Now, I can't compare the TV coverage in Australia with here in the US, but for sure the in person crowds in the US are the least vocal of almost any tennis crowds in the worlds where US players are involved, I think. I think they just go for the tennis players they like best. At least for the most part. I'm trying to think of situations, for instance, where US Open crowds were clearly for Sampras's non-American opponent.

Apropos Serena-Carillo, I didn't know they had a personal history. And Davenport has the reputation of someone who has worked her ass off to improve her fitness and her game. I think most tour players do. My suspicion is that Carillo feels Serena has not done so. It's a tribute to her amazing ability and champion's fighting heart that she does as well as she does.

I personally think that with some focused work she could absolutely dominate the way she did a few years ago. But maybe the desire isn't there. Yeah, Sharipova is good, but Serena should not be losing to her IMHO. But I think Serena needs to dedicate herself to some serious tennis work and possibly agility work to improve (she's lost a step or two). And then she'll be kicking everyone's ass again. And God will be in her heaven and all will be right with the world again.

I fully understand the Lleyton Hewitt dislike but I really don't get all the Marat Safin love around here. This is a guy who has admitted to tanking matches on many occasions and let's not forget that ugly incident with Mal Washington's wife. But no matter how obnoxious his behavior, for some reason many fans seem to think of Safin as just a lovable scamp. I think they're both jerks and I'm not going to root for either one of them. It's just too bad one of them is going to win the Aussie Open.

This is an interesting point. But I think one of the reasons tennis isn't as popular as other sports (in the U.S., at least) is because it's not really television friendly: no discernible uniform-type outfits to easily identify players, no set time frame (a men's 5-setter that can go well over 4 hours, a woman's 2-setter that only lasts 35 minutes), which makes for difficult scheduling, etc.

As to the Shot Spot/Hawkeye technology, I'm divided. As a tv viewer, I think it's fabulous and adds to the drama and my enjoyment of the match. But I do think, like you suggest, it removes the "realism," and takes away from the moment. Plus, it would be too difficult to implement. For consistency's sake, you'd have to install it on every court, not just the big arenas and show courts. Plus, the players are supposed to be able to get beyond questionable line calls. Part of what makes tennis fascinating, for me, at least, is watching the players work through their issues to win the next point, game, set and then the match. The players are out there by themselves, no access to coaches, no time-outs or substitutions--they have to be problem solvers as well as phenomenal athletes. And that's part of the appeal of tennis, as far as I'm concerned. YMMV, of course.

I agree somewhat about wanting to see how players cope with questionable calls, 'cus some players just can't get past it. But I don't see how relying on ShotSpot/Hawkeye occasionally would be any different than checking marks on a clay court. The whole thing about a certain amount of challenges per set or match is silly, imo -- that's what would change the game because then it becomes about using your challenges as part of a strategy. It should be just like a clay court match. If there's a question, check the ShotSpot. It would be even quicker than on clay because the umpire wouldn't have to get out of the chair. And if players start to "abuse" it, then it's up to the umpire to keep them in line (I've seen clay matches where the chair ump has refused to get up & look because there wasn't even a doubt).

I don't think it needs to be installed on every court. Some courts have Cyclops to make service calls, some don't. Some courts have electronic let-calling devices, some have a guy in safety goggles.

Cliff especially doesn't seem to get it. He's always going on about limited challenges and wondering if there'd be no linespeople at all. It's weird, he's usually not so dim. Even Brad Gilbert seems to understand the concept.

What was the ugly incident with Safin & Mal's wife?

So- anyone staying up - or waking early to watch the final? Thank goodness tomorrow's Sunday and I can sleep in. I'm so glad that ESPN2 decided to show it. This article here talks about how the buzz has been rising for the Aussie Open and how ESPN2 has increased its coverage from what it intitialy planned to by 25%. I read in another article earlier that the ratings are also up this year 25%. Yea! Increased ratings are good. A snippet from the article is as follows.




As a tennis nut, I have really enjoyed reading my fellow TWOPers thoughts on this thread. Along those lines, I just wanted to remind everyone that we got warned by Glark (network executive) a couple of days ago to make sure that our posts relate to the tv coverage of tennis and not solely to the tennis scene in general (which I myself have been quite guilty of doing in the past). I'm just putting that as a reminder so that TWOP doesn't lock this thread because I really enjoy reading everyone's posts. So I guess it may be good to make sure that if you put a post- it does have a decent percentage in it about the tennis coverage. (I'm not putting this in response to anyone's post in particular- I just want to make sure that this thread stays open.)

I am not fond of Safin at all. He annoys me to no end. But in the battle of two evils, I accept him as the lesser.


This will kill my sleep schedule, they're re-airing it at noon, plus I have TiVo, and yet, here I am. One hour to go!

Re: the women's final, I can't help thinking I didn't get my money's worth from either Davenport or, for trhat matter, Roddick a few days earlier. OK, well, not me personally but the Aussie Open paying customers. Could you not put in your absolute best effort when you're being paid my yearly salary in one night? And that was probably the first night of the tournament, jeez.

Same here to all of the above! I really want to see it live and I have an awful habit of peeking at the results for taped matches. I wonder who will be commentating tonight? I would love to have Mary, Dick, Cliff, and PMac- but I don't think all 4 of them will fit into the booth. 41 minutes to go!

I'm disappointed Olivia didn't sing Xanadu. Maybe next year.

That would have been sweet. It was funny that she was up there to greet the players at the net.

Glad that Marat has his game on now and it is a competative match in the second set after the quick first set.

Dick Enberg's impression of Marat's accent was funny- but he gave Marat far more broken English than Safin has. Safin is essentially fluent in English.


I'm glad ESPN has given us some glimpses of the chair umpire- Carlos Ramos from Portugal. Wowza!

Woo Hoo! Go Marat! Now that was the best mens GS final in a while I think. Olivia sang one of my favorite songs of hers.

Yay! Marat! I think Chris Fowler was disappointed that he didn't shed any tears when he won. That was cute.

Marat's speech was also cute and gracious and witty. Loved that he acknowledged the people in Lleyton's box. Great speech. Sigh. Chris Fowler was alsofunny when he was saying that Marat was blinking back tears when he finished his speech.

Lleyton gave a very nice gracious speech as well. He seems to be a nice guy off of the court- even though he can be such a jerk on court. Go figure.

Great Aussie Open- really enjoyed it. Now off to bed!

Yay Marat, *swoons* I hope he and Federer become an awesome rivalry.

Excellent! This is the happiest I've been with the men's and women's result since Wimbledon '03. Have 11 Americans really won since the last Australian or did they mean an American has won 11 times? Andre's won 4, so they must've meant 11 times. BTW, now two Russians have won it in that same span. Also, Safin joins a small list of active multiple-Slam winners: Agassi (8), Federer (4), Kuerten (3), and Hewitt (2), I think.


If anything, his English is too American. He often mumbles and stumbles over his words -- it's like he was born here.

I love Dick. Even though he doesn't seem quite as comfortable with tennis as he is with football, he brings a certain warmth to the box. I think Fowler is also getting more comfortable with tennis each Slam.

I'm happy for Safin. He was way overdue for another big one. Let's see how long this newfound maturity lasts. 'Cause he was tanking matches left and right at the Hopman Cup with Myskina.



What was that incident? The thing about him is that he's charming, entertaining, charismatic, and more often than not finds a way to get himself in trouble in matches, which of course provides drama. He's hot too (except his legs- they're skinny! And totally disproportionate to his massive upper body and head), that definitely helps. Plus he's a curiosity, the one that could never get it together despite all his amazing talent. I think now that he's becoming a threat for the #1 spot (Roger, kick his butt!), a few fans will be turned off. Sadly, I'll probably by one of them.

The Safin love reminds me of the Ivanisevic love that I never understood. I thought he was a bigot and a warmonger nationalist, but he was lovable and crazy to many people (including the TV executives) so that made it OK. [/rolls eyes]. I never got it, but what do I know?

How long do we have to wait now 'til tennis is back on the TV schedule? And no, I don't have the Tennis Channel. Sniff!

I was also thinking after the Lindsay/Serena match, when was the last time that there was a truly great women's GS final on TV (see what I did there?)? I honestly can't remember. The best one, IMO, as of late was last year's Aus Open final, but that was because of the drama and not the level of play (plus Pam Shriver was calling it, which wasn't good) so it doesn't qualify as great. I don't think Venus or Serena have played a great final- against each other or other players. Neither have Justine and Kim. Nor any of the Russians. Hmm. Could it be that the last great final was the Graf/Hingis FO final in '99? That's terrible!



They probably meant the latter. Who has won it? Agassi, Sampras, Courier, Connors... ??? I need help here.

And please indulge my Roger-love here for a second. I'm such a sap. After the match ended Enberg showed his sappy summary of the tournament and he showed the last point of Roger's match against Safin when Roger was on his knees (sniff sniff- that's NEVER supposed to happen), and then said that he is number one and that he (Enberg) hasn't found anything wrong with anything Roger does on and off the court. And I got all verklempt. Oh Enberg, snatching away my rationality like that!

It didn't go three sets, but I think the 2000 U.S. Open (where Venus beat Lindsay) was a great match. Wimbledon 2000 wasn't as great, but I absolutely loved the reaction by Venus after winning her first Slam. I'm giggling just thinking about how happy she was.

I checked -- six American men won 11 Australian Opens since 1976. Agassi has four, Sampras and Courier have two, and Roscoe Tanner, Vitas Gerulaitis, and Brian Teacher all have one.


Yep. You can hear the admiration for Federer in Dick's voice.

Best moment of the tournament: the guest (argh, I forgot who it was) who said that he, P-Mac, and everybody else knew what Andy needed to do to get better (improve his backhand and his volleys). I loved how he broke it down in such a matter-of-fact way.

Curious: When did the Aussie Open switch over to synthetic from natural grass? Because I was watching a "Classic Australian Open" thing on ESPN Classic from a while back where the courts in Melbourne had grass, and I know that the US Open switched when they moved to Flushing from Forest Hills.

Heh. Me, too. Because I'm bad as well, Chesty, at keeping myself from knowing the results.

What an interesting match - and somewhat parallel to the Women's, in the fact that there were tides of strength from each player, leading to really imbalanced sets.

I thought all the commentators did a nice job this morning. Though I had a tinge of bitterness when they talked about all the added live hours of coverage - because I'm still sore that they didn't cave for Safin-Federer live. But I thought, too, jimena, that the ending wrap-up by Edberg was perfect. Classic DE, no? He's probably the reason I get so moony over tennis: all these kinds of philosophical - and well, yes, sappy - pieces he's done over the course of history - especially back in my formative years. It was really nice.

Sad I missed Olivia! What did she sing?

Also wanted to credit Brad Gilbert for wearing a coat! Though hopefully he'll see the tape and realize how much nicer he would've looked with a shirt and tie!

And finally....


I'm gonna keep this G-rated, but I'm guessing you all know what I'm thinking.....

I loved that too and teared up. And then when they showed Safin and Federer shaking hands at the net- they always have warm net exchanges. That was such a great match- with high level tennis and a lot of emotion from both players. And Dick really does love Roger- which is great since I do too.

You can tell the amount of respect that all of the players have for Roger too. Lleyton even mentioned Roger in his runner's up speeches.

I really liked both Lleyton's and Marat's speeches. Both gracious and Marat's was really funny. I have been struck how Lleyton can be likeable in interviews and press conferences and such a big jerk on court (some of his behavior in the 3rd set was really bad). Marat's speech to me showcased some of the characteristics as to why he is popular. He is very funny (in a language that is not his native tounge or even his second language) and can be self-depreciating. One thing that I also really like about him is that he often does wear his heart on his sleeve. And with that can come rash reactions- sometimes quickly zoning out or for example- when he said he wouldn't play Wimbledon again. But he later admits his errors in playing (or not playing) or the idiocy of some of his statements. I guess he reminds me of me in a bit (of course in a much larger, hotter, and talented arena). I have been known to have a way too hasty- and often inappropriate- reaction to things when I get emotionaly charged and sometimes I can empathize with some of his actions or statements immdeiatly following a loss. Plus- when Marat is on and able to show his talent- it is really wonderful.

This will be an exciting year for men's tennis- with the top 4 having such individual personalities and different playing styles. Plus- many interesting fellows outside of the top 4 (I am expecting Nadal to make some big noise at Rolland Garros and maybe even the US Open). Women's tennis will also be exciting too- I must say it is good to have Serena "back" and it will be fun to watch as there are a number of women who could be contenders to win Slams.

Back to Dick Enberg- I was thilled when he highlighted two players that have really good personalites- Alicia Molik and Marcos Baghdatis. That's one thing I love about Dick- is that he loves to point out when players have really nice, warm, and/or classy personalites. I have become a fan of Alicia Molik over the past few weeks- from watching her at the Hopman Cup and at the Aussie Open. And Marcos Baghdatis is imo just awesome. He has such a great attitude, seems to really love playing tennis out there and enjoys himself wheter winning or losing. He has an awesome, genuine smile. Since he is still just a teenager and was the number 1 junior I really hope that he becomes a strong force in the futre. He is a joy for me to watch and I am really glad that Dick Enberg highlighted him in his closing segment.



She sang Magic and then went to up to the net for pictures with the players- hee hee!

I think by the end of the tournament Brad Gilbert was finally losing the jitters and getting into his groove. One thing that I like is that the announcers said several times that 2005 Aussie Open was a fun and exciting Grand Slam to cover. Chris Fowler seemed pretty excited about it and seems pretty excited about the year ahead in tennis.

Well- hope to see some of you here during the clay court season. Any of you have The Tennis Channel- I think that they are going to cover several Master's tournaments leading up to RG again.

I have TiVo, and I admit that I taped the live airing and watched it when I woke up. I knew no one was going to spoil it for me so I'd be safe. I was positively panicked for Safin in the first set. He was so nervous you could see his entire career going down the tubes if he didn't pull it together. (Speaking of which, I absolutely agree with Brad that whomever lost this match was going to have a really hard time mentally pulling their game back together.) As much as I do not like Hewitt, I really did feel badly for him by the fourth set. All that pressure--'course he didn't need to start yelling at a lineman.

And the weirdest thing of all? PMac didn't bother me one bit. As a matter of fact, I actually liked quite a bit of his commentary today. Bizarre. Must be Dick's influence. And I can never dislike Chris Fowler simply because I remember the HBO boxing guy (whose name is escaping me). He was awful.


I agree.

I liked (throughout the entire Open) the commentators talking about how knowledgeable the Australian crowd is. How true, and since it is also true for the French and Wimbledon that only leaves one where the crowd is not so impressive. It is easier to watch a match on TV when you are not getting pissed at the crowd. However, the crowds at the Master's events and smaller tournaments in the US are, for the most part, better so that's okay.


No, he is right. One of the options they are considering is replacing the lineman with the new technology. And the price for the equipment is as high as it is for Cyclops so it could only be on the show courts (and it was the ITF who tested the equipment, not the player's association, oops). Seems odd to remember that all this started with MacCam and it was how John McEnroe really made a splash doing commentary.

Since it seems that the incident I referred to isn't as well know as I thought I'll give a brief rundown:

A few years ago at a tournament in Miami the players were given loaner cars from Mercedes Benz. Safin had a minor accident with his putting some scratches and dents in it (he later claimed that someone else was driving). Not wanting a dented car he had his coach ask the Mercedes rep for another one. He even had the nerve to ask for an upgrade in the model. Mercedes refused after seeing the condition of the first car. Apparently this infuriated Safin who went and confronted the Mercedes rep who happened to be Mal Washington's pregnant wife. According to witnesses Safin screamed obscenities at her and made crude comments about her condition. The ATP fined him and he issued a half-hearted apology.

Maybe he's grown up since then but the fact that he's been tanking matches again very recently indicates that he's still as immature as ever.

I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and think that he has matured. A number of players have had some bratty behaviour in their past and have matured. Andy Roddick could be a real brat when he was younger but has matured quite a bit (I'm finally liking him after being turned off by his behavior a couple of years ago).. And if this happened when Marat was around 20- and Marat is now 25- a lot of guys in general mature a lot between those ages.

That in no way excuses Marat's behavior at the time- but like I said I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt because a lot of players have some unsavory incidents from when they were younger and brattier- and heck- even fellows that I know in my own life had some real jackass moments when they were younger. Even Feds- who I love- used to be a big brat during the juniors circuit. One time when he was 15 -17 he was throwing a tantrum on court that was so obnoxious that his father yelled at him from the stands to calm down and Roger yelled back to his father to fetch himself another drink and shut up. (Roger is very cute when he tells these stories- you can tell he is somewhat ashamed.) Again- I'm not condoning Marat's behavior several years ago in Miami- but I am thinking that he has matured.

As for tanking- for the past 6 months or so Marat has been pretty consistant. I think Lundgren has been a great help to him. And he certainly didn't tank during the Aussie Open or at the Master's Cup in November. I have the felling that this title win could finally be the thing that clicks the on switch in his head. He said in a post-match tennis conference that he has always felt that his US Open win was almost a mistake- too much too soon and that may have impeded him in a weird way in that he was too lucky. He said that this Aussie Open title win is one that he had to work for and that means a lot.

But of course- we all have our different favorites/non-favorites and we can't all like the same players and we all have different reasons for disliking other players.

To brink this back to television coverage, I will be curious to see what the final ratings number for ESPN2 for the tournament as a whole were. Mid tournament they were up 25% and I hope that trend continues. I am ready for tennis to loom a little larger on the US media landscape. And if there were increased ratings and positive feedback for this years improved coverage (I think it was much better than last year's) than maybe ESPN will follow suit in the French Open and avoid the atrocities of last year's coverage (remember seeing Serena matches on a virtual loop- blech!)

I'm so happy for Marat! I stayed up and watched live and after the first set, I thought it was gonna be ugly. But Safin came back and really got Hewitt in the last 3 sets (oddly enough, I think every player who won the first set in a semi-final or final went on to lose the match -- strange). Both Safin and Hewitt's speeches were great, and it was amusing to see them next to each other, because Hewitt looked really really runty (not to mention that he'd just lost). Plus, he pissed me off (as usual) with the way he treated the linespeople. But that's Hewitt.

As for the announcers, were the baseball analogies always this bad? I mean, I remember "strike zone" was used a lot, but (I think Brad Gilbert) said something about one of the two guys being "the best in the league" and I was all WTF. However, the coverage was much, much better and I'm hoping for similar coverage of the French (except with much, much less Sharapova. Ugh).

And to bring up a topic from earlier:


I remember back when he was playing (even though I was really young) and my mom and grandmother absolutely ADORED him, which is why he's always made a big impression on me. So classy. As for players that I think are most loved? I agree with whoever mentioned Tim Henman. Love his serve and volley style -- the only other young guy who really is working that style is Taylor Dent. I also always really liked Todd Martin, and I was actually there for the match where he retired.

And finally, glad to see the ratings are up! I'm hoping for more televised tennis in the future. May is a looooong way off for the French (although I'm probably going to get grounds passes a couple of days for the tournament in Key Biscayne in March, since I live about 10 minutes from there right now).

Off the top of my head, I'd say the 2002 Australian Open Final between Capriati and Hingis. That match was awesome even though Martina faded away near the end, the heat getting to her too much. I just wanted Jennifer to beat her so badly and I loved how she turned it around.

Did the taped coverage not show the speeches from Safin and Hewitt? I wanted to see them again so I watched the end of the coverage and I didn't catch them. Too bad, they were both good (especially Safin thanking Hewitt's box). And rewatching reminded me of something else: Hewitt needs to stop pulling on his jockstrap. That was not a sight I wanted to see over and over (and over and over).

ESPN cut them. That's especially disappointing since I missed them earlier. Oh well.

That's a shame- they were really a highlight and showed Marat's humor.

ESPN cut them? My ESPN (ESPN International) didn't cut them in the taped coverage. I'm glad I could watch it twice since I was too asleep when I saw it live.

Marat was great there. I still think his English is not that fluent - especially in pronunciation. Although, I have to give him some credit because it's his 3rd language. I'm glad he won. He really deserved it.

It must be said: Marat's girlfriend Dasha Zhurova is gorgeous. Obviously, the camera operators agreed with me, because her face was on my television after practically every shot in the match.

Also, congrats to Marat. I guess if Feds couldn't win, then this is the next best thing for me.

This just in:

So soon?

Ok. Back on topic. Congratulations Marat, and to ESPN. Much better job of broadcasting the AO than last year, though Mary Carillo still needs a makeover.

I think that everytime Serena and Capriati are in top form and they play each other, that's good T.V.

Did anyone else see the ESPNClassic airing of the Federer-Safin match as an Instant Classic on Saturday night? Excellent. I love it when they do that. My fave repeat will always be Roddick-Al Aynouai -- now that was some tennis!

NOOOOOOO!!!! I missed it the first time, and the taped time, and now I've missed it again. DANG!

Oh yeah. But they've never played a GS final. It's like the coverage includes all these great matches, and then the finals let me down!

I hereby propose emailing TLC to submit Mary Carillo (and her god-awful hair) and Pam Shriver (ditto) for an uncoming episode of What Not To Wear.

Was there any advertising of this at all? I watched a lot of ESPN coverage and didn't hear a thing about it.

Agreeing with everyone, what a great match. I fell asleep at about 5:30am and watched the rest via TiVo later (and hearing that they cut the speeches from the taped version I must thank the inventors of DVR technology once again). It had so much of what was missing from the women's final: the desire to win and 100% effort by both players.

Note to PMac: "Unliked" is not a word although I'm sure if it were, it would, in fact, apply to Lleyton Hewitt.

I don't know how well publicized the "instant classics" ever are. Well, now that I say that, I remember Cliffy talking up the re-airing of the Roddick-Al Aynouai match from the Aussie Open in, what was it?, 2003. I just happened upon it with my psychic powers of finding tennis on TV whenever that mystery occurs. Jk.

Castallack: first with the Tennis Channel now plugging DVR, why do you make me cry every Monday? ;-)

Yes, my god. I work at a newspaper and when this came across the wire and I yelled "Oh my god" and my co-workers looked at my like i was crazy. So soon is right. What has it been, three months? As mentioned earlier, it just seemed like Hewitt/Clisters broke up and Hewitt had his new fiancee' on speed dial waiting on him to call. I would say congratuations to Hewitt but after only a three month courtship, I'd pray for him myself b/c the marriage probably won't last....

I wish some network executive would give her a talk show already, so that she can rant about "horsies!" or current events. The woman is freaking hilarious, when given the opportunity.

Well, congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Rebound.

Juanita, come now, I know they have DVR where you are. I cannot be blamed for this one. DVR's and TTC for all!

Speaking of TTC, I read this morning that Hingis is actually playing in a tournament and I'm hoping it's one of theirs. Either way, great news.

Well for some reason I can't get the Quotes to work this morning, so I will bold the items I am quoting:

Note to PMac: "Unliked" is not a word although I'm sure if it were, it would, in fact, apply to Lleyton Hewitt.

Word, to the non-wordness.

I wish some network executive would give her a talk show already, so that she can rant about "horsies!"

I must have missed this, what are you referring to?

Well, congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Rebound.

That's Mr. and Mrs. Rebound Ace, to you. Let me also chime in on the DVR and Tennis Channel love, although I think Mr. Khyber has had enough tennis for awile so I will have to go into clandestine mode.

Mary did commentary for the Olympics and seemed to do all the Equestrian events--and she loved it and made it really exciting (although I would have found it so anyway) for the casual viewers.

I don't have the Tennis Channel so I'm not positive, but I think they have some really good tournaments coming up. San Jose maybe?

And, Castallack, yes--it looks like Hingis is trying to make a comeback (she has some lawsuits to work through with her clothing and shoes) and you will probably get to see her before we lowlifes without TTC.

Two of my all-time favorite Mary Carillo snarky comments:

1. I forget which tournament it was, but back when Mary Pierce was in her prime, she used to sort of primp in between points and/or serves, readjusting her ponytail, dress, etc. Mary Carillo said that she had to "re-babe".

2. Maybe it was a couple of years ago, before Marat Safin had a steady girlfriend, but at some event there were several pretty young women in his box. She referred to them as the "box o' bimbos".

Personal Williams sister biases aside, she's one of the more listenable tennis commentators.

Actually, she did/does these "skits" or staged woman-on-the-street interviews and they often come off really canned. As a commentator I like how she can stand up to PMac's sometimes wrongheaded sweeping commentary (unlike Cliff, mostly), because clearly they have a kind of brother/sister relationship. With Cliff the moderate voice, she's the only way for me to tolerate PMac in the booth.

Mary is also a correspondent on Bryant Gumbel's HBO series Real Sports. They do 12 or so eps a season. 1-hour long newsmagazine style like Dateline and the such. It's pretty well done and I hate BG so it says a lot that I watch it.

She was also the studio host for one of the Olympics early morning shows and once, as she went into commercial break, she said "Coming up next - the horsies!!". I think that's where the 'horsies' reference comes from.

Aw... I'm sad Lleyton didn't win, I had psyched myself up for an Australian winning the Australian Open. At the actual match, the crowd support was fantastic but no matter how pretty Safin is, it hurt to see Lleyton lose.

Now he is marrying a soap-star (and one who looks like she barely understands when to clap during a tennis match)? Ugh. I always had the hope he would get back together with Kim, they were so cute together.

Yep, that where the reference originated though she used the term "horsies" several more times during the Olympics (though not as gleefully as she did initially). Her unbridled enthusiasm for badminton and table tennis were entertaining as well. Which is why I think her talents are well-suited beyond covering just tennis.

LOL. The "box o' bimbos" comment came during the AO final in 2002 when Safin looked completely bored and disinterested in actually playing tennis against Thomas Johansson. The highlight of the match was Safin's groupies falling out of their tops in the friends' box. Not a high point in Safin's career.

When I heard about Hewitt's engagement I pictured Clijsters in full Meg-Ryan-as-Sally mode: She was supposed to be his transition person. She wasn't supposed to be the one!

God bless Song airlines. They feature satellite TV on all flights. Fortunately I had a 12:30pm flight from FL to NYC and was able to see the entire match before we landed. Extra thanks to Safin for beating that brat Hewitt, and for doing it in four sets so I could see it all.

Seriously everyone, if you were watching that tournament - it is 100% true. Those women were LITERALLY falling out of their tops. There was definitely some peek-age to be seen in Safin's box that year.

The San Jose tournament is NOT only on TTC, but the breakdown for who gets the FSN coverage is so wacky that you can figure it out for yourself here.

IMissEthan, that is spectacular. What a great way to wile away a boring flight.