Roddick moving about as well as I do on ice, when I'm not wearing ice skates. Or, come to think of it, when I am. Djokovic closes out the match 54/39, or 58% to 42%. Clean kill.

Commiserations to Roddick fans. Up a set and a break in match 1, and a MB up in the set 2 TB, two SPs vs Berdych - those might be worth remembering. Today, not so much. Roddick's usually brought a blue collar, clock in, do my job attitude: today he seemed bone weary.

I'd wondered if Djokovic would be up for the WTFs, and I think he's answered that question pretty well. All to play for on Saturday. The Big 4 will be ready to rumble.

izidane I agree good serving from Novak.Glad to see his eye ok.No pun intended there ok lol!

Lynne - have you started the new Bill Bryson book yet?

I hope Fed gets his USO revenge...Go Fed!

Congrats to Novak, commies to RAndy.

I think from what I've seen so far, the tournament venue has been least beneficial to:

* Ferrer - his quickness and stamina are neutralized because slower oppos get more time / he cannot hit through this court while his oppos with more power can hit through it/ no weather conditions
* Roddick - his fast play is slowed down, not as many free points off serve/ no weather conditions
* Nadal - low bounce takes away his timing *and* doesn't amplify his topspin/ no weather conditions

Most beneficial to:

* Berdych - gets to more balls, no weather conditions
* Soderling - gets to more balls, more time to swing/no weather conditions
* Murray - can retrieve all day/ no weather conditions

Neutral:

* Federer - well he is TMF against everyone not named Nadal
* Djokovic - the "Perfect Tennis Player"

CL : No, I've had to limit my reading just lately, so much going on. But I'm looking forward to getting down to it early in the new year.

Lynne - I think you'll love it...typical, (in a good way) Bill - make you laugh and feel smarter at the same time. Hope things calm down and get better for you soon. :-)

Well, I feel badly for people with tickets to that one.
Amazing that there was only one three set RR match this year.

Since Djoko got such a light workout, any chance at all that the schedulers will put him and Roger on first, pretty pls??

Nahh. They'll have to play the late match tomorrow and the winner to play the final w/ under 24 hrs rest. Boo.

This is NOT from a fan's or KAD's standpoint, but if I were the TD, the order in which I'd prefer to see the final would be

Federer-Nadal> Federer-Murray> Djokovic-Murray > Djokovic-Nadal. In other words, I think Federer's more popular than Djokovic, and a Fedal final at the WTF would be a blockbuster, but in London Murray would also be a popular finalist. If Djokovic is through, I'd prefer the home town draw.

What do others think? Try to respond without automatically saying something like "I like X, so the TD would want them in the final."

In other news, Roddick served at 62%, 63%, and 60% first serve percentage in his matches. I think something may be up. He's a 69% server for the year, which is normally where I'd expect to see his stats.

Even though my cousins have Tennis Channel, and I repeatedly said my goodbyes, I missed this entire match. (Silly me for helping my cousin Jenny in the kitchen instead of driving home to watch - they were in college football mode over there) I wish I'd seen it, but not surprised at the outcome. I shall not leave the house tomorrow, that's for sure!

CL : Too many things going on but in a good way. Yes, I find Bill hilarious !

And, may I say I've finished my Christmas shopping ! If that sounds a little boastful ... well, it's a first for me before November is through.

I would put Federer-Murray first or closely tied to Federer-Nadal but the rest sound right to me.

Andrew - from the TD's view, that sounds about right... supposing of course they can't re-animate Fred Perry. A Perry/Muzz finals takes the Hot Cross Buns.

And my vote would go to a Djokovic-Murray final, just for the hell of it.

Lynne - oh good...thought I read that you were going through some tough times...glad I was wrong. Yeah, Bill doesn't disappoint this time around.

That is VERY wicked of you too have finished you shopping so early. Wicked good and just plain wicked. ;-)

(quick response to mirk0337: if a player's ball is called out and he challenges and the ball turns out to be in, the point is not automatically replayed. if the opponant failed to return the ball into play, the umpire needs to decide whether the "out" called hindered the opponant's shot; if there was no hindrance, the challenging player wins the point outright)

Agree with your order, Andrew.

Really wish Rog didn't have to play the Djoker yet again. Worried that a)the djoker is due for a win; b) he'll tire out Rog even in a losing effort; those 2 always play long tough rallies and I expect that even more on this slow court.

Why, Andy R., why????

OK, enough whining; off to find some late-night bargains -

I'd agree with you from a TD standpoint, but personally I'd love to see a Fed-Murray final with a straight-set win for Federer. It would be very cool for this Fed fan to see the season end exactly as it began with the AO :)

I'd agree with you from a TD standpoint, but personally I'd love to see a Fed-Murray final with a straight-set win for Federer. It would be very cool for this Fed fan to see the season end exactly as it began with the AO :)

AM, Lol.
I declare the eyepatch a good luck charm from now on for the WTFs. That last service game was from 0-30 was telling, and he knew it at 40-30 when he let out that yell. Really nice to see. The months of DFing matches away left a mark on my psyche.

Heather, I'm thinking (in the spirit of the season) we need a philosophical repositioning here a this stage of Andy's career. Less frustration about the losses or the way he's playing and more isn't it amazing hes still in the top 10 and made the WTF after the last few months:-)

izidane lol! Nole with or without the eye patch was playing well tonight and deserved his win.

Pffft. Well, I guess I'm glad I missed that.

He didn't feel like fighting at all?

Sadness. I do see the positives y'all are mentioning, but I'm mystified why his game has slid backwards from the improvements of 2009.

From what I've seen, I think Nadal has a great chance to win this tournament. His play has improved with each match. I really like his new cross-court low angle return. His slice back hand also looks to have improved; or he hit it well in the match against Tomas.

Kristy, take heart.
Andy looks fine physically, it seems all mental to me. This break should be good for him just to get away from it all. I think we'll see a better player in Oz. He just looked out of ideas until the very last game, he's been down and out before...I'm hoping he'll find a way again.

And I'm finally giving black Friday a chance, should be some crazy tennis tomorrow.
Later.

RAndy probed and prodded, but he couldn't poke any holes in Nole's defense and Nole looked pretty relaxed as One-Eyed Djoker, serving himself out of trouble and painting lines.

I didn't realize the H2H was so skewed to RAndy, but Nole was the Forgotten Man in the Top 3 until he put it together to make the USO final. His 2009 was not remarkable (for him) and he was very patchy early this year.

Both players' games depend on a low UFE count and hitting many balls from the baseline. Roddick had many UFEs but again, I credit Nole with greater court craft and a more stinging FH and BH.

Roddick had no answer.

Agreed, TT. :) Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!

Saturday Order of Play from London:

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan vs Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic at 7:15 AM
Rafael Nadal(70-9; 10-4) vs Andy Murray(46-17; 7-4) at 9 AM
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski vs Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi at 1:15 PM
Novak Djokovic(59-17; 4-7) vs Roger Federer(63-13; 14-6) at 3 PM

Sunday Order of Play from London:
Doubles Final at 10:30 AM
Singles Final at 12:30 PM

Hello all,

Well, the only thing interesting about today's matches was Rafa's outburst, first time I've seen him reacting quite like that.. can't wait to read your comments. In the arena, I thought he was right, but I didn't realize he was the one calling 'out' and stopping the point. Sometimes you miss the commentators, even when you are watching live.

Thanks, izidane. RAndy's problem does seem to be mental. I hope he can figure something out in Austin.

"Sometimes you miss the commentators"

which is why i'm buying a sniper rifle

Saturday Order of Play from London:

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan vs Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic at 7:15 AM
Rafael Nadal(70-9; 10-4) vs Andy Murray(46-17; 7-4) at 9 AM
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski vs Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi at 1:15 PM
Novak Djokovic(59-17; 4-7) vs Roger Federer(63-13; 14-6) at 3 PM

Sunday Order of Play from London:
Doubles Final at 10:30 AM
Singles Final at 12:30 PM

Grant LOL!

Well Rafa could get his "hat trick" in tomorrows match with Murray

I am sure all eyes will be glued to that match to see if he indeed completes his "hat trick" of outbursts with Umpires.

Andrew -

If not Fedal, I think Djoko-Murray is the most refreshing choice. I'd love to see them play a final again, been a long while.

But, please, not this tournament....

"I am sure all eyes will be glued to that match to see if he indeed completes his "hat trick" of outbursts with Umpires."

I hope he does - it makes the WTF look less like an expo or the last day of school, and more like a tournament the players really care about.

I'm with Or - 1st choice Fedal, 2nd Murray v Djokovic.

Most importantly, I would like the SFs and F to go 3 sets and be highly competitive, tight matches.

Yay, tennis!

Or, Rafa didn't call out, the umpire did, since there had been no call, and I don't really understand why the point wasn't replayed - Rafa had returned it in, but oh well. My commentator at the time was siding with Carlos, a lot of other people commenting have agreed with Rafa's view. Personally I'm left confused, but I don't care much since Rafa held his serve anyway, and played well in general after the incident. Also Rafa wasn't rude when complaining, and all is fine with him and Carlos judging by the smiles aftrrwards. No harm in the end.

AM lol about hat trick

I really feel that statement that the only thing interesting at the Rafa match was the outburst. I did not see the match. Missed the incident.

But I am still sore about the trip I made to the French Open and saw Rafa play. There was no outburst...so nothing interesting. Grinding. Grinding. I still am hoping Rafa or one of his fans will give me my money back. It is enough that I lost the time I could have spent in the hotel watching paint dry, grass grow etc, etc,.

Grant, Lol!

thebigapple - you must have stayed at a peculiar hotel... ugh... couldn't you just ask for your money back for the hotel room if there was grass growing and newly painted, still wet walls? Sounds uncomfortable.

I feel Rafa needs to do another video with that Latin Diva that cant sing for quids

Maybe he needs to be with more "colm"

Whatever

hell I dont believe I just said or typed that but there you go

Like I have been up since 1.00am in the morning and the drugs Dont Work Anymore!

Are you guys up for a Deuce Club? Got something short planned, but didn't know if you'd rather just talk about tennis, or get on with your holiday weekend plans...

Holds 2 Love,
Yes, I am too busy with a game they call The Iron Bowl where
Auburn has rallied from 24 to lead 28-27 with 5:36 to go in 4th quarter

Fed/Nadal would be interesting. However since Nadal has a structural advantage, the end would likely be in keeping with the H2H.

Murray/Nole would be nice too. Murray/Nole would be the fresher combination...neither have won a major this year and it would be nice to see one of them get something biggish at year end. (Nole in particular since I irrationally dislike Mandy.)

Federer v Rafa of course

Tuulia, that week in Paris nearly all the hotels were full. All the usual suspects with which my firm has corporate arrangements were chock full. My assistant hunted for a long time. I ended up staying close to the Opera house in a chain hotel that was being refurbished. Half the floors were under reconstruction and the lobby was in scaffolding. When I drove up in the cab, it was a bit unclear how to enter. So yes, I could literally have gone two floors up and watch paint dry.

"Are you guys up for a Deuce Club?"

yup

Whoops, realized that Rafa returned the ball in; somehow I hadn't noticed that. Agree then it was a tough call and Rafa may have had a point w/ his complaints.

Oh well.

Dreaming of a Fedal final w/ Fed coming up on top - one can dream, right??

thebigapple - oh... ok then. :)

TheBigApple That sounds dreadful.Though didnt you book at the last minute like I recall.I am booking now for RG2011.

Tuulia, I must say my room was spanking new. Very comfy and modern. I was the first person to stay in my particular assigned room since that floor was newly reopened for bookings.

I failed to get tickets on Thur for Fed/Sod match and followed the match on the big screen in the fan zone.

Fortunately got a standard ticket today for Nadal/Berdych match. one of the sponsors' hostesses offered me an upgrade to a seat in the corporate suite as valued customer. It would be rude to say no and I saw how the other half lives (separate entrance, free buffet and drinks). Each suite has capacity of 32 and my host invited new guests in, but some suites remained empty or had only 2 guests. I had a normal seat this week and I actually looked up to the Suite and wondered how it feels. Listened politely to guests on the Irish crisis/bailout and impact to Euro or high impact marketing of social networking. Can't understand why people text when there is a perfect tennis match going on.

The match was good and both players served well and had breakpoints in 1st set, but couldn't convert. At 6-5, Nadal had to hold and a Berdych shot was called out. Berdych challenged and Hawkeye showed the ball in. 15-30, Nadal was upset with umpire Bernares and protested. Nadal held and won the tie break. Disappointing 2nd set: Nadal broke Berdych in a hard fought game to 3-1 and marched on to win the match. Nadal gave nothing away and defended brilliantly, hit again plenty FH winners from difficult positions, hit great passing shots and came a few times to the net. Incidentally, Berdych had too many UFEs, fewer FH winners, came more often to the net with winners. Murray v Nadal semi, Nadal was impressive this week and I would name him as the favourite to win WTF.

As I left the suite and took lift, got off wrong floor and turn, I almost walked into Berdych's press conference. I saw the cameras and made a quick U-turn. Embarrassing.

I thought Rafa played VERY well, as did Nole, but unless Roger is playing, I want drama, and Birdy and Roddick mentally checked out after set number 1. So, the only Drama we got was Rafa in a snit, which is rare.

Hey, come to think about it, maybe it is me! Last time I saw a live Roger match, he used the F word, twice. Now Rafa yelling at the umpire and supervisor? What is the world coming to?

Yikes, I'm almost afraid to watch Roger's match tomorrow.

Master Ace

My daughter and son in law are Auburn grads, they met and fell in love there!

They have a big house pary going on right now and all I can say is maybe I need to drive down there as I'm sure they are in high spirits and I hope someone in the crowd is tending to my Olivia....there are also a few other toddlers here so I hope they are happy.

Looks like War Eagle to me!!!!!!

Okay I see it was just the building then

I am confused anyway

Grant, I'm posting it just for you. :)

thebigapple Hell thats sounds dreadful.Though didnt you book last minute if I recall.Like I am booking hotels now for RG next year.

Yes, I did book at the last minute. What a memory!

I had some cheap tickets bought but headed there anyway. I did manage to trade up to half decent seats in the main arena while in Paris.

Metro Hey what a bonus for you being up graded and living like a "celebrity".Good for you.

Again thanks for your match comments.Are you going to anymore matches at all?

What! You are booking already???. You are so organized. Hats off to you! You put me to shame.

Or - Are you in London and will you attend semi-final(s) on Saturday or even final?

CL- Hi, sorry about Wednesday evening, missed your post when I logged off.

thebigapple Well lucky you.I am doing my seats from here through the sports people I usually deal with.I am hoping RG2011 will be good.Its my fav slam.

thebigapple I live too far away not to be organised and also there are some good cheap flights to Europe from Australia at the moment.I wish I was going to the USA how dollar is good and there are great prices on air line tickets at the moment too.

"Grant, I'm posting it just for you. :)"

Yay! You should call it the Grant edition, too.

Master Ace, sounds like it was an exciting game. But you're a Crimson Tide fan, aren't you? Commiserations, if that's the case. Really appreciate the comments of Metro, Or and all who attend the matches. Sounds like there will be more on the way tomorrow, and hopefully another post or two by Hannah.

Hmmmm the power of Grant I see

Couldn't resist posting this little bit of gossip from the London Daily Mail : Boris Becker, aged 43, has admitted that he has just undergone a facelift ...

Ausiemarg,

It was fun and Virginia Wade was in the next suite as guest. Back to the hotdog and diet coke seats again.
I don't have tickets for the weekend. But I will just turn up and maybe I get lucky and get hold of some ticket. Some friends may come through.

hang on a sec, did I miss Novak wearing an eye patch? Or he simply joked that he had one? After dinner, I'll check the official sites, but I just ran past a mention of an eye patch here...

Metro : Thanks for another enjoyable report !

Metro - if you are still around...just a bit of silly non tennis business. I noticed you speculating about where John Cleese got his inspiration for Fawlty towers. According to a documentary about the show, Cleese got the idea when he and Eric Idle bailed on the hotel they were in during the filming of Holy Grail...the place they were in kept running out of hot water they needed to get rid of all that mud. So the two of them decamped to a Inn/B&B a few miles away. Cleese said that the innkeeper there was w./out question the rudest person either he or Idle had ever encountered. He couldn't fathom how/why the guy was in the 'hosting' business. But he got fascinated and, voila, Basil Fawlty was born. :-)

Have loved your WTF reports by the way...fair and balanced for realz...and interesting too!

Holds 2 Love,
No, I am not a fan of either team. However, my friends are Auburn fans.

AM, is it "the power of Grant," or the humor of Grant? *sniper rifle*

Tina, Djokovich pulled out an eye patch during the pre-match interview when he was asked about his eye. Then he wore it when he came on court.

Metro Well anyway your enjoyed being a "celeb" for a day

I hope you can get tickets for the s/finals with the top 4 being in action

Maybe the OR-effect will result in Roger having a fistfight with some-one. That should liven things up a bit.

I must confess I am a bit OK with word fighting with the officials ala Nadal today.

But a fistfight (not with officials, please), maybe with Maradona involved would make the day much more amusing for us all.

Lynne Why am I not surprised at all with Boris getting a "face lift"

I still think he hides in closets lol!

Holds 2 Love

Well a bit of both where Grant is concerned

At least he isnt typing in Capitols anymore.

Boris needs a face transplant.

"Also Rafa wasn't rude when complaining, and all is fine with him and Carlos judging by the smiles aftrrwards."

That's precisely the problem, Tuulia! Rafa, like Fed, is too polite. What these two need to do, IMHO, is forget their contracts with Nike and treat us to the occasional profanity-laced tantrum. While Fed's 2009 USO hissy fit was mildly entertaining--and certainly better than his "S**t, it's killing me today" blah at Wimby 2007--it lacked the Connors-like venom that I do, occasionally, miss. Hewitt, Murray, and Djoker showed some promising signs, but they, too, decided to a) stop playing well (Hewitt) or b) become . . . role models (Murray and Djoker). Join me, then, in praying for the resurgence of Daniel Koellerer. For an idea of just how terrible this Daniel can be, watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfqp8QEsrds

So, its Rafa-Muzz and Fed-Nole?

Both matches are with high billing.

Fed-Nole first set will be a corker to watch...whoever wins the first set, will mostly likely take the match. Fed needs revenge though for what happened at the USO. I hope he dosen't forget that he had two matchpoints. Djokovic can have DC anyway, so he will have a fine ending to the year anyway. I hope Fed takes that SF.

Rafa-Fed F will obviously be most wanted by TD...second to Fed-Muzz. Then Rafa-Muzz and then Nole-Muzz.

Or

If you are London now, I am counting on you to transfer all my positive energy to Fed for a semi and a final win!

L.Rubin

Not Crazy Danny??

Outcome of Fed-Nole match will based on Nadal-Murray match outcome. If Rafa wins his match then expect Fed to lose to Djoker in a close encounter.
I don't think Fed believes he can beat Rafa.

Ladyjulia,
There can't be a Rafa-Murray final since they are playing in the semis :)

L.Rubin
Thanks for the laugh! I was trying to picture either Rafa or Roger laughing like that (he actually sounded like a woman) ;-)

MA, I see.

Kudos to Lynne, for finishing her Christmas shopping already! Really Lynne, that's great. So happy for you. Doesn't make me feel jealous or inadequate in the least. ;-) For the rest of us, James LaRosa has a few suggestions.
http://bit.ly/h5o1fk

CL,

Thanks for sharing this comedy nugget with me. Cleese made lemonade out of sour lemons and struck comedy gold. Imagine what it is like when Cleese checks in a hotel nowadays. He experiences bad service and turn it into a laugh.

Lynne, Thanks. Do you get good television coverage of WTF?

Holds 2 Love :

Well, as I said earlier, this is a first for me. Some of my friends have finished their shopping in October so I have frequently felt inadequate :)

VamosRafa,

The Fed might not believe he can beat Rafa...sure..but he's gonna try anyway. He tried on clay 11 times. I think he might actually prefer not trying on clay for once.

xfan,

oh..yeah...right...:-)

both our picks are alive...I hope Nole loses tomorrow though. And I do hope it isn't a 3 hr affair as Fed has the night match. I don't know what I have to sacrifice to the tennis g-o-d-s, but i want Fed's match to be over in an hour tomorrow...and with him being the winner.

However, the problem is that even if its TMF..the Djoker is tough to play. Sometimes being a legend sucks...the Fed will always get these night matches.

Metro : Yes, TC has really excelled in their coverage of WTF. Hope you get to see more live tennis.

What the heck is this?? 2-3 beatdown???? Geez. Roddick. I thought he was Djoker's daddy. He just tanked it, it seems. I guess who can blame him. He didn't want to face his daddy, cough, cough, Fed again. What was it, 22-2 any one?

And now I see that incident during Rafa's play. I have to say Rafa overracted. He clearly stopped playing and raised his hand either at the same time or a half second earlier than Ump called it out. Not sure why he was so pissed. I think the ump had wrong him before, so clearly that must have been on his mind. I got to think. no. he was not the one who gave Rafa warning for coaching at wimby. I can't remember. And it was Pascal who wronged Rafa vs. Evil Sod. I can't figure it out.

Ladyjulia,
Well I didn't expect Fed to be playing Nole so I will be conflicted.
Rafa spoiled my plans cause I didn't think he'd do this well ;-)
I'm sort of thinking we will both lose yet again, which would only mean we'll have to go at it for AO!

AM,

Yep. Crazy Danny! The video I posted, in which Oscar Hernandez treats him to that insane victory dance and high-pitched laughter, does not show us what Crazy did during the match, but considering the fact that Koellerer once spat on his hand before shaking hands with his opponent (and that the Austrian player Koubek once tried to choke him), it is safe to assume that he was pretty awful.

Koubek (for you, x-fan):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIYdC4TX_G8

Reuters conducted an interview with Fed about the olympics..its kind of long, but its a good read for Fed fans:

http://tinyurl.com/2axqjgq

L.Rubin,
Thanks, but wait was that Oscar Hernandez laughing? I thought it was Koellerer!

Lynne,

Happy Thanksgiving. 6 matches so far this week, got to watch Sod, Berd and Roddick live for first time. Still no Ferrer live match. easier to get WTF tickets than Wimbledon and WTF is better value than Queen's.

xfan

I don't think the Muzz will win..he's in a transition stage with no coaches, changing mental makeup on court..it will take some time for him to settle down. Plus its at home, which never is good for the Muzz.

He might win, he might not. Personally, I would still bet on Rafa. He's had 3-0 in RR play. It will be tough, but not impossible.

Same for Fed.

L.Rubin

Thanks.I didnt watch the first link you posted

Too many memories for me with that Nut Case!!!

Metro :

I'm green with envy. I can imagine that it's much better than Queens.

I've seen some replay of Rafa vs. Berdie. what's going on? Rafa continues to play lousy. What the heck happened to US open form? Totally gone. It's all back to IW/Miami/Montreal/Cinci form, aka crappy form. His serve is back to puny version where opponent put back in play at will, ROS is terrible, high and short looping balls, just ugh. I have my doubt that he can pass Muzz tomorrow. If Muzz plays like he's supposed to, it could be a beatdown.

Has anyone read this from yahoo sport article named "Murray gloomy on chances if Nadal awaits"

http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/news?slug=reu-finalsmurray_pix

"“There’s not really a whole lot of room for error. But I’ll try and win. But I’m not sure I’ve got a whole lot of chance if I play against him.”

What a bunch of baloney. I am slightly nervous about my Fedal final. Fed can definitely beat Djoker, but can puny server Rafa beat Muzz? US open Rafa can totaly beat Muzz, but unfortunately he is not here.

Ladyjulia,
Yea I was actually thinking that it may be Rafa afterall...
I guess when it comes to the semis/final I too trust Roger and Rafa more than the others.
Anyway, we'll see soon enough.