I feel kind of bad, because--during the match--I found myself rooting for Rafael (though I claimed myself a Blake fan. Whoops). I am, however, very happy for James, thought he played a great match, and think he deserves a little celebration. His drunken fans, however, can repeatedly shove tennis balls up their asses. Geez.

Kudos to Rafael for showing a lot of grace after defeat. He does, as James so aptly said, have a lot of wins left in him, and I suppose I'll just have to wait for coverage of the next Slam to enjoy him and his spandex shirts. Hee.

I have to say I am now watching all tennis matches with my best friends. Shes never watched a game in her life but she decided to root for Nadal (which she pronounced Nad-el, to piss me off) due to his "awesome name", and the facination she had with his "Ghetto ass".

It was 45 minutes of solid comments about his butt, she even mentioned Blake's but said it was nowhere near the rotoundness of Nadal's.

Great game by both, and I'm very happy for Blake, who I think was just having a little fun, I didnt mind it. I mean I still love Nadal despite his fist pumps so it wasnt that big a deal for me, I just figured he himself couldnt believe what he was doing.

I adore Blake but having to watch and listen to these lowlifes has really taken away any pleasure from his wins. Nadal's face at the loss broke my heart. He is such a kid. Good for him for thanking the crowd that were, to a great degree, cheering his faults.


That's where I first saw Lopez last year. Playing doubles with Verdasco. I couldn't figure out where to keep my eyes (and they were playing Llodra and Santoro so it was all too much for me). Please oh please let them win today so they can meet Max and Jonas in the next round and pretty please let that match be on Monday and not tomorrow so I won't have figure out how to get there tomorrow.

Damn, could the Agassi crowd at least applaud Berdych SOME. Assholes!

<Whispers> I dont mind Blake's drunken entourage. They remind me of the guys I grew up with.

The USO crrowds can be some of the most jingoistic crowds and least appreciative of good play from non- Americans of any of the Grand Slams. It annoys me a lot.

I think that Blake has a pretty low assy antics per match average. What bugged me more is that those annoying jerks are his "best friends in the world". They seem so generically fratty-turned yuppie. That said, he played really well. After he got broken early in the second I thought it was over. The old Blake would've self imploded at that point and the match would've been all but over. But he stayed incredibly calm (and is there anything hotter than a serene James Blake) and played great. I feel a little bad for his brother, James clearly got all the hottie genes and his brother got the sideshow bob ones.

I don't have a problem with Blake's fans either. I can see why they'd be annoying, but it was a great story about how they really stayed loyal to him and tried to help last year when he was going through all of that awful stuff. I understand that they present him as kind of a "golden child", but he really is. He's smart, classy, attractive and a great player... it's kind of hard to find stuff to hate about him (although I hate Federer, who has similar qualities, so I guess to each his own).

My aunt is going to be crushed, though. She was at the Open and upgraded her seats because she looooooooves Nadal. However, at least she likes Blake.

Thomas Berdych is a solid up and coming player, but I'm angry at him for laying down in the match I saw him play against Hewitt last year in either the 3rd round of the round of 16 (I forget which, but it was on labor day last year). So I don't care what the US crowd does. They cheer for foreign players plenty -- but Agassi is the golden boy and at the end of his career. This could be his last US Open, so I'm sure the crowd really wants to see him go as far as possible.

While I absolutely agree with you with regards to the fans (not all of them, just the really loud ones) who go into Arthur Ashe during the day--the fans on the outer courts are real tennis freaks and know their stuff. I just wish we could see some of that on TV. Of course the scheduling people still think the fans are most interested in the Americans and do stupid stuff like put Guga on a sidecourt and Brian Baker on the Grandstand. Stupid.

My biggest pet peeve? Hearing people not only cheer double faults (URGH!) but actually scream out "Double Fault" before a serve.

Tennis-Sponsor commercial wise: who is Andy's Mojo? He looks so familiar. Also, in the Mass Mutual Ferris Wheel commercial, doesn't the scene on the haystacks seem to be in the wrong order? Shouldn't it be before the kid enters the Midway?

I hate that. That shows noooooo class at all.


Don't be ugly tennis fans- USO people!

The class of 1986 is hot though people. All of your ashtetic needs,,,, muscles and the.best.smile.ever (you really need to see his true genuine smile if you haven't) -Nadal. Pretty, pretty eyelashes, Gasquet, best flexibility and great calves. Monfils, and pretty, pretty blue eyes and delicate features, Berdych.


Pretiest class of tennis guys in a long while.

It's amazing how 20,000 fans can literally sit on their hands when they hear "Game: Berdych". Yowzaa. CBS probably doesn't do the apathy justice. The silence is unbelievable.

Yet I do agree that the tennis fans on the outside courts at the US Open are excellent - as can be said for all the Grand Slam tournaments.



I think what was meant with this quote was "appreciate of good play from the non-native players in each of the respective Grand Slams". Australia is easily the fairest when it comes to cheering the Australian vs. and his/her opponent. The French and the British seem to have the reverse effect when cheering their countrymen/women on - it actually rattles the players.

The US Open? Well.... the least said, the better.

Add in the other networks and I agree. How are we supposed to like this great kid? If the very first time you see him is against Andre, you aren't going to root for the kid. As an example: Meanwhile Malisse, who never gets TV coverage, is in a 4th set against an adorable Russian in Youzhny. Whoever wins plays the winner of this match. Would it hurt for us to see a little of that one as well?


I would bet it could be said for all tennis tournaments all over the world. Or, for that matter, any sport (such as golf) where action is happening away from the cameras.

For those people interested in what the ATP and WTA are doing for Hurricane Relief, here is the press release.

What is up with that awful Sampras commercial?

I have no idea, but it is a weird one.

The schedule of play for tomorrow just went up if anyone is interested. Seeing it in print made me realize that it is weird that they put Roger on at night again. I would think they would put Hewitt there. Has he had a night match yet this year? He against Dent would get mighty boisterous at night.

I think that CBS must have some say in the scheduling and what matches they want during their coverage block. It doesn't make sense that Hewitt/Dent and Williams/Williams would be day matches. I think Sharapova/Mirza is even a better one than Clijsters/Vento-Kabchi.

It also doesn't make sense that they would purposely schedule Roger for two night matches in a row. It seems like the lesser of the day's matches are at night. I thought they usually tried to put the best matches at night. That's why I believe that this was CBS' decision.

Loved the Federer vs. Santoro match and the Blake vs. Nadal. A lot of fun tennis from guys who compete hard but aren't total jerks. Blake and Nadal love to put on a bit of a show and it doesn't bother me at all. In fact, it's nice to see a little style out there. Try to remember that Blake doesn't control the CBS or USA mouthpieces. They love a great sob story and so they're doing what every media person does these days, they're milking it to death. In this case you can blame the messenger.
As for Austin? She is almost polite in the extreme and I can't say I've ever heard her say anything remotely catty, off-color or questionable. She's not someone out there to provoke ala McEnroe. She's out there being bland so you don't feel guilty if the sound is off.

I missed the first set of the Nadal/Blake match. Could someone give me a recap of the piece on Blake's fans? I heard later on Blake actually pays for their seats.

Saw the "Mojo" commercial. Was that a new one (i.e. post Andy's lost) or the original one? Either way it was stupid. And I do find it funny seeing Amex commercial pimping Andy when he lost.

Yup. I'll bet you're right. But Rochus is so much fun to watch and could give Roger fits. I would think CBS might like that. Do you think USA must be crying that they cannot get Williams/Williams?

Yeah for Malisse. . . now I, like John, am wondering why he wasn't chosen for the Davis Cup team. Of course, his year hasn't been so good up to this point and since the Rochus brothers are playing doubles. . . Bet the coach is cursing now. Oh, and I apologize to USA for thinking they weren't going to show any of it. Thank you for those games and tiebreak.

I'm completely tired of hearing the commentators talk about Agassi deciding to switch to Adidas because of the deal they made to give Andre's charity money. Yawn. If Adidas wants a commercial, buy some ad time and anouncers STFU. It will at least make me resent the Roddick/Mojo ad a little less.

I kinda liked the new Mojo commercial, it was a nice riff on the over the top press conferences. And yeah I think its post-Andy losing.

James Blake has said he has given his buddies guidelines (no cheering during serves, no badmouthing his opponents).

. . . which they don't follow. Of course, James followed up by saying that he isn't really telling them what they can do because they are having such a great time and he's so glad of their support. And really? As much as I would love for James to school them in good manners--they are adults and it isn't his job. Damn, because I really do like Blake (although the headband tan line should be a good lesson on why to wear a hat) and those dang blue shirts are leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

I don't mind the J-Block. If one of my best childhood friends were playing on Ashe against the #2 player in the world, I would be excited too. I also think they are pretty tame compared to Hewitt's crew.

I think the new mojo commercial is cute. AmEx put a lot of money in the campaign and I think they salvaged it well.

I am pissed at CBS. At least ESPN shows matches to their conclusion. I hate that they signed off at 6 before the Agassi match had finished. I hate it when they sign off before any match is finished. Why get us invested only to not see the outcome? If it were football or basketball they wouldn't have signed off before the end of the game. Such crap.

CBS, Why do you want to cover tennis and then not finish covering the game. WTF!

eta: pissed off = bad grammer and no sense.

Why did Ted say the the doubles players suing the ATP was "unbelievable?" I'm not happy we live in litigation nation, but all these decisions were being made without any say from the players and this is a way to put the issue back on the table.

While it doesn't seem odd to me that CBS stopped coverage at 6pm (they were very clear that USA would continue the match) there does seem to be more animosity between the two networks in regards to pumping the other's coverage. I think we are looking at the official separation of Viacom from any part (minority owner) of the USA Network and NBC "officially" taking over (as of 2004). The relationship between the two when it came to tennis used to be much better. Of course, John McEnroe is still allowed to be on both so I guess the relationship isn't horrible.

There really wasn't anything CBS could do. 5 p.m. news takes precedent over tennis. And to be fair, ESPN does this all the time (i.e. when they switch over from ESPN to ESPN2 during the majors).



Absolutely true. Why? Because football and basketball brings in more viewers and money than tennis. Its a sad fact but that's the reality. That's why FOX always lets its football games/post shows run over into its shows.

When Ted Robinson said "Well, the ONE redeeming quality of clay court tennis is (forgot the rest).....", I just had the urge to give him the ol' heave ho out of that commentator booth. What a horrible slight from him.

Not to mention what Ted said about Anabel Medina Garrigues (paraphrase): "Here's a question about depth in women's tennis. Look at this, a top 30 player with little resistence to Lindsay Davenport". Damn, he's so catty.

This is further arsenal into the why I like Nadal arguement. After the match he said:



He is a great kid as I have said. And I don't think this statement was meant to say that he was fantiasitc so Blake should be grateful for the win. If you ever read his full interviews (in particular those in Spanish or translated from Spanish) you can see that he has a real realistic and appreciative eye on all of his fellow players and the current standings of fellow players. I think that people who just see him in his outfits and whatnot may not realize what a classy guy he really is. Good luck to him next year.

Definitely. And even if was implying that, who cares? He's the second seed and the biggest story of the tennis season. This is a huge win for Blake and the rest of the world knows it. Why shouldn't Rafa?

I agree that everyone should read his press conferences, especially the ones in spanish. He says some stuff that makes you shake your head at how someone so young already has so many observations on tennis and life.

Could anyone provide links to some of Rafael's interviews? I'd love to read some of them.

Plus, how could you see this face and not feel even a little sorry for him? Aww, Rafa, you can come to Ohio State and enjoy some Buckeye hospitality!

VamosRafael.com had a section for interviews and chat transcripts.

After watching tennis nearly all day-some thoughts.

Tracy Wolfson is such an annoying interviewer-annoying voice and inane questions. Sack her.

I'm happy for James and I know it's not his fault, but even I could see myself getting sick of CBS and USA pimping his story into the ground. Admittedly its a great story though.

Davenport ain't winning this tournament.

Tommy Robredo is hot as hell.

Oh yeah, and Robbie Ginepri's arms are gorgeous.

The new Canon commercial with Andre and Steffi is cute and Steffi looks great in it.

That is all.

One thought-


Tommy Haas,
Amelie Mauresmo...


separated at birth???

Ha! I always thought Princess Stephanie and Mauresmo were separated at birth.

..and Blake's brother...damn...Oh, is there any way we can get Scoville's coach to sit in the friends' boxes during the remainder of the matches?

Oh, and as much as I don't like Nadal's outfits...umm, I believe I said he looks like a dancer on a cruise ship...he does seem like a genuinely nice guy.

Haas and Ginepri...can this match go on all night, pleeeeese?

Aw, that is so cool to hear!


I thought this was a definite? I believe USA has mentioned it in the past. The day matches when CBS is covering are always the pick of the litter.


My brother and I have a joke when we see Mauresmo, to do the Austin Powers voice and say "She's a maaaaan, babeee...." She does sort of have a man's face.


Although I've been a fan of Blake's since I saw him handle the Hewitt match and fiasco a few years ago with such class, I do feel bad about Rafa. But he just didn't play his best. It's a shame. The Haas/Ginepri match, which I assume was meant to be Haas/Roddick when life was good for the USTA, is turning out to be great.

Re: Sampras' commercial, I can't imagine that would make me switch to the Bank of Scotland. I wonder who thought this was a brilliant idea.

Lastly, I second all of LT's thoughts on outer courts over Ashe. I have no idea why ayone would go to Ashe during the day unless they a. had a luxury box or b. were sleeping with a tennis player or c. both.

Let's see ... match between a great Belgian shot-maker and brilliant Swiss number one versus a match with an American. Hey, I think CBS is gonna go with the American!

And I don't think USA is crying over not getting the Williams match because I don't think they thought for one nanosecond they would get it.

And I totally agree about little Tommy and Amie Haas-Mauresmo.

I wish McEnroe and/or Carillo had talked more about how the court surface was affecting Bam-Bam's game. There are such dramatic differences among hard courts, and I gather those differences go a long way to explaining why he could threaten Federer earlier this year, beat Agassi in Montreal but go out rather meekly today.

Wait, I'm watching Haas-Ginepri (another "nice looking", heh, match), and after they came back from commerical at 3-2 in the fifth McEnroe just said something about "it being scary out there." I think he means in the crowd. But I didn't hear what he said. Can anyone help?

I think I'd enjoy the matches more if the crowds were so obviously partisian, and I'm an American.

Tommy Haas is really quite good looking, and I was really rooting for him in this match. But alas no, it is great that the American men are doing so well, unfortunately for the American's, I think with Nadal out it's looking more and more likely that Federer will win it all.

I've always thought she and Federer resemble each other, although some friends of mine don't see it. He looks very feminine, with the long hair and eyelashes, while she looks mannish. They both have that very squarish face and jaw. His headbands are not an improvement over the ponytail.

James Blake played a great match today. However, I was very annoyed by all his fans. They were unruly and disruptive. I'm surprised there wasn't more moderation by the chair ump. Sometimes in hockey or other team sports, the home team will get penalized if fans continue unruly behavior like throwing things onto the ice. I don't know why the ump doesn't settle these people down. Actively rooting for double points? It's just disgraceful and unsportsmanlike.

I agree about Mauresmo. I know she's a good player and all but I've had trouble watching her matches because I always feel like she's on the wrong tour. I guess it's just cause she's strong and she isn't too feminine looking in the face. I love her serve and volley game tough all the while.

I think Haas/Ginepri may have been the best match of the tournament so far. I can't think of a better one off of the top of my mind right now. It was a very good day of tennis. Blake/Nadal was an exciting match and Haas/Ginepri was a real battle of attrition. Thank goodness we've finally gotten some good night matches at Ashe with Federer/Santoro and Haas/Ginepri. I can't remember the last even somewhat exciting women's night match. They always seem to be boring straight set affairs.

I've been going to the US Open for years, and I've never witnessed anything all that awful from American tennis fans. Maybe it's me, and maybe it's because I've spent much more time in the outer courts than in Ashe (and last year the matches I saw in Ashe were Venus/Davenport and Mauresmo/Dementieva). It might come off badly on TV, but I've never witnessed anything ugly towards foreign players in person. And I've been going there since I was in high school.



I really like Rochus as a player. He's this little undersized, squirrely little guy, but he puts on a great show. However, I think he has no chance agaisnt Federer. Personally, I hope someone can knock off Federer (although the guy who's played him the toughest recently, Safin, is out with injury).

I agree. I actually look forward to next year when Nadal most likely won't have to wear the Capris as sanctioned by Nike and maybe the comments about him will start to be beyond that. I also love his interviews- he has a good and sweet head on his shoulders in my opinion. He can sound very young and very mature at the same time. Here is another snippet from his post-match interview.



I've watched tennis my whole life and the last tennis player that I have felt such a quick affection for before Rafa was Guga. Just really like the kid and hope that really does well at the Aussie Open - which is Rebound Ace so he should do quite well.




Oh yes. He rather resembles Montgomery Clift I think.

Well, it would have been the perfect gesture had it come a little sooner, but better late than never, I guess. It looks as though Serena's going to auction off the now-infamous earrings and donate the proceeds to the Katrina relief effort: Read the article.

(The more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to cut Serena some slack. She's not a PR person and shouldn't be expected to assess all of the possible implications of her good-hearted gesture. Her pledge did strike me as somewhat paltry when I first heard her mention it, but I think her intent was sincere.)

I feel for the Blake, and was really happy for him today, but I don't recall even a remotely comparable amount of sympathy or latitude being extended Serena's and Venus's sister was murdered. (People are quick to raise the "she was only a step-sister" issue, but by all accounts they were sisters.) Venus and Serena were both off for months, ostensibly with injuries, and when they returned, all the commentators were talking about was how their games had slipped, and how they for weren't striking fear into the other players like they once did. And I would be screaming at my TV: "Their sister was MURDERED!!!"

(It was months after the Williamses' return that I heard JMac and (seemingly reluctantly) Mary Carillo acknowledge the toll that Yetundeh's murder might have had on the family.)

Grief and mourning take time, and you never know how they're going to affect a person. As far as I'm concerned, if Serena came away from her sister's death with a sense of "Life is short, and maybe I don't want to spend my entire life on a tennis court, maybe I want to go to parties, and be in a film and do some of those other things I've never had a chance to do," I certainly don't blame her.

I personally, wish that Serena would step up her game, but I can only hope that eventually she'll tire of being out of the top five and make some changes.

My condolences, Kiss My Grits And congratulations on managing to be valedictorian, in spite of everything. [small voice] I'll cheer for you, from a distance, if that counts for anything. [/small voice.]

You know, the way the bottom of the draw is shaking out, dear old Andre is ... shhhhh! ... looking like a not-too-crazy bet for the final. For the sake of interest in the game, a final with him in it would be awesome. And for the sake of ME, I hope his opponent is Federer, even though I'll be the one person in the tri-state area rooting for him. (Although I love Andre.)

And speaking of Roger, blackwing, it's time for a throw-down. You've been dissing my man too long, dude. Not your cup of tea? Fine. But feminine looking? The man has a strong jaw, strong chin, strong brow and strong cheekbones that are practically chiselled. And his ugly nose is reminiscent of the flattened, many times broken nose of a prize-fighter. If he ever has a daughter, well, I hope he doesn't pass those features on to her. (Okay, especially the nose!)

I for one won't be watching the Williamses' match. Their narcissism finally can no longer by offset by their charm for me. I will be happier for one fewer in the tournament.

Hewitt-Dent could be very entertaining, if it's not too hot, if it's not too humid, if Dent stays motivated for long enough, if, if, if ...

Whoever asked about the actor playing Andy's Mojo, is it possible he's reminding you of a less attractive Harry Connick? He is me. I think the "Andy Lost In The First Round Commercial" is a nice try, but no cigar. He bugs. Especially after having seen and heard him in the stands at Andy's match.

This is an excellent point. There actually has been surprisingly little commentary ever about the fact that their step-sister was murdered.



Have you noticed that in an odd way his mom and dad look like they could be siblings? Though the dad has the nose.

The bottom half of the men's draw is fascinating right now in my opinion. AA could make it through. So could Blake or Ginepri. Kinda hoping for Blake even though his J-Block are a bunch of rude tools. Ginepri, can't really take a liking to him- kinda leaves me dry- just doesn't seem to have that much upstairs. Or maybe this is where Gasquet will finally make his breakthrough. From what I have heard on the radio and read stats of Coria could do well as well. I wish tv would show more of Coria. I love watching him play, he is one of the most entertaining players to see on the court imo. You can always tell he has so much going on in his head. I know I may in the minority in my Coria love, but he is one of my favorites
[OT]KissMyGrits My condolences and I will cheer for you as well[/OT]

Nope. Don't see it at all. There is absolutely nothing feminine in Roger's face. Just look at his nose! It's huge! It's ugly!

I still think he's hot, though.



I actually heard Mary Carillo talking about this a few times, in the context of the W's not playing that well. I rather think that the media has been incredibly respectful about the whole thing. I personally wouldn't want to discuss my sister's murder publicly, nor want to discuss how that has affected my game. That's extremely private. Much more so, IMO, than my father dying of cancer.

That pretty much summed it up for me. I definitely think she could've/should've done something like this sooner (if she was going to make a public gesture), but she's never really struck me as a PR-savy person either. Especially after watching the V&S reality show, the sisters came across as sweet, if obviously sheltered.

jimena- I'm with you on the discussion of Yetunde Price's murder. It was addressed quite a few times when it first became public, and then respectfully laid to rest.

I think it all depends on the angle of Roger's profile - some angles look very good, and some are just ack!

Bottom Half-Predictions (men): James can easily blow Andre off the court, yet Andre's steadiness could easily frustrate James to the point where James' game breaks down (as it used to do early in his career). The winner of Robby/Richard Gasquet is probably going to be the other semi-finalist.

I agree. I think that commercial must have been put together very quickly, or else it would be more elaborate -- shots of the reporters, etc. I think there was only one cutaway?

But I think they handled it well. Was I the only one who watched that commercial and thought, "Andy's Mojo is gay!"? Just me? OK, then.

I enjoyed all the matches. I've been to the Open, and my friend and I wanted to go this year, but couldn't work it out. Now I'm kicking myself. We always go on the Labor Day weekend, because you can see so many great matches. But these would've been awesome to see in person!

Thank you so much shrunken violet for mentioning the near total commentator silence on Yetundeh's murder. The only time I've ever heard it mentioned was by JMac when Venus won Wimbledon this year. I won't begrudge Blake anything, but it is a little wierd that these two familial deaths are treated very differently, and Blakes father wasn't shot down in the street in cold blood.

hootythecat

We all thought the same thing at my house...but our's went along the lines "Andy's Mojo is a drugged out gay male prostitute?" That said, I think Andy has a good sense of humor to do the follow up ads. Can't imagine too many other players poking fun at themselves for losing.

Special note to Tracy Wolfson: It's WimbelDon, not WimbelTon.

Me too. His poor sad face! He looked so worried. As much as I wanted Tommy to win is as much as I wanted Ginepri to lose so that 5th set was another heartbreaker for me.

If, and I do mean if no matter what Courier and McEnroe are saying, Andre and James meet in the quarters we are looking at some violence in the crowd. Andre might not need full crowd support as James would so the crowd being split might work more in Andre's factor.

Oh, I think I know what was making Ted so cranky last night: by USA going on the air an hour early Ted didn't get dinner! Remember he snapped at John when the Andre match was over that John was going to be able to take a break for some dinner. Poor Ted was hungry (and broke since John keeps giving away his money).