Forty Deuce

Pic This: How Do I Pledge?

Best Frat Ever.

I propose a new Davis Cup/Fed Cup tradition: A Champions Ball.  FUCK YEAH.


The man can wear a suit, that's for sure.

I'm sad he's not carrying his pocket square in his mouth.

JESUS CHRIST, DUDE.

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

"It ain't over. It still ain't over."


NO NO NO NO NO, Daveed! Pants off!

This video can be summed in the following:

Fernando: Hey, a flag, yay!
Feli: You should wear it like a cape.
Fernando: That's lame.
Feli: Fine, I will.
All: OH NOES CHAMPAGNE!!!

Fuck it. Can they just win everything from now on?

The Bullth of Barthelona Thelebrate

Lock up your women, sons, sheep, and lawns, people of Barcelona. 

The boys have won and they're ready to celebrate.

 

There's so much amazing in this pic I don't know where to begin.  SuperFeli to the rescue!

All I can think when I see these two is this.

 

"Me and You and You and Me, no matter how they toss the dice, it's meant to be."

These two are so this I can't even deal.

Is difficult to stay in the right colm, no?

 

"I love that Davis Cup so much...

...I want to take it out behind the school...

...and get it pregnant."

 

Glad these guys made the final.  Hell of a job, Czechies.

Manual Photoshopping, by Fernando Verdasco.  See?  He gets it.

2-0

DAVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!!!!!!

Let's be real, I did *not* think he had it in him.  Hobbling into Davis Cup, playing a streaking Steps, I just...really...didn't think he had a change here.  He was already a shock pick by Costa to play this second rubber, which I chalked up to Costa feeding him to the wolves, assuming the loss, in order to rest Fer for tomorrow and possibly Sunday.  And that's what it looked like after the first two sets, when Daveed was simply outclassed by Steps in the order of a 61 62 drubbing.

 

But Spain would not be denied.  Steps started to play too cute and Daveed picked up his game.  After he was able to take the third set, it really looked like it was going to turn around.  And did it ever.

Daveed would gut out the next three sets, 64 64 86, after 4 hours.  It was awesome.  He needed this win in a major way.

 

 

Save the Cheerleader.  Save the World.

Tough luck for the Czechs.  Sex should have really closed this out.  Doubt they can overcome a 0-2 deficit.  Radek will have to rally to get up for tomorrow's must win doubles rubber.

Team Edward or Team Jacob? You Gotta Choose.

I honestly don't know who I'm rooting for here but I think it's Spain, if for no other reason than that I want Rafa to end his season on a high note.  Speaking of high notes...what's up with Feli's hair?  Or Fer's for that matter.

That said, I'd be totally super duper happy for the Czechs if they win.

Spain comes into Davis Cup severely hobbled, both emotionally and physically.  We all know Rafa's struggling, but Fernando also expended a crapload of energy at in London, and he's now injured.  So much so that Costa has swapped in Daveed for singles, who we last saw withdraw from a match due to a hamstring injury.  That's...disconcerting, though Costa has indicated that Fer might be tapped to play Sunday if needed.  And have I mentioned Feli's hair?

The Czechs on the other hand come in very relaxed and high in confidence.  Well, at least Steps is feeling confident.  He had a great run to end the regular season.  As for Tomas, you never know what you're going to get with him but I have to think he's going to be pretty relaxed here, which is worrisome if you're on Team Spain.  If this tie were played in the Czech Republic, I'd be more worried for Tomas.  But playing away in Spain?  Something tells me the Czechs totally buy into the underdog mentality here.

As per usual in Davis Cup, doubles will be the key here.  Rafa can't do this all himself.  Despite the fact that Dlouhy/Hajek were officially tapped for the Czechs, unless they find themselves up 2-0 after the first day, expect Tomas and Steps to play dubs against Fer/Feli.  I expect it'll be 1-1 after Friday, so whoever wins dubs will clearly be in the driving seat.  

All this is to say, this is going to be a VERY interesting tie.  I am REALLY worried for Spain.

Friday 4 December – Play starts at 1600 (1500 GMT)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Tomas Berdych (CZE)
David Ferrer (ESP) v Radek Stepanek (CZE)

Saturday 5 December – Play starts at 1600 (1500 GMT)
Feliciano Lopez / Fernando Verdasco (ESP) v Lukas Dlouhy / Jan Hajek (CZE)

 
Sunday 6 December – Play starts at 1200 (1100 GMT)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Radek Stepanek (CZE)
David Ferrer (ESP) v Tomas Berdych (CZE)

Shanghai Surprises

First, quality guy Ivan Ljubicic beats Nando.  Huh?  Hardly anyone loses to Ljubicic anymore.

 

I didn't see any of it, but from what I've read it sounds like he was playing terribly.  And was in a terrible mood.  I think maybe his hair is having an opposite Samson effect on him.  (Seriously, he pulled out of his doubles match with a knee injury, so there is that.)

Then there was Feli beating Dah-veed, which seems less surprising since Dah-veed is so wildly inconsistent these days, but then... it's Feli.  Who is pretty, but for most of this year hasn't really served any other purpose.

 

There's so much to say about this that I don't even know where to start.  Oh, Feli.  The shorts.

Then, there were the retirements.  JMDP made it about a set and a quarter against Melzer before he gave up the ghost (wrist injury) and Tommy H made it one set against Rainer Schuettler before calling it a day (shoulder).  I'm watching the JMDP match now and it's painful; MoLay in the chair is definitely the highlight.  All the absences, retirements and injuries in Shanghai are beginning to make it look like an actual battlefield.  Any day now, I expect someone's leg to actually fall off.

Singles - Second Round

[1] R Nadal (ESP) d J Blake (USA) 62 67(4) 64

[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [Q] F Fognini (ITA) 63 61 
J Melzer (AUT) d [3] J del Potro (ARG) 75 21 ret. (right wrist)
[5] J Tsonga (FRA) d [WC] S Zeng (CHN) 63 63 
I Ljubicic (CRO) d [7] F Verdasco (ESP) 64 76(6)
[8] G Simon (FRA) d V Troicki (SRB) 63 64
[9] R Soderling (SWE) d N Almagro (ESP) 64 75
[11] G Monfils (FRA) d L Hewitt (AUS) 46 64 62
[14] T Robredo (ESP) d [Q] F Mayer (GER) 46 76(10) 64 - Saved 3 M.P.
[Q] R Schuettler (GER) d [15] T Haas (GER) 64 ret. (right shoulder)
F Lopez (ESP) d [16] D Ferrer (ESP) 46 75 61 
T Berdych (CZE) d [WC] M Safin (RUS) 36 64 64

Shanghai'd

It's so bizarre to be writing about these matches almost 24 hours after they happened.  Oh, Asian tennis.

It is just not right for someone to be that beautiful.  At least he won today, giving his Chinese devotees at least one more opportunity to enjoy the show.  They're really turning it out for his farewell tour, the signs in the audience are not quite as good as the Savage Garden lyrics in Beijing, but they're still pretty great.

 

"Just be yourself"?  Awesome.  And is that a... puppy in a dress on the bottom one?  [sigh]  It's not just Marat I'll miss, it's the insanity he generates.  Anyway, no major surprises today in Shanghai; all the seeds who played won, as did Stan and Blah.  Of course, all the seeds winning means we also got this:

 

... as Richie went out in straights to #16 seed Ferrer.  There was also the little matter of Ernie losing in straights to Fabio Fognini.  I'm sure it must have been something about the eyebrows.  Personally, I really believe that these two people must be the two must frustrating players to be a fan of, like, in the tennis universe.  How do people subsist for so long on nothing but unfulfilled talent?  Okay, I guess at least Ernie is still pretty young.  But Gasquet fans... that's some major devotion.

(Speaking of, I'm actually watching the rerun of Ferrer/Gasquet right now, and the commentators just described Dah-veed as "a very adequate volleyer".  That goes right under the heading "Damning with Faint Praise.")

Singles - First Round
[10] F Gonzalez (CHI) d M Zverev (GER) 75 67(0) 22 ret. (right wrist)
[13] R Stepanek (CZE) d J Ferrero (ESP) 63 60
[14] T Robredo (ESP) d [Q] M Llodra (FRA) 61 64
[16] D Ferrer (ESP) d R Gasquet (FRA) 64 63
J Blake (USA) d I Karlovic (CRO) 36 76(4) 63
[WC] M Safin (RUS) d [WC] M Gong (CHN) 64 64
S Wawrinka (SUI) [Q] L Kubot (POL) 26 76(5) 76(3)
[Q] F Mayer (GER) d P Petzschner (GER) 63 62
[Q] R Schuettler (GER) d M Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 64 36 76(2)
[Q] F Fognini (ITA) d [WC] E Gulbis (LAT) 76(3) 63
[Q] T Bellucci (BRA) d [Q] M Chiudinelli (SUI) 76(3) 64

Anyone For Tennis?

Cuz clearly the pros are vacation in NYC. 

A-Rod's off doing some cross training at Yankee stadium.

Venus is busy stimulating the economy...

...and going on cruises.

Masha's off celebrating the other Serena's 22nd birthday...

...and 's dorking it up while schilling her wares. 

(The jury's out on the "comfortability" of the Cole Haan gear.)

Serena's going all retro and getting oiled up...wait a sec...

Well, of course.  I mean, duh.

And then everyone and their mother showed up to the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis event as if it were a free buffet.  Even the Daveed's sensitive soul couldnt say no to that.  But trust me, he was way emo about it.  Well, or whatever the Spanish equivalent to emo is.

Thankfully Marin actually did show up and dear God I hope he did treat it like a buffet.

Andy broke out his evening hat and manned the bar.  You know, like a good Austin boy would.

Shit, even Bepa showed up.  BEPA!!!  That's how crazy this is!  And dudes!  She even went to the K Swiss event!  Dammit, now I want to just do Patron shots with her.  And that's saying something.  Because I feel about Patron the way Bepa feels about her racquets.

Does *anyone* want to play tennis? 

Let's face it, when Bepa is the only Russian at your cocktail party, something's gone horribly awry.  Unless it's like...a U.N. peacekeeping envoy cocktail party, in which case, you better get ready for a shot of peace with a harmony chaser.

But seriously, where are the Serbs in all this?  You're telling me a party was thrown and Ana wasn't the guest of honor, Nole wasn't invited, and JJ didn't crash it?  What is this world?  And where the fuck are Marat and Dina?  My head hurts.

Please, Clarissa.  Explain it all.

Oh, and Blah put on a suit and signed some books somewhere.

Hit Me Up

The players have been hitting the practice court at the BJK center. 

Which of course means practice pics.  

Preferably shirtless ones.  Let's be real.

I wanna lick it.  

I am A-OK with Lanky McLankerson keeping his XXL Fila shirt on though.

No one needs to see a concave chest.

Did LaMonf get a new tattoo?  Or have I just missed that one?

Dude, I am begging you.  Sandwich.  Stat.

Wonder how many racquets were broken in this practice session.

And where there are shirtless boys, you know there will be a JJ nearby.

No official word on how long that shirt stayed on.

Do The Hippy Hippy Shake Shake...

The Lawnmower man with a bit of a resurgent run in Cincy.  After beating Sods in the first round, he's now into the quarterfinals with a quality win over Sam.

Tough luck, Q-Boy.  Now rest up for the USO.

Nole's through without much incident.  Ajde, Falcon!

 

And in the battle of dudes dating chicks hotter than them, Muzz dished a bagel on Steps, who was never in the match.  Muzz is starting to walk around with the strut, folks.  

Muzz is still on track to meet Fed in the semis as Fed withstood a challenge by Daveed, who took the first set from Fed and lead 3-1 in the third before pulling a "Ferrer" and just playing like a stone cold idiot.  But you know, congrats to Fed or whatever.

Rafa just took the court and Gilles and Kolya have split sets.  

Belly Up

The boys were all about showing off their goods today in Cincy.  Isner scored a huge win over Haasi, in a tight three setter 76(5) 57 76(3).  Really nice win for Halpert.

And Gilly has a two match win streak (what???) with his three set win over Igor.  Man, there is a whole lotta lank going on in that wee little body of yours, Mr. Simon.

But the rest of the day saw quite a few surprising results.  Gonzo retired after the first set to Big Berd, Fer lost to Garcia-Lopez, Lawnmower took out Sods, and Daveed stopped Not!Mario in straights as well.  Add to that list FeLo going down 9-7 in the third set tie break to DoucheStamp, Techno falling to Gooch, and Blah losing to Consumption (ok, maybe that one's not really an "upset") and you have yourself quite the eventful day for the sausages.

Singles - Second Round
[9] G Simon (FRA) d I Andreev (RUS) 76(5) 67(6) 61
D Ferrer (ESP) d [14] M Cilic (CRO) 76(4) 62

Singles - First Round
T Berdych (CZE) d [10] F Gonzalez (CHI) 64 ret. (knee)
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d [11] F Verdasco (ESP) 76(4) 76(4)
L Hewitt (AUS) d [12] R Soderling (SWE) 36 76(8) 63 - saved 2 M.P.
[Q] M Youzhny (RUS) d V Hanescu (ROU) 75 62
J Melzer (AUT) d F Lopez (ESP) 57 76(4) 76(7)
A Seppi (ITA) d [Q] J Hernych (CZE) 36 64 61
[Q] C Guccione (AUS) d P Kohlschreiber (GER) 75 26 63
I Kunitsyn (RUS) d J Blake (USA) 76(5) 67(5) 64
P Petzschner (GER) d [Q] S Bolelli (ITA) 76(6) 63
[WC] J Isner (USA) d T Haas (GER) 76(5) 57 76(3)

Doubles - Second Round
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d R Lindstedt (SWE) / M Melo (BRA) 64 64

Doubles - First Round
M Llodra (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) d J Melzer (AUT) / R Stepanek (CZE) 76(2) 64

"Californiaaaaaaaaaa...."

Some things are simply a sight for sore eyes. 

You want to see this...

You don't want to see this...

Rafa's return resulted in a bout half a set of play before Daveed was forced to retire due to a knee injury.  I haven't been able to watch the match yet but from what I understand, Rafa looked pretty rusty, particularly his serve.  I wonder if he went out to practice after the match or whether he decided to rest the knees.

Best of luck, Daveed.  Hope this doesn't affect his US Open.

Why, Daveed? Why?

Sigh.  I really wish I knew what was up with Daveed.  I suppose the more time passes the more we all have to accept that 2007 was a complete fluke.  But it's a shame.  The #2 seed lost to Nicholas MasDouche, 46 62 64.

Singles - Second Round
[1] N Davydenko (RUS) d A Martin (ESP) 62 63 
N Massu (CHI) d [2] D Ferrer (ESP) 46 62 64
[4] J Melzer (AUT) d P Cuevas (URU) 64 63 
[5] J Ferrero (ESP) d P Starace (ITA) 16 63 62 
I Ljubicic (CRO) d [6] N Almagro (ESP) 75 76(2)
[7] A Seppi (ITA) d F Gil (POR) 75 76(5)
S Bolelli (ITA) d F Fognini (ITA) 63 64
M Gonzalez (ARG) d O Hernandez (ESP) 64 64

CTRL-D

Thanks to the best gay for sending this along.  Nice to see the hot boys of tennis getting the love and respect they deserve.

But no Goth Bols or Janko?  Blasphemy!

Pic This: So What'd I Miss During My 72 Hour All Nighter?

It's a good day to be Agnes.


We get it.  You're *so* pretty.  Stop.


Something about Pavs is very Mini-Dina.  I can't stop lolling.


Suspect.


Jesus!!!


Devil. 

They are often dressed the same.  Some might argue they have the same sponsor.

Yeah, wrap you little heads around that one, kiddies.  Suck it, C.S. Lewis!


"Pass the dutchie 'round the left hand side, Pass the dutchie on the left hand side."


Show off.


Man.  The 'coon eyes need to go.


Oh, look at you pounding on your heart.  I just want to give you a noogie.


Ana.  Tongue.  Wrinkly Sausage Finger Man Hands. 

You're welcome, boys.


Masha/Dina semis?  Masha/Ana semis?  The world is your oyster.


Gilles Simon: The Daniela Hantuchova of the ATP.  Wear some bike shorts or something. 


I want to go to there.  Minus the RogerSex.  But otherwise, YES.


I'm going to pretend that's Mo in the chair.  Because that makes it 700,000% awesomer.


Never Forget.

Pic This: RG Day 1

The RG Sunday start.  Nothing quite like it.


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

Yeah, a bit nervy these French, no?


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


Fired up Gilly is the hottest Gilly of all.


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


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

As for Pico...yeah....


 Yin and Yang. 

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

 
Nice little keg you got going there, Lleyton.


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


That is some impressive sweating, Ernie.  Well done.


ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?!?

Back In Black

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

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

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

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

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

I Mean, Is It Even Fun For You Anymore, Rafa?

Rafa beat Daveed 62 75 today to capture his fifth straight Barcelona title.  This brings his clay win streak to 25 and only three losses in 113 matches.  Also, he's 24-1 in clay court finals.

Does he have a separate house for all the trophies?  He should look into that.  Maybe he can rent some space out at Ana's place. 

On to Rome, where Fed, Nole, and Andy are already waiting.

Elle-O-V-E

 
The Armada, sans Rafa, posed for Elle. 

And...well...HOLY SHIT!


Dude.  Fer.  You are so hot when you don't look like a greasy d-bag.  C Note approves.


Oh Disco.  Stop sucking in.  Thank God Elle redeemed you in that second one.


Excuse me while I have a moment to myself...


LOL.  He's *such* a model.

A million thanks to Girl From Michigan for posting the link.

So Who's Playing For Second Place?

Barthelona draw.

If I had to guess I'd say it's going to be a Fer/Rafa final.  The Kolya/Stan quarter has the potential to be a bit of a blood bath.  Fer's half isn't too rough and he played some solid clay court tennis last week.  And though Daveed made the finals here last year and showed some signs of life last week, I'm sticking to my "I'm never buying Lord Farquaad stock again" policy. 

Apart from some potentially fun matchups it's hard to get up for this tournament on the heels of the very high quality play in Monte Carlo.  But I suppose it'll provide some good information for handiapping the field at RG.  I still don't really know how a lot of the #15-60 rate on clay.  That said, I'm not going to lose any sleep to find out.

Here's hoping that the tournament gives us some fun pictures again though.  Last year was a bit of a HoYay! boondoggle:

 

Maybe God's A Fed Fan

[Insert Mordor Joke Here]

Other than the Stanley/Fed match only three matches were played to their conclusion today in rain soaked Monte Carlo.  Nole and Montanes played through the rain (though I think they were on a covered court) with Nole dishing out a bagel on his way to a win.  Fer told Steve Tignor to suck it and thoroughly trashed Daveed, 2 and 1.  It's official, Daveed.  I refuse to every buy your stock ever again.  I mean, I was rooting for Fer but come on, dude, you can't give us hope like that and then crash out 2 and 1.  Go have a burger and some cigs and think about what you've done.

Meanwhile, Andreas Beck is quietly having one heck of a tourney.  He beat Pico in three.

[3] N Djokovic (SRB) d A Montanes (ESP) 61 67(4) 60
[7] F Verdasco (ESP) d [10] D Ferrer (ESP) 62 61
[Q] A Beck (GER) d J Monaco (ARG) 36 62 75

Here are the matches that have to be played/finished tomorrow:

[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs [Q] N Lapentti (ECU) - to finish 01
[4] A Murray (GBR) vs [Q] F Fognini (ITA) - to finish 76(11) 10
[12] D Nalbandian (ARG) vs [8] N Davydenko (RUS)
S Bolelli (ITA) vs [WC] I Ljubicic (CRO)

This really sucks for Rafa and, potentially, Muzz.  They're going to have to play two matches in one day. 

More From Around The Grounds

Here's the thing.  If you were to ask me what my favorite matches were this past week it would actually take some time to even recall what matches I attended.  For me, the tournaments aren't really about the tennis that's played in stadium court (though, the Simon/Lu and Rafa/Nalby matches were rad).  I can and do watch tennis matches all the time.  The real action is around the practice courts and near the player areas. 

A rare smile from Nalby on the practice courts.

Old Man Fed holding his back.  THAT must be why he lost to Murray.

Shirtless Viktor.

Sam and his Querrey Hand under the watchful eye of Jose Higueras.

The only thing we liked about Vika: Her shoes.

Flavia Stink Eye is the best.

LaMonf playing some footie.

Sveta on her way to practice.  She stuck around for a few days after she lost.  Good.  She needed the work.  Unfortunately her practices were not great.

Aww...puppy.

Creepy tennis paparazzi.  I think this is after Ana apologized to Victoria for not being able to stop for an autograph. "No, sorry."  Adorbs.

For *this* you don't put a towel over your face?  

(Pics for Forty Deuce by Love All and C Note)

Pic This: More From Saturday @ IW

Daveed.

Some dude.

Dani

Dima yukking it up on the practice field with Viktor.

Daveed and Chucho taking a breather.

Rod Laver explaining to Bud Collins what Roger has to do to beat Rafa (seriously).

She actually looks like she knows what she's doing in this pic.

Gilly and the beautiful surroundings.  And smog.  But let's focus on the positive here.

Rafa at night.  Dude was MOBBED.

Sania does not look convinced by Sven's advice.  She would lose serve in the very next game and stare angrily at Sven. 

(Pics for Forty Deuce by C Note and Love All)

Hey Ladies...

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Ethpana!

Yeah, if I were a spectator, I'd be sitting in the aisleways, too.

 

But play did finally kick off in Benidorm with three matches set to be played.  Daveed and Nole the Smurf kicked off the tie and though Nole showed some flashes of his old form, his groundstrokes were all over the place and his serve was wonktastic (hmmm...sounds like another Serb I know).  And he insisted on trying to dropshot Daveed.  Roger's got nothing on Nole in the stubborness department.  Nole put up a nice fight to come back in the third to make it closer, but it was a straight set win for the resurgent Daveed, 63 63 76(3).

 

 Next up, the Return of the King of Clay.  Do I really need to write this up?  The good news for Tipsy?  He held his opening serve to level the match 1-1.  The bad news?  He would go on to lose the next 11.  Final score: 61 60 62.  Watching Rafa on hard courts for 8 months, it's easy to forget how ruthless his game is on clay.  It's just not right.

With Rafa's match being so quick, there was time for doubles.  Nole pulled out and was replaced by Viktor, and the Serbs got the win over a seemingly discombobulated FeLo and Disco.  Disco really does suck at Davis Cup, no?

The win guarantees a Rafa/Nole rubber tomorrow.  Let's see if Nole can get up for that one.

The Battle For Relevancy

 

That's your finals lineup folks and you know this had to mean a lot for both of these guys.

Nole gutted out a three setter over Gilly, fighting both himself and the heat, 36 75 75.  The temperature ranged from 36-40 degrees during the match and while Gilly had played all his matches during the afternoon, Nole had played all his prior matches at night.  The kid looked out of it in the third, falling behind a break immediately before finding a way to grind out the win.

“I think I fought my way through in the match, really believed till the end and mentally this is a very important win for me,” said Djokovic. “If I want to stay on top of the men's game, I have to win these matches because Simon is certainly one of the best players in the world.”

A disappointed Simon said: “I was just playing very badly, so even when I had opportunities I wasn’t not able to do anything with them. I had several chances to break him in the second and third sets, but every time I just made a mistake. I think I had enough chances to win this match and finally I lost it, so that's why it is a very bad match.”

Gilly definitely had this match and it's a shame to see him lose it.  But all credit to Nole for fighting through.  This has to help him so much mentally.

On the other side, I definitely didn't see Daveed woodshedding Reeshard 62 62.  But he put on a pretty fantastic display to do so, so all credit to him.

Well That Was Some Unnecessary Drama.

Yeesh.  I'm glad I was too busy at work to pay attention to the livescores.  I might have had a bit of a fit.  Rafa was pushed to three sets by Goth Bols, eventually winning, 46 62 75.  I can't stand all these indoor pictures.  After being spoiled by all the great shadows and light from AO, this just looks so bush league.  Oh well.

In other drama, Daveed couldn't keep is semi-strong run going, losing to Misha, 62 36 62.  I wish I knew what was up with that kid.  He had a nice win over Baggy last week in Johannesburg.  It would have been nice to see him follow it up.

 
Meanwhile, the Frenchies roll on, as Jo and Gilly notched tough straight set wins.  This winning is getting contagious as even their non-Muskateer countrymen are catching on, with Marc Gicquel and Michael Llodra both winning three setters over Koralev and Dr. Ivo, respectively.

Here are your scores (Kolya and Apricot Bars are still playing):

[1] R Nadal (ESP) d S Bolelli (ITA) 46 62 75
[4] G Simon (FRA) d P Kohlschreiber (GER) 75 76(1)
[7] J Tsonga (FRA) d [WC] J Huta Galung (NED) 76(4) 76(4)
M Ancic (CRO) d R Schuettler (GER) 75 62
M Llodra (FRA) d I Karlovic (CRO) 46 63 64
[LL] M Gicquel (FRA) d [Q] E Korolev (RUS) 36 63 62
M Youzhny (RUS) d [6] D Ferrer (ESP) 62 36 62
 

Daveed Shows Off Cultural Awareness, Offers Dudi A Bagel.

How nice of him.  Daveed kicked off is South African safari by reeling off 12 straight games to beat Dudi Sela, 62 60.  I hope he didn't offer him schmear, too.  That shit don't keep in the hot SA sun.

Over in Zagreb we have absolute anarchy.  Top seed Igor (that's weird to say) was unceremoniously dumped by a qualifier, losing 1 and 4, #5 seed Douche Stamp lost to Baby Marat, 4 and 0, and Goth Bols was ousted by the forgotten Serb, 3 and 4.

The only good news?  Ernie survived a retarded first round match with Dima, who came in unseeded because he's retarded and didn't turn in his paperwork on time.  Thankfully that didn't derail Bad Luck Ernie, who won 46 64 64.

Other Men's Scores:

South Africa:
[1] J Tsonga (FRA) d T Alves (BRA) 64 61
[2] D Ferrer (ESP) d D Sela (ISR) 62 60
[5] J Chardy (FRA) d J Vanek (CZE) 60 64
[7] K Vliegen (BEL) d [Q] R Hutchins (GBR) 76(3) 64
I Minar (CZE) d K Anderson (RSA) 76(4) 64
F Gil (POR) d D Koellerer (AUT) 64 60
[Q] M Chiudinelli (SUI) d F Cipolla (ITA) 75 16 64
D Istomin (UZB) d S Ventura (ESP) 46 64 76(3)

Zagreb:
[Q] I Dodig (CRO) d [1] I Andreev (RUS) 61 64
[3] I Karlovic (CRO) d P Petzschner (GER) 63 64
E Korolev (RUS) d [5] J Melzer (AUT) 64 60
[7] M Ancic (CRO) d [Q] L Lacko (SVK) 64 67(6) 75
V Troicki (SRB) d [8] S Bolelli (ITA) 63 64
J Hernych (CZE) d [WC] N Mektic (CRO) 63 75
S Stakhovsky (UKR) d [Q] D Hrbaty (SVK) 62 46 61
E Gulbis (LAT) d D Tursunov (RUS) 46 64 64
M Zverev (GER) vs [6] A Seppi (ITA) (still to play)

Pic This: Rawr!

(Thanks to the ever nerdy gauloises for the pics)

The Boys Duke It Out

A fairly straighforward morning for the boys.  A-Rod waxed Rehnquist, 60 62 62.  I have to say, A-Rod looks great.  He's lost some weight, is moving well, and whacking that forehand when he gets the chance.  He's still no match for the big four, but good for him.

A somewhat slim and trim (I mean, by Baggy's standards) got through in straight sets over Apricot Bars.  And Big Byrd took out Ginepri in straights as well.

And the Crazy Train keeps on rolling.  The kid has really impressed this season.  He just looks solid.  He won in straights, 3 4 and 2.

Nole's also through, not without having to come back from 4-0 down in the third.  But he came back and got off the court in under two hours.  Nice show of sportsmanship at the end with the soccer-style shirt swap. 

Of course, it's not the first day of a Slam without some drama.  Daveed was all over the place in his match, a match that should never have gone 5 sets.  Someone get that kid a pack of smokes for game days.  I think it would help.  Luckily, he pulled through in the end, 61 67 61 67 64,

And then we had the longest match in AO history between FeLo and Muller.  I got heat stroke just from watching.  Muller eventually won this war of attrition, winning 16-14 in the 5th.  Poor FeLo. 

Nope, I'm Not Sick Of Them

Rafa finally reunited with the Boys and the whole Armada was in Madrid today wearing suits and looking pretty to be received and congratulated by the Spanish Prime Minister.

Sigh.  I'm still on a high.
 

 

I Know I Keep Harping On It But They Were Such Good Sports.

Thanks to rafadoc for posting this over at TW. 

In a nutshell the video is by a satirical show on Spanish TV that sent a "reporter" to ambush the Armada at the Madrid airport on their way to Argentina.  He interviews each of the players by rambling on about Rafa for most of the interview and then give each player three gifts for good luck: (1) a picture of Saint Rafa, (2) a newborn's wrist band so that they don't get lost, and (3) New York Magazine with Rafa on the cover to read on the plane.

And yes, I think I just fell in love with Daveed even more.  He was so quick to laugh and go with the joke.  And he really is a good looking dude when he's not dripping in sweat and walking like a turtle on the court. 

Also, much love for FeLo, who offers to hold the dude's microphone so that he can properly tie the bracelet on.

How Can You Not Love These Guys?

Davis Cup Dinner
Toreros
Rafa Looking Good
Yo Soy Espanol!
A Hilarious, But Failed, Attempt

Pic This: "Yes We Can."

Last set of pics from Day 3 of the Davis Cup.  Sniff.  I'm going to miss it.

I have this unjustified fear/hatred of Spiderman.  So I screamed a little when I saw this one.

"Frank the Tank!  Frank the Tank!"


Poor puppy.  And good on Elf for consoling him. 


On the serious, I'm really happy for Nando.


Yup.  Pretty much.  Will Nalby be on the team next year?  We gonna see.


"NOOOO!!!!  NOT THE HAIR!!!!"


FeLo goes for the jewels.


Sigh.  Perfection.  I'm gonna miss you the most, Sugar Daddy.

Pic This: Advantage, Armada.

 More pics from Day 2:

Heh.  Heh heh.

 
The High Flying Armada.  Love it.


Heh heh heh.


LOL.  Look at Farquaad.

 
Sigh.  So pretty.

Fat Dave Beats Up Lil Dave, Then Eats His Sandwich

So Nalby's pretty fired up for this one, huh?  Seriously, WHERE IS THIS GUY FOR 8 MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR?  He absolutely pwned Daveed, winning 63 62 63.  Just as important as the win itself is the fact that Nalby didn't have to work too hard to get it, which means that he should be fairly fresh should he be tapped for the doubles match tomorrow.

Since Hot Crazy Injured Foot Elf lost today to the Belle of da Ball (more on that later), I'm pretty sure Mancini's going to call on Dave to play doubles, especially if he can't coung on a physically unfit Elf on Sunday.

Looks like this Davis Cup will rest on the fat shoulders of Large.

"Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make."

It's been killing me for a while now.  Daveed Ferrer looked like somebody and I could not for the life of me figure it out.  Until now:

Booyah!

Good Luck, Spain. You're Gonna Need It.

Well, that picture pretty much sums it up, don't you think?

The draw took place this morning.  Nalby and Daveed will kick things off in the first match on Friday.

Spain has officially tapped FeLo for the second singles match, and he'll face Crazy Shaven Hot Train in the second singles rubber.

As for doubles, interestingly, Nalby hasn't been tapped for that right now, but that can change depending on Friday's results (he could be subbed in up to an hour before the start of the match).

So no Granola and Spains hopes rest on the beautiful shoulders of FeLo.  Yeah, if I were Ana, I'd stay home too.

I Have No Idea What They're Saying. Nor Do I Care.

But they sure are pretty.

Videos of the Spanish Armada prepping for the DC Final:

I'm such a sucker for men who wear scarves.  I don't know what it is.  

The Boys Hit The Court In Argentina

The Davis Cup Final begins on Friday, which means we should be getting five days worth of awesome pictures of the boys sweating it up in Mar del Plata.

Nando, I beg of you, shave that longish ratty tail thing you've got going on in the back.  I'm sure Ana likes to twirl it around in her fingers, but still. 

Daveed's racquet never fails to crack me up.  It looks like something Barbie would have.

Here's hoping the trainer next attempts to tackle Granola's "Clooney circa 1994" Roman Centurian hair.

I'm so swooning over Emilio.

Nice to see Argentina actually hitting the courts, seeing as everyone has all but handed the trophy over to them at this point.

Not that they're all that stressed.  Acasuso's drinking herbal tea for god's sake.

"Eli's coming, hide your heart girls."

JMDP took Daveed behind the shed and gave him a whoopin.  Is there any doubt in anyone's mind anymore that JMDP is the real thing?  Watch out Kolya, I think we have a new #5 coming in 2009.  Watch your rear view, boys, Eli's coming.  Sylar will simply not be stopped.

I'm about to hit the hay, but it looks like A-Rod is in fine control of his match with Viktor.  Good for him.  It would be nice to see him end the season strong. 

As for the ladies, are we on the verge of a Woz v. Woz final?  Ski Boots has been plowing through the Tokyo field, beating Touchdown Tammy today 64 61.  Meanwhile, on the other half of the draw, A-Woz took out Sam Stosur, 75 63.

Baby Elephant Downs The Cone.

Ana wins.  Wow.  It's been a while since I've been able to say that.  She took out the Cone (can we officially call her a clay court specialist, yet?)) 61 76(1), but don't let the scoreline fool you. Cornet actually served for the second set but dropped her service game to let AI back in.  From all reports it sounds like a streaky win, but hey, we'll take what we can get, no?  Besides, it looks like The Wee Fist Pumps of Fury are back:

Unfortunately, Ana's run (how long has it been since she's had a winning streak?  Wimbledon?) will likely end tomorrow as she is set to play hometown girl Zheng Jie.  Who knows, maybe Ana will be able to get her revenge, but I'm not feeling it.  First of all, she's still wearing that two piece Edge outfit, so we know she's not long for this tourney (she's never won back to back matches in it).  Second, Zheng is playing like a woman possessed.  She beat Airon Woman, 61 62.

Sveta and Bepa also won their second round matches in straight sets.  But there were a couple of upsets, though it's to the point where I don't even bother calling these upsets.  Agnes' title defense ended, losing to Anabel Medina Guarrigues 62 62, and A Chak lost to Domi, 63 62.

Not a great day for Fila.

Meanwhile, on the men's side, top seed Daveeed Ferrer crashed out hard, losing easily to Dudi Sela, 63 63.  Perhaps the adjustment from clay in Spain to hard courts in Beijing was a little too much for wee Daveed?  Because Dudi has ZERO weapons to hurt a player like Ferrer.  To lose like that is really surprising.  Fellow Spaniard, and full-time Ana hitter-onner, Tabasco also crashed out to Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets.  Tough day for the Davis Cup heroes.

The only other seed to have problems today was Querrey California, who lost to Bjorn Phau 57 63 64.  Not a tremendouly surprising result though, as speedy players like Phau cause Sammy Q a lot of problems.  That said, if Sam loses a match by that scoreline, you know he wasn't serving well. 

Disco Tommy and A-Rod took their matches easily.  Gonzo and Reeeshard still to play.

UPDATED: Spanish Dudes LOVE Ana Ivanovic.

Disco Tommy, Rafa, and now Tabasco?  At this point it's just comical. 

Hee.  This collage of pictures just makes me giggle.  All power to ya, Fernando.  Oh, and Sveta, take a hint.  Third wheel, much?

UPDATED: Seriously, Nando was spitting some SERIOUS game. 

\

Dude!  Baby Elephant's just trying to grub.  Leave the girl alone!

But really, how was he supposed to resist this delicate non-asian flower?

UPDATED: Don't you love how Ana runs away from boys and JJ just strips around them?

The Serbian Sisters in a nutshell.

 

More pictures from the "Opening Ceremonies" of the China Open, which was decidedly less fireworky, gymnasticy, and lip syncy than the actual Opening Ceremonies.  But it does look like the participants had way more fun (UPDATED with more pics):

And I normally don't post watermarked pictures on this site, but I just couldn't help it.  This one just warms my heart:

Jesus, Is it THAT difficult to hit a tennis ball?

They're hitting yellow hollow balls that weigh 2 ounces, not chopping wood.

Dude, that is veintastic, Igor.  Ew.