Seriously, after the first set I thought Lindsay was going to run away with the title, but damn, what a match! The final two sets were amazing, some of the best tennis I have ever seen. I'm still like wow. Venus is back, I hope she can keep it up and win a few more slams.

Wow. I love that Venus won, but I feel so bad for Lindsay...did you see where she almost started crying during the ceremony? Then she had to wait for what seemed like eons until Venus was done jumping around and giggling. Just painful to watch, really.

They both played an amazing game, and it was one of the best, most suspenseful games I've ever seen. Instant classic.

Can someone please remind Mary that Serena won the Aussie Open this year? Please? Yeah, she didn't look that good, but she'd had very few matches since then due to injury.

Mary seems to forget about Serena's wins...a mental block she carries with her.

Wow! What a way to spend a morning but my stomach didn't know which way to turn. Great tennis and great to watch but jeez, I know Venus was thrilled but she did look like she was 6 years old jumping and jumping and smiling.

Sad to see Sue Barker had to prompt Venus to commend her opponent. I know she was thrilled and happy but it's always polite and courteous to commend your opponent after a Grand Slam final and after three sets of great tennis, you woulda thunk "hey, nice match." Perhaps she was too thrilled but it was painful to watch Davenport maintaining composure out there. I'm sure she lost it when she hit the locker room.

All in all a great match and I have it on tivo.

I envy you. I am sure the match will be on ESPN classic real soon.

Damn that was awesom. Why couldn't they both have won. I felt so very very bad for Lindsay, she played her absolute best but dammit if Venus was not on fire from the quarterfinals on. If she keeps playing at this level, I'm not sure there's many out there who can beat her. I loved that was able to use her forehand defensively when she needed to and offensively. I wish Mary would give Venus a little more credit, she isn't just about pure power, she constructed some nice points, moving Lindsay from side to side, coming in when necessary, and playing awesome, unreal defense. Her reaction was beautiful and I got a little teary with her. Loved it.

When it was over, I went to the drug store. There was a woman on the cell phone who was talking about the match:

"I was watching Venus. That girl about gave me a stomach ache."

Thought that was great. I smiled at her and said, "I was watching too."

With all the injuries and the Venus-is-finished crap she's had to endure the last two years, she could have jumped up and down for hours and I wouldn't have cared. It's so good to see her win - and I'd feel sorry for Lindsay but she did have her chances in the match, she just didn't seize them.



I'm just using this quote as an example, but it never fails - the Williams sisters are expected to behave a certain way when they win a match - which is quiet, reserved, and to give as many props as possible to the opponent.

Yay for Venus.

Did anyone see the little montage set to Mr.Brightside on Wimbledon late night yesterday? My fave part was shirtless Andy Roddick, not because of him shirtless (although it was fun to see) but because of the reaction of a really horny woman.

Wow, what a great performance by both Venus and Lindsay. And good for Venus for coming out on top. I was so happy for her. She was positively elated. With all her personal and physical troubles the last few years, I'm glad she was able to win a Slam. I did feel bad for Lindsay, but she played great.

Who was the young woman sitting next to Oracene Williams? It didn't really look like Serena. I don't think it was her. A cousin? I saw at one point during the third set, this woman had her head nuzzled into Oracene's shoulder, making what looked like baby talk noises. It looked really immature. Oracene ignored it.

I think thats another of Venus' siblings.

Unfortunately, there are too many comments like these made about the Williams sisters. The unfair judgments, unrealistic expectations, as well as the negativity directed towards these Venus and Serena by many in the tennis establishment as well as tennis fans is simply overwhelming.

According to the announcers (and Carillo is the main culprit), whenever the Williams sister play, it is all about their athleticism and power, never their intelligence or brains.

That's one of her sisters, Lyndrea. I think she just wanted some attention, or she was just playing around with her.

That was one of the other Williams sisters. Tracy Austin, who seems to know who absolutely everyone is, informed us but I can't remember the sister's name. She was commentating with JMac on BBC (along with whichever Brit commentator they threw in).


I think that's completely inaccurate. Lots of people loved seeing how excited Venus was to win. They are, however, expected to act with a bit of class - as is anyone else who wins a match/tournament. It's a pretty standard thing to congratulate your opponent, especially after a match like that, and the Williams sisters frequently dismiss the possibility that how their opponent played had any bearing on the result of the match. So they rightly get criticised for that.

Mary did use the word "smart" for Venus' play several times. Especially when she took advantage of Lindsay's back problems by jamming her with her serve or making Lindsay come to the net.

It was nice to see Venus look like a kid again.

Thanks for the ID about the other sister. It's too bad that Serena didn't stick around to watch Venus play. That only fuels the rumors that they are competitive with each other. Serena should have been elated that her sister won, and that if she herself wouldn't win, hopefully Venus would.

Agreed. I remember when she was a surprise finalist at the U.S. Open, when she was just 17. NBC had one of those "Venus and Serena as kids" montages, and it's amazing to me that professional looking footage even exists. The beads. Remember the hair beads? That was crazy. I had forgotten all about those, but seeing that montage brought back memories.

I am so thrilled for Venus. I agree that they seem to be disliked a lot more than other players. Every great champion will always have their share of detractors, but for some reason it doesn't seem like anybody ever talks about an intense hatred of people like Lindsay Davenport or Mary Pierce.

I just don't think Venus can win with some of the commentators who seem to have formed a bias against them (hello, Mary Carillo). If she acts all giddy and happy when she wins, then she's accused of being a poor sport and insensitive. If she acts calm and reserved, then she's accused of being a cold robot.

I can't believe the Bryan boys lost to a Qualifier team in doubles. That team took out the #1, 2, and 3 seeds, plus Todd Woodbridge/Mahesh Bhupathi. Impressive. I wonder if they will continue their good showing at the U.S. Open.

And woe is Martina. Like Mike Bryan, her doubles partner, she was also a double loser today. :( Still, pretty impressive for a woman who is almost 50 to be able to team up with a young unknown girl and get to the semifinals in women's doubles.

Was she? All the commentary I heard just said that she had earned her right to act that happy and giddy.

Again, to play devil's advocate, I just think Mary Carillo expects excellence out of Venus and Serena because that's what they've shown in the past. They're the top 2 active players in terms of Grand Slams won. Of course, it's impossible to be at your best at all times—particularly with injuries, the tragedy with their sister, and the most competition in the history of women's tennis. Still, while I think Mary genuinely likes both sisters, I think she's harder on them than the other women.


I agree with you. There was a point when I thought Mary was going to say something along those lines, she didn't. OTOH, I can see how others could infer that based on her usual comments.

I agree with the last statement that Venus and Serena tend to exaggerate when they say that they were "1000 notches down" or "only playing at 20% of their ability" when they lose - but they've gotten WAY better over the years at toning that down. I'd like to think that even if Venus had lost this match, she would have realized how well she competed in the tournament and that she competed as best she could. Yet still, in the press conference, she discussed how she was playing "poorly" today. I see it differently - she played a good, but streaky match - good thing for her, the ebb and flow in her play came at the right times. OTOH, Lindsay said she gave it all she could and that she doesn't have any regrets - I just love Lindsay's class and graciousness.

I definitely would cut Venus a lot of slack for her jubilation. Think about it - she lost her last 5 Grand Slam finals - to Serena, no less. I think what Venus was experiencing was relief more than anything - relief that she was in the winner's circle again. And for that, I think her reaction was fine and it's great to see her passion finally coming out again after 2 years of indifference towards the game.

Then why isn't she equally critical of Lindsay Davenport. The last two times Lindsay was in a final, she lost to a Williams sister. She hasn't won a grand slam in five years, she has three grand slams total. And yet somehow all Mary Carillo can talk about is how out of form Serena is, and that's during a match involving Venus and Lindsay. I don't know how many times I heard Carillo say that she hopes Venus' play is an inspiration to Serena. Dude she just won a grand slam this year! And she did it with almost no match preparation.

Also, I understand that Carillo expects excellence, but I really wish that she'd mention Serena and Venus' sister's horrific murder one time when she comments on a Williams sister's match. With any other American player NBC would have deluged us with cheesy, boring side story's on their sister's death and the toll its taken on Venus the last two years. I honestly can not imagine how long I would be off my game if my sister was randomly gunned down in the street, but I personally think it would be longer than two years. The fact that 18 months after that happened both sisters have won a tennis grand slam. What more does Carillo want from them? What level of excellence from these two would garner the kind of praise Carillo has for Davenport?

I don't want to say it's a race thing, cause who knows, she may just dislike them for reasons entirely unrelated to race. But whatever it is, I'm so annoyed with the way she covers them. IMO she's not at all like Shriver. Shriver bugs me but when she covers a Williams match and they are doing well she gives up the props. She likes great tennis, regardless. Same with Mary Jo and Tim Driver today. There were parts of the second set were I thought Driver was commentating by himself. Venus was coming back in a major way and Carillo fell utterly silent. Can't stand the bitch.


No doubt. And I don't want this post at all to seem anti-Davenport. She seems like an unbelievably cool woman and the kind of person who wouldn't think I was too much of a spaz to chill with. I only wanted to point out that if Mary Carillo is critical of the Williams for their lack of grand slam success in August of 2003 through January of 2005, how is she so nice to Davenport whose grand slam drought extends beyond a year and a half.

It was nice to see Williams happy and acting sooo unabashedly giddy. She deserved to be happy and no one accused her of being anything other than ecstatic. However, there is some history of never, ever giving any sort of props to an opponent win or lose. Amateur psychologists might attribute it to her papa who may have seen it as a sign of weakness. Oracene has always been the gracious one, win or lose and it's nice that the kids seem to be taking after mom.
At Grand Slams though, especially Wimbledon, it never hurts to be gracious.
Venus has been a "heady" player for years. She is extremely adaptable if something isn't working because she has so many tools in her arsenal. I remember a match last year against Sharapova when she lost the first set, tweaked the game plan and won the match. She does it a lot and I think even Carillo has noticed.

Davenport and Pierce have been around a long time and have earned the respect and friendship of fellow players. They are part of a vanishing breed of player who actually makes friends on the tour and don't seem to have their entourage in tow to protect them from the riff-raff. Does the name Corina Morariu ring a bell? Both players had their priorities in order and it was terrific to see their pride when CM came back simply to play again.

As for Richyyy 's comment about Tracy Austin. She does know everyone who's held a racquet in their hand. When she does commentary at the U.S. Open, every time the camera pans the stands she starts ticking off the names.

She knows absolutely everyone associated with the players in any way as well though. After she's finished with the players' box you half expect the camera to keep panning across and she'll say "That's Jim Smith, a 42-year old bricklayer from Southfields with his wife of 15 years, Mary..." It's nice to have someone in the booth who so clearly is deeply entrenched within the tennis scene, watches an enormous amount of matches and just knows what's going on in the tennis world. Too many commentators/analysts show up for matches late in the tournament and use the dreaded phrase "from what I've seen of her..." Austin is more likely to bring up some match played 18 months ago in Kuala Lumpur which has affected the player's game ever since.

I understand where you're coming from and I agree to an extent. However, it should be noted that, injuries or not, Davenport has never fallen out of the top 10 like Venus and Serena did. Of course, there was far less competition when she was injured, but still. Also, the vast majority (if not all) of Lindsay's losses have come in the later rounds and against top players. I firmly believe Serena was way too injured to play, but the bottom line is that Davenport doesn't lose matches in majors to players like Craybas and Sprem. All in all, Venus and Serena have achieved more and fallen farther than Lindsay, so it makes sense they're going to be criticized and scrutinized more. Don't forget that they're the game's biggest stars (with Sharapova up there now). Besides, it's really hard to criticize Lindsay these days (other than her signature "hang dog" look that everyone—including Carillo—always mentions). She's held onto the #1 ranking using the Martina Hingis blueprint (win a bunch of smaller tournaments and get far in the majors), but it's frankly surprising that she's gotten to 2 major finals already (and so close to winning both of them).

Again, I share a lot of your disdain for the way Carillo criticizes the Williamses more than anyone else. However, I don't think it's because she dislikes them. Still, just like people say the sisters should be more gracious, the same can be said for Carillo. Kudos to Johnny Mac; he always mentions Yetunde's death. It's a much bigger deal than many people seem to believe. It'd be hard for anyone to put tennis first after a tragedy like that, so it must be even worse for such a tight-knit family as theirs.

BTW, based on her reaction to winning, I don't blame Venus at all for forgetting to mention Lindsay right away. They didn't even give her time to calm down. Don't they normally let the runner-up give her speech first? That would've given Venus a chance to gather herself at least a little.

I agree with everyone -- that was a great match; an instant classic! I felt so bad for Lindsay, especially when she was trying not to cry during Venus's victory speech and run. I hated that bad call in the third set (Venus's serve was WAY out). That sort of soured the rest of the set for me, but still Venus deserved to win it -- she was so tenacious and did not go into headcase mode as I fully expected her to.

Great match!

I loved Lindsay's comment that "if I did my job that badly I wouldn't be here today" though.

I agree, but I don't think there's much that could save her look. She looks like a tall ass version of the late Chris Farley's lunch lady to me...or a 1970s stereotypical German athlete. She's just not very pretty, and that's okay, because she's good at what she does.

Her husband is cute, though.

Actually, I think the older daughters are Oracene's from a previous marriage. Unless Richard adopted them, they're not Williams sisters. I believe the sister who was killed was not Richard's daughter. I believe I've heard that Richard has at least one son from a previous marriage as well.

Well, as a long-time Davenport fan, I've suffered through some bad losses with her, but this may be the one to finally break my spirit. For the first time, I'm actually looking forward to her retirement so I can watch a Grand Slam without my nerves fraying all the way to the eventual heartbreak. But, trying to look on the bright side, considering how heavily favored Venus was (according to all the commentators), I was proud to see Lindsay make such a great match of it.

Full props to Venus -- she hung tough and played brilliantly on the big points. Plus, its great for the game to have her back at full strength.



Oh man, I loved that so much!! It's going to be my motto around the office for at least the next month. Usually I hate it when players complain about calls (since it's totally fruitless -- I mean, the umpire is never going to change a call just because somebody whines), but I was thrilled to see LD tee off on the guy who made that horrendous call.


It's funny how much the question of commentator bias must be in the eye of the beholder because its always been my impression (before today) that Mary Carillo heaps praise on the Williams sisters and Sharapova, and yet its like pulling teeth to get her to compliment Davenport. Today, however, I thought she was quite objective and full of praise for both players. I guess I'm one of the few that really likes Mary -- I think she's got some good insights and a nice, dry wit. However, I miss the good ole' days when it used to be JMac and Chris Evert along with Ted R. for the ladies' final. Evert would always needle McEnroe about his temper which, for some reason, I just got a huge kick out of.

Well, they may not have the last name Williams, so they are not technical Williams sisters. However, they were raised together and are the biological half-sisters of Serena and Venus, and they do not call them "half sisters" or treat them as such. To them, they are just their sisters.

Hello. I like the way you guys chat with each other. It's respectful and insightful.

I was surprised yesterday by NBC's decision to finish the Roddick semi-final match before showing the women's championship. The women's championship was scheduled for 8:00 and it was a slap in the face of tennis tradition and women's tennis to show an off-centre-court, previous round match. What do you think?

Commentators: I want to start a movement to retire Cliff Drysdale from ESPN's coverage. He's the carpet-bomber of anchors: no milliliter of air space goes untouched by his hot air. This year his word is "Huge!" The only thing worse than having Cliff and Brad Gilbert on the air at the same time is Cliff and Pam Shriver together.

Quent's "eye of the beholder" comment: Must be, 'cause I think Carillo looked at yesterday's match entirely from Davenport's point of view. Granted, much of the time I had the sound turned down so I couldn't hear most of the anchors' comments. That's the only way I can get through matches these days without grinding my teeth over these guys' continuous and often misleading opinions.

I fully agree. There's been commentary every single time (whether in highlights or papers or whatnot) about James Blake and all his personal problems. It bugs me that Mary Carillo doesn't mention a sibling's murder yet goes on and on about other things. And mentions them several times.

Although I did appreciate her comment on Venus' huge ass ring on her left hand. I had been wondering about that too. I would think it affects her grip. I guess she can compensate.

I noticed that Venus frequently has "false serve tosses". She seems to do this a lot more than other players. Has she always done this so much?

I do agree that was a bad call on Venus' serve that went way wide. Who knows if it would have affected the match. I think Venus was already up 30-Love before that point? It probably broke Lindsay's concentration, but it's not like she didn't have plenty of chances later in the match that she squandered on her own merit.

Bad calls are part of the game, as anyone who has ever heard John McEnroe knows. I noticed that Shotspot or Maccam were available to show that Venus's shot landed wide, but when Venus questioned a couple of calls (which she rarely does when I've seen her) we weren't shown the spots. As blackwing said, the match didn't hinge on that shot.

Don't look for much support on this thread: We love Cliffy!

I still remember the Karolina Sprem extra point fiasco last year that may have contributed to Venus' early exit. True, she was partly at fault for not knowing the score herself, but I remember Venus seemed to be a pretty good sport. She said something about how one call doesn't make a match, and even her father said later that the umpire shouldn't be blamed. I think the person who was most vocal about it was Serena. Venus does seem like a very good sport, and I think this is another example of how commentators may be judging her a bit unfairly. Can you imagine if something like this had happened to McEnroe? We'd STILL be hearing about it, 20 years later.

Word! I'd rather get rid of everyone but Cliffy. Love him.

Oh, Andy. So clearly overmatched. Even more so than Hewitt, I like him when he's losing. He really is a good guy.

Roger is beyond amazing. I applaud McEnroe for trying to convince us Andy had a chance to win. He returns so much better than Sampras that it's hard to see someone pulling a Krajicek here. I know he has to lose eventually, but it seems so unlikely. Like Ted said, the gap between Roger and the rest seems to be widening.

Oh, they already have Roger's name on the championship board again. You know they put that up there yesterday. Heh.

Nope. I think she is great. I don't see her as hard on the Williams sisters as others do either. But I wish she had shut up yesterday. She kept talking and talking and the actual points seemed to be interupting her as opposed to the other way around.

During one of the early closeups on Venus I noticed that she looked beautiful--and I couldn't figure out what was different. No hideous earrings that she loves to much! She looks great without all that stuff. I cracked up when Mary mentioned it later.


That wasn't NBC's decision. The men's semis finished up on Centre Court before the beginning of the women's final--and Wimbledon had no choice except to finish that match up before the final. Poor Andy would have been even more tired today (or ToJo if he had won) if he had to wait until after the women's final was over.

Speaking of which, Andy wouldn't have had a chance even if the semis had ended Friday. Roger was just perfect today. What a beauty to watch.

Because God forbid we see any doubles during this fortnight, we are now treated with a replay of the women's final. *sigh* /broken record

YEAH! I listened to Radio Wimbledon yesterday afternoon and the last match on Centre Court was a mixed-doubles quarters with Bjorkman and Woodbridge on opposite sides of the net. The second set was a cracker and it was the last chance to see Woodbridge. Might be nice to see that.

ETA: I think Lindsay looks great and not dumpy at all. To quote a friend at the Open from a few years ago, before Lindsay had lost her last bit of weight; "Why do people call her fat? She looks perfect."

[QUOTE]Don't look for much support on this thread: We love Cliffy![/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

To me a singles tennis match is an artistic performance, like a concert pianist's recital or a serious movie. The match has its own drama:momentum switches between the players; the ebb and flow of their confidence; how they process what they're doing and adjust as necessary.

Appreciating these things is like being in the audience for the concert pianist or watching the movie. I go with the flow, feel the changes, and enjoy the show. Cliffy and company have become stars in their own right, hogging the stage. It's like having the critic on stage with a mike telling you every note the the pianist misses or played better in the last concert, or needs to have practiced more with the orchestra. It just busts up the rhythm of the match altogether.

Increasingly, in my view, TV coverage has become more like highlight film than match viewing. Between the advertising gimmicks of ad-sponsored statistics and other graphics, and the non-stop chatter of the anchors, I can hardly hear the concert at all, much less get involved in the mood the pianist is creating, or the drama of the movie.

[QUOTE]The men's semis finished up on Centre Court before the beginning of the women's final[/QUOTE]

What we have been seeing isn't taped? I have a peripheral memory of seeing Venus and Lindsay bouncing warm-up balls on Centre Court on NBC yesterday a.m. while the announcer said, "We'll be seeing that match later," and then the 'cast cut to the Roddick semi-final, day 2.

'Course I could be hallucinating. Or just wrong. :-)

ITA. Lindsay is not the cutest girl ever, but she is far from dumpy and actually has come a long way from when she first started. She's dropped at least 20-30 lbs from the time she was a teen til now.

As far as the Williams sisters commentary from Mary Carillo goes, I think that Mary is hard on them is because of their immense talent and the perception that they are not making the fullest effort to reach their ultimate potential. There is never a question of commitment from players like Lindsay.

The men's final was a bit disappointing. I love seeing Federer play, but would've loved to see a competitive match. I mean 49 winners to only 12 error is just ridiculous. Man if only Pete was around to give him a run for his money. I had to feel for Roddick though. The only guy he has lost to on grass the past 3 years is Federer. If Federer weren't around, Roddick could possibly have 3 Wimbledon titles. And I know Roddick gets a lot of grief on this board, but I thought he handled himself extremely well after the match. Good for him.

Like Hewitt, my Andy hate is dissolved into sympathy when he faces Federer. There's something about this guys play that makes players like Hewitt and Roddick put on the most pitiful faces; I just want to give them hugs. And for once I would accept the excuse that his extended semi final is what hurt him. But even then, the reason why Federer was so rested is because he's so friggin good it doesn't take him any time or effort to finish off an opponent. Andy's game is so physically demanding that unless he wins easy the whole tournament he doesnt have a chance against Federer in the final. I had a glimmer of hope when he broke Federer, and that hope was just crumbled. Awww, it's OK Andy you'll get your Wimbledon.

Longtime tennis fan (dating to the 70s Golden Age) here. But I'd been without cable TV the past two seasons, and hadn't been following the game as closely. (Did see full RG and Wimby coverage again this summer.)

Because I didn't watch the Aussie, I'd forgotten Serena Williams won it. Now that TWoPers have reminded me, I'm even more surprised at the way Carillo & Ted wazzisname were carrying on about her.

Gawd, they made it sound like her only problem was that she'd gained 300 pounds or something, rather than perhaps acknowledging injuries and illness. And why couldn't they give Venus her moment in the sun without mentioning Serena at all? Bah.

Anyway, great Ladies final.

As for the men - I'm pleased to find other people who are bored by Federer's perfection. As I've mentioned in a discussion elsewhere, I like great rivalries. And when there is a great rivalry, there's also usually a contrast in temperaments/personalities, which also makes it fun.

Watching an athlete like Federer, as precise but emotionless as a ... well, yes, Swiss watch - is just not interesting to me. I've dubbed him RogBot.

And aside from the fact that BratEnroe is in luuurve with Andy, perhaps he also was just trying to build him up so that other viewers wouldn't lose interest in the match.

Speaking of BratEnroe, I don't care that much for any of the US network personnel, although Ted wazzisname is OK, and Pat Mac is pretty decent. I actually didn't mind Carillo until reading this thread. The more I saw Brad Gilbert, the more he bugged me. He came across as kinda odd.

Up until the last few days of the tourney, the US commentators exhibited that same annoying habit of babbling about everything except the match in front of them. That's been a problem with US commentators in all the sports I watch.

Excellent point. It ought to be stated more. I wanted to scream each and every time JM brought up Andy's extended semi-final. Dude, each man has played an equal number of matches in this fortnight. Each gave 100%. These are professional players, not children. Stop making excuses for Andy's repeated losses to Federer -- Roger is just better. Sadly (or not), even Andy seems to have realized this, as was evident in his post-match interview with BBC. Federer is such a complete player, more so than any other guy on the tour, and each year he seems to fill another chink in the armor. I really hope that people around the world realize how amazingly excellent he plays.

Love Federer. Love Mirka. Love the coat that she was wearing at the final. Loved Sampras. No surprises here.

The boredom that so many people are expressing about Federer reminds me of the same reaction to Sampras when he was dominating all those years. I'll never understand how anyone can be bored by greatness in a sport that they love.

I actually missed Mary commenting on the men's final today. I guess they needed regulations on how many folks in the booth can kiss Roger's butt. Why not have Mary and John instead? They have enough experience, they wont be lost without the bumbling dorky Ted Robinson. Does anyone enjoy listening to him?

TheDogsTuxedo: I bet Mary was with the BBC. I think she and McEnroe share a lot of commentating duties.

I think this is the best point made on this thread in several pages. Well said.

Honestly? Watching Andy serve? Causes me pain. It just looks so physically brutal. Yes, he has a powerful serve but ... ow. :-)

While Andy has taken his share of knocks here, I do think he is very sportsmanlike. He is very self-deprecating whenever a commentator questions him about the great Federer-Roddick rivalry. Not! His go-to line has become: I have to beat him in order for it to be a rivalry.

Aww, I like Roddick, but some commentator put it best imo "To win against Federer you have to be at your best and he has to be having an off day" and unfortunately for Roddick neither was the case today, he had better shot last year where he played at his best, but (again unfortunately for him) so did Federer.

Either way I love to watch Federer , its just beautiful to see him play.

I did want to give Andy a hug and buy him a beer during his BBC interview. Plus I think he was kinda right when he said if someone wants to beat Federer their probably going to have to punch him.

I am no fan of Roddick's on the court but he is winning me over off-court. Radio Wimbledon played the entire post match and when asked if he thought his semi hurt him for today his answer was: "No, no, NO." Good for him--didn't even let it become a question. Also, I laughed out loud at some of his answers. One of my favorites was when asked how it felt when Roger started to give him hope, and then took it away. The answer? (paraphrased) "Felt like High School again." But the best? When asked if it would be easier if Federer wasn't playing at the same time Andy was--Andy's response was that if he couldn't win against the best then he didn't deserve the title and that playing Federer was making him a better player.

Yes, they are the same for me. I don't like Federer winning all the time, and I never liked Sampras winning all the time either. I guess I just don't like when one person is so consistently dominant. I like to see other people have their moments of glory too. Why? Not exactly sure. I just want to see more people happy, and I like the excitement of seeing new faces and new champions.

For the reasons I mentioned above. For me, sport is about interesting, exciting competition. It's not a solo demonstration/exhibition. I want rivalries. I'm even bored when the team/players I'm really rooting for win too easily.
I also tend to enjoy people with a bit more of a personality - not BratEnroe-style spoiled-acting temper tantrums, but an outgoing, extroverted and/or passionate manner.
He's a really great tennis player, but RogBot leaves me cold as a "performer."
[And for the record, I guess I never was a *huge* Sampras fan, but that's also partly because a couple interviews I read over the years gave me a bad impression of him as a person.]