Forty Deuce

Donkey Says...Evgeny Korolev

Known around here as "Baby Marat", says Donkey: "What?  He's legal."

Can't argue with that.

He's a biter.  Which...can be a good thing.

He's super athletic.

Speaking of biting, look at those forearms...

Jesus.  He's pretty.

Oh fuck it.  Why do I even bother.  Evgeny is best seen without his shirt.

His body is the bomb diggity.  Perfection.

All I can think right now is "BODY SHOTS!!!!"

NomNomNom

Pic This: One More for the Road...

It wouldn't be the end of the WTA season without one more chance to laugh at people for being completely incapable of dressing themselves.  Some of them are getting distressingly (read: boringly) good at it, but you know there'll always be one WTFer in the group.  Or two, or three.

A lot of things about this frighten me.  Mainly that, with the faces upside down, it looks like she's wearing a minidress with a Marilyn Manson print.  Also, the eyes.  Freaky.

 

This looks kind of like a bridesmaid's dress I had to wear once, if you cut the skirt off about three and a half feet from the bottom.

[snicker]

Oh dear.  Someone needs to introduce Bepa to these.

I'm not gonna lie: something about the geranium over her ladybits weirds me out.

I need to know what Lena did that they decided she needed a mug shot.

I totally picture Dinara's closet having a "little black dress" section and a "big pink t-shirt" section and... that's it.

LOLZ.

Dig in, Caro.

But really, learn to cross your legs when you're sitting in a dress, honey.  Your wantonness is making Dina sad.  (Then again, what doesn't?)

Stubbsy!  Oy, Ula, we'll talk later.

And, for the creme de la creme, cherry on the sundae, there is the video.  I watched it like 18 times.  Don't make me start liking you, girls.  You know who you are.

Pic This: Alexandre P. Keatonov

(Nickname courtesy of Sodapop)

So Teimuraz Gebashvili and Marat went to an orphanage and Marat proceeded to take pictures with one of the cutest children I have ever, ever seen.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Safin; I hope you had time to review my briefing on the business proposal?"

 

"As I'm sure you read, the market is ripe for a reality show/sitcom based around an aging athlete and his 4-year-old genius sidekick."

"I've been working on a new shot for the glossies.  I think it's gonna be a hit."

Air Quotes: Pretty Is As Pretty Does

Q: Is that because you're not so good looking and keep looking 
outside the court which makes you put more focus on your tennis? 
And given a chance, would you like to be more good looking or keep 
your life going like this? 
NIKOLAI DAVYDENKO: Um, you know, if I be if I don't have wife, you 
know, maybe I can say, "Yeah, I disappoint I'm not maybe good 
looking," yeah, but really I have many girls can be in Russia. I don't 
know about China, but in Russia it's I still look good, like feeling 
comfortable, you know.

Monday OOPs

Moscow

 

Stockholm

 

Luxembourg

 

Leftovers

In addition to Moscow, the ATP and WTA each have one more tournament going on this week.  Including possibly my favourite-named tournament of the entire year, the "If Stockholm Open".

Stockholm (ATP 250)

 

Draw 

Top Four Seeds: Soderling, Tommy H., Mosquito, Juan Monaco

Potential Quarterfinals: Soderling/Boris Becker, Mosquito/Andreas Beck, Juan Monaco/Alberto Montanes, Tommy H./Feli

Potentially Interesting Early Matches: Mosquito/Marcos (1R), Feli/Ernie (1R), Jarkko/Gregor Dmitrov (1R), Juan Monaco/Pim Pim (2R)

Big Question: If Stockholm, then...

Luxembourg (WTA International)

 

Draw

Top Four Seeds: Caro, Kim, AMG, Dani

Potential Quarterfinals: Caro/KBond, Kim/Sabine, AMG/Yanina, Dani/CSN

Potentially Interesting Early Matches: Caro/Melanie (1R), Sabine/Benesova (1R), Petra/Patty (1R), Yanina/Alize (2R), CSN/Shahar (2R), Kim/Winner of Petra v. Patty

Big Questions: Why, why, why is Caro playing here??  If Kim wins, will she go to Bali?  Is Luxembourg for real?

Moskau, Moskau!

The biggie for this week is Kremlin Cup; an ATP 250 for the men and a Premier for the women.  Since it's the week before Doha, most of the top women are giving Moscow a miss.  Never mind that, though, because the four women still in contention for the last spot/alternate status at YEC are all playing.  Davai!

ATP

Nads did the draw.  This is a picture of her immediately after she drew Safin/Davydenko for the first round.  Heh.

 

Yeah, well done, Nads.  So, I suppose we can expect Marat to exit stage right from his last Kremlin Cup relatively early.  Although he did beat Kolya there last year.  Anyway...

Draw

Top Four Seeds: Kolya, Victor Hanescu, Misha, Igor Andreev

Potential Quarterfinals: Kolya/Martin Vassallo Arguello, Igor/Janko, Misha/Fabrice, Hanescu/Pablo Cuevas

Potential Interesting Early Matches: Kolya/Marat (1R)

Interesting Story Lines: Will Igor Andreev repeat as "Mr. Fair Play"?  Will Marat actually give a shit? 

WTA

 

Draw

Top Four Seeds: Vera, JJ, Aga, Flavs

Potential Quarterfinals: Vera/Nads, JJ/Lena V, Aga/Franny, Flavs/Dominika

Potential Interesting Early Matches: CanWoz/Errani (1R), Flavs/Agnes (1R), JJ/Shvedova (1R), Vera/Pavs (2R), Aga/Winner of CanWoz v. Errani (2R), Franny/Sorana (2R), Flavs/Dushevina (2R), JJ/Lucie (2R)

Interesting Story Line: 4 players. 3 YEC spots.  Bring.  It.  On.

Wickety Whack

Oh, and also, there was this:

(3/WC) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 63 64

 

Yanina Wickmayer continued her progress up the WTA ladder (both literally and figuratively) by winning the title in Linz.  She'll break the top 20 for the first time this week, and I almost can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll be very interested to see how she does in Bali.  I'm assuming that she's one of the maybe three people who're actually excited to show up.

You Had Me at "Privet"

How amazing.  How motherfucking amazing.  I fell in love all over again.  Kolya, you dirty bastard.  When you bring it, you bring it.

[6] Nikolai Davydenko (RUS) d. [1] Rafael Nadal 76(3) 63 

 

 

 

What an amazing match he played.  When Kolya's at his best his game is gorgeous to watch, and today, that's where he was.  Unbelievable sprint after unbelievable sprint, amazing angle after amazing angle, winner after winner.  This is the kind of match that makes me wonder why the vast majority of the tennis press insists on calling him boring.  His game is so amazingly versatile, his press conferences have a great dry humour to them, and I swear I remember reading at some point that Marat said Kolya was the funniest guy on the Russian Davis Cup team.  Suck on it, universe.  If you can't see the brilliance of Kolya Davydenko, it's your own fault.

Ahem.  Uh, anyway, super awesome for Kolya to get a win like this after all the injuries and the betting controversy.  Well played, sir.  Well played.

As for Rafa...

 

Don't you worry.  It'll come.

A Round of Vegemite for Everyone!

Big congratulations to Sammy for winning her very first WTA title in Osaka!  That seems so impossible, and yet it's true.

Samantha Stosur d. Francesca Schiavone, 75 61

 

First set looked competitive, second... not so much, as Franny pretty much just collapsed.  Sam's serve wasn't so hot in the second set, either, but since her opponent lost the ability to win first serve points, second serve points, first return points, and second return points it... didn't really matter.

Also, with this win, Sam should be qualified for Bali.  Wonder if she'll go?

Pic This: Still Looking for a Hero? I Believe We Have New Options. (UPDATE)

Is this for some WTA late-nite ad campaign?  Because otherwise I can't figure out what the hell is going on.  And if anyone has a clue why Barbara Schett is involved, I'd be extremely interested in some clarification.  (I'm not so sure of some of the IDs, either, so feel free to correct.)

So, because I don't really know what to say about it... here, without further comment or ado, are the pictures.  

(Aga and Timea Bacsinszky)

(Anna-Lena Groenefeld)

 

(Barbara Schett)

(Tatjana Malek)

 

(Anna-Lena Groenefeld and... Catwoman)

(Tamira Paszek)

(Pictures from Barbara at Fierce Tennis)

Sunday OOPs

Shanghai

 

Linz

Center Court (from 13.00hrs)
1. Singles Final: Yanina Wickmayer vs. Petra Kvitova

Osaka

Centre Court (from 12.00hrs)
1. Singles Final: Samantha Stosur vs. Francesca Schiavone 

Big Pimpin'

Really, any chance to post my favourite picture of Kolya.  Any chance whatsoever.

 

Sooooo... Kolya took out Nole in an epic, awesome match today.  Over three hours, each player only broken once, a mere 3 points total separating them in the end.  Amazing, just the kind of match-- regardless of the outcome-- that tennis could do with more of.  Especially at a tournament where there have been so many retirements.  

I know I'm basically just babysitting a blog full of Novak fans, but I can't pretend that I don't like Kolya better.  IMO, he is consistently one of the most underrated players on the ATP.  And with the injury-filled year he's had, I can't help but be insanely pleased for him.  This is precisely the kind of match he needs to be winning in order to climb back up the rankings.  With this win, he jumps to #7 in the rankings, putting him right in contention for one of the final spots to WTF in London.  

As for the other semi, eh, whatever.  Feli has extremely questionable facial hair and retired against Rafa.  Whatever.

That scruffy half-beard looks good on no one.  No one, Feli.  Not even you.  Anyway, so, Rafa's through to the final and, as James LaRosa pointed out today, he hasn't had to play a match point since the third round.  Unbelievable.

Singles - Semi-finals 
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d F Lopez (ESP) 61 30 ret. (right ankle)
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d [2] N Djokovic (SRB) 46 64 76(1)

Some People Learn the Hard Way

Including me, apparently.  As I was writing my (very brief) recap of Linz yesterday, I thought to myself, "You know, now that you've said that about Flavs and Aga, they're both going to lose."  "Hahaha," my slightly more rational side chided me, "don't be such a moron."  I chose to listen to the "rational" side, didn't even bother to highlight the matches on the OOP, and went on my merry way.

Yeah, guys.  The power of the jinx, it's fo realz.

 

 

Yeah, me too.  Flavia lost to Yanina Wickmayer, and Aga to Petra Kvitova, both in straight sets.  Ladies, ladies... wha happen?  Not to take anything away from Yanina or Petra, both of whom I think are better than their rankings.  And, in the interest of YEC, maybe it's better for both Aga and Flavs to have a day off before Kremlin Cup gets under way.  But still.  [sigh]

The one that confuses me the most is Aga's, and it seems like her serve just did her in.  I sort of hated Brad Gilbert for outright laughing at her second serve earlier in the season, but when you see a stat like that she saved 6/8 break points in the second set here, well... it's hard to argue.

(Also, any time I see a Czech player's name now, I hear that reporter in the name video.  Linguistic mocking.)

Singles - Semifinals
(3/WC) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. (1) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 76(5) 63
Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. (2) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 63 62

1-14

Yeah, baby!  That's the combined record in tour finals of the Osaka finalists.  Congratulations, ladies.  One of you is guaranteed to trip over a title today. 

Sam had a nice win over Caro in three sets, including a bagel in the first, and well-done to her.  Except for that one match against Serena in Stanford, she's been having a rough time since she made the semis at RG.  She hit 12 aces in the match, which is a little bit insane, given current WTA standards.  Also, look at that arm.  It's not for real.  The picture is completely deceptive, because looking at that arm and how bad ass she looks in those sunglasses, you'd think it would be impossible for her to ever lose.

In the other semi, Franny ended the best run Sania's had in what seems like forever in less than an hour.  Oh well, Sania.  Progress is progress!  Is this possibly the worst picture ever taken of her?

Singles - Semifinals
(3) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 60 46 64
(4) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Sania Mirza (IND) 62 61

Air Quotes: The Way the Lord Intended

“Nothing, nothing, nothing is better than sex, it is what God created us to do,” 

   -- Novak Djokovic, comparing notes with Cristiano Ronaldo on
      whether sports are better than God's purpose for humanity

Saturday OOPs

Shanghai

 

Linz

Centre Court (from 14.00hrs)
1. Petra Kvitova vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
2. Flavia Pennetta vs. Yanina Wickmayer

Osaka

Centre Court (from 12.00hrs)
1. Francesca Schiavone vs. Sania Mirza 
2. Caroline Wozniacki vs. Samantha Stosur 

Catching Up

So... that work thing happened.  And now I am determined to at least get a results post out.  It's not gonna be much, but I submit it humbly for your consumption, dear reader.

Shanghai

More retirements??  You're kidding, right?  And my Quality Guy Ljubicic, too.  Sobs.  But he's an old guy, I guess I'll forgive him the hip injury.

Also, Feli won another match?  This is beginning to feel like some kind of alternate universe.  Also, I was very amused by Kolya's quote that Stepanek "destroyed" him in the second set.  I don't think 6-4 counts as destruction, sweetie.

Singles - Quarter-finals

[1] R Nadal (ESP) d I Ljubicic (CRO) 36 63 ret. (left hip)
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [8] G Simon (FRA) 63 26 62
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d [13] R Stepanek (CZE) 61 46 61
F Lopez (ESP) d [9] R Soderling (SWE) 76(4) 63

Linz

Finally.  Actual matches!  If I hadn't been so preoccupied all day, I would have been glued to Radwanska/Safarova.  Wickmayer/Errani and Kvitova/CSN aren't too shabby, either.  I keep thinking how awesome it'll be if Round 1 of the YEC Race to the Bottom comes down to an Aga/Flavs final.  That would be faaaaaaaantabulous.

Singles - Quarterfinals
(1) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU) 75 62
(2) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (7) Lucie Safarova (CZE) 63 76(9)
(3/WC) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. (8) Sara Errani (ITA) 75 63
Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. (4) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 75 64

Osaka

The Shanghai of the WTA.  Two retirements in four quarterfinals?  Woz/Woz is always a good time, and I'm glad that those matches are at least getting a little closer, but still.  More than one meaningful match this late in a tournament would be nice.

Singles - Quarterfinals
(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (6) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 62 67(1) 62
Sania Mirza (IND) d. (2) Marion Bartoli (FRA) 64 20 ret. (right shoulder injury)
(3) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Jill Craybas (USA) 61 63
(4) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. (7) Melinda Czink (HUN) w/o (right foot injury)

ATP Party Tricks!

I don't really have much to say about the Tennis Ball Pickup Challenge, aka Rafa Stuffs Balls in His Crotch.  Just watch and enjoy.

Friday OOPs

I have to apologize for blogging being a bit light the next couple of days.  I should have some more time over the weekend, but work is pretty intense the end of this week, so results and OOPs are pretty much all I can deliver for now.  Sorry!

Shanghai

 

Linz

Centre Court (from 13.00hrs)
1. Petra Kvitova vs. Carla Suárez Navarro
2. Lucie Safarova vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
3. Flavia Pennetta vs. Ioana Raluca Olaru
4. Yanina Wickmayer vs. Sara Errani

Osaka

Centre Court (from 11.00hrs)
1. Melinda Czink vs. Francesca Schiavone 
2. Sania Mirza vs. Marion Bartoli (NB 12.30hrs)
3. Caroline Wozniacki vs. Aleksandra Wozniak 
4. Samantha Stosur vs. Jill Craybas 

Things Get Vaguely Interesting

Okay, not really, I guess.  But come on, Radwanska/Cornet?  That's a solid match.  On paper.  Maybe.  And Anna-Lena Groenfeld somehow took Flavia to three sets.  They're trying.  Halfheartedly.

Seriously, I'm perfectly pleased at how these tournaments are progressing, there's just not much to say about Lucie Safarova beating U.Rad.  Or Sam Stosur beating Akiko Morigami.  Okay, maybe there's something to say about that, Sam winning is a rare enough sight these days.

Linz

Singles - Second Round
(1) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Anna-Lena Groenfeld (GER) 63 46 62
(2) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Alizé Cornet (FRA) 64 75
(3/WC) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) 26 63 61
(7) Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. Urszula Radwanska (POL) 64 64
Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU) d. (Q) Julia Goerges (GER) 36 62 75

Osaka

[1] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Katie O'Brien (GBR) 60 61

[6] Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) d. K Chang (TPE) 75 76(2)

[3] Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Akiko Morigami (JPN) 61 62

Jill Craybas (USA) d. Mathilde Johansson (FRA) 26 62 60

Walking Wounded

Two more retirements in Shanghai.  Seriously, this is getting ridiculous.

 

Is it me, or does the trainer working on Stan look kind of like Marin Cilic?  I was super confused for a second.  I guess I'm never really surprised when Monfils retires; he plays a game that seems to me unnecessarily physical.  It's just begging for an injury of some kind.  In any case, there really have been an awful lot of injury retirements in Shanghai.  A little worrying, when you consider that there's still a long way to go in the ATP season.

In other news, the Sod beat Jo-Willy in what looks like a surprisingly unchallenging match.  Then again, it doesn't seem all that surprising.   Oh, and Feli won again.  Wha?

Singles - Third Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [14] T Robredo (ESP) 61 64 
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [Q] R Schuettler (GER) 64 62
[9] R Soderling (SWE) d [5] J Tsonga (FRA) 63 63
[8] G Simon (FRA) d T Berdych (CZE) 63 64
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d [10] F Gonzalez (CHI) 63 75
I Ljubicic (CRO) d [11] G Monfils (FRA) 62 30 ret. (back)
[13] R Stepanek (CZE) d S Wawrinka (SUI) 36 76(5) 42 ret. (abdominal strain)
F Lopez (ESP) d J Melzer (AUT) 57 76(3) 61

"What Would You Be if You Weren't a Tennis Player?" "Unemployed."

1. Is Shawshank Redemption the new Da Vinci Code on the ATP?
2. I'm not sure who the Romanian guy is, but something about envisioning him playing doubles with Ilie Nastase is hilarious.
3. Doubles players are pretty, too! Why hello, Nenad and Mark.
4. Enough of the self-pimping, Bryan brothers. Although the self-pimping might be preferable to listening to "#41" to get "pumped" before a match. The hell?

Thursday OOPs

Shanghai

 

Linz

Centre Court (from 14.00hrs)
1. Lucie Safarova vs. Urszula Radwanska
2. Alizé Cornet vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
3. Yanina Wickmayer vs. Alexandra Dulgheru
4. Flavia Pennetta vs. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (NB 20.15hrs)

Court 1 (from 14.30hrs)
1. Ioana Raluca Olaru vs. Julia Goerges
2. Errani/Olaru vs. Jans/Rosolska (NB 16.00hrs; after suitable rest)
3. Borwell/Kops-Jones vs. Shaughnessy/Vinci (NB 18.00hrs)

Osaka

Centre Court (from 11.00hrs)
1. Jill Craybas vs. Mathilde Johansson 
2. Chang Kai-Chen vs. Aleksandra Wozniak 
3. Caroline Wozniacki vs. Katie O'Brien 
4. Coin/Johansson vs. King/Mirza
5. Samantha Stosur vs. Akiko Morigami (NB 18.30hrs)

Still Waiting...

Okay, a seed lost today in Linz.  But it was Iveta Benesova.  To Petra Kvitova.  I... don't know what to say.  I guess I'm mildly surprised that Sybille Bammer lost to Alexandra Dulgheru, but I don't know if that's reasonable or not.  Same with Alize Cornet winning a(nother) match.

In Osaka, Sania won again, which makes this a nice little tournament for her.  And Franny mysteriously got bageled in the second by Yung-Jan Chan before wrapping it up in three.  WTF, Franny?

I can't even find any pictures from today.  Well, not that I'm bothered to look very hard.  

Linz

Singles - Second Round
(4) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Olga Govortsova (BLR) 63 64
Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. (5) Iveta Benesova (CZE) 64 75
(8) Sara Errani (ITA) d. Tatjana Malek (GER) 63 60

Singles - First Round
(2) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Monica Niculescu (ROU) 64 62
(3/WC) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) 76(6) 64
Alizé Cornet (FRA) d. Kristina Barrois (GER) 46 63 63

Osaka

Singles - Second Round
(2) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. (WC) Kurumi Nara (JPN) 61 61
(4) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) 63 06 63
(7) Melinda Czink (HUN) d. Vania King (USA) 64 62
Sania Mirza (IND) d. Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) 64 63
Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) d. Sybille Bammer (AUT) 63 61

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

Just Stand There and Be Pretty

Seems like Marat is getting a little cranky in his old age.

 

No no no, put the microphone down!

After losing to the Berd today, Marat decided to lecture his fellow ATPers on the importance of manning up and just accepting that you're going to lose, already.

“Just come on; just grow up a little bit; 26 years old; just deal 

with that,” he said. “If you’re losing, just be a man; be a man and 

lose as a man. Don’t pretend that you are injured and then you start 

running around and start to hit winners and then all of a sudden you 

pull the hands up in the air after winning the match? So then of 

course the guy will say: ‘No, I’ve been injured but then I felt a little bit 

better’. Of course he will find 10,000 excuses. Still, it’s not enough. 

You’re playing or you’re not playing. If you’re playing, so just shut…up 

and play.”

Then again, Marat believing that if you're losing, you should just... lose explains so much about the last eight years of his career.  Look, I love him as much as any straight girl, but IMO accusing your opponent of faking an injury is about the lowest of the low.  Plus, if Marat can't deal with waiting through his opponent calling for a trainer, that's not really his opponent's fault.  Stop making 10,000 excuses!  Just accept responsibility for your own insanity, Marat.  

And then there was this hilarious logic fail...

“In 2004 we had this discussion in Olympic Games with Roddick about

it and they were blaming me that I’m playing too much, and I was 

saying that the season is too long. We should make it shorter. And the 

guys, they jumped on me, like I was the one who was wrong. So look at 

all of them—everybody is falling apart. Everybody is getting injured left 

and right, and everybody is complaining the season is long. It takes six 

years to realise that something is wrong? They just have to deal with that, 

not when they are 21 and ambitious and want to make money. They have to 

think a little bit with their brains and to make the career a little bit longer.”

I love the bitterness that because no one listened to him five years ago, now they all just have to suck it up and deal.  Relax, Marat.  You were right then, and the point is right now too.  If the reason it fell through before was that no one else supported you, maybe some support for the point now wouldn't go awry, hmmm?  Less bitter, more obnoxiously magnanimous.  It's definitely the way to go.

In the end, Marat lost because he couldn't keep his forehand together, not because Tomas took a bazillion (or, from what I can tell from the limited amount of that match I've seen, two) medical timeouts.  And I very rarely have any sympathy for the "refusing to shake your opponent's hand" stance.  But Shanghai did give him a nice send-off, including an incredibly awesome Marat montage to "Wild Thing", though.  LOLZ.  And, of course, there was some hilarious signage:

Get in line, ladies.

Pic This: High on a Hill with a Lonely Goatherd...

Oh, man, Linz's costume party is just the best.  Does anyone know if they get to pick out their own dirndls?

Somehow, her hair really makes this.

 

On grass, indeed.

 

I am very sure I saw her at a junior ice dance competition this year.

 

This is just too much.

Wandered off the set of the remake of Heidi?

 

Looks like the party included a reenactment of this scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off:

 

"Danke schoen... Darlin', danke schoen..."

Well, there's always a fucking party pooper.

Wednesday OOPs

Shanghai

Osaka

Centre Court (from 10.00hrs)

1. Sania Mirza vs. Viktoriya Kutuzova
2. Chan Yung-Jan vs. Francesca Schiavone
3. Kurumi Nara vs. Marion Bartoli
4. Chuang/Raymond vs. Chan/Date Krumm
5. Chang/Zalameda vs. Morigami/Nara (NB 18.30hrs)

Court 1 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Melinda Czink vs. Vania King
2. Oka/Yonemura vs. King/Mirza (NB 13.30hrs; after suitable rest)

Linz

Centre Court (from 14.00hrs)
1. Kristina Barrois vs. Alizé Cornet
2. Monica Niculescu vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
3. Sybille Bammer vs. Alexandra Dulgheru (NB 16.00hrs)
4. Yanina Wickmayer vs. Timea Bacsinszky
5. Tatjana Malek vs. Sara Errani (NB 20.15hrs)

Court 1 (from 14.00hrs)
1. Olga Govortsova vs. Carla Suárez Navarro
2. Dekmeijere/Pelletier vs. Hlavackova/Hradecka
3. Iveta Benesova vs. Petra Kvitova
4. Groenefeld/Srebotnik vs. Govortsova/Poutchek
5. Goerges/Klemenschits vs. Shaughnessy/Vinci (NB 19.00hrs)

Pic This: They Didn't Have This on that Shinkansen I Took in Tokyo

I truly believe that the ATP and WTA's combined mission to force their players to play "tennis" on every ridiculous surface imagineable (helipads, fountains, water, on top of cars...) knows no bounds.  Today's victims?  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Verdasco, and a Maglev train.

 

 

LOLZ, Nando, what the hell is that pose about?

 

Jo-Willy looks like he's afraid he's about to get shat on by a bird.

 

Contemplating how he will never get roped into doing anything like this again.  At least, not until January.

(Yes, yes, of course there's video...)

Potentially Interesting Happenings

So far, I have zero enthusiasm for the WTA tournaments going on this week.  I mean, in Osaka the one seemingly interesting match (Sam vs. Peng Shuai) didn't even happen, with Peng being replaced by a lucky loser.  Whom Sam beat.  [yawn]  The only even mildly interesting thing that happened was that Jill Craybas beat Kimiko Date Krumm in Sweatin' to the Oldies II, Electric Boogaloo.  All the seeds won.  Julie Coin lost.  Moving on.

Unfortunately for Sorana Cirstea, something sort of interesting happened in Linz, which is to say that she lost.  The most surprising thing about it to me is that she lost in straight sets in fairly easy fashion.  What up, Sorana?  At least her hair still looked nice.

 

That was the only happening of note, though, all the other seeds coming through in fairly easy fashion.

Linz

Singles - First Round
(1) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Meghann Shaughnessy (USA) 61 61
(5) Iveta Benesova (CZE) d. (Q) Stephanie Gehrlein (GER) 75 60
(Q) Julia Goerges (GER) d. (6) Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 63 63
(7) Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. (WC) Patricia Mayr (AUT) 62 61
(8) Sara Errani (ITA) d. Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) 62 63
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 75 61
Olga Govortsova (BLR) d. (Q) Petra Martic (CRO) 62 67(7) 62
Tatjana Malek (GER) d. (Q) Aravane Rezai (FRA) 75 75

Osaka

Singles - First Round
(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Ayumi Morita (JPN) 64 61
(2) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 63 75
(3) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (LL) Alexandra Panova (RUS) 62 64
(6) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) d. (Q) Sophie Ferguson (AUS) 61 75
Vania King (USA) d. Julie Coin (FRA) 26 63 64
Jill Craybas (USA) d. (WC) Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN) 62 26 64
Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) d. Carly Gullickson (USA) 61 61
Akiko Morigami (JPN) d. (Q) Anastasia Rodionova (RUS) 64 46 62
(Q) Chang Kai-Chen (TPE) d. Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 75 61
(WC) Kurumi Nara (JPN) d. (Q) Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) 76(5) 46 62

Going a Little Far to Prove a Point, Don't You Think?

I mean, we get it.  The season's long.  People get hurt.  No need for a demo.

 

Hmmm, that makes it look a little like he just went ahead and got it amputated, right on court.  Andy retired against Stan, up 4-3 in the first, due to a knee injury.  He should be okay for qualifying for WTF (God, I love using that), but he doesn't seem to know quite what's wrong with the knee.  That's no good.

The other minor upset of the day was Tomas beating Marin in 3 sets.  I say minor because, although of course Marin is higher ranked and has more success these days, Tomas is dangerous when he can keep his head together.  Also, he is very, very pretty.

 

That's not from today, obviously, it's just illustrative.  Anyway, he plays Marat next.  At 2 a.m. my time.  Don't think I haven't thought about it.

No other huge surprises in Shanghai today, unless you count Ivan Ljubicic winning a match as surprising.  Which, even though I love him, I generally do.  Oh, and Almagro d. Kohlschreiber.  I hope Philipp wasn't up too late programming new music into his homepage or something.

Singles - First Round
[9] R Soderling (SWE) d V Hanescu (ROU) 63 64
[11] G Monfils (FRA) d P Mathieu (FRA) 62 62
T Berdych (CZE) d [12] M Cilic (CRO) 76(8) 36 64
[15] T Haas (GER) d B Becker (GER) 76(5) 64
J Melzer (AUT) d J Chardy (FRA) 64 64 
L Hewitt (AUS) d J Isner (USA) 62 64
I Ljubicic (CRO) d J Benneteau (FRA) 63 36 61
N Almagro (ESP) d P Kohlschreiber (GER) 67(2) 61 76(6)
V Troicki (SRB) d J Monaco (ARG) 61 62 

Singles - Second Round
S Wawrinka (SUI) d [4] A Roddick (USA) 34 ret. (left knee)
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d I Kunitsyn (RUS) 64 62
[10] F Gonzalez (CHI) d [Q] T Bellucci (BRA) 63 64
[13] R Stepanek (CZE) d A Beck (GER) 75 64

Roadmap Redux?

The ATP season goes another 5 weeks (6, if you're playing Davis Cup finals), and players are not happy about it. 

“I can tell you that six weeks is simply not enough time to recover from 

the excesses of a season,” [Roddick] said. “We played almost 11 

months, we have a solid block of mandated events, we have to play four 

of the 500 the number of ranking points on offer] tournaments, the 

demands are getting harder."

It seems like this crops up in some form every year, but this was the first time I heard this bandied about:

Although restraint of trade is far from the players’ minds, it is 

beginning to dawn on the more vocal among their number that 

suggesting it may have a seriously unnerving effect. The 

nine-tournament Masters 1000 series — which leads to the Barclays 

ATP World Tour Finals that have moved to the O2 arena in southeast 

London next month — is the ATP’s cash cow and any thought of a 

boycott that affected those events would have the governing body’s 

leaders in a terrible mess.

Strike?  I think it's probably pretty unlikely, but at the same time, part of me wishes they would do it.  Of course, I'm sure that's completely impractical of me; anyone who listens to Forty Deuce Podcast knows that I have a very hard time placing the interests of the business side of sports over the interests of athletes.  But it seems clear (to me) that something needs to be done.  6 weeks of solid off-season is simply not enough to recover from a full season of a sport (like tennis) that demands international travel and near-daily competitive play for the other 10.5 months of the year.  Certainly no tournament will volunteer to be cut out of the calendar, but when the push for money on the business side becomes such that it's hurting (literally) the people who produce the "product" that makes the business possible, something needs to be reevaluated.  The current schedule ignores the simple physiological recovery needs of the athletes-- particularly of the top athletes, who play a full schedule right up to the end of the year.

There's no perfect solution.  Obviously, the WTA has tried to restructure its calendar this year to give players a longer off-season and more rest periods during the year, and its efficacy is questionable-- the players who started the season off strong are mostly ending it exhausted, and Roadmap tournament requirements seem to have been largely responsible for a (nearly) season-destroying injury to a top player (Vera Zvonareva), who played a tournament against medical advice due to contractual obligations.  In my opinion, pressuring a player to play when his or her doctors are advising otherwise is beyond ludicrous.  But there will be people who point out that the same players who complain about the season being too long and hard on their bodies, and the off-season too short, are all too happy to play lucrative exhibitions when they could be resting-- and those claims are not baseless.  

In short, the solution to this problem, if there is one, will take extensive negotiation between the business interests and the athletes that make up the fractious coalition that is the ATP.  What I would really like to see would be for the Players' Council, which now includes 3 of the top 4 players in the world specifically in order to give players clout in the organization, take a hard line about the needs of athletes and force some productive changes.  Not that I have any idea about what those might be, but I'm with Jon Wertheim when he says of Rafa

When one of the sport's most magnetic figures -- a supreme athlete 

and consummate professional -- simply cannot make it through a season 

abiding by the entry rules as currently written, think it might be time to 

rethink the schedule?

Oh Dear Holy Jesus

Are you fucking kidding me?  Guess who's going to be #1 the week of YEC??

 

Yeah, me too.

Last year's YEC points will come off the Monday of this year's YEC, so Dinara will be 155 points ahead of Serena and back in #1.  Luckily, Round Robin match wins are worth 160 points, so it won't last long.  Maybe I'll take a "one more for the road" attitude towards this.  It was, uh, fun while it lasted?

Uninspired

That's me, trying to come up with something, anything, to say about things that happened in Linz and Osaka today.  Okay, I guess Sania had a nice win over Shahar.  I know it's not exactly an upset, given their head-to-head, but with their current rankings, Shahar's recent win streak, and all Sania's injury troubles, it is an outcome I was a little surprised to see.  Especially considering the last time I saw Sania, she was getting double bageled by Flava Flav at USO.

Also, Franny won.  Also, Makiri had to retire with a knee injury.  I can't even be bothered to look hard enough to find pictures.

Linz:

Singles - First Round
(4) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) 62 64
Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. Andrea Petkovic (GER) 61 64
Urszula Radwanska (POL) d. (WC) Yvonne Meusburger (AUT) 76(6) 61
Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU) d. Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 62 26 61

Osaka:

Singles - First Round
(4) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Anne Kremer (LUX) 75 62
Sania Mirza (IND) d. (5) Shahar Peer (ISR) 36 63 64
(7) Melinda Czink (HUN) vs. (WC) Ryoko Fuda (JPN) 64 64
Mathilde Johansson (FRA) d. (8) Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 75 26 75
Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) d. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 62 ret. (knee injury)
Katie O'Brien (GBR) d. Alexa Glatch (USA) 63 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

"For Some Reason, When You're in China Anything's Possible."

For example, you might be able to drop your bag in the middle of the street and sprint after Michael Phelps without a bus coming along and running said bag into the ground.  Or you might be able to mysteriously lose a ping pong ball in a completely porous ceiling.

 

I really love how Sam avoids looking directly into the camera in these videos, like she's a 14-year-old trying to pretend she's not being completely humiliated by her mother. 

It might also be possible, while in China, to completely get your ass kicked by Franny in an E-Bike race. I'm not sure what an E-Bike is, but I think Kleybs needs some lessons.


  
"I think she's better at tennis." Ha, Franny.

Late to the Party

I know Forty Deuce is officially the last blog on the block to post this, but I love it so much that I can't resist.  I think it's the Linguistics major geek in me.  Anyway, watch as international journalists pronounce tennis players' names correctly for you!  The blog post here has a list of the names in order.

So interesting!  Also, I have officially given up on ever saying Lucie Safarova's name correctly.

Monday OOPs: Shanghai, Linz, Osaka:

Shanghai:

Linz:

Osaka:

Link (The OOP link for Osaka isn't working for me right now, but there it is, in case anyone wants to check it later.)

The Week Ahead: Shanghai, Linz, Osaka

Boys first.  Chivalry is dead.

Shanghai (ATP 1000)

 

I guess I should probably use a picture of someone ranked a little higher, but he already won a match.  And... that picture is hilarious.

Draw

Top 4 Seeds: Rafa, Novak, JMDP, A.Rod.

Potential Quarterfinals: Rafa/Nando; JMDP/Jo-Willy; A.Rod/Kolya; Novak/Gilles

Potential Interesting Early Matches: Rafa/Tommy (3R); Jo-Willy/Soderling (3R); A.Rod/Stan (2R); Berdych/Cilic (1R); Novak/Ernests (2R); Marat/Winner of Cilic v. Berdych (2R)

Matches You Could Not Pay Me to Watch: Blake/Karlovic (1R)

Linz (WTA International)

 

Draw

Top 4 Seeds: Flavia, Aga, Yanina Wickmayer, CSN

Potential Quarterfinals: Flava Flav/Sorana; Yanina/Sara Errani; CSN/Iveta Benesova; Aga/Lucie

Potential Interesting Early Matches: Yanina/Sybille Bammer (2R); Benesova/Kvitova (2R); CSN/Kata Srebotnik (1R); A.Rad/Alize (2R)

Big Question: What are the actual odds of getting that A.Rad/U.Rad quarterfinal?

Osaka (WTA International)

 

Draw 

Top 4 Seeds: Caro, Marion, Sam, Franny

Potential Quarterfinals: Caro/Can-Woz; Sam/Yaroslava Shvedova; Franny/Melinda Czink; Shahar/Marion

Potential Interesting Early Matches: Sam/Peng Shuai (1R); Shahar/Sania (1R); Shahar/Makiri (2R)

Oldest Main Draw Match of the Year(?): Kimiko Date Krumm/Jill Craybas (1R)

Doha 2009: Race to the Bottom

Dinara, Serena, Caro, Sveta, Venus, Elena and Vika are already in.  That means there's one spot left for the Year End Championships in Doha...

... and, with two weeks left, five players within striking distance.

 

(There are zero decent pictures of Marion out there.  Kinda funny.)

Jelena, Vera, Aga, Flavia and Marion.  Five players, 450 points, one spot.  And they're all playing at least once in the next two weeks.  And, obviously, not only is the one spot at #8 open, but both the alternate spots are up for grabs, too.  Given that for the last two years, alternates have both played and won matches at YEC (including Aga and Marion), you can bet no one's taking those spots or potential points for granted either.

Jelena and Vera are numbers 8 and 9 in the Race right now, respectively, and are separated by a mere five points.  They are both playing Moscow, and, of course, are respectively the defending champion (JJ) and and finalist (Bepa).  It seems natural to assume that, between those two, whoever goes farthest in Moscow will end up with the final spot for Doha.  That really takes the whole thing right down to the wire, since the Moscow final is a mere two days before start of play in Doha.  Game.  On.

However.

Aga, who vaulted herself back into YEC contention with her finals showing at Beijing this week, is currently #10 in the race (225 points behind JJ at #8, 200 points ahead of Flavia at #11) and is slated to play both Linz and Moscow.  A good showing at both could put her right up there, especially if one or both of JJ/Vera crashes out early at Kremlin Cup.  Plus, she should be super-motivated: she's on a hot streak, she's defending points from Doha last year, and a win at Linz would also qualify her for the Baby YEC in Bali.

Flavia, currently #11 in the Race, is 425 points out of 8th, which seems like a lot until you consider that she, like Aga, is playing both Linz and Moscow.  Since Flavia's already qualified for the Baby YEC, but can't go because of her Fed Cup commitments, it might be that she shows up at both tournaments extra hungry to make it into Doha, either fully qualified or as an alternate.  

Marion is #12 in the race, 450 points out of #8 and 225 points out of #10.  She's playing Osaka this week and, as the #2 seed, has a decent shot at the title, particularly if Caroline Wozniacki's health is still iffy.  On the one hand, since she's so far out of #8 and (unlike the two players directly in front of her) is only playing once, her odds for making the cut seem bad.  On the other hand, if I had to pick the steadiest competitor out of all five of these women... it might just be Marion.

So, there you have it.  On paper, it looks amazing.  As for the reality... well, God knows the WTA has had a hard time living up to billing this year, but I still kind of can't wait.

Sunday Wrap-Up: Lazy Guest Blogging (WTA Edition)

Only one of these, right?  Thank God.

How bizarre is it that going into this year, Sveta hadn't won a singles title in over two years, and now she's won 3 (fairly major) ones?  She's awesome.  Good for Aga, too.  Two weeks ago, she hadn't been past a quarterfinal all year; now she's got semis in Tokyo, the final in Beijing, and is back in the top 10 (sadness, Flava Flav).  She's also seemingly back in the hunt for Doha.  Jesus.

Beijing: Kuznetsova d. A. Radwanska 6-2, 6-4

 

Speaking of punch bowls, the pictures of this trophy ceremony are amazing.  You can't convince me they're not already planning for the rest of the day.

 

"I'm going to shove this fucking tennis ball down your fucking throat, I swear to God.  Haha, seriously, do you know where the liquor store is?"

I don't know what that is, and I don't care.  She's the bomb.

Sunday Wrap-Up: Lazy Guest Blogging (ATP Edition) (UPDATE)

Unfortunately, much like C Note, I haven't had any access to TV today; ergo, I didn't see a single second of any of the finals.  They're all waiting impatiently on my DVR, though.

Beijing: Djokovic d. Cilic 6-2, 7-6(4)

 

Nice tournament win for Novak, even nicer that it'll send him back to the top 3.  That is one ridonkulous punch bowl they gave him for the room party, though.  And kudos also to Marin; even if he lost the final, rolling over Rafa like that in the semis was no small feat.

Tokyo: Tsonga s. Youzhny 6-3, 6-3

1. Jo's hair is nutty.  In a good way, but still.  Maybe it has something to do with the Van de Graaff generator they gave him as a trophy.

2. How surprised was I to see Misha in a final??  His first of the year, as ATPTennis.com tells me.  ATPTennis.com also tells me he's played 31 tournaments this year.  Wha?

Mons (Challenger): Tipsarevic d. Stakhovsky 7-6, 6-3

I don't have much to say about this except that I'm pretty sure Milo Rambaldi had something to do with Janko's trophy.  UPDATE: When this picture came along, I realized that they gave Sergei a crystal armadillo for his trophy or something.  I don't know what they're smoking in Mons, but I want some.

Programming Alert: Juuuuust Kidding!

In a Forty Deuce coup, I will be "housesitting" while C Note is "in London".  

 

You know what they say, when the cat's away, the mice will play.  Let's get it started, y'all.

Pic This: Battle of the Polish Papas

Aga and Caroline are playing doubles together in Toronto, which means some good old-fashioned fun on practice.  I will give Papa Wozniacki some credit for trying (although failing) to get Caroline to pick up the mess of balls behind her.  Oh well, Coconut and her man harem took care of it later.

I'm beginning to think maybe Papa R won't let Aga and Ula have a clothing sponsor just so he doesn't have to wear silly Fila outfits or whatever.

There were times when the Papas were hanging out and chatting.  The times when they weren't were obviously funnier.

Thelma & Louise Take Toronto (Does That Make Brodie Brad Pitt? Huh.)

Inspired by the insightful and elaborate tweeting of the likes of Serena Williams, Carrie and Sodapop have been keeping their minions (like, 7 minions to be exact) abreast of the goings on in Toronto.  For those of you who don't have Twitter, well, far be it from me to let technology bar you from seeing the tournament through their beer goggles.

Their tweets for the past two days, after the jump.

Pic This: Oh Right, I Do Own a Camera

[C Note's Note: As those of you who actually listen to the FD Podcast know, Carrie and Sodapop (and Brodie) are in Toronto for the Rogers Cup for most of the week.  Carrie and Pop will be posting remotely when they're not too busy downing Coronas, fruity liquor, and doing commentary of every single Dina/Z interaction they can get their eyes on.]

And I did have batteries in it yesterday. Unlike Sodapop.  

The black onesie in action... almost losing to a Canadian I'd literally never heard of.

Awesome personified.

Also, we have Ace, the Tennis Canada mascot.  Sodapop has a thing about people in costumes, and it doesn't help that this thing keeps popping up all over the place.  Okay, it's probably also not helpful that I keep taking pictures of it and snickering at her being creeped out.  It is a little weird, though:

Ace watching Amelie/Sveta.

Ace surveying Sammie/Sveta from on high.

Okay, so he maybe is actually the stuff of horror movies.

We have a zillion pictures and some movies from today, but it's late and our connection is slow, so... hasta manana, todos.  

You Can't Stop FDers. You Can Only Hope To Contain Us.

More embedded reporting by a FDer, this time from Romana, who is volunteering at the Legg Mason tourney.  Her thoughts so far:

• Of note, doubles player Nenad Zimonjic was VERY pleasant to converse with. He has a great attitude and really enjoys being around his fans and just enjoying it.
• Del Potro and Youhzny both rotated hitting partners like crazy! They seemed to be constantly on court and DelPo is looking much stronger than last year when he won. Youhzny will forever be known as Racket-Head to me because of his infamous 'racket-to-the-head' bleeder on YouTube but he was always very composed on court.
• Robredo is another one that was always on court -- one practice with shirt on, one practice with shirt off. He really came to life even more when a camera was angled at him, it was pretty cool to see. Oh, and his white watch is amazing -- I just am not sure which brand, but it's HOT. He practiced with both Zimonjic and Ginepri, and Berdych.
• Gulbis's hair is a very hairy situation so don't even get me started there. It totally takes away from his sex-appeal ... SAD :(
• Tsonga practiced with fellow Frenchman and up-and-comer Jo Ouanna and the fans loved it. As he was leaving the practice court, I told him very sweetly 'Good Luck!' Not only did he stop and turn his focus to me, but he replied back with a nice "Thanks!" and then continued to the locker room.
• The men this year, so far, have been exceptionally pleasant with fans and although they get mobbed for autographs, they are so interactive and receptive to all of us. 

Romana has taken a load of pictures.  Feel free to take a look here.  And check back this week for more of her updates!

"F before I, F before I..."

Much love to Mrs. Saifn's boss for giving her the afternoon off to go catch her future husband in LA:

• I got to the stadium during the Isner/Baghdatis 2nd set tiebreaker. At 10-all, Isner had a nasty fall and grabbed his leg in pain. Marcos immediately jumped the net and was the first to reach him. After a short timeout, Isner came back on court. He was having trouble putting weight on his left leg, but managed to win the next few points and the match. Marcos shook hands nicely, walked to his chair and smashed his racket. 

• For Marat I sat in the first row behind the baseline. At first it was a little embarrassing to do the S-A-F-I-N cheer by myself, but after a few beers it was less about embarrassment and more about "F before I, F before I". Towards the end of the match, a group of people at the top of the stands started using the cheer, which is awesome, unless they were making fun of me.

• I was getting worried that my good luck charm status was used up with the 3 wins in two days, but just after I texted you that Karate Kid was looking too good, Marat came back. In his on-court interview after the match he said he's staying in LA until next Thursday and that his ex-girlfriend is from here ("So is your future wife," I shouted. OK, whispered).

• There were only a few people waiting for him after the match so I stuck around and got him to sign the playing card Love All gave me at IW. I couldn't ask about the monkey because when he looked at me all I could think was, "Did he just recognize me? Does Marat know me?"

• I stayed to watch Tursunov and Gulbis play doubles against some other guys. They were laughing and joking the whole time, and they won easily. Dima got pulled wide on one shot; when the point was over he picked a flower from one of the pots lining the side wall and presented it to Ernie as a gift, who knocked it out of his hand laughing. It was a really funny moment. They are a super-cute doubles team.

Dear Mr. Mrs. Saifn's boss.  Please recognize that she has been present at all of Marat's 4 wins in three days.  She needs to be there for all his matches.  Do your part and let her go.

Love Monkey

More tidbits from our embedded reporter, who continues to risk it all in the name of love, cougars, and monkeys:

• I drove a player that I still can't identify. He said he played yesterday, he's half French/half Persian, lives in Paris, kind of looks like Adrian Grenier. He told me about how hard it is to be a pro tennis player if you're not at the top. He's practiced 6 hours a day, every day of the week for 14 years and still has to crash at a friend's house in LA while top players stay  at fancy hotels. Really nice guy, wish I knew who he was.

• John Isner came in through the back to watch the Sampras vs. Safin exo. I stopped him for a picture, which he was happy to do, then got totally reprimanded by the volunteer coordinator.  Apparently we're not supposed to ask for pictures or autographs while in uniform, which seems lame.  At that point I felt like since I'd already gotten to meet Marat, Spades and Marcos, I was willing to risk getting "fired" to have my cougar moment with Isner.

• I got to watch the 2nd set and tiebreaker for the Safin/Consumption vs. Baghdatis/Sela match.  It totally looked like B/S were going to win, then S/C held off a few match points and all of a sudden they won.  Kunistyn told me they're playing the Bryans on Thursday.

• Then, the best part: I got to take Marat, Kunitsyn, some blonde Russian girl (Consumption's girlfriend? Very sweet girl) and a trainer back to their hotel around midnight. Marat sat up front with me. When I dropped them off, I asked if he would sign something for me and he said "Yeah, of course!" I handed him the photo and he did a double take and said, "Oh!" Then he took a long time signing it. I know it says "THANK U!!!" but can't read what's under it. I also told him I will be in the stands tonight cheering for him and he might remember the cheers from Indian Wells. He laughed.

See the now legendary autographed pic after the jump.  It is the definition of "win".