Roddick serving:

Verdasco draws an error with another good BH slice -- Roddick's FH goes well wide 0-15

Good first serve by Roddick down the T, Verdasco's return nowhere near the court 15-15

Another good first serve by Roddick, Verdasco's return just long 30-15

Great body serve by Roddick, Verdasco completely jammed 40-15

Ace

Roddick holds, 1-1

Clijsters first serve percentage just 39% - come on, what is up with Sveta - maybe its just the usual

Jeez, it's just too difficult to have a modicum of humor, here. I should know better. Thanks to Jewel who actually got it. I think Tfactor did, too.

And Kim breaks to win the first set 6/4! Normally, people aren't supposed to win sets only serving at 39%, but I guess Kim isn't a normal player. Although, I do have to say that it's weird rooting for Kim.

oh, Sveta... :-(((
Come on, it's not over, try harder in the second...

Davai!

Djoko chatting away, keeping a close eye on the match...

Clijsters is gonna save womens tennis this year, her game is much more fun to watch than most, and she breathes some LIFE into the Venus Serena domination, i mean who can take one more Sisters Slam final?

Sveta's still in the first set, easy hold for Kim.
UEs 17 for Kim, 20 for Sveta. It was 2-8 at one point in the first. Winners 9-7 for Kim

"Clijsters first serve percentage just 39% - come on, what is up with Sveta - maybe its just the usual"

I know....
at 39% Sveta should have been able to break her more than once...

AmyLu,
Thanks for the match call for us day job workers. Noticed that someone in your household is high on Juan Martin and it was explained very well. I understand the reasoning behind this as he defeated Roddick to win DC and was a few points of stopping someone from winning their only French Open title.

Verdasco nets an easy FH -- he was inside the baseline when he hit it 0-15

Brad's microphone wasn't wearing, but it's now back on and he's talking. A lot. I thought sideline reporters were supposed to be somewhat silent?

Nole watching the match.

Roddick nets a BH 15-15

Ace out wide by Verdasco 30-15

Umm, not sure what Roddick was trying to do there -- he was winning the BH exchanges and then tried to hit a drop shot? A short slice? It went into the net. 40-15

Verdasco hammers a FH for a winner.

Verdasco holds, 2-1

At work now...Verdasco forced a third set? Oh dear.

AmyLu: Thanks for your match calling. Fantastic.

carnap: Well, humor FAIL on my part. Apologies.

Black Matt,

If you're referring to the ATP SB, I'd say thanks for the confmtn of my suspicions. On my applet, it's still got DelPotro at 5-3 in 3rd set, even though the match ended here a while back!

Bepa, NOOOO. Don't do this.

Kim is playing fantastic tennis. I have to say that I am impressed. I wonder why she decided to come back

"Bepa, NOOOO. Don't do this."

what? what did she do?

Gonzo wearing all white. Me likey :)

Have no feeling either way of who is going to win this Roddick/Verdasco duel.

Jake, ha, yes I am talking about the ATP scoreboard.

I really should just turn it off. I could get some work done if I had it off, then take a look an hour from now and find to my pleasant surprise that Roddick had won.

Or see that he lost. And then I can pretend like I don't care.

Sveta digs herself a hole with 2 FH UEs 0-30
some good counterpounching gets her next point drawing error
Kim all over the court running down shots, ends the point with a passer and then wins the game with FH DTL winner

sokol, Dani was serving at 5-4 with a mini-break in the TB.
Bepa got one back, but is serving to fight off an MP at 5-6.

Kim is playing fantastic. Did I say that before. Really great tennis

Cincinnati
Pennetta over V Williams 7-6(2),6-4
Hantuchova over Zvonareva 7-6(8),0-6,7-6(5)
Clijsters leads Kuznetsova 6-4,2-0
Wozniacki over Czink 3-0(ret.)

Montreal
Djokovic over Youzhny 6-3,6-4
Del Potro over Hanescu 3-6,6-3,6-4
Verdasco on serve with Roddick 6-7(2),6-4,2-1
Murray over Ferrero 6-1,6-3
Gonzalez and Davydenko match to start shortly

Well great. How do you bagel someone and still lose the match in 2 TBs? blah.

Kim's forehand is on fire atm.

well, thats interesting. Djoker watching the match. Who do u think he'd rather play?

Sorry Brad wasn't wearing a microphone -- it wasn't working. That was a brilliant typo.

Master Ace -- I'm taking the afternoon off from doing work so it's quite easy for me to do. JJ is quite high on Del Potro right now. If he and Nole meet in the semis, I'll be curious to see who he roots for. :)

Roddick serving:

Verdasco nets a volley. 15-0

Verdasco is reading Roddick's first serve well at the moment. Roddick with a good volley for the winner 30-0

Missed that point, but it was an unreturned serve 40-0

Good first serve up the T by Roddick, Verdasco's return way long. Roddick says Come On.

Roddick holds, 2-2

Sveta's pulled some mean BHs DTL from defensive positions in this match, but too many brain cramps on a whole. Easy hold for Kim 3-0 up

Oh, Bepa...

How does Czink beat Ivanovic and then retire the next day?

"How do you bagel someone and still lose the match in 2 TBs?"

good question... :-(((
Vera, Vera... :-(((((((((

And another Russian is tasting the dust - bye Vera - better luck next week

To the person up top who said that Kim will save women's tennis. It is always good to come back and beat up on players who have been labouring out there since the beginning of the season, coming back from injuries, and who are not really on form right now. I dont think it says a lot about women's tennis when someone who has been sitting around Belgium for the last 2 years sipping tea and eating bon bons then decides oh, I could go out there and do this again, having not had to deal with the day to day grind of the Tour. Most of the women on the Tour have played through the majority of the season and Kim is coming in when the Tour is basically in wind down mode. Good on her for taking advantage but I would not call it saving the WTA. Let us see how she does when she is back on Tour for a good many months and is dealing with injuries etc.

Hi everyone,
Argh, I am trying not to watch but this is too close to just record and watch later!!

Scared for Andy but I think he'll pull it out. Verdasco doesn't look to be completely on fire though he looked pretty solid for the parts of the first set I saw.

Verdasco serving:

In the exchange of Verdasco's FH to Roddick's BH -- it's probably not all the surprising that it's Roddick's BH that goes long 15-0

I think Andy though his return was long, but Verdasco adjusted well, and hit a FH for a winner 30-0

Mo calls Roddick's BH return out -- and he was right. It was well wide. Cahill calls him the best umpire. 40-0

Verdasco hits a FH that looks like one I might hit. Which is not a good thing. It goes well wide. 40-15

Roddick nets a FH off another good, low BH slice from Verdasco.

Verdasco holds, 3-2

*waves hi to rafadoc*

Out of curiosity - do you know the winner/UFE ratio for the Roddick/Verdasco match, AmyLu?

Wise words, Cayman. I like her, but I'm also in a wait-and-see mode.

Kuz on serve
Good serve, short response, BH CC winner 15-0
very deep FH return off a first serve draws the error 15-all
BH UE from Kim 30-15
Good serve, super I/O FH winner
ace 3-1

"Who do u think he'd rather play?"

I think his choice will be Nando :-)), he has better H2H against him and it's hard courts, not Nando's best surface

Kimmie is looking pretty solid...it seems like she never left the game, as far as her current form

So AndyM will meet Gonzalez or Davydenko tomorrow? Could be tough for him. Both of them, on their good day, are really good and seems to be the type of play Andy would have trouble with. They both feels like players cable of taking full advantage if Andy is a bit too passive.

Is it just me, or Kim looking slimmer than before she had the baby? At anyrate she is giving Sveta a hard time after 27 months away - she is so good at moving the opponent around the court

my scoreboard (atp web site) is completely frozen since yestarday, can anybody tell me what to do to fix it?

I wonder if players are starting to get psyched out by her wins. Like she's a force of nature they can't do anything about.

Funny, Black Matt. Andy has his hands FULL - Verdasco is no joke!

AmyLu is doing a wonderful job of the commentary on the blog - satisfying to me!

Gonzo serving to start the match.

C,
Have you tried a different browser?

c: Mine has been frozen since last winter. OK, not that long, but it seems that long. It's pure serendipity as to whether or not it will be working on any given day.

Kim's FH looks as good as ever, but I'm not sold on her defense, not bad for your average player, but not as good as it was before, especially on the BH side. Kuz has been drawing some errors from that side and she breaks back pretty much solely on that

Roddick serving:

Verdasco nets a BH return. He's changing his grip on each changeover, which they're now showing video of 15-0

Big CC BH from Verdasco that Roddick can barely get a racket on 15-15

Big first serve by Roddick 30-15

Very fun point -- good depth from both and moving each other a bit -- ends with a netted Verdasco BH 40-15

Wow, heavy hitting from both, and the rally ends with Verdasco hammering a FH DTL 40-30

Big serve out wide by Roddick

Roddick holds, 3-3

Gonzo holds easily.
Davy to serve 0-1

Andy's flat backhand has improved so much. He's holding his own against Verdasco's fh with that shot. Nando's bh also seems to have improved.

RAndy holds for 3-3. Very tight match.

For what I saw Murray played a perfect match and the outcome was the one that I predicted yesterday.

I am watching Clijsters now. It is hard to chose what to watch both 3 matches that are being played now Clijsters match, Nando´s one and Kolya´s one are interesting ...

Tfactor, carnap

Cannot try another browser in this computer..but thanks, I thought it was just me...At least I'm not alone in this pain...

Kuzzy's serve and FH win her two points, Kim's BH the other two, hold at love

Davy answers with a comfortable hold of his own.
Gonzo to serve 1 all

Sorana and Elena is about to start shortly on the Grandstand

Verdasco serving:

Sorry -- missed the first point. But Verdasco won it. 15-0

Verdasco with a good serve out wide, 30-0

Terrible BH from Roddick. That also looked like a shot I would hit. 40-0

Roddick's shot just long, after a bit of a rally.

Verdasco holds, 4-3

Black Matt: Through the first set, I know Verdasco was ahead in both the winner and the UFE count. I'm fairly certain he's still ahead in the winner count, but my guess is that he and Roddick are probably pretty close in the UFE count? I think Verdasco has probably still hit more, but Roddick's errors have definitely picked up from the middle of the second set onward.

Roddick looks to be getting increasingly frustrated at not making inroads on Nando's service games. He's getting the return back, but not able to get any points. Nando for his part is placing the ball very well, when it's anywhere near the centre of the court. Andy should perhaps look to place his returns a little better.

Sveta broke back, 3-3
Davai!

Too bad C. Changing browsers works for me.

Another easy hold for Gonzo. So far not many rallies on this match.
Davy to serve 1-2

it seems like the scenario of the first set is played again so far in the second. Kim got the early break in the first set, then Sveta was able to get it back in the middle of the set, but then Kim broke at the end. So far, Kim got the early break, Sveta broke back... I hope the end of the first set won't be repeated though... Come on, Sveta, stay focused. Davai!

Roddick serving:

Verdasco just hit a beautiful BH CC return winner 0-15

Roddick nets an easy FH off a short Verdasco return 0-30

Roddick makes no mistake on that one -- hits a wide serve, gets a very short reply, and puts the FH away for a winner 15-30

Big first serve from Andy 30-30

Verdasco's return goes well long 40-30

Oh my goodness. That was ugly. Good, deep return from Verdasco, and Roddick hits a sliced BH that barely gets off the ground and hits the bottom of the net Deuce

Verdasco with a decent look at a pass, he buries the FH in the net -- I think he should have at least made Roddick hit a volley there (apparently so do Brad and Cahill) Ad Roddick

Verdasco's return just long

Roddick holds, 4-4

Davydenko holds at love for 2 all.

Nando was poaching the bh return there, and hit a couple of great returns. Andy responded well by throwing in a few serves to the fh.

Davai, Kolya!

Pspace, I agree. Andy looks frustrated -- Verdasco very composed.

This match is going fast.
Gonzalez holds. Davydenko to serve 2-3

Verdasco serving

Verdasco hits a FH long -- should have made that shot 0-15

Verdasco with an ace 15-15

Roddick challenges Verdasco's FH, which clipped the net, and was indeed out. 15-30

Big first serve from Verdasco out wide, gets a short reply, and hits the FH for a winner 30-30

Verdasco with a huge FH for a winner 40-30

Roddick's return blocked long

Verdasco holds, 5-4

any updates on Sveta's match?

Danger time now. Please Andy, take it to a tiebreak.

Sounds like Verdasco is generally outclassing Andy from the ground.

Good luck to Lena. Davai!

Sveta holds to get to 4 all...she is struggling a bit with her form..

thanks, yf

Yes, Black Matt -- Verdasco's ground strokes seem faster and deeper than Andy's.

Roddick serving

Verdasco really aggressive, in control of the point, and hits a very poor BH UFE. 15-0

Roddick with an ace 30-0

Oh, UFE stats: Verdasco with 37, Roddick with 23. That's a bigger disparity than I thought.

Verdasco with two returns that are well out.

Roddick holds, 5-5

Vee is just unfreakingbelievable and people wonder why she hasn't won any major title on HC since 02?! Yeah, whatever, go find your FH and serve...pfftttt

Anyhoo, c'mon Andy you can't lose to the guy with the wannabe CR hair cut...lolz

Sveta with BP... please, break...

Beckham,
Venus did win on HC last year but that was Doha and Zurich. She has not won a North American summer HC event since 2002 New Haven.

my SB came back to life at a very good point :-)), Sveta's having the BP... and she brakes!!!! Now, can she serve the set out and force the third? Please, Sveta, serve it out. Davai!

Sveta to serve for the set and force a decider

Good aggressive play by Sveta, comes back from, 0-30 to break Kimmie with a nice DTL FH winner, just kissing the line...she's serving 5-4

Court and balls a bit too slow for Andy's liking, I think.

Black Matt, I dunno about outclassing. Andy's main problem is that he's not able to make anything happen in the return game. The only points he gets are via Nando's UFEs. He's doing nothing/not able to do anything with the return.

Hott Sauce double faults.

Darren Cahill is a great commentator. Excellent insights.

Thanks, Yello fuzzy, updates are greatly appreciated...

Davydenko goes from 40 love to facing BPs but he saves them and holds in the end for 3 all

Philipp and Rafael may be too rested once RAndy and Fernando V is over

Oo! Couple of ufes and it's deuce.

"Davydenko goes from 40 love to facing BPs but he saves them and holds"

he better be careful with Gonzo....

Sveta with 2 SPs and it seems like my SB is frozen... torture...

Wow! Great defense by Andy, drawing Nando to net. Doesn't do enough with the approach, and the CC pass is there for the taking. BP erased with an ace.

Gonzalez holds. Davydenko to serve 3-4

Cincinnati
Pennetta over V Williams 7-6(2),6-4
Hantuchova over Zvonareva 7-6(8),0-6,7-6(5)
Clijsters on serve with Kuznetsova 6-4,4-6
Wozniacki over Czink 3-0(ret.)
Dementieva leads Cirstea 3-2

Montreal
Djokovic over Youzhny 6-3,6-4
Del Potro over Hanescu 3-6,6-3,6-4
Verdasco on serve with Roddick 6-7(2),6-4,5-all
Murray over Ferrero 6-1,6-3
Gonzalez on serve with Davydenko 4-3

Vee won Dubai this year too MA.

Roddick with a break point!

Is it meltdown gallore for Nando?

"Clijsters on serve with Kuznetsova 6-4,4-6"

Sveta took the second set? Whohoo!
Davai!

Sorry, had a phone call...
Sveta was obviously getting tight serving at 3-4 down, missing first serves plus one DF and some very risky 2nd serves bouncing on the lines, got a tad lucky when hawkeye showed her BH just barely caught the baseline when she was BP down and then at BP for her in the next game her I/I FH was also called out, she challenged again and it turned out it was in by a hair as well, but she was dictating play that whole time and it payed off in the end.
Served out the set without much trouble

AHHH!!!!!!!!!! Verdasco! You stress me out, okay break back.

sokol
no problem

Sveta is being more aggressive, shes coming in and finishing the points off...she seemed to wake up at just the right time at the end of that set