Fedex rocking out to Highway to Hell while slamming a shot of Jack was the perfect way to end this.
As a recent college grad, I'll through in my two cents. In the summer, on the beach, surrounded by beautiful women, I don't think anything beats an ice-cold Corona.
In any other situation, Corona blows.

Frank: "In the summer, on the beach, surrounded by beautiful women, I don't think anything beats an ice-cold Corona."

Ice cold Heineken ;)

"I love the smell of Napalm in the morning. Smells like victory." (Kilgore)

Wow - sorry, guys, Fed is not that "rawk". Tossing back shots is best visualized with the Russians and Eastern Europeans. I can't drink beer and maintain my figure, so I'll have a gin and tonic with lime with my tennis, thanks.

Why do people on here keep repeating this one line from Apocalypse Now? Is the film a pop-cultural fad, again?

Roger has said in pasts interviews that he's not 'into beer'. He likes his champagne (it figures huh!) lol!

Liked your description of the martini ritual. Now off for a dry Hendrick's martini, straight up...

When I am viewing tennis live- I like beer after an ill fated wine and turkey leg mix at the 2004 TMC that did not end well.

When I am watching at home- my drinking fits the tournament and time I am watching it. I always have mimosas for the French Open final. Wine or beer during the AO- ditto for USO plus sometimes a g&t. Pimms or mimosas for Wimbledon- my husband always buys some bottles of Pimms before Wimbledon starts. It can vary for the Master's. We used to drink Stella or Pimms for Queens but may not continue to have Stella since it is no longer a sponsor although hubs and I had a nice experience at a bar where we drank Stella one time when we were visiting my brother in Surrey.

mmmmm, Schaefer.... Buuuurrrrp.

Coffee in the morning, beer in the evening. Is this hard to understand?

It was only after the second serve was invented that players felt confident enough to have beer on the changeovers.

Can anyone here explain why exactly Shaffer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one?

...Schaefer...

"I didn’t care what job I would eventually get, I just wanted to work in the daytime."

Congratulations, Steve. Now you know how every young mother feels after six months of whiling the night away trying to appease a crying infant (not speaking from experience, just from what my sister tells me). Corona sounds good to me. I can't drink inexpensive wine anymore because the sulfurites give me a headache, and I've never been tough enough for anything harder than that, so tomorrow I'm getting the girls of my league together for a Corona. Cheers.

P.S.--I've always wondered, who checks the proofreaders?

Does anyone know if RFed also likes pina coladas and being caught in the rain?

I used to listen to a Spanish radio station to learn Spanish. The one thing that stuck with me from that time was "Cerveza Shaefer es la mejor quando se toma mas de uno."

You're right, Steve - after two or three hours of tennis in the warm summer sun, that first sip or three of cold beer is almost as good as sex. A memory and a hope to get us through this latest snowstorm.

I could definitely imagine Roddick crackin open a Corona (or a couple o' Buds for that matter) on the lake in Austin after a Wimbledon final or two.

The greatest beer for any occasion is a chilled glass of Blue moon, garnished with an orange. A dark and stormy also works great.

don't y'all remember how the Fed celebrated his latest Aussie Open victory? "Champagne, of course."

Rocco - thanks for the memories - and the hope (really anticipation 'cause we know its gonna happen) - but I think you're getting a little carried away. Better than sex? Well, come to think of it, it might be true for you. After all, I have no idea with whom you have had sex.

Oh sorry rocco, you said almost as good. I stand corrected.

"In any other situation, Corona blows"

Yes.

People cooing all over the 'net about Corona reminds me of how little taste most people have. But this isn't news, so I should just shut up.

I guess if you are having just one beer then Schaefer wouldn't be the beer to have because it tastes like _____________. But if you are having more than one you can rely on the fact that Schaefer consistently contains enough alcohol to make you ________. There - I figured it out all by myself!!!

atp are right mens tennis is the place to be now and beer can be bought by anyone.people are not restricted on the quanity they can purchase(how many mercs can one person by or afford )womens tennis is an absolute waste of time and effort.sonyericcson is only sponsering them because people like me want to look up sharapovas( and the other sexy thing on the tour)skirts

Note to ATP: Don't forget the limes!

College cheap beer choice: Knickerbocker....the cheapest six pack we could find.

Current favorite: Sierra Nevada

hmm... reminds me.

david foster wallace...dare i bring up his name.....said federer was mozart and metallica at the same time.

agree or disagree, it's a good line.

Right on, Steve.

"There really aren’t many better feelings than running hard on a tennis court in the hot sun for a couple of hours and then finding a cold beer waiting for you in your fridge when you get home. Pull the tab off the can or the top off the bottle, and even if you’ve lost the match, at least you get to hear the sound of victory."

Yes! And as weird as this may sound... after a two-hour-plus match in the 95-degree/70 percent humidity of a North Carolina July, I love nothing better than to shed the green clay-saturated socks , twist the cap off of a cold Yuengling and head right into the shower with it. Wash, swig, rinse, swig, repeat. Nothing finer! (Of course, you've got to have a flat surface out of the splash range for this to work, which I have devised.)

Also...
"The sound of ice cubes cracking out of their holder, clinking against the glass, being swirled by a spoon. And then you end up with the high metallic sheen of the gin itself in the glass, a single olive at its bottom. It’s a hard, minimalist-aesthetic drink for a hard, minimalist-aesthetic sport."

A few of the best lines I've read from you lately. Well put.

On a more serious note, perhaps tennis is trying (or must out of economic necessity) to shed the image we've grown accustomed to by such sponsors as Citizen or Rolex watches, Lexus cars and the like. If Corona doesn't scream "populist" then nothing will. But more important, it screams "good times" and "high fiving youth" far better than any fine, bejeweled timepiece ever could.

Alcohol has no place in the diet of a professional athlete - or any human diet if I had my way! Alcohol is a poison and a drug that can, quite literally, end lives.

Alcohol should be banned from all tennis-tournaments, because it causes yobbish, rowdy behaviour, which has no place in our genteel sport.

Great post- I'm a little surprised you ditched the beer after being shamed by an elder.
At least we got some great descriptions of the grandstand court out of it.

Natty Boh, $7 a twelve pack, does our Monday doubles group just right, all summer long.

I don't like beer AT ALL so I'm indifferent to this new ATP stuff, but if I think of an ideal drink to have with tennis, it'd be red whine. Oh yeah. My next choice would not be champagne but rather white whine.

federer in an interview last year in Switzerland was asked lots of questions and told to respond quickly, if i recall.

one was 'beer or wine'? Answer: wine.

for those dying to know...

oh good Roger agrees with me, hehe. thanks susan.

In total agreement. A beer goes well after you play, but ice cold martinis are my choice when I'm watching, especially when I'm a nervous wreck watching Federer. I've spent quite a bit of time at the Grey Goose bar at the US Open and even brought my martini into the stand with me. Seems perfectly natural and appropriate!

Steve...you are such a beautiful writer...i just lovvveeedddd this mannn!

I don't like beer at all,the smell is disgusting.

Proper-descent-women in India do not drink beer at all.Vodkas,martini's,pinacalodas,gin and ofcourse wineeee.

We do have something really really nice and selling very well in India,"BACARDI BREEZER" they are pre-mixed cocktails,in exotic flavours like cranberry,orange,lemon,etc...proper-women's choice,very very elegant and stlylish too!

I can see Mirka liking that too,hehehe

"Nothing says 'class' like a chunk of fruit floating in your beer." - Dr. Frazier Crane.

After playing a tough match I like to chug a giant beer with a live goldfish.

Talking about proper decent woman, I remember once sitting in a bar with a guy friend. Our eyes somehow simultaneously caught another woman across the bar at the moment she took a sip from her beer bottle (can't remember which kind it was.) He turned to me and said, "I don't like women who drink out of a bottle. It's so vulgaire." Yes he said it in French, making sure to enunciate it properly. Did I mention he was/is gay?

Funny how much people project on drinks. I like to eat my ice-cream on a cone and on the rare occasion I drink with friends, I prefer a Corona light simply becuase it doesn't have as much alcohol. And I do like it from a bottle because I intake only a little at a time and a bottle is easier to nurse than a glass. A fine wine is fine IF you can afford it. The rest is too strong for me. There you have it. Cheers.

Talking about athletes and alcohol, I agree most athletes probably don't take alcohol much (I usually avoid both alcohol and caffeine because I don't like psychoactive drugs in general), but at least tennis players are not doing this: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/IOC-to-investigate-Canadian-women-s-hockey-team-?urn=oly,224338

Yikes.

Since the subject of Corona has come up, I thought maybe one of you fellow beer drinkers could answer a question I have had for a while. I don't understand the popularity of Corona. Is it a beer for those who really don't like beer but want to be seen drinking a quasi-exotic brew? And the concept of Corona light is a hoot - the regular Corona is thin with little flavor - the light must be like drinking pale yellow water. Mexico makes much better beer (so does almost everyone else for that matter, except Coors) - why Corona???

Steve,

I share your enthusiasm toward beer after playing and, perhaps shamefully, beer in the morning. In fact, years ago, I used to play with an older gentleman on Sunday mornings at 8 am. Afterwards, we would retire to a couple of cans of Genny Cream Ale. Looking back, I don't know what's worse--drinking beer in the morning; drinking beer on Sunday morning; or simply drinking Genny Cream Ale. I reckon it's the latter.

(By the way, do they still even make that stuff? Haven't seen it in many years).

Finally, beer is the perfect drink while watching tennis. In fact, I think beer is the perfect drink to go with any sport, so long as not done to excess (see any football/hockey fan). There is just something innately jock-like about beer, rendering it perfect for an athletic contest. On the flip side, perhaps it's the same reason it doesn't traditionally go with opera or the symphony.

The Champions Cup has been held at Boston Univ's Agganis arena for the last couple of years. I like to show up early on the opening day when there is no security at the Outback spread, crash it, drink beers like mad, then head courtside with a cold one to watch Johnny Mac warm up about 10 feet away from me, with only 4 other people watching.

Best tennis viewing/buzz in town.

BTW, the reason we drink Corona lite, Miller lite, et al is so that you can drink, and basically get a minimal buzz. For example, 5 hours of tailgating before a football game followed by 3 hours at the game, follwed by 2 hours of tailgating after the game... you need a beer with practically no alchohol. Enough to get a buzz, but not enough to put you in a coma after 10 hours.

Michelle: Nervous wreck watching Federer?
How can you be nervous when the likelihood of a Win is like 96% at this point

PC: I hope you know, 'light' means fewer carbohydrate calories, not light on the alchohol content....

The goldfish drinks almost as much as I do.

"Light Beer" doesn't refer explicitely to alcohol content but light beers usually have lower alcohol content which helps reduce calories.

It's what PC said. Because I'm short and alcohol goes right to my head, I prefer Corona. In my case, though, there is another reason. In 1992 I was seventeen years old and developed a huge crush on Viktor Petrenko, that year's Olympic champion in figure skating. The television station of a neighboring country at the time was running a Corona ad with a model who looked just like Viktor. Well, what can I say, some early impressions linger... :))