Forty Deuce

USO 09: Now Lighter and Less Lanky

 

Nalby and Mario have officially withdrawn from the USO.  No surprises really, but still bummertastic.

If You Mean Mario Will Be Sleeping During Wimbly, Then Yes.

ESPN's Picks for the Men and Women.

Uh...Mario Ancic?  A "Sleeper"?  Really, Greg Garber?  Do we not read tennis news?  That makes your MUZZ FOR 2009 pick awfully...awful.

I mean, screw BBC's fuck up from yesterday.  That's seriously one of the most horrible media faux-pas I've ever read. 

Though, let it be known that Kamakshi is on the Sam Stosur bandwagon.  I'm throwing out an ironic fistbump your way, girl.

Pic This: Augh. Theory Disproven.

Congrats to the Lanky Ones.  They won to take the tie 3-0.

 
So unless this is a spectacular PS job, Daniel LaRusso and Tuxedo Mask
are not the same person.  Bummer.
 

Boom Goes The Dynamite

As expected, the long and lanky Croats are in the driver's seat in their tie against a Gonzoless Chile. 

 
Mario and Marin (still not convinced they're not the same person) took their singles rubbers (dirty!) in straight sets.

Bee Tee Dub, can we get Nicholas Massu some VO5 Hot Oil, stat?  It really grosses me out.

"Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold."

First Gonzo at AO, now Jo.  It seems Rafa's going all Kill Bill on the ATP, taking hard court revenge left and right.  Rafa gutted out a tough three set win over Jo, 64 67(5) 64, to reach the semis in Rotterdam.  Next up, La Monf and a chance to avenge his loss in Doha earlier this year.

Perhaps avenging his loss to Muzz at the USO is on the agenda too?  You might want to put some padding around your heart area, Muzz.  Rafa's a comin'.

The other semi sees Better Than Average Mario against Muzz, who has quietly made his way through this tournament.  For some reason he was tested today by Gicquel, eventually winning due to the a left groin injury sustained by Gicquel in the third.  This was tough one that really could have gone against Andy, but he found his way through, winning 76(2) 46 30.

OOP for Saturday:
1.  Mario vs. Muzz (2:00pm)
2.  Rafa vs. La Monf (7:30pm)

Rafa On Hard Courts. Always An Adventure

 
Well helllooooooooo, nurse.

Grigor Dimitrov, a teenage wild card cutie from Bulgaria, pushed Rafa to three sets and really impressed until he started to run out of steam and start cramping.  Apparently Grigor is part of the Adidas Player Development Program.  At least, I assume so because Sven was watching him in Rotterdam.

Nice that he put on a good show.  Even nicer that Rafa was able to pull it out.  From all reports it sounds like Rafa's not keeping the best form in Rotterdam.  I still think he'll make it to the finals though.  The boy just doesn't quit.

No no no, Mario.  The cape goes on your back.  No...like, you tie it...oh nevermind.

Super Mario made a rare appearance today, upsetting #4 seed Gilly in three sets, 64 36 63.  It's ok, Gilly.  You're still fun to look at, especially with your new bed head look.  Cat sound.

Here are the rest of your scores:
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [WC] G Dimitrov (BUL) 75 36 62
[2] A Murray (GBR) d A Seppi (ITA) 76(4) 75
M Ancic (CRO) d [4] G Simon (FRA) 64 36 63
[5] G Monfils (FRA) d M Llodra (FRA) 64 64
[7]J Tsonga (FRA) d D Tursunov (RUS) 76(6) 62
[LL] M Gicquel (FRA) d P Mathieu (FRA) 64 63

Torch? Passed.

There is a Croat.  He is very tall.  Very lanky.  His name starts with an M.  Ends in an itch.  He has dark hair.  And he is super at tennis.

And his name is not Mario.

Marin "Tuxedo Mask" Cilic continued his strong start to the season by beating fellow Croat Average Mario to win his home tourney in Zagreb.  This is his second title of the year. 

I like Marin.  He's just a no-frills, solid and workmanlike.  Not unlike Mario, in fact. 

[Insert Super Mario Bros. Theme]

Nice tournament for Mario so far.  He's into a third round with a hard fought five set win over felow Croat, Dr.Ivo.  Thank god. Ivo's progression through tournaments always bugs me.

He'll face Gilly in the third round.

Can Someone Please Get Nole Some Happy Pills?

In a nutty, tense, bipartisan affair, Nole regrouped and rebounded numerous times to beat Mario 63 64.  The Serb and Croatian crowd were loud and rowdy and play was interrupted by rain twice.  But the story of the match was Mario's inability to convert 14 of 15 break point chances.  It was really remarkable.

Whoever is holding Nole's puppy hostage needs to stop though.  He's alternates between melancholy and pissy and it's just so not fun to watch.  He doesn't look like he wants to be playing.  Everything is a chore that he does begrudgingly.  I want Joker back.  This Djokovic guy is lame sauce.

Nole will face Jarkko, who benefitted from Jo's withdrawal.

The other semi will see the intriguing matchup between underachievers Nalby and Reeshard.  Nalby had a tough fight with Lleyton, but eventually won 76(3) 75, and Reeshie put away Chardy 62 76(4).

Sydney Interviews

Interviews with Nole, Nalby, Dani, Sveta, Dina, A-Rad, and Mario here.

Sydney Roundup: Day 2

The results, for the most part, were kept to form on both sides. 

For the ladies, Vera, Vika, and Mono withdrew/retired due to illness (Vera/Vika) and injury (Mono).  I don't know what Mono was thinking.  She already complained of running out of gas in Brisbane, but then she turns around and tries to play this tourney anyway and now she's injured.  Vika's withdrawal was expected given her run in Brisbane, but too bad for Bepa.  How many times do I have to tell you?  Do NOT eat the shrimp cocktail at the player's party.  That shit's been sitting out.

Dina, Lena, Cone, and Boots kept their strong starts going, while Domi barely put up a fight, falling listlessly to Boots.  And of course, every tournament director's nightmare came true:  MaKiri lost in the first round.

(2) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 62 61
(3) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 75 61
Alizé Cornet (FRA) d. (7) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 62 64
(8) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 61 62
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. (Q) Klara Zakopalova (CZE) 63 60
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) d. (LL) Anastasiya Yakimova (BLR) 61 36 63
Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. (Q) Angelique Kerber (GER) 61 75
Ai Sugiyama (JPN) d. (LL) Jill Craybas (USA) 62 63
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) d. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 62 62
Sara Errani (ITA) d. Casey Dellacqua (AUS) 61 62
(Q) Vera Dushevina (RUS) d. (WC) Emelyn Starr (AUS) 60 61
(Q) Melanie South (GBR) d. Marion Bartoli (FRA) 11 ret. (left calf strain)
(WC) Jarmila Gajdosova (SVK) d. (LL) Karin Knapp (ITA) 64 62   

As for the boys, FeLo ran into a very hot (playing wise) Jarkko.  He almost beat Tsonga last week in that epic three setter. 

[5] I Andreev (RUS) d [Q] F Dancevic (CAN) 76(2) 63
[7] T Robredo (ESP) d J Melzer (AUT) 63 64
J Nieminen (FIN) d F Lopez (ESP) 62 76(9)
M Ancic (CRO) d [Q] X Malisse (BEL) 64 67(5) 63
M Llodra (FRA) d [Q] D Gremelmayr (GER) 60 62
S Bolelli (ITA) d [LL] P Starace (ITA) 76(1) 64
 

Boyfriend Jon On the Swiss, Samps, and Sharapova

From this week's mailbag:

Would it be terribly gauche of me, as an American, to go to the U.S./Switzerland Davis Cup match and cheer for Federer. Or, should I just pretend to be, er, French?

-- Darise, Amherst

• Not gauche. And depending on where the event is held, it might not even be dangerous. I do think you've also highlighted a...I don't want to say a flaw, but maybe an "odd dimension" of Davis Cup. In this era of globalization, who can really get worked up in a nationalistic frenzy, cheering against those dastardly Swiss?

Now that Rafa is the year-end No. 1, Sampras' record of six years as year-end No. 1 remains. Am I right? You had mentioned earlier in one of your mail bags that "it's one of sports' most underrated records." I thought I would point that out now. Fed was year-end No. 1 for five consecutive years.
-- Shanky Fremont, Calif.

• Good point. Pete Sampras, take a bow. Long as you brought up Sampras, as many of you know, I've been spending this fall trying to write a book about Federer, Nadal and the 2008 Wimbledon final. In the course of the research, I've really been struck by how classily Sampras has handled the "Greatest Ever" talk and his relationship with Federer more generally. Hard to imagine too many other athletes embracing the guy who's gunning for their record.

I am wondering. Are you getting any questions about Sharapova those days? Or more generally: how long does it typically take for a player (injured or retired) to be "forgotten"? I guess you can judge this from the mails you get.
-- D.P., Europe

• Interesting question. I'm not sure this is the greatest barometer for her relevance, but, as one would expect, the Sharapova questions have slowed to a trickle. It's funny, though, because I think she (more specifically, her health) is a fiercely relevant subject. Before her shoulder went back on the fritz, she was playing exceptionally well to start the year and is/was, I think, the obvious heiress to the top spot, the player best suited to grab the top spot and make some order of all the chaos in the women's game. If she is unable to come back, the WTA is a much weaker product.

Have you ever seen Mario Ancic and Marin Cilic in the same room at the same time?
-- Brett Davis, Los Angeles, Calif.

• When Cilic starts showing up at Croatian CLE classes, we'll know something is really up.

Mario Needs to Power Up.

I don't think I can keep referring to Mario Ancic as Super Mario anymore.  It's just mean.

Larusso had to withdraw from his quarterfinal match today due to acute bronchitis.  There is fragile, and then there's Mario.  Hope he gets better. 

Pic This: Super Indeed.

Rich at Down The Line nailed this one. 

Mano e Mono: Mono wins.

Following in Maria's footsteps, Mario Ancic has withdrawn from the US Open.  But that's not the bad news.  The bad news is that he is suffering from a recurrence of the mono that knocked him out last year.