Here's hoping for a Big Babe Tennis final with V. Williams vs. L. Davenport. Let's keep the final in California with the trophy going to Davenport. She's been a class act for years and it would be nice to go out on a high. If anyone can hand Sharapova a tough match, Williams can. Her body language while playing Pierce in a tight second set reminded me of the Venus of old.

Now to the pretty: F. Lopez was on the screen for a millisecond and my daughter, who never watches tennis, stopped in the room and waited for the commercial break to see him when tennis returned. "He's playing? Hmmm." She sat down. Of course they didn't show him playing but there is something about him. He's quite fluid around the court and makes it look so easy.

As for ESPN2: I hate golf. Ok, I said it, now stop showing it when Wimbledon is supposed to be on.

I'm sooo glad NBC has a (supposedly) British woman doing the intros on their late night recap show. Yup, it's almost like I'm there...

And why for the love of all that is holy is Mary C. wearing a turtleneck and a wool jacket? And clogs? I'm not asking for her to wear tennis whites, but c'mon, it looks like she's going off to Thanksgiving dinner somewhere.

She's off to go ride the horsies!

I can't help but root for the underdog women as well - especially having seen both of them so strong and confident this year! Though Lindsay would be all right, as well. Yes, I guess I'm anyone-but-MS as well.



I have to agree, Distant Sun. I'm actually pretty nervous! I woke up extra early this morning on my own just from nerves. Pathetic.

I have to admit that PMac doesn't irritate me so much - despite the Roddick gushing. And I have pretty intense reactions to many of these people. Is it his deep knowledge and love for the game? Don't know. I just pity both him and Andy about that dynamic/commitment due to Davis cup.

Topic? You guys ever see Cinema Paradiso? PLEASE, ESPN - give us the 15-0 points today. I'd like to see a reel of all the first points after breaks spliced together and presented for us if they have some time left over one of these days.

Re: Carillo's wardrobe. It makes me sweat just looking at her. It's hot here in NJ and I don't have central air, so looking at MC bundled up for a trek into the tundra is a bit much. London isn't that chilly in summer.

I agree that Feliciano Lopez is very easy on the eyes. Watching him walk around the court with the long hair reminds me of Rafter. Even some of his tennis moves. Of course, this could be delusion caused by many years of Rafter withdrawal talking.

"I didn't see any of that Gonzalez/Joachim Johansson match." Neither did we, Cliffy. Neither did we.

Distant Sun: That post made me laugh out loud. Thank you.

It will be really interesting if Roddick is on court at 10 a.m. when NBC goes live. Cause I don't see that happening.

Pam Shriver's hair is better today. Not great, but better. Just as there is no crying in baseball, there should be no scruncis in broadcasting, I'm just saying. And I have to say, even though others here have disagreed, Brad looks better with the monochromatic outfit (as he has on today, black T-shirt and black blazer) than the horrible grey blazer he's been wearing so uncomfortably for the better part of the fortnight.

You're welcome, JuanitaSmi.

That shot Federer hit at deuce with Gonzalez serving at 5-6 was phenomenal. That man is fast. I love how Cliff is in awe.

Sigh...of course the games that they show of Hewitt/Lopez match are error laden. Feliciano is getting sloppy in the crucial games, which is not what he has done in his earlier matches. That's one thing about tennis that can be really frustruating- when players do not play the tennis that got them into the latter stages into a tournament.

Looks like they may be able to plow right into the Roddick match on NBC.

Federer is fiestier this year. I was surprised yelled out loud about a line call when he is up to two. And the shot spot showed that Federer was in error. But I like to see this heated side of Federer. First really noticed this fiestiness when watching the Nasdaq finals when he threw a racket.

So at 10am here on the East Coast we're in the third set of Hewitt/Lopez. I am curious if in later time zones they will show the end of this match or start right in with Roddick//Grosjean (depending on how many sets this one goes of course).

In the tease this morning during Federer/Gonzalez they naturally mentioned the Hewitt and Roddick matches. For the love of crikey, there are FOUR matches...FOUR!!!!!!

I wish they'd stop calling him FLo. The consonant ending of F makes it a rather awkward nickname. FeLo flows (no pun intended) much better.

I know- poor Nalby and ToJo.

And they should really mention Nalbandian since he and Roddick had that 5-set semifinal at the 2003 USO (that awful fan yelling "out" and screwing with David still gets me angry.)

Well, so much for upsets today. I'm still hoping Roddick will somehow fail to show up and loses. I know, I know. Not very likely.

They showed an interview with Grosjean this morning, while I was avoiding coming to work, and he's so much cuter without the hat! And his voice is funny in an adorable way. So I'm rooting for him.

Federer looked good. González looked good at the beginning too, but then as it usually happens to him, he failed to show up during important point. I think he's way more talented than his results show and it bothers me that he's underachieved.

I'm not on the F-Lo love train. He's just too pretty. His skin is freaking flawless. Again, too bad that mentally he just couldn't keep it up.

Here's hoping to catch a glimpse of the Nalbandian/ToJo match (with David winning!) and to Grosjean beating Roddick. A girl can hope.

ToJo, bwahahahahaha!

So there's a rain delay. I got a game of Nalby/ToJo in on Radio Wimbledon whilst watching the talking heads on NBC blather on mute.

You open your mouth but all I hear is blah blah blah blah blah.

Oh, and RW says the delay should be short and they've even kept the doubles players on court.

Kudos to ESPN for staying with Federer/Gonzalez for the last two points. That would have sucked to have it cut off for an hour - or worse.

I thought for sure I'd see you legions of Lopez fans in here regarding PMac's comments about his near-career as a professional/Olympic caliber swimmer!

I'm thinking we'll see David/Thomas this afternoon on ESPN. I know it won't be live, but I'm looking forward to it!

What is PMac in love again ?! Or ... did he testily point out that Roddick looks way hotter in a Speedo ?

So for you guys actually watching the match, is Roddick playing poorly, or is Seb just playing really well? This is the first set Roddick loses against Grosjean in ages.

Both.

Yeah baby, we are going to a fifth set!

And Jimena it is definitely both, except for the second and third sets I don't know what that was.

Who would have thunk it- from what I hear on the radio, the match that I was looking forward to the least (Roddick/Grosjean) is the one that seems to be the match of the day.

Darn the NBC/ESPN overlap!

So is NBC showing the end of the Roddick match or did they cut over to ESPN? Isn't their coverage supposed to end at 1 EST?

Folks in the EST zone had to switch over to ESPN2 to get the rest of it, I'm in CST so I'm getting it on both stations. Stayed with NBC cause my ESPN2 doesn't brodcast in stereo.

NBC is showing the rest of the match except here in EST. It's on ESPN2.

I am listening to this match on the radio and it is making me fall in love with Grosjean. . No matter what the result is, I can’t wait to see this match on tv. I will be very curious to see how the NBC announcers call this match as opposed to the radio fellows.

BOO!

I really can't stand Roddick's immediate reaction at the end. Instead of looking happy, he looked like a mad rat and, well, an ugly American. I'd love TJ (sorry, ToJo) to pull the upset. If not, I'll enjoy seeing him swatted aside by Federer (RFed?).

I second this boo. So close, so close.

Did they show any coverage of the Johansson match? How did he look?

Sigh- I was really rooting for Lopez and Nalby today, but at least ToJo is a likable, if quiet fellow. As the Seb/Andy match on I really started to root for Grosjean.
I do think that Andy has resorted to some more assy behavior this tournament so I will be curious to see how he was at the end of the match (what you referenced Distant Sun). One of the more interesting things between the radio and tv coverage this tournament was how the radio fellows were not pleased at all by Roddick’s behavior during his second round match when he stormed off the court and said something to Bracciali (sp?) whereas the tv announcers here didn’t seem to care. I do think that Andy can be a good guy, but I also think that he can be an ass.

Why hell no, all they showed was match point.

Do I really have to answer that? I mean, really.


I don't think he was being an ass; I just didn't like his celebration. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it just looked menacing (for lack of a better word). Contrast that with Venus's reaction yesterday, for example. At any rate, it definitely seemed like Andy was being an ass when he walked off in the Bracciali match.

Yes, that is exactly why I don't find Roddick attractive he reminds me of a rat. There is something about his facial features that are just odd. I guess I'll have to root for Johansson on Friday.

This is so shallow but another thing I love about Roger Federer is that he doesn't sweat that much. Roddick always sweats profusely, he's usually drenched by the end of the first set, and Federer always looks so clean and calm.

I was really rooting for Lopez over Hewitt, oh well, I guess I'll have to root for Federer to win again because I don't like Hewitt and Roddick.

ETA: What happened to the coverage of the Federer/Gonzalez match? Did I somehow miss it? Right now ESPN2 is re-showing Hewitt/Lopez.

There is nothing worse than your hero losing except "watching" him lose as changing numbers on a website.

I saw some of it this morning on ESPN2 but I don't know if they showed it all.

Castallak, you know I was thinking of you. It's even worse that you couldn't watch Nalbandian lose.

Is it odd that saying "can you hear the drums, Fernando" did not bother me in a British accent? I actually laughed a little. If one of our US commentators had said it I just would have groaned.

What a contrast in faces and facial expressions between Feliciano and Lleyton. And what is up with the weird coloring on Hewitt's face? When he took off his cap the part of his face not under the cap was a really weird color.

OK, I absolutely love the US Open Series "reality TV" commercial. We need more of that—a host of players up close and personal... even *gasp* non-Americans.

ESPN2 showed all of Federer/Gonzalez, including the final 2 points that came after 10 AM.

Oh, I forgot to use this joke last time:

Like an elf, as usual. :) The Rat versus the Elf is coming up next.

I'm pretty sure its a bad tan line from the backwards ball cap.

I was concerned this morning when the NBC commentators were talking about how Andy's new "edge" would certainly help him boost his career. Huh? Doesn't seem like that to me. And at the time, he was doing horribly in the first set. Is it just rationalizing it away, or do they really think that?

Todd Woodbridge announced his retirement from tennis 30 minutes ago so 7 p.m. London time. Source: RW

As a fan of Andy's, even I'll admit that he looks assy on-court sometimes. But I have never, ever seen anything that qualifies him as an "ugly american". In fact, Jon Wertheim even talked about this in one of his mailbags.


I really don't think his "edge" helps him in matches. But I also don't think him clapping for his opponents good shots does either. (Which he was doing a lot a few months ago.) It would be nice if he could find a happy medium between the two.

Federer said this of Andy today in his presser:

I'm looking forward to Friday's matches. I believe that ESPN2 is on from 8-12 and NBC from 12-5. (As least that's what is says at the Wimby website.) So will ESPN get one semi live and maybe part of the other one?

Thanks, LT. But we'll see him win at the Open, won't we?

I'm hoping they'll show a bit of it on ESPN2, but I'm happy watching Hewitt/Lopez right now, even though I already know the result.

You misunderstood. I said he looked like one, which is different. I'm not a fan of Roddick's, but I honestly think he's a good guy. However, his reaction bugged me. It was very "in your face"/"how dare you think you can beat me." Obviously, that's just my perception. I don't want to make a big deal out of it; he just rubbed me the wrong way.

RE: Roddick


That's kinda hot when taken out of context(or not out of context).
ETA: And PMac read this and wept.

Isn't the announcement a little premature? I know that he and Bhupathi got sent packing in the second round, but I thought Woodbridge was still alive in the mixed doubles. In fact, I think he plays the pairing of Jonas Bjorkman and Lisa Raymond in the next round. I wonder how he feels about getting dumped by Bjorkman in favor of Mirnyi.

Is this "I'm retiring after this Wimbledon" some kind of effort to save face in case he loses to Bjorkman? Well, we lost, but that's because my heart wasn't in it, as I told you earlier. Woodbridge will be remembered as one of the great doubles players of all time.

No problem Distant Sun.

GoddessMelissa: I'm glad I wasn't drinking when I read that.

Jon Wertheim has new mailbag. I think this question is hilarious. If any of you wrote it, I commend thee.

Federer does look remarkabley unmussed on court. He has a very serene look that is just lovely. The contrast when he plays Hewitt is nuts since Hewitt is all sweaty, grimacy and crazy haired when he takes off his hat. (That is one thing that I actually think is cute about Hewitt, that he always is polite in the way he takes off his hat before shaking the hands of his opponents.)* And to continue in the shallow vein, I must say that in addition to wanting to see Federer playing a different style player and the fact that Federer has trounced Hewitt the past few times, one reason why I was looking forward to Lopez/Federer match was seeing the graceful sereneness on both sides. But maybe Hewitt will come all out and give us a great match....I hope so.

I haven't heard enough of Brad Gilbert commenting on a Hewitt, but it seems to me like he is the type of player that BG would really like. Has anyone noticed if Brad has a particular fondness for Lleyton.

eta- hey just read Jon's mailbag and he mentioned that too.

ISTR Brad really liking Hewitt. That being said, he either forgot about him or flat out dissed him by calling Nalbandian "the best returner since Agassi." I can't stand Hewitt, but even I'm calling BS on that one—no disrespect to Nalbandian.

Woodbridge just did an interview on RW and said that Bjorkman wanted to keep playing for a few more years. He said it was good to know he has a partner who will help him keep playing. Said his "partnership with Mahesh Bhupathi was not as successful as we hoped."

They also talked at length about the ATP's asinine new doubles rule. Todd said the doubles players need an active member in the players' association. Then he rattled off the names of the players who play both singles and doubles on a regular basis.

Has any network shown any snippets of Martina? I know she is still alive in women's doubles and as of right now, playing as we speak in mixed doubles with Mike Bryan. I'm wondering how she actually looks and moves.

From what I recall the last time I saw her on TV, her serve is really quite horrendous. I am following their match on wimbledon.com, well, as much as you call looking at blinking numbers "following", and it is painfully obvious when she is serving. I saw her lose her serve and I was astounded at how her second serves seem to all be in the 70 mph range. I even saw some in the 60s. I really hope she makes a good run here. It'd be nice to see her win again. I remember when she won with Paes two years or so ago.

See, I don't think it came across that way at all -- and definitely not "ugly American", considering the commentators were talking during the match about Roddick/Grosjean practicing together in Florida and that they were friendly. So I doubt he was thinking that in any way, shape or form. It was a good, competitive match.

But I rarely have a problem with player's reactions to winning (exception that proves the rule: Hewitt).

Here's to Federer and Hewitt beating each other up in their semi so that either can lose to the winner of ToJo/Roddick. At least my two hated players are playing in the semis instead of the finals like at the US Open last year (Worst.Final.Ever). I may not even watch it. Ugh. Haaaaaaaate.

Me too. It's of course his pimping I hate. I was watching over lunch and the one thing that bugs me most is how P/JMac & Co. almost fetishize the guy. "The Roddick serve." "The Roddick forehand." There was even a point where Grosjean hit the groundstroke directly at "the Roddick body." OMG. He's effin' ranked 4th! He's not some unstoppable tennis machine!

P-mac and the gang pimping Roddick doesnt bother me somehow because at least he's an American, and with Davis Cup, country pride, etc. on the line, its to be expected. They offer the same praise to Federer, Nadal, and the rest too though.