I've been kind of missing tennis, but had a nice time today checking out the ATP's Top Ten Insider Moments from 2004 list . I was thinking how interesting/sad it is that we don't get to see too much of tennis stuff off the court....

Anyway, not complaining as I'm grateful for what we do get, and I'm feeling seasonal.

Is there some kind of updated injury list online you can view for the WTA/ATP? I'm curious b/c I had no idea Kim Clijsters (sp?) had injured her wrist and is expected to miss the Aussie Open if it weren't for the scroll on ESPNews. Where's the best place to go for tennis news and such?

Clijsters spoke up against that story saying she wasn't yet sure, from what I later read at espn.com - one of the sites I go to in order to get tennis info, crimsongrl. I really like the atptennis.com site, though I've never actually looked for an injury list. The women's site is wtatour.com. Hope those help!

Wow, Andy Roddick just fired Brad Gilbert as his coach. I'm kinda surprised, he seemed to play so much better once Brad was with him. Oh well, I guess we won't be seeing Brad coming into the studio commenting on all aspects of why Roddick is so great. He won't be skydiving much anymore either.

Jon Wertheim's Baggie Awards 2004

I think it has to do with matters other than the injury. I read she wouldn't be playing ANY of the events in Australia. I think some of this might have to do with the fact that for at least 2 years she was an adopted Australian. You know how the press is. No one is going to ask her questions about tennis, especially in Australia, where she and Lleyton were supposed to marry just after the 2005 Australian Open. I certainly can understand her reluctance to play there so soon after her breakup.

Not to say that her injury isn't real. But I'm sure her recent breakup has something to do with it, too. Anybody know what happened?

I loved his season wrap-up stuff at the end of the year. I appreciate that he's part of the tennis world.

I'm excited to be gearing up for the AO! I'm trying to send all my positive vibes to ESPN, in hopes for quality coverage.... The draws are out and there seem to be a lot of good men's matches coming in the early rounds: C'mon, ESPN, I'm hoping for reliable and consistent coverage!

Yeah, but (and JuanitaSmi, this is for you and me) with Andre in the same quarter at the top half of the draw with Federer and needing an MRI because of that hip flexor. . . I'm not holding out too much hope in that arena. Well, I knew the time for the young'uns was a'comin'. Speaking of which, did Feliciano Lopez cut his hair?

So the Aussie Open is on ESPN2 and currently they r showing Federer beating the snot out of Fabrice Santoro 6-1, 6-1, 3-1 while a more exciting match (involving an American no less) Justin Gimelstob vs. Gaston Gaudio is 5-5 in the first set.

A sign of things to come perhaps....

Christ on a cracker, Brad Gilbert is still running his mouth off on TV. So much for that stopping once he and Blahdick split. Did ESPN hire him?

I think they did, or at least that's what I inferred from PMac's comments about Serena taking away their newest analyst from them a day into the open. It's like they are trying to not get me to watch their coverage. I have to bear with PMac's incessant Roddick loving comments whenever he is on the air, and now Gilbert? Ugh.

Yes, we seem to be stuck with Brad. I was pretty nervous about that, but somewhat pleasantly surprised to hear him talk about Andy more openly. Maybe his own personal feelings about the split may keep the picture more balanced when it comes to Andy. Brad said some pretty compelling things (in between really bizarre phrasing that made even Chris what's-his-name visibly recoil) about being in tennis for the tennis, rather than all the grandstanding - that seemed to be his final commentary to Andy, however underhanded.

And I actually haven't heard too much butt-kissing from PMac yet, and I thought he had toned things down as of late, but it's early yet!

It was interesting to hear Brad's brutal assesment of Carlos Moya and his future prospects. The other guy (Chris?) was a bit freaked out by the non-sugar coating of Brad's comments. I'm not sure how much Brad can remove himself from the center of his commentary but it will be interesting to see if I want him to shut up, or keep talking as the 2 weeks go by.

I haven't caught him yet on-air, but judging from some of his interviews I can guess at it. Maybe for a coach repeating simplistic axioms is OK, but I do require more suppleness from commentators. Not that I get it with the regular crop anyway...

What did Gilbert say about Carlos Moya?

Chris prefaced his question about what Gilbert thought about Moya's prospects by citing his recent win, Davis Cup success, et cetera. Gilbert basically said, forget about it. He can make it into the second week, but at this point in his career he has no chance of ever winning a major. He didn't say why.

LOVED IT. (Not hearing such a horrible thing said about lovely Carlos Moya, but hearing such a brutally honest comment on TV.)

I was thrilled they showed the whole Federer match. When he's playing at that level I could watch him play forever. It's like looking at Michaelangelo's David. A feast for the eyes.

Federer is sublime, isn't he? When I watch him, all I can do is wag my head and say, dayam.

And now to more trivial matters. Anybody want to join me in nominating Mary Carillo for TLC's What Not to Wear? She could really use some Clinton and Stacy, as well as Nick and Carmindy. Surely TLC can do a celebrity version?

Anyone? Buehler...?

ETA: Er. Come to think of it, there's plenty of players who could also do with a little Clinton and Stacy. So...

So was I.

After all the years that the networks showed low-ranked Americans rather than top-ranked Europeans let's please not bitch at them for showing Federer instead of Justin freakin' Gimelstob. This indicates to me that they have finally started to accept the fact that, no matter how much they hope and pray, Roddick is never going to be better than Federer and that Federer is special and American tennis fans want to watch him play. Let's not give them any reason to think otherwise.

What is this on my TV, I wondered yesterday afternoon. Could this be tennis? On my very own TV? In America? Who knew?

LT, I was very happy and very surprised to see Andre on court. He looks great 13 pounds lighter (I wasn't sure I'd think so.) His legs look great. Of course, my heart stopped when I read the wire story last week about Kooyong. Whew! Glad he's in Melbourne for sure.

Brad is Brad. Even "Double A" [gack at that nickname] laughs about him on occasion.

Loved Andre's comment in the post-match interview about Federer. Well it wasn't a comment so much as a chuckle. The players all know the majors will pass through Federer's court.

ETA one more thing: Andre will play Rainer Schuettler in R2.

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh, tennis: how I've missed you!

Note to Juanita: Don't read this and if you do, I apologize in advance.

Seeing tennis on ESPN again after the tune-ups on The Tennis Channel is like going back to coach after a flight in first class. The talking through points, the discussion of other matches during the current one, the guest "commentators," the teasing of matches that you know are going on right now being shown tomorrow taped, arrrrgggghhhhh!

But yes, I too was happy to see the whole Federer match. PMac discussing Santoro's old-style shorts was pretty funny too.

Castallack: I'm made of sterner stuff than that. Well...not really.

Anyway, I am looking forward to watching some matches in HDTV. I noticed that several tournaments are broadcast on the HD channels, which aren't broadcast on the main networks. Since I now have access to a big screen/HDTV, albeit not in my own home, I will be looking for better coverage.

We finally got FX in the Detroit market. I'm hoping we get the Tennis Channel (or one of the 'burbs does and I move. Ha!)

Also, did you guys see this in Wertheim's Best of ... column:

WAM! A network I actually have.

Okay you two. I don't have the Tennis Channel and I don't have HDTV so my life just sucks. I did, however, see Federer do an interview (pre-Aussie Open) on Fox something something. I just love his interviews--kinda snarky, kinda sincere, kinda humorous. He talked about that since he has now beaten everyone he isn't so concerned when he looks at a draw--and then he laughed at himself and said he would fall apart during the match because he was no longer concerned.


Amen.

Oh, and to complete my no-posting-without-Max thing: damn him for starting off the year so badly!

OK, I don't have HD, WAM, or STARZ. You can officially get back at me that way.

Oh, and those who have seen me post before even once will be able to imagine the steam coming out of my ears last night when the following (paraphrased) statement was made: "The Venus Williams match will be delayed because the Nalbandian-Ferrer match is still going on. Rather than show you that match or even tell you the score, since you no doubt only care about Americans, we'll blather on."

So, so true. I see him play and I drool. I can't help it. He just has such a pretty, gorgeous game. And I'm so happy that he's playing well and that people in Australia really seem to appreciate him.

Does anybody know which match they're going to show tonight and tomorrow afternoon on ESPN?

Tonight it's Agassi, which might be as close to live as I get for this tournament. So I'll be staying up now ... guess I can start downing the caffeine.

This page on espn.com lists the match of the day and for tomorrow too: Serena at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Then here is a story about Roddick talking about the split from Brad. I gotta say, I think it might prove to be short-sighted of him (Roddick). It will show the impatience of youth if his season sucks. That's my theory anyway.

I think tonight's matches are Sharapova and then Agassi-Schuettler. Tomorrow's is Roger.



Oh, my, do I find this true! I have tried to promise to myself (to my husband) that I will be a little calmer with my fangirl thing for Federer, but you guys are making it hard!

Edited because Juanita beat me to it. And also to agree with her about Roddick. Did anyone else imagine Brad's anticipation during that tough first set with Labadze?

And the thing is, I was so proud of Andy for ending it with Tarik Benhabiles and hiring Brad. A very mature and tough decision for him, which proved to be a fabulous move.

What was his comment?

I too was happy to see Federer play his first round match on ESPN. Between that and the five page spread on him in the most recetn Sports Illustrated my heart is filled with Federer goodness.

Agassi is looking trim. The stadium looked pack for ther brief bit of Safin's match that I saw. I hope that he stays around a bit in the tournament. He is one of my favorites and he is nothing if not entertaining.

Boy- Brad Gilbert is acting hyper and awkward. Chris has stared at him a couple of times as a second or two of dead silence has filled the air.

Despite my plans to the contrary, I stuck it out and stayed up until after 2 a.m. watching Agassi. Schuettler pretty much was his own enemy out there. He was too restless IMO.

Surprised at the entertaining (read: longer than expected) Sharapova and Lee-Waters match.

And I was quite annoyed with ESPN blowing up the Kuznetsova story. Chris what's his name and Brad Gilbert had the exact same conversation twice in a 3-hour live broadcast. Puh-leeze. And here they were criticizing the Belgium sports official who went public. Chris (why can't I remember his last name) was almost gleeful at repeating the story over and over such that he was practically saying "well it was wrong for the Belgian to go public but since he did ..." Reminds of that saying, "if you don't have anything nice to say, come sit by me."

So Gilbert and AnnoyingBoy were talking about Dementieva and Kuznetsova and Gilbert says, "put some gloves on them, I'll take Kuznetsova" and AnnoyingBoy says, "well she has the advantage in the weight class." Bastard.

re: Agassi's remarks about Federer
Pam Shriver was interviewing him after his first round victory and alluded to the possibility of Federer in the quarters and Agassi kind of snickered (not rudely) and noted that it would be a good match. His demeanor, IMO, reflected what we've been talking about here: Federer's is the game to beat.

In fact, PMac has a column on ESPN.com and if you can get past the stream of consciousness writing, which reads like a broadcast transcript rather than a written commentary, (didn't this guy go to Stanford?), states that Agassi and Hewitt tailored their off-season conditioning with an eye to beating Federer.

I couldn't agree more, Juanita. Chris (I-had-the-same-problem-so-I-looked-it's-Fowler) not only kept bringing it up but put worse and worse spin on it each time. It's actually what drove me to bed after the second set of Agassi-Schuettler, relying on my trusty TiVo.

CF's way of introducing the story is frequently to present that she was tested and found positive for foreign substances, and then he mentions ephedrine, which he has repeatedly described as a stimulant. Only THEN, after "dramatic" pause does he mention that it's not actually a banned substance and that it was during an exhibition non-tour match.

Hate. Only initially, when he first broke the story with either Mary C or Pam S (oops; which one?) did they really present it well because Mary-Pam kept mentioning how ridiculous it was, saying, "She took a sudafed for her cold! It was exhibition!"

Brad Gilbert, thank you so much for reminding me what I should be grateful for in Cliff and PMac: they don't speak and act like overgrown frat-boys. I'm turning a new leaf, and meanwhile hoping BG's days are numbered.

I am so glad that ESPN is showing the Federer- Takao Suzuki match (even though it's taped). Even though it ended up a three setter, supposidly it was an awesome match as Suzuki pushed Roger and Federer came up with some fantastic stuff. I’ve looked at some news reports, and articles have been describing Federer's play in the match as “brilliant”, “show stopping,” and thrilling.

***I'm spoilering in case any of you try to avoid looking at the live scores so you can be unspoiled when you watch taped matches.***

Here’s a snippet about the match from Reuter’s:

Suzuki, the world No. 203, played his part with some outstanding tennis but defending champion Federer was at his brilliant best, stepping up a gear to snuff out any chance of an upset with a commanding display.

"It was a fantastic match. I had a lot of fun out here tonight," Federer said.

The Swiss, who won three grand slam titles in 2004, thrilled the crowd on Rod Laver Arena with some magical shot-making, the highlight a running forehand from outside the tramlines which passed below the height of the net for a winner.

"The forehand on the run, that's what we've (with coach Tony Roche) been working on for two weeks and I'm happy it worked tonight," he joked. “

I am so glad that ESPN will show this point- so people who have heard the buzz on Federer can see what all of the fuss is about.

Oh- and I must once again comment on the fact that I’m so glad he cut his hair a few months ago. He just looks so much cuter now- even with the headband.

Three cheers for ESPN going waaaay late with the Hewitt-Blake match. Quite a match and with match point at 3:37 am, above and beyond the call of duty for the network I love to hate.

In related news, I need coffee.

After a whole lot of math and then resorting to this website, I figured out that Andre's match against Taylor Dent will begin around 4 a.m. or later EST, which means I won't be seeing it live. My guess is it will be the 2 p.m. featured match tomorrow.

It is!

According to espn.com:

1/20 @ 2 pm - Andy Roddick vs. Greg Rusedski
1/20 @ 11 pm - Serena Williams vs. Sania Mirza
1/21 @ 2 pm - Andre Agassi vs. Taylor Dent

I was also very impressed- and am now very sleepy from staying up to watch it. I just wish James could have held on for the win but I am so glad to see him back on the circuit, and I thought it was cute how obvious it was that Dick Enberg was really fond of him. I had to agree a bit with Patrick when he said that Blake’s let down in the 3rd set was partly, if not mostly mental. But I was glad to see Blake showing some great form in one of his first matches back after a horrendous 2004

Must also say kudos to ESPN for showing a decent bit of the Rafael Nadal/ Mikhail Youzhny match. I love watching Nadal play (I was so impressed with him at Davis Cup.) A match between Nadal and Hewitt would be full of fistpumps and the starting a lawnmower thing that Hewitt does. And Nadal- it takes a brave man to wear capris- but you kinda pulled it off.

I hope that they show some of the upcoming Coria/Ferrero match. Coria is one of my faves and I was happy even to be able to see his set point against Mello. Coria is so cute when he wins on non-clay…seems kind of proud and happy like a little kid.

Liked the brief interview with Lindsay Davenport. I’m actually rooting for her on the women’s side. If not her- maybe Venus. Although Venus is not one of my favorites I would like for her to win one more slam. Speaking of Venus- the shorts and pink socks thing was not working for you.

I wonder if they're going to be showing Federer tonight again. There are a lot of really good 3rd roung match ups: Safin/Ancic, Dent/Agassi, Gaudio/Hrbaty (three cheers for Gaudio for winning twice in a row on hard courts!), and of course Federer against anybody. I'd also like to see a bit of Baghdatis. I really enjoyed the way he played at the US Open against Fed. He's had tough matches in the first two rounds though, so I wonder how he's doing physically... He now plays Robredo. That's going to be interesting.

We also have Nalbandian/Gonzalez and Chela/Hewitt. Lot's of good stuff.

I hated the capris on Nadal. I hated the capris, period. Is it too much to ask the guys to show some legs??? This longer short trend must end. Now. It's unfair that women's tennis attire gets smaller and shorter and the guys keep finding ways to cover themselves up more. Hmph.

I'm really looking forward to the Coria/Ferrero match. I love both of these guys, but I'm hoping Ferrero wins it. He needs it more.

Exactly! I feel like that post needs a "you go, girl!"

Is ESPN actually giving us some good coverage this time? I've seen Federer, Hewitt and Nalbandian. We are actually being treated to some non-Americans. I wonder how long this is going to last. I hope I didn't just jinx us!

ESPN seems to be staying late for a lot of matches this week. I stayed up way too late to watch Hewitt-Blake. I wish Blake could've held on and beat Hewitt, but at least he's back after such a horrific 2004. I can't blame Dick Enberg for having such a fondness for Blake. James Blake always comes across as intelligent and articulate guy and just an all around good guy. I guess the Harvard roots don't hurt.

What ever ended up happening to Cliff Drysdale? He's not with ESPN anymore? He was on during the first day of coverage with Mary Carillo and P-Mc but now they have Dick Enberg and Tim Ryan. They even had Chris Fowler in the booth with P-Mc during the Federer-Suzuki match. Does anyone know what happened to him?

Can I just say "thank you" to the ATP for allowing its players to wear sleeveless shirts! Lleyton, yum....

Yeah, but too bad about his face and his personality. Hate him.

I'm sad that Moya lost so early because I could look at his arms all day.

Let's not forget about the lovely Tommy Haas who was also booted early.:( Is he still rocking that extra long ponytail? I always hated that.

Speaking of apperance, I like the capri pants. Not everyone can wear them but Nadal is young and has the right body type.

I was ok with Brad Glibert outside with Chris Fowler, but why did tptb need to bring him inside to call games as well? Ugh.

Well he was commentating during the Safin match, so perhaps he was just under the weather, or they let Enberg and Ryan take some of the lower-tier matches.

I am boycotting the ausopen.com site until I get home tonight and watch the Agassi match I recorded. However, I wanted to respond to jimena's question and say, sometimes Cliff is entered in the Senior Doubles tournament so maybe he had a match that conflicted with broadcasting? ... although that usually doesn't start until the second week of the Slams. So I dunno. You can look up the players for that tour on the ausopen.com site.

Men should never wear capris. Ever.

But I have no problem with the sleeveless shirts. Yummy.

And Roger looks good with his haircut. And he also looks pretty much unstoppable. Agassi is playing better than he has in a long time and he loves Australia, but no one is beating Federer I'm afraid.

Anyone who is watching today: did ESPN show any Lopez v. Johannson? Sounds like it was a really good one.

Haven't had much of any opportunity to watch yet (too many dang business trips) but we should be getting a big snow this weekend (right Castallack?) and I'm snuggling under the blanket and watching as much as ESPN will show me.

I don't know about Federer winning this. I'd love him to, but he didn't look too good against Nieminen. He was making too many unforced errors, volleying poorly, getting passed quite frequently, his movement was iffy... Still, he managed to win the first set and be up two breaks in the second before Nieminen injured himseld. At times Roger looked like he was practicing. It wasn't fun to watch. And knowing that he plays Baghdatis next doesn't give me a lot of confidence. Everytime he plays a uberamped teenager with nothing to lose I get nervous. I think Baghdatis has a very fun game, and he can beat Roger if Roger plays the way he did against Nieminen.

I'm not even thinking about Agassi yet. That's an entirely different issue that's kind of scary to consider.

I agree. I was doing lots of aspects of his game he's trying to develop, mostly involving his net game. He was serving and volleying on both first and second serves, and chipping and charging on first and second serves. He also tried that forehand drop shot. After that, I thought, "NOW, will McEnroe and Drysdale realize he's trying out shots and plays he's developing?" But I don't think they really got it until later. He'd never lost a set to Nieminen, so it made sense. But I agree he didn't look the genius he did in the first round.

So we'll see how he does as he goes through. It doesn't make sense for him to push himself to be at his absolute best every match in a major. You have to conserve your energy for a two week, best of five tournament.

Just as it seemed things were finally improving on ESPN (i.e. less biased coverage) they had to go and fuck it up. Can someone please explain to me WHY ESPN2 is showing Roddick's match that they already showed last night? The match that really wasn't that interesting to begin with; especially since it was over in three uneventful sets? Especially since yesterday they advertised that today's coverage would be of Hewitt's night match. I'm now extremely pissed since I heard there was some controversy in that Hewitt vs. Chela match and I would really have liked to see the whole thing myself.