Sorry, his name slipped my mind. Paes and Bhupathi were dominant when they were together. I guess they really hated each other and never got along so they split. But I don't think either has had as much success apart than when they were together. They played together in the Olympics, and I really thought they were going to re-team.

Yes, Mirnyi did play mixed a few times with Serena. I was at Wimbledon in 1998, and I remember seeing a mixed doubles match between Max/Serena and Lindsay Davenport/her partner. It was on Court 2, and I'm sure it wasn't covered by TV. This was just about when the Williams sisters were starting to make it big. Max and Serena went on to take the title that year.

That Henman match was just devestating to watch as a fan. Well, he did make the semi's of last years US open, and maybe he can do well there this year too. It wont be near the same I suppose.

And Mary's right, I do feel sorry for him, because the papers are going to massacre him.

Well if Andy Murray is the great British hope maybe they'll put his next match on Centre Court so I can at least listen to Nalbandian on Radio Wimbledon. God knows, no one'll put him on TV.

I remember this. But what I remember most is Max playing mixed doubles with mmmmmmAnna (that doesn't have the same ring, does it?). The commentators were talking about how popular he was becoming with his friends because of that. Ah, we miss thee, Anna.


How many times now has Gilbert said something stupid where he eats crow later? I think the only thing Gilbert should stick with predicting is when ESPN is going to give him the axe due to his terrible analysis, arrogance, television uncomfortableness, and dislike by his colleagues.

I feel bad for Henman, but I guess it's understandable how the country feels about him. With so few British potentials, all the weight is on his shoulders. If he never wins, he's considered a failure. I felt the same way about Michael Chang after his surprise win at the French at age 17. Kept waiting and waiting for the next one. But he never came through. Luckily, there were other US stars who had success. Michael Chang is lucky he lives here in the US and not England. Or China, for that matter.

I'm kind of put off by how the TV commentators are touting Murray as the next great British hope. I wonder if they would have said the same if Tim hadn't lost today. Poor Henman. Last year when he made the semis at the US Open I felt bad for the guy, because all the commentators were all "what on earth is this guy still doing here"? They said the same thing at last year's French, when he also made the semis.

He never gets any credit for anything. All they talk about is how he must be the first Briton in umpteen gazillion jajillion years to win Wimbledon. And then he never does. And then they talk about the disappointment. It's the same old story year in year out.

I agree. For all they know maybe he'll come back next year and do well. I dont think I would be as sane and nice as he is if I had an entire country's hope resting on my shoulders. The pressure would be way to much for me.

Yes, for Chrissake, just let the kid play tennis - and be excited when he does well and supportive when he doesn't. My hope - until recently - was that the British press would somehow learn a thing or two from the Henman years, but I think it goes deeper than that.

Anyone else here British? Because it could be just my own particular family, but our rearing was a bit similar - high expectations without much praise, and lots of criticism when we "underperformed". (But don't worry - therapy is good!) To Timmy's credit, he seems to have a great and very grounded sense of self, as well as a very polite way of defending himself (for the most part) without engaging those like Sue Mott (HATE! If I got to pick either her or Gilbert to boot, I actually don't know which one I'd choose) who keep dishing it out.

Mary Carillo has said such wonderful things in support of Tim over the years, and it was sad to see that even she was disappointed today. The most positive people about him today were the people from the town he currently lives in. Did anyone catch that little extra piece they did back in his nearby hometown?

ETA nicely said, Kiran. Though I did think that today he was cracking even in his temperament.... Poor Timmy.

So let's play "what match will be shown tomorrow?"

Hewitt/Gimelstob or Lopez/Safin?

They've been building up Safin but I still give the edge to Hewitt since he's exciting as well AND playing an American. I know LT will be hoping to see Feliciano's cheekbones.

Are there any Monty Python fans here? I'm hoping there will be a mention of Andy Murray's next opponent being a blancmange (towards the bottom of the listing, but read the whole thing for full enjoyment).

Normally I'd rather see Safin play over Hewitt, but my grandfather was one of Justin Gimelstob's teachers in High School, so it's always nice to see him play (even though he kind of sucks -- though for someone big and slow, I guess grass is the best surface). I won't be disappointed if they show Safin instead, though. I'm in the mmmmmMarat club, after all.

The coverage is just making me sad. I really didn't need to see Pam Shriver sitting in the studio in a tangerine t-shirt looking uncomfortable. And why did the director choose to shoot her from the side for a while so we could see the back fat bulging out from her bra straps? In fact, when did Pam Shriver get back fat? Maybe Martina needs to get her out playing doubles again. [Sadder yet: I remember that Pam's birthday is July 4th because she won her first Wimbledon title with Martina on her birthday.]

I really hate the almost incessant switching from match to match. I like to get into the rhythm of a match, not spend three games with one player than then four with another. It was particularly bad during Henman's match. That was a match with drama and instead we get to see Nadal briefly and then another match after that before we come back to see Henman lose. [I might get booted from the thread for saying so, but I have never liked Henman that much and I don't understand his "attractiveness." I'm much happier to see those hopes that he might pull off a victory after all the seeds develop food poisoning dashed in the first few days.]

I never thought I'd wish I could hear more of Mary Carillo and MJ Fernandez. But I do.

Here's what I hated about today's coverage. Pee Mac was nowhere to be seen until Fucking Andy Roddick's match. I was like ok I'm not watching this.

Adios, Bam-Bam. I was hoping you and your pantalones would be able to stay in a few rounds longer. Sniff.

It was so weird to see him a little mopey and low energy.

Henman has had a fine career and made a great deal out of his abilities, I think. He might have had a medium-long shot at winning Wimbledon had there been no Pete Sampras, but with Sampras around, he had no chance. He has a good serve-volley game, but he's no Rafter and certainly no Edberg. He doesn't have the physical gifts. It's been unfair to "expect" that he win Wimbledon. "Hope", okay. But it was a long, long shot.

Anyway, it makes perfect sense that his best results have been Slam semi-finals. That's about right.

And he seems like a doll-baby. As far as hotness goes, I can't see it, I confess. Just can't get past the skinniness and the teeth, I'm afraid.

Btw, I would have been interested to know just what has gone off in his game this season. Everyone kept saying that he hasn't been playing as well. Well ... why not? Anyone? Bueller?

ESPN2's Wimbledon Viewership Up

That's great news about the viewership increases. I hope it is a sign of increased interest in tennis and not just numbers manipulation. What do you think the increase can be attributed to? I'd like to think it is the possibility of seeing mmmmmmmmmmmmmmMaria Sharapova defend her title. Rafael Nadal? Perhaps. I've heard some women hear in the office talking about how hot he is, and I'm curious as to how people find him attractive. He's got squinty eyes and bad hair. I also can't stand what he wears. Those sleeveless T-shirts and capri pants (call them "clamdiggers" all you want, ESPN, but we all know they are capri pants) are just a very odd look.

tisha re: Henman: You're fired. [just kidding]

I was all set to get on the board today and say, "Whatever happened to Cliffy?" but then he was commentating (that word bugs me btw) this morning so that solved that question. Seems like whenever I get to watch, it's PeeMac and Dick Enberg. I much prefer Cliffy and Mary but ... live tennis is live tennis, right.

ot: RadioWimbledon announcer called Lopez, "Felippiano". I am NOT making that up. /ot

I, of course, am rooting for Justin Gimmelstob not that he stands a snowball's chance in hell because he's my second favorite player (read: whoever is playing Lleyton Hewitt).

blackwing: Nadal gets the job done for me. In many, many ways. Maybe I'll get to see him play doubles again this weekend (for two whole minutes, like they did Wednesday. ESPN2 bastards!

Commentators on ESPN are really a mixed bag for me.

I enjoy P.Mac and Drysdale, they have a real affable relationship and can call a match fairly and accurately.

I also like Pam and Mary Joe. I miss when they used to call matches together, I hope there isnt a riff coz they are always separated these days.

I respect Mary Carillo's verbiose style, but she is either too negative (when calling a Williams sister match) or too suck-ass (she thinks Sharapova is better than sliced bread). I constantly question her objectivity, and I delight when she is proved wrong. She needs to come off her high horse.

Brad Gilbert is Ok though often wrong with his predictions.
Tim Ryan is a scatterbrain with the most mundane analysis.
Edberg is passable and sometimes witty.
Chris Fowler is pompous.
Suzy Kobler is harmless.
Did I forget anyone?

I think mmmmmmmMaria is probably the best reason to watch women's tennis right now. I don't get the Nadal love either. He just looks so dissheveled. And I wouldn't be caught dead wearing capris. But maybe over there it's like the Scottish men wearing their kilts.


I just don't think Brad is all that comfortable in front of a camera. Today he's wearing the same t-shirt under the jacket look, although it looks like his t-shirt today has a rim around the collar or something so it's a little fancier. I think he looks like his jacket is always too tight and too uncomfortable for him. I shudder to say this, but it's almost as if he's too bulked up for his jacket. It's the same look that a beefy weightlifter would have if he tried to squeeze into a 40 Regular. I don't remember Brad being really bulked up when he was playing. Perhaps with all the time on his hands now, he's hit the weights.

I get annoyed hearing his predictions. He's become the Bill Walton of tennis. You just want to hit the mute button when he talks. Today's prediction of how Roddick would serve 148 mph on his first serve coming out is maybe a little more founded, considering he coached him and would have a wee bit of insight. But it's still ludicrous. I hope Andy serves the first one right into the net.

When I went to pick up my rental car the other day the only car they had was one with Sirius Satellite Radio--which has three (THREE!) channels devoted to Radio Wimbledon (all courts, Centre Court, Court 1). Ten hours of my 14-hour drive was spent listening to Wimbledon. I have never been so happy in my life. What did I learn? British radio commentary is WAY better than US tv coverage. What was really telling was at the end of the day when they had some US reporters on to discuss the day and the horrible US accents were jarring after a day of British accents.


I remember when he was playing with Navratilova.


Impressive. You just managed to make me jealous 7 years after the fact.


In his post match interview Tim was asked if he was thinking about quitting. He said "No," left it that and there was complete silence in the press room. Good for him! Don't feed into that crap, Tim.


Yes, yes I was. Way too much pretty on that court this morning. But where is the sleeveless shirt, Feliciano? Those arms are so impressive (dang those Wimbledon rules). And straight sets? That's my boy.

For those of you listening to Radio Wimbledon and watching the tv coverage: how did the ESPN2 people react to Andy's walking off the court? The Radio Wimbledon folk slammed him (and I agree with them). Did PMac think of a justification for not even consulting the chair ump? So I say HA! to the fact that they are now in a 5th set.

And, and this is the BIG news, in between my calling my hotel last week and walking in the door last night. . . they upgraded their cable and I now have ESPN2. I am the happiest person on earth right now. So I did get to see the three seconds of Lopez coverage.

I hate Andy Roddick. I have this almost irrational dislike of him. I almost always root against him. I just don't find him or his tennis appealing; to me there is nothing exciting about watching a match where almost every serve is an ace. Give me rallys, give me great passing shots, something. I agree that he shouldn't have just walked off the court. I did enjoy most of todays early coverage, Feliciano/Safin very pretty to look at.

Was he afraid of melting in the rain ?

I so miss listening to BBC Radio's coverage. Sad for me, I can't listen while I work. I've been following along on wimbledon.org's "IBM on demand scoreboard." You can see the shots and get the play by play.
Thought I pass that along in case anyone else is in the same boat.
Click on the right hand corner IBM advert.

I was wondering if the US commentators are under contract with the networks or the WTA, or what. Usually in sports, people work for the network and you only see them commentating on that network.

Thanks to the rain ESPN2 is now actually showing the Safin/Lopez match. Yee-haw.

The commentators are under contracts with the networks, but very few (if any) have exclusive contracts which is why you see Mary on ESPN and NBC. As Dick (I think it was Dick) mentioned, John McEnroe was in town for NBC and the BBC and "anyone else who would take him."

As I'm sure you expected, they basically glossed over it. They mentioned he "might" have said an expletive to Bracciali, but they acted like that's no big deal either way.

I'm loving the fact that Roddick was really scared. Bracciali was taking it to him. I enjoyed the part in the Hewitt/Gimelstob match where they reported that Hewitt said he and Federer were the only ones who could win. I don't like Hewitt at all, but I love how he dismisses Roddick because he owns him. That's funny. Too bad for him he hasn't come to grips with the fact that Federer owns both of them.


Like a lot of people, I think he was screwed by that 3-day match against Goran in 2000. Tim had him on the ropes before the last rain delay—I definitely think he would've been the favorite against Rafter in the final. The Brits screwed him by giving Goran that wild card... just like they screwed him with the slower grass. They don't want him to win. After all, what would they write about?

Justin Gimelstob played really well. I have a hard time rooting for him because his brother's a pampered, cop-killing bastard. Still, that was probably the best match Justin's ever played, so my hat's off to him.

Why the hell can't they go into more detail about what went on between Murray and Stepanek? That's crap I want to know.

I must have missed this: were they talking about the net-kissing thing? I heard the whole Murray post-match press interview (yes, Radio Wimbledon is biased) so if that was it, let me know and I'll relate what happened. Btw: Murray came off as quite an ass in that.

I wonder if someone knows this: we get Star Sports in Asia, and the channel's tennis coverage is headed by Vijay Armitraj. However, sometimes the match commentating is turned over to a feed that has Boris Becker and Virginia Wade, and I'm wondering where they get that from. Anyone know?

Also, what went on during the Roddick-Bracciali match when Roddick walked off the court? Was this during a rain delay? I didn't watch the entire thing because I don't like Roddick either.

And what about Murray and Stepanek?

I'm another one who finds Nadal attractive. I'm not even sure why, since I normally don't like the disheveled look. Maybe it's the biceps. Maybe it's the idea of a star claycourter playing doubles in Wimbledon. I also tend to call him Atreyu in my mind.

Next up: Feliciano Lopez vs. Mario Ancic. Two different kinds of cute.

The short of the Roddick thing was that it was getting dark and when Bracciali won the fourth set Roddick put his stuff back in his bag and left. The umpire called for darkness after Roddick made it clear he wasn't playing anymore that night but Bracciali wanted to keep playing (I guess he had played a doubles match the night before that went even later). The chair umpire was probably going to call the match anyway, but it wasn't supposed to be Roddick's choice.

Murray was running away with the match when Stepanak got a lucky net cord. He went up to the net and touched/kissed (it was Radio, I don't know which it was) it. Later on, Murray got a lucky net cord and did the same thing. In the post-match interview Murray said that Stepanak was trying to get into his head by looking at him and (paraphrased) "doing that thing with the net." He said that he did it later because it was really important to not let Stepanak win like that. He was pretty rude about it. First of all, I never see kissing/touching the net gamesmanship. It is just a cute thank you that the audience appreciates and to call it gamesmanship is stupid. Of course, I don't know that that is what Distant Sun is talking about, but, I must admit, it soured me a bit on Murray.

Hey, why does Nadal wear regular shorts when he is watching a match? It is nice that he is there for Lopez.

I don't know if it was the net-kissing thing. Here's a quote from the article I read here:

Did Murray say more in the interview?

After Bracciali won the third-set tiebreak last night at about 8:45, Roddick packed up and started walking off the court. Bracciali asked the chair umpire why they were stopping (apparently, he played doubles until 9:30 the previous night). Roddick said something to him while walking past. The crowd began to boo. Roddick was clearly flustered and he almost slammed the door going into the locker room. Bracciali stayed longer (to cheers) and signed some autographs.

ETA thanks for the explanation, LT. That must've been it. Yeah, Murray comes across as a jerk there, but I guess he's still young. OTOH, if kissing the net gets to him, the British press is going to break him very soon.

Thanks, for the explanation, LT and Distant Sun!

I've been reading some of Murray's interviews, and he does come off as pretty jerkish to me. Maybe it's all youthful enthusiasm and the shock of being where he is now and maybe I'm misreading him, but it's a total contrast to yet another nice Nadal post-match interview. Nadal is not just becoming one of my favorite tennis interviewees, he might just become one of my favorite players as well.


Aw.

I hope Gael Monfils' game gets better, because I liked some of the shots he was making, even though overall he was pretty dismal against Ancic. I hope he doesn't become yet another player who had a great junior career but who didn't quite work out as well in the seniors.

I so agree about Nadal. I heard his post-match as well and the way he was talking about learning what he needs to work on to do well on grass was really nice. Maybe that is why he is partnering with Lopez--a Spaniard who does well on grass--because isn't Lopez usually with Verdasco in doubles?

Back to Murray for a second, he keeps telling everyone that his matches should be on Centre Court. It's an honor you receive, not an honor for which you ask. then again, I'm going to have to go with the youth thing. He just says what he thinks. Has ESPN2 been talking to him? I haven't seen anything with him on there.

Did anyone catch Gilbert saying that he thinks Roddick will be in the final and then saying that "of course that was just his opinion." I think he has been spoken to.

Fowler interviewed Murray. Honestly, he came across as very personable.

I for one hope Andy won't be in the final. I see Gilbert is still fawning over Roddick, the guy who fired him. Honestly, I think Roddick is overrated. All the praise and fawning by the McEnroe's and Gilbert's of the world isn't going to change the fact that Andy will probably never dominate mens tennis the way the USTA expected him to.

Is anyone crossing their fingers for a Lopez interview on ESPN after this match. I have always thought that he is a little too pretty boy for me, but he is getting more and more attractive to me as the match progresses. Gosh, the Spanish team is just chock full of hotness.

I am also one of those who finds Nadal attractive. He can make some funny faces when he plays, but I think but he is utterly adorable off court. He has a great smile and is very animated and cute in his interviews. I was able to watch his interview from yesterday on Wimbledon Plus and he was upbeat despite the loss and determined to do better in the future. I don't care if his attire is sometimes unforunate. (Cracked up when Cliff started singing "Yellow Bird" when they were talking about his hat today.)

I really wish that they would show more of the South Americans on ESPN. It sounds like Fernando Gonzalez played utterly fantastic today against PimPim and they haven't shown any of it from what I have seen. When he harnesses his talent, he is very, very dangerous.

Ugh. Today wasn't a great day for me concerning tennis. Safin loses and Roddick wins. Bah. At least Lleyton Hewitt won (I know he's kind of a jerk but I just can't help liking him - I love the way he plays). I feel rather hypocritical loving the tempermental Hewitt and Safin and yet absolutely loathing Roddick for his attitude, but I can't seem to help it - and I do loathe Roddick.

Aww, I love Nadal. He's such an exciting player and seems like a really nice guy. I too find him strangely attractive.

Did anyone catch Chris Fowler's interview with Serena Williams yesterday? She kind of went on about how she knew nothing about her last opponent who took her to three sets and how everybody seems to elevate their game when they play her. I thought she came off as haughty and smug. I really hope she loses.

It's rather sad to me that the only two high-profile American players I really like are, of course, Andre Agassi, and James Blake. Lindsey Davenport's okay, too. I'm ambivalent about Taylor Dent - to be honest I don't really care one way or another. As for the other American players? I can honestly say I always root against them.

Marat is hot no matter what, but I really hope he cuts he cuts his hair in the time between now and the next tournament.

TTC did a CenterCourt about Rafael Nadal following him around Miami during the NASDAQ. Included interviews with Uncle Tony and someone else who travels with Nadal (one of his friends, I think). He was really charismatic in the show. I enjoyed him. Seems very genuine and humble. Love that he still lives at home with his family.

I also like the way Hewitt plays. Anyone who can hit a backhand topspin lob like that is OK with me. Best one in the men's game since Borg's I think. I won't rag on him because of his personality just because I think MOST of them are like that--OK, Federer isn't and Nadal isn't yet--but most of them cover it up better than Lleyton does. And I say this as James Blake's future wife, BTW.

Does anybody know what happened between Roddick and Gilbert? Why did their romance whither on the vine like that? Doesn't Roddick know he will never be as good as Federer and that it isn't Gilbert's fault?

Yeah, that's what I thought too, so I'm surprised by all the talk about him being jerky. In the interview he came off as level-headed and seemed really weirded out by all the media attention (there was a huge tabloid story about his ex-girlfriend, and he expressed disbelief that anyone could possibly care about that). Of course, he could have been calling everyone arses, liars, and cheats, but in that Scottish brogue I still would have thought he was just wooonderful. (Best. accent. ever.)

Also, am I mistaken, or did one of the announcers mention that he had been a student at the high school that was basically the UK's Columbine, and that for a long time in the beginning of his career he lied about where he was from so he wouldn't have to talk about it? Or was that someone else? It seemed really sad.



Agree. When I first saw him in the semis at RG, I thought he looked like Magua from Last of The Mohicans, and began calling him Hatchetface. Until he started whooping and hollering and leaping and doing high kicks, at which point I began calling him my favorite.

I was surprised when I saw him in an interview, when he was all with the clean, flowing hair and the big, pretty smile and the cute mannerisms. He seems like a really sweet, fun-loving kid, which for me makes his intensity on the court even more fun. And the biceps help. They just do.

ETA: On reviewing this post, I have come to the conclusion that I am the world's most shallow tennis fan, ever. Eesh.

Am I the only one who likes Andy Roddick? Honestly, I dont love him and hes not nearly my favorite player, but I enjoy watching him for some reason.

You're not alone, except that I actually really really like Andy Roddick and he's up there as one of my favorites (along with Safin). But I've always liked American men with big serves. Up until he retired, my favorite player was Pete Sampras.

Of course, I also have an irrational hatred of Roger Federer. It seriously makes me happy when he loses (the same can be said for Lleyton Hewitt, although that hatred isn't quite as irrational). The only nice thing I can say about Federer is that his fiance actually isn't a stick nor is super gorgeous (I saw her up close and personal when I worked at the NASDAQ 100 this spring), and he's actually a bigger guy that he looks on TV.

Have you seen him live? He seems nice and thoughtful enough in interviews IMHO, but get him on a court and his game is so boring. Totally sleep-inducing. Roddick I mean.

I really hope that Venus kicks her sister's ass in the fourth round. She has no reason not to win that one.

And for some reason, I think British tennis fans have to be the most annoying crowd ever-I feel sorry for Andrew Murray and it's sort of sad that he apparently did the right thing by leaving the country to train-does he live in Spain too? No matter, he's losing in the third round. If by some grace of God, he wins, I will have to put my TV on mute for the rest of the two weeks( sorry, fortnight)

Word. I completely agree. And I'm not sure why I hate him so much. It might be his smug look. It might be his resemblance to Amelie Mauresmo. It might be the long girly hair. I hate him, and whenever he gets knocked out I am awash with glee.

I agree. I saw the highlights of Venus' last match, and she looked great. Ever since her sister overtook her, I really have pulled for Venus. Serena on the other hand, seems to be struggling a bit. Serena should not be losing sets to unknowns. I'm hoping Venus gets by a resurgent Hantuchova (wasn't she touted as the next great Ova at one point??? then she disappeared) and smacks down little sis.

Even though we didn't get much coverage today thanks to the rain, I did manage to catch some of the Washington/Dementieva match. I really like Dementieva, I think she is my favorite Russian player. She is way better looking than Sharapova in my opinion--and she has really nice legs. I know she takes a lot crap for her serve, and it is well deserved. I wish she could/would improve it because she would be awesome with a better serve.

Yes, that was Murray.


Smug? I think that's just his natural bitter beer face. And I so don't see the resemblance to Mauresmo. His hair's much prettier.

I'd love to see at least some of a Conchita Martinez match. She's quietly moving through her matches. I don't even remember them showing any of her scores.

The good news: Since Taylor Dent is the only other American man to make it to the fourth round, we'll probably be seeing extended coverage of his next match.

The bad news: This is mainly because his fourth round opponent is Lleyton, who will probably beat the stuffing out of him. Which means that once again any coverage of Taylor Dent will be limited to that Genworth commercial (which will probably still be running when fauxJaden is in his 20's).

(Yes, for some reason Taylor Dent is one that "does it for me". I probably rival Shylock when it comes to shallow.)

If Hewitt plays like he did today, Dent can definitely win. After all, Gimelstob is basically a poor man's Taylor Dent.

Neutral on Federer, although I think he (and Justine Henin-Hardenne) have the most beautiful games to watch. I have an irrational love for Nicolas Kiefer. The commentary, when anyone bothers to comment on Kiefer, seems to be about his weird mind games on court. I know he glares a lot, but I don't see that as something worth primary mention.

I dont know, I've liked watching Roddick lately, now that hes showing more emotion (but not COME ON!!! emotion) and he seems like a nice guy, and y'know...he sometimes really brings the snark (his comments on the Capriati/Williams controversy last Wimbeldon) and I really respected how he said today that people would be using the rain as an excuse for why he didnt win Wimbeldon last year, but the truth is that Federer was the better player, and was going to win even minus the delay. That along with how he came off in "Facing Federer" impressed me.

Plus I thought him and Mandy Moore were a cute couple, and as long as he keeps pulling his shirt up, I'm fine. What? I'm shallow.

I’m pretty much neutral on both Roddick and Federer. Roddick, simply because he just doesn’t do it for me. I’ve never looked at him and found myself wanting to do nothing more than sing songs about his supposed greatness from the mountain tops. He’s just meh, straddling the thin line between hatred and adoration. As for Federer, well, I don’t know. Call it an irrational dislike. I don’t hate him; I just don’t like him. Or something. He confuses me.

Although, if Roddick or Federer send a spinning backhand down the line, I’ll give them props because I am a no-talent hack and I’ll be damned if it don’t look good. Hell, if anybody makes a great shot, I’ll be impressed.

Except for Hewitt. God, I hate Hewitt. And, unlike the other two, I have a reason for this supreme amount of loathing. A couple of years ago, at the French Open, he played a match against Roddick (who had just played an insane five-setter against Michael Chang) and when Andy bowed out with an injury, he started celebrating like he’d just scratched his way out of a close match. And thus, the “I can’t stand his flippin’ guts” began. I won’t even allow myself to be impressed at anything he does because I’ll end up being pissed off by the celebration.

As for my favorite player? It’s Rafa. I watched his match against Roger in Miami and ever since then, I’ve been hooked. Seriously. How in the heck does he get to have of the shots he gets to? It’s insane. The fact that he’s far too cute for his own good and has incredible biceps does not hurt.

*sigh* I wish I had cable.

And to veer this back on topic (thanks for the reminder, JuanitaSmi), I haven't heard Brad Gilbert's commentating, but usually I try (keyword: try) to drown them out, focus on the tennis instead of the idiots in the booth. Needless to say, it doesn't work all that much and I end up screaming at them to talk about the other player or the actual match or to just shut up altogether (what can I say? I'm easily annoyed). And, I feel weird saying this, but I kinda like PMac. He doesn't bother me as much as others do. Of course, as I mentioned above, I don't have cable so I'm stuck with him anyway. I'm just going with what I know.

Trust me, you aren't missing much. I wish I had BBC Radio.

Well I got to watch the Tivo of the Safin/Lopez match when we came home from dinner tonight. I must say that I was really annoyed with Cliff and Brad during the match. It ws all “Safin is beating himself, Safin is playing two people: himself and Lopez, Safin, Safin, Safin.” Hey guys- why don’t you discuss the guy across the net? He was actually playing some high quality tennis. You mentioned that it is very unusual for a Spanish player to feel most comfortable on fast surfaces, least comfortable on clay. How did Lopez come about being a fast-courter? Discuss his game please.


I have never seen Lopez play on grass before, and it was a treat. I have seen him on clay, and it isn’t always pretty- in fact, one of the matches that I saw him play during either the Rome or Hamburg MC he was so bad that the mean crowd started booing him. But on grass, I thought he was very graceful and fluid, with a really nice touch at the net. I have always thought that he was a nice looking guy, although not my cup of tea- perhaps this was in part because he was looking awkward and flustered on the clay- but I thought he looked beautiful in his ease on the clay. Well- that is one thing that Brad and Cliff said about Fel-Lo, that he is a “Spanish hottie.” But Brad really annoyed me when at the end of the match, with barely acknowledging Lopez’s job out there, pronounced that Ancic would beat him in the next round. Yeah- don’t let the door hit you on your ass as you leave, Lopez.

Had to giggle at the shots of Rafael in the crowd. He looked like a kid with his goofy hat on that he turned around as the sun switched positions. He also had the same solemn look that he had when watching one of Moya’s matches at one of the Master’s Cups. I was looking forward to catching another minute or two of Lopez/Nadal doubles on tv so was sad to hear that they withdrew. Supposedly Nadal was having problems with the movement in one his knees during the practice so he decided to withdraw because he did not want to aggravate it as a result of going all out on a surface that he is not comfortable on yet. I think that is a good move to withdraw because his movement is still awkward on grass and that can’t be good for a tinge in a knee. And since he was out for several months last year after playing a match with an ankle problem he may want to avoid an injury lay-off repeat. Practice more on grass courts and then compete in next year’s grass season little one. And his movement is not awkward on hard, so hopefully that will not do anything to his knee this summer season.

Darn- looks like Murray/Nalbandian is not one of the featured matches tomorrow.- but I hope that they will offer some good lookey-loos into that match and the Gasquet match.



Federer's hair is actually pretty short right now.



Oh- I'm on that side of the pool. In fact, I would like nothing more than to write a dissertation analyzing the variety of pretty that there is in men's tennis.

Shylock and starwannabe: I truly don't think there is a chance of being too shallow when it comes to the pretty on this board. I mean, we refer to a certain player with "mmmmmmmmmm" as a prefix so ... don't fret and welcome aboard.

Um, rather than wait for the mods to do it, let me remind the newbies that the bulk of your posts should deal with the coverage of tennis. We do veer a bit toward general discussion of players, etc. but a) that gets us in trouble and b) it usually comes back to a discussion of commentating, scoring, scheduling, etc. I don't want us to lose the thread and since we got our first ever warning a few weeks ago, I wanted to mention it. /tattle tale

I don't mind Andy as a personality and I think he is generally a good guy but his style of play is not my favorite. I mean, you guys know I'm all Andre all the time so I prefer seeing a rally and a great return then to see four aces in a given game. But hey, that's just me. And, as always, Lleyton Hewitt = The Hate. Therefore, Go Taylor Dent.

Something weird about having Dick Enberg do the intro to the day's coverage (instead of Chris Fowler.) I wonder what possessed ESPN to bring Enberg back into the tennis fold. I am not a big fan of having more people around for the sake of having more. I prefer the core of Cliffy, Mary, Pam, Mary Joe and a McEnroe (though I prefer Johnny Mac to PeeMac). Haven't looked to see if Cliffy is entered into the seniors doubles tournament as he often is.

I think they could save some money by dumping Gilbert and either Enberg or Fowler. That's just too many people. Oh, and the fact that Suzy Kobler is in the mix again. Oy.

I am sure there is a LOGICAL reason why the reigning Wimbledon champion is on court and tied at one set all and ESPN is showing a different match, right? And I'm sure that logic involves three little letters: N-B-C. And also? Bastards!