Henman, Haas, and Federer all have a great record against Roddick, so I'm psyched for some great tennis in any of these possible matchups. But let's not jump the gun - Joaquin, I think, is going to be very dangerous for Andy tonight. He has a hard time with players who have a similar style to his (read: Ancic, Lubicic). I personally would love a Haas/Roddick semi - because they always play great matches - did you see their five setter at the Olympics? Awesome.

And... C'mon Tim! (c'mon Andy too! Because I, unlike what seems to be 99.9% of the posters here, actually like Roddick. *Ducks*)

I still think they would care, it wouldn't be as dramatic or touching if he won Wimbledon but I don't think that they would sniff away the win. My brother and his British sister in law live in Surrey, UK and are both tennis fans. She emailed me after he got into the quarters and was quite happy.

It is just that Wimbledon is their tournament and no male Brit has won since Fred Perry in 1936. And frankly, Henman has been the only male British player in a long time who seemed like he could win it -and he has been consistent and close there. (I still think of Rudeski as Canadian so I can't really lump him with Tim.)
The Brits sure seemed excited when he was getting into the semis at the FO- althoguh I do remember reading some snippy commentaries about Tim going to far into the FO and therefore not being rested enough for Wimby.

But I could be wrong about all of this...so OoopsSorry since you are a Brit please feel to correct. :)




He looks particualary wee today with the wind whipping his shirt around.

Yeah, I know you're right, Chesty. They would definitely love it, even if it's not Wimbledon. They might even be chuffed and gobsmacked. I think the chances are fairly slim, although a girl can always hope.


Oooh, I hadn't thought of that; that'd be an actual conspiracy (cough, Serena, cough). Also, no biggie, but while we're on the topic of jolly 'ol, it's Castallack with an "a." It's a village in Cornwall.


Yes, since I've criticized this in the commentators I should definitely not look too far ahead.


I don't dislikehim but he's not my particular favorite either.


Looks like trouble for the Haas of Burning Love.

Tee hee! Now I will always have to call him that in my mind. Good job of Tommy to break back. Hopefully, it will bring his head back into the game as opposed to the cray-zay place he was going.

I want to see a tight, well contested match- not one lost by a head case.

Watching this match in the hurricane is like a bizarre blooper reel. I'm not sure where the ball lands has anything to do with where the player intended it to go.

Sorry, Chesty. I think the new phrase is definitely Haas of Pain.

On another tip, I will NOT be seeing this Wimbledon movie based on these smarmy commercials. Setting these people's newest "uptight British man meets uninhibited American woman" film is at a Grand Slam doesn't fool me.

Oh Castallack, Mr. Lonecrane and I always roll our eyes every time those commercials come on. It's not just the tired cliche of these romcoms. Neither of those two actors look even remotely athletic, and what little we see of their form looks terrible. Blech!

This is turning into a disappointing match. I think Hewitt is so much tougher mentally. Haas, poor thing, gets frustrated easily.

Speaking as a Brit, although admittedly an odd one as I am actually aware of tennis tournaments outside of Wimbledon (shock!) and support Tim all year round, no one would be able to believe it if he actually won one of these things. You may call him Gentleman Tim (a nickname I have never heard before) but over here he is alternatively known as Tiger Tim, when he wins, or Loser Tim, clearly for when he loses.

As most of the British public are only made aware of Wimbledon, Tim is mainly considered to be a big loser because he has never won it. Cos apparently it is sooo easy to do. The treatment he gets sucks and I think people will only appreciate him when he's gone in a couple of years, because then they will finally notice that we did have a consistent top 5/top 10 player (he's been up there for almost 8 years or so) and without him all we have is about 5 top 300 ones.

Anyway, rant over but the British press are crap. It's just nice to see some support for him for once. Also go Davenport and Roddick! Davenport cos she's just great and Roddick cos Henman could beat him in the final but he would have no chance against Hewitt.

Lleyton Hewitt is a scrappy little thing, isn't he? He was like the Green Lantern out there--no returned ball was safe. He ran down everything. That skill is going to be very helpful when he plays... well, Roddick. Even though Johanssen's serve is (reportedly) as good as A-Rod's, I'm betting on Andy to pull through.

If Roger Federer wins this USOpen, winning his third Grand Slam of the year, won't that make him the first man to do so since Mats Wilander? Actually, I'm hoping that someone will correct me on that. They said something last night about the last man to win three GSs in a single year, and now I can't really remember. I think it was MW. Hell of an achievement.

Funny thing is, I saw Tim Henman walking down Lafayette Street in Manhattan the Sunday before the Open started and I knew it was him because I noticed the teeth. He's actually quite tall and good looking in person.

And I think he actually could go all the way. He's beaten Federer before this year and has a 6-2 record against him and has a 4-1 record against Roddick, he has also beaten Roddick this year. So Hewitt would be the only problem-Henman has never beaten him. And I hate Lleyton. Hate him.

And yes, if Federer won, he would be the first person to hold three GS titles since Wilander.

I don't hate Roddick, but I thoroughly enjoy seeing him get outclassed (see the Sampras clinic at the 2002 Open and every recent match with Federer). He seems pretty likable, but I loathe the whole power-trumps-all approach.


"Anything Can Happen" (that's for you, Castallack), but I think you're right. Hewitt is not a good matchup for (Our) Tim. The Henman Grand Slam Strategy: avoid Sampras, Hewitt, short Frenchmen, and tall left-handed Croats.

I also hate the way the British press treats Tim. It's quite despicable. And remember, Wimbledon itself has (1) made the courts slower to benefit baseliners and (2) gave Goran a wildcard in 2001. Way to sabotage your boy.

If Henman wins the Open, it'll be a victory for the much-beleaguered serve-and-volley style. That, my friends, is a good thing.

One thing that really annoys me about the commercial is when Kirsten Dunst's charcter makes fun of Paul Bettany's accent. Lady- you are in England to play and Wimbledon and must be around a ton of British accents since you are in England. Remind me to make fun of my in-laws accents next time I see bro, his wife, and her family in the UK. Because nothing is quite as charming as making fun of an accent of the people whose country you are in. Maybe I should also make fun of my husband's aunts and uncles' Mexican accents when we go to visit them in Chihuahua. Because that's just precious. Sorry- end rant.

I liked McEnroe's little call -out of respect to Agassi and Federer at the end of the USA afternoon coverage. (BTW- McEnroe again said that Roger was the most naturally gifted player he has ever seen.) Feds has had some nice things to say about Agassi in the post-match press conferences. I hope AA is back next year, almost as much as I wish that he and Graf would play mixed doubles.



Yep- first since Mats. I think MW did it in 1988. Before that I think it was Jimmy Conners in 1975 or something.



I'm not surprised that he is good looking in person because I think that - wonky teeth and all- he's a good looking chap. In my tennis harem he fills the "goofy yet sexily hot visiting professor role." I am looking forward to seeing Henman when I go to the Master's Cup in November. Hell- I'm looking forward to seeing all of the players.

They should've gotten body/stunt doubles to do the tennis shots. Kirsten Dunst looks like an ass in this movie.

Distant Sun, your point about Wimbledon never helping Tim is really true though. The US Open is way faster than Wimbledon was, which helps Roddick, yet Wimbledon has slowed down completely to help the clay courters. Also they always schedule his important matches so they can air then in the evening to get primetime audiences. This meant he had to play his semi against Goran really late and if he had got to play it earlier he may have missed the rain and actually made the bloody final. So it's really all their fault.

He does have a 6-2 record against Federer but I most were played before Federer was Number 1. The most recent match was Indian Wells which Feds won easily.

I actually really want to see a Roddick- Hewitt SF cos I can't remember any times they have played each other before. What's their match record against each other?

Also, on the women's side, are most of you predicting an all American final or what?

I think Hewitt is 3-1 against Roddick, but Roddick won the last (and only "recent") one. How could you forget the big quarterfinal match at the 2001 U.S. Open where that horrendous overrule (which still wasn't as bad as Serena's) led to Roddick's self-destruction?


I'm seeing Davenport/Dementieva actually.

Yeah, sorry that match completely slipped my mind. But as you said it's not exactly a reflection of where they are both at now, but Hewitt is making light work of all his opponents. Although Roddick is too I guess, so I think will be a really interesting SF. The mens draw on both sides is looking pretty exciting I think even if it does have the potential to end up as a complete replica of the Wimbledon final.

I agree about Dementieva too. She showed with Mauresmo that she just will not go away and even though her serve is weak she is a great hitter. Davenport is definately the favourite and I will be very surprised if she is not in the final, but I can see Capriati going out.

Well, I guess I'll flip over to ABC and watch some football. Geez. Would it kill them to put a retractable roof over some of these stadiums? Wouldn't that be a solution? They don't need to cover Court 22, but some of the bigger stadiums should have a roof.

Interestingly enough, if Dementieva doesn't win, there will be 8 different women's finalists in the Slams for the first time since who knows when.

I wish they would bring Mats back in and do the Mac/Mats phone in again. That was funny and enjoyable.

I have been living in the shallow end of the pool during this US Open. Joachin is kind of a cutie- maybe he can be a harem alternate.

I'm hoping for a Davenport/Dementieva women's final myself. With a Davenport win of course.

I was just going to say the same thing! I saw Tim practicing at the Open last Friday and also thought that he looked taller, and more handsome than he looks on TV. (Although he did, helpfully, have his mouth closed.) I've always thought that he was attractive, though, but then, I have a thing for tall, dark, and slightly dorky Brits in the vein of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.

Also, he seems like a pretty classy guy and I don't envy the Wimbledon pressure he faces every year. Go Tim!

Please please please, anyone but Roger Federer win. Go Henman! Seems like he's been around for ages (I can't believe he's already 30) and yet has never won a slam. He finally seems to be doing really well on courts other than grass. Semifinals is quite an accomplishment.

His wife is named Lucy. Is Lucy a quintessentially British name? Isn't Greg Rusedski's wife also named Lucy?

OMG, Johansson, don't disappoint me now!

Did anyone else get annoyed when Ted called Johannsson an "annonymous player"? No- he is an up and comer who has been buzzed about for a while. I thought the comment was so disrespectful.

Oh Andy, in case it was possible to forget, you never fail to remind me about what a poor sport and petulant brat you can be when behind the 8-ball.

C'mon Joachim, don't fail me now!

In his defense, I think he meant "anonymous" to Joe America.

Joachim is so close! I'm only OK with him winning if he promises to beat Hewitt.

Joachim won! He better get some rest because I will be pissed if he doesn't take Lleyton out next. I think he can do it. Andy must be devastated. Ha ha ha!

OH MY GOD! Joachim Johannson you are my hero! Too bad the commentators are so US-centric that story isn't who won, but who lost.

Par-tay! Woohoo!

I had no expectations going into tonight's match, and boy was that a roller-coaster.
After Johansson dropped the third and fourth set, I was sure Roddick would pull it out, and all I could think was 'why did you get my hopes up Joachim, if you were only going to disappoint me?' but he didn't!

And


Word. I am soooo glad that brat lost. I laughed out loud when Brad Gilbert had his head down in Roddick's last game.

ETA to correct grammar, and to add was Johansson funny with that girlfriend can't choose her brother bit or what?

I am so completely impressed with how well Joachim hung in the match even though the entire stadium was against him and cheering his faulted serves. That was incredible, and I'm happy for him.

I really hate John McEnroe and that other dingbat doing the commentating. They were calling for a tiebreak at three-all. Hello?? The match has to be played first, and OBVIOUSLY said tiebreak wasn't necessary. I loathe how they always play favorites and behave as if it was A-Rod's match to lose. I mean, perhaps it was, but geezus. At least pretend that the other guy has a chance--Joachim had to play as many matches as A-Rod to get to the quarterfinals. L-rd almighty.

I know what you mean, but a fifth-set tiebreak would've been a fitting way to end it, especially since that's an ending that's exclusive to this Slam.


Yeah, I loved that. She kind of looks like Lleyton. Ew.

Distant Sun You are likely right in that Ted probably didn't mean it in a dismissive way. I sometimes forget that most US tennis fans are not as big tennis fanatics/sluts as I am.



Yes- she really does look like him. Almost like they could be twins. And Kim kind of looks like her...so another ewww. And where do they both get their thick hair? Their mom sure doesn't have it.

Okay- now we have the semis set for the fellows-
Feds, Henman, Lleyton, and Johannsson.

I want either Feds or Henman to win the whole thing since I like them both and
1) Tim is 30 so his chances for a GS win may be slipping
2) I love Federer's game and he seems to be on the point of breaking through on the American public awareness radar. Plus I really want to see him on Letterman.

As I said earlier- hands down I want Lindsay to win the women's.

Who do you guys want to win.

I want Lindsay and Tim holding those trophies at the end. I would love to hear what they have to say-Lindsay nearing the end of her career, a career that by all accounts has been a major overachievement and Tim finally getting that monkey off his back and showing that he can win one of these and not just any one, but arguably the most difficult Grand Slam to win.

I want Federer to win only because I've been waiting for another Sampras since... well, since Pete retired, obviously. Right now, Roger seems to be the one player who is most likely to fill those shoes. I refuse to cheer for Andy Roddick because he is a brat. I always forget this fact until I see one of his matches and he says or does something childish. If not Federer, then Henman, I guess.

On the women's side, I'm all about the Lindsay Davenport comeback. Actually, I'd be happy if either of the Americans won.

Now that Roddick is out (hee!), I don't care as much who wins.
I guess my first pick would still be Federer.
My second choice would be Henman. He seems like such a nice guy, and like you said, Chesty LaRue, he's getting up there in his years.
I wouldn't mind Hewitt winning because I've never hated him the way some do.
Strangely enough his "come on!"s don't bother me the way Roddick's every little smirk and fist pump and gyrations do.
As for Johansson, that would make a feel-good underdog wins it all story.

Above all else, I want Tim to win. He's my favorite player now that Sampras and Kafelnikov are retired. Barring that, I want Federer to win. He's just magnificent.

All of the women I really like are out. Lindsay is the only one left I like, so I hope she wins it. It sounds like she'll actually be retiring, so it'd be a nice swan song.

It'll be interesting to see if the U.S. Open men's final now will pull in lower ratings than the French Open men's final. Personally, I couldn't care less who wins this slam.

On second thought, I don't want Johansson to win the whole thing because then Roddick could rationalize, "yeah I lost, but I lost to the eventual winner."
So anyone but Johansson, I guess, although preferably Federer.

Yeah, I hate Roddick that much.

Joachim, I LOVE you. Brad looked like he got kicked in the balls. HAHAHAHA. Andy is such a fucking brat. HATE.

I hope that it doesn't pull in really low ratings- but it could and then we may have the same same crappy xenophobic media writers saying that tennis is dying (never differetiating that may not be as popular in the us but is rising in pouplarity in Asia and South America) because there are too many players who have names we can't pronouce. I hope that people do tune in because the men's semis has four quality players:

1) a talented vet who has never gotten a GS win
2) a former number 1
3) the current number 1 who may be the most talented player ever
4) a real up an comer who will provide a good rivalry for Roddick in the future.

I hope that viewers are so loathe to embrace people who don't happen to have a US passport that they automatically will not tune into the US Open. As I have said repeatedly, tennis is an international sport but I am increasingly saddened by some US casual fans and US media failure to give a whit about international players just because they aren't American.

Foreign players were well known in the US in the 1970s, 1980s and part of the 1990s. I think they could (and/or rather should) be again now because the talent is out there. I think that CBS's best promo chances will be to promote either Feds or Tim.

I want Roger and for the women, either Lindsay or Elena. I hope Lindsay doesn't overlook Kuznetsova as I believe she probably is the most talented of the Russians.

Maybe, but she's definitely the ugliest. Ugh. Lee. I might not be able to watch the final if she's in it.

I haven't been posting in your extremely entertaining conversations, but I have been enjoying them and watching the tennis. I'm totally rooting for Roger and Lindsay. I was a big tennis fan growing up, but have gradually lost interest as the booming baseline game has taken over. B-O-R-I-N-G. When Patrick Rafter retired I found myself less and less interested. I'd check in when Sampras was doing well in a major, but that's it. And then he began to suck, and then he retired. I stopped caring.

But then a miracle happened ... (cue dark clouds opening to reveal brilliant sunshine, far off a soprano chorus is heard) ... !!!! Roger Federer !!!!!

Oh. My. God. Watching this man play tennis is totally sexual. When he makes some of ... those ... shots, I realized I was making one of ... those... sounds. And when he plays the way he has at Wimbledon, I get hoarse. LOL. I never knew tennis could be like this. Seriously.

And he seems like a real doll baby too. (I know that phrase dates me. I think it was big, like, 15 years ago.) Kind of dignified and sweet. I loved it when he cried at Wimbledon and his voice totally went up, like, four octaves when he was being interviewed. Too cute.

But at least, like several of you, I thought he was pretty ugly. But now somehow this year he's gotten hot too! How the hell did that happen? He has his ugly moments still, but he's freaking hot, like, 85% of the time! I mean, this is getting to be ridiculous, what with his tennis being so erotic and him being hot too. Man!

And I really love Lindsay too. She's so cool. And I love how she's dealt with not being the most "athletic" athlete, and not being comfortable with her height and size, and still come through to be a real champion. I love late bloomers like her and Patrick Rafter. I also get a real charge out of how she hits the ball. It's so clean and powerful. BOOOOM.

So I really hope she wins.

I didn't watch tonight's Roddick-Johanssen match closely tonight. What did Andy do that was petulant and showed poor sportsmanship?

Word. I think she has very mannish features and is just not very attractive. Kournikova, Sharapova, Hantuchova... Kuznetsova certainly doesn't bring a lot of beauty to the "ova" tradition.

I don't particularly like when one player just dominates the entire tour. I'm tired of seeing Federer win almost all the time. If he makes it into the final, I couldn't care less and I won't be tuning in. I want to see Henman and Davenport win. If not them, then Hewitt and Dementieva.

I'd like to see Bob Bryan and Vera Zvonareva win the mixed. Is there anyone else besides me who for some reason doesn't like Todd Woodbridge? I'm just tired of him.

Sigh. He’s my only hope now. I would be ok with Federer too.


Aw, I don’t mind his teeth. Kind of reminds me of David Bowie a little.


I like him too. Quite a bit in fact. I’m still mad he didn’t win even though Joachim deserved it more. That boy can play!


I don’t know that that is true, fan-wise anyway. In my case, I love watching tennis but to be honest, I seldom do because unless it’s heavily advertised (like Wimbledon and the US Open) I don’t think to look for it. Once I am watching it however, I just love seeing good, exciting tennis, no matter what country the player is from. I do agree however that unless an American player has a shot at winning, the American press does not promote the event no matter which one it is, so I blame them.

To answer a question from yesterday: The USTA moved all the Junior's matches to an off-site facility (which they do every year when rain messes up the main draws) so even all the missed matches from Wednesday only filled up Ashe, Armstrong, Grandstand, Court 11 and Court 7.

Phred62, I agree about blaming the American press. CBS must be crying right now. As was discussed back when ESPN had all the summer tournament coverage, if they are not going to do player profiles and introduce the average fan (as opposed to the fanatic like me and many others here) to the foreign players they are not going to see interest in the sport when it will be a no-American final. Hello? BORIS BECKER! BORG! (And many others I'm not going to go into here.) Perfect examples of foreign (to the USA) players who were incredibly popular here.

Re: Roddick/Johansson, I have to say, aside from the five set drama, it was a really boring match. All aces and few rallies. Give me a slugfest any day. I'm really sorry that Federer/Agassi had to continue in all that wind so that clearly neither of them were playing their best. Ditto Haas/Hewitt, although kudos for Hewitt's hard work. Three disappointing matches for me, having nothing to do with who won and who lost. I'm hoping we get some brilliant semis and finals. The weather is supposed to be good, at least.

Also, I can see I'm in the minority here but I just can't deal with emotionless players. Johansson, to his credit, was able to play without getting flustered or anxious but for me, it was like watching a machine. I really want to know what a player is feeling. I think that's why I can't really get on the Federer train, even though he is such an amazing player. I found myself rooting for Roddick last night simply because he showed he was human.

I think that's just a play on "Gentleman Jim" but it also has to do, as far as I'm concerned, with his demeanor with the press unlike some of the bratty and bizarre that other players sometimes spout.

Speaking of which: I think this has more to do with his shy, stammering reply rather than the actual accent. But I'm not seeing the movie so I guess I'll never know for sure.

Much appreciated!

To jump on what LT was saying, Sports Illustrated did an interview with Snoop Dogg (yes, seriously) and one of the questions was, "What sport would we be surprised to know you watch?" Snoop's answer, Tennis. He even said that while he loves watching the Williams sisters, his favorite all-time player is Ivan Lendl. Now you can't get more urban than Snoop Dogg.

The longwinded point I'm trying to make is: if we Americans know the international players, we can root for them. If your commentator (Ted Robinson, I'm looking at you) calls a seeded player "anonymous" because HE doesn't know him, then where does that leave us?

ETA: And another thing, didn't they say last night that Roddick and Johansson were doubles partners in juniors? Come on (to use a tennis phrase)!

Double Fault!

CBS just had a graphic on displaying the semifinal from the bottom half of the mens draw, with pictures of the players and everything. It was, and I guess I could say not surprisingly knowing CBS' pro american stance:

2 Andy Roddick vs. 4 LleytonHewitt

Well, at they got it half right, that should count for something right?

ETA: I forgot the second l in Hewitt's name, CBS isn't THAT inept.

Oh my goodness! Not a surprise, but very funny. I guess they are hoping they can still make it happen.


I, too, found the match to be pretty boring. I was watching the score more than match itself. I did find Johansson to be pretty darn entertaining in his post-match, on-court interview. He speaks English really well, and seemed to have quite a nice sense of humor. I was especially entertained with the "can't pick a brother, but can pick a boyfriend so she'll root for me" and then cut to a shot of Hewitt's sister/Johansson's girlfriend glaring at him. Play that up relationship CBS! It's fun!

I must admit, as happy as I was to get to see the last two sets of Agassi v. Federer the wind really kept the players from going anywhere near a winner. So few people showed up yesterday I was able to sneak down to the Loge seats (not courtside, damn) so I wasn't in nosebleed seats but it, as Federer said, like a practice hit that counted. After the first set of Hewitt v. Haas I didn't even stay in Ashe--just too depressing--pre-match I thought Haas had a shot. I was wrong.

I'm going to have to disagree with you here. Admittedly, I was watching the football game and switching back during commercials (because football trumps all), but Johansson was the opposite of emotionless to me. I heard "come on" more than a few times and, most of all, I think his emotions were written all over his face. He was supremely confident in the first two sets, bewildered and flustered in the next two, and nervous yet determined in the final one. I especially liked the cool, confident way he served his way out of 0-40 holes. Federer is a little reserved, but I think he's more emotional than people think -- if anything, I think he comes across as robotic mostly because we can't see his eyes.

Also, what I saw was a great match. With two big servers like that, I found it interesting seeing where they placed the serves (Johansson's serve out wide to Andy's backhand on the ad side was devastating), what they did with the second serve, and how each returned. Speaking of which, I hate it when Roddick stands way back to return. Andy, you are not Guga... and you'll never be a great returner like that. He could've done a lot more with the second-serve return.

Agassi may be out, but I think three of the semifinalists are among the game's best returners. Federer and Hewitt are definitely up there, but I think Henman is the most underrated returner there is.

The thought of a Roddick/Johansson doubles team makes my head hurt. Then again, Roddick was really bricking volleys back then.

Wow. What an Open! I almost can't believe it, really.

I watched the Roddick/Johansson match on FF early this morning, because I just couldn't take it either, Castallack. (note corrected spelling...it was more that I'm a lazy typer than anything...!) It's the kind of tennis that burns me up, because I feel personally that I am being cheated out of a great experience and then more globally because I fear that they will one day bring on the death of tennis. I can't stand when I see all those US fans going crazy over Andy's increased serve speed. It makes me angry, and I want them to go back to baseball or whatever it is that can fulfill those needs they have as fans for brute strength over artistry. I'm not saying that all his fans love him alone for this reason. On the contrary, I think there are many people who love his story and his enthusiasm and his raw energy. I'm talking more about the fans that only come on board at this time of year and take some glee in this power thing, as if it somehow represents the US in the global community. My point is that there are lots of sports where pure strength is valued and appropriate and while I don't like them, there are plenty of opportunities for THEM to focus on that IN THOSE ARENAS. But as for artistry, we have tennis. We have a history comprised of Borgs and Edbergs and Lavers, and it's great. And I want it to be like that. It doesn't have to stay stuck in time, I just want it to remain an important characteristic of a winner that he appreciate the nuances of the sport and bring those out. And as for me, sadly, even though I find Andy completely charming and well-spoken in non-playing interactions, all of this prevents me from being able to get behind him. [/rant]


I hear your comment, too, about emotionless players, and wanted to say I respect that even though it's different for me. I was thinking about people who refer to that about Federer and wondered why I read so much emotion in him. I actually think he's much less so than I think people credit him with. I don't know. I think his overwhelming joy/tears/relief in his Wimbledon wins (including that amazing 2001 defeat of Sampras) hooked me even from early on. I feel a lot of emotion in his play, maybe because I know he's actually worked hard to control his intense emotions because they worked entirely against him in his early years when he was prone to outbursts and racket tossing, and yet not reaching the potential people saw in him.

Edited to acknowledge the comments from Distant Sun and LT who beat me to this point while I was typing....

I CANNOT wait for tomorrow's Henman-Federer match! Though I fear CBS's coverage of it. I have the utmost respect for these two players and everything they represent within tennis right now, and I want them both to go on to the Finals. Alas.

Oh, and Harry24?



I've never been able to say all of what you expressed as eloquently as you, but I just wanted to concur and thank the gods that it now is.



Heh. And, Amen.