Morning, all.

Both lads in very good nick in Basel - 4-3 Djokovic on serve, and on the evidence of the last couple of games some very clean hitting.

Cool photo of Nole.

Radek v. Nole semi of Basel
http://tinyurl.com/ygcn8ow

Thanks for the post pete. We needed a place to discuss today's tennis.

4-all in steps/djoko. this is gonna be good.

'morning everyone!

That is a fricking awesome pic of nole up top. the falcon.

steps just howled in pain missing a return. hopped around a little, checked out his foot and then decided he was okay. phew.

Hi Annie and other tennis watchers. :)

Nole v. Worm is a good match. I hope Nole comes through but I am really enjoying watching frazzle free tennis!

Thanks for the picture of Nole Pete. Awesome.

Two holds, 5-4 Djokovic on serve. Wrong foots Stepanek on the 30-30 point (slight ankle turn for Stepanek, but he looks OK), then a DF - but no worries from deuce.

There have been some really good points. I just wish Radek would get some clearance on that first serve. If this first set goes to tb, it will hurt him.

some very good tennis by both.

BTW, interesting that Novak wants a meeting ASAP. Gosh, the ATP has got to look at the calendar with all these players limping to the end of the season. Or, one would think.

Some great shots being played in this match.

Stonking good stuff in Basel. Two delightful points in that Djokovic service game - top quality movement and touch, net awareness, spin and control. Late 2000s all court ATP tennis at its best.

hey rafadoc, nic, andrew and arun! lovely to see non-confrontational twibers here this morning!

Don't they generally have meetings of the players council immediately before slams because everyone's there? I guess he would be keen on getting something up before the AO at which point the issue would lose it's freshness.

Gosh...now I am finding myself rooting for the Worm. I mean, my daughter is a fan, no? I worry about him in the TB though.

Really enjoyable match here.

so nice to see S&V from steps. It's becoming a lost art.

Nic. I think you are right about the timing. Well, if Adam Helfant is smart, he would go along with an impromptu meeting, imo. He should want to appear at least concerned enough to do that.

Steps 2-0 in the TB.

Is anybody in Asia, and if so, do they know whether they will show the semifinals and finals of Basel live? I can't stream right now. :-(

nic, i know they had a meeting at IW last year so it doesn't necessarily have to be at a slam. They could meet at the YEC because there you would have the top 8 who are the guys that go deepest into tournies the most often. the calendar effects them the most and i presume it's less mandatories that they want.

crazy touch by Steps.

Not in Asia VC. But, sorry to hear you can't stream right now. :(

Great point by the Worm there. 3-2 Steps in the TB

hi Annie!

YEC is a great idea Annie.

Worm is up 4-2 in the TB.

WHAT a body serve. Geez.

good point rafadoc. Helfant should do an impromtu meeting. His players are his asset, no?

VC, can you get tennistv?

Nole is talking to himself. Not a good sign.

Okay Nole, I am back on the bandwagon. Just hold it together. And, he gets it to 5-4.

The Worm with the first set. Yowzer.

Annie - Are you talking to me? *De Niro in Taxi Driver style* Who says I'm non-confrontational? I'll take them on.

But would Gimelstob be there? Because you can't have a meeting without him.

Steps doesn't appeal to me personality-wise but gee he's got a wonderful game. This DC final in dec. is going to be a barn burner.

And a 2-1 mini break ratio goes Stepanek's way. First set 7-6 (4).

Stepanek is mixing in a lot of S-and-V, particularly on the first serve. Basel may be the fastest court on the circuit, and Stepanek is one of the best volleyers in the ATP, so it makes sense. Should gladden NP's heart.

Nic...lol @ your DeNiro impression.

Annie, rafadoc : My internet connection isn't good enough for streams at the moment, so I'm forced to rely on TV. But they were showing all the matches till yesterday, so I was kind of assuming that it would continue. Apparently not. :-(

Nic: lol. i think i might borrow that in the future :)

VC: Weird that they would STOP showing the matches at this point in the tournament. Makes me wonder if weekend coverage switched to another station. Hopefully one of the TWibe will be able to help you out.

You talkin' to me? (warning: there is an F bomb in there):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKkMkodo4MI

Lovely jelena in the stands watching her man. she is sooo beautiful.

rafadoc : No, football is higher priority in Asia, so I think they switch to that during weekends. There are only two channels. Not that I don't like football, but I want to watch the tennis right now.

Geez. lovely volley by Steps.

Nole a set down?

Three holds, and it's 2-1 Stepanek, on serve. The quality is still superb - good serving, deep groundstrokes and some lovely points.

Saturday Order of Play

Basel
Radek Stepanek leads Novak Djokovic 7-6(4),2-1
Roger Federer vs Marco Chiudinelli

Valencia - Starts at Noon
Mikhail Youzhny vs Nikolay Davydenko
Andy Murray vs Fernando Verdasco

Bali
Marion Bartoli defeated Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-1,6-3
Aravane Rezai defeated Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-2,6-3
Marion Bartoli vs Aravane Rezai final tomorrow at 1:30 AM

Fed Cup - Italy leads tie 1-0 over United States
Flavia Pennetta defeated Alexa Glatch 6-3,6-1
Francesca Schiavone leads Melanie Oudin 7-6(2)
*Melanie Oudin vs Flavia Pennetta
*Alexa Glatch vs Francesca Schiavone
*Liezel Huber and Vania King vs Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci
* = To be played on Sunday

Aw. Sorry to hear that VC. *sad face*. Maybe someone could at least match call the matches you want to see.

I wonder if steps has even an outside chance to make it to the YEC. Let's say he gets to the SF here or even, hah, gets by Fed and wins it and then has a great showing in Paris.

When are the Valencia semis going to take place? Some great matches there also.

Hi ladyjulia: Yep. Nole is down a set. It has been a great, high quality match so far. Lots of variety in shots with Steps playing.

Robbie says "he has a lot of junk in his trunk" in describing Stepanek. Never heard that used for tennis before. Usually more to describe someone with Rafa's err, "assets". Hee.

The US down l set after losing the opening. Would disagree with the announcers saying Oudin lost the first set because of a lack of experience, to me it's the lack of a weapon and serve which can hurt a good clay court player like Franie

The US down l set after losing the opening. Would disagree with the announcers saying Oudin lost the first set because of a lack of experience, to me it's the lack of a weapon and serve which can hurt a good clay court player like Franie

Just checked the atp site. steps is in 12th position as of today. he moved up two places by beating cilic. if he beats nole today he'll move closer. this is very exciting.

Thanks, rafadoc.

Is Fed's match right after this one?

Sam: Thanks for the Fed Cup update.

morning ladies and germs
anyone watching the Fed Cup? Oudin seems to be holding her own

Annie - according to the ATP site, Radek is in with a numerical chance. But he's over a thousand points behind Nando.

Sounds like a high-quality match this one. Must catch the replay whenever they show it.

Robbie Koenig just made a great point, going back to our discussion of Davis Cup. For the guys who are out of the top, say, five, DC can be a great motivation in normal tour matches. He cited Nando and, here, Stepanek. I may be pissed off that Czech Republic knocked out Croatia, but I, too, have been very impressed with the Worm this week. Still - go, Noleta!

VC: Yes, Roger is up next.

Nole can't be that far behind Rafa in the rankings either, right, now that he has overtaken Murray? Probably less than a 1000 points.

Samantha: can oudin do anything well?

rafadoc: when i hear 'junk in the trunk' i think serena!

YF: Yeah. I'm surprised Oudin is able compete so well on clay.
Of course, Franny is in a league of her own. what variety!

Melanie breaks as she hit drop shot for winner.

Melanie to serve 6-7(2),1-0

Oudin is showing some nice variety on the dirt
a brilliant droppa winner on break point by Mel!

As for Valencia, it is dubs first and then at 18:00 Youz and Davy.

Annie: yah, Serena fits that phrase. :)

Does anybody do S&V better than steps in the game today? I think not.

the only glitch is the commie seems to be having an irritating throat problem.

Annie: I think Llodra does. But Steps is different; in the sense, unlike Llodra he likes to tease his opponents with one more volley, one more volley and so on before putting them out of their misery.

Melanie had a bit of a blip in that TB imo.....but she seems to have gotten things back on track again.....

Nole keeps trying to lob. Stop. It.

Arun
both players are using the slice BH a lot , Mel gets a nice short angle on hers

First time Stepanek's serve has been under pressure, and he comes through. Loved the S-and-V on second serve at 30-40 - I had a sense he'd go for it, and the second winning FH volley was clean as a whistle. 3-2 Stepanek, on serve.

15-40 Melanie nets FH
Francesca breaks as Melanie BH sails long

Francesca to serve 7-6(2),1-all

any links please to nole match

6,590-Nole
8,895-Rafa

VC, not so close.

I wanted nole to break there so we could have a third set but i think steps is going to win this match on the strength of his volleying.

Oh SHOT by Steps. You have got to be kidding me.

Hi rafadoc,

Started watching after the first set..looks like a high quality match.

Steps with a huge "Come on"...and Nole applauding.

and just as i say it she loses two games easily...

Taco Bell: A link is posted @9:14 by Nic.

Melanie's shoes look so common..... :(

Annie : H'm, you're right. I just checked the ATP site. I was kind of wondering how Murray took the No. 2 spot for a while, and is now so far behind, but I've never paid much attention to the ranking point movements, so I should probably stick to that.

Is this match like the Federer-Stepanek Rome match? Two tiebreaks in that one also if I remember correctly.

0-40 Melanie gets to volley but sails FH wide
10 pts in a row for Francesca
Francesca breaks as Melanie FH sails long set up by Francesca FH return to deuce side

Francesca to serve 7-6(2),3-1

make that 3 games easily...

Mel is getting a bit negative out there and Schiavone is feasting on it

Thanks Jacko and MA for the FC updates. No "believe" shoes Jacko?

well rafadoc.....they're white to begin with......and the cameras havent gone into the shoes to see if they say believe or not...
Mel lost a bit of her fight.......but is getting it back again...this game cud be crucial...

Son of a gun. That 40-15 point is emblemmatic of what we've seen so far - fizz and touch and athleticism. Still on serve after Djokovic saves a BP.

Fun to look at the crowd, too. If you ever wanted to see the bourgeoisie, the burghers of Basel are your bunch.

If steps brings this game to fed tomorrow, the swiss maestro will have his hands full.

Annie: When the Worm is on, he is a handful. And he is on today. Wow.

He he, let's see whether Fed beats his doubles partner first. :-)

Mr. and Mrs. D, yes, she can, she is a great fighter, lots of tenacity, determination and belief. But can that overcome a limited game? Is believe more important than a great serve?

30-40 for Francesca as Melanie BH hit the tape and bounced on her side
Francesca breaks as Melanie DF

Francesca serving for the rubber 7-6(2),5-1

Whenever Djoko gives that wry/frustrated smile, you know things are going badly for him.

15-0 ????
15-15 Francesca DF
15-30 Francesca BH long
30-30 ????
30-40 Francesca nets FH passing shot as Melanie come in on FH approach and hit volley
Melanie breaks as Francesca FH sails wide

Melanie to serve 6-7(2),2-5

andrew: have there been any breaks of serve in this match?

Thanks for match call MA...I don't have a stream.

Nole better hold..

Try this, Mr and Mrs D.
http://www.fromsport.com/video-109566.html

Let me put it this way Mr. and Mrs. D, a toy poodle can have all the determination, tenacity and belief that he can beat a pit bull, but if he doesn't have the teeth(weapon) can he do it?

Just got home. Nole is one game away from being blitzed by the worm in straights???
Gahhhhh

30-40 for Francesca as Melanie DF
Francesca wins the match as Melanie nets FH

Francesca Schiavone defeated Melanie Oudin 7-6(2),6-2

Nole got inpatient there. Terrible dropper.

sh**. the dreaded dropper. omg.

Nole's dropshot dosen't make it across the net..

Nole down 6-7, 5-4, 0-30