Allez Roger

ooh wow, I suppose I should say something like, first, eh??

I'm so bummed out that Brady is out for the season, way to kill an ooh soooo wonderful day...;(

PHENOMENAL pic. :)

Ah lovely pic. Fed front and centre holding silverware

Hi Tari! I just so wish I had some bubbly on hand for this occasion. Isn't it jb who indulges in it regularly, what a nice habit.

I definitely think this is the most valuable of Roger's trophies: at least now nobody can say that he won it in a weak era.
Isn't it amazing that he won second year in a row fighting off a much younger talented player!

crazyone (I really think your moniker should be 'wiseone')and other Roger fans: what do you think should be Fed's schedule for the rest of the season?

NP, AM. I know you didn't mean what you said, but some people do think like this: not outgoing = antisocial. I mean, c'mon. As you can clearly see I'm far from antisocial or shy. I can talk all day long. I just like my private time, baby. And I'm definitely with you on variety of lifestyles. Looks like you're doing pretty well in that department. :)

Ren, we can talk Federer if you want. Just not Federer to the infinite. :)

Congrats Fed!

***returns high fives from Fed fans**

Hate to tell you though.... the recipe for a REAL Federinka is actually 1 part Underberg and 2 parts Polish Vodka - Words can't describe what an 'acquired' taste it is.

Salute'!

great photo of roger with the trophy,may i say,too glad he wasn't in all taupe outfit,like his colour combo much better!

Congrats to Roger and all of his TWibe fans! 5 USO's and 13 GS's! It's an excellent end to the GS season and I'm happy to see Rog back in champion form. Party on!

nT, I'm actually happy for Fed. Good to see him "salvage" his season. Hate to admit it, but looks like he's on his way to breaking the great Sampras' record. BTW what makes you think I'm a non-introvert?

How long it has been since a picture of Fed lifting a Championship trophy has appeared on a Your call/CC thread!?

NP: That sounds better! I thought you sounded more depressed than an introvert a while back. While introversion can be a psychological state, it can still change as personalities are dynamic. (now the psychologist in me is talking *winks*)

nT: Thanks for the advice. Perhaps you can do better.

After tonight and the gold medal performance, I'm convinced Fed should always wear red. ;)

np yes i am married to someone,that loves going on marathon shopping trips,mmmm,sometimes he dosen't talk at all,he says he can't get a word in edge way,mmm the cheek of the man,! methinks he looks forward to be away at sea,if only a month at a time!

Great pic, I want to thank all the writers on this blog because I really enjoyed this USO, both the player I picked won. There is tennis after Justine because I really had a great time in these last two weeks. So thanks and good nite all.

As an extravert married to an introvert (with an extraverted daughter), I can attest that understanding and sympathizing with the different ways of using your energy makes a big difference to a relationship.

Myers-Briggs types help a lot. FWIW, I'm an ENTP.

Jackie: Serena and Fed wore red! It's amazing that both won!

NP: No, I'm sure it is you who bores the he[ck] out of parties. ;)

Rejoining the Twibe with a big sigh of relief after avoiding posting (and even lurking) for much of the year because it got too depressing for this Federer fan to read some of the things that were being said. I got too nervous to watch the second set after Murray broke back, and switched over to watch the news instead, coming back just in time to see the end of the third set. Then Fed made me late starting dinner because he failed to serve out the match the first time around--but I couldn't go in the kitchen and miss the celebration after such a tough year!
I made a post a couple of weeks ago on the first day of the Pilot Pen but was too busy to post on our second day there or on our day at the U.S. Open (first Thursday). The Pilot Pen this year certainly was the place to catch up on the younger generation, "thanks" to the Olympics. We saw almost everyone in singles and in women's doubles who eventually reached the semi-finals, though we were not as impressed with Cilic as I guess we should have been. The only set we watched Cilic play (against Melzer) was the only one he lost in the entire tournament. On the women's side, we were impressed with Cirstea (both in singles and in doubles) and with Wozniacki, whose victory over Chadvatadze in the final was not really an upset based on the quality of play we saw from each of them earlier on.
Whatever Alize Cornet is doing that has impressed the tennis world was not evident to us either in the match we saw her play at the Pilot Pen or the one in the second round of the U.S. Open (which we saw only because we wanted to be sure we had seats in the Grandstand for Murray-Llodra--it was the sort of error-fest that gives women's tennis a bad name). However, she eventually won both of those matches, so I guess she hangs in there even when she cannot get her serve in for love nor money.
Congratulations to all Murray fans (a group in which I often count myself when he's not playing Federer) on his excellent showing--someday I'll be able to say I saw him play at the first U.S.Open that really put him on the map. I thought he was very gracious in his remarks today--he's made a lot of improvement in the PR department! (though someone should tell him not to keep hitching up his shorts and shirt when he's on TV waiting for the trophy presentation)

great job by fed and congrats to fed and his legions! i wish andy had put up more of a fight but glad to see rog get his confidence back.

regarding THE CALL:
for years and years i've been amazed at the bad calls in baseball. the umps really are blind. i'd bet the percentage of close calls on sliding into a base are pretty darn bad. slow motion has shown over and over again how bad these guys are.

if matt thinks that one line call is going to ruin his writing on this match then i surely and truly hope he doesn't have to write about baseball!
let's not talk about the strike zone...

football, baseball, they all have really bad calls. instant replay is helping but...

so, bad call but it was in murray's hands.

great job by fed and congrats to fed and his legions! i wish andy had put up more of a fight but glad to see rog get his confidence back.

regarding THE CALL:
for years and years i've been amazed at the bad calls in baseball. the umps really are blind. i'd bet the percentage of close calls on sliding into a base are pretty darn bad. slow motion has shown over and over again how bad these guys are.

if matt thinks that one line call is going to ruin his writing on this match then i surely and truly hope he doesn't have to write about baseball!
let's not talk about the strike zone...

football, baseball, they all have really bad calls. instant replay is helping but...

so, bad call but it was in murray's hands.

sorry about that, i got an error page! i swear!

Jhurwi put this win in your pocket and remember it through the tough times.

It's a shame when making 1 GS semi and 3 GS finals is a slump, but that's the Federer benchmark is so exacting.

Enjoy it!

Our local station like many CBS affiliates pulled the plug on this match as it sent tennis fans to HD tennis clubs and the net! CBS should come down hard on these guys that show two weeks of coverage then................pull the rug on the mens final!

Hi everyone - working on a post now, it will be live a little later. . . congrats to all the TMF fans, first and foremost to Tari because I know how hard it's sometimes been to bite her lip!

Russ: That's quite frank there!

Andrew, here's my very belated response. I'm actually glad that you enjoyed the article, but to me it's nothing more than a fanboy's paean to his godly superhero. Seriously, what insight, spiritual or not, does the article have to interest non-Fedfan readers? I can't think of anything, really. Yes, Federer can and has made some shots that we aren't likely to see often, but so what? Did Wallace really think most readers would care enough to read his one-zillion-word essay? It's the kind of writing that belongs in a personal blog, not a general-interest newspaper. But again I do agree that sports and religious analogies don't go well together.

Ren: Great observation! Maybe I need to wear red more often, too ... ;)

NP, It was you who posted the Atlantic article, right? I have e-mailed that same article to many people over the years, as I found it a great description of introverts (like me, hence the lurking). So funny to see it on TW.

Congrats to all my fellow Fed fans. I never saw this coming, but it is SWEET!

Cheers!

NP: By the way, why can't we talk about Federer and Federer and Federer now most especially that our man won?

ah NP i am only thinking of one man today... and you ain't him
be what you want.

Jackie: To the Chinese, red is an auspicious color. And so, they won most of the golds!

Hello there fellow Fed and Murray fans. First up, thanks to all the Rafa fans for their outpouring of support to us Fed fans. I know I for one appreciated it. To all the Murray fans (of which I am now a convert unless he is playing Roger) congrats your guy did well, but TMF came to play today and he would not be denied. 2009 is looking pretty good right about now and I have to agree with Roger, tennis is in a good place right now. The young people who are coming up on both tours is a sight to behold. I am sure the ATP/WTA must be very proud of the long term marketability of the sport. When we have ambassadors of the likes of Roger, Rafa on the men's side and Serena, JJ on the women's side, tennis can only reach a wider audience, which can only be good for the sport. Hopefully more and more cable providers will pick up the Tennis Channel and that it will be offered in many more countries as well so that we can all get to see and experience this wonderful sport. I hope to see the day when I can turn on my tv in Jamaica or Cayman and switch to my favourite channel and find tennis on at any hour of the day or night.
This US Open was a wonderful 2 weeks and I am glad to say that whilst I spent it in the living room of my house sharing moments with friends from afar and being a languid couch potato I could not have asked for a better finale.
Go Roger and Serena - US Open Champions for 2008

Re the bad call in the second set of the final: in skimming through the CC thread, I saw that a lot of poster were saying the British press would moan and groan and say Murray lost only because of that call. I've only read the BBC and Guardian sites (I'm sure "Court Coverage" will excerpt the others tomorrow) but that doesn't seem to be their take on the match. Although both sites mention the call (the Guardian in considerable detail), they both say Federer blew Murray away. I'm not sure the U.K. commentators were even aware of the bad call at the time, since the BBC's "Murray-Federer as it happened" blog doesn't seem to mention it.

Hey all Fed Kadz,

Congratulations to you and to Roger....

HAppy happy smiles....and hugs to you all...

Hugs to Andy. You are so good. You will win one very soon.
Hugs also to RAfa. Incredible year!

Ren, I'm rarely depressed. I daresay I'm probably more upbeat than most extroverts out there, at least on most days.

AM, I forgot about your hubby's marathon shopping sprees. Well, you still seem to get along with him, so that's no problem, right? :)

And Russ, don't know why you included those brackets. I'm seeing a sinister force at work here....

NP: OK. But did YOU like it?

nT; LOL!!!!

ren, my husband dosen;t show any emotion at all,after wimbledon this year,i was crying,here just sat there and said,mmmm,the final of borg and mcenroe was better in 1980,wne't to bed after that statement,i was so over come by emotion for rafa,i just sat there,otherwise i would have thrown something at him for sure!

Ren,
Just got back from getting something to eat and the answer is yes that Murray is number 4 in the race and rankings.

aNDREW: I AM AN ENTJ. But I don't limit myself to the MBTI man. One can choose to be an ambivert if one wishes!

np i never said i get along with him? lol!

I rather like this piece
http://tinyurl.com/6ngd6y

I rather like this piece
http://tinyurl.com/6ngd6y

Was Tiger Woods there anyone?

I didn't see the match, I was on the road.

Master Ace: Hi! You always make me wonder about your whereabouts. But thank you, guru.

low chicago, yes that was me. This was actually the 1st time I referred people to that article, but I know many others have done the same. It sure comes in handy for us introverts. :)

Ren, I have no problem if you wanna talk Federer all day long. I'd just prefer not to be dragged in. :)

nT, thinking of only one man? Let's see.... Ah, yes. Auster.

Andrew, I think you already know the answer to your question....

AM: Guess, introversion is just one aspect of one's personality. The MBTI is a preference test. So, people can change.

Sorry if I've said this already, but what a classy press conference by Andy Murray. We could all learn from his grace under disappointing circumstances.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! what a relief!! As the losses mounted and he kept losing to lowly ranked players , I was beginning to think that he would never win a Grand Slam again. This Slam must be the most precious of all his 13 slams. And he has saved his fans from a miserable winter wondering if he will ever again win a Slam.
Thanks Roger.. Want you to win many more. And please get a coach

AM, afraid I can't help you with that. I'm no marriage counselor, as you may well have guessed. :)

Roger's presser is up:
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/interviews/2008-09-08/200809081220925546305.html

murakami

NP: yup. When Sylvia and I hear a particularly scathing review of something, we'll ask each other "but did he like it." In joke, I guess.

Of course, you don't get to have people like John McEnroe describe someone as "the most beautiful player I've ever seen" (4th set, USO F vs Roddick) without gaining one or two fanboys and fangirls. Count me among their number.

OK, off running with my 11 year old daughter.

NP: I am not dragging you. It was an invitation. Your choice man. And it is respected. It is just sad that you are not able to share joy with your friends! While misery loves company, I would rather that misery should have a joyful company! I was trying to share with you MY (our) JOY, but you rejected it. Noitice it. I am here.

Before I say goodnight to all, here's the headline that I love the most:

www.tsn.ca

Go Roger!

Rog keeps it all in perspective.
---------------------------
Q. I know your priority is Wimbledon, but how sweet is winning the US Open? This is No. 5. Could you compare both?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, kind of. I mean, it's nice to compare five Wimbledons to five US Opens, you know, no doubt. Not many guys ‑‑ nobody can do that, you know. (laughter.)

So it's quite nice, you know. I'm quite proud obviously of my achievement. It takes a lot out of a player, you know, always trying to go from one tournament to the next and trying to do your best, you know, but I mean, it's been a tough summer.

I think the French Open loss was brutal, but I got over that one pretty easily, played great on the grass, and had a really tough loss at Wimbledon which ‑‑ you know, I was proud to be part of such a great match, but at the same time, you know, it just sort of made me sad, you know, not having won that great epic match. Maybe I was always dreaming about it and not winning it, you know.

I was always positive, you know. I knew that if things go my way, and this year hasn't always been the case. You know, I lost quite a few matches I should have never lost, and they hurt. Now, getting the fifth US Open, it really means a lot to me. I really thank the fans, as well, the crowds. They were great.

I mean, from the beginning, that's really what I was hoping for.

And losing my No. 1 ranking, that's also what meant a lot to me this season. So to bounce back straightaway after losing the No. 1 ranking, this is the best scenario ever.

One interesting consequence of Murray's rise to the top 4, assuming he can stay there, is that it makes Djokovic (or whoever is ranked #3 among the current top 4) less relevant than he has been since he rose to #3. As things will stand as of tomorrow, both the #3 and #4 players in the world can beat--and have beaten--the #1 and #2 players on any given day on a hard court, which was not the case when Davydenko or Ferrer held the #4 spot. So Djokovic becomes less of a wild card now that he was before. The days when one of the top two seeds got a "free pass" into the finals while the other one had to duke it out with Djokovic in the semis are over, because Murray can be as much of a threat to the top two as Djokovic. What that probably means is that there will be more variety in final match-ups than in years past.

Do you see that as a positive/negative/irrelevant development for (a) the players involved and (b) the popularity of tennis among the casual tennis/sports fan?

I'm so happy. Missed it, being on airplane. Anyone know if they will replay? I'd enjoy watching it so much.

nT, I'm terribly unfamiliar with Japanese literature, so no comment this time.

Andrew, for the record I'm quite fond of Federer as a tennis player. I just don't consider myself a fanboy. Anyway have a good time with your girl.

Ren, I think you may be taking this a bit too seriously, so I'll respond in kind. You see, the reason why I've declined to join in is because I think a simple congrats to Federer, whom I do like but who isn't my absolute fave, is enough. I just prefer to read, talk and discuss tennis in general. I mean, Peter Bodo has many interesting things to say even when he's praising a player to the heavens as a fan. He just doesn't say, "Oh, what a player! What shots! I'm so happy for you! How bad would I have felt if you had lost! You mean the world to me!" Hopefully that explains it better.

Just saw the WTA ceremony last night on a link provided by tennisesq earlier today in Day 14 thread and Jelena is a funny lady. First saying that she wants to play rather than get her check. Once Serena was about to receive her check, Jelena asked how much and Mary Carillo said you don't follow this stuff. Hilarious.

ren, i will just send another bottle of the vintage stuff,over to you to enjoy,here it comes! lol!

sorry to be late to the party, but I just finished watching the match! it was hard to be on media blackout since I work right in Times Square, but I made it! omg, hooray for Fed! LOVED the little stutter step/wave into the camera on his way to his chair--in fact, I may have to watch that again... ;)

NP i just fell of my futon.

I am not familiar with it either but have read all Murakami.
i would recommend it highly.
Banana Yoshimoto too

kiwibee: Long live the King!

When Fed won Wimbledon 2007 in five sets, I felt that his desire to hang on to his Wimbledon title was very plain to see and outstripped his desire for any other title by miles. It seemed like his world would always be right as long as he was Wimbledon champion. When he eventually lost it, how would he react? Would a downward spiral caused by lower confidence leading to weaker results leading to lower confidence overwhelm him to the point where his motivation would be severely affected? Or, in a strange way, would the pressure suddenly being off make him play freely again and continue doing well. It has seemed to me that by mid to late 2006 and through 2007, he was playing the big matches increasingly tighter and the nerves were affecting him. He stopped talking about how he was just a little cookie in the scheme of things and started talking about trying to overtake Sampras' 14-slam mark. It seemed like all this pressure was slowly taking its toll.

Well, he lost his Wimbledon title in a tough five setter this year. His world was definitely very different now. The last few months, it seemed like it was an open question as to how it had affected him mentally. He had lousy results during the two Masters events and promptly lost his no. 1 ranking. He definitely also looked like he was slower than last year in many matches throughout this tournament. But during this tournament it seems like he was playing simply because he was hungry and he wanted to win plain and simple. The burden of expectations and the pressure to match records was not the same as it has been in the recent past. Especially in the final it seemed like this allowed him to play more freely than we have seen recently. His play today in patches reminded me of what it was like watching him play in 2005 and 2006. It would be great if he could continue to show flashes of brilliance and hopefully sustained brilliance for a little while longer. Today's win goes a long long way to allay my fear that when his world got shattered after a Wimbledon loss, he would sour on the pressures of the tennis world and decline rapidly. He seems to have reacted well to not being numero uno. Tennis is so much the better for it!

nT: Thank heavens you don't have a bunkbed.

How sweet it must be ... congratulations to Fed fans.

Will there be a bit of poetry coming our way Madame Pockets

Will there be a bit of poetry coming our way Madame Pockets

Wilander :

"This is a huge moment for Federer. I was one of those critics who maybe thought the days of him winning Grand Slams were over.

After this, I would say he's going to win more Grand Slams, many more, if he continues to play with the kind of passion he has now."

I don't like to bring this up right now, (grace in victory and all that) but I was a bit surprised to see that Wilander thought Federer would never win a Grand Slam title again. Atleast he had a reason for thinking that Federer might not capture the No. 1 spot as he hasn't set the world alight in the Masters series and smaller events, possibly because they don't mean as much anymore. But I don't see more that 3-4 guys capable of denying Federer in the Grand Slams. Nadal is obviously still a huge puzzle, one that he may never figure out. Still, it's not a huge leap of imagination to see him winning Slams like this one, where Nadal gets taken out. So I was a bit surprised that Wilander would think that.

# 13 was sweet. At 27 it’s kind of like an insurance break in the final set—it brings the final ascent into sharp focus. And it shakes off that pesky Roy Emerson.

I was totally cracking up @ this....

Q. You mentioned you lost a few tournaments. Did that bother you that there seemed to be this growing conventional wisdom that Roger Federer has had a great career but he may have peaked at this point and he's on the downside. Did that ever get to you?

ROGER FEDERER: No, I don't think it got to me, but I was aware of it. I mean, I'm a bit disappointed. Sometimes to a point a bit annoyed, because all sorts of crazy people started writing me and trying to reach me, telling me I need some help either mentally or physically. (Laughter) You're laughing but it's the way it goes. People come out of closet and think they can start helping me now. It's just a pain.

For me, this sort of puts them to rest a little bit, and calms down the phones at my parents' a little bit, which I'm happy about.

Of course you just fell off your futon, nT. Reading fancy lit does that to ya. Anyway thanks for the tips. I'll get to your authors after I'm done with... well, most of the Western canon.

i too thought he would never win another slam, thank God i was wrong.

Codge, sorry ... had to step away for a minute.

Yes, poem will be coming.

Sally how could you think he wouldn't win another slam. That is just ridiculous. Look how long it took Sampras to win his 14 and I think Roger is winning his a lot more comfortably.

I am really considering going to the AO next year and getting tixs for the men's final. I am due holidays. That would make up for not getting to go to Spain this year.

Agree that Fed should not play the exos. Go home and relax. Go to the Maldives. Betcha Fed goes to NY Fashion Week.

Haven't seen the match, will watch it when I get home.

Agree on Andy Murray he is maturing slowly.

I would fear Murray more than Djorko in any final. Don't know why just a feeling.

"i am only thinking of one man today"

Aww, Naughty. You were thinking about me today? :)

"And it shakes off that pesky Roy Emerson"

That was cute, JR. Nice to have the pesky Aussie in the rearview mirror, eh? :)

And no, Naughty, I didn't mean you as the pesky Aussie. :)

YAY! He did it!

(darn I'm late again)

I'm actually a bit worried about Federer's serve though...after the first set, it declined a LOT. In the third set he was only serving at 46%, and he only had 3 aces for the match (and two of those I think were in the first game!). He had 20 against Djokovic--that was a longer match, but Djokovic is also a good returner of serve. I know Murray's a good returner but it wasn't the return so much. So in a way I feel like Federer got away with some wonky play, because Murray was a bit more passive. Strange thing: I like Murray more as a personality now, but I was a little less impressed with his game than I was in the recent past (Toronto, Cincy, and the USO until the final). He seemed to retreat into passivity more than he had in the past. I actually don't think it was physical tiredness, which tends to manifest itself as pulling the trigger too early--it was mental tiredness. And against Nadal he had all the answers.

Pierre made a good point about Murray seeming like Jankovic. But I wouldn't have said that generally--Murray is much more adept at net, has a better first serve (in comparison to the field). But none of those things were on display.

Does any player have a bigger disparity between first serve and second serve??? I couldn't believe the speeds (or lack thereof) of some of Murray's second serves...79 mph or 83 mph. But this is a guy who cranked up so many aces versus Nadal...

aa hi, when are the tickets on sale for the hopman cup,just wondering,in case,this so call wedding is called off,this is the third time this girl,is suppose to be getting married,i wan to keep my options open? if you decide to go to aussie open.you will have a great time,briony is working there,i might go,just depends,enjoyed myself this year,though,even if rafa got blown off court by tsonga!

sherlock, thanks for that re emerson, i was going to comment,but decided not to lol!

Crazy: Relax, friend! Fed won! Bask, baby, bask ;)

Crazy: Relax, friend! Fed won! Bask, baby, bask ;)

Sorry, aussiemarg. LOL. I certainly wasn't implying anything about Aussies. From the land of Alicia, it's all good. :)

Sherlock I swear i must bring out the latent something or other in you.

You're the man, Roger. You the man.

I was really surprised to see AM so deep again on first serves. Has this been his general hc practice?

sherlock, i know that lol! yes it is all good!

And now for something irrelevant, does Federer have perfect skin or what: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/08/sports/0908-TENNIS_4.html

Grand Slam Review by Ed McGrogan:

http://tinyurl.com/5ak53m

Q. If you compare when you won in 2007, what things have changed in your confidence and your tennis and the way you feel now?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, in the finals, I mean, I thought last year's was obviously more difficult, you know. I mean, we had a really tough match, even though it was straight sets, but today I think I really chose the right tactics against Andy who himself is a great tactician, I think. It's always important to play him the right way, otherwise you lose.

And I think I did a good job today, and I really felt towards the end of the tournament, like last year, actually, that I was playing my best as the opponents were getting more difficult. So for this reason, I'm very happy, actually, the way I'm playing right now.

The Andreev match was key, you know, to the whole US Open, and I'm very happy with where my level is right now. I believe I could still play a little bit better, but it was enough to win the US Open, so that's what counts.

OK, so Federer's giving himself an A-. Nice to know we saw things the same way. :-)

crazyone, i think roger has perfect hair too,though i think he could do with a trim? lol!

cause i'm a miserable pessimist.

"Sherlock I swear i must bring out the latent something or other in you."

He he he. I'm not touching that one, Naughty. :)

Congrats on Roger's win, though. Well done, Swiss Mister.

I wish it had been a better final though. I hate it when the semis are great, and the final is a bit of a letdown. I know most Fed fans don't care, just talking personally.

El Jon's parting shots:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_wertheim/09/08/50.thoughts.us.open/?eref=sircrc

Some of my favorites--

• Serena Williams won her ninth major and the most underrated narrative in sports continues.

• Next year pay special attention to the music being played (too loudly) in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The deejay has a wicked sense of humor. A personal favorite: blaring Footloose after Novak Djokovic got treatment on his ankle.

* One of Federer's best friends will be getting married next weekend in Mallorja. So Federer will be headed to The Land of Nadal in a few days. (BTW this is the real story behind the "Federer getting married in Mallorca" story!!)

• Speaking of JMDP, good to see him living up to the hype and reaching the quarters. A friend of mine did however make this excellent observation: " I couldn't count the number of points Del Potro could've won easily if he'd just taken two more strides to the net. God gives you the wingspan of a 747 and you decide, 'Nah, I'll play as if I had Guillermo Cañas's body.'"

Btw, Naughty that anonymous strange one was not me, if that's what you thought. If I'm going to be pissy, I'll just come out and say it. :)

alright folks nighty night with a few calls:

before the first semifinal started i said something to this effect
"When this (tournament) is over, some of us are going to be delieriously happy and other not so, heres hoping that those not celebrating have a chance to remember all the great times from the past and hoping humility for those enjoying victory"

So my humble thanks to all the Rafa fans and pretty much everybody on this site today for being the epitome of class and sharing our delight, especially out to svelte, I owe you one - apology and I hereby do apologize, you have class just like your mallorcan lad.

Roger, please go and make Sampras mad, he asked you to match his record at wimby or USO, pls do it at the AO, 09.
Just now they showed the Netjets Madison showdown with fed winning in the 3rd set TB, you have had enough time with pete already feels like, so do it in AO and then get past him in FO and retire, if you feel like it.
Strength and peace to you.

Enjoy fellow KADs and last but not least, thank you to Pete for letting us all get together here.

Sherlock: I don't think the "dud" final is uncommon. Often, by that time, you often have a) a Cinderella story, in which one team has put out so much just to get to the final, that they have little left; b) One team is a freight train (e.g. Red Wings, almost-Patriots, Red Sox) that has gotten better with more match play, fine-tuning so that by the time the final comes along, they are so in the groove that they're unstoppable.