First?

Mirka looks lovely.

ROFL...

I think this qualifies as an "Ooops, I Did It Again" moment. For Peter, not Fed.

Really, I never though Mr. Bodo and Ms Spears had that much in common til now.

(And yes I get it that you won't be deigning to reply to 'ungracious' me in the foreseeable future - but still, thanks for making me laugh.)

Congrats to Roger and Mirka.

For any Murray fans - he's playing dubs as I write this and seems a lot better in this video:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7933688.stm

I so never thought I'd hear Mandy described as a "stud".

And Momo goes three BPs down :(

Wouldn't Nike be the name of a girl, seeing as how its the goddess of victory?

Speaking of players who had a renaissance of sorts after the birth of their child, didn't Lleyton Hewitt have a resurgence after the birth of his first child?

"bouncing little Nike (if it's a boy) "

Pete!! Nike is the name of the goddess of victory, it's a girl's name!!!

Pete; lol. cute post.

Though what's to say "Nike" can't be a girl's name? Hopefully, this will have a liberating effect on the man, and he'll just bash away so that he can get off court to tickle baby toes. And who knows, maybe they married in secret; though I don't think the upper classes care about such things, do they?

I think it's a signal, even if an unintended one, that Rog, not to mention Mirka, is moving through the life stages; that his retirement surely cannot be that far off, and we'd better catch the great one in person soon.

that's a lovely shot of the mom-to-be

I see by the scoreboard that Llrodra and Steps are cruising in their dubs match. For fans of volleying, THAT would be a great match to see. I would love to see them play against each other.

***off to check H2H****

Swiss Viking: *dumph!* should have realized that about "Nike" Thanks!

"Fatherhood brings men to their knees, which most women will tell you is where they belong anyway."

AMEN!!!!

"Few things restore perspective like the landmark events of life - the loss of a dear friend, an encounter with a person whom you know, deep, down is far better than you (in certain cases that wouldn't take much, but such people never recognize such encounters), a birth. . ."

very true!

Breakfest between Ivan and Tom! C'mon Ivan, help me out here, no?

Is this a "Your Call" post?

Syd - I think it's a Crisis Center post. It says IWCC

oops that should be *Todd*!
and I forgot to encourage Michael B who took the first set!

Am I mixing my gods and goddesses up?

"Fatherhood brings men to their knees, which most women will tell you is where they belong anyway."

Many a man would say it's the other way around, not merely for chauvinistic reasons.

"Federer might look up at the scoreboard, and instead of seeing 6-7, 7-5, 5-5, 30-40 he'll magically see some variation of the phrase: Who the hail needs this crap, I'm going to be a father!"

So THAT's what happened during the AO final then!! And so those were tears of joy!! AAahhhhh well I feel much better now about the whole thing.

*winces*

Syd
It's a Crisis Center. IWCC = Indian Wells Crisis Center. That means (for the purposes of today) either talk about the subject in the post at hand, or focus on talking about ongoing matches until the tennis day is over.

And Timea is taking a right beating out there... :-(

The title "Crisis Center" has never been more appropriate.

great to see that thomaz turned his match around yesterday after losing the first set rather errh unfortunately.

and after day 1 i´m on the 994th place in the bracket challenge (11 out of 16 points). given how poor the day started for me, that´s quite good. yay me.
i´ll savour this top1000 ranking as long as it lasts...

I'm sure Mirka wouldn't be so selfish as to make Roger stay up till 3am on the night of the USO final, LOL.

Anyway - won't they have nannies and nurses and stuff to help out in the difficult moments?

I think Cashmere would be a wonderful baby name, boy or girl. :)

Hm...USO? Not Wimbledon? Is that a clue as to when the baby is due?

Hi people!!!!! Went away before... had quadruple Chemistry and then Physics coursework in school! Aaaagh.

I am still recovering from the *shocking* news... does this mean Roger is beyond my dreams forever? Does this mean I have to grind the poem I wrote for him into dust? Does this mean I will spend my life pining away for the man I love while he lives happily with someone else and doesn't even know I exist? Does this mean I will live in denial forever and forever??????

Sorry... I've done too much of The Great Gatsby in English this year...

What the hail do y'all think I am, some kind of classical scholar?
;-)
fixed. . .

TWibe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL

Happy SNAG Week. . . . . (Seachtain na gaeilge). . .. . . .the week to celebrate the irish language and all irish culture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL.. . . . .. . ..

OMG Maria is BACK!!!!!!!!!!. . .i know she lost . .. . but i've missed my Masha too much to care!!!!!LOL

Neil - Kashmir for a girl, Cardigan for a boy.

Very frustrating at the ATP site...one of the fed times I actually wanted to use if for anything other than a scoreboard, it became totally flumoxed trying to cough up the Steps/Llodra H2H. Maybe they have never played?

LOL...Fed on the brain much? 'fed = few'

JACKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL

It's been AGESssss since I last saw you on TWibe!!!
Heck, it's been ages since I alst came on too!!!!!!!

Masha is useless... give 'er up and stick to glitterJJ :P

What about Mirger? Works for both sexes. ;)

MAHA!!!! . . ..how are you coping with the news??!!LOL. . . .. . . . . . I've always loved masha. . . . .cos she won the first GS i followed completely. ...04 Wimbly. .. .and i flove the grunt so much!!!!LOL

Ski boots looking good today. . . .. judging by scoreboard. . . why is there no coverage??. . . . .. .. . . but i still think she'll drop this year. . . . .so far in 09. . .Azarenka has looked like the newcomer with the best shot of going far at a GS. . . .shudda beat serena only she got sick at the AO. . . . .. and she cudda made at least the semi then!!!!!!!!lol

"I'm sure Mirka wouldn't be so selfish as to make Roger stay up till 3am on the night of the USO final, LOL. "

No, that's what Severin Luthi is for!!

"I think Cashmere would be a wonderful baby name, boy or girl."

Ooo, PETA would have a field day with this. Actually Peta wouldn't be such a bad name for a girl. Sophia is another.

NP, you're alive! I don't know what we did without you. ;)

*celebrates Jacko* - I love the shrieks as well. :)

"""
Although in this case it's not about the tennis. And maybe that's the best thing of all.
"""

That's a huuuge maybe. But, Roger's experience should let him go on auto-pilot through the more mundane aspects of being a tennis player, such as doing wind sprints. And, nothing like not thinking about the Rafa problem to actual find some way to address it (imo).

Bissy, I had a miserable day in the draw yesterday. 9pts drop be all the way to 6907. Gah! Pathetic. But, vamos Belucci.

Who is Bill Simmons?

jewell, I'm alive and still gloating. My schaedenfreud is now, shall we say, QUAD. Muhahahahahahahaha.

And Mauresmo loses her serve, again. Anna-Lena serving for the set.

Jewell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL
. . . . everyone loves the shriek underneath it all. .. .. it has ben missed!!!!LOL

Ski Boots cruising now . .. . . .

"...bouncing little Nike (if it's a girl) on his shoulder to make him cease crying."

Hm...is it Roger crying, or little Nike? LOL.

Oh NP, by "appropriate activities" on your quad, I'm meant some of the new video games. You are a gamer, right?

snag week? intriguing name.

eurosport reported that masha got standing ovations despite the loss. seems like people missed her, eh? jejeje.

auf geht´s ALG.

Why is it all other matches seem to be moving along except for Todd & Ivan's? It's been stuck for awhile for me. How annoying!

Doing wind sprints doesn't hold a candle to walking on water.

QUAD?

*has wandered into Twilight Zone*

Vamos, Amelie! You can't lose so early...you can't!

And Amelie loses the first set... :-(

Pspace, you disappoint me. I was hoping you had more "appropriate activities" in mind for me. BTW I'll always be a S/NES gamer till the day I die.

Jacko,
Why do you think Ski Boots going to drop? By the way, I predicted Azarenka to win Indian Wells. She finally got her title and now she is ready for more.

Ski Boots win 1 and 1.

Bismarck , .. . . .Seachtain NA Gaeilge. . .SNAG!!!LOL. . ... Irish Week!!!!LOL. . . . . .. . . Ah. . .come on Amelie!!!!!!!!

is Andy Murray really a free-ranging stud? Oh God - did I miss gossip about a break-up with Kim? And who got custody of the dog???

*worries*

"the spine has been known to grow back shortly after the Missus has her tubes tied."

Of course, the man could just as well have a vasectomy. ;)

jewell, I suggest you go back and revisit my outbursts of glee which took place last nite.

Who's playing Amelie?

And Timea loses badly. Hey, maybe while she's there she could apply for a babysitting job with Fedrinec. She'd probably make more than she does on the tour...

MA.. . . . . .she has the most pressure i tink of the younger players. . . . .. and while she has made semis and finals. . . .. her results havent matched the hype expected!!!. . . . . .. . . Azarenka i tink personally is just as talented. . .. . but i feel now in 2009 she's better at winning than Woz. . . .and she kinda took her apart in memphis. . .. . . .i tink Azarenka has the game to trouble the top players than CWoz!!!!LOL

NP, haha, well, all the other uses for four cores (that I can think off) involve more nerdy applications. However, if you have two monitors and a fast internet connection, you might be able to watch multiple streams at the same time.

"Hm...is it Roger crying, or little Nike? LOL."

and Jewell, I thought you didn't have a mean bone in your body. LOL!

"Of course, the man could just as well have a vasectomy."

I fear for the safety of jewell's husband.

NP, Amelie is playing Anna-Lena Groenenfeld. She has a 4-0 record against Anna-Lena, but has a way to go if she's going to win this one.

Jacko!!! Not coping well!!!! :P

or at least MA .. .. . if one of them were to win a GS this season . . . .. i'd pick Azarenka over C Woz. . .also i tink Azarenka is more . . . . . . . .likeable . . . . . . .
but dnt tell smantha elin!!!!!LOL. . .. . . i dnt like henin and love JJ .. . . . . if i dnt like Caro. . . .she may hav to exterminate me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL
i joke i joke!!!!LOL

*consoles maha*!!!!LOL

that sucks. you started so well Pspace.
looking at my picks in hindsighty manner i can only fault myself for picking bennetwho? and florence.
picking serra, granollers(ret.) and bolelli still makes sense. kinda. if i pretend there is any sense in this game.
so the best i could have done would have been 13 i guess.

i´ve zverev, berrer and navarro (why again did i pick him? i can´t remember) right now.

and while i typed this berrer won. nice.

Pspace, I don't need two monitors. Did I say my new monitor is wide, wide, wide, wide?

*more schaedenfreud*

My true colours showing, Syd. ;)

A Murray/R Hutchins just got bageled in the second set!!

i´ve zverev, berrer and navarro (why again did i pick him? i can´t remember) right now"

I have the same choices and was thinking the same about Ivan Navarro (especially since he has not won one game this year!)

Jewell, Bill S. is an ESPN sportswriter who's written some awful and not very vaild stuff trashing tennis. . .

Yay for Michael B and c'mon Ivan there is still time

Thx, Swiss Viking. But you should've said garden gnome.

i like that name, Jacko. hope you have fun in your snag week.

Bissy, yeah, I have Zverev and Navarro as well. I picked Anderson though, meh! Wasn't he the guy who took out Nole in Miami last year. I thought there might be some residual inspiration.

I really should stop gloating and go get something done, so ciao for now. Go Amelie.

I think Roger has tried to avoid situaties as the one shown here. Well done, Roger

Masha, specially for you!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5dzvE7YMpA

Amelie is storming back, up 3-0 in the second.

Sorry TWibe. . . must leave. . . .. .. .back later. . . . Ciao ciao!!!
XxxJackoxxX

I hope you have fun in snag week too Jacko. What is snag week??

Oh, I see the link doesn't work

http://tinyurl.com/c5zxfw

Must be something to do with Roger not thinking that marrying is compulsory to become a father :)

MAndy/Hutchins recover from their bagel and win the match.

(by the way, I don't think anyone cares about this, but posting is the only way for my TypePad to refresh... And yes, I've tried F5, control F5 and other combinations that were not recommended here and that led to Windows rebooting, IE closing and a hilarious Facebook posting to be lost!!!!!!!!!)

thanks, Pete. :)

must go...hopefully back later for The Adventures of Master Ace. :)

LOL Jacko... thanks for the consolation :P :P

I've gotta go do Chem homework.... and write a 3000 words essay on Evolution.... bye all!!!!!

Amelie leads 4-1 in the second.

Jacko, don't leave -- I want to know what snag week is.

anon,
i think my rationale was that he´s at least top100 and that a top300 player like widom cannot be trusted either.
then again, widom is prolly most comfy on american hc, navarro not so much i guess.
it was just one of those picks where i felt doomed either way, jejeje.

mischa had MP. but koellerer holds.

and seems like ALG won´t get the job done vs old moms. at least not in two.

*What is snag week?*

adicecream,
what was your first thought what it could be when you read it?

Pspace,
yeah anderson beat nole last year here.

And Amelie blows her lead and we're on serve in the second. (COME ON GIRL!!! It's the first round, no need for an ulcer here!)

ok, just googled "Bill Simmons trashes tennis"...

*covers Wimbledon DVD in kisses*

(really going now...)

Bismarck,

Those were my exact thoughts!
I'm starting to think we may have the exact same picks.
Yesterday was not one of my most successful first days (I have been doing this for some time now) with 11 points and I am hoping my picks today don't disappoint

Anyway, gotta go.
C'mon Odesnik, Navarro and Zverev, come through for me!!

Alexa Glatch (WHO???) is up 3-0 with service to follow against Carla Suarez Navarro.

no links?

WOOHOO!! After having countless set points Amelie takes the second set 6-3.

Alexa Glatch (WHO?????) leads Carla Suarez Navarro 5-2.

Bill Simmons has written trash on more subjects than just tennis.

(Trust me--I'm a Colts fan, he's from Boston, you do the math...)

If this baby causes Fed to never again pick up a racket (I certainly hope that's not the case!) I would still be happy for them.

Jewell,
Bill Simmons blasted tennis for all the wrong reasons. Pete and Steve Tignor got on him pretty good along with the TWibe. Once Rafael and Roger played that 5 set final at Wimbledon, Bill had to "apologize" and even interviewed James Blake for a few minutes.

Pete,
Correct me if my facts are not accurate.

TypePad and the lack of stream are driving me truly insane. I don't know what bothers me more, that *I* can't watch, or that such an important tournament isn't seen by anyone.

Bartoli up 4-1 on Shahar Peer.

Bismarck, can't repeat what I thought when I heard snag week....am I on the right track or do I have a dirty mind?

To no name poster at 3:55 PM,
I need to get your predictions before I enter any contests.