I think that's a good point. Malisse gets a much better reaction than Berdych because they like his style. Berdych didn't really have a prayer though. Going up against Agassi AND bitching left and right about line calls? Not going to endear you to the homer fans.

Joachim's reaction I comapre to Robredo's, where the crowd is so invested in "their" guy that they can't bear to cheer him getting beat. Again, I don't see anything wrong with that. I expect fans to root, root, root for the home team, as it were.

They keep talking on the radio about Gasquet's elbow and I hope that it does not affect the outcome of the match.

Looks like we will get to see some of the 5th set on CBS. But if it still going on after the half hour I hope they don't cut it off some Jimmy Kimmell or an informercial.

We've got like 10 minutes. Hopefully we'll get to see the fifth set. CBS better show this! I can't believe because of USA's stupidity I missed another great five setter. I mean it was an American player too.

Drat! I was dying to see the Pierce/Henin-Hardenne match, and have been stewing all evening because my crappy sports network chose not to air the night matches this evening. (I was so pleased when Pierce made it to the finals of the French this summer, especially after all the injury time-outs that she's had.) As it turns out, this evening's tennis coverage left a lot to be desired on all fronts, and I have a lot of company in my disgruntlement.

Well, sounds like by the time we actully get coverage Richard has just faded out. A shame.

I HATE my CBS affiliate! I don't want to watch Access Hollywood, bitches!

Thanks CBS....unfortunately it's too little too late I think. We missed the best part of the match.

Thank you, CBS. Although 5-0 in the decider -- didn't expect that.

Damn, Richard's elbow crapped out it seems. CRAP.

Yay, we finally got coverage. Unfortunately we get to see the one uncompetitive set of the entire match. Gasquet just ran out of gas, the dude could barely move during the final set.

Ginepri really is like one of the most boring tennis players on the tour. No charisma at all, but I must congratulate him on his win.

As for the quarterfinals, my picks are: Coria over Ginepri and Blake over Agassi. I can totally see James Blake making it all the way to the final. Depending on his opponent he may actually have a shot at winning.

And Tommy Robredo is very hot.

What a great result for Robby! Maybe Roddick will be "injured" so PMac has to play both James and Robby.

Gasquet reminds me of Jeremy Sumpter.

It's been fantastic, I admit. Of course, one always wants more but I can't find a ticket anywhere for tomorrow night so I will miss the Nalbandian/Sanguinetti match which has a 0% chance of being shown on TV.

Ha! Where did this come from?

As others have said, the difference is Ashe vs. Armstrong. The matches in Armstrong (and the Grandstand and outer courts draw a much more "tennis" and less "vacation" or "corporate" crowd.

PS, oh yeah... fuck you, USA Network!

Is it just me, or does G. Coria really look like a dark haired version of Heath Ledger.

P-Mac is quite the shameless flag waver sometimes. I guess we can give him one tournament a year to do his thing...

Coria always gets himself into ridiculous matches of words - first Hewitt, now Massu (not to mention Agassi earlier in the year in Rome, I believe).

Thank you Rich Eisen for saying P-Mac is full of vinegar - YES!!!

Yes. And god help me but I still really love watching him play- he is just into the match so much and so animated between points. He is a true little stinker (hey can see the Ledger resemeblence) but one of my favorites. The Hewitt/Coria Davis Cup match had bad behavior from both sides, but it was also one of the most intense matches I have seen in a while which was exciting. I guess that is what I like about him- his intensity and the fact he just seems to care so much. His thing against Agassi was bad but if I recall correctly, Massu has rattled a few players himself. But yes, Coria is a stinker, but still like him.

PMac and Rich seem to have had fun with the Massu/Coria war of words.

"You talking to me?"
But actually, he did seem to be saying that.

My favorite line so far has been from J-Mac, regarding Santoro. "He actually has x number of wins against Federer. Of course Federer was eight at the time."

The men's quarters have the potential to be very interesting. Blake vs. Agassi; and Federer vs. Nalbandian (assuming they both make it to the quarters) could be quite explosive. Nalbandian is one of the few players on tour that have a winning record against Federer, and I believe he took out Federer in the R16 two years ago.

Well, it looks like here on the west coast we get none of the completion of the match. I kept looking for it on my Directv guide, but none to be found. How utterly ridiculous. I know somebody mentioned that CBS has exclusive rights during some time period so they can air their wrap-up show. But if they don't want to run into this problem again, then maybe they shouldn't plan for these matches to run past 11 pm. Why not just one match a night?

I saw Coria shouting at Massu, but what was the argument about? I didn't quite catch it in time.

Okay, I'm really loving Jim Courier. I loved him liking tennis having genuine bad guys in Coria and ... someone else. He mentioned him earlier in the week. Does anyone else remember? I don't think it was Hewitt, The Usual Suspect.

And, speaking of villains, I agree with what JMac said during the Nadal-Blake match about Hewitt and Nadal's fist pumping and "Come ons/Vamos's." Even if it's gamesmanship and not the nicest thing in the world (as in Hewitt's case), get over it professional athletes. It's not that bad. And I think it's more a matter of pumping himself up than trying to upset the opponent. I think it's more innocuous than trying to get the crowd on your side, for instance.

Hewitt was the guy who got spit at, right? LOL.

Here's the thing about fans in Arthur Ashe stadium: the people you are hearing are clueless to actual tennis. There were plenty of people cheering for both X and Tommy, but that stadium is so massive you only hear the obnoxious loudmouths who don't know anything. If they did, they would know not to delay an Andre Agassi point by screaming his name. He wants a fast-paced match and doesn't want to slow it down because of crowd noise. These are the schmoes who want to hear their own voice.

I would bet good money USA had absolutely no say in having to leave that match. When both USA and CBS had Viacom in common USA would stay with any night match until CBS took over at 12:37. As a matter of fact, I remember, very fondly, when USA would go on at 11am and, because of matches running long, would not go off until CBS took over for the late late night. I think complaints to CBS are more in order than to USA.

As for Courier's sense of humor: I watched him practice last week and the man voiced a constant stream of self-deprecting comments the entire time. The guy is funny.

Watched Kuznetsova practice yesterday and when she speaks Russian she isn't nearly as guttural.

The super tie-break in the third is only in mixed doubles (for now) and it was like that last year as well. The chair umpire never explains it to the crowd so there is a lot of head scratching when "1" goes up on the scoreboard after the first point.

I'm tivoing this morning just in case they show Max and Jonas but I'm not holding my breath. The stands were quite full yesterday for their match against Lopez and Verdasco. . . but that could have been because of the sheer volume of good-looking on that court.

Could it have been Robin Soderling? He is known to be a pretty rude and moody guy. And, wouldn't you know it, he and Coria had some issues during their match earlier this week.

His odd French accent from last night aside, I usually really do like Jim Courier. He can bring the snark- but is also quick to turn the snark on himself as well.



The hotnosity must have been blinding. I Tivoed as well because if they don't show Max on Ashe they will show Verdesco/Jarkko on Armstrong. Win, win situation for me.

I remember JMac making a lot of comments about Rafter's good looks and warm personality. I think he's got a bit of a man crush on Nadal, it's cute.

It's been a long time since I've watched two worst commercials then Andy's Mojo and hairy Sampras recalling his glory days. Sorry Pete, I don't care how many slams you won, you're still boring and obnoxious.

That's exactly what I thought last night as USA signed off. Poor Robbie, can't get any respect. And poor us, no Gasquet backhand to admire. In general I've always appreciated USA's coverage, but after having the Tennis Channel I'm now spoiled because they would never have stopped coverage and everytime James Blake plays I wouldn't be subjected to the whole "up close and personal" thing.

CBS's coverage really annoyed me yesterday. During the Agassi/Malisse match, during the game where Malisse broke back in the first set, we saw no tennis. Instead it was shots of Steffi and Andre's son and everything but tennis. Save that for the featurettes between matches. I tune into tennis to see tennis.

What is Coria's problem anyway?



In addition to Massu, who appeared to be no prize himself, Coria apparently has had disagreements/feuds with Hewitt, Nalbandian, and others. Is he just touchy or a genuine prick? OK, I can understand Hewitt getting on someone's nerves, but if one person has a beef with so many other people, I start to suspect that the person with the beef is the real culprit.

I like Robby Ginepri, but that's because I like that style of play. I always loved watching Michael Chang, even though most people thought he was about as exciting as watching paint dry.

And big props to Mary Pierce. She'd never beaten JHH, so in effect she had to beat two players -- JHH and herself. Good for her for steadying herself. I thought she looked relaxed and just enjoying playing well and injury-free. I saw a lot of smiles and appreciation for JHH's good shots, which is something I wasn't seeing from the other side of the net.

Actually, I think that Coria and Nalbandian actually get along pretty well. I know that Gaudio and Coria, however, do not get along at all. In that feuld it seems to be Gaudio is the one who is vocalizing his dislike. Coria does seem to run into issues with fellow players more than most.

In regards to Coria- he is a piece of work. He can be very sensitive to what he perceives as his fellow players being disrespectful and yet is not an angel on court by any means. He almost never speaks English during his interviews (he has said it is because he wants to be sure that he says exactly what he means) yet seems to understand English near 100%. He still seems to be a little shaken by his suspension earlier in his career. (To clarify, he was suspended for taking a banned substance; however, the ATP found that in all likelihood Coria did not willingly take the banned substance but rather was given a vitamin by a trainer that Coria did not know had the substance.) The fact that he is now really strict about what goes into his body may have contributed to his cramps at the French Open last year because he is scared to drink sports drinks now.

For all of his touchiness and shady shenanigans, he can also be really goofy and fun on the court and quick to mock himself for flubbing. He is a character for sure. I can see why people don’t like him, but I like him myself and think that he is one of the most interesting players out there.

I was actually there for the full Blake/Robredo match, and the crowd being dead in the beginning had nothing to do with Robredo. Even Blake, with the exception of his little fan club, wasn't getting all that much cheering from the rest of us. It was right after the Agassi match, and a lot of people left (probably to check out the women's matches in Armstrong). It wasn't 'til later 'til it started getting packed again (and when it did, Robredo got plenty of cheers at his good play, at least from where I was sitting -- which was, admittedly in the nosebleeds).

Good win for Blake, and I was really happy for him. Robredo is a good player, but he just kind of broke down mentally whe Blake stepped up his game -- he had set point in the second and then dropped off the face of the earth. BTW, I finally got that the JBlock is essentially New York -- they're like if you were watching a Yankee game and could hear all of the stuff the Bleacher Creatures were yelling (although they're much more PG rated). And yes, I say this as someone who roots for the "goddamn Yankees" ;).

I also saw the Coria/Massu match on Armstrong ealier -- sat through all four and a half hours and it was painful at times. Coria's second serve is as awful as Dementieva's usually is. The jawing was pretty amusing. Coria was pissed off at a call, Massu got annoyed, and then they got really pissy at each other (so much so that on the changeover, tournament officials had to separate them). If Massu had held up physically, he probably could've won the match, as Coria spent most of the time beating himself (he double faulted 20 times).

And no mentioning yestday night's football game. I'm still trying to block it out (I'm an alum -- and hadn't seen my team lose yet to FSU. Stupid rebuilding year).

I don't remember whom he mentioned, but I know that Stepanek is not well liked at all.


Something tells me Coria is still pissed about losing the French Open final.

Stepanek is not well liked because he constantly mocks the other players while on court - not good.

the USA Producers are HILARIOUS - obviously they think the most interesting thing about the Neimenen/Verdasco match that's on right now is Feliciano Lopez in the friends box - hee hee.

Awww, I guess that means they aren't showing doubles. It was a fool's wish. Well, like Kiss My Grits, I'll be perfectly happy watching that match as well (but if Max had beat Neimenen then I really would get to see him on tv).

I've just finished watching the Mirnyi/Bjorkman match. Spoilered in case:

Max and Jonas won. Straight sets in 4 and 3. It was pretty routine. Suk and Vizner were up a break in the very first game, but once M & J had broken back, it was easy. There was a nice moment in the second set with a Vizner and Suk service game going to 10 deuces before they won it. Much to their delight and cheering like they'd won the set. But Max and Jonas are thorugh to the semis!

Covering the match were a pair of commentators i've not heard of, and hope never to again. It was as if they were watching a tea party, and were in their own little world. At one point a set point was over turned, to replay the point and they were completely lost. Had no idea what was going on. It's wonderful having the choice of 5 different courts to watch, but jeez.. i think i'd rather no commentary than a useless one.

AUGH, no, they're doing Hewitt and Hrbaty too. Damn it.

Were you there, or did they air the match? Oh, as much as I hope you are there and are enjoying yourself, please tell me you watched it on TV.

If I recall correctly, wasn’t Andy Murray really vocal about how much he disliked Radek after their Wimbledon match.

Gosh- sounds like Verdasco is just shooting errors left and right. I like him because he can have a really nice game but he can be so frustrating because he can turn around and have matches where he is just in an error-frenzy. And error-laden matches are crap to watch imo.

No, not there, LT. Not such luck.

But over here in the UK, Sky Sports (Rupert Murdoch. Booo!) cover the US Open and they do give us pretty good coverage. We get about 5-8 courts of coverage at any one time.

(Just as i wrote that, they changed to showing only the main show courts. Jerks!)

JHH seemed a little dazed during that match. What was Pierce talking about when she said during her post-match interview that JHH wasn't feeling well? I know she had that viral thing last year, but I thought she was over that. She hasn't seemed under the weather or injured during this tournament or in Toronto. I was kind of dissapointed that Pierce was minimizing her win like that, I thought she was playing well.

On si.com this morning, Richard Deitsch posted an article about Lindsay Davenport that included this gem:



We really don't need people out there encouraging the networks that all we want to see, all the time, is American players. What a jack*ss.

si.com

You are so right. What part of a blowout is "television-friendly?"

Oh well, Dorkgirl, I'm glad some people got to see the match. . .

Courier's snarking is so great. This might be the quote of the day from him on Hrbaty's holes in his shorts: "I guess we've answered the question boxers or briefs when it comes to Dominik Hrbaty."

Maybe by "television friendly" they mean "quick and easy to film"


I laughed the first time they showed that shirt, and whoever was calling the match at the time said something like "All of a sudden I don't want him to win anything anymore"

JHH has had a recurring hamstring problem after her win at Roland Garros. The virus she contracted last year (CMV) has symptoms that are a lot like mononucleosis and can be a recurring thing. There are quite a few people that take years to recover. It's like chronic fatigue syndrome.

So is Hrbaty wearing the hideous shirt again?

That SI guy is a real jerk. So we missed one game of Lindsay’s match when CBS dared to show a snippet of a match featuring players from South America. I guess since I like watching Coria I need to renounce my US citizenship.

I hate this attitude that the networks should just show all US, all the time. Or failing that, and if no US player is playing, all number one, all the time. And of course- Sharapova forever. Forget it if entertaining matches may be going on elsewhere- if the players don’t have US passport- they should not show them so that CBS can show every game of a blowout match featuring an American or Maria.

I really miss the attitude and coverage regarding tennis when I was a kid . I grew up watching for example, Wimbledon on HBO and they used to show the most entertaining matches- nationalities be darned. And there seemed to be an attitude that while the public and the media cheered for US players of course, we were also able to be fans of and appreciate players from other countries. Those were the salad days.

Lucky you. I had Bud Collins, pre-cable. OTOH, since it was during a cycle of American dominance so no flagwaving was really necessary, Collins was also interested in the nationalities of other players and always gave them generous notice. I learned more about Argentina from watching tennis than listening to my high school teacher.

Everytime one of the commentators mentions that Lleyton may be headed toward a semifinal showdown with Roger Federer, I mentally replace the word showdown with beatdown and giggle like a banshee.

Does anyone know how old Lleytons' wife is? Underneath all that make-up and tacky jewelry she actually looks really young, like teenager young. And I can't believe that this time last year Lleyton and Kim were still together and now he is married and expecting a baby.

Well, to be fair, the match at 1-0 (which was when they started showing Lindsay's match) wasn't a blowout yet and nobody would have predicted Lindsay would steamroll Dechy like that. Particularly when she was 2 points away from beating Lindsay in straight sets in Australia.I was annoyed, frankly, that they didn't show Lindsay's match from the beginning but rather joined it in progress. They never would have done that to Sharapova, or the Williams Sisters. Lindsay is the #1 player in the world. You show her match from the start, and if it becomes an obvious blow-out then by all means, switch to a more competitive match and show that. But to join her match in progress just seemed disrespectful to me.

I wish someone would talk to Enberg about his boy-crush on the Agassi/Graf marriage. I'm glad they are happy and I'm glad Dick is happy they are happy, but it's their marriage to discuss, not Dick's.

Or Andre's kids!

And, word Hippy Joe!

I just read an article saying she is 22 and he is 24.

Catching up from a long weekend's worth of watching. Reading the last 20+ pages was like living it all over again.

That Jaden Graf Agassi is one cute kid. He's only 4, right? It looks like he's lost a top front baby tooth already - that's advaced. Does anyone know if he's picked up a racquet yet? I loved when his little head popped up and stared right at the camera towards the beginning of Agassi's match yesterday.

Was half of Blake's face really paralyzed due to shingles like they keep saying? I had Bell's Palsy as a teen, and half of my face was immobile, but it wasn't paralyzed. If someone touched it, I could feel that they were touching it, I just couldn't make it move on my own.

I think Blake vs. Agassi will be a fun match to watch, but the crowd won't know who to cheer for. Fingers crossed they just applaud the good shots and go with the momentum.

Damn, that McEnroe interview of Federer was perfect! I love how he's so collected on the court (usually) yet so charming and charismatic off of it.

According to the accounts I've read, yes, it was the zoster virus that caused Blake's facial paralysis. The doctors told him that it was almost certainly brought on by the stress of his tennis accident and his father's death. There was a chance that the damage to his nerves might have been permanent (which evidently happens in some cases).

It is going to be very hard to know who to root for in the Agassi/Blake match. I love Andre and respect so much what he's done the past few years on and off the court. But, Blake's personal story is wonderful, too. I just hope it's a great match.