is a performance where flubbed lines are a given. But that doesn't make flubbing a shot in public any easier.
Read the whole piece. It's fantastic. What I love about Steve's writing, aside from his eloquence, is the clear passion for the game. A lot of tennis writers, I won't name names, sound like writing about tennis is a chore, an annoyance, a thorn in their side. You finish reading their pieces and regardless of the quality of their analysis (to the extent there is *any* analysis at all) you don't feel like they even enjoy the sport they cover. I never get that sense with Tignor's writing, which is why I always look forward to reading whatever he posts.
Day 4 was wet 'n wild, but let's kick this off, Awesome Style.
You're too cute to play in the dark. Thank God for suspended play.
Man, Flavia does not cheat on those net kisses.
That is a damn lot of limb.
In Mother Russia, rain falls on you. No, wait, that's the same. Nevermind.
"So then this guy named Christian something opens the door and they all go inside..."
Oh don't be coy. It doesn't suit you.
Do they have Rockette's in the UK?
Watch!
This used to be funny. It's kinda not anymore.
Oh, Cone. I miss you.
More after the jump.
The motto for Survivor, a show that I have avoided ever watching for however long it's aired, is "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast." It's actually a bit of a misnomer. You don't actually have to outwit or outplay the other contestants to win. All that matters is that you outlast them, however way you can.
That principle applied to the epic Reeshie/Moose match, a five setter that saw ridiculous quality from Richard in the first two sets, scrappy "how the hell is he hanging in there" Houdini shit from Muzzard, before, as many predicted, Ricky ran out of gas in the third set, allowing the fitter Moose to cruise to victory.
It was interesting match insofar as there were no villains (except the FFT, arguably) and despite the feeling of inevitability that crept in as Rico's legs and mind began to fail him, the match was full of drama and tension. As a Moose fan, there was just so much to like about how Rich was striking the ball in those first two sets. That one backhand down the line in the first set? That second serve backhand return in the second? You know which ones I'm talking about. They were epic and welcome reminders as to why Richard Gasquet matters and why, whether or not he's playing one of your faves, it's important to root for him. He falls into that category along with Nalby, Ernie, and Marcos. Tennis is beautiful and varied when they play well.
But Ricardo ran out of gas (see how I'm avoiding the "Gassed-quet" pun? Discretion is the better part of valor). Again, inevitable. He's not fully fit in a "I can compete ever other week for a year" kind of way, and was coming off back-to-back tournaments and an 3+ hour grinding Nice final against FeVer. I honestly don't think it would have made a difference if the FFT gave him an extra day.
As for Muzzard, even with all the caveats, this was an important win for him. The way Rick was playing I fully expected Andy to lose his shit and go away. But he fought hard and really, if a few points go the other way *cough*muffedvolleyintothenetonsetpoint*cough*, who knows. This could have been a straight set win for the Moose. But the conjecture is irrelevant. He fought, he stayed with it, and all the wind sprints chasing Florida cheerleaders in the off-season paid off. So good on him.
Now don't let it go to waste, Moose.
