1st

Vamos Nico!

Vamos Tommy!

Allez Stan!

MarieJ: your'e probably in bed, but isn't the worm known for shoddy gamesmanship...I remember he drove Blake crazy in LA...but I don't think he's ever done it against the Fed...

But here, here, I'm all for a comfortable Fed victory...

nico and djoko played once at a challenger event, and nico won in straits... i just hope that he comes smoking hot with the serve and fh, bh...
i'm still feeling that last year mini run on clay for djoko was due to the fact that he was on a roll with his improved game rather than his true habilities to play on the clay... today he did not leave me the sense he was playing very good at all to compete with the best guys out there.
he beated andreev who missed every single occasion he had to beat djoko easy in the 3rd set today...
if andreev has a heavy ball, he's going to find out that nico plays that very well and with more depth than the russian.
vamos nico !
allez roger !
vamos tommy !
allez stan !
off to bed !
catch you tomorrow !

How about Nico vs Stan in the final? Hey, we'd still have all those Spanish and Swiss flags waving around in a clay Masters final, right? ; )

so I am back after another exciting day in the life...
so Americans can play on clay - who knew
see what happens when you show up and try , boys?
still , I am sad I will not see Hott Sauce on my screen :(
Hooray for Disco Tommy!
and hooray for Stan -this guy is growing on me - now if he would just lose that neon green shirt

Beth: maybe Stan has lost that neon green shirt; he's worn all-white the last two rounds.

thank goodness , I can fully jump on board the Stan bandwagon - if that shirt has been retired - I did not get to see his match today - my tivo is broken - and I did not get home until he was finished playing
( i know - Safin wears it too - and I hate it on him as well )

now I am sitting here waiting for the cable guy to come and replace the broken dvr box - hope he gets here soon

Beckham: I'm not marieJ, but I've watched Stepanek a few times and he's tough to describe. It's subtle, but I can totally see how he would get under opponents' skins. It's just these little things he does, but they seem kind of manufactured b/c I couldn't see that anything is a consistent habit/behavior. Watching him and imagining playing against him, this is what kept going through my head: "What the HAIL is *that* about?" or "What the HAIL is HE so chipper about?" Also, he doesn't seem to pull this stuff with every opponent -- almost like he knows whose head he can mess with and who doesn't care. This is all speculative, BTW.

As a spectator, I sheepishly admit it kinda cracked me up.

Hi Beth, and everyone else still around! I just got finished with a deposition so I missed the morning's matches. Did Ferrero have a big-upset hangover, or was Stan the Man just that great today? He is playing so well lately.

Did anyone watch Robredo? I am shocked that he ousted Davydenko, who rarely loses to players that he should not lose to.

Voks, I hope you see this, I am responding to your post on the other thread before it moved over here...

I watched the third set of Djokovic-Andreev and was pretty unimpressed with Djokovic's play (as were you and lira vega). I don't think the "transferring hard court style to clay court" is a huge problem, after all Federer did it very successfully for the last two years (this year I think he's actually playing more 'clay style' tennis) but I dunno, he doesn't seem to be thinking that much out there or being patient. If Andreev hadn't made silly mistakes all the time--he'd play some great forehands to set up points and then pfft would come some blatant error--he would have won. Now I also think based on form that Almagro should win (and that's what I predicted) but who knows Almagro may get a bit scared of the situation and not be able to seal the deal.

There were thirteen breaks of serve. Now that's a claycourt match, he he.

This has been a looong day. Bummer Davydenko lost after giving a point to Tommy on match point. I'm looking forward to Djoko-Nico the most among tomorrow's matches.

Jenn, aren't you a partner? Why don't you have a peon associate do the depos? Must be a big case/important client if the partner is doing it.

Hi, Jenn!
sadly - I missed all of the matches except the Fed/ Ivo snooze - serve fest this morning
I was out - and as I just said - no tivo -
well, at least the guy just called - he is on his way
I am shocked about Tommy as well - but Stan has been playing so well lately - I could not say whether Ferrero was having a bad day -

DWiz - know what you mean about Stepanek . I saw him in LA playing Blake - and he seemed to really get on James ' nerves. But after James fits this morning that were described here ,maybe that is not as hard as I thought it might be. I did not see Stepanek do anything I thought was particularly unsporting - but he does have some strange mannerisms . I do like his game though - he plays an all court style that is very effective. So , I enjoyed watching him play.

Becks -

He is, Andy Ram once said after a match (doubles) with him, he'd like to smack him on the head with his Tennis racquet. He isn't known for his sportsmanship, but I haven't actually really seen him doing anything problematic in a match, and I've seen him playing a couple of times - granted, mostly against top 10 players.

Should be an exciting match.

Just watching a replay of Henin and Safina. Poor Safina now she faces Serena!!

beth: Ditto on Stepanek's game. Lots of variety, very fun to watch. Add in him being the part-time pain-in-the-backside to his opponent and seeing them visibly annoyed by it? Y'know, Stepanek might just be the most entertaining player to watch if we're talking actual play and between-points-theatre. ;)

DWiz - yep- he is right up there in the entertaining department
and he was really working James' nerves when I saw him
and as James is just not one of my all time favs ( I cannot get past the J block )
I was kind of enjoying watching him sweat

I like the "what is he gonna do next" kind of excitement
It keeps the spectators guessing

100 percent agree with you crazyone. And to add, I wouldn't be surprised if Djoko's eventual loss tomorrow goes down to 'partly deliberate underperformance' for various reasons (guess what word I'm avoiding to use here). Not that Almagro wouldn't have a chance of beating him other way around - far from it - but there are indications that Djoko will go all 'fedvsfish' on me here... ;)

Howdy TW.

Goodness gracious, I come into TW Situation room after a few days an all hail has broken loose. Just realised that Justine lost.

For the few of us in the Andy brigade(hi Whitney, Rachael, Annabelle),it's a great day. Having lowered expectations during the clay season is doing wonders for me right now. Andy's matchpoint shot was sublime.

Kolya and Disco's match turned out to be a nailbiter. We got to see Kolya the Assasin(rant at the ump), Kolya the great(gave back a point) but Kolya the magnificent failed to show. Still gutted for Kolya.

Haha, Voks, at least you think consistently... ;)

But if I were Djoko I'd be motivated by the thought of ranking points (I calculated yesterday--if he wins both Rome and Hamburg and Rafa doesn't play Hamburg, he becomes number 2, though I guess this is an unlikely scenario).

Who do you think will win Rome? I know who I *want* to win Rome, but this year I am too scared to predict things like that.

Most folks watching tennis in 2006 remember the Nadal - Federer Rome F. But the Almagro - Federer QF and the Nalbandian - Federer SF matches were top class scraps.

Almagro, then ranked 54, took Federer to 5-5 in the third, losing the set 7-5. He won 48% of the points to Federer's 52%. I'll keep an eye open for this fellow, I thought back then.

The next day saw an even better match. Nalbandian was up a break in the third set, and punished Federer throughout the match with wide serves to the ad court. At key points in the match, particularly BPs, Nalbandian would S-and-V to the ad side. Finally, at 4-5 in the TB, Nalbandian tried the same tactic, and this time Federer unleashed a BH topspin pass off the return, roaring "Come on!" Federer would win the TB 7-5. The points score was 115 Federer, 114 Nalbandian.

Andrew: but Almagro was also the guy Federer defeated in Rome last year before losing to Volandri. Almagro must have been in pretty bad form himself to lose to Federer so easily when Federer was in a slump.

I wonder if Djokovic's "after 9 pm" start will have any affect on him. Is he used to playing at night under the lights?

"if he wins both Rome and Hamburg and Rafa doesn't play Hamburg, he becomes number 2, though I guess this is an unlikely scenario)."

crazyone, I totally agree with you that this is an unlikely scenario especially considering the fact that Djoko is more susceptible to fatigue after doing extremely well in consecutive tournaments. I was just looking at last year:

Montreal - Cinci - US Open : W - 2R - F

This year:

IW - KB : W - 2R

While most may not talk about it, the fatigue does affect them all when they choose to play tournaments consecutively especially after doing well in the first. Nadal kind of tried though with IW and KB considering these are HC tourneys.

IW - KB : SF - F

crazyone: ?? Not sure that follows. During the 2007 clay court season, Federer lost to two players - Volandri and Nadal (*2). The match score was 66-54 - a clean kill, but hardly an easy victory.

I thought Federer struggled through Hamburg - which he ended up winning. But he looked like a wounded lion all the way up to the middle of the second set against Nadal in the final. His victories over Monaco, Ferrer and Moya were hard fought affairs.

Espn360 to show WTA matches...which executive do I need to send a gift basket and then make out with?! Finally, some sense.

Sorry, Andrew--I guess I wasn't clear. I'm saying that Almagro doesn't always bring his best to these encounters. He hit Federer in the first match of Rome 2007, a tournament in which he definitely struggled, but Federer came through with what definitely seems from the statistics (he only faced one break point, which he saved) with an *uncomplicated* victory. I can't imagine that Rome 2007 2R was Federer at his best, so I'm assuming that it wasn't Almagro at his best either. He's a bit inconsistent when facing the top dogs.

crazyone: OK. Almagro did take Federer to a third set at Cincinnati, and but for an ankle twinge might have made the third set closer.

Almagro has faced Nadal twice, both times on clay, 0-2 (surprise!) The 2006 encounter in the Barcelona SF was 55%-45% Nadal.

Almagro has only played Djokovic in Challengers in Manerbio, 2004 (he won 6-4, 6-2).

Sometimes I wonder if these tennis reporters actually follow the game. Here is another example.

Evidently Federer had an "upset scare" today...(I need an eye roll emoticon), do they know anything about Karlovic? Do they know anything about how upsets are defined? Djokovic had a bit of a scare since he lost the second set and Andreev had a break point in the first game of the second, so it's a bit of a fairer description in that case, but still...

http://sportal.co.nz/Tennis-news-display/federer,-djokovic-survive-scares-48066

Federer, Djokovic survive scares
9/05/2008 11:08:10 AM
PA Sport
Related Links

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic both avoided becoming the latest upset victims at the Rome Masters as they overcame early struggles to win their respective third-round matches at the ATP Masters Series claycourt tournament.

crazyone - Fed 75 percent is my pick for Rome. And of course I showed consistency, why wouldn't I? ;)
......

On the side note - I was very impressed with Andreev. I mean it was a crap match which he lost but I found myself enjoying his game never the less. Here's my breakdown:

Serve - awkward and weak. too weak for elbow-strike to have an effect (it never does unless youre Arod or Ivo). Sure, works on clay more but not against someone like Djoko who returns with depth esp on BH side. Its more 'returnable' than 'readable' but still - weak.

Backhand - ordinary and weak. A simple stroke technique-wise. He uses it just as return shot to opponent, not for winners (he might to but lacks mentality for it). Barely useless on stretch. No pop whatsoever. No DTL option.

Forehand - A beauty. Proportionally less power and variation than Nadals but still an efficient stroke. More classic in my mind, simply because it does not 'strike put' as Rafas. Goes for lines when powered from corners, from both sides but esp IO. Easy for him to execute when he sets it up rightly. Can be overpowered by someone like DJoko but still... a thing of beauty. Cant think of anyone else but him that resembles Nadals forehand.

Movement - depending on mentality (as with everyone) as was evinent today, but enough of the 'butterfly' effect to be both efficient and pleasing to ones eye. Can get heavy, depending on mentality again.

Volleys - weak technique and incosistent. Evidently he has not payed much effort to it when young - didn't need them. Has some talent.

Mentality - weak. Depends on surface, meaning he is aware of where his strenghts lay. (don't know his HC history to the letter, but I think I'm not far form it) Typical of under 20 rank player - almost too aware of his game-deficiency, which is a shame, he could do much better.

All in all, very interesting player to watch on clay for me.

It depends on the publication; a lot of sports reporters are covering football, baseball and basketball—with tennis, figure skating, etc., etc., just an after thought. So, it's very possible for a reporter on a sports beat not to know too much (or care, maybe less) about tennis. It's just a part of their job description.

Follow the game they do but write the game as is they don't ;-) many at times

Voks:

On the Andreev backhand: His drive backhand was OK, though the backhand to backhand rallies with Djoko made me nervous. His slice backhand was just terrible. Most of the time it would end up in the net, if not, it just set Djokovic up for some easy net play. He used it at very bad times, too.

About the Andreev forehand: I felt he hooked it too much sometimes? I dunno, maybe I just like the flatter ones better. Obviously the hooked topspin forehands work well for Nadal but sometimes Andreev seemed to hook them *too* much.

Hey everyone

Did predict Blake might upset Verdasco. Happy that Robredo won. Looking forward to Almagro playing today. It looks like I'll have to go to bed then get up again. Hope I have tv coverage. And the glam team are playing today as well.

Off to read posts.

Hey all! Just popping in to check scores. LOL at Andy's interview. Anyway - off to celebrate with some friends. Will have a GE in honor of the Twibe!!

How close is Wawrinka to entering the top 20? Has he already achieved it based on what he's done in Rome? What if he wins a few more rounds (frankly, I could see him even making the final)?

crazyone, I'm fairly sure he already has. Also, if Almagro wins tomorrow he'll enter the top 10, but I believe he will stay there only if Robredo loses because Robredo will bump him out of the 10 spot with a win.

Oh and to the second part of your question, if Wawrinka makes it to the finals he'd gain 345 points, so my rough estimate would put him around 13? It depends on how Robredo and Almagro fare since they are all fairly close in points but both are ahead of Stan.

Rachel / Jackie Bolleli looks a little bit like the short guy in Entourage.

I have the English band The Sundays's on my radio. The girl singer has such a gorgeous voice. Very melodic.

Hey Beth hope your day/night got a lot better despite Verdasco not winning. A drink or two usually helps.

Hey Whitney how did you go in your finals. Glad you went out to celebrate with a few drinks.

Not that alot of people would care, but I have always kinda liked Jelena Dokic, and she is now in the semi's of an ITF tournament in Italy.....I hope she can continue her climb, she has had a rough go of it

beth - condolences on the tv - but really - at least it didn't happen during *gasp* the French! :)

*yawn* just got home from dinner and trying to cath up.

*hugs Kolya* good on him... pity about his magic racket - breaking a string. sigh - i doubt i can be up late enough to catch the end of the match...

*off to check the days events*

I have gone onto the Berlin site to read players interviews and they are not posted. Anyone else having a problem with this. I was hoping to read Henin's post interview.

Just saw the TB b/w Roger and Ivo on TC and these 2 points swung the breaker Roger way:

(1) At 2-all, Ivo missed an easy FH wide that would have given him the mini-break after Roger hit a low BH on a FH volley at his feet
(2) At 3-all, Ivo hit an I/O FH that hit the net and bounced wide.

After that, Roger hit a 2nd serve ace for 5-3 and a blazing FH return on Ivo serve for set point.

Aussie Ange - well things did get some better
at least my dvr now works - so I can record tennis tomorrow :)
and i get to play tennis tomorrow - so my day is looking up
I am sad about Verdasco - but well , I am having a glass of wine - so even that is looking better

whitney - are your finals done
and you are now an official graduate - congratulations!

I am trying to see the attraction to Bolelli - and I am just missing it - I did not get to see him match today - so maybe he just does not photograph well
will have to keep an eye out for him

ahhh - the 9:53 was me
sorry using mark's laptop and it did not have my info in it

anyway - thanks ,jb - that tv breaking thing at the French would have caused a meltdown
in my house that you would have heard from LA to Boston - and it would have been Missie - not me
She has resigned herself to this tournament , as both Richard and Rafa are no longer in it
but , well next week and the French - hope springs eternal
( ahhh, young love :))

ah a night out for GEs in warm NYC, delight!

as I watch Disco TOmmy on DVR, I'm kinda loving all the one handed backhand players left in the draw...Fed, Stan Stan, Disco all have amazing one handers, flowing and fun to watch... woo hoo I canceled a meeting tomorrow that coincided with Fed's match, i got cheated today from any entertainment but I expect tomorrow to be excellent...

Red Rogie is def. back firing on all cylinders...

Tim: You forgot Almagro, whose backhand is AMAZING.

oh! I did forget him totally, it IS amazing... four great one handers, very fun, i loved bolleli's today, too, he just kinda flaked a bit, but very Fed like in his play... enjoyable

Tim - so that is why you were not our bartender tonight?
so I made fajitas for dinner - in honor of my favorite little Mexican place that burned down yesterday
I hope they turn out to be edible - I was so having an envie for a fajita yesterday
and poof - my place to get them was gone
so - I had to try on my own
we shall see

speaking of one handed backhands- it was not until IW this year that I even realized the Tommy Robredo had a one hander - I guess I just never got past the patrician good looks :)

beth, Tommy looked good when you saw him at IW? I thought he looked old today for some reason.

lol beth, i love the unabashed glee with which many here enjoy the shall we say between points attributes of some of the players lol

I think back in the day only Nastase and Newcombe could have been considered eye candy...today there are quite a few if TW has anything to say about it!

Hi, Beth! I'm sorta with you on the Bolelli thing. Maybe we just need to see a match and then we'll have a better idea. (I don't dare say this in Rachael's presence!)

bolleli - i paid particular attention to him in Miami - he's a bit of a cutie pie, imo...!

the lovely thing about tennis is it has everything, heroic endeavors, individual striving and scheming, incredible athleticism, and very very pretty eye candy!

ad - no I don't think he looked old
his face looks a little thinner than I remembered it - so maybe that was it
course, as I am considerably older than these guys
none of them look that old to me - sad but true
tim - Borg was always eye candy - and that is part of my enjoyment of the game
the cute boys in shorts angle - as jb calls it
for the record , neither Nastase or Newcombe ever really did anything for me
jackie - I think I am gonna have to see him in action - so I am not closing out the idea that I might find him appealing - just reserving judgment

jb- yes , tennis has something for everyone !
I have the some of the same feelings about football
I love the action - the athleticism - the testosterone and unabashed violence
and of course, big , muscular men in tight pants
it's all good :)

beth, I didn't mean Tommy was old like I am.....just older than I remember him. Might just be I haven't had the opportunity to look at him lately. I can't remember the last time I saw one of his matches before today.

Crazyone: the Swiss newspapers said Wawrinka's win today would bring his ranking up to a career-high 24. So if he gets through another round he would be in the top 20.

jhurwi: Wawrinka's ranking was at 24 when this tournament started(after Barcelona) ...so this tournament can only enhance it...

Gosh with work deadlines and still reading the other thread. Sher you mentioned Spain choosing a slow clay court. You failed to mention Almagro may get picked as he has had a great clay season. I don't know how he would handled it emotionally but I would go with him as he would have team support. Just as a surprise packet. Really looking forward to his match. I know Ferru beat him in Valencia.

I more concern with the surface Argentina are going to choose over Russia.

Beth loved your comment @10.23pm why you love fball. That is why I love Aussie Rules is so physical and emotional. And yes they have great bodies and they wear shorts so you get to see their legs.

Lol Aussie Ange!

ad - got it !
Aussie Ange- I have never seen Aussie rules football - but sounds like I would like that as well

Beth you would absolutely get involved with it. Very cute looking boys. And they don't wear shoulder pads or helmets.

so I am waiting for Grey's Anatomy come on
I know , it is just eye candy , but i really enjoy it
cannot wait to see McSteamy and McDreamy
yummy!

Aussie Ange- sounds good
those shoulder pads do distract from the view
but , well it is all part of the football package
and I am kind of used to it
I have seen some rugby once when I was in Fiji - they were showing the All Blacks
and those guys were really tough

Paul Hanley has been arrested

kath- why?

Apparently over an alleged date rape. Reports say he is out on bail after a woman made the claims that it took place after they met in a bar near Wimbledon. It's being called a breaking story, so it's a little sketchy.

thanks kath, ssems a little weird but i was never a real fan of him so...

hello everyone who's still awake *waves* What a shocker today!! Henin out?? I was like whoa.
But the recent ESPN360/WTA announcement has just made my day, week and month!!! woohoo. At last some tennis!!

hi..can anyi give me the link to Brad Gilbert's article on Nadal, where he said that Rafa would not win the French Open?

The tennis schedule for the clay court seasons needs to change. As a fan I already feel cheated of watching clay court tennis at it's finest. What a shame!

Kath thanks for that breaking news story. Wow. I didn't think tennis players did that kind of thing I will have to go and check out the Australian newspapers will try and link any info I get.

Hey Jungleboy no footie this week. Does this mean the mid season break is off in June. Bad luck about Riewouldt (sp!) out for about 2 months.

Davydeko's out? Wow. What a tournament this is turning out to be.

rg.nadal, there's no link per se. It's actually in the May edition of the Tennis magazine. If you like I can sit down sometime (maybe this wknd) and type it out for you to read and send it to your email address. It's not that long of an article. Just let me know.
Speaking of which, will I be violating any copyright issues by doing that??....lol. Help me out people.

KG: Thank you. It would be great if u cud do that. As for copyright violation the top dogs would know only if i tell them! I assure you that i wud keep it a secret.

scaring news for some spanish girls players who are stucked in the middle of the libanese war in beirut...
talk about being in the wrong place...
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeporte/2008/05/09/tenis/1210323929.html
i hope they can find a way to get out of the country asap in one piece. i really feel bad and scared for those young woman.

last time thousands of refugees came back to europe in military ans sanitarian flights, it was nightmarish for the people involved who lost about everything, many of them landed in paris.

New CC post up...