I think the audience might increase, all the people I know who are sick of Maria will definitely be tuning in. And I think the viewership, in America anyway, will only increase if the final turns out to be Williams/Davenport.

I can't believe Venus is 25, but if she continues to play the way she played against Sharapova she can totally win a few more grand slams. She can definitely compete with anybody when she is healthy and plays like today.

Well, if Lindsay wins it will be an all-American final so that will help NBC's viewership. I'm sure that's how they'll try to hype it anyway.

I'm one of those people!

Anyone wanna bet how many times Maria's name will be mentioned during the final even though she's not even playing in it?

Wow what an amazing match. Venus and Sharapova both played an incredible first set. I couldn't believe some of the shots they got back and some of the winners they hit. Sharapova struggled a bit in the second but Venus was just so good. Like McEnroe said, Venus was moving all over the court. I haven't watched a lot of tennis in my young life but that was probably the best, most enjoyable match I've watched, ahead of the Mauresmo/Serena Wimbledon semifinal of last year which I really enjoyed.

I am also extremely happy for Venus. I have always liked her and felt bad for her when Serena hit the scene and stole her thunder. I think Venus is finally back and if she can regain consistency could back to the top. Boy would I love to see a Maria/Venus rivalry atop the rankings. Those two are fierce as anything.

I was listening to the BBC Radio coverage at the end of the Williams-Sharapova match and they said some of the most complimentary things I have heard about tennis players. Is it a national thing, perhaps? Anyhow, they said it was a "breath-taking performance" by both players and that they had raised the bar for women's tennis because of how well they played in the match.

It starts in L.A. in 15 mintues. Can't wait.

If that happens, I'll proably tape it instead of watching it. Odds are I'll proably even forget I taped it. I'm just not into Lindsey or Venus anymore.

As I alluded to before, I completely agree with them. That was such an incredible match! FWIW, I'd like to add that I think Ted, John, and Mary did an excellent job calling the match. They were clearly in awe of how well both ladies were playing.

Burning like a silver flame. Summit of beauty and love. And Venus was her name! She's got it! Yeah baby, she's got it!

I'm assuming you're kidding, but it's still funny to imagine Johnny Mac singing. Although probably not so funny to Venus, for whom it's probably an old joke.

It may be funny for you, but it scares the Be-Jeebus out of me. The only thing scarier is contemplating a possible return of his CNBC show. That actually got negative ratings. But, I do appreciate his commentary.

I had the Williams/Sharapova match on while I was home for lunch and I wondered how many people outside the stadium called the police to report a woman or women being attacked. I've actually seen Monica Seles play live and thought she made a lot of noise. I can't imagine what it would be like to watch a Williams/Sharapova match live. Do they give you a set of those Mickey Mouse ears that airline people wear on the tarmac? One thing I found amusing, when they replayed the point were Maria tried the drop shot early in the second set, over her left shoulder, you could see one of the spectators watching the shot go into the net. You could see her eyes following the ball first up, then down and she had this look of expectation on her face like she thought it would make it.

ETA: Will the rain delay help Davenport or Mauresmo?

That was a seriously great match, especially the first set. But my God! I actually felt bad for Maria Sharapova! It was only for a moment though. It was after she'd lost, and Venus was leaping in joy (Seriously, soo happy for her. It's fantastic to see her excitement at being back in her element) and Maria was getting her stuff together, keeping her head down, very clearly devestated but trying to regain her composure. Then she stopped, kind of staring off at the ground, and slowly raised her Wimbledon towel to her lips and bit it in the most unguarded, vulnerable way-- I swear to God she looked like she was four years old, protectively holding onto her favorite blanket. It was a gesture you see all the time if you're around little kids enough-- and then she snapped out of it and put on the gracious loser smile and sped off the court.

I don't know, I guess that image, plus the fact that before the match the announcers kept talking about how icy she always is and how she apparently is proud of the fact that when she went to that tennis school thing when she was only nine, with her mom was stuck in Russia and her dad was working odd jobs she "never cried a tear", I guess it made me feel kind of bad for her. It seems like this is the only thing she has. So many other players seem to have very rich, fulfilled lives off the court (Federer, for example), and she just seems like this is absolutely the only way she knows how to define herself.

I might have more empathy if it weren't for that Canon commercial, though. Gaaahd.

I saw the beginning of the first set between Venus/Maria and it looked like it was going to be an awesome match (I went out to lunch to see some friends, so I couldn't watch the rest). And damn for Davenport/Mauresmo being in another rain delay. They're showing Federer's last match instead now... blech.

I'm really glad Venus won -- a Williams sister in the finals is pretty much as big of a name as Sharapova anyway, so it probably won't hurt the ratings all that much. I'm glad Venus won, but Maria is slowly a little less annoying to me, despite the major pimpage. It's nice to see Venus looking so fit, though. I commented to my sister that she looks less heavy and more fit like when she first came out (last year she looked heavy and slow, and she's looked neither all throughout Wimbledon).

I hope Lindsay beat Mauresmo because as much as I love Venus, I want to see Davenport win another slam before she retires. Also, the two played an amazing quarterfinal/round of 16 (don't remember which it was) match at the US Open last year (which I got to see in person), and I'm hoping for another great one like that was.

I can't see any way it could hurt Mauresmo. She was on her way to losing. If anything, it might take the pressure off and let her regroup.

If Venus plays like she did today, she'll win no matter who she plays.

Is there a reason they're not showing the Mauresmo/Davenport match? I know it's suspended but would it kill NBC to show the beginning instead of these men's matches from yesterday which I've now seen several times?

I've only skimmed the above posts because I'd like to go into Lindsay/Amelie fresh but this is ridiculous.

Castallack: They are just killing us. The only logical reason would be if ESPN owns rights to air Davenport/Mauresmo in the evening. But why would NBC advertise 5 hours of Wimbledon if it only planned on showing one lousy match?

On the plus side I get to see pretty Feliciano Lopez again.

I can't understand this either. They've been acting all day like the Mauresmo/Davenport match barely exists. I had assumed after the Williams/Sharapova match ended, they would show the other women's semi, but no. And until the rain supension it must have been pretty compelling, competitive tennis. Makes no sense at all.

This is insaaaaane. I am really pissed off. Now I have to avoid the news for 15 hours???

I suppose ESPN might have had the rights but then why didn't they show it then? I keep flipping back but no "bounus" coverage.

You don't have to avoid the news. The match wasn't concluded because of a rain delay. They'll have to finish it tomorrow.

It was refreshing to actually enjoy Carillo and Co.'s commentary. No obvious bias, no negative shit, Im impressed.

Lindsay should close out the other semi tommorrow ( although I never thought Mauresmo would give her this much match to begin with). And that sets up a win-win for me. Ill be rooting for Venus, but if Lindsay wins, it'll be special too. How heartbreaking would it though to lose your only two Grand Slam finals in 5 years to the same family? That doesnt seem quite right.

Lindsay has beaten Venus like the last 4 times, so Id give her edge anyway. I think she likes the forehand to forehand matchup, but against Maria it held up. Who knows?

It looks like "Today at Wimbledon" is scheduled for 3.5 hours tonight so I think...er rather hope that they will show the Amelie/Lindsay match.

It was funny today during the BBC radio broadcast. They were switching from Center Court to Court One (where both L/A where having trouble holding serve) and one of the annoucers said "and out to the headcases on court one!"

The more I see of the various Spanish players, the more conviced I am that if I died and went to heaven that heaven would somehow involve being in the Spanish tennis players locker room.


Oh, I forgot to mention this yesterday. I'm not trying to start any rumors but did you guys catch it during the Gonzalez/Federer match when Cliff mentioned that Fernandao and Nicolas Massu live together in Santiago and that was rather unusual since they are both millionares. Hmmmmm.

Right, I know, but they will say what the score was. If I can I'd like to watch the match not knowing the outcome of points and games and sets. I realize this is unlikely but if I can do it, I hope to.

Castallack ESPN2 has just starting showing the Davenport/Mauresmo match from the opening point. It started about 8:05 EST.

Just turned the TV and computer on at 9:19 p.m. *sigh*

There's a slight possibility my neighbors think I was being murdered today during the Sharapova/Venus tie break today, I could not be more excited about Venus' win. For all the special interest stories that tennis commentators love to focus on, it slightly bugs that only JMac seems to remember that Venus and Serena's sister was gunned down in cold blood in compton not that long ago. I think Venus has been in a funk ever since, I know it would probably take me over a year to recover from that and tennis is the kind of sport when you need to be totally concentrated. Both sisters are so proud and private they would never admit it, but I feel like Venus is only just not recovering from that. It was awesome to see her jumping around with joy today, I kinda teared up a little.

So the question is, why is stupid Richard Williams opening his mouth again, stealing some of the thunder of his daughter's fabulous win? Can't he see it's not about him? Gosh, he's so freaking annoying.

Sharapova's dad is kind of psycho, but at least he keeps his mouth shut to the media. Blah.

Men's semis tomorrow!! Yeah! I hope Roger continues to make Hewitt his bitch, and that ToJo has a fantastic match and upsets Roddick, NBC finals ratings be damned...

Radio Wimbledon actually talked about how happy NBC would be if that was the case. What, does US ratings rule the entire world?

Nick Bolliteri was on talking about the women's semis and upcoming men's semis. I know people hate him because of the style of player that has come out of his school, but, man, I just cannot dislike a guy who loves tennis so much. Even with Maria (or Marier as he calls her) coming out of his school he was so proud of Venus and how well she played and how happy she looked. He also went into specifics about what Hewitt would need to do to beat Federer tomorrow and I really hope Hewitt wasn't listening because I want Roger to win.

I want to hurt Pam Shriver. She just said that the fans were "lucky" because they came expecting doubles but are getting the women's semis. People like her. . .

Me too! (Big surprise.)

Pam Shriver has nerve dissing doubles. If it weren't for her doubles partnership with Navratilova, she would be a nobody. I'm just saying.

Very interesting, per the ESPN coverage, that it was Lindsay who questioned the playing conditions at 0-15, 5-3 in the third. I kinda thought it would be the chair umpire or Alan Mills who called it. But Mills seemed content enough to let Venus finish up her match.

Is that the veteran in Lindsay knowing not to risk playing in slick conditions on grass? Am I the only one interested in that hook?

I like doubles too, but if I had bought a Court 1 ticket and expected to see Max Mirnyi and Jonas Bjorkman, and instead got Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo, I'd be thrilled too. I don't think Pam was necessarily dissing doubles, she's just excited about the women's semis.

Watching Venus right now on ESPN2. She's looking great. I think she could really win in the finals, whether it's Lindsay or Amelie.

Nope, me too. Especially since Lindsay had just gotten her serve to a place where she could stand there and serve it out without moving too much. Of course she wouldn't get the power off her serve without being free with her legs/feet. I'm figuring she knew what she was doing (cross fingers). I loved how the crowd cheered how quickly the grounds crew covered the court. Did'ja notice on Radio Wimbledon that they time all the court covering? Seems Court 2 had a great lead woman who got her crew to cover the court fastest every time. Bully for her!


Man, I'd be pissed. I have no problem with people preferring singles over doubles but we don't need the commentator dissing it (which I think she was), especially Pam Shriver. As JuanitaSmi said: without doubles, we wouldn't be listening to Pam now (hmmm, maybe I'm too quick to compliment doubles). The biggest loser at this year's Wimbledon? Doubles. Shortening sets, losing Woodbridge, absolutely no coverage--even with the Bryan Brothers in the semis.

I'm no longer a real fan of Venus's but, boy oh boy, do I agree with the commentators earlier: seeing her this happy and excited to be playing so well is thrilling for me to watch--and I don't even hate Maria (living through too many years of the Anna show makes me happy to see a "pretty" player who can play well) so that isn't part of it. It also didn't surprise me that Mary Carillo was enthusiastic about the win. I always thought any negativity was born of being exasperated at the slip-shod way the Williams's were treating their tennis skills. But to play devil's advocate on that one: it must have been so hard for those two to play at their top knowing their biggest competition came from each other.

ETA: Interesting: after the Williams/Sharapova match this afternoon Radio Wimbledon played the entire post-match conference with Venus and Venus said some really nice, complimentary things about Maria and the match. ESPN2? Showed one answer and that one came across pretty self-involved.

Now that you mention it, I have to question just how much he loves tennis. According to Carillo in the match this morning, Sharapova had never played doubles until she did so in World Team Tennis a couple of years ago. You mean to tell me they never play dubs at the Bolliteri Academy? Never? WTF? There are a lot of major differences, but, as the commentators correctly point out at times, doubles can really help singles players.

Other than that, I agree with you. I kind of like him.

After watching todays Davenport/Mauresmo I think Amelie may indeed be a bit of a choker. I think it is just ridiculous that the match was called, the players are going to have to go through warm-up etc, for what may turn out to be a 5 or 10 minute match.

That's why I think the delay can really help her. At this point, she should lose the match. She can't choke it away from that standpoint. Then again, Mauresmo can find a way. She'll probably hold, break, hold, and then collapse again.

The BBC commentators were, to use one of their expressions, spot on when they called Amelie and Lindsay headcases. There's a definite contrast between their match and the tenacity of Venus/Sharapova.

For once I timed my tivo and got the Williams/Sharapova match and ESPN coverage of Davenport/Mauresmo.
WOW. I may get my wish for Williams/Davenport final: Big Babes in Wimbledon. Grass does get slick when wet but I was just hoping they could finish it off while Mauresmo was in a bit of a wibble and Davenport was grooving on her serve.

As for the Williams/Sharapova match: very impressed with Venus' shot selection and the tidiness of her game. (Sorry to borrow a Carilloism, but it does fit.) She didn't make a lot of errors and played very smart, aggressive points. Sharapova looked like she fell apart the second set, spraying balls hither and yon and that woeful drop shot attempt. Huh? I know she "goes out swinging" but the two points where she kept the ball in play, she won both points on Williams' errors. Hmm.

Men's semis and women's 5 minutes of hell tomorrow. Early afternoon, tight muscles make for tight matches, it could be ugly.
NBC will be orgasmic if it's Williams/Davenport and Federer/Roddick.

As for the "head cases" comment? I think it fit Sharapova more than Davenport. One good set does not a match make. Sharapova played one good set and one collossally awful one. Davenport was at least consistent and Mauresmo was doing very well until late in the third set. You could attribute that to some monstrous serves by Davenport and a botched volley at her feet (which are always a bit tough on grass), so the "head cases" comment was not on point.

I love the bluntness of the BBC commentators. I am not sure about Lindsay but Amelie is definitely a bit of a headcase. Mauresmo should have closed out the match today..err yesterday.

I wouldn't call it "colossally awful" by any stretch. She was simply outplayed. For every unforced error, there was a great shot, a great get, and/or a break point saved. Despite the score, almost all of the games in the second set were close. ITA about the attempted drop shot, though. That was abysmal.

As for Lindsay, that game she served at 6-5 in the first was one of the worst I've ever seen. After being down 2-5 to Mauresmo, she had a chance to serve out the set and really put the pressure on Amelie. What did she do? Double fault twice and hit a brutally bad approach shot to go down 0-40. That one game alone was worse than any Maria played—not to mention Maria was up against tougher competition.

Regardless, these were two very exciting matches. Let's hope the mirror image thing between the men's and the women's side continues to form. #1 should beat #3 and I hope the lower seed can upset #2 again.

ETA I'm not saying Lindsay is a headcase but that she can be one. Pam called her on it the other day by saying she could be considered an underachiever when it comes to the Slams.

Ever since her knee surgery a couple of years ago, Davenport absolutely will not play on a court once it gets even slightly moist. Apparently, her doctor told it was the riskiest thing she could do in terms of the potential of re-injuring the knee. But, I'm with you LT in that I hope she doesn't live to regret it -- it was a rain delay (along with some big-time choking by Lindsay) that helped Sharapova come back and beat her in the semis last year. Hopefully, LD will keep it together and close out the match quickly.

For the Future Mrs. James Blake (she posts here under another name, I think - although she has been good enough to reveal herself) and for all other lovers of male pulchritude, I offer this photo from the MSNBC Wimbledon site:
James Blake with the pretty eyelashes

Pam just said the two biggest shots left in the tournament are the Roddick serve and the Roddick forehand. Um, I don't think it's obvious that Roddick's forehand is bigger than Federer's... and we all know Federer's two shots are better.

I'm all about the females, but James Blake does have really pretty eyelashes. He also seems like a really nice guy. I loved his Celebrity Poker appearance.

Isn't anyone else going to comment on that "Real World" US Open Series commercial? I love that thing!

OK, Sue Mott brought the funny. After giving Fowler Olga's Vodka, she said, "It has a slight aphrodisiac effect, so you'll have to be careful who you interview later.

I think Amelie might have "self-inflicted" herself. /BradGilbertism
Couple of folks talked about this way upthread. (I think on Monday.) I saw it for the first time in its entirety today. It's great. Andre. *sigh* I'm such a girl. But big props that they have non-Americans in it like Nalby. Is that Dementieva too?

For the first time in the fortnight, I slept through Wake up With Wimbledon. And I gotta say, I'm not unhappy about that. Got in front of the TV to see Lindsay finish off her semi. You go, girl.

The one bad thing, "Waaa waa waa waa (sound of Peanuts adults) all-American women's final waa waa". I love both of those players so for me it's a big win. Love to see Lindsay finish the year with another Slam. Love to see Venus (my fave of the Williams sisters) back in form! But if the ratings are through the roof, it will give credence to the casual tennis/sports fan in the U.S. only watches Americans play argument. Damn.

Yep. There are at least two of them. TiVo says:

Sharapova - The "It" Girl
Serena - The Diva
Safin - Mr. Unpredictable
Haas - The Stud
Dementieva - Femme Fatale
Henin-Hardenne - The Comeback Kid
Agassi - The Legend
Nalbandian - The Threat
Roddick - Rocket Man
Clijsters - Miss Congeniality
Venus - The Goddess

I know the other one has Henman as Mr. Nice Guy and Nadal.

The other one also has Roger and Davenport. I can't remember what their "labels" are...

Just saw it.

Roger - The Boss
Tim - The Good Guy
Nadal - Boy Wonder
Lindsay - Top Gun

I really don't like Federer. I'm watching his match right now, and yeah, he might be good. But it's so boring just watching him march through to the finals. Whoever upthread called him "bitter beer face" is right. Even when he wins a Slam and holds up the trophy he has that bitter face on. Has he ever smiled? I wonder if he's squinting because of the bright sun. You'd think he'd be used to playing outdoors by now.

If he is in the finals, I'm not going to watch.

It's not bitter, it's "special" or "german/swiss."

I didn't get home till 8:30 but saw a good deal of it. It was totally worth coming in ignorant. Despite the fact that both of them had stretches of seeming to not having their hearts in it, I thought it was a great match. Here's to a Venus/Davenport final! I wonder if, if Davenport wins, she will call it quits on a high note as Sampras did? But I guess she wouldn't skip the US Open so maybe not.


How have I missed that? And yet the fake Agassi/Graf match and the fake Dent/Lil Agassi match are tattooed on my brain.

Good match between Hewitt and Federer and much more competative than the US Open final of last year.

Wondering if the steam coming out of my ears is visible virtually on the thread? Chris Fowler just said, "NBC will have that match (Roddick/Johansson). Their coverage does not begin until noon EST."

At least NBC won't have to practice airing live tennis.

What? Nothing against Haas, but of all the hundreds of hot tennis guys to choose from, he's the stud?

Hewitt's out. The only player left I can root for is Johansson, and he won't get past Roddick. Damn it. If the final is Fed-Rod, I'm not watching.

The women's final, on the other hand! I'll be happy with whoever wins, but I think Venus needs it more.

I love those US Open series commercials. Very done - cute advertising. And agree that it great that they feature non-Americans. And not just huge named ones but the likes of Dementiave and Nalby. And Nadal looked so cute saying Montreal that I realized again how much I missed him when he went out so early at Wimbledon after weeks of seeing him go far in tournaments on TTC and then during the French.



No kidding. When I heard that I was like..."whhaaatt?"

I disagree. I think he is a joy to watch. His tennis is so beautiful.


Speaking of which, when are they airing the women's final tomorrow? Is it 9am in all time zones or 9am EST? I cannot find the answer on the internet.

And, *sob*, mmmmmmmmMax and Jonas were upset in the semis. NOW the final will probably be aired.

Wow. ESPN just tossed up a stat about Lindsay Davenport being in her first Grand Slam final since the Australian in 2000.

Hello??

It wasn't even six months ago, nimrods. Australia 2005. Look into it.

The Bryan boys are through to the doubles final. They're going to play some qualifiers (qualifiers!) who beat the #3 (Mark Knowles) and the #1 (Bjorkman/Miryni). Wow. I hope the Bryans win. But I have no hope of seeing anything but the final game or two on Nothing But Crap.

I agree. I'm pulling for the Goddess on a Mountain Top. I haven't wanted someone to win this badly in a long long time. But If Lindsay wins, I'll be happy for her, because it's been a long time since she's won and she seems like a genuinely nice person.

I don't mind the Taylor Dent one, but the "I'll play you for it" one is uber irritating. As if I'm supposed to believe that a couple with the gazillions of dollars that Agrafassi has is not going to pay someone to tell them what is going on. "I can't figure this out." Yeah, well, I can't either.