As the commentators are quick to mention, Sharapova is a fighter. That's about the only thing I like about her. She's noisy and irritating. I also don't find her anywhere near as attractive as people say. Her skin is bad, her hair is stringy, and she's way too skinny. Based solely on appearance, she isn't anywhere near Kournikova's league. It was great seeing Kuznetsova kick her ass. She signed the camera "From Russia with Love." Heh.

I'm glad to see Kuznetsova playing well again. She may not be as pretty as some of the other girls, but of all the Russians (and a lot of top ten players) she has the most game. I hope she can continue to improve and build on her game. I like her a lot.

As for Sharapova, can't stand her. I liked her for a minute when she won Wimbledon, but that was it. I don't like her. I don't like her father. And I don't find her really attractive, nor do I think she is as good of a tennis player as people like Mary Jo would have us believe.

And I agree completely that Mary Jo should not be calling Sharapova's matches. She is so obviously biased, it is almost funny.

Saying "fans don't like Sharapova" is not the same thing as saying "no fans like Sharapova." I have always been a fan of Hingis, for example, but I know that in her first go-round, fans did not like Hingis, either.

I thought Mary Jo had a good point about Sharapova and her shoulder and how that might be affecting her play. But I thoroughly enjoyed Mary C calling bullshit on Mary Jo's contention that the stringy-haired shrieker thought Golovin had merely cramped up. (And I didn't know the fans booed her when she left the court!)

It sure didn't sound like they were to me.

They booed her as she left for the bathroom break, when she came back from the bathroom, when she was doing nothing while Golovin was being tended to, and at the end of the match. So it was all through the match and it was really directed at her. I wonder how much it rattled her today.

I don't like it when PMac calls Roddick's matches, and I don't like Mary Jo anywhere near Sharapova when she plays. I think the conflict of interests really get in the way of getting good commentary.

I don't like Sharapova, mainly because I really don't like her game and the hype that accompanies her everywhere. Her dad also creeps me out. She is a fighter, I'll give her that. But her fighting just makes me root for her opponent even more.

I'm glad Sveta beat her badly. It's about time Kuznetsova got out of her funk. She's way too talented to be the fourth ranked Russian.

I think, too, that the gang today didn't adequately explain about the crowd's reaction to the bathroom breaks the other night, especially the one in the second set after Golovin had turned things around. (I missed most of the first set today, so maybe it was covered then.)

For me, I have an automatic negative reaction when I feel like someone is being crammed down my throat - Sharapova, Roddick, Nadal to some extent - and it makes it hard for me to pull for them, even when emotionally I sometimes feel sorry for them (Roddick). These three also have personality traits I don't admire on the court (again, that's me, not them).

I feel the same way about American Idol...the pimped go automatically to the bottom of my "favorites" list!

I was so happy for Svetlana today- she really does seem like a very nice girl in interviews I have seen and it is nice to see her get back into her groove.

I had to giggle when Mary Carillo mentioned how much Svetlana likes music. About a year ago on some tennis website I read something about her Ipod list and the girl's got great taste.

Rios won his first seniors event- and how! For anyone who would like to take a peek at some of his play- you can see it here. I read that he would like to play some ATP tournies but has not been given any wild cards. Hopefully the way he decimated the field at Doha will inspire some folks to give him some wild cards at ATP tournies. I for one would love to see him in Monte Carlo or Rome.

I've felt that in the past couple of years, Agassi has up there in terms of being a player you 'must cheer for no matter what' according to the media.

I hate it whenever Brad or someone says things about Sharapova like "She's the most single minded player I've ever seen", or "She's the most mentally tough player I have ever seen at her age", or last week when someone, I think Brad, said "I've never seen a player just go about her business on every point no matter if they are winning or losing like Sharapova". Those kinds of superlatives just really grate. I find myself saying, "Wow. I guess Brad never saw Chris Evert play.

I mean she's good, no question. But she's not the second coming. And for all the talk that is made of Davenport's not having won a slam in 5 years, no one seems to mention that Sharapova hasn't even played in a slam final in almost 2.

So wait -- when the umpire watches this new "instant replay," is he just watching that CGI video the television audience is treated to at home? If so, how the hell can that be called instant replay? The referees in the NFL don't watch clips of Madden 06 when they're reviewing a call -- they watch actual footage. Whatever happened to the Mac Cam?

Did anyone see the men's semi-finals when Roger hit this amazing shot and the chair umpire gave him the thumb's up? I mean, it was an incredible shot, but the umpire should be a bit more neutral. The announcers commented on him doing it, like "even the umpire is impressed," but didn't seem to find anything wrong with it.

What a close (and sadly error laden) match between Luby and Federer, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6- and ends on a net cord- yikes! I was actually rooting for Ivan even though I am a Roger fan because Ljubicic has been playing so well this past year and I would love to see him get a Master's shield on his third try.

I wish they could have shown the trophy presentation but since they never allow enough time on their schedule for men's best of five set matches they had to cut away for golf. At least we got a mini interview with Roger. But I wish we had gotten chat with Ivan. He was so freaking gracious and sweet after his tough losses in Paris and Madrid (and this from a guy who is not always the most gracious by a long shot) that I was looking forward to what he would have to say after yet another really tough loss. I will be happy that the rest of the Master's tournies will be on the Tennis Channel (outside of Shanghai) because TTC shows the whole kit and kaboodle in terms of the trophy ceremonies.

I don't see anything wrong with it. I think it goes right along with the overall sportsmanship of tennis. As you said, it was an incredible shot! It's a bit like seeing an opponent acknowledging a great shot. It seems weird in other sports, but I love it in tennis (to a point).

On a related note, I like how the umpire gives the player his opinion before challenges.


Sharapova appears to be on the Roddick career path, huh?

As good as Maria looks, it hardly matters. If she's on men will watch.

So let me get this straight: The Chilean fans banged on the roof of Blake's golf cart as he was carried off after losing the marathon match yesterday?

Classless.

Where did you read that? I'm trying to find any mention in any news since it would have happened yesterday, but I guess Chilean fans aggressively harassing an American isn't deemed news.

Did they announce that in today's broadcast of the doubles? While I love how excited the Chilean fans get about their guys- they really can carry it too far- and yes sometimes with a lack of class. I know that a number of Argentine and Brazilian fans have had issues when they play in Chile during the South American clay court swing because supposidly the fans can be so over the top that it is really bad. They make Argentine and Brazilian fans look like they just do golf claps during matches and make it seem like the USO is the epitome of fan decorum.

But I don't carry the behavior of the fans towards my feelings about the Chilean players. I love Fernando Gonzalez and he is such a sweetheart to fans - one of the best players towards fans that I have seen in my years of following tennis. I met him Indian Wells once and he was really just so nice and fun. My sister-in-law got to meet him briefly after his Ro16 match at Wimbledon and said the same thing. Plus- shallow note- utterly goregeous, goregeous eyes. Large and an amazing grey, green brown thing going on. He is very nice looking in person...hee!

Speaking of doubles, I am suprised that Chile didn't play Gonzo and Massu today against the Bryans. I think with that decision Chile just threw out any chance they have to win this tie. I don't think that Massu has a chance of beating Blake tomorrow (and I would hate to see Blakey losing two in one tie.)

Is this the first time that OLN and The Tennis Channel have partnered during Davis Cup? I kind of wish instead of reating things on TTC that OLN had already shown that they would show some other Davis Cup ties. I am quite intersted in Croatia versus Argentina, for example. But maybe there are some systems that just offer TTC and not OLN and vice versa so that is why they are repeating matches. I think that Barry and Leif have done a good job commentating the matches. They are good in praise of all play- regardless of the country of the player.

The commentators seemed to agree with you, but I don't think they had any real choice. Gonzalez could've been looking at another 5-set match today and he has to play the early match tomorrow. The way I see it, the U.S. took a bigger gamble by playing on grass. Blake is currently one of the very best hard-court players in the world, so taking him off his best surface was a little surprising to me. I bet they'd have chosen hard if Roddick were having a better year.

I agree that the coach made the right decision. If Chile went into the doubles with a chance to clinch it, then it would have been a dumb decision, but in all likelihood Massu/Gonzalez would have lost to the Bryans, too, so why force them to play three best of five matches in three days?

Choosing grass against Chile was like Russia choosing clay against the US. It was a play not to bolster the home team as much as to weaken the visiting team, or in the case of Russia, to try to blunt Sampras. It didn't work then, but it should work tomorrow. The coach can talk a good show, and Gonzalez and Massu may be able to give Blake and Roddick some competition, but I think Roddick will win in three and the second match will be a dead rubber.

I read it on ESPN.com. I'd link but for some reason I'm having trouble with that site tonight. Apparently Blake complained afterwards about gamesmanship on the part of the Chilean coach (constantly complaining to the chair), Gonzales (taking several medical time outs) and called it bush league.

Which, you know, James isn't normally one to complain so it must have been pretty obvious.

The Chilean coach questioned a line call which would have given Mr. Blake two match points and the chair eventually gave in and overturned the call. It may have been bush league, but the chair also overturned a call that would have given Gonzalez match point, too--and the ball was well inside the line.

I couldn't believe Mr. Blake lost, but this court seems much slower than the courts at Queen's Club or Wimbledon for some reason. I'm not sire why. Mr. Gonzalez played a fine match, though, whatever Mr. Blake's sour grapes might be. When he is up 2 sets to none, he should be able to put the match away unless his name has suddenly become Novatna.

The France-Russia DC has been entertaining also. A very good doubles match on Saturday--far better than the Bryan brother's dstruction of the Chileans.

Whether or not Gonzales played a fine match is not the point. Taking several medical time outs and bathroom breaks et al during a match that one is losing has become a too commonly used tactic in the game for both men and women and I for one am glad that some are starting to speak up and comment on it. And Blake hardly has a history of sour grapes, he's known as one of the classier guys on tour so for him to speak up about it, for me anyway, is telling.

Taking medial time outs for serious injuries is completely understandbale. But how many times have players who had been on the verge of losing called for the trainer and taken a medical timeout, only to come out guns blazing and play near perfect tennis afterwards? I've seen Justine do this on a number of occasions, but I don't want to single her out. It just smells of gamesmanship.

Well- and Gonzalez is actually probably a better grass player than Blake. Remember he got the the quarters at Wimbledon this year where he played very well against Federer. Fernando is better on faster courts than slower courts most of the time.

And as for Gonzo taking a whole bunch of time outs and bathroom breaks- I really only saw one time where he took a break and that was for cramps. Yes- players do that too much, but like the fellows who commentate for the British feed of the Master's I think that you need to blame the rule- not the player. I do wish they would change the rules, but I have to say I didn't observe Gonzalez do anything like the infamous Djokovic timeouts versus Monfils last year or the Pierce full body massage thing that she did against Dementiava.

The Chilean coach did get riled up about a point that could have given Blake match point, but that happens in Davis Cup and the chair ump did not have to overturn the call. And like Tisha said, the chair also overtuned one of Gonzo's important points. The Chilean coach to me is still more subdued than some coaches, like for example, the Argentine coach last year when they were playing in Austrialia was having a constant dialogue with the chair.

Aaargh- they just did one of my pet peeves in ths DC match. In the third set, Gonzalez thought a ball of Roddick's was long. Leif and Barry acted like he thought it was wide and the tv angle they showed was to determine if it was wide or not. No, that was not his complaint.

Both Fena and Andy had some turd like moments in the third set. Fena was doing one of those exagerated checks at the line, and Andy was bitching when Goznzalez was thrown off during a ball toss. I like Andy as a general rule, but he can be an ass at times and I hate how he always has to put his two cents in and make those snide faces when his opposing player has a complaint to the chair. Andy- you complain a lot too- don't act all judgemental!

ETA- I just found out from another board that Andy said something along the lines of "What the F*** are you going to do about that" to Gonzalez after Andy hit a passing shot to get 30-40 and Fenas serve in the third game of the third set. Geeze Andy, why do you make it so hard to like you sometimes.

ETAA - And now Gonzo is acting off of his rocker- and acting like a real jerk. He unfortunately let the wrong call that created break point get to him. To repeat what I said about Andy, Fena, why do you make it so hard to like you sometimes. Oh yes- I remember- like Chesty- I saw you during a practice session - at Miami though- and you were very, very good with fans (and a cutie!)

As much as I like Fernando - I have to agree. He is behaving very poorly. Sigh... I was actually hoping for it to go to a fifth match of importance because I wanted Blake to pull out the win for the US- but it looks like it will be a dead rubber.


Congrats USA- should be very interesting against Russia- in Russia on clay. And I can't even wrap my head around what sort of hijinks we will see with Australia versus Argentina in Argentina.

Blah...Boo USA! Heh, I should defect :)

Wow. Mr. Gonzalez's behavior in this match was just awful. That intimidation tactic against the lineswoman after she called a ball good (and it wasn't) was beyond the pale. He suddenly struck me as the most run of the mill mysogynist imaginable.

Did anyone else have problems with the sound during the match? It seemed like the commentator's mics were way down during most of it, so I got lots of crowd noise and court noise, but very little from the booth. Not that I minded, really.

I didn't sleep well last night so I was awake very early (like at 4 AM on the West Coast) and I got to see the superb Gasquet-Tursunov DC match. Now THAT court seemed incredibly fast....

I thought his behavior towards the lineswoman was awful- but I didn't take it to having anything to do with her being a woman at all, I thought his crap behavior was aimed towards her as a linesperson, and not towards her being a female. I have seen male players act in similar ways towards male linesmen- so it did not strike me as being woman-hating behavior- just ass behavior.

I was disgusted by his behavior toward the lineswoman, too, but I don't think it had anything to do with her sex, which is required for it to be misogyny. I think it was plain, old, boring, ordinary asshole jock behavior. He'd have probably been just as assy if it were a man.

I only wish she'd sauntered over to the umpire like the woman did when Ljubicic said something untoward during the Madrid tournament. She swanned over, stood on the chair and tattled on Ivan while he stood there bouncing the ball. I thought it was funny.

I'm glad the US won because, well, I'm American and I really can't abide the S. American fans. Sorry. I know it's just a few bad apples that ruin the whole bunch, but inevitably there's a pocket of S. American fans who become so aggressive, whether their team is winning or losing, and they take the fun out of it. It's a game and players, be they American or not, should not feel threatened or harassed by freaking fans.

I realize mysogyny is only my interpretation of the event, but I thought--perhaps because of the way the camera framed the glaring and the way it showed a disparity in size, etc.--that it looked like gender played a significant role. I'd be happy to think I'm wrong and that he's just an asshole.

Not trying to get into anything big here- but South Americans are not the only ones who act badly during matches- not by a long shot.

For example- when Nadal played Blake at the USO- my friend who was there reported that several people called out "faggot" or "fag" to Nadal during the match (she was taken aback frankly...she has been to the AO, Wimbledon and a number of other tournaments and said that this was the ugliest and meanest fan behavior towards a player she had ever seen) and even if you watched it on tv you could see the amount of cheering and jeering that went on during Nadal's errors and serve faults.

I'm not trying to point the finger- and this is not an attempt for me of oneupsmanship- just saying that the finger should not just be pointed to one group of countries because you can see very ugly behavior from fans not just from SA.

I caught the Tennis Channel replay if the Roddick/Gonzales match, and it looked to me like Roddick said "What the fuck are you crying about?," which I really can't blame him for. It was a perfectly clean shot, and Gonzales was whining about the call. He and the Chilean coach argued what seemed like every single call in the match, and you could tell it was getting on Roddick's nerves. I only saw one obviously missed call that went against Gonzales, and the behavior y'all have already discussed here pretty much eliminated any sympathy I had for him on that. What a jerk.

While a hearsay example of bad behavior at the USO is quite valid, I'm sure stuff happens everywhere, even at Wimbledon and the AO, but it's one thing for a pack of drunken idiots to shoot their mouths off like a braying jackasses and quite another to physically intimidate or harass olayers. In tennis, S. American fans are far more likely than others, at least with regard to Davis Cup, to take their "cheering" several steps too far into the threatening realm.

Yes! This drove me nuts. I loved not hearing the announcers but the problem was they were low in the mix yet still there. So it was kind of like hearing someone whispering in the next room so that you can't hear what they're saying, just that someone's speaking.

Dudes! Where is everyone? Anyone watching Monte Carlo on TTC this week? Does anyone remember the name of the older British man doing the commenting? I really like him. And, good grief, does it look gorgeous in MC or what?

Gah, what was up with Safin and that damn chignon? There was probably one thing in the world that could make him look less than smoking, but, damn, if he didn't figure out what that one thing was and do it.

And, still in the shallow end, it really bugs me how big the crocodiles are on the new Lacoste shirts and caps. They look like broaches.

Bam-Bam's playing really well against Clement (who beat him earlier this year amazingly) and looking charmingly muscular. I've never enjoyed the clay court style, but he's just so darn appealing. I find it hard not to smile when I watch him play.

ETA - Any Brits/Scots out there who can answer this question for me? Scotland is part of the UK, right? And also part of "Great Britain"? Is it still truly kosher for someone to say Andy Murray is "from Great Britain" or call him a "Brit?" And do the same rules go for Welshmen/women? (Not that there are any top Welsh players that I can recall.) TIA.

I'm glad Petrova won the Family Circle tourney. I've liked her for a while. This was her second recent tournament win, after never having won at all, right? I started liking her after the Murphy Jensen TTC show with her. She seemed nice and intelligent. But I vaguely remember someone saying she wasn't so nice. Was that on this board? Anyone remember?

Waves....I'm here Harry!

I think the name of the older guy is John Mills or something like that. I really like him too- he seems like a fun grandfatherly type of fellow and he seems to have a real affection for a lot of the players.

I'm happy to have hours and hours of Masters coverage on my tv but gosh darn if the ball is not hard to see at Monte Carlo.

Have to agree with you about Marat's hair. What the hey? Is he taking hair tips from Gaston Gaudio? Speaking of which, I wish that the Gaudio/Jose Acasuso (who I think is adorable even if he does look stoned in a lot of pictures) match tomorrow -or I guess today actually- was on a televised court. Both have a good deal of talent, but both can be head casey. But if they are both on, it could be a real fun match. Of course Jose or more likely Gaston could just totally flake out and it could suck....

To continue with the theme of headcasey Argentines- I had to giggle when the announcers today called Coria's double fault where he was near the baseline or something "horrific." Yes, yes it was. But he got a lot better in the second set. And god help me- I know his tight blue shirt looks like something a lame superhero would wear, but I think it works for him. And of course, whenever he plays they have to show a lot of shots of his wife Carla. I think all the cameramen in tennis are smitten with her.

Nadal looks like he has become a little leaner and thinner. Still has muscles, but has lost some of the baby fat that used to be with his muscles and his rear looks smaller. I think I recall reading that after all of the wear and tear that his body suffered at the end of last year and the beginning of this one, his camp wanted him to lose a bit of weight to ease some of the wear on his body from playing.

Murray's total body breakdown was difficult to watch today. The boy has got to be in better condition. He has had cramping issues before, and I just hope it gets better as he gets older. But you don't see the other young guys like Gasquet, Monfils, Berdych, Rafa, Baghdatis etc. having such extreme issues (And Djokovic's issues at the infamous USO match last year were more respiratory )



She and Murphy have a great rapport together. I remember watching that and thinking that they may make a good couple. And I know that Murphy should bug me, but I think he does a good job of having a lot of the international players open up, and I really like him for that.

Chesty! Dude! Nice to see ya.

I actually just heard his name, but now I've gone and forgotten it again. (Senior moments so soon?) His last name begins with B. It's John Barnes or Barrett or Bennett. Some middle-of-the-road Anglo name beginning with B.

He and Jason Goodall (younger Brit, whom I am now able to identify by voice - yay me) just had an interesting exchange about Noah's kid who did so well in the NCAA basketball. I was surprised that a Brit like Goodall would refer to the "NCAAs" and know all about the tournament. He mentioned that Joaquin (sp?) Noah was the MVP. Then John B really surprised me by not knowing what MVP stood for. I can understand that it might not be a phrase that's used in non-American sports, but I would have thought being a sports broadcaster for many years he would have been familiar with the term.

Agreed.

Yesterday they showed portions of several matches on the second show court (Court of Princes or some such.) Is that where they're playing? If so, you've got a shot.

Muy interesante (as we say in Espana.)

The commenters were remarking on the contrasting styles of RN and Federer, how RN always has worked really hard every moment of his matches, even when he was a youngster. (I believe John B used the word "flailing" about the 16-year-old Bam-Bam, which made me smile.) I thought, as I have before, that his approach could lead to a shorter career than Federer's.

I wonder if anyone's done a study, formal or not, about the relative career spans of grinding versus fluid players. Agassi certainly has lasted a long time, but he had a fairly long hiaitus in there, and he's suffered his share of injuries. Sampras had the shorter career span of the two, but IIRC his body didn't break down on him. It was more a matter of waning desire.

Yes, both commenters mentioned that, particuarly that there doesn't seem to have been much improvement.

I'm glad someone else has a similar recollection of that interview. And I agree with you about MJ.

Ding ding! I think we have a winner...I am pretty sure that it is John Barrett. Okay we have the two British Johns, and then there is an Amercian fellow- can't recall his name. Oh well, I enjoy them all, in large part because as a general rule that don't talk over the points really unlike some of the coverage here.

Wished I had caught the talk about Joakim Noah. I wouldn't be surprised if they talked about it a bit at this year's French Open (of course for us that will be a US feed). He was there last year and I saw some funny pictures of him escorting Amelie to her courts.

Geeze- Coria's craptacular serving continues. 20 double faults in his win today...I am glad that I missed the first set and a half because it sounds so painful. Surprised that he was able to come back and very interesting that the announcers said that Paul Henri losing the match may do something similar to his psyhce that Coria's collapse at the 2004 FO final did to his. Though PHM has had a history of not being able to close out matches...so I think his psyche may have already been a little littered. lol.

Regarding the English commentators: Here is a post that I made at MTF last year

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
Originally Posted by khyber
Was watching the Labadze/Costa match and the two commentators (English, don't know their names) starting talking about how big Labadze was. They said he was built very solid and joked that the ATP stat of his weight was way too light. Then one of the guys repeated what a big guy he was and said that Labadze had "child bearing hips."

I almost fell off the couch laughing at that one.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here was someone's response:

The commentators were John Barrett and Jason Goodall. Jason said Irakli had child-bearing hips, to which John replied that he wouldn't tell Irakli that.
__________________

I've really enjoyed their commentary on TTC feed. You're right about them not talking over the action and I love the dry sense of humor

I'm pretty sure John Barrett used to do commentary when HBO showed Wimbledon and used the BBC feed for some matches. It was amazing to me how calm and unobtrusive the BBC announcers were. I loved them and they really fit with the whole Wimbledon aura, IMO. They are a far cry from the gabfests during most matches these days.

You know, I'm not sure that the TTC commentators actually speak much less than the US ones. I've noticed that they will occasionally not make any comment between points, which the US folks never do, but they still talk quite a bit. Also, they are just much more self-effacing in the way they project themselves when they do speak.

Nice quarters in Monaco, huh? Gaudio-Robredo, Nadal-Coria, Federer-Ferrer and Lubicic-Gonzo. The first two are good if you're a real clay-court fan, but the second two should be very entertaining.

Clay is definitely my least favorite surface to watch because, 1), the points are so much more often decided on errors, and, 2), they're so messy! I hate watching the players' socks gradually pack on all the grime. I always feel the need to shower after a match.

The younger commentators have been saying that Federer has problems timing his forehand on clay (which I remember from last year. But no one was mentioning that the venerated Federer Forehand was the shot to play). They were saying it is due to the unpredictable bounces, but I've also wondered whether it was a question of the sliding footwork. Any thoughts?

Also, Chesty, after having seen Bam-Bam's second match, I agree that he looks taller and leaner. It may just be that he's leaner, which leads to him looking taller.

Oh man. There's a Federer-Nadal final tomorrow and I don't have TTC. From what it looks like, they're both playing well. I think Nadal's the clear favorite, plus he does make Roger play below his level. I want them to play their best. Both of them. Their last meeting on clay was a disappointment, in terms of the level of tennis they played.

jimena, is there any way for you to watch it on the net?

Agreed about Nadal making Roger play below his normal level. I personally think it's a psychological adjustment that Roger has to make in order to deal with what Bam-Bam can do to hurt him.

I wonder if Roger has studied James Blake's success against BB. JB hasn't played him on clay, of course, but handles him remarkably well, and Roger certainly can do everything Blake can.

With all due respect to Nadal, I think it's fairly simple. Federer presses too much due to Nadal's great speed. OTOH, Blake has managed to stay aggressive without making too many errors—something Federer has no problems doing against everyone except Nadal. Finally, the one area Blake has an advantage over Federer is speed, which is pretty important in this matchup.

I'd have loved to hear the commentators give their thoughts on the final. Despite his record, I wouldn't call Nadal the overwhelming favorite. Contrary to what he said, I think the best-of-five aspect might help Federer to work his way into the match.

During today's Gaudio/Nadal match, one of the commentators said of Gaudio, "He's got a big temper and a small heart." Pretty brutal, but having watched Gaudio just tank matches over the years when he no longer cares, no longer thinks he has a chance, or just when he's temporarily lost his mind, I guess I have to agree.

Yes, that is what I meant above when I said that I think Federer's big adjustment will be mental. He seems to blow an incredible number (for him) of put-away shots against Nadal. He basically has to keep himself confident no matter how many "extra" shots Nadal makes you hit. It's an adjustment he certainly can make.

How confident are you that's the case, Distant? I find it hard to judge speed on a tennis court, at least when you're talking about a bunch of players who clearly are really, really fast. In the women's game there was no question the Williams sisters were simply faster than everyone else. But I think the current men's players are hard to differentiate among.

There are a couple of elements to what I consider speed on the tennis court: pure footspeed, quickness off the mark, and agility when running (so that there's a good shot to be made at the end of the sprint.) To me there's only one clear winner in any of these categories, and that's Federer in the third category. It's amazing how he can keep his head and upper body still as he sprints and bends.

Nope. I'm currently on dial-up. Sniff.

You know, I don't think Blake is faster than Federer. I think one thing might make Federer look slower: he seldom looks rushed, so his speed is kind of stealthy.

Don't think anyone answered this yet, so I'll give it a shot. 'Great Britain' officially includes England, Scotland and Wales. However, 'Great Britain' is often used synonymously with 'United Kingdom', which officially includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 'United Kingdom' is shorthand for 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' anyway, so 'Britain' can be used to mean either 'Great Britain' or 'United Kindom'. Most Brits use all these terms pretty much interchangeably anyway, so as long as you understand that they all encompass England, Scotland, Wales and probably Northern Ireland, that's fine.

Anyway, in regards to tennis, Tim Henman's English, Andy Murray's Scottish, and Greg Rusedski's Canadian (unless he's winning a lot :) ). That's why you never hear Murray complain when journalists call him 'British' - because he is - but when they call him 'English' he gets annoyed. And yes, the same would apply if there were any decent Welsh players - being called 'English' would piss them off but being called 'British' instead of 'Welsh' would still be perfectly accurate.

Thanks, Richyyy. For some reason, I was pondering that point again today and hoping someone would finally answer.Okay, another question. Would a British journalist ever make this mistake? Or are you talking about non-Brits? IOW, are these terms/distinctions known by basically any native of the British Isles?

Okay, now a French question. John Barrett has referred twice to Nadal as Federer's "bete noir". (Sorry, I don't know how to do that circumflex thing in "bete".) Literally, it means black beast, right? But I always thought in actual use it meant more of a "pet peeve" than "nemisis", the way JB clearly means. I get the feeling JB actually speaks French, so he's almost certainly right. But still, French speakers? Anyone? TIA.