Diane: Yes, that is very true. BTW, hope you are feeling much better today.

is this where everyone is going to be for justine and caroline?

Just watched the Fed-Berdych 3rd set again on tape.

I’m thinking of going back to the Happy Days before ’05 when I only watched Federer in Grand Slams. His Masters losses aren’t just losses. They are ingeniously contrived works of art in how to improbably wrest defeat from the jaws of victory. At IW, he blew match point after match point after match point against an uninspired journeyman by making weak passive returns of Baggy’s 2nd serves followed by UFE’s in neutral rallies.

What did we get yesterday? The usual: 2/10 on BP’s. 61 UFE’s. Misses his 1st serve on MP in the 3rd set TB. When his opponent is drowning and on the verge of going under, throw him a UFE life-raft. Keep him in the game at all costs , Keep him hanging around. Don’t close it out when you’ve got him on the run.

Lose every Virtual Match Point you encounter. 0-30 at 4-5 in the 3rd set, 2 points from victory and Berdych floundering. Take control of rallies and then make a silly UFE into the net on the crucial shot to keep from getting to double MP and then MP. 15-30 at 5-6 and 2 points from victory: Hawkeye saves your opponent by millimeters, then blow another point at 30-30 with an easy BH UFE into the net to blow getting an MP.

Go get a wildcard for Monte Carlo, Roger. Sorry, but you neither need nor deserve a rest. You need more match play and less passivity and rust. Stop writing these Tennis Horror novels!

O.K. Samantha. Sorry if I misunderstood what you were trying to do with those posts. It seemed pretty clear from what you said, but I'm happy to let it be.

Good luck with your two favs playing today. I'll grant you this, you've linked these two players so strongly in my mind that I forget that for the tennis world beyond this board (if there is such a thing) there actually is nothing connecting them!

For what it's worth, though I don't have anything against Caro, I'll be routing for Justine. I'm much rather have her playing style be the one that inspires future WTA players.

Predictions for the day: Henin def. Wozniacki in a pretty straight forward fashion. maybe a set at 6-4 or 7-5.
: Clijsters def. Stosur 6-2, 6-3 to set up an all belgian clash.

""I will only say I was very disappointed about Rafa's match yesterday, it was the worst match that I have ever seen him play. ""

I'd say that his victory against Alamagro in Paris and in UsO 09 were the WORST matches Nadal's ever played. The former was such a train wreck that even the WTA would be embarrassed. That said, yeterday's match made my head hurt. Hope it doesn't become a habit for the clay warrior.

just to rant...

echoing others comments that this being a HUGE tourney (the next biggest outside of the USO for me) that the tv coverage here in the states lacks so much to be desired.

AND...

trying to follow along on TennisWorld is becoming almost an equal chore. 29 pages or so, covering like 3-4 days of tennis on a thread that you have to go back 3 posts to find from the red meat post (?) that has the front page!?! I'm more of a longtime lurker who delurks to post during the bigger tourneys, so I kinda consider myself the casual fan (I think) they were trying to lure in with all the new redesigns. IMO this isn't cutting it (just my lowly opinion ok) waaay too much work to find the current thread where match calls, comments and such on the live matches. Casual fans may not even know/realize there are vibrant, funny and up-to-date commentary going on about the live (and just ended) matches. (that said, I am a devotee so I WILL scroll through until I find people :))

ok. got that off my chest. now to find a "free" stream to watch some tennis.

Enjoy the matches TWibers.

london: that sounds about right.

Even worse than the awful WTF match against Djokovic? *shudders at memories* At least he won the others. :)

"yesterday's match made my head hurt."

i think a lot of people got headaches from yesterday's matches, seeing as the sky was falling on their heads

LOL, Grant. That's perfect.

C'mon juju, 6 love, 6 love please!

Henin off to a good start. I like the bold shade of pink she's wearing.

Watching on regular tv...yeah!

How can a player end the moonballing? Seriously. It keeps you pinned to the baseline and gives the moonballer all the time needed to get back in proper position. As much as I hate watching it, I must admit it works quite well. A player (maybe Serena?) once said when facing such an opponent that it felt like playing in the juniors....I must agree, I see it all the time when my son competes...moonballing is the desperate choice when being outplayed.

(I'm hoping Henin's play will answer my question!)

jewell: I describe it as pepto bimol pink.

wozniacki and henin have begun! henin broke to start the match and henin is at duece on her serve.

phillykat: I hope pete see's your 1:04 post. hope you drop in again today. if you can find us.

where is samantha E?

Hi Everyone:-) Such a beautiful day in Gurnee and i'm inside watching tennis!hehe I think the way to stop the moonballing is to step in and crack a winner....but what do I know!(said from the comfort of my couch;-)

Samantha will be watching somewhere, I guarantee it.

Grant - the biggest chunk of sky came down on T-Byrd and seemed to make him forget that he was supposed to choke the match away. Question is, will it be temporary amnesia, or will he continue to forget that he is mentally week? I forget who he is to play next. Hott Sauce? If so a battle of the (potential) cheese heads. And not the GB Packer kind.

c'mon T-Byrd - reverse the curse of the post big match blues!

phillykat, i sooooooo agree with you!!!! i say we revolt and do match calls on his red meat post! who's with me?...................nobody? ehh figures......justine is broken right back. and that was a very close overhead.

Justine at the net...yipee!

and justine breaks right back. oh lord, will it be one of THOSE matches??? i hope not!

Three games, three breaks...

I suppose it is rather a vivid shade, swalker007. :)

omg i wish i was in miami right now! my favorite city.

I have such an especially lovely picture of tennis on my tv...would that the tennis was as lovely. Must be something Byrdy and Fed left on the court last night, dragging down the level.

phillykat - quite agree about the TW chase. I feel like we are in a Road Runner Cartoon and have yet to establish who is the Road Runner and who is Wiley E. Coyote. If you see anything that has 'Acme" stamped on it, move VERY carefully away.

Thanks Lynn, much better today, fever is fianally gone and although Roger tried to kill me last night, I think I'll live!

LMAO!!! at wozniacki's terrible decision to hit an overhead from back there!

BTW- there is a new post up...something about lightning striking twice...can't possibley imagine what that is about. Shall we all move, or play 'confuse a cat' and stay here?

Oh juju...stupid with the Allez

I've never seen that call made before.

Nice BP save from Justine - BH DTL.

Seriously, Caro. I know you're young and trying to figure out ways to win matches however it suits you, but please quit with the moonballs.

its not like her allez ruined caroline's shot. i think they should have replayed the point, thats what they did when serena shouted cmon at the yec championships, but instead the point goes to wozniacki.

Tigress, I admire you for having the strength to watch that 3rd set again; I prefer to think of it as a product of my fevered mind last night.

""How can a player end the moonballing? .moonballing is the desperate choice when being outplayed. ""

I guess that depends on playing style for a large part. The more spin you get on your shots, the less penetration you get on them. In Nadal's case it's hard to hit his kind of forehand, having a peak rpm, of 5000 without elevating and looping it. Of course that style really does not work as well on faster courts which are less conducive to spin and bounce. It's more like hitting practice for your opponent.

W.r.t ending the moonballing, when Nadal was in his prime he had changed his game for success on faster courts and decreased moonballing. He truncated his backhand. He started finishing his forehand follow through across his body as opposed to the reverse finish over his head. This sacrificed spin, but got him more depth and penetration. Obviously that is against his basic nature, so when he's not confident or under pressure he resorts to high percentage moonball tennis.

What was that call, Neveah? I missed it.

""How can a player end the moonballing?""

The goal, I think, is to end moonballing by hitting a flast fastball or a slice. Tough to reply to these balls using a moonball. How you do it is the difficulty. Generally speaking, there are a few ways:

1) Take it out of the air and hit a drive volley. Advisable only on shorter ones, and/or if the opponent doesn't have super passing shots....so you can follow to net.

2) Play a half volley. Totally unadvisable using a 1hbh, unless your name is Federer and opponent is not Rafa. Most people can do it against a similar level opponent with fh or 2hbh.

3) Flat drive from above the shoulder. Again you need to time it well, if the opponent has a lot of top. Easier if he/she doesn't. Impossible to do with 1hbh.

4) Slice -- easier and safer to play. Tough to get it down low enough though, especially if opponent has a great transition fh.

I think like all shots you just need to pick the right moonball to do it on. Keep moonballing till the right option presents itself. But, more than anything, one should not get pissed off and think it's beneath you. Surest road to disaster.

i dont even know anymore whether we should move but i say we should because this is starting to get ridiculous. justine up 3-1.

Greenhopper,Justine said Allez because she thought she had won the point but she didnt.The Umpire called hindering and gave the point to Caroline.I thought she'd get a warning.

wozniacki holds after some scrappy play. henin to serve 3-2.

honestly, i though they shoudve just replayed the point.

I realize now that I've never actually seen Wozniacki play before. I thought you guys were just exaggerating how much she moonballs. I've come to realize you give her too much credit. How is she #2 again?

"If you see anything that has 'Acme" stamped on it, move VERY carefully away."

He he, CL. Maybe it's not the sky falling, but anvils? :)

I guess moonballing is an offensive weapon if you aren't used to playing it or haven't played it since you were five and just learing how to hit a ball.

@London..and yes replay the point;-)
@Karin..Consistency is why she's #2.

Thanks, neveah. That's gotta be a first, no?

Spacie, thanks for the tip. Totally saving this.

See Caroline staying in striking distance of Justine.

um where was henin's head on that drop shot?

and wozniacki breaks. cmon justine roll her.

I don't mind the moonballs at all, in fact I quite enjoy seeing the way they can frustrate an opponent - but I do dislike on-court coaching.

Wozniacki breaks back again off an Henin error, 3-3.

Can anyone give an update on how each player is playing so far as it is 3-all? Have Piotr been on the court yet?

You're welcome GH;-) and Yes,that's the first time i've ever seen it.Caroline's moonballs draws errors from her opponents so it's an ugly but good strategy.

karin, I dunno. There's a whole continuum of moonballs, depending on how much action you can put on it. If you are able to generate a lot of top, you an get a fantastic moonball simply by changing the trajectory of your shot...say one foot better net clearance. Many ATP guys use their neutral forehands in this way. A good example is the Federer-Andreev match at Oz '10....those were some monster moonballs.

master ace, yes piotr (im assuming that is wozniacki's coach) has been on the court for woz on the changeover at 3-2. justine has been the aggressive one dictating the points. its either a winner by justine or an error by justine. except caro just hit a great backhand winner for 40-30 and a service winner for the game. 4-3 wozniacki.

Andreev's wonky forehands look a lot like moonballs. I cringe every time he has to hit one.

That was nice court coverage from Caro there to hit a round the net post backhand winner. Probably an important hold. Justine needs a few first serves here.

""I guess moonballing is an offensive weapon if you aren't used to playing it or haven't played it since you were five and just learing how to hit a ball. ""

I agree. It's hard for the opponent to hit moonballs that land right close to the baseline. If it's very deep try to half volley it. For most others, step in, take the ball on the up block the spin and hit through the line to get maximum penetration. I'd say it's a joy to watch Nalbandian handle(in most cases destroy) Nadal's moonballs.

Caroline is hanging with Justine right now.

London,
Correct on Piotr(Caroline coach and Dad) as he comes once a set.

I remember when I was a child and I saw my first moonball... that was what got me into tennis, such a wonderful shot.

BTW great post Pspace. Although regd. #2, I couldn't hit a backhand half volley to save my life. It always amazes me when Sampras and Fed do it so effortlessly.

ewww justine is 2/13 on her second serve.

Currently, Caroline has not won a match against an active player who has reached the number 1 spot.

this match has no rhythm...

""I remember when I was a child and I saw my first moonball... that was what got me into tennis, such a wonderful shot.""

LOL Kombo. Made my day. Thanks for the laugh!

Juju looked confuzzled with that point.

"I don't mind the moonballs at all, in fact I quite enjoy seeing the way they can frustrate an opponent"

I don't really get how "hit an unreturnable shot once" is more valid than "hit a mostly returnable shot till your opponent misses it"*

*unless I have to watch it

JJ used the serve out wide on both courts really well against Caro at IW. Justine needs a few of those to get cheap points.

Wozniacki's a tank. A very cute tank.

i remember in high school tennis when this one opponent kept hitting moonballs (in doubles). it annoyed the heck out of me. so i would just moonball him back or try and come in to the net. henin holds after a tough service game. 4-4.

Lindsay said "It was a short moonball"!*Dead*lol

Some lovely net play for 15-all - from both players.

I suppose "hit an unreturnable shot once" is less likely to give you tendinitis, sigh.

How's the Queen deals with moonballs so far? frustrated yet?

"A Pinch and a Punch For The first of The Month Everyone"

Its also April Fools Day here lol!

I have Henin and Caro on my tv screen.

thank you justine for going down the line. if she does that more, she wont get into the long rallies. maybe she should try and come in a bit more too.

***waves to Sherlock***

This is getting VERY confusing...half the people are over here, 1/3 of the people are on the new thread and the remainder are lost in the tall TWibe reeds. (OK math whizzes, how much is 1/2 plus 1/3?)

BTW - and this is completely OT...wildly so in fact, but since there are a few more people over here, I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation for a good book about post WW2 occupation of Japan? Fiction or non fiction. Any ideas?

caroline is actually controlling these points now, which is quite shocking. and henin with a forehand error into the net. wozniacki holds for 5-4.

"I suppose "hit an unreturnable shot once" is less likely to give you tendinitis, sigh."

What's cool about Rafa is that his 'defensive' shot, by having so much spin, is actually hard enough to deal with that it should be considered at least passive-aggressive.

Same with Fed's slice too, I guess.

Let's see if Caroline can break for the set.

At USO, Caroline was serving for the first set against Kim but could not deliver as Kim won the last 3 games to take it. She is not serving at this point but if she breaks, the set is hers and the confidence that she may get.

"This is getting VERY confusing...half the people are over here, 1/3 of the people are on the new thread and the remainder are lost in the tall TWibe reeds. (OK math whizzes, how much is 1/2 plus 1/3?)"

you are not a border collie

No one will ever moonball as much or as effectively as Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Spain's #1 in all things Moonball.

Henin's ball toss and serve again Yikes d/faults

Goodness she was 40 love

Up 40/0 and now deuce. Bad Justine!

Grant - how do you know? Oh wait... I get it. A border collie would know how much 1/2 plus 1/3 is. At least in sheep. But we are not sheeple, dammit!

Some nice serving got Justine out of what some bad serving got her into. Typical Justine service game.

awww snap justine blows a 40-0 lead. its duece now. justine comes to net and puts away the volley. ad justine. big service winner. 5-5. caro to serve.

I loved watching Arantxa. :)

Decent hold for Henin, 5-all.

She couldn't..5all hehe

CL I will second that one.She was a Moonballer to end all Moonballers.

Justine has hit some nice returns up the line against CWoz

CL: "Madame Butterfly - Pinkerton Jr. Was A Real Bastid."

Blah Justine f/hand netted.Good thought though

"Grant - how do you know? Oh wait... I get it. A border collie would know how much 1/2 plus 1/3 is. At least in sheep. But we are not sheeple, dammit!"

well, they're a smart breed, but what i mean is a border collie would've herded everyone here by now. they're too good at their jobs for fractions.

[also, every now and then i feel the need to say something cryptic]

It looks like Justine's lost a wee bit of power on her shots compared to Melbourne.

""CL I will second that one.She was a Moonballer to end all Moonballers.""

3rd'ed. There something in Spain that produces great dirtballers and great moonballers.

Author: Suzuki

CL, 1/5? :)

I've no idea on the book. I'd think MacArthur himself would have told the story many times somewhere. :)

nice point