I think this settles it-see Andre when you can-this is his last year on tour.

Heh (and *sob*), I agree.

I am crushed!

I was going to quote some items from this article/interview but Andre was pretty darn open about what is going on so the whole thing is interesting. I know he wants to finish a full year, maybe he'll take a year off and come back when he has a full year's worth of playing in him. I only TiVo'ed until 9:30 am this morning so I'll miss the "chocking back tears"--which might be better for me in the long run.

I'm in between jobs right now so I'm actually able to see coverage as it airs this year. I know Andre has had a long, storied career but I'm sorry, I would have rather watched live tennis than his entire press conference. If people want to see that it's on the official website. And then they re aired most of the match during the 9-2 CST block on ESPN2 and I'm sure it will be aired on tonight's highlight show. Overkill much ESPN?

That press conference was really depressing. Nearly as depressing as the actual match.

Very depressing about Andre. Watching him struggle like that with an injury was truly sad.



I was glad that ESPN2 aired the press conference. With so many questions unanswered about the match (what was the injury? why didn't he retire during the match?) and his refusal to do an on-the-court interview, I think ESPN did the right thing. USA did the exact same thing last year with the Serena/Jennifer match. They interrupted live tennis to show Serena's news conference so its not unprecedented. Besides, Amelie was playing and was crushing her opponent so its not like we were missing anything.



I was SO hoping to see the Henin/Martinez match and of course ESPN2 let me down w/Andre's match. In their defense, Andre was the big news story of the day but I was still pissed.

While watching the Andre match, was it me or were the commercial breaks longer than 2 minutes? Normally, ESPN will cut their commercial breaks down so that they come back just in time for the next point. That didn't happen (some of the time) during the Andre match.

I wasn't sure whether to be happy (for tennis's sake) or bugged when it played during the Desperate Housewive's season finale. Canon paid a lot of money for that spot.


I love Sweet Baby Raffy, but even I got sick to death of them hyping him after a while. I don't know if you guys watched most of the broadcast, but I caught most all of it, and it was, like, All Rafael All The Time almost. Although I got such a kick out of hearing that he's having to adjust to girls screaming at him all the time now. So cute! And they're calling Court One (or is it Suzanne Lenglen? Or are they the same?) the Bull Ring, for him. Again, so cute!

And, to get back to Sharapova for a second, while I'm not a fan of hers, what makes her so different from Anna Kornikova, is that because she's a big time player, even though she's being pimped out, she's being pimped out as a sexy tennis player, not as whatever it is you call what Kornikova ended up being.

I just don't think it can hurt the game to have top players who are charismatic and sexy, a la Nadal and Sharapova. Particularly for the game here in the States, if we want the game to be popular even if there aren't top U.S. players. Supposedly Borg was a big sex symbol, and that had to have helped popularize the game pre those enchanting Americans Connors and McEnroe.

Personally (and if any of you have been reading my posts closely this will come as no surprise) I think Federer's the sexiest man alive, but he doesn't seem to inspire packs of screaming girls. So it seems he doesn't fall into this category. It's beyond me why not, but there you go.

Roger is too understated to get sucked into the marketing craze that is pimping oneself out. I mean, hell, Andre *sigh* was one of the first to make money off of his image (pardon the reference) and he still takes heat over it. I don't think he's hurting because of it but still. The evolution of his spots from long-haired, jean-shorts-wearing teen phenom to family man is definitely a worthwhile case study for any marketing major out there.

I keep having to remind myself that Sharapova is 18 now (you'd think her Motorola-financed birthday party would be enough to do that). Mostly, it gets me that she is so young and is swiveling her hips and doing all that. But, she's 18 and she did, in her defense, wait until she was legal to do the sexy ad. Hell, if I had her figure, I would too probably.

This morning, they were talking about how Federer got relegated to Suzanne Lenglen Court so that Rafael Nadal could play on Court Philippe Chartrier, the bigger show court. But Brad said that Federer would prefer it because Lenglen plays slower and it is better suited to Federer's game. Ah, the nuances of varying surfaces.

re: Andre
*sigh*
His comment was so poignant (in the SI.com article now posted). These damn reporters keep asking him why he doesn't retire. And his comment was, "This is what I do until...I don't do it any more." Oh, I get that.

Adding to LT's post above, here's the link to the post-match interview with Agassi.

First time I've posted in this thread but I'm a big tennis fan as well. I too was extremely disappointed to see Andre go out as he did. I'm hoping he can somehow get it together for Wimbledon and the US Open, but I'm starting to have my doubts about that. I am glad though that ESPN is having a large amount of French Open coverage leading to the weekends on I believe, NBC?

I like Nadal just fine, but if I never have to see him pick his "pirate pants" out of his butt crack again, I'll be happy.

We met Roger Federer at the Pacific Life Open last year and he was just as charming, pleasant and unassuming as you might imagine. To me, he is the quintessential tennis player.

Very sad about Agassi.

I guess Henman will never have a year like last year again. Dare I hope he's just conserving his strength for Wimbledon?

And those kids screaming "Allez Teeeeeeem!" were unbelievably annoying.

That bugs me too.

Poor Henman. Wish he could have kept going.


I just read the transcript and I really wish I had seen it. What was the reaction from the commentators?

No kiddin about Nadal's stupid Capris. They are wrong on so many levels, makes it hard to watch him play. I saw Venus' match today and boy, she Maria and Lindsey love to live dangerously that's for sure.

I have been so distraught over AA that I forgot to see what was going on with the other half of "The Andre and Andy Show". I still haven't looked.

Looking forward to a lot of tennis this weekend. But NOT looking forward to NBC's coverage. Sorry.

Nice sentiment, but it's not just for Nadal. Not quite, anyway. Court One has always been the Bull Ring--at least for the last ten years or so, maybe longer. So named because it looks like a, well, bullfighting ring. That Nadal happens to be Spanish, and nicknamed the Matador, and seems to be the next big thing, well, that just adds to the sentiment.

Court Suzanne Lenglen is rectangular, and is the 2nd largest show court at Roland Garros, after Court Phillipe Chartrier.

He suffers from Samprasitis. Although he's one of my fave male players I have to say he doesn't seem to have much personality. He's not a goofball like Marat, he's not a jackass like Hewitt, he's not occasionally catty à la Ferrero or Coria. He shows respect for his opponents, is graceful in loss and just seems very levelheaded and allround nice guy. Thus appearing quite boring to the masses.
He's a young Sampras not a young Agassi who was all about the image.
Me? I lurve me some Federer. His game is a joy to watch.

OT/The charity match with Steffi, Justine and Marat was absolutely wonderful! I was in the audience and the atmosphere simply rocked! Steffi looked fantastic and Justine and Marat were regular comedians. They had the audience in stitches all through the match. Andy also played a match afterwards but that was a yawnfest.

I don't really agree. People used to always compare Sampras to the gentlemanly Aussies of the past, which I thought completely bogus. Those guys, even if they were quiet personalities like Laver or Rosewall, had personality. Sampras had zero. He was a really recessive personality, cold and uninteresting. (And I was a fan of his.) Borg showed no emotion on the court, but he had charisma, and I gather was considered a big sex symbol.

As for Federer, I think he's truly sexy, unlike Sampras, and has a genuinely warm, charming personality, unlike Sampras, even though they're both basically "well-behaved" on the court.

I hope that makes sense.

I agree with Harry, not surprisingly. Although I loved Sampras, I can't really say that he was a nice guy. He had the respect of his peers but he wasn't nice. In fact, there are quite a few players that have said that he was a jerk. Rafter was recently interviewed on Aussie TV and he mentioned some incidents (not the infamous 10 Grand Slams comment) where Sampras was an idiot. Sampras was apparently known to hit things in the locker room with his racket after a loss. Who knew?

Roger seems to be a very nice guy. He's articulate and forthcoming in interviews, is very complimentary to his fellow players, has a dry sense of humor that I really like... And he's much more prone to outbursts on court that Sampras ever was. Witness his win in Miami, and a few other matches where rackets have flown. I just think that people (and I'm referring to the media) want to classify him as "boring" and ignore all the instances when he shows his personality.

And I also think he's sexy as hell. And the short hair is fabulous.

I can't wait to get home tonight. I've been stuck in an Atlanta hotel working, and it doesn't have ESPN Classic. So I haven't been able to watch any tennis before I go to work. Sniff.

OK so Maria Sharapova annoys me a little bit but I loved when she blasted Chris Fowler for asking prying questions about her private life. She basically called him an idiot and added that "this is ESPN not the gossip column." Ha! Go Maria. Your camera commercial drives me crazy, and your screaming bugs, but keep making fun of Chris Fowler on live television and we'll be friends for life.

Oh and James Blake in a sleeveless tank? hawt!
ETA: What the fuck? Mauresmo is great and her little French qualifier is cute and trying very hard, but James Blake is struggling out there and they've totally neglected his fourth set. Assy Andy spits on a court and they're all over it. But nice and awesome and hot James Blake..ignored for Mauresmo.

God bless Jose Acasuso. That's what that stupid motherfucker Brad Gilbert gets for writing not only him, but Andy's potential next round opponent off

How did I miss the Roger discussion?

I have to agree with both Harry24 and jimena. Sampras was his own set of issues - some of which I respected (it all being about the tennis) and others of which I didn't (the nastiness he often displayed almost across the board). But I think Roger is distinctively different. In many ways I think he is very clear with himself and anyone who will ask him about the way he wants to live his life. And I think he conducts himself quite proactively from that clarity of purpose: choosing when and where to have a coach, under-marketing himself in almost inverse proportions to his role in the sport, and using his role as ambassador to the sport in really profound ways (initiating the relief effort at Indian Wells, speaking with the UN, relating consistently well and quite humorously with the press). For me Sampras really seemed to be chronically about himself. And while I count myself as a fan, it never came close to the excitement I feel about Roger's performances and accomplishments.


Jon Wertheim from SI talks a lot about why Roger doesn't get the acclaim in this nation that JW thinks he should, and I feel he agrees that his niceness has something to do with it. But I think he acknowledges, as have others in the BBC and NYTimes, that Roger doesn't seem to want it any differently.

Which I love, because while

may be true, I think it would be distracting.

Or maybe I just don't want to share. But your quote made me laugh, Harry24, because when I met him last year as he was practicing before a final, the only people waiting for autographs were me and a gaggle of 8-10 year old girls (a tennis camp) who could barely contain themselves! I felt a bit awkward and extremely juvenile, but he was so very authentic and sweet with me in our mini conversation - we both kind of silently acknowedged the weirdness and that was that.

Anyway, I'll wait till I get home to watch the Wawrinka-Blake and Acasuso-Andy matches tonight - though the coverage sounds disappointing.

ETA that Brad Gilbert must go - that was some pretty offensive stuff today. I hope Acasuso and Volandri have the match of the century just to spite his cocky self. It's enough to make me almost root for someone from that quarter of the draw to go all the way. What a phenomenal jerk.

I totally agree. The guy dresses like a clown. When is he going to start dressing like a "tennis player"? Gah. I really don't like the guy, even less after beating Coria.

Actually it does and I partly agree with you. In my previous post I said that Roger "seemed" to not have much personality. That's how he appears to a lot of people because that's how he's portrayed in the press for the most part. When I ask my friends (who aren't all that into tennis) about their opinion on Roger I constantly get the answer: "oh the Sampresque guy". I don't necessarily agree with that statement but I can see how people that don't follow the game as intensively can hold that opinion.



Gilbert needs to get his head out of Duckies ass.

The guy is such an asswipe. He can drive the most sane person batshit crazy.

ETA: Why is asswipe bringing up Marat's political views?? This is about tennis you moron! Ugh, I hate this guy so much!

Joining in on the Gilbert hate. I'm so glad I missed his comments about Acasuso. Gilbert's such an idiot. I hope he finds someone else to coach soon so he can get the hell away from my TV.

I've been watching Roger today. I'm happy. He doesn't look great, but he's managing to stay ahead, which after last year is all I can ask for.

I'm also anxiously awaiting the Nadal/Gasquet match. Am I wrong to want Gasquet to win? I think it would be awesome.

Tennis Week interview with ESPN VP Len DeLuca about ESPN's tennis coverage.

Brad Gilbert is so annoying. He must go.

And, boy, wasn't Acasuso nice to look at? And I'm no fan of Roddick's but his stepping over the net was really nice. He might grow up yet.

As for Gilbert, he so wants to coach Blake. You could hear the creative juices flowing when he was commentating--mostly he was berating Blake's decisions and saying he wouldn't want to coach James, but I know he does. As for Gilbert himself, I cannot help it, I'm always going to like the guy because he is a ridiculously good coach and shows what good defense does to a sport that tends to be overrun with offense.

As for James, I was pretty upset he lost that match--if he had been the only male American left in the draw he could have gotten much-deserved attention over here. But what is up with the facial hair? I understand the bald head, but the hair going up over the cheekbones and down the entire neck distracts me.

eta: some interesting quotes from the article that Watts posted:

He looks so much better in Lacoste than the craziness Reebok put him in.

I might not love them all, but I really do agree with this. There is energy coming from the booth that allowed me to not want to toss a brick at the tv when PMac, Fowler and Gilbert were commentating--and that is just insane.

AHA! Well, if we benefit from a marketing ploy, so be it.

AHA! Pt. 2. (The answer to the question was basically, yes.)

(In response to a question about viewers getting to see some tennis that we normally don't get to see--i.e. non Americans playing.) AHA! Pt. 3.

But all those metaphors and imagery! Get thee to an editor, TW.

I generally like Brad Gilbert. However, there's a fine line between calling it like you see it and being an ass. And he's crossed it IMO during the French Open coverage this year. During his own playing years, he admitted that he could never figure out how to play on clay, so when did he become such an expert on who will win? Not on who can win or what a player needs to do to win, but on who will win. Case closed.

I had never heard of Acusosa before yesterday, and even I could tell it was going to be a tough match for Andy. But Brad was acting like it was a waste of time to even bother playing since it was a foregone conclusion.

You know, I absolutely agree with you. He doesn't speculate on who will--he declares it, and that makes it fun when that person loses.

Poor Venus, she just looks like a shell of her former self. She just seems listless on the court, she really does not look like she even wants to be there. I wonder how much longer she is going to continue. If her results don't improve I can see her just hanging it up. She might even beat Lindsay to the punch.



Just seeing that the player is from Argentina should have caused some concern. Even though Andy is undoubtedly a better player on any other surface, anyone from S. America or Europe is going to be infinitely more comfortable on clay than the Americans are. It was sad to see both James Blake and Roddick go up 2 sets to love and still lose though. There has got to be a mental thing going on if the Americans can't close out even if they are way up.

Not only was the guy from Argentina, but from the introductions/match set up, it sounded like their games were pretty similar. So if they have the same strengths, wouldn't you give the person who grew up playing on clay at least a little respect?

What really killed me was when Brad said that one of the things in Andy's favor was that the other guy was tall and wouldn't be that great a mover. Huh? I think Andy is only an inch shorter, if that, so how did this become a big disadvantage for the other guy and not for Andy?

I know Andy's game is built on hitting the big shots, not grinding from the baseline, but that seems to be Acasuso's style, too.



But in Andy's case, it was just one serve break per set. I didn't think he could really improve his serving, but I thought Acasuso could probably pick up the return a little. So I thought the 2 sets up looked a little bigger than it was. Poor James just ran out of gas. It just goes to show that if you can hang in on clay, anything can happen.

I'm not really a fan of Williams sisters, but Venus' match was so hard to watch. From her dour deameanor and unforced errors to the camera shots of her mom in the players box shaking her head. It was kind of cringeworthy.

Andy Roddick's a pretty bright guy and gives really great interviews. But I think his brain is his weak point as a tennis player. He's now experienced and fit enough that he really should be able to recover from lulls, especially in five set matches. In the match against Acususo (sp?), he should have put up a much better fight in the final two sets. But it seemed like he wasn't aware of what he was actually doing, like playing way behind the baseline, which I'm sure wasn't really his intention. I'm sure most of the top players his age would have been keenly aware of their court positioning. (But, yeah, Acususo was easy on the eyes. Yum. I think Andy's cute too (when he's not wearing his cap), and looks much better now that he's not wearing those hideous K-Mart t-shirts anymore. Were they Reebok? Yikes!)

I've been getting a kick out of the artsy-fartsy beauty shots that spring up all of a sudden from the French TV feed. You know, you're watching Pierce-Zvonoreva with the basic shot from the end of the court, and all of a sudden just as Pierce is about to serve, you get a tilted shot of her face framed with the court-side flowers. I think we have one or two would-be Truffaults or Malles behind the cameras. It's endearing, if a little jarring.

I have so many more comments, but I'll leave off for now.

WORD to this! And, as this was my first time seeing these pants on tv, can I just say that the look like women's pants to me!



So true. This match was just so depressing, not as much as Andre's, with Venus' unforced errors just racking up left and right. I totally agreed with Mary Joe that it's one thing to lose playing your A game, another to lose the way Venus lost. BTW, anyone know what that little black thing was around Venus' ankle? It didn't look like a brace b/c there was some kinda of design on it.

I know the feeling. I wanted Gasquet to win too. Besides, I like Gasquet and I loathe Nadal. I just want Nadal him to lose.

Aw, pants aside, I can't dislike Nadal. I think he's rather endearing. I'll start actively rooting against him when he wins something really big and become the male version of Sharapova. I'm not a big fan of overexposure, partly because it makes me dislike the players being overexposed (Sharapova, Roddick, Agassi in his "image is everything" stage...).

So what station has coverage this weekend? Is it NBC? Does that mean that we're not going to get live tennis this weekend? That would be oh so depressing.

Wow, where's the Nadal love? I love the kid, if only because he reminds me of a buffed up version of Atreyu from The NeverEnding Story. Heh.



It is NBC (& ESPN2), and it's looking sorry!

Saturday: NBC 12pm - 3pm, ESPN2 4pm - 6pm
Sunday: NBC 10am - 12:30pm, ESPN2 1pm - 4pm
(All times Eastern)

We went from 10 hours of coverage to 5.

I totally think Nadal is an adorable kid. He's really cool and likeable in his interviews. I think he's a much more likeable personality than Maria S. I gave him props for taking a shot at doing interviews in English when his English isn't strong. And he's definitely not media savvy or anything yet. He seems very genuine.

If I hadn't seen him in a couple of other settings, I would be incredibly put off by the incessant hyping by the ESPN announce staff. It seems like genuine enthusiasm on most of their parts and not part of a planned marketing strategy or some such thing, but it's so unbelievably tiresome, and I think it makes the object of their enthusiasm loathesome in the eyes of some fans, when it's not a reflection of the player at all. I'll bet their non-stop mythologizing of Federer put people off him, to say nothing of Andre and Andy. I remember when this thread was called the Andre and Andy show for good reason. Here's where the ESPN folk should take a cue from the TTC announcers and dial it down for heavens' sake.

I have the irresistable impulse to call Nadal Bam-Bam. Maybe some Spanish version of it. Senor Bam-Bam? There's just something slightly cartoonish about his big biceps and all.

That said, although I get a kick out of the Spanish kid, I'm still all about Roger.

Mary Jo Fernandez was saying the weirdest thing about American men's general failure at the French. The old saw of "not wanting it enough". Which I'm really tired of hearing. And as proof she cites Ivan Lendl's yearly obsessive wind-up for Wimbledon, which he never won despite wanting it "enough"? It's such meaningless commentary. The US raises power players and clay blunts that advantage. Of course, they can practice on clay more, but please don't make it strictly a "power of positive thinking" Scientology process.

Thirty minutes after tennis coverage is supposed to start on ESPN2, and we're getting lacrosse bonus coverage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Um ... ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe I'm just used to the American TV approach, but the French TV coverage is weird. Several times during the Gasquet/Nadal match, when Nadal was bent over ready to receive serve, they showed a close-up of his ass. I caught myself wondering whether he was wearing underwear or just a jock strap and not paying attention to the point.

And then there are those crazy tilted cutaways for no apparent reason.

I totally wanted to see a close-up of the nasty blister, but I have a morbid side.

Did they show any tennis at all on ESPN this afternoon? I'm watching the late night show and they are showing the same matches that NBC had on earlier. This is just so frustrating. Why don't they show something different?

I totally agree Harry. I have grown to be rather fond of Nadal over the past few months. His genuine joy and happiness at last year's David Cup was so endearing. Since then I have been following him quite a bit. I really like that he refuses to give up on the tennis court. Even when he is behind and losing he doesn't get that hound-dog look that some get and is still there for every point. His intensity on court is a rather neat contrast to how he is off court. He appears to be very sincere, sweet, kind of shy and a little goofy in his interviews (non-media savvy is the right phrase). I think that Moya's mentorship is rather sweet and I also like that he has a good relationship with a number of players, including non-Spaniards like Jose Acasuso.

Yes, Nadal may have some unfortanate fashion choices (but he's a kid so I give him a pass- I have forgiven Agassi for his mullet and denim shorts combo from when he was a whippersnapper) and Rafael is getting bouchoups of hype right now. But he has not been the one to create the hype and rather, has tried to downplay it and does seem to be a really nice kid in real life. Who seems to have his head rather firmly on his shoulders even as they hype goes in overdrive - which is quite impressive for a young 'un. Sorry to gush, but I am rather fond of the fellow.

He does need to stop picking at the pants though but I did read an older interview where he acknowledged (in a kind of resigned way that was very cute) that it is a bad habit that he has had since he was a little kid. (Along with his adjusting the socks that is a common tic for people who have played soccer a lot.)

Thought the moment at the end of the match when Nadal and Gasquet were talking and Rafael put arm around Richard shoulder was sweet. (And how cute was the goofy picture of them from when they were 13). I think it will take Gasquet some more months, but he will be a real strong factor in the tennis world soon. He just needs to get more consistant, if he can play more matches in the consistant manner that he did when he beat Feds at MC- he will be right up there.

And I totally agree with those of you who think that Federer is sexy. He has such a slow burn sexiness about him that I love. And he is much more emotive on the court than he is given credit for. I love how the ESPN fellows are so fond of him and always point out how warm and accomadating he is to the media. LOVE the short hair. And he has the most beautiful hands I have ever seen on a man. When he was in the ESPN studio after his win against Gonzo between the gray shirt that fit him rather nicely and his using his hands to gesture I was a pile of tennis lovin' goo. And the boy looks nice in person. I saw him pretty up close at the Master's Cup and his skin is lovely and his is more strikingly handsome than how you see on TV. My dear sweet understanding husband did not mind at all that I kept commenting..."I can't believe how handsome he looks in person.

I was glad to see Safin win today- though sad to see Juan Carlos lose. Too bad that had to be a third round match. Only got to see the last set while stuck at an airport today but enjoyed what I saw- the announcers seem to be enjoying it too. And while I like Federer's hair short, I am loving Marat's longer hair and facial scruff. It was so nice to get my most recent Vogue and see this.

After all this gushing, I guess it is time for something catty. I like Mary Jo Fernandez, I really do. I think she can offer some good analysis and perspective sometimes for both the men and the women. But boy howdy, she has one of the worst voices in all of broadcasting. It is warbly yet monotone at the same time- how can that be?

Chesty, dude, are we separated at birth in our cute boy lovin' or what? Platonic or otherwise. Me: Nadal/platonic. Federer/duh.

I laughed when you wrote that Federer has the most beautiful hands you've ever seen. I think he has about the most beautiful everything I've ever seen, with the exception of, say it with me, the nose. He also doesn't have the most spectacularly beautiful legs, a la Edberg, but his legs are gorgeous. And the rest is beyond praise. The skin. The ass. (My God, the ass). The back. The eyes. The shoulders. And, yes, those hands. And the way he moves.

And (I promise I'll stop soon) can you imagine what type of lover he might be? With his grace, agility, great hands(!!!), and sensitivity. And, well, the fact that you'd get to be in bed with, you know, him would be a plus too. :-)

(Okay, I'm not even talking about tennis, much less broadcasting. )

Ahem.

Is anyone else sick of Andre and Steffi's commercial? Advertisers, if you want to advertise on tennis tournaments, your audience will be watching dozens of hours. If they see the same commercial from you over and over and over again, they will hate you and your product. They will want to come after you with UZIs. Think about varying things a bit, would you?

Does anyone else have issues w/ Roland Garros radio?


TonyBoy123, it will only get worse tomorrow. The schedule is packed with good matches...

Davenport vs. Clijsters
Federer vs. Moya
Nadal vs. Grosjean
Henin-Hardenne vs. Kuznetsova
and we can't forget the TV darling Sharapova. Ugh

I'd also like to see the Nalbandian and Gaudio matches, but they aren't high profile enough to get screentime in the first week.

The way things look, NBC will show Lindsay (of course) and maybe some Nalbandian (Daveeed!) if the ladies only go 2 sets. ESPN will be all over Nadal and Roger, which leaves Justine and Maria pushed to wrap-up coverage if anything.

Yes- we are similar. I am very fond of Nadal in a proud, protective older sister way. Federer is ususally on my list of "five people who..." that husbands and wives have with one another. Love them both, just in different ways. ;) Do agree about Feds' nose, though.




Oh joy- we may get some David? I haven't seen a snippet of his action and from the scorelines that I have seen, my boy Nalby has been playing quite well, which will be good since he lost early at Rome and Hamburg after winning in Munich.

Looking forward to the Kim/Lindsay match. Once again- a too early match between two players that I like.



Oh my lord. I am so tired of that commercial. Until the day I die I will now never forget that Steffi does the checkbook in the Agassi/Graf household.

Does anyone know what happened with Tommy Haas in his match with Davydenko (sp?)? I just noticed he was beaten 7-5, 6-0, 6-0! That is beyond brutal. That's getting beaten like a qualifier gets beaten.

I heard that Becker has been coming down on the current crop of top German players, and Haas' performance sure ain't going to help. But perhaps he's injured. Does anyone know? Davydenko can get unbelievably hot, but love and love is absurd, especially on clay. It looks like a tank, which would suck hugely.

But re the German players, Kiefer seems to be representing them well in this year's FO.

Mathieu just served for the match against Canas, but no go. I *think* he had a match point, but either way he lost the game. (I'm watching the score board on line) Oh, and Canas just won the set, and they go into the fifth.

What's the deal with the FO radio? I haven't tried it.

Wouldn't it be great to see Safin go further in the tournament, so there's some more seasoning along with the clay courters in the bottom of the draw?

Watching the ESPN Today at the FO coverage of the Safin-Ferraro match last night, I found that I preferred Cliff-PM over JM-the other guy, even though JM is more interesting than his brother. PM is a little more technical, and this match didn't prompt him to get into mythic mode.

For the life of me I cannot believe Lindsey beat Kim. I would have put actual, real live money on Kim if anyone had given me odds. And I'm totally not a gambler. And I'm a fan of Lindsey's (and Kim's too). Perhaps Kim's injury took a toll. It hadn't seemed to from what little I saw of her, but over three sets it could well have.

FO radio is working fine now. Yesterday I assumed it began at 5am ET, but it actually doesn't begin until 9am ET.

Noooo! Nalbandian goes down in the first week once again. :(
Lindsay is scaring me with these up and down 3 set matches.

ETA: Hmm...straight to the second set for Lindsay/Kim. I have a feeling we'll see the upset over Amelie yesterday. Poor thing.

Harry, who you got in the Henin-Hardenne/Kuznetsova match?
[Brad Gilbert]With Justine’s back “issue” I’m taking the Russian in 3![/BG]

With or without the back issue, my money's on the Russian gal. But I hope they show the match. I like both of them. I prefer JHH's game. I just think SK's finding her extremely impressive stride again and is very tough on clay. What about you, crimsongrl? (Is that for Radcliffe/Harvard? Or just non-stop embarrassment (which would be me)?)

I just hope a goodly chunk of it is televised somewhere!

Is Monday here yet? (Can you believe the weekend is the graveyard time for tennis broadcasting? So weird.)

So, in a perfect world we would be getting Roger/Moya live coverage. But no. That's not going to happen. It was there for NBC to do it. The timing was perfect, but it didn't happen.

I don't care about Roger's nose. He's freaking sexy. End of story.

And Harry, you should write soft porn.

I'm thinking Kutzy's going to win her match. But I'm hoping against all odds that Justine moves through...

I can't believe David lost!!!! Who's Hanescu and what is he doing in the quarterfinals? Sniff.