Forty Deuce

Digging Deep.

It's obviously a bit of a slow news week as we wait for the Elite Eight to descend on London.  Rumor is that A-Rod will withdraw due to his lingering injuries and if he does then General Sod will replace him.  It seems wrong if Andy doesn't compete.  Both he and Sod were integral players in the ATP 2009 story. 

Thankfully, instead of just living with dead air, tennis journos who, you know, actually have access to players, did a bit of digging over the past few weeks to give us some new and interesting articles on Rafa and Fed.

In Rafa's interview, he talks "openly" about the effect of his parents' divorce on his mentality and how up and down this season has been:

Federer overcame his French Open neurosis to win his 14th grand slam while, three weeks later, he achieved his record-breaking 15th victory at Wimbledon. "It was a hard moment for me," Nadal admits. "I can't play Wimbledon and it's my favourite tournament. I also lost at Roland Garros and I have a few personal problems. So everything coming together made it hard."

Nadal's gaze remains steady as he recounts the source of that turmoil. "My parents' divorce made an important change in my life. It affected me. After that, when I can't play Wimbledon, it was tough. For one month I was outside the world."

Nadal looks terribly young amid that quiet admission. "I am OK now," the 23-year-old says of his parents' divorce, "but you need time to accept. And it's more difficult to accept when you are outside home and don't know what's happening. At least the injury gave me time to be with my friends and family."

He also gave a rather extensive interview that was translated and summarized over at GoToTennis.com.

The Times Online caught up with Roger in Basel and the interview itself is quite good, though the actual writing by Paul Kimmage is haaaaahrible.  Was this necessary?

He did not marry a supermodel (Roddick). He does not make fun of his rivals (Novak Djokovic) or pick continually at the crack in his backside (Nadal). He has worse fashion sense than Andy Murray.

Bad writing. 

But the interview is interesting insofar as it gives Fed the opportunity to process not just 2009, but his entire career.  Interestingly, he had this to say about his famous "God, it's killing me" quote:

“That quote . . . was seen the wrong way. The thing that was killing me was having to talk while crying. What I meant was, ‘I wish I could stop crying and could talk normally and give Rafa the stage he deserves and not make everybody feel so bad [for me]’. This was upsetting me more than having lost the match. The last thing I wanted was for people to feel bad for me. I played a great tournament. I was happy with the way I played. I wish I would have won, but I had to accept, and accepted without a problem, that Rafa was better on that day. So it was [misinterpreted].

“I left the court and went on holiday and came back and heard all these things like, ‘He started crying . . . He’s gone . . . This is it . . . The downfall’, and I was like, ‘What?’ I have been crying after losing matches since I was five years old, so to have cried after the loss of a Grand Slam final was normal for me, but there was this big fuss that I didn’t understand. It was almost amusing how it was taken out of proportion.”

Sure, there will be some who'll say he's trying to revise history.  But I actually buy this explanation, if for no other reason than that he admits he's a total crybaby and he cries all the time.  Hee.

Rafa and Fed both have a chance to end the year at #1 given their results in London.  If Fed finishes #1 that'll be expected, but if Rafa finishes #1, wow, what a crazy year.

Remember what JJ the Oracle said: Year End #1 is all that matters.

Nom Nom Nom, Apricot Bars.

Well how about that? 

Nole and Muzz have easy straight set wins (I'm assuming -- Muzz/Blah is still in the second set), Rafa plays like shit but survives 5 match points to beat Nico, and Fed is out of Paris at the hands of a teary and bloody Apricot. 

Fantastic performance by Julien.  I really thought he'd choke when he served for the match at 5-4.  But he held his nerves and it was Fed who seemed all out of sorts.  The guy looked listless and uninspired.  Perhaps those late night feedings are taking their toll?

Or maybe he just wanted out of the tournament so he could celebrate with Marat?  All I know is, Roger better throw down his AMEX Black Card for this one.  Only the best for Maratski.

I. Eat. Your. Pizza. I EAT IT UP!!!

 
Oh, Nole.  You sexy badass motherfucker.

If you're a Nole fan and a...um...Roger non-fan, there can be nothing sweeter than seeing Nole beat Fed for the Basel title.  It was a sweet three set win wherein Nole truly played some solid tennis.  It's the best I've seen him play against a top player in a really long time. 

I have no idea if this loss will bother Roger.  I mean, really, at this point nothing should.  But losing to a guy that you sincerely dislike at your home tourney?  That can't be an ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Nole's win of course would make the entire town of Basel cry.  No pizza for the ball boys, no 6th straight Basel title for Roger, and apparently, someone just shat in the tourney director's hat.

One last thought on Basel: Did anyone else see that its title sponsor is Davidoff, a tobacco company?  The EU forbids tobacco companies from being title sponsors of sporting events or teams, but Switzerland isn't part of the EU.  I found it...odd.

Slippery Little Sucker

Novak Djokovic, Comeback Kid?  What's going on?

He already had to mount a comeback to overcome Stan.  But this time, Nole looked like a goner.  Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Nole faced triple break point.  He would then play 5 solid, confident points to save the game, which basically amounted to a swift kick in the nuts to Radek, who wasn't the same after that.  Nole would go on to break and take the second set 75 and the third 62. 

Well done, Falcon!

He'll face Fed in the final, who won the Battle of the Basel Ball Boys in the other semi.  All credit to Chiuds, who forced a really well-played tiebreak, which Fed won 9-7.  From there, Fed rolled to the win.

Swissers, Falcons, and Worms.

Well look who crashed the party.

Not sure people thought the two Swissers to make the semis in Basel would be Fed and Chiuds, but there it is.  Marco summarily dismissed a very flat Reeshie, 1 and 3.

And then there were the comeback kids.  Nole pulled a rabbit out of his hat, coming back from a set and a break down to beat Stan.  And Radek pulled off a bit of an upset, coming back from a set down to beat Marin.  And Jelena's still pretty.

[1] R Federer (SUI) d [Q] E Korolev (RUS) 63 62
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [6] S Wawrinka (SUI) 36 76(5) 62
[5] R Stepanek (CZE) d [4] [WC] M Cilic (CRO) 46 63 63
[WC] M Chiudinelli (SUI) d R Gasquet (FRA) 61 63

So it'll be Fed vs. Chiuds (yawn) and Nole vs Steps (intriguing).

Interestingly, the win keeps Radek in the hunt for the WTF.  The loss means Marin has to win Paris to have a chance.  I'm sure none of you care about this fact.  But I thought it was interesting.  So there.

 

It's a Little Early For Mr. Hanky, No?

Roger's back from a 6 week layoff in his hometown tournament in Basel.  From what I can tell his back seems better.

But what's up with his obsession with brown?  First the 2008 USO UPS man gear, and now he just come out looking like shit.  Literally.  I mean, I know he just signed a deal with Lindt, but come on, dude, there's a line you have draw when cross-marketing.  Though, it does remind me of this:

This is diet Snapple? sound bite  30 Rock sound bites

Anyway, the Swiss are cruising in Basel, with Fed winning his first two matches easily and Chuids and Stan following suit. 

On the other side of the draw lies Fed's favorite foe, Falcon, who issued a heartless double-bagel today.  I would be so OK with a Fed/Nole final.  Hopefully Nole eats all his pizza.

In other noteworthy results, Richie and Halpert had themselves a highly competitive match that really showed off their skills.  In the end, Richie was able to stay with the tall guy through that second set breaker (saving 2 MPs) and once he was able to take the second set, Isner fell away.  Good on both guys.

And Viktor made Marin work, as Marin had to save 3 MPs to win, 76(7) 67(8) 76(6).  Tough loss for the kid.

Cheeky British Humor

Ahem. 

So this pic pretty much sums up my impression of the Wimbledon Museum. 

It was unintentionally hilarious.

 

Another gem, which, when you pull back, reveals a third bunny:

 

Random?  Yes.  Awesome?  Absolutely.

 

The Champions display is right when you get to the bottom of the stairs.  I saw this.  I laughed quite hard.  I may have said, "They have the fuckin' Sergeant Pepper jacket???" a little too loud.  I really shouldn't drink before noon.

Fed shoes.

 

Dick shoes.

Muzz's shorts.  Unfortunately I left my glass cutter at the flat. 

Not gonna lie.  Wanted to smell them.

DG kept pointing out ugly pictures of Muzz in the Wimbly Store and asking, "Really, dude?  This guy?"

Yes, dude.  That guy.  To quote Brodie, "I would."

Nice that they gave Lena D some love.  This was her semifinal outfit. 

In a rather impossible feat, it looks even cheaper in person.

 

Billy Jean King and Rod Laver's racquets.  Seemed like something I should geek out at. 

Ashamed to admit I did not. 

There was actually quite a bit of historical stuff about the evolution of lawn tennis.  Here's my problem though: I actually kind of hate grass court tennis.  So it was difficult to actually care.  Also, the whole grass thing seems elitist and Victorian.  As you all know, I am a woman of the people.  It was hard not to roll my eyes at some of the displays.

Enjoyed seeing the white balls though.  Mainly because I like white balls.

Movingrightalong...

 

I was very confused by this.

 

Donkeygrooming found this one.  Shirtless Marat?  Wimbly knows what's up.

 

And in the most random pairing of players on the wall....

All in all it was a fun to see the museum but I wouldn't pay separately to see the stuff that was there.  If you book a tour then the museum admission is included.  One thing that surprised me: How little was made of the GMOAT.  I hope that's because they're trying to figure out how to best commemorate the match.  It would have been really cool to see the grass/dirt stained shirt Rafa wore when he fell to the ground.  Or even some video with commentary.  

Then again, maybe that's not Wimbledon's style.  It's clear from the tour and the museum that they want to focus on the full narrative of Wimbledon and not just singular moments. 

Throwing' the Roger Fans a Bone

Inspired by my trip to the Newseum, here's a Roger video that Roger fans seem to enjoy. See? Fair and balanced.

Welcome To My House

The 2010 Davis Cup draw came out this morning and while everyone is understandably buzzing about the 1st round tie between Spain and Switzerland, I'm way more pumped for the USA vs. Serbia tie.  Why? 

Because it's in Serbia.

If you think about when Nole's career started to take a weird turn, you have to look back at Sarsapalooza 08, when Andy called out Nole for being injury prone, Nole got mad, New York got mad, and as a result, Nole's brain melted.  I swear it was as though Andy somehow lobotomized him.  The guy has been lost ever since.

So excuse me if I look forward to Nole finally playing Andy on pro-Nole territory.  When they can finally have a match where Nole should feel comfortable letting the Falcon out.  Who knows what will happen, but a Nole win would go a long way for his confidence and at least get Andy out of his head.

Because seriously?  Of all the players to have in your head, does it really have to be A-Rod?  Come on.

Also, will 2010 finally be the year when P-Mac gets his head out of his ass and plays Sam instead of Headband and Socks? 

As for the Spain/Switzerland tie in Spain, I don't know why but I'll be surprised to see Roger there.  And I don't mean that as a slight to him.  I just wonder if that early in the season he'll be willing to go from Australian hardcourts, to clay, and back.  Though, I guess if he was willing to play last week's relegation tie, he must want to add the Davis Cup to his NetJet.  What better way to do it than to beat Rafa.

The Voice Of Evil

Hee. The cheer itself is really what cracks me up. Sounds like something my six year old cousin would make up. "I'm #1. I'm the best. Because I'm #1. I'm not #2. #2 eats poo. I'm #1."

"Be Quiet."

Fed's getting a bit ornery with age.

Of course, we can't ignore the obvious...

Pic This: USO Final Wrap Up

And so another USO in the books.  And the last chapter of this one was nothing but rainbows.

 

Acid trip rainbows.

 

Swear to God.  I'm gonna steal that kid.

 

It must be love.

Wheeeee!

For now.

 

Good girl.

 

I am taller than you.

Jailbreak!

 

Jesus.  Way too fucking cute.

 

Car!

 

Kids playing at the club in Tandil where DelPo used to play.  It's no swimming pool, but it'll do.

"My Trophyface, m-my Trophyface..."

Believe

Indeed.

 

Hours later and I still can't believe it actually happened, which is totally unfair to Elfie.  Here's a guy who has had a steady and workmanlike ascent through the rankings to reach #5.  He has gone from being the unfit teen who was reduced to tears by Andy Murray a couple of years ago and embarrassed by Roger Federer only 9 months ago, to being a guy who has taken the last three matches from Rafa on hard courts, pushed Fed to five sets on clay, beating A-Rod twice in a week, pushing Muzz in a tough three setter in Montreal, and dusting his way through the USO draw.

And yet despite all of that I, as well as everyone else (except perhaps one *very* happy British woman) completely wrote him off for the final.  No way this giant lug could beat the Maestro/The Federer/Rog.  Fed was on a tear and it just didn't seem like Elf's time quite yet.

 

And for the second day in a row I am absolutely ecstatic when I say this: I was wrong.

 

DelPo would continue the form that took out Rafa in straights into the final.  Except this time, when things got tight and he got down, he didn't throw up his hands and say "too good".  He kept fighting, sticking to his game plan (BIG FOREHAND), and playing within himself.  And as he did, he somehow wore down TMF and made him look...well...not so much TM.

 

It was a weird match all around for Roger.  His lights out serving, which had previously shown no signs of wobbling, all of a sudden wobbled.  Dude couldn't buy a first serve through the first few sets.  That combined double digit double faults at key moments, as well as DelPo's lethal returning, ultimately led to Fed barely spinning serves in the fifth set.  And once that serve went away, Fed looked concerned.  That last set was an AO 09 redux.  The forehand was flying all over the place and Fed looked frustrated.

 

So there you go.  One of the most improbable upsets in a damn long time.

 

I'm not going to pretend that the entire tennis world is happy about this result.  But no matter how cold your heart is, you can't ignore the feel-goodiness of this result.  

 

And if you're still pissy about it, I give you the children of Tandil.  Come on.

 

Welcome to the big leagues, dude.  You've earned it.

Congratulate The Motherfucker, Motherfuckers!

He served, he hit, he ran, he won, he cried.  He was everything we needed him to be:

He was better than Roger.

More on the win later, but feel free to revel in the gloriousness of this moment together in the comments.

Air Quotes: Yeah...Crazy Game...I Guess...

"Well, I mean, I don't know. It's unfortunate, I guess. But she foot faults at 15‑30, I hit one through the legs. How crazy, you know, tennis goes sometimes."

-- Fed on Serena-Gate.

The Nole Conundrum

And .5 seconds later the world changed.  Apparently.

 

Ok, yes, it was a sweet shot.  But "the best shot I've hit in my life"?  I haven't even watched all that many Fed matches but I can count at least 20 shots that were more insane.  But whatever floats your dick, Fed.

 

As for Nole, he was *so* there.  He played well enough to put himself into position to take each set.  But I think this match highlights what I will call, The Nole Conundrum.

Novak cares about the crowd.  We all know that.  He wants to be loved and he wants to be cheered for.  And if this tournament will be known for anything other than 16, The Shot, The Abs, or The Failure, it will be known for Nole's Redemption.  He finally played with a smile on his face and with an eye towards entertaining the crowd.  No shame in any of that and I love him for all of it.

 

But we also know there's another side of Nole.  And that is the fiery, ultra competitive, I want to beat you badly and piss in your skull side.  In order for him to win Slams, he absolutely needs to let that dog out.  He has to scream, pound his chest, get that crazy "I'm gonna kill you" look in his eyes.  But he's so burned by what happened last year in the Roddick match that in these tight moments, against crowd faves like Fed, he refuses to let that guy take over. 

And to me, that was the difference in this match.  At the key moments Nole couldn't/wouldn't play with the necessary intensity.  And he refused to vocalize his intent and get into Fed's head.  His lack of fire made the match a foregone conclusion, despite the close scoreline.

I love Novak.  Always have.  And I'll continue to root for him in any match he plays (yes, even if it's against Rafa or Muzz).  But if he can't figure out how to solve his Jekyl/Hyde problem he'll never win another Slam, and that to me would make him a huge underachiever.

 

And so Fed gets a crack at 16 against Elfie tomorrow.  He hasn't lost at the USO in like, 3,000 days.  So let the suspense build accordingly.

Oh Yeah. There Are Three Other Guys.

Remember Miami? 

 

Well the #1 and #2 boys are going to try to forget it, I'm sure. 

Rafa's dropped his last two matches against Elf, first in that infamous Miami match and then a few weeks ago in Montreal.  Fed has finally snapped his Nole streak, beating him recently in the Cincy final. 

Buckle up.

Pic This: Book 'Em, Danno.

 

Please don't get ass-raped by Fed.  Not sure I could take another one of those.

Weird.  My boyfriend has that distant look in his eyes when I give him a handjob, too.

*whispers*

That's not Sanowa, Richard.

Fairly certain my abs would snap in two attempting this.

 

You know, it's a good thing that my blog is way classier than Perez Hilton's, because I could MS Paint a pretty awesome lollipop there.

Air Quotes: Get The KY Out...

Q. Is there one specific area, besides the mental game, but one thing that perhaps even you're surprised he's (Todd Martin) helped with?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't think you can always ‑‑ you can ever get your game to the perfection, you know. Only if you're Federer. (laughter.)

Pic This: Work It

Today was Labor Day in the states, which means no working, lots of out of towning, and, if you're in the Bay Area, lots of trying to figure out how the hell you're supposed to get to a BBQ in the East Bay when the Bay Bridge is shut down.  Let's just say Tommy wasn't the only one with that look this weekend.

But while we were being lazy bums, the action in NYC kept rolling.

 

Doesn't this look like a "Pic This" pic?  But I can't think of the perfect caption, even though it's begging for one.  Kinda like how Caro's begging to get f'd in the a. 

Oh, look!  Caption!

Smug little bastard.

 

The Sex expert.

 

This is Yanina Wickmayer.  She is a quarterfinalist.  Or something.

Pic This: Upset Saturday

What weird Saturday at the Open.  

Didn't have time to post about it but nice win for Nole over Jesse Witten yesterday, and heck of a match from Witten to really push Nole and make us all think an upset was brewing.  Glad as hell that Nole made it through though and that he won't have to face A-Rod....

...thanks to this guy.  Love it.

As my best gay would say, "Uh, pass."

3 of 14

That was Lawnmower's break point conversion "success" rate.  That's enough to make a dude want to bust a racquet or 20.

As for Fed it was a dicey match.  While I didn't think he was ever in danger of losing, his serve was off and his forehand was come and go throughout the match.  He was plagued by unforced errors during much of the tight third set.  

Pic This: Muggy

Day 3 is in the books and the first rounds on both sides are complete.  

Hike up your socks, folks, it's just getting interesting.

Surrealism.

Still the best hair in tennis.

The WAGs are out in full force.

Happy and no headlights.  Win.

Ladies First

Darth Fed took the court first tonight, the first time the men have kicked off the USO night session in 22 years.  It was, I'm sure, beautiful tennis and he won in straight sets.  To Simon Greul's credit, he fought hard and gave Fed a bit of a challenge, pushing him to 75 75 in the last two sets.  So good on Greul.

Serena rolled in the chaser, finishing off Ivanovic Slayer (though really, who isn't one these days) Melinda Czink, 61 61.  So all is right in the world as the two #1s cruised.

Air Quotes: She's Only Pimping Because We Ask, You Guys.

Choice quotage from Monday, all available at the USO site.  Here's hoping they start posting a more diverse set of players.  Sheesh.

Q. You were having some problems with your serve. Commentators started talking about serving in women's tennis. One of them said the person who serves best will win the tournament. Do you agree with that?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know. I don't care what commentators say. So it's just all, you know, like they aren't on the court winning championships. I don't really... Yeah.

...
Q. You showed a lot of support for Gasquet when he was suspended. He says he appreciates that very much from you. Can you talk about the reason, what went through your mind? You showed so much support for him.

RAFAEL NADAL: The true is I support him a lot. First thing, because I believe in him. Second thing, because I think he's a very nice guy. I know him since 13 years old or 12 years old. I talk with him what happen. He told me he didn't take nothing. So I believe him 100%, and I think you know, it is open. I don't want to speak a lot about that and a lot of history is out about when I speak about that, but it's not 100% perfect sometime. If someone wants to kill you, somebody can kill you, you know? And you didn't do nothing. That's the true, no? That's my feeling what happened with Richard, and of course they say that, no? He won. In the beginning, it was three years, and then it was three years because he didn't take nothing. So I'm very happy for that, and I am sure a lot of players are very happy for Richard.
...

Q. Anything special about the jewelry you're wearing for this tournament?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I'm wearing my whole collection from the Serena Williams, Signature Statement, which is available on HSN, which I'm really (laughter.) I'm sorry, but he asked, so...
I'm really excited about it because I love jewelry, and I think people really know me for jewelry. It will be available starting September 19.

Q. If you were writing the story about the 2009 US Open women's draw, what would be your lead?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, what would be my lead? Are you trying to get this for your story? (laughter.)
Just making sure. Well, Serena's back where she belongs. 

...

THE MODERATOR: Roger today became the first player to win $50 million in prize money, just to let you know.
ROGER FEDERER: No need to write about that. (Laughter.)

...

Q. How did you injure your ear?
ANDY RODDICK: I have no idea. I have absolutely no idea.

Q. Come on, tell the truth.
ANDY RODDICK: No, I have no idea. I didn't go out there with it like that, I don't think. And then, I don't know, I saw like blood on my towel. I was looking around like this. No idea.

Q. Possible shaving accident?
ANDY RODDICK: No. My ears aren't actually that hairy.

Pic This: In Like A Lamb...

Day 1 is on its way into the books. 

And except for a few moments of stress, it was pretty snoozy.

 

Fed won easily, though Devon Britton, the young American, showed some stuff to be excited about.

 

Makiri won easily in her new Adidas Competition gear. 

Hmm...maybe it *was* the clothes.

 

Don't tell Aga, but that ain't a checkmark on her kit.

Pic This: Damn, Girl!

Mama's in the house and she's looking great!

Monogram

The NY Times devotes an entire two page article on the evolution and significance (or not) of the 'gram.

For The Kids.

The big money stars came out to entertain the kids on a wet Arthur Ashe Kids Day.  And it looked like good times were had by all, even that unidentifiable popped-collar-dbag on the the left.

It's always something, with Serena, no?  She was a born entertainer.

The look of shock and confusion is pretty great.

And the looks didn't really change for Serena either.

One of these things is awesome.  And one of these things is James Blake.

And based on Andy's reaction here, I think you know which is which.

Pic This: "Earth angel, earth angel, will you be mine..."

Remember that scene from Back to the Future where Mardy looks at the picture of his family and they all start disappearing?  Yeah...this feels like that.

Fuckin' Biff.

Pic This: *Someone* Just Saw The Draw

Pic This: I Hope You Burn In The Sun

Why's he dressing all Godrick-y?  Creepy.

"I'm just a boy with a new haircut, and that's a pretty nice hair cut..."

Rafa and the Nike crew took over the NYC streets to show of their kits (apparently that's the thing these days)...

...and do some giggles. 

And he was luscious.

I'm really loving the colors that Nike worked out for these two. 

They both look fresh and the colors totally pop.

Serena's legs compared to Rafa's.  Wow.

"I just flew in from Cincinnati and boy are my arms tired!"

LOVE this shot.  The two faces of Rafa.

Damn.  Myla's getting HUGE.

Pic This: Wait. I Thought He Had Twins...

Didn't We Do This Last Year?

TMF's USO kit.  Stick with what works, I guess.

US Open Favorites. Or Something.

I've made my feelings for Lena known so I won't go through it all again.  But congrats to her for seizing the opportunity to bag her third title of the year in Toronto by beating Masha.  A serveless Masha is a breakable Masha, which will be her downfall at the USO.  But not before she wreaks some havoc through the quarters.  If she gets a favorable draw and the top seed fall early, she has a legitimate shot at the USO title.  

And congrats to TMF, who withstood a challenge from Nole in the second set to take his first Masters title of the season in straight sets.  I think Nole comes out of this tournament with some momentum, as he has to believe that he can beat Rafa in NYC and he can give Fed a run for his money.  The question for me is whether he believes he can beat either of the Andys, which is going to be more of an issue considering he can't be in Rafa's half at the Open.  But a run to the semis would do the kid some good.

As for Fed, he won, he was phenomenal, and in his two matches against Andy and Nole he didn't collapse when the pressure was on late in the second set.  He looks confident and and calm and is playing with clarity.  So that's AWESOME.

Riker, Meet Picard.

Brain. Cramp.

Not that the match completely turned on it or anything, but WTF, Muzz?  Stopping play to challenge a serve?  IDIOT.

Nice match from Fed, who played contained aggressive tennis.  Not sure what was up with the Muzzard.  Seemed like he couldn't get a shot over the net to save his life in the first set.  Well, that and he had no first serve whatsoever.  So...yeah.  Probably not best for both your groundies and your serve to break down against Fed.  

GOAT vs. Deuce

Well, Lleyton, at least you made him sweat for this one. Actually it was probably just the heat and humidity of Cincy that caused all that tasty goodness, but you know, you don't have to tell yourself that.  Fed cruised to a 3 and 4 win in an hour and 10 minutes.  It's his 13th straight win over the Lawnmower Man.  Make of that what you will.

So Fed did his part, but what about Andy?  Uh...let's not talk about it.  He beat Apricot in three sets. 

Ok, fine I'll talk about it.  Crap play from Andy generally.  I mean, you really should be needing to fight for a three set win over a Lucky Loser, Deuce.  But Andy did what Andy does and he gutted out the win and basically broke Apricot's spirit.  In case you haven't heard (and seriously, I don't know how you could avoid this news) a 53 shot rally in the second set pretty much broke 'Cot.  He would go on to win only two games after that rally and he looked WIPED.  So once again, Andy "Fitness Freak" Murray outlasted another one.

So we'll get Fed vs. Murray.  6-2 in favor of Muzz, H2H.  This is a big one going into the USO.

Quick! Someone Tell The Milkman!!!

Cuz, Daddy's coming home early. 

I only watched the tiebreak, so no, I do not know how Fed blew a 5-1 lead in the third set.  Hell, even if I did watch the match I still probably wouldn't be able to explain it.  But it happened, and to be frank, I'm a bit sad.  I was *really* looking forward to a Fed/Muzz showdown tomorrow.  See?  Even when I root for you, you still fuck me, Fed.  Feh.

But many huge ups to Jo.  He really held his nerve in the tiebreak after blowing a few match points on Fed's serve in the 12th game.  I really didn't think he'd be able to cojoney up and play aggressive but controlled tennis in the breaker.  But he did.  He'll meet Muzzard tomorrow.

#1s Through

Fed and Dina came through fairly easily in their third round matches.  Fed took care of Charlie Brown, 63 76(5), though Stan had his chances in the second set and couldn't capitalize. 

As for Dina, she took out Peng easily while wearing China red.  Who says the Russians don't have a sense of humor?

Um...Why Are You Wearing Clothes?

Horribly disappointing.

But at least he won, taking a tight match over Polanksy the Canuck, 64 76(6).  Nole was an error machine so there's still some rust to shake off.  But survive and move on, I always say.

Muzz returned with a fairly easy win over Jeremy, 4 and 2, and JCF scored a solid win over Lleyton, 1 and 4.  And in the marathon matches of the day, Haasi, Fer and PEHK all notched wins over Ivo, FeLo, and Big Byrd, respectively.  Really nice wins for Tommy and Techno. 

And it looks like Fed finished up his match, taking it 76 64.  From what I can tell from FedFans, his serve was awesome but his groundies were rusty.  But he picked it up in the end.  I still don't like the striping on his Nike kit, but the color is nice.

Play continues in Montreal, with Gonzo.

Singles - Second Round
[1] R Federer (SUI) d [WC] F Niemeyer (CAN) 76(3) 64
[3] A Murray (GBR) d J Chardy (FRA) 64 62
[4] N Djokovic (SRB) d [WC] P Polansky (CAN) 64 76(6)
[8] N Davydenko (RUS) d P Mathieu (FRA) 76(4) 76(2) 

Singles - First Round
[10] F Verdasco (ESP) d F Lopez (ESP) 61 67(5) 61
[15] T Robredo (ESP) d [Q] A Bogomolov Jr. (USA) 64 62
[LL] A Golubev (KAZ) d [16] R Stepanek (CZE) 63 64
P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [17] T Berdych (CZE) 76(5) 67(9) 64
[Q] J Ferrero (ESP) d L Hewitt (AUS) 61 64
V Hanescu (ROU) d J Melzer (AUT) 64 63
J Isner (USA) d [Q] J Levine (USA) 63 64
[Q] A Falla (COL) d D Sela (ISR) 64 36 63
[11] F Gonzalez (CHI) vs [Q] M Raonic (CAN)
D Ferrer (ESP) d V Troicki (SRB) 63 60
T Haas (GER) d I Karlovic (CRO) 46 76(3) 64
[Q] J Hernych (CZE) d [Q] J Benneteau (FRA) 62 63 

Doubles - Second Round
[7] M Mirnyi (BLR) / A Ram (ISR) d [WC] R Nadal (ESP) / F Roig (ESP) 46 63 10-8

Doubles - First Round
L Dlouhy (CZE) / P Petzschner (GER) d P Kohlschreiber (GER) / S Wawrinka (SUI) 62 62

Pic This: Whatever. It's Still An Upgrade, People.

Pic This: Two Monograms. One For Each Baby.

Nole "being quiet" with Roger in Montreal.

Pic This: I Hope They Don't Get His Hairy Arms.

Awww....Get melty in the ocmments.

(Pic from Roger's Facebook page)

Monogrammed Pillows? Of Course. Of Course You Do, Roger.

A glimpse inside the $3,000+ per night suite at the Carlyle in New York that has been christened "The Roger Federer Suite".  Roger's stayed there for the past two years.  Cheesy monogrammed pillows aside, the place looks fantastically tacky. 

That living room alone would cause seizures.  Gotta love the Observer's snark:

The living room (with its white orchid, gargantuan quasi-Picasso and giant shiny black vases), was designed by a musical theater actor named J. Cameron Barnett, whose résumé's skills section lists interior decoration only after "hip-hop dance, knowledge of German, cheerleading jumps, drag."

And it shows.

Oh Boy.

Did His Hospital Gown Have an Embroidered "2"?

Congrats to the Vavrinecs on the birth of their healthy twin girls,
Charlene Riva and Myla Rose. 

And here we thought they'd go with Madison and Taylor (but really hoped for Rolanda and insertwittyplayonWimbledonasbabynamejokeherebecauseIcan'tthinkofonerightnow).

I do think it's *really* funny that, given their strategic middle names, they can get away with wearing RF gear for the rest of their lives.  Always thinking ahead.

"Hey Baby, Hey Baby, Hey"

Mirka's reportedly checked into a clinic in Zurich.

You Gotta Think He's Envious Of The Hair. At Least.

Interesting stuff from Pete Sampras, as written up by Pete Bodo, on GOATs (or not), Fed, and Marat.

"I do understand the argument as far as being the best ever. You have to be the man of your generation.  He (Roger) has come up short against Nadal. I can see the point. It's hard to answer that. I don't know how to answer it.You know, it's not done yet.  Roger's career isn't done yet. He's going to play Nadal a number of times over the next number of years, and he has to beat him. He has to beat him in the finals of majors. To be considered the greatest ever, he certainly in my book is (already that). But he has to figure this kid out.  He has to beat him.  He's lost to him a number of times. You know, you got to be the man of your generation. He certainly is the man of his generation; he just has to figure out Nadal."

Pushed to elaborate vis a vis his own experience wih Agassi, Pete added: 

"Well, God, you're giving it some thought, huh (laughter)? It would have bothered me if I had a losing record against Andre in majors. It wouldn't have sat well with me. Did it mean I was the greatest or not the greatest? I don't know. It's the debate of greatest of all time. We so badly want to pin it on someone.  With the numbers you have to give it to Roger.  His record against Nadal, okay, you might not give it to him. 

"I mean, if I was 7-15 against Andre and I was done, it's hard to say I was the player of my generation - just because he got the best of me.

...

You may remember that in his Wimbledon press conference, Rod Laver took the position that in one match, on grass, he would pick Sampras over Federer. Laver wasn't the only one who took that tack. Just a few weeks ago, John McEnroe told me, "Watching these guys today, I keep thinking that if Sampras walked out there, he’d still drive these guys bananas. In my opinion he’s still the greatest fast court-player who ever lived. Where Roger is the greatest, period."

I asked Sampras about that, too. He said:

"Well, I think one thing Roger doesn't see on grass the last number of years is really a true serve-and- volleyer, someone that's willing to come in and put the pressure on and make him pass, make him return these big serves. I don't think anyone really scares him. I think my game would make Roger a little bit more uncomfortable. I would obviously come in on both serves and put the pressure on his backhand, sort of go from there. . . I would sort of dictate the play.  But, you know, he'd be a tough guy to break, especially when he's hitting 50 aces like he did (in the recent Wimbledon final).  It would have been a great matchup

"If I would beat him?  If I felt my best on grass, I did feel unbeatable, especially in the mid '90s.  I was a tough guy to break, played well from the back court to have chances, and I moved well enough. It's a flattering comment.  Do I think I could have beaten Roger in my prime?  Sure. I don't think anyone could beat me in my prime on grass. I felt as Roger does now - he feels unbeatable."

...

"Marat and I always got along very well when we were playing. He's a really nice guy, great player, showed what he could do especially at the US Open the one year, he tuned me up pretty good. He's an expressive guy on the court, shows emotion. Off the court, he's a happy-go-lucky guy. I was pretty reserved when I was playing, to myself.  For whatever reason, he and I seemed to get on really well.  We practiced quite a bit together. 

"You know, he's a champion. He got to No. 1. He won a major, I think two majors.  It's sad to see him go because I think he brought a lot to the sport. Haven't sort of kept in contact with him.  But certainly when I see him, we'll talk about some of our matches.  When Paul (Annacone) was coaching (Tim) Henman, Marat would ask Paul, How is Pete doing?  He was always just a personable guy, really nice guy, and someone that I've always gotten along really well with."

Interesting stuff from the always honest and forthcoming Pete.  Too bad no one asked him about Palin.  That would have been fun.

Boyfriend Defends My Honor

Well not really.  But kinda.