awww...so cute. It's a real movie? Looks like a home video, except for the outfits (but they're rich folks, yeah?).

c1 - Thanks for link of young Ernie. Such hobbit-y adorableness!

Pspace, I doubt Latvian films were very high budget--it's clearly not a home video unless the Gulbis family takes to dressing up like it's the 1920s...

he looks pretty much the same except for the hair. hilarious.

I remember reading an interview where he was asked about whether he had acted, and he said, "Yes, I played the son of my mother". So I guess this is the one.

ernie appears not to have aged at all. Freaky.

Zampieri forces the tiebreak at 15

Fognini serving to begin the tiebreak

F 1-0 Zampieri nets BH
F 2-0 Zampieri FH long
F 2-1 Zampieri FH winner on the sideline
F 3-1 Fognini service winner
F 4-1 Zampieri FH return long
F 4-2 Fognini BH return wide
F 5-2 Fognini with the scooper for the winner after point was dictated by Zampieri
F 6-2 Zampieri nets FH return
F 6-3 Fognini nets BH
F 6-4 Fognini nets FH passing shot after FH approach by Zampieri
F 6-5 Zampieri service winner
Fognini wins the set as Zampieri nets FH

Zampieri on serve with Fognini 6-0,6-7(5)

Naughty T,
They showed the replay as Fognini nets volley, stumbles toward the net then to cap it off tumbles over the net and lands on the dirt.

""takes to dressing up like it's the 1920s""

Ok, I'll take your word for it. I assume you're acquainted with Latvian fashion :-).

Pspace, somebody provided a translation of the lines, and baby Ernie says it's 1922 in one of them. Plus, yeah, a phonograph and whatnot. Anyway, I'm sure it is a real movie, though not a terribly high-budget one.

I've lost my stream from Brazil.

2 break points for Fognini

First: Fognini nets squash FH after deep BH by Zampieri
Second: Fognini breaks as Zampieri nets BH

Fognini to serve 0-6,7-6(5),1-0

Zhulbe on the board for doubles!

The only ATP title he's ever won is in dubs.

Here's Rafa hitting with the women's wheelchair No. 1:

http://www.downthelinetennis.com/2009/02/video-vault-two-top-ranked-ballers-hit.html

Pretty cool...of course, Rafa's hitting pretty slowly. According to USTA, a wheelchair pro is about the equivalent of a 4.0-level player, which is pretty amazing.

piyush, it is also possible to post a URL, no? I'd like to hear your thoughts rather than those of some Sandra Harwitt.

epic posting fail...it was there...then it was gone, then it came back double...awesome!

yes very boring to repost the same thing in its entirety twice, especially now that we are down to 100 posts a thread.

I just went to her website...it's very clear she has something in common with Rafa.

I have no words for this level of passive-aggressiveness.

Who do you mean? Harwitt? What does she have in common with Rafa?

c1, counterpunching?

Pspace, sorry. Esther Vergeer. Her website prominently features her biting on her paralympic gold medal.

pspace;

I think, in terms of strokeplay, federer is the greatest ; but he is weak in other aspects; strategy, mental makeup, serve lineup, stress prep;

so overall, he is not better than nadal today;

that damages his record;

also, 2-5 vs murray is not a goat record;

Break point for Fognini as he hits FH winner that was set up by deep FH approach and breaks as Zampieri nets FH

Fognini serving for the match 0-6,7-6(5),5-2

piyush, I'll agree with the middle two bits. He is not better than Nadal today. That damages his record. Murray is prolly irrelevant to his status, unless he emerges as a contender at the slams. Sampras had losing records to some guys (I forget who).

""
but he is weak in other aspects; strategy, mental makeup, serve lineup, stress prep;
""

So, a guy who makes four consecutive GS finals, has 13 slams, is weak in all these things? Seriously? Isn't it possible that Nadal is just an awesome player?

15-0 Missed point
30-0 Fognini FH winner
30-15 Fognini FH wide
40-15 Zampieri BH wide
40-30 Zampieri FH winner
Fognini wins the match as he hit FH volley winner

Fabio Fognini defeated Caio Zampieri 0-6,7-6(5),6-2

c1, hehe, didn't notice that. Seriously, tho'. I mean everyone who gets a Wimby from here on out knows that the trophy has been bitten, ew. I guess it's not much worse than kissing it...maybe a little.

oh boo.

I blame Igor.

Ok guys I need to get out of here and get some fresh air and sun. I'm off the beach as it is bloody hot. Catch you all soon. Bad luck Caio you had your chance.

guardian, telegraph of uk have some very good articles on the fed rafa rivalry;

most say fed has better strokeplay, versatility, grace and touch than anyone ever but nadal is mentally stronger, strategically organized and consistent and more winnable;

ah poor Zampieri.

Back for some tennis in my life.

Avid, Thanks for that Ree diary link, hope you're feeling better.

Just saw a pic of Rafa and his new Aston Martin, good for him.
Scoreboard watching for Andy and the Swede, hope it's quick.

there is another good article on eurosport on federer's likely future

Looks like Andy is racing thru' his match.

wth typepad!

pspace;

it will take some time for nadal to prove that he is one of the goats; another 6 slams;

but fed has to prove himself against rafa too

fed cannot have a losing record against nadal-murray-joker and still be called the greatest;

sampras had a winning record against all his competitors;

including agassi, courier, everyone;

yes, if fed beats nadal-joker-murray consistently in slams he will b the goat;

that is also what pete bodo says in his "champion in adversity" on federer

Rachael is that you in the kitchen baking??

izidane, yes, it's quick. Roddick won 25 points to Ryerstedt's 5.

TypeBad is freaking me out.

eatables.

I hope this JJ vs Fed battle catches fire. Some extremely entertaining possibilities. Curious to see if a guy can win a war of words with a woman scorned. Prolly not...but goal is for try best, no?

TypeMad.

roddick had 0 aces in the first set.

He's turning into Rafa?

LOL Zampieri just confirmed my facebook friend request. Guy must have checked his mail before he even had a shower or peed in a cup.
How special do I now feel?

Wow, that guy actually got a game.
Randy must be slipping.:)

Since I just got great seats for the SAP final, I hope Andy's still in on Sunday.

stop eating my posts you monstrous thing

TypeScam

last
let's see if that works

TypeSad :-(

Ain't the new stuff a hoot!

Ooo, a contested set in the making.

naughty - I'm impressed.

vetmama - I'm jealous.

Excuse me, is there any livestream for San Jose ?

ooh - how fun vetmama! hopefully andy will be there too!

yawn. dang - i fell asleep and just woke up. as did mr ryderstedt... :)

It's the Reuben Hidalgo Ramirez strategy. To push a top player, first get bageled, then he loses his focus, and then you start playing. I predict second set to RyderSneakyStedt.

mhm - is anyone watching san jose? i'm thinking 40 bucks a tourney is a wee bit too steep for me..

Zhulbe loses in dubs. Sad face. If he loses in singles I guess he can go concentrate on his acting career.

Wow this Ryerstedt guy...actually won enough points to win him multiple games.

Watch this guys, Federer is really a "tearfull"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZQ7WvxJ-ZU&feature=related

Hey, Type&^%$# is working again?

Yeah Rachael, I'm excited.
Which obviously means the final will be a thrilling contest between Stepanek and Spadea.

Are we posting Fail videos?

This one is my favorite, primarily because it's from Serbia and pretty much everything you need to know about Serbia is in this video. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, fazes them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2GTPXVDP2Q

I'm sad to report that one of my Serbian posters told me the lady turned out to be really sick and passed away. I'm sure this speaks volumes about me that after I found out I still find it hilarious.

I reckons I'll buy a San Jose day pass for a Rod/Gulbis stream.
and obviously another if Rod is in the final innit.

maybe Rod should've spread his breaks out sensibly across the match instead of getting greedy in the first set.

Samantha at 6:09 was absolutely fantastic. Top 10 best posts ever.

Sammy, I tip my hat to you.

Oh, and I agree with Bismarck in that Jankovic's comments are the sole useful thing she's done so far this year. My hat's off to her, too.

yeah rachael - i may spring for the final. but still - i just think its absurdly expensive. and i usually pay for this kind of stuffs. think they're pricing themselves out of hte market m'self.

dang - Andy best win, preferably soon so i can sleep.

""I'm sure this speaks volumes about me that after I found out I still find it hilarious.""

Erm...me too. I'm disappointed in myself.

really jb, you find it that expensive?

huh, a fiver to watch my favourite? sign me up every time.
I have a credit card for a reason.

Was just reading the comments under the "Staying Conscious Fail", someone said the following:

"She had intracerebral hemorrhage and died @ the show. r.i.p."

:-/

I think the seated woman's response is priceless. She doesn't even flinch.

vetmama, I might not trust someone named Roflmfaoftw :-).

Okay, Type%^&*( is feeling hungry again.

Arggh.

40 bucks for the tourney - yes. since for 70 we get the masters and more for a year... its all in proportion, so yes. oh and wimby is 25 i think.

i'm being a consciencious objector and refusing to pay the 40. delray beach is the same thing.

sigh - why is typepad eating pots?

hey. i´m back. but prolly now everyone is slowly leaving cause most of the tennis is over, no?

izidane - you are welcom and thank you :) I am good now.

Congrats to Rachael, Budour and all RAndy fans :) But how did he go from feeding a bagel to needing a TB ;-)

This is weird.
Anywho, weird win for Andy too, but his opponent will feel better for that 2nd set.
I might spring fro some tickets if/when Andy makes the final, or semis.

well, congrats to andy. and to michael for making a match of the second set.

and on that note - i'm going to sleep. since typepad is refusing to play nicely. :(

I dunno, it's tough. Roddick-Gulbis...I may give in and buy that. Probably not though, because it could turn out to be really dull.

What up, people?

I'm just back from watching 3 doubles matches and a couple of practice sessions for $0. Dubs has no respect.

congrats Rachael and err coms to all Ryderstedt fahhhahahaahahns. sorry i can't even type that in all seriousness.

jb - I guess. but this is the type of tourney where really, you only need to pay if you hardcore want to watch one/some of the guys.
I don't expect all the smaller tourneys to be giving it away. Brazil can't even fill their stands. I don't mind paying if I want to watch.

though I guess I'm not entirely in perspective money+tennis-wise.
(I spent a good £1000 or so getting tickets for Queen's/Notts last year, and was planning on buying even more for Queen's this year until the terrible dictatorship took over. I'll pay owt me.)

so a bagel and a breaker.
spectacular.

since I probably fell asleep about four hours ago, time to make it official and go to bed.

greenhopper, any stories?

greenhopper

Do you have any inside scoop on watching at San Jose?
I'm going on Sunday. Do you think it's worth going a couple hours early to cruise practice courts? Can you even get into the practice courts?

...

greenhopper,
did you see my shoutout from the other day?
i watched the CTB of the melo/sa vs BELLUCCI/prieto match on the stream.
team thomaz saved five nonconsecutive MPs before they won 15-13.
and there were about 4 people in the stands watching.
it was almost creepy to follow a match on a stream for which obviously no one cared in costa d. s.
despite three brazilians on court.

vetmama! no, the practice courts are a no go. They let people in only days there are doubles matches and sadly, that ends tomorrow.
Have a fantastic time on Sunday. Do you have good seats?

crazyone: I got a few photos on your boy. He's absolutely adorable in person.

About the actual tennis,
- he was pretty cheerful early on.
- served amazingly well.
- the dude has to hit the ball back to the other side of the net after he misses a shot. he just HAS to.

Kunitsyn's service was a bit shaky, but his groundstrokes were pretty good. Ernie got pissed serving at 3-5 in the 2nd second, 'cos he missed a couple of returns in the previous game. So was basically just blasting his serves and they fell all over the place. I don't think I saw a single 1st serve during that game. So yea, he lost his cool and lost his service game. But at least one seeded pair survived today.

Yeah, baseline boxseats (sect 109, 10th row)
Should be pretty good, or they better be for that much money...

Forrealz, Bismarck? Such a shame about the crowd.
Was it a good match?

I saw Steps/Haas from late in the 1st set today. Steps was pretty good, but Haas totally stole the show.

Baseline box is the best thing there is. Enjoy!

C Note will be there for the final.
I'm going to the stadium again on Friday & Sat. nights.
Sideline box for me.

thanks, greenhopper! I think he also asks for the ball when he makes a particularly good shot as well.

I wonder what he's going to bring to the table against Roddick.

speaking of adorable, I'm going to post it again due to the silliness of pagination, just makes me laugh so much:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6aB2V4eG20&feature=related

I can't believe Lleyton's out of the top 100 now.

aww, thanks for posting that, crazyone.

greenhopper - Nice report :)

Hutchins's serves like he's a ballerina waiting to dance. I kept giggling through most of the first set. And the dude sweats so much, in an indoor, relatively cold hall.
Huss is more obscure than Kolya. I didn't even notice him for a long time. :-\

*Hutchins's serves like he's a ballerina waiting to dance.*

like PEHK?

*I can't believe Lleyton's out of the top 100 now.*

sad face.

*Was it a good match?*
well, it was dubs, you know? ;)
couple of good points i´d say. and very close. but without any spectators whatsoever it felt so ... obscure. and meaningless.
empty stands really take away from the atmosphere of matches. they always seem kinda flat even if they aren´t.

how was your nishikori in real life? as glorious as you thought him to be?

He kept his eyes open though.

Avid!:)

It is depressing to see Lleyton's ranking this low..this is a tough 1st match for both of them.

izidane - :)

Even among the "hard-core" tennis fans, there are only 2 who care about doubles? The end is nigh.

For those interested channelsurfing.net may have a link for Paris tomorrow.

Nishikori is totally adorable.
The first thing I thought when I saw him was, "he's so tinnnyyyy."
I mean, *really* tiny. He's like a kid. But then, he IS a kid. So...

He rarely lifts his head up outside of rallies. I got this hilarious shot of him going back to dipping his head, after he left a bh return off a let call go.
And he wore a watch with red straps.

He was pretty cheerful after his win though.

Good to know you're doing well. Thank the heavens for pain pills.

Mardy/Lleyton might go 3 sets.