Damn! David lost to Victor Hanescu (the fellow with the smallest , skinniest calves on tour) I don't think we will catch any of that match on tv.

I'm guessing that with NBC showing Roger/ Carlos and Lindsay/Kim, ESPN will show the Sharapova/Vives and Nadal/Grosjean match. I think that the Rafael/Sebastian match could be quite good and competative. Seb is a very quality player. But I will be rooting for my lil' Rafa.

Haven't seen much of Gaudio on tv this tourney (outside of when he hit Bettianeu(sp) in the ear - which was replayed on Sportscenter quite a few times.) From the scorelines it looks like he is pretty in form. He seems to kind of be under the radar. As is Coria.

I would also like to catch a glimpse of Justine/Svetlana. Harry- you are right- we do like lots of the same players! Sveltana seems to be very sweet girl. I was so impressed by her classiness on winning the US Open and she was so nice on the interview show (Inside the Lines?) on the Tennis Channel.

That was me above in my best Brad Gilbert voice. Heh. My money's on Kuznetsova.



It's neither; it refers to my name.

[ot] Where's JuanitaSmi? Andre's been out for a couple of days, she should be better by now. Though I'm sure the NBC coverage isn't helping.

Darn. Pierce just beat Schnyder. Although I like Pierce just fine (she's married to a baseball player, isn't she? Robby Alomar?), I really enjoy watching Schnyder's game. One of the few women's players who isn't just about bashing the fucking ball without a thought behind it.*

*This is one of the reasons I think the women's game is kind of boring these days.

Hm. As far as I know, Harry, Pierce and Alomar (my countryman) broke it off a few years ago.

Roger's on TV!!! With Moya! Eye candy!

The crowd during the Grosjean/Nadal match is acting horribly.

In clay court tennis if you have a question about a ball being out you stop play- you do not keep playing. Sebastian did not stop play- so the ump was right in his decision. Then the crowd booed and whistled for 5 or 6 minutes and would not let Nadal serve.

I am very disappointed in Grosjean- he did not really do anything to calm the crowd. He did one token gesture- but mostly did nothing. In fact several times when Nadal was ready to serve Seb had his back to him and Rafael could not serve.

Must agree with PMac too- the fact that the crowd cheered Rafa's serve faults is bogus and classless. I loathe it when crowds cheer faults. Rafa did absolutely nothing wrong- and if the crowd is mad at the umpire why the hell are they behaving in such an unsporty way towards Nadal? So wrong. No wonder his Nadal's performance sunk in the second set. But hopefully he will learn from this and learn how to deal with utterly disgraceful crowd behavior.

Glad to see that PMac is as disgusted as I am by the crowd's awful behavior.

I'm here! I've been watching! Honest! And thanks for thinking of me.

I watched Lindsay-Kim today and I had this thought "it would be so cool if Kim won her first major this year". And we all know how that went. Don't get me wrong, I'm all over rooting for Lindsay to complete her Slam. Ironically, I think they both have the same problem: the mental game. Kim has been in several finals now and she just can't seem to get through them.

Today, Mary Carillo said that Lindsay was just exhausted at the Australian and that's why she lost in the final. She and Corina were in the doubles final too so it had been a hellacious 2 weeks for her. [ot] I saw a TTC aired WTA tour show with an interview with Corina Moriaru (sp?) and if there is a better story in professional sports other than hers (well I guess Lance Armstrong) but still she definitely is inspiring. She has been doing some commentating for TTC as well. (So does Justin Gimmelstob what?) [/ot]

I haven't seen any of Rafael. I am more than annoyed with NBC's taped coverage.

But God, Federer is beautiful to watch play. It's just so effortless. I mean, I know it's not effortless but he makes it look so.

Anyone else crack up at Johnny Mac's imitation of Nick Bollittieri? Just me? Ok.

The French crowds are notorious for their behavior. Anyone remember the Graf-Hingis final a few years ago. Hingis was definitely in the wrong, but the crowds were just merciless on her. Just booing her lustily. Serena got the same treatment when playing Henin-Hardenne in 2003. In that case, Henin-Hardenne was clearly in the wrong, but the crowd didn't care. They pick their favorite and look for any reason to boo and hiss.

I enjoy the French crowds. I know they can be merciless, but they are far more knowledegable than the US Open crowds, for example, and they also love the theatricality of the match. I also have found that the ESPN/NBC commentators spin the coverage in perverse ways to make the crowds seem as if they are behaving inappropriately. In the Williams/Henin-Hardenne match, they behaved badly, but not because they hated Williams necessarily. It was Wiliams' sense of entitlement that the call be overturned and her ultimate self-pity that made the crowd angry. I wasn't at that match, but I was living in Paris at the time and the press lambasted her after the match as much as the crowd did because, whatever H-H's behavior might have been, they thought Ms. Williams' behavior after the bad call was....well, let's euphemistically say "quintessentially American." Of course the ESPN and NBC crews are quite happy to see American players behaving as if they were quintessentially American so they see fault with the crowd instead.

The Hingis thing was a nightmare on all sides. But I still miss Martina.

I may be the one person who loves Nadal and his clam diggers and his perfectly round ass. You can have 2 Federers if I can have one Rafael. Yes, Yes, I know Roger is the best tennis player to come along in at least a generation and I hope he breaks every record in the tennis world because I think he's incredibly talented. But Rafael's ass is consolation enough for me.

I'd like to see Sharapova lose soon. Hate her.

Does the color on NBC's coverage look oversaturated to anyone else? The clay looks very orange and the BNP signs have an odd color too. They are right on ESPN, so it's not my TV.

Usually the French crowd are quite knowledgeable. But that is why today's actions made me mad. Seb did not do what you are supposed to do (stop play and circle the spot). Rather he continued play and started to the other side of the court until Nadal hit the winner- then he complained. The umpire had no obligation to look at the mark.

And the fact that they were booing serve faults was awful, imo.



I must confess, if I were a little younger (i.e. not in my 20s on the other side of 25) I would be all over the Rafa butt. But since he is a teenager it takes the ogling out.

Frankly, I think ESPN blew the whole thing out of proportion. Similar things happen at the US Open (JHH vs. Capriati semi in 2003, for example) and the commentators didn't say squat. Whatever. It feeds the whole "Nadalmania" theme so it works for them.

I first heard about it on an international tennis board from fans from all over the world before it played on ESPN. And a number of them seemed to be annoyed at the behavior of the fans.

I was annoyed at the behavior of the USO fans during the JHH/Cap semi, when the they booed Rafter at the USO when he was injured (imo one of the worst fan behaviors I have ever seen), when they were awful to Nably in his SF (that call of "out" grates on my nerves still) ,etc. But that still doesn't mean that I don't think that RG fans behavior today (or in the past- for example against Serena) does not deserve condemnation.

I just thought it was bad, bad form today and should be chastised. To stop play for more than five minutes, not let a player serve, cheer his serve faults, and then boo some of his the line shots afterward when the player did absolutely nothing wrong is not good fan form imo. I think that PMac was perfectly just and right when he said that the crowd did get out of control and should not have cheered serve faults of Nadals. Even if he is a hype player- I still think that the announcers should call out when the fans are being unsporty, which imo they were. today. Nadalmania or no- I think the announcers were right in saying that the fans were unfair and did get out of hand.

Patty Schneyder was complaining about the fans today. She commented on how they refuesed to applaud her winners while she was playing a Frenchwoman. Didn't see the match so don't know how justified that was.

I'm not saying that they were right. I'm just saying it's not that uncommon. And people (cough*the media*cough) pick and choose which instances are defined as "outrageous". Which is what I think ESPN is doing because it fits their story.

I see your point in that its not that uncommon, but I still don't like it. I hate crap fan behavior. I'm not saying fans can't be enthusiastic or say sassy stuff...but there is a line. I like it when the media calls fans on boorish behavior- in fact- I do wish that they had done it a bit more at the USO for example. You very, very correct when you say that the media is selective when they call out bad fan behavior. :)

I did agree with Dick Enberg that the umpire should have explained the rule to the crowd. Maybe that would have made them pipe down.

And the thing that really annoys me is that the bad behavior of the crowd is overshadowing the fact that Federer made the FO quarters for the first time since 2001. Oh well, at least I got to see him on tv looking very nice. Loved how they kept commentating on how white his socks are. It just fits him - the fact that he is so smooth his socks don't get mussed. I do so hope that he and Rafa will meet in the semis, should be a lot of fun and better buzz here in the US for a match featuring non-Americans than we usually get.

Schnyder is the player who refused to shake Conchita Martinez's hand (after offering her hand, she pulled it away, when Martinez went to shake it) after Martinez beat her last year because she didn't like Martinez's use of moonballs to disrupt the rhythm of play. So I wouldn't put too much weight on her complaints. I like Schnyder as a player a lot, but the inner workings of her brain are a mystery to me...

I totally agree. The crowd acted like sh*% and they should be called out for acting like such. Rafa did absofreakinglutely nothing wrong throughout the whole exchange and he is being booed? WTF? Horrible treatment of a player who was playing damn classy throughout a whole ugly incident. And Gosjean smiling to the crowd during their booing- giving them enjouragement? What was up with that? And then he gave them a thumbs up for their jeering during the match when he was leaving?

I was already a big fan of Nadal but his composure today while the crowd (and for a little bit his opponent) was acting like they forgot tennis rules and decorum has won me even further kudos. Even through the hype and the capris- he has always seemed to be a classy and well grounded player. Today further cemented my thought. Really, really hope he wins this match.

Well, Patty Schnyder is definitely a bit out there. Wasn't she the player that got caught up with a svengali who made her drink 8 glasses of orange juice a day among other odd rituals. She also tanked a match with Anna Kournikova simply because she didn't like her. So I don't know how much I value her word.

I am not sure how I feel about this crowd. Is it better to have a raucous crowd like the French or the Americans or would it be better to have a crowd that is especially polite like the fans at Wimbledon? I mean they seems fairly tame even if Tim Henman is playing. I kinda like the fan participation. No one ever blames fans in other sports, unless of course they brawl or throw things at the players. Not to defend bad fan behavior, but at least it shows some passion for the game.

I think the thing with tennis is that it is a one on one or two on two sport. In most other sports you have team mates around you. And in tennis the crowd impact can be more severe if there is just one of you than there are on other sports where there are 4 or more other people out there with you.

For example, Nadal was doing well- then the incident happened. The crowd got into it and prevented him from serving for at least six or so minutes even though he was ready. He was ready and wanting to do it but the crowd was very loud and Grosjean was turing his back to him even though it was well past the time alloted by the rules between service games. Nadal was in a groove, and that groove could not have been as good after all of that. (I am not saying that Grosjean could not have won the set without the crowd. I am, however, saying that the crowd's actions did prevent Nadal from serving when he wanted to, and perhaps playing on as he normally would.)

I think it is unfair in tennis when the crowd because they favor one player- can totally disrupt play so that another can not continue. And that happened today. Yes- I'm all for a crowd getting into it- but when they continue to jeer and boo and hiss and prevent a player who did absolutely nothing wrong from serving and then cheer his faults and boo at his winners that are on the line- like they did today- I think that is unfair. I thought the cheering of Nadal's serve faults so loudly was rude and utter bullshit.

It is great to have fans that are enthusiastic. I do not, however, feel that it is great to have fans who jeer and whistle to the point where a player who wants to serve is prevented from doing so for more than 5 minutes and then is booed just for making a winner when he did nothing offensive at all.

But wasn't that exactly what the French crowd was expressing today? The call was wrong, but it wasn't changed and they felt entitled that the call be overturned. Grosjean wasn't doing anything to move things along, he went all the way to the tournament supervisor or something, and he did it because as a French guy he'd never get boo'd for that. I just think the French crowd is partisan, like any crowd and Henin Hardenne hadn't won a grand slam, they see her as Franco belgium, and they rooted for her. Same today with Grosjean. I actually don't mind them being wild and crazy, I think the rules about silence in tennis are a little annoying and wrapped up in this wierd Victorian shit, but I don't think they should be excused from rowdiness because it comes from some better, more rational place.

Also, I didn't realize how much I wanted Lindsay to win this tournament until she came back in the second set and I was cheering like a mad man. I got the impressoin she was like, "I'm not losing on the first week in my last French Open" and just got back in the match. So awesome.

Tell that to Andy Roddick who had to endure worse crowd behavior during the DC finals last year. Nadal fed off the crowd. And good for him, 'cause I was rooting for Spain. I'm pretty sure that he can take it when it's the other way around.

And yes, I am aware that it's different because that's DC and this is Roland Garros. But that's not the point I'm trying to make.

Plus, you get people like John McEnroe (who I just despise) that are always saying that the player should get the crowd involved, etc., as a tactic to win the match or change momentum. So why is it a bad thing when they do? I don't like the crowd getting involved the way they do in Paris or NYC, but I've accepted that incidents like that are going to happen because bad calls happen, home field advantage exists, and, when an umpire doesn't take control of the situation, the crowd is only going to get worse.

I actually think that the incident didn't really affect Nadal. I think it affected Grosjean, because he started to play better. Plus the wet conditions don't favor Nadal's strokes, apparently.

You are right- this isn't Davis Cup- there is a difference. In Davis Cup the countries win their way into home field advantage. I do expect that Grosjean would get a homefiled adavantage at RG- and I think that's fine and dandy. But I don't think that that means that fans should be allowed to be rude just for the sake of it.

I am a little confused (don't mean that in a snotty way- just am confused) - so in the end are you saying that the crowd was correct in what they did and that the ESPN folks should not have said, for example, that it was bad form to cheer serve faults? You said that you don't like the crowd in Paris getting invovled as they did- but then you said every body does it. So even if a behavior is done widely, if it is wrong, why is it bad if ESPN calls them out?

I don't like shitty behavior by fans. I like if announcers say behavior is shitty. Even if it is widespread behavior- that does not mean that I like it. I like if commentators say that maybe it is a bad situation.

If a player gets a crowd into a match by being expressive that's one thing, but I have a hard time applauding a player getting a crowd into a match by encouraging them to jeer or prevent a player from serving who did absoluetely nothing wrong. I think that's kind of crappy.

Heh. How can you be confused? I was oh so very clear!

Seriously, I don't really think I made a lot of sense. I think I was mostly being a devil's advocate, 'cause I'm a contrarian. I'm going to try again.

I'm not saying that what the crowd did was correct. I don't like it when the crowd gets really rowdy. But I accept it as part of the game. I'm way past outrage about stuff like that. And I don't like to say that they were completely wrong, because I honestly don't know how I would behave if I was there at RG and really thought that my countryman got royally screwed on a call.

I just think the announcers are disingenous about this. They complain about rowdy crowds sometimes, but not all the time, depending on who's playing. I don't trust their motives. You have announcers dissecting the crowd behavior sometimes and talking about how bad it was, but then you have them encouraging it (JMac, for example) and accepting it at other times, depending on what fits their storyline better, IMO. If you're (and I'm using the universal "you") going to be saying that the crowd behaved badly, then be consistent with that analysis.

So yeah. I'm not saying ESPN was wrong. I just don't think they were being completely sincere. Brad Gilbert saying he was outraged about the crowd behavior, the umpire and Grosjean? I didn't believe a word he said.

I hope I made more sense now.

Word. When the crowd behaves the same way at the US Open and applauds faults--and you know they do it all the time when Aggasi and Roddick play--JMac et al talk about the crowd being on his side. And they are overcome with righteous indignation when Roddick gets a bad call on an important point or an umpire overturns a call. They're really cheap, nationalistic hacks who love nationalistic hackery from fans when it favors players they like.

FWIW, I don't think Mary Carillo is as guilty of this as most.

I'm still recovering from the Justine-Sveta match. Unbelievable. Justine kept her cool although she faced two matchpoints. Sveta got tight and choked in the end. But I'm so happy Justine kept her nerves in check. For a moment there I thought it was all over for her. I'm not very confident for her match against Sharapova though. She looked very tired and her back was obviously an issue, even though she insists it isn't. Last time she played Maria she whooped her in 2 sets. I don't think that's going to happen now.

I think the difference is that spectators' behavior can't be controlled, but players' behavior can, should and must. And for TV commentary that should be the end of it, because I agree that commentators like the Macs pretty much cherry-pick their incidents to create outrage where none need be discussed.

Dammit! Kiefer's a walkover. I wanted to see him play today.

I truly loved how frustrated PMac sounded yesterday during the Nadal match and especially enjoyed hearing him repeatedly comment on how "disgusted" he was.
It's incredible that he's unable to see the similarity between a raucous partisan crowd of fans and the senseless, drooling commentary he provides when covering a Roddick or Agassi match. I often think he's just as "classless" as he deemed the crowd yesterday.

... Of course TWOP has a tennis forum.

Because of my work schedule, I missed all of the would-be controversy surrounding the crowd's participation in the Nadal-Grosjean match, and, still remembering the Graf d. Hingis '99 final, I think I like it better that way. For some reason, I find that Grosjean is an easy guy to root for-- he has a certain je ne sais quois that makes him seem like a perpetual underdog, even when he's winning-- but I don't like it at all when a crowd becomes too actively involved in the goings-on.

Relatedly, it was interesting to see that Mary Peirce played the bullshit card on Patty Schnyder's claim that the crowd effected the outcome of their match. Of course, it's also interesting to see Mary Peirce in rockin' physical shape and playing well. Less interesting to see that Schnyder, undeniably talented though she may be, is still a bit of a head-case.

Back to today's coverage, though, we have this gem from P-Mac:
"Safin's balls just aren't penetrating today."

Not his groundstrokes. Not his shots. His balls. Hee! [/I'm twelve]

Oh, and now we're not just throwing things, we're breaking the Perrier cooler! Awesome. No one who claims that tennis is "boring" has ever seen Marat Safin play...

Yeah, I agree that we simply have to accept the Paris and NYC crowds the way they are and just watch the tennis.

For me the Melbourne crowds are the best. They are more fans of TENNIS rather than the TENNIS PLAYERS - and that is a big distinction that needs to be understood in explaning fandom and favourtism.

They were never ridiculously on the side of Lleyton Hewitt nor Alicia Molik during their matches, and have genuine adoration for all the players (fans of everybody).

Oh Marat. Two days ago you played so well and today I have no idea where your head is.

I do have to laugh at Dick Enberg's crack - "a torment within and a torture for us all." He was also having quite a bit of fun making puns when Marat smashed his racket against the Perrier sign.

I will admit that I am now full-fledged crushing on Nadal. He was so cute in his interview, no? He does seem like nice, down to earth guy off of court. And he looks so much younger when he is not playing tennis. I've been following him for quite a while now and his English has really improved over the past few months. Wish that I could improve as quickly in my Spanish class.

Loved Rafael's interview.

What is it about Marat that makes me root for him so much? LT and Castallack: Don't answer that. (Just kidding.)

It took me a while but I figured that the reason the ESPN coverage drops significantly at the end of the week is because we'll be completely through the draw and it will be doubles and juniors being played. I know better than to hope for live coverage of doubles. *sigh* /broken record

It's crazy that I'm already looking forward to Stella Artois/Queen's on TTC next week more than the Roland Garros final. And how's this for organized: I just found this month's issue of Tennis magazine with Rafael Nadal on the cover. (re: interview, he looks so different without his headband. Much younger in fact.)

You guys know I love Andre (and Steffi too for that matter) but the Genworth Financial commercial has to stop. I love them for signing him but at this point, I would prefer to see the NotJaden/Taylor Dent commercial than this one over and over and over and over and over

I'm not too impressed with the tennis or the coverage today. The Henin-Hardenne match was awful and I woke up at 3 AM Pacific to see it. With a match that bad, there is no way to make it interesting, but they could have switched to the Corea match, which seemed interesting in the brief moments I saw it.

I'm not a big Safin fan but he is electrifying to watch. But dang, PMac and Gilbert need to get out of his jock. You can actually hear their mouths water when they talk about him.

Heh. And was it Dick Enberg yesterday who kept referring to Rafael's "big, soft hands"? Yikes.

I had to go run a few errands during the third set of this Robredo-Safin match, because I find it so hard to watch Safin. I have a hard time rooting for people who get so much in their own way. Likewise, I couldn't watch the end of the Sveta-Justine match either.

I think I was hoping for Sveta because I thought she might have a better chance against "PowerShot". But I'm really happy for Justine - let's hope there's more in the tank!

Who thought I'd be so grateful for ESPN2? Thank God we're back from NBC.

Edited to qualify this last statement because no sooner had I written my rare praise for ESPN than PMac starts 'penciling in' people a round ahead. Have they learned nothing about clay court tennis, if not this year's tournament specifically?

I second that emotion!

No more Safin? *cries* oh well now I'm all about Nadal I guess.

Well- if you have to be sick on Memorial Day from a cold you caught from your toddler nephew, 9 -plus hours of tennis on tv is a good balm. That said-


I agree. I was hoping to catch some of the Coria match but didn't get to see much at all. I like Svetlana (wish she had won!) but the match today was really not that high quality so it would have been nice if they had shown some of the other stuff going on at that time. I would have also liked to see more of Gaudio/Ferrer. Ferrer has been having a really strong clay court season (and also made it to the SFs on hard court in Miami). I was impressed with what I saw of him at Rome and would have liked to see more of him today. Still the ESPN coverage this year is so much better than last years.

Very happy for the Nadal win. If he and Federer make it to the semis I do have the feeling that it could really be a fantastic match a'la Fed/Safin at the Aussie Open or Nadal/Coria in Rome. Thought Nadal was very cute (and looked so young) in his interview. I think that Enberg has also added Nadal to his roster of players he is very fond of (where he joins Federer and Safin).

The match between Marat and Tommy was interesting. Not really high quality for the first 3.75 sets but then it got a lot better and the fifth set was a dandy. Luckily, even if the play was not that great for the first few sets the eye candy factor was high indeed from both players. (Though could have used some more shots of Tommy's eyes- they are a lovely shade of green.) But I do have to say that I was annoyed a bit at Dick, Pat and Brad when they kept saying that the match was Safin's to lose. They acted a bit like Tommy's presence did not even matter. It is true that Safin is uber naturally talented, but Tommy is no slouch even if he does not have Safin's natural ability. Luckily, they seemed to give Tommy more credit in the fifth - which he deserved as he was hitting some great winners, running shots and was playing much more offensively than I think was expected. A great win for him.

Don’t get use to it. My job for the last four months has me in a certain Bristol, Conn. No, not in any decision making capacity, but you better pay attention to sports related things when working here.

Tennis still has the perception of being a niche, elitist lily white country-club sport that doesn’t attract the average American sports or non-sports fan. The ratings went back down to its usual poor levels right after the Yanks tanked again. No matter how many knowledgeable interviews these guys give or how enthusiastic about making ESPN the Grand Slam network they are, the suits really are clueless in regards to the current state of tennis. They still think somehow Andre will make a big run and the American slump was just that - a slump. They probably thought Roddick would at least make the quarters and Venus the finals. So based on what I am hearing, I would bet the farm that the coverage will be pulled back a lot next year once a new deal is made with the French. ESPN has no problems with cutting back or even dropping properties they deem as undesirable. Ask the NHL.

I like tennis, but tennis fans seem to have a lot in common with PBS viewers. Very passionate, vocal, and worldly, but also a dying breed in America with their already small numbers decreasing by the day and very few new fans being made. And like PBS viewers, tennis fans seem to be older and out of that desirable MTV demographic sports badly want. It is amazing how much the suits pay attention to these kinds of things.

Aww augustina- that just sucks.



I don't know who to be more annoyed at by this. By the media for not promoting it more or by the general American public for being so jingoistic that they lose interest as soon as players who are not either American or 6 foot blondies are not playing. Since I am a rather rabid tennis fan, I have been some international tennis fan sites and I have to say that in other countries (including Spain, Australia, Argentina, the UK, France and more and more China) there are a lot of young fans in those and many other countries in the world.

You know have a number of young, good looking players that should appeal to the young un's here. Sharapova is just the tip of the iceberg in ladies tennis. There are a number of very talented and rather nice looking young women on the ladies side.

And on the men's side, you have interesting, diverse and good looking figures like Safin, Roddick (who is already widely known here), Nadal, Gasquet, Federer, Fererro and Monfils (once he grows out of his gangly stage). And others.

I'm not trying to say that looks are the end all be all in tennis but- if you want to market the sport- I think that, for example, the ATP should try to be promoting some of the young male players. I hate to say this but promote them more as tenny bopper idols like Borg was. They have they looks and the personality that should make this quite easy. If young fans are hooked on by maybe not the most noble of reasons (i.e. because they thing someone is hawt- it is likely that as they follow the sport more you won't need a hook as much).

My point here is not that image should be everything, but if the powers that be here in the US want to promote tennis in the US- they definately have the appealing players that should enable them to do so.

It's great that ESPN is showing more players on their broadcast. But why don't they then feature these players on Sportscenter and the like? We have been lucky to get 1.5 minutes of RG coverage on other ESPN shows.

To me- the fact that tennis is still dismissed as a dying sport in the US just sucks to me because I think it is very, very good right now with awesome talent and a real depth in both the men's and ladies' side. And the fact that it is still very popular in other countries with many younger fans, and is in fact growing in popularity in regions such as East Asia- shows to me that the problem is not really with the sport but how it is marketed here. The media here always says that it's a dying sport- which, when viewed in a global context is so very, very far from the truth.

Chiming in with my comments, although late.

No truer words have been spoken than by Ted (i think?) during NBC's coverage of the Lindsay/Kim match: "It's not often said when the No. 1 player in the world upsets a lower-ranked player". Something to that effect.

Could someone give me a recap of the big fuss that happened during the Nadal/Grosjean match? From what I am reading, Grosjean thought a call was bad, yet continued to play and then complained at the end of the point? And the crowd booed the line judge? If this is true, shame on Grosjean and the fans.

This is how I recall it,

On break point Nadal hit a shot that Grosjean thought was out. It looks like it might have been. However, per the clay court rules iirc you can hit a shot that you want to disupte back but then must immediately stop play, circle the mark and appeal to the umpire. Grosjean looked at the shot, hit it back, but then proceeded to start to run across the baseline to get another shot. He did not immediatley stop play.

After Nadal hit a winner that was for sure in- Grosjean then appealed to the chair ump to come down and look at the mark about the earlier shot. The chair ump refused- as he had the basis to do since Grosjean did not stop play, but rather continued to play when he went to the right. I wish now that the ump came down and stopped all of the fracas, but since he technically did not have to I can't say he was in the wrong.

Grosjean then complained and the crowd started to jeer and boo. The umpire asked for silence to no avail. Nadal wanted to serve but the crowd was very loud and also Sebs back was to Nadal and Rafael was unable to serve a couple of times for the first five minutes of the jeering. Nadal ran around, grabed a towel, some court officials came onto the court and talked to the ump. For the first six minutes or so of this nonsense Grosjean was not doing anything to silence the crowd. He even let out a couple of smiles. Finally after around 6- plus minutes of the boos (I think he should have done it way sooner) he gestured to the crowd to simmer down.

The crowd was still angry after play was finally able to resume. They kept booing the ump when he talked. Okay- if you want to boo the ump that's fine. But where imo they crossed the line was when they started cheering Nadal's serve faults and cheering his unforced errors (and did some general hissing at him) when he did absolutely nothing wrong throughout the whole proceedings. The fact that they took their annoyance out on a player who had nothing to do with the actions that they were angry about, I felt, was very wrong and not in good sport at all.

Thanks Chesty LaRue for the recap. This sounds eerily like the Serena/Justine match a few years back when Justine did not do anything to diffuse the situation.



Now this is really inexcusable. Grosjean is a veteran and knows the rules of play. If I were the ATP, I would fine him for this mess.



Oh, yes, so much WORD to this. I think this and the ridiculous Sharapova commercial (with its horrible CGI effect at the end) are really getting annoying.

IMO, Grosjean's reaction fell in a gray area. And Cliff Drysdale was of the same opinion this morning. Because, Grosjean actually never really stopped looking at the mark, and didn't really go for Nadal's shot. I've seen umpires check marks after a player hits another shot, so it's not as if it hasn't been done at all. And to Grosjean's credit, he did say that every time he tried to get into position to receive, the crowd would get worse, so he would just step back.

So no, I don't think there's someone clearly in the wrong in this situation. As per usual, I think it was blown out of proportion. Drysdale placed the blame on the umpire. And to me, Drysdale got it right.

Oh, and I found this to be highly ironic. Nadal, on the French crowd:



Hee hee hee! How quickly one forgets when the tide turns! Nadal, sweety, remember the Spanish crowd at the DC finals last year? Please. Remember the Spanish crowd at a soccer match last year making monkey noises at a black English player? Don't say that it doesn't happen in Spain.

Sigh. He's just young, I know.

I thought the big culprit in the Nadal/Grosjean controversy was the the ineffectual umpire. At the least, he should've made an announcement to the crowd about the reason there was no reconsideration of the call.

Does anyone know the exact wording of the rule about stopping play? Do you have to hold your racquet up or circle the mark? If those requirements are spelled out in the rules, then I agree that Grosjean had no recourse. But if the only stipulation is that you stop play, then I think he did. In other situations, I've seen players instinctively return the ball and then ask for the chair umpire to come down and check the mark. In this case, I think that's pretty much what happened. Grosjean is one of the fastest players on the circuit. He hit a forehand but didn't recover to the middle of the court. Basically, he just stood there. It seemed obvious that he had stopped play whether he made a start for Nadal's next shot or not.

Again, if the rule states that a racquet needs to go up, or the player has to immediately circle the mark, I will agree that Grosjean didn't have a case. My understanding is that the player needs to stop play, but I've never heard what constitutes "stopping play" means, and without specific guidelines, it does seem to me that Grosjean pretty much stopped on that point.

That said, I thought the crowd was awful. I have no problem with a crowd cheering on their favorite. I have a big problem with booing the other player who has done nothing wrong. In my book, people who cheer service faults deserve a special circle of hell.

I also got sick of the replay and discussion of this. ESPN replayed the whole incident during the women's match about 12 times, it seemed. What did that have to do with that match? The continuation of the Nadal/Grosjean match was coming up. They could've waited till the match it actually pertained to.

I have to agree with jimena on this one:



On the subject of tennis demographics and getting more attention to the young players, the ATP did a calendar a few years ago called "New Balls Please"--great title--that featured younger players who were trying to supplant the deflated balls of Agassi, Sampras et al. It's a great idea, but it might also be nice for the ATP to do something besides calendars, like getting them on TV shows in groups. TV shows people watch, not just ESPN and cable news shows. I can figure this out....why can't the ATP? And they might want to get some even newer balls now. Juan Carlos, much as I love him, is on the down side of his career now; Gambill never did pan out; Guga was a shooting star whose hip seems to have burned out his light.

Oh and Nadal saying Spanish crowds wouldn't act like the French fans? Bwahhahahaha. And Brazilian and Argentinian fans don't care where they are, god bless their little hearts.

No kidding. And for that reason alone I hope Federer & Nadal bite it. I hate Pee Mac so much and want him to eat crow.

I may be wrong, but I think the point that caused all the commotion was also a set point for Nadal, not just an "incidental" point along the way. And I agree that Grosjean didn't stop looking at the spot, and didn't go for the next shot - just made a step or two that way. I think the umpire and the fans were at fault, not the players. And I don't think PMac's indignant squeaky voice saying Nadal should "just serve the ball" served any purpose other than to remind me of how I hate it when he so obviously cheers for one player over another.

It wasn't a set point but it was a break point. So yep- very important point.

While I thought that Grosjean did start to go towards the next shot, I can see how others would think not. I really wish that the umpire had just gotten out of the damn chair. My biggest disappointment with Seb was that I think that he should should have gestured to the crowd to quiet down sooner. I do think he waited too long and was maybe enjoying the crowd reaction a bit too much. I have always liked him so I guess that I was hoping for a little more. But it was a crazy situation brought on by the fans and the umpire having no control so I'll forgive Seb for maybe not behaving as he normally would- I'm sure that he was kind of at a loss for what to do. And the crowd and the umpire are the ones who should be blamed for things getting as they did.

Oh Nadal- don't start comparing French crowds and Spanish crowds (though I don't think that he was referring to all sports so the horrible incident at the soccer match may not be a factor.) But still-that soccer match incident was so ugly (Rafael even wore a Nike anti-racism bracelet after the incident) so I think that will come fresh to everyone's mind when they hear Spanish crowds. And the DC crowds were rowdy- although it was Davis Cup which is expected to have a different atmopshere than a grand slam and they didn't prevent Roddick or Fish from serving for 10 minutes- but still, the crowd didn't always have the best tennis manners. Still think that the crowd on Sunday was the worst I have seen a tennis crowd behave since when they booed Serena a couple years back. Though I did hear about some horrendous crowd behavior at a tournament in Chile this year. So bad behavior is universal. But I think Nadal was rattled by the incident so I will forgive him for making such a young sounding statment.

I just hope that ESPN will put this whole thing to rest and focus now on the upcoming matches. And I promise that I will put it to rest too. Looks like Petrova will be the first ladies semifinalist.

Me, too, but they never do. Or Brad Gilbert's mouth would still be too full to perform his commentating duties.

To their credit, the players seem to try to talk down the commentators when they get ahead of themselves. And Roger has always been very gracious about the challenges of each opponent he faces. What would make interesting commentating, rather than burlish frat-boy behavior, would be to see them parse out why the "lesser-known" (if that's even accurate a label) players pose such unique challenges to the top seeds - ESPECIALLY on clay. I find all of that really fascinating.

But that's because I'm the PBS demographic, I guess! Maybe it's a knee-jerk reaction to your insights, augustina, but my first thought after your post was "Perfect! Give the coverage to PBS! I could cancel my cable subscription, be done forever with the Power Shot/Genwith Financial (or whatever ad they throw at us every break) mania, maybe get some sophisticated analysis, and have great interviews!"

Like the others here, I too am a rabid fan - I get up at 4 am for a whole week for nothing other than tennis, and I love it! I look forward to it. But I'm afraid that the American public and the global sports community are quite different entities. And I fear any attempts to steer the sport otherwise. Though I have a lot of respect for what Chesty was saying, because I know how deep her feelings for the sport go.

Because what sports are we fighting with at this time slot? Seriously. I realize it might not be about the actual hours on TV, but about the cost of pulling off this whole road show for a fortnight, but what kinds of ratings are they hoping for - tennis-wise or otherwise - at 4am?

Yes- the players do a great job imo of giving respect to their upcoming opponents and reminding the commentators that they have a tough match ahead and may not make it to, say, the semis. So even though I get annoyed at the commentators such as PMac for penciling in the brackets before they are done, I don't begrudge the players or hope they lose because of the Pat or Brad are being once again ridiculous.

Yea! Mirnyi and Bjorkman are into the doubles semis. If they make it to the finals maybe they will show 2-3 minutes of the finals like they did last year. I want to see Max on my tv!

Might I take a moment to say how much I love this thread? We may have different opinions about players, etc. but I really like how we all care about the sport . It's great to know that when I get up in the wee hours of the morning to watch some tennis before work there are likely others in TWOP land who are as well.

And I hope, JuanitaSmi, that you saw your favorite's, L Jon Wertheim, article on this very subject in this month's Tennis Magazine. SHOW DOUBLES! It's fun, it's what most of us play.

And from way back, I am one of those fans that is going to start hating Nadal if PMac doesn't shut up. If he does to Nadal what he did to Roddick for me I'm going to be really, really pissed. As for the Nadal interview, I just loved how deliberate and thoughtful his english responses were, and then what a little chatterbox he became when he spoke in Spanish. Adorable.

As for that poor Genworth commercial: it sucks worse than us getting sick of it. Most of the airings will be comped (like House Ads in a print magazine) which means almost everytime we see that thing, someone else didn't want to pay for space. And if the ratings are down for all these hours that ESPN2 is showing, we will be screwed for next year.

And how spoiled is everyone getting by all the live tennis? I know they aren't switching over to more interesting matches but it sure is better than the travesty that was NBC over the weekend. A great Safin/JC match spoiled because NBC would keep skipping games to end the match when their coverage was over so I knew who was going to win well before I should have.

ETA: and I'm now out of this thread until tomorrow since I decided to TiVo the entire day of tennis. I hope I can avoid scores until tonight.

Tennis Week interview with Tennis Channel President Steve Bellamy

I wonder how long NBC's contract is for The French Open. If ESPN kept its coverage at this level, it would be so much better for them to just do the whole thing, and I suspect NBC would feel the same way, at least until some American players are getting to the finals again, a la the Williams gals. (Although it would have been interesting to see if Sharapova brought in ratings.)

I wonder how much extra it costs them to cover the French, since they're hauling everything over to Europe for Wimbledon anyway. Do the two networks consider Wimbledon a must? Wait. Which cable channel is doing Wimbledon now?

I'm just pondering this because it's hard to see why it's even worth NBC's time and expense to cover the French in the half assed way they do it, since it's not going to bring in any ratings anyway.

And just to prove once again that Chesty and I are actually the same person, I would like to echo her comment that I am enjoying the HELL out of this board. More than any of the other awesome TWOP boards in fact. (I wonder what the demographics are here. Hmm.)