*clearing the way for Nikolay Daydenko to tip-toe in and snatch the title - who's going to stop him, Fabio Fognini (his quarterfinal opponent)?*

yes.

(to the Fabio bit)

The news of the day is that both Gilles Simon and Philipp Kohnschreiber were upset in Stuttgart, clearing the way for Nikolay Daydenko to tip-toe in and snatch the title - who's going to stop him, Fabio Fognini (his quarterfinal opponent)?

This should be when I start sobbing uncontrollably.

Hey everyone, y'all killing time too?

Hey, Pete, I hope your moves goes swimmingly--and it's nice to think of you running in Central Park. Go, Pete!

Hope it's cooler in the Andes.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Hugs from Vermont.

Ptenisnet - Kolya's getting his summer game face on, don't you worry none. We're going out to USO qualifying one day, right? Maybe we'll invite all the other slackers around here to come out as well on a given day. . .

hey Pete.

Yes to the killing time, and I was also buying tickets to my first tennis tournament ever (Legg Mason).

Lol @ the Kolya Komment.

I'm going to give another shout out to Andreas Vinciguerra, into the semis in Bastad.

*shouts out*

Ouch. Sorry, ptenisnet and Kolya. :(

Ugh - moving house. *shudders* Still setting up the new one is usually fun. :)

I'll just post it again here - Israeli team DC celebrations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be62OsCdYZA&feature=fvhl

I just hope it won't rain during the open, my biggest fear is that it would rain during the final, and the final would be canceled, and I have a 2 AM flight.

*reposts relevant comment from previous thread*

Good win for Vinciguerra!

if I win the EuroMillions lottery jackpot tonight, I'll fly all the regulars from Europe out for one day of the USO...it can't cost that much, can it? *ponders the possible consequences of rash promises*

Hey C-1, Jewell, Gauloises. . .

Yeah, USO qualifying is the greatest deal in tennis (cost of tickets: zippo)although I always end up getting stuck doing some work - last year it was Sesil Karatencheva, who made me wrote a War And Peace-grade post. This year, though, all fun.

And the concessions are open, if you don't fancy carrying a hip flask into the USTABJKNTC.

C-1 - you'll like the Legg Mason event; nice and intimate. See if you can get ducats in the shade, though. It's sweltering in Rock Creek Park that time of year.

Jewell, it's not "if" you win but "when" you win. Now just remember that!

Nice to see Vinci during well, he gave it all during that Sweden-Israel tie.

Okay, gotta meet Friedman for lunch at the burger joint down the road. I'll be back in a little. I don't feel like doin' nothin' today so anybody wants to just gab, I'll be around for a little bit anyway, later.

C1: The lineup for the Legg Mason event looks grand. Have a great time.

LOL. I remember that Sesil K post. And the Bethanie Mattek one, which is my favourite post, I think.

I don't know why, either.

I remember when my brother got his first decent replica handgun - we were in Spain, and my parents tried to take it through the airport security in the hand luggage. Scary moment.

Pete, yeah, DC in August...sounds somewhat miserable. I'm actually in the area for a wedding and am desperately hoping it's not an outdoor one.

Hope the move goes well!

"The news of the day is that both Gilles Simon and Philipp Kohnschreiber were upset in Stuttgart"

Is a Gilles loss really an upset these days?

huh-I never pictured Pete as a runner.

Weird - that Matthek post is probably my favourite, too ... Or maybe just the one that stuck with me the most.

yeah...I'll pick a laudatory Rafa post as my favourite. ;-)

But I think about the Bethanie Mattek all the time.

Avid likes it as well.

Wish I could edit to add in the words I was too stupid to remember to put in.

I plan to go to a day of qualies pete. Do let me know when you will be there.

Really gutted that there doesn't seem to be any streaming for Palermo. Flavia vs. Rezai ...

was the mattek post from wimbledon last year?

USO last year, I thought.

Found a Flavs stream! *jewell-style happydance*

Flavia's swish dress just couldn't be in more massive contrast to Rezai's goth clown with accents of sparkle pony pink ensemble.

*amused*

c1,

yeah, DC weather is nothing to brag about whole year through...but better than some other places :-)

The Legg Mason is outdoor..I think I might go to the final or SF maybe...hoping that Roddick will be there.

Link to stream - I MUST SEE THAT DRESS - please, Gauly?

Hey Pedro. Have a great weekend! And I hope your move isn't stressful!

Ptenisnet, sorry bout Davydenko, that sucks :(
Hey everyone *waves*
Forza Flavia!!!

It's still her RG dress, jewell ...

http://tinyurl.com/ko48op

I never saw the RG one, but, sad to say, the reality is a disappointment.

In my head I saw floor-length, patchwork, feathers, leather, sequins, chains...everything.

But I suppose that wouldn't be practical.

Hello good people!

jewell - right on on the Bethannie Mattek post.

That post is just stuck and entrenched in my memory. It's so easy to think that the the top players are the ones it hurts most to lose especially on the big stages but to read about how much the *journeymen/women* players put into playing and desiring to win and how broken they get when they lose is more heart-breaking. These are players that may be with their abilities and talents they may never be a GS winner but it does not mean they are not striving to get there and that they are not deeply pained when they lose.

and awh for Kolya :(

My team is in charge of the BBQ at work today and I have the designation of CBC Chief BBQ Chef. I have no idea how this is going to turn out ;-) May be we'll need Chef Ramsay to the rescue ;-)

Have a good one all!

England well on top now. 139/6, Anderson 4/27!

ohhh! rolls of caps!!!!!!! 'I love the smell of cap guns, (cordite?) in the morning.' How wonderful! Lucky Luke. When we had the caps, but not the guns, we would bang the caps with rocks to get them to fire.

See, 'guns don't fire caps; people do.'

Sorry, pet. You know me and my hyperbole.

"In my head I saw floor-length, patchwork, feathers, leather, sequins, chains...everything.

But I suppose that wouldn't be practical."

Coming next year: Tim Burton's Adidas line!

(but yeah, this dress just reminds me of neapolitan ice cream)

"Me and my hyperbole."

Sounds like one of those man and his dog memoirs. :)

It was fabulous hyperbole. I just wished she was actually wearing it.

Hiya avid!

Lady Julia -- Roddick is scheduled to play the L. Mason. Along those lines, I'm worried how many HCs he plans on playing. He's scheduled to be in Indy next week, and I assume he would take a crack at either Montreal or Cincy or maybe both.

Save some fuel, Andy. Let the under-25 and/or unproven crowd go thru the grind. Kinda remember this happening to Agassi during one of his comeback years. Looked like he'd left his best tennis behind him by the time he reached the USO F. Not that I expect Roddick to get that far, but dang ....

"Is a Gilles loss really an upset these days?"

Somewhere in Chicago, a fan sheds a tear.

"'guns don't fire caps; people do.'"

Hee hee. Well done, CL. :)

Flavs rebreaks with a good game including a lovely BH volley.

I have deliberately ignored the cricket all day because I thought I was jinxing England. It seems to have worked.

I suppose you could call the dog Bolly for short.

Starting to feel like the weekend...

mcakron : Good point. Roddick withdrew from DC with hip injury, so he should take it easy and play only the MS events.

Jeepers, Tiger is just imploding.

Sorry, I know it's OT, but it's so rare to type a sentence like that.

*waves to jewell* I hate moving ;-)

Disclaimer - everyone is entitled to their opinions, and everyone is entitled to comment on them ;)

I've seen a post by Bodo(?) on another site that talks about Rafa's return and his...here it comes...golden knees! For Pete's sake, the hard courts have been around for decades, and tons and tons of players have played on them for years and years...and years. All of a sudden, I just don't see why these hard courts are the devil, at least in some writers' eyes.
If you ask me, can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen...um..court.

Wasn't there a British Open played at St Andrews in like a force ten gale, that had bad effects on Tiger? Maybe it's the same sort of thing today. Don't know where it's being played though.

*off to look*

Am I crazy or did pete move last fall?

pete, am i crazy or did you move last fall?

"Am I crazy or did pete move last fall?"

Why does it have to be one or the other?

Turnberry in Scotland...

Hey Annie! How's life?

What happened to Verdasco, why did he retire against Monaco?

"Roddick is scheduled to play the L. Mason. Along those lines, I'm worried how many HCs he plans on playing. He's scheduled to be in Indy next week, and I assume he would take a crack at either Montreal or Cincy or maybe both."

I hope he doesn't burn himself out, but I'm very interested in how he plays.

Legg Mason is a great tournament. Yes, it's usually too hot, but the tennis is high quality and this year's lineup is the best in years. The park is easy to get to from the Washington beltway [and 50 minutes from my house in Maryland!] Just dress for the weather, keep drinking water and if you go on a day when they use the outside courts, sit under the canopy or a tree.

It must be tough for Woods, all the pre-tournament stuff was Federer-related, and how he needs to draw level with 15 Majors etc...

Australia are headed for a follow-on. England are definitely making the most of their escape in the first Test.

mcakron and Grant...yes, it would be best for Roddick to save himself for the MS...but as far as I remember, he has always played Legg Mason, hasn't he?

But yes, he isn't getting any younger...he should definitely space himself out. But I guess he has to full the 500 tourney requirement too?

VC - he was struggling with what looked like a tight right calf muscle, no doubt as the result of fatigue from his DC exploits and epic match with Love in the Time of Koellerer yesterday.

adicecream,

where do you stay? I stay near Baltimore...

adicecream,

where do you stay? I stay near Baltimore...

let me rephrase that. i think i'm crazy and i think pete moved last fall. better?

hey jewell: life is pretty good. 18 year old son got his first speeding ticket the other day. uh, going 94 in a 55. amazed our old station wagon can even go that fast. but seriously, we're not pleased with the boy.

gauloises: Love in the Time of Koellerer? That has to be up there in 2009's TW lines of the year....

Also, i'm 200 pages into an 800 page biography of benjamin franklin and i don't know if i'm gonna make it to the end. every. little. detail. I might just skip ahead to the revolution.

Annie - silly boy. :) Is it just a fine or do you get endorsements/points on the licence as well?

uhhmmm sorry for joining in the OT but yupp Tiger is almost out of this one and sadly a complete implosion. Just checked the scores he is still at +7 on hole 15.

VC -- golf? You can't be serious. Actually, I doubt the Fed one-upsmanship bothers him. Tigger will be walking the links and winning tournaments long after Fed has retired with a few kids and is releasing a men's clothing line.

Watson's a nice story, though.

> When we had the caps, but not the guns, we would bang the caps with rocks to get them to fire

cl - we did that too.. just sit for ages and crack the caps... ok - so small town, not much to do!

crazyone - thelegg mason should be really fun. you'll lurve live tennis, and they've got a great lineup.

i'm really looking forward to seeing how the hard court season shapes up.it should be great fun. Lots of question marks that I think will be answered in all sorts of good ways.

Pete! i was a wondering if you had ever found the right place and moved. Sounds like you're not too far away, which is good.

*has hazy idea of how far 3 x 3 block is*

and how's Andrew and Declan? Has Declan ever come back to tennis? or is totes a soccer boyo now?

I don't quite understand why it's important for Tiger to draw level with Federer's 15?

Are they going to stop being friends or something if they don't have the exact same number of majors?

Hm...the thought of a Fed/Tiger catfight is making me giggle. :)

jewell; fine, possibly points, possible suspension (depends on the judge) and huge increase in our insurance premium. fortunately, hubby is a lawyer who called a lawyer friend in the courthouse so if we're lucky the whole book won't get thrown at him.

they've just been joking back and forth jewell. Do you remember the Tiger nike ads addressed to Fed? they were funny i thought. tiger has a great smile.

i like smiley people. :)

"Love in the Time of Koellerer"

Just golden.

gauloises, I love you darlin'.:)

adicecream, are you going to the Legg Mason this year? Possibly on...Monday? Thanks for the tips!

mcakron : I know very little about golf. :-) But there was a lot of talk about the "race" between the two. I find it hard to believe that they would text each other everytime they win something. Maybe I'm a bit cynical, but it all seems like an old-fashioned Indian style arranged marriage between them, courtesy Nike. :-)

"...and I was also buying tickets to my first tennis tournament ever (Legg Mason)."

crazyone: I'll join the chorus of those telling you that you've made a good choice for your first tournament. Not that I've attended the Legg Mason event, but I've heard nothing but good things about it. And a lot of my favorite players, starting with Roddick and Blake, are regulars there.

I have a niece and a nephew who live with their young familes in the suburbs of Washington DC (and who know of my tennis fanhood), and every year they invite me to come and stay with them while going to the Legg Mason. And every year, I say, "Maybe, next year." :) Got to make it one day.

I missed those ads, jb. :)

I think it's amazing that we're even discussing Tiger keeping up with Fed in terms of majors. Tiger has completely rewritten the book on golfing greatness imo. Sorry he's imploded today. Avid, is this 'not make the cut' implode?

yikes annie, sorry about the fines etc, you must NOT be happy w/ your boyo.

Yo, jb!!!

*waves madly in jewel-like fashion*

Ouch, Annie - nasty. :(

vetmama! *waves madly* how are you chica!

any more cute boys in shorts staying with y'all? and how did your guest do in the tourney, did he win some rounds?

Why thank you, Andrew and vetmama :)

In fairness, some of the credit for that must go to jewell, I think that one came up during coffee and much giggling.

By the way, CSN looks to be on her way out against Bacsinszky.

I was reading the previous thread about Safin passing his baton to Djokovic, and this analogy suddenly came to mind:

in terms of number of slams won and weeks at No.1 (and not other things or the way they achieved them), it might very well end up like this

Federer - Sampras (~15 majors, ~280 weeks at No.1)
Nadal - Agassi (~8 majors, ~100 weeks at No. 1)
Djokovic - Safin (~2 majors, <10 weeks at No. 1)
Murray - Hewitt (~2 majors, ~80 weeks at No. 1)

What do you think?

Fortunately my son (headed to Cornell in 6 weeks) is the type who will learn from this. doubt it will happen again. famous last words.

crazyone: have fun in DC and at the tourney. You must report back to us. hope Arod does well. still feel badly for him re wimby. But i think he made a lot of new fans that day.

Annie -- maybe, but one plays a very physically demanding sport. The other plays something that guys with beer guts and nicotine habits can win majors. Or in the present case, a 59 year old man can be leading the tournament.

honestly thomas, i think its way to early to be speculating about these players careers. there's a lot ot tennis to be played i think.

I do think nole is back on track, think think the clay did help him slow down and find his game again. if he can get his serve and his focus back, he's going to be giving other players fits again.

i am just loving the prospects of the US hard court swing. should be really fun, i'm trying to figure out if we're going to get someone like elfie or gilles suddenly coming to the fore, or if the top 5 or 6 will just rule in the coming months.

jb - I think it's safe to count Gilles out. Don't know what's going on there.

Honestly, I just want Elf to get some good wins. I'd love for him to defend Washington, but looking at the entry list it is going to be tough.

If Fish or Stepanek or both are in his quarter, then I will know I have deeply offended the tennis gods.

Agreed, Nic. Sad but true.

Mcakron,
That doesn't mean that the sport does not require a different but equally difficult skillset....

Not to mention you are competing against a boatload of people, not just 1 other person at a time.

This is coming from someone who really is not a fan of Golf either... Atleast not until I turn 45... and I 25 now... haha

I'm back, everyone. Andrew says hola and Declan is back into tennis. I gave him a little desktop basketball hoop and backboard set-up, and we made fart jokes (always a winner with the little guys), to Andrew's embarrassment. Not very good role models for Tomahawk Perrotta, who's got his own infant boy Paul, I suppose. . . Anyway, that's the news, I'll screw around a little here until it's time to go home. Let's talk GOAT, shall we? (JUST KIDDING!)

BTW - Andrew is finished with the first draft of his mega-foodie book, about some big cooking contest (think Wimbledon of Lamb Shank) that took place among international teams in Paris.

I still say pitch-forking steaks is about as far as I'll go in the cooking dept.

Can anyone confirm the rumor Roddick is out of indy?

"Sorry he's imploded today. Avid, is this 'not make the cut' implode?"

Annie - unfortunately well ultimately his implosion results in missing the cut at a major something he has not done since he lost his father. And prior to that he holds the records for the most consecutive cuts in tournaments :(

Only three players have made more than 100 consecutive cuts -- Woods at 142, Nelson at 113, Jack Nicklaus at 105. The longest streak any of Woods' contemporaries have put together was Singh from 1995-98.

mcakron : But you could argue that makes his task harder, right? You don't have to be an elite-level athlete to do well in the sport, so it makes a deeper field. Obviously, it also lengthens his career.

Roddick out of Indianapolis?

yeah nic, agreed on gilles having issues now. I don't expect him to repeat, honestly. but i'm wondering if someone like that will hit a hot streak.

i DO think the elf is ready to make a statement in one of the masters. he's game is just so tough on hard courts. and DC, while heartbreaking, was good for him personally, I think.

gosh - i forgot soderling. he's playing well this week, looking vry strong (from what i've gathered) he could be very dangerous on the hard courts too!

Hey Annie. No, we just put our place on the market last fall. Finally sold in April and it's taking this long to get all the requisite paperwork etc. collected, submitted, etc. etc. And these co-op and condo boards are ridiculous.

And your boy sure knows how to get the most out of a station wagon, it's good to blow the carbon out now and then!

Pete! awe - SO glad Declan's back into tennis. Andrew can stop crying into his beer. And hopefully the soccer helped his footwork... hee! :)))

that could actually be kind of interesting, the behind the scenes in a cook off. dang. lamb sounds good to me right now, i'm STARVING!

Wait - Andy out of indy? they're going to be bumming. Hail, I'M going to bummin'. :(

*skitters off to search for news*

In my totally unbiased opinion, jb, Elf had two very solid matches in DC and handled the lack-of-Nalby pressure nicely. (Although I know it would have been different if, blah blah blah.)

How was lunch, Pete?

anything but the GOAT...

gualoises@1:54 -- was this posted somewhere or on the ticker?