Yeah, but let's just charitably say that Ljubicic's record on finals could be better. He chokes really really badly, really really often on important matches, except Davis Cup. A pity, because he should have a much better record than he has on finals.

I read the Dubai court was slow. And Montreal is not a fast hard court either.

I like the way you think, but I don't want to tempt the gods.


Nadal served at over 80% in the Rome final, and he was on the verge of losing. That, IMO, should be very encouraging to Roger.

Three of the matches were played on hard courts. Miami is slow but I haven't heard anywhere that Dubai is. Weren't people talking about how it meant he had Fed's number on hard courts as well? Anyway, it's not Rogers best surface but it isn't Rafael's either. It's obvious Rafael is in Fed's head and I think this last loss, where he was so close to winning but still couldn't pull it off, will affect him a lot.

Rafa's really bringing out a bad side of Roger. Those "one dementional" comments from a little while ago were really low and now he's accusing Toni Nadal of coaching during the match. Meanwhile, Rafa's been nothing but complementary. Well, until Sunday when he said Roger behaved badly. And it's hard to blame him. Roger never gives Rafael any credit for his wins.

But it is not a slow hard court- I have heard it described as medium -not slow. So therefore, I think that win showed that Nadal's success is not just limited to clay or slow hard courts. I have heard so many different speeds listed for Dubai that I frankly have no idea.


The whole remarks after the match on Sunday I think showed that there is some more pressure on these guys as there is increased intesity on the focus of their matches.


I am a fan of Federer but I was a little surprised by some of his actions on Sunday, including circling the wrong mark for the umpire to look at. (Nadal hit a ball that was in and Federer circled the wrong mark, which was out) and making the ump get down to check way more balls than usual. I am not damning Federer, I still think he is a great guy. But he definately was more peevish than usual on Sunday and also that he could have phrased his one-dimensional comments a while back differently- I thought they came off as quite dismissive..

Roger was much more vocal this time as well- but I had no issue with that at all. I actually enjoyed it. :) He even cheered some of Rafa's UE's, which I didn't mind...because I think that (like Nadal) the cheering was more internaly based as opposed to external.

As for Toni coaching, I have no idea. He does jabber during matches, but who knows what he is saying. I seriously doubt that Federer does in all honesty becasue I imagine that Toni is speaking Catalan. I do think that Toni needs to shut it. I don't think that Nadal even hears what he says anyways because he always seems to be seen in the zone. Still, Toni- if people don't know what you are saying and you are jabbering away- people will think the worst- and I can understand why Feds may have. But I do think that if Roger had worries he should have brought it up to the umpire and not have yelled at Toni during the match and then brought it up for the first time during his press conference.

I also think that Nadal maybe shouldn't have said anything about Roger afterwards, but I imagine that since he first heard about Roger's remarks along the lines of a radio show announcer saying "Did you hear what Roger said to/about your Uncle Toni?" that he was taken aback.

I am not trying to start a flame war at all between the both camps (like there is on MTF- sheesh). I just think that it has been intense lately and both guys did a couple of things that were more out of character. I still really like both and think that both are classy guys who, as the focus on their play gets more intense, may be reacting to some of the pick and bait aspects that are going on by the media.

On to other things, besides Roger/Rafa.

Did anyone catch Keifer's shirt at Hamburg? I have just seen pictures of it, but it is very unsual. It is tight green football (soccer) style jersey along the lines of the Hanover with his name and the number 69 on the back. Hee! Haven’t been able to catch any of his matches yet on TTC but I would love to hear John Barrett’s thoughts on his attire.

But the point is that they've never played on a surface that favors Roger over Rafael. Not counting Dubai, because there are some doubts about its speed, all of their matches have been on surfaces that favor Nadal.

The way the Safin loss affected him after the Aus Open last year? Roger doesn't forget, but he tends to get over things quicker than his fans do.

Well, he kind of does coach Nadal. Other people have been called for coaching for doing less than Toni does. I don't know what he's saying, but he's very annoying.

You know who was also annoying? Larry Pasos, Guga's former coach. I loved Guga. Larry? Not so much.

And frankly, the one-dimensional comment snafu was way out of proportion, IMO. AFAIK, Roger was trying to explain why he keeps losing to Nadal, and he was puzzled in a way because Nadal is one-dimensional. I agree with him. Nadal is pretty one-dimensional in that he is not an all court player. That that dimension gives Roger fits, is another story all together.

I'm already expecting to be completely nauseated by the FO coverage, the hype surrounding these two, and the way the media is going to be pushing the Nadal-is-getting-Roger-to-be-an-ass idea. I might have to avoid the audio at all costs.

Clay is definitely Nadal's best surface.

Grass is Federer's which is why I suggested they play a series on Roger's best surface and see where the head to head lies.

I'm not saying I think Roger is head and shoulders above Nadal, but I think some folks are writing Roger off too quickly in this rivalry and that is foolish to me. And no I am not referencing anyone on these boards when I say that. More comments I've seen on other message boards.

Just saw this pic of a very young and very blond Roger Federer. Just had to share.

That SportsCenter ad with Rog really is too cute for words.

The repeat of Hingis/Venus just finished on TTC. Go Chucky, nice comeback!

Well- I thought that Stapenek could end the Curse of the Black Widow (he is dating Hingis and for some reason that does not bode well for the results of her boyfriend at the time). But at least he made it to the finals of Hamburg- though he played pretty bad once he is in it.. I was annoyed that TTC did not show his runner up speech. Radek is not my favorite by any means, but I would have liked to hear his speech and I don't like it whan TTC cuts into the trophey presentation feed. I always like to hear both players' comments.

Still- happy with TTC overall this week and am looking forward to the Hingis/Safina match. A win would be so important to either of them. I am actually rooting for Safina, I really became fond of her when she played doubles last year during Fed Cup. And it would be nice for her to have a great week since her brother Marat did not.

Congrats to Tommy Robredo for his win today! He had great form all week and nice to see him solidify his top ten status with a big win. Now, I just wish he would get a haircut. He is so nice looking but his current hairdo looks like it is trapped in the year 1983.

Congrats to the wonderful Ms. Chucky for the first title since her retirement. She is a diva.

So Hingis and Stepanek, huh? It's kind of sweet that Martina seemingly is drawn to homlier guys. (I'm only saying that because she dated the golfer Sergio Garcia, who's also a bit of a pudding face.)

And brava to the returning diva Chuckie on her first tournament win.

Good for Chucky! Although she's currently third on my list players I wish would have a successful comeback (behind Seles & Capriati), I'm still pleased she's winning.

Oh Jeebus. Rafa Nadal was so cute on Center Court.

Granted - his answers didn't tell that much but you could tell how much he was trying to answer them in Enghlish (his third language). He was very cute. Adorable. One thing I don't understand is that this interview was very old- from the USO 2005- took them a while to play it.

And for those who see that and then will decide that Rafa's interview in his third language is the end all be all, I recommend you listen to or read his interviews in Spanish, he is a lot tennis brighter and brighter in general than what you can discern in his English interviews- he actually has a very good (and cheeky) sense of humor.

Speaking of interviews, check out this one Roger gave to a radio station (translated from swiss german) very insightful, and a lot of good laughs too. He rocks.

Regarding the nadal interview, commendable of him to do the interview in english, it's what foreign athletes have to do if they want to market themselves in america anyway.

RG 5 days away. Yay! *prays for decent coverage from the self anointed 'grandslam network'*

Oh, does this mean we (who don't have TC) will finally get some tennis coverage? I'm gettin' real pissed off about this. Hingis vs. Venus Williams, and I didn't get to see it.

Yes it does. Here's hoping they don't botch the coverage by putting it all in the middle of the night, or in the middle of the day. Please televise something during a time when I'm home and awake!

If you're looking to watch a Venus/Hingus match though, if it's going to happen at all it can't happen until the finals. The draws have been posted and Venus is in the top half with Mauresmo, Kuznetzova and Safina, while Hingis is in the bottom half with Clijsters, Dementieva, Petrova and JHH. Although the bottom half looks a little bit heavier, it's pretty evenly distributed. The mens draw also looks pretty even. It looks like Roddick and Hewitt are still playing in spite of their recent injuries unless the pull out at the last minute.

Roddick is crazy if he plays. Rest up for Wimbledon, rather than risk making it worse at a tournament you have no chance of winning.

Wow, these draws are not helping the Americans.

James Blake vs. Paradorn Srichaphan (Even though he's not seeded...the guy is definitely not a pushover)

Roddick has Rochus possibly in 2nd round...with Baghdatis in the 3rd round

For the Women (Probably the worst luck)

Meghann Shaughnessy vs Mauresmo

Mashona Washington vs Sharapova

Jill Craybas is against Justine Henin-Hardenne in the second round

Laura Granville vs Svetlana Kuznetsova

Lisa Raymond vs Martina Hingis

Amy Frazier vs Na Li (Who has an impressive record in clay so far)

Bethanie Mattek vs Flavia Pennetta (another rapidly improving player)

Shenay Perry might have to play No. 3 Nadia Petrova, and Vania King could meet No. 6 Elena Dementieva, the 2004 runner-up -- if they all make it that far.


Venus is the only one with an okay draw....although Mauresmo is in her quarter...Shuai Peng or Lkhostevic is in her 3rd round...and Schnyder is in her fourth round.

alexias said:
Not that he has a great chance of winning Wimbledon, either, if Federer is playing. I love Federer's game, but there's no suspense when he plays a tournament and Nadal's not in it.

I miss Cliffy! Anyone catch what virus he's wrestling with exactly?

Pretty great match from Hartfield. And my internet scoreboard froze on Mashona two points from the match. I was pretty disappointed to check back in and find she'd lost....

So great to have tennis on TV. I hate Comcast more and more for all that I've missed these last important years.

Probably, the bottle. He always sounds drunk to me.

I just noticed this on ESPN.com.



Did anyone else see him interviewed before the Nadal match? In response to Gilbert or Fowler, I think I remember him pointing out he built his record in a couple of months, but he didn't otherwise seem prickly while discussing Nadal. Of course I might have missed something awesome or bitchy as I was rapt by his comb-over.

I have a question. Why is Nadal's streak on clay getting all this hype? I ask this because Fed's streak on hardcourts didn't get the same type of hype and he really obliterated the previous record... Is there something that I'm missing with respect to hard court v. clay? Is it that Vilas' record was thought to be untouchable? Is it that it's coinciding with the FO? Or is it just that it's Nadal and he's the "it" boy?

la lechuga, no, he didn't say anything else that was particuarly catty. He did mention that he called Nadal and threatened (jokingly) to break all of Nadal's rackets if he broke the record, which I thought was kind of funny. Not quite as funny as his hairdo, but comedy is relative, I guess. He also said that he didn't even know that he held the record until after all the hoopla started with Rafael, which kind of makes me wonder why he got all fired up and bitchy in the first place. It was a pretty amusing interview though, he was pretty charming overall.

I'm not sure how long Fed's streak is but I think Rafael's is longer. Anyway, the other reasons I can think of are 1) It's been held for almost thirty years and only one man has gotten even remotely close (well, Borg got 46? but that started the same year that Vilas's ended), 2) He's only 19 and he's joining the greats of tennis, 3) He's had the same dominance over two years. Fed's was only from the AO to the year end championships, I believe, 4) He's beaten the top claycourters many times over the course of his wins. In Vilas's day it was easier to avoid the other top players, and 5) Clay is generally considered a surface that has a big variety of winners while on hardcourts the number one is expected to win (this is just what I've observed from people here and on mtf).

I actually think that Roger's streak on hard is longer. I think it is 58 or 59- and ironically enough, it was ended by Nadal at Dubai.

Regardless, I think that the rest of the reasons that pyro mentioned are correct. In particular for the #4 and #5 reasons. Clay is typically the surface on which it is hardest to achieve dominace. For example- the FO has the largest number of different winners. That stated, Nadal has beaten the best on the surface during his run. In particualar I think that his two Rome finals were so impressive. Coria is of course no longer the player he once was- but during the Rome final in 2005 the old "magician" was out in full force. The two of them played fantastic clay court tennis. And in 2006- Federer played some sublime tennis.

In regards to Vilas- some of what he has said comes off as sour grapes- but he has had a reputation of being somewhat prickly. And it could be pointed out that during his run- as pyro alluded to- he never had to play the premier clay courter of his era (i.e. Borg). Also- the tournies were not as deep as the ones that Nadal had to play during his wins and I think that an exhibition win was even counted in Vilas' tally. Still- I am not trying to take away from Vilas. Also- he had some nice comments about Rafa after the match.

Speaking of Nadal- his blog for the atp is very cute. It is not as funny as Dima's (I'm not sure if that will ever be topped) but he seems like a cute, sweet guy.

I think that there will be a big to-do if (or imo when) Federer breaks Borg's streak on grass.

I was happy that ESPN showed the end of the Massu/Malisse and Acasuso/Santor matches. You can always tell how much the commentators enjoy Fabrice's matches. And I think that Jose is freaking adorable so I always enjoy seeing that talented (but not really realized because he can be a head case) piece of eye candy on screen.

So far- ESPN has done pretty well with the coverage. I didn't even mind that they showed the Sharapova/Washington match from yesterday today during live coverage because 1) it was the first time showing it and 2) it was a good match. I have to agree with Mary Jo- because after seeing some of Mashona's fantastic shots, you have to wonder why she has never had better results. I do wish we had seen more of JCF/Del Porta though- but that is just because there is so much buzz about Del Porta (who is 17 and is from Argentina)- as all of the announcers said when they showed the score- keep your eye out on him. And I am happy that they will be showing Nico Almagro, since he will be playing James Blake. His match against Federer in Rome was very entertaining and he is another talented young guy who is rising up the rankings.

So far no real upsets...in fact only 3 seeds have been defeated (combined in both men and women) Jarkko Nieminen (16), Elena Likhovtseva (18), and Lucie Safarova (28). Although Robby Ginepri is having some trouble.. (his match was suspended).

I'm sad that Paradorn Srichiphan has been eliminated...but it would suck either way with either him or James Blake losing. The guy has been getting sucky draws the past major cups.

So far no real upsets...in fact only 3 seeds have been defeated (combined in both men and women) Jarkko Nieminen (16), Elena Likhovtseva (18), and Lucie Safarova (28). Although Robby Ginepri is having some trouble.. (his match was suspended).

I'm sad that Paradorn Srichiphan has been eliminated...but it would suck either way with either him or James Blake losing. The guy has been getting sucky draws the past major cups.

I enjoyed The Guardian's take on Vilas' snippiness



It is nice to see that ESPN is starting to embrace non-American male players. They have always been better about covering the international females such as Kim - though they seem to always short shift JHH in my view. I do think that the Roger/Rafa rivalry is getting more US press coverage for international men's tennis than we have seen for a good long while. Since it is highly doubtful that an American male will reach the finals, I imagine that ESPN and whoever is broadcasting the final are crossing their fingers for a Nadal/Federer final since that may entice some former tennis fans or general sports fans to tune in to see what the buzz is about.



Not to be mean, but I doubt that someone beating Robby on clay would be considered an upset, unless it was someone like poor Paradorn. Speaking of Paradorn- doesn't he realize that shirt is bad luck? That is the same shirt that Guillermo Coria wore during his horrible season this year.



Acasuso is a doll, but I am worried about his hair. The back is longer than the front and it is starting to veer towards mulletville. He does have a very appealling, somewhat goofy face though. I was glad with his win - he has tendency to fold and this win could be important for his future psyche. He and Malisse are sadly at this point two players with real talent who have not lived up to their potential.

I'm hoping that they will show some of the Safin/Gonzalez match tomorrow. Since it is scheduled on during roughly the same time during the Roddick match, they may not show it.

Just got around to watching that first day Sherapova-Washington match. Best match of the tournament, so far. Some great drama, and really good shot-making, and both players really going at it on every swing. Excellent match.

I got up early this morning to watch the Monfils/Murray match. I was looking forward to it since I haven't gotten to see Monfils play yet, but I was a little dissapointed in the flow of the match. They both seemed kind of languid. Not a lot of foot movement, and sort of lazy looking strokes from what I saw. Perhaps it's because both of them are on the tall side? I fully expected two 19 year old up-and-comers to be burning up the court. I know Murray may have had some fitness issues in the past, perhaps he's trying to conserve energy.

I was checking out the photo gallery on the Rolandgarros.com website. In the gallery for May 24, they have among other photos, two photos of Venus during one of her practice sessions. The second one looks like a photo of her in the middle of her service motion, and the caption underneath says "Venus Williams, fashion victim." I thought this was really weird and unnecessary, especially for an official Grand Slam website. Not that it matters but the outfit she's wearing in the photo isn't even flashy or odd. Has anyone else noticed this? Is that phrase not considered as much of an insult in France?

I had to laugh and agree when Mary Carillo said that Murray was moving like an 80-year old out there. Murray has some serious fitness issues, it can be very frustrating as a fan to watch. Both Gael and Andy played an ugly and frankly immature match.

I know it is not fair- but during their match I could not help but compare both players to Nadal, who is so much more mature than both of them mentaly even though he is less than a year older than both of them. Matches of his peers sometimes remind me of how special Nadal is. Baghdatis and Almagro are two other young ones who, while not at the mentality level of Nadal, are much more mentaly mature than these two talented but sometimes very frustrating playes.

Wow. Petrova lost. Have they shown any of her match on TV? What happened? I was so hoping for her to do well this year, perhaps even win the whole thing.

Poo. Flat out poo. What happened, Nadia? I really like her (strangly enough, her sessions with Murph Jensen in Open Access have really endeared her to me) and I was really hoping that she would take the title. Momo is now the one that I am really hoping to win RG on the women's side now that Petrova is gone. Allez Momo! And please ESPN, bring Mauresmo in for an interview after her next win. She is ranked number one and is really such a nice lady.

Woot! to Jamea Jackson for winning her first round match. I really came to admire her duing the US's win over Germany in Germany during the Fed Cup. She really held up the reins for the US when the country's best players did not play. And I loved how happy her family was after her second win. I have to say that I love how TTC shows a good bit of the Fed Cup and Davis Cup. I think that both can have some of the best matches of the year.

Andy Fucking Roddick.

That is all.

Apparently she had some kind of leg injury that she got during training. Sucks.
Looks like a Hingis/Henin semi in the bottom half unless Dementieva can pull out another one of her quiet dark horse runs through the field which I would love. I can't say I wouldn't enjoy Martina v. Justine either though. It's so hard to choose amongst the women since I'd be happy with any of them in the finals plus their are so many possible spoilers in he field (Ivanovic, Myskina, Jankovic, Schiavone? ) to choose from.

I'm rooting for Mauresmo also, except that I want Venus to win just a little bit more. That should make for a good quarterfinal at least if they get that far.

I'm pulling for Jamea also if for no other reason than she's another person I'd like to see play.

In the men's draw, I pick either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to win...so unless both of them gets eliminated (which is unlikely) then it going to be uneventful.

As for the women's draw, the Roland-Garros official site indicates that out of 36 editions of the terre battue event, 30 editions were won by either the Berlin or the Rome winner. History points Hingis as the winner.



I share the same opinion only because there's little chance that a French will win the French Open due to the crowd's pressure to do well.

e.g.: Last year, Justine Henin-Hardenne crushed Mary Pierce and that was not entertaining in the finals.

Damn you for making my heart palpitate with pleasure in the middle of the afternoon!

I have to echo the kvetching about the quality of the Murray-Monfils match this morning. I happen to like both players, although I tend to cheer on Monfils a bit more (owing to his break dancing display when he won the Las Vegas paddle tennis tourny...I'm not even sure he was in the tennis draw itself that week); their tennis today could have lulled me back to sleep without a huge cup of coffee. I had hoped Murray turned the corner the week before the Vegas tournament, when he beat Hewitt in the final of San Jose (?) and displayed interesting shot selection, guile, and a winner's temperment. That must have been a blip because none of the spark has appeared in any of the performances I've seen since then.

Then again, Murray beating Hewitt might have just been a sign of how far Lleyton's game has slipped post-marriage/baby.

I was about to say somehting similar. He's beaten Hewitt and Roddick this year, but neither one of them has been burning up the tour lately.

I agree- snooze fest. But on the other hand, how great was the tennis between Safin/Gonzalez today? Glad to see that thej commentators acknowledged the match for he quality that it was. Both played about perfect tennis. Gonzo played about the most beautiful clay court tennis that I have seen in a while..

And I missed it! I love it when Gonzalez plays well. When he plays badly, he's terrible, but he can play so beautifully...

I am sorry to make you envious- but he played pretty, pretty tennis. He reminded me why I love him so. The commentators were salivating over the match. And gawd- is he cute!

I'll echo the earlier sentiments that, through the first three days, I've been pleasantly surprised by ESPN's coverage. Granted, part of the reason that they've been showcasing some of the players who wouldn't typically make their broadcast is that Venus Williams is the only American woman who's seeded and that it's been a hot minute since an American man (Jeff Morrisson, anyone?) made any kind of a run at Roland Garros.

Of course, on Sunday's coverage, Brad Gilbert commented that Andy Roddick-- never having been beyond the third round even when he hasn't been hobbled-- had a really good shot at the quarters. But so it goes. Today, he said that Ivo Karlovic-- whose exclusive reliance on his serve would make Mark Phillippoussis look like Federer in comparison-- will be a real threat to take out Nadal in the round of 16. One of these days, the vacuum that exists between the things he says and what actually exists in the world is either going to produce anti-matter or, at the very least, to make his skin flip inside-out like that claymation cartoon on Nickelodeon back in the day.

The Gonzalez - Safin match was just killer, and what I like about Gonzalez is that he's one of the few players on tour who's even more unpredictable than Safin. He played some absolutely gorgeous tennis today, but in his next match, he's just as likely to take out a linesperson with a forehand.

A propos of nothing in particular beyond Roland Garros: I really miss Guga.

I didn't expect Petrova to take out Trowel-Jaw in their quarterfinal match, but I was more than a little bit surprised to see her go out in the first round. Which leaves the only players with at least an even chance of beating her-- Mauresmo, Kuznetsova, and an in-form Venus (obviously a big "if")-- on the other half of the draw, since I just don't think Hingis, as much as I'd love to see her win the title, Dementieva, or Clijsters can do it.

Thanks for alerting me to that. I agree that it is cute. I find the following passage very endearing for some reason:



Me too. I do adore him so. He is the only sports figure that I have ever bought something about on ebay (some commemorative Brazilian stamps a few years ago). I miss his backhand, play and well, him. Nothing would make me happier than ESPN having him as a guest during the tournament.

Haha, Rafa makes it sound like there's some juicy stuff happening in the locker room.

Sigh. I was hoping for some late night replays, but all the coverage where I am is just in the mid afternoon when I'm at work.

I've been recording the 5a-9a show on the east coast and watching it when I get up before I go to work. It's great because they do a sum up of the previous day's matches at the beginning and I can FF to whichever match I want to see a bit of before I leave. I haven't checked to see if they're doing live radio broadcast via internet for this tournament, but I wouldn't miss BBC's Wimbledon coverage for anything. Those two weeks at work fly by.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Did anyone catch the end of the Ancic/Capedville match? I have never seen anything like this in tennis. Ancic won- but Paul C thought that Mario either double hit the ball or the ball double bounced on match point. He went to complain to the chair ump. Mario went by, there was a hand shake/grasp and Paul said something. I think that he commented to Mario about the fact that he should not be walking off the court since Paul had a question about the line call. Mario reacted to what Paul said and shoved him. The two players started shoving each other back and forth and the umpire had to come between them. The two players kept yelling at each other. Mario went to his bag, fuming and threw down his raquet.

Chris Fowler seemed very, very amused by the whole thing.

Stupid University, making me miss all the interesting stuff so I only catch Murray and Monfils embarassing themselves....maybe I can youtube it.

You can see the video here. Is it strange that this makes me like them both more? I love me some bitchy tennis players. Speaking of bitches, did anyone see Kiefer rip off his shirt after his match? Love that man.

Gasquet has one of the most beautiful games I've ever seen. I hope he gets his head together so we can see even more of it. Poor guy is under so much pressure, though, that I'm starting to doubt that will ever happen. He was on the cover of a magazine when he was nine for fucks sake! Hopefully he has a good psychologist...

Yeah, i've always been pretty indifferent towards him, but those abs and the slightly deranged look in his eyes were kinda intriguing.
Have to say, i've been impressed with espn's coverage so far. I mean they still go out of their way to show the usual suspects (taped sharapova *vomit* ), but it's been really balanced. I also like the chemistry between bg and chris.
Another reason to look forward to wimby: the return of my beloved cliffy, dick enberg and his insufferable 'oh my' s just can't fill his orthopedic shoes