Wimbledon 2008

Steady Mike won't be quiet for long, I shouldn't wonder.

Hi hi, I'll be checking in and occasionally contributing if an Italian does something noteworthy, and hoping Edina Gallovits progresses so I can make a H2G2 reference for big laffs.

While I shall be in charge of Sharapova/Ivanovic Watch. And occasionally posting LOLworthy images of Lindsay Davenport.

I can't believe how much I took being able to sprawl in front of the tv all day, every day during wimbledon for granted back when I was a student :(

First round upsets in waiting: Zheng over Cibulkova (who is v talented teenager, and also Monfils' current gf, but more of a claycourter), Dellacqua over Batty Patty, Ancic over Llodra (can't believe this is a first round match! easily the pick of the opening rounders), Mahut over Tursunov (sadface, Mahut is so fug and Dima so hott), Querrey over Ferrero (BOO).

Vaidisova is currently too busy shagging Sexxxpanek to give a shit about tennis and her results lately have been abysmal (getting only three games off Mattek in Edgbaston wtf, how is that even physically possible) but surely even she can get past Ondraskova before Stosur thrashes her in round two. (Stosur has a great draw, btw: the other top seeds in that eighth are Batty and the slumping Chak Attack.)

Did anyone see the Eastbourne final on Saturday? One of the best matches of the year - seems weird that the last three Eastbourne finals have been classics, while we haven't had a half-decent Slam final on the women's side for, like, five millennia. Anyway, I heart A-Rad, but I think she'll be too tired to go beyond the 4th round.

Who I want to win: Gasquet, Jankovic. This is because I am a masochist and am only capable of supporting headcases and wusses. Who will win: Nadal (beating Djokovic), Sharapova (beating Silliams).

Surprise quarter-finalists could be Yanina Wickmayer and...just about anyone in Davydenko's eighth of the draw. Davydenko himself would be a surprise! Maybe Donald Young can finally deliver on his hype.

btw, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfB7a3eT2Eg";>this is the full-on CHAK ATTACK</a>. Mild-mannered, baby-faced Anna C may look like the most self-effacing girl on tour but you mess with her at your peril.

If anyone can dredge up the opening sequence of Animalympics off YouTube, I feel that'd be an appropriate insertion at this point.

Action on all the courts at the moment. Notable highlights are JCF trailing to The Querreyman, Razzle 5-0 upon on Eggy Rodina, Radwanska Club Juniors daintily snatching the first set 6-1 off Zakopalova, Stozzie flying against Olaru, and Tommy Jo and Vinnie The Spade rattling along, 4-5 in the first.

huh this is the right youtube link for the Chak Attack. I hate html or whatever went wrong up there: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfB7a3eT2Eg

Game done changed:

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Teej and Vinny get the first tie-break of the championships. Sam Querrey, Ten Feet Tall And Six Feet Wide, takes the first set 6-2. Sets also go to the Bagh Daddy, the Razzler and Sammy The Stoat. The televised match on the Beeb sees everyone's favourite Scottish Ukranian, Lennie Baltacha, 5-3 up on Angie Kerber.

Gosh, how painfully clever of me.

Guess what! I am once again unemployed. And not just temporarily this time, in fact, in about 11 hours from now I'm 99% likely to be fired permanently.

Good news for this thread, bad news for its readers!

Checking in.

Sammy the Stoat has won a set! Already Oz expectations for this event have been exceeded, Rodge's diplomatic assessment of Hewitt's chances notwithstanding.

Federer has taken the stage. He appears to be wearing some kind of cardigan thing.

Elsewhere, Johansson-Spadea is shaping up nicely as the first leviathan of the year - one 18-point tiebreak later, Everyone's Cousin Vinny takes the first set 7-6. Also one set to the good: Bobbysods, Toby Kamke, Jie Zheng. After dropping the tournament's first bagel, Eggy's 4-1 up in the second on Razzano.

Yay for being able to watch the tennis at work!

Mmm bagel.

I am following it on Yahoo. Eyetie news: recent overachiever Andy the Squid is a set down to some German no-mark.

Sammy has beaten Ayers Rock (Ularu)!

Josh Eagle on Foxtel seems to think she should have bagelled her.

And this year's first winner is... The Stoat, 6-2 6-2 over I-R-O. E-Rod's flip-reversed Razzo 6-2 in the second; further score-levellings for Kerber, Kev Kim (6-0 on Bobbysods) and JCF. Baggy's now two sets to the good on Darcis, and U-Rad's just got over the line, 6-1 6-4.

Darcis was the guy Hewitt monstered in R1 of the Oz. Speaking of which, Hewitt is being interviewed by Wally Masur, spouting all the ususl fluff but wearing his cap THE RIGHT WAY ROUND. Nearly didn't recognise him.... Speaking of fluff, the beard has thankfully gone.

Not lovin' the new scoreboard. Hrbaty's putting up a decent fight of the first set.

Actually, according to the Beeb, our first winner was Nicci Vaidisova, who bulldozed Zuzu Ondraskova 6-2 6-2. Whoops.

Set-up: Yuan, NLV, Karen's Uzi, Our Friend Flicka.

You mean Slam Tracker?

They do realise that for the prog scores to have any meaning it's helpful to know who's serving????

In two minds as to whether to inform people that Kaia Kanepi made the quarters at the French Open. Will decide against for now. Fed goes a set up, Electroglide In Zheng is through 6-4 6-3, making Dominika Cibulkova the first seed (#30) to be eliminated from this year's tournament.

First round upsets in waiting: Zheng over Cibulkova

CALLED IT!

Yuan is beating Dechy? On grass? How is that even possible?

Nohrah lost the first 11 points vs Fed but started to make a fist of it as soon as he won a point with a ludicrous line-lob from behind his back. I haven't described that very well - it'll be on the highlights tonight.

About time they replaced that scoreboard really - it had been there since 1982, I think (they replaced the old matrix-of-bulbs on court no 1 first, in '81), and I'd started to grow tired of it as soon as they introduced redundant zeroes (i.e., in the early days, if the guy on the top row was up 4-0, 30-love, the bottom row of games/points would be blank - I thought this was a nice literal interpretation of "not on the board yet"). Unfortunately, the choice of typeface for the new screen is poor.

very poor.

'a *fairly *poor** Chelsea side at the moment' - Emlyn Hughes to Bob Wilson, lunchtime, January 1987

always remains the canonical use of the word 'poor' for me

he sort of pronounced it 'puir'

he wore a pale blue jumper, with yellow trimming I think, to Wilson's beige suit

La Razz battling to stay in her match v Rodina, Herrabbitty two down to Rodge, Bagh and Darcis in third set tiebreaker in which Darce is holding his own well.

Darc wins tiebreaker.

Now looking at Serena W, vaguely resembling Aretha in the Blues Brothers, systematically dismembering Kanapes, who at first sight seems to be carrying a little condition.

Cardigan

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44771000/jpg/_44771316_federer220ap.jpg

Rodge about to officially advance (presumably sans cardigan), Gonzo a set up on an unseeded Rob the Slob.

JCF has beaten Querrey, Darcis serving to stay in v Bagh, Ivanovic away v De Los Rios Tringbarkus.

Happy for Rodina beating Razzano after a first set bagel - should go a little way to alleviating her PARISIAN PAIN.

Was wondering whether an upset would ensue in the Pavlyuchenkova v Cornet match - former junior Wimbledon champion who's underwhelmed in the seniors, against a seed with a game tailor-made for clay but who's made astonishing progress this year. The grass-courter Pavlyuchenkova took it in two TBs.

Good win for JCF over an annoying big server :D

Chewitt a set down to Haase, hurrahe! Sweta a set down to Johansson, WTF.

OK I'm excited for this event, but since I'm in AMERICA all the matches take place v early in the morning or when I'm at work, so I can't actually watch them except for the weekends. Nevertheless I will try to follow along best as I can, but won't have much to contribute here.

The last five Wimbledon girls juniors championships were won by Kat Bondarenko (she beat Ivanovic in the finals!), both Radwanskas (Agnieska twice!), and Wozniacki. V. interested to see how they perform this year. N.b. Srebotnik and Mauresmo also won this even as juniors; Ivanovic, Sharapova, and Chak lost in the finals.

I know nothing about this Berrer guy but he's a double-break up on Djoko in set 2 (having narrowly lost the first). I think the #3 is in a bit of trouble here against a man I suggest we call "Yogi".

greg: zattoo.com

wtf you can't get the bbci channels if you're on virgin??? bullshit! i'm stuck with watching some really terrible british WC try her hardest against a barely-concentrating alona bondarenko and, you know, win the occasional point.

S'all streaming on the Beeb website.

Specifically, Lex, Ancic vs Llodra can be found at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7465695.stm

eh, it's not the same, it's too much like having to watch youtube clips and random streams for the other 50 weeks of the year! though i think i will definitely use it when matches get to crucial stages...also, south has made a mini-comeback!

Over! Only one singles match to be held over - Rybarikova v Niculescu, with the latter trailing 2-4 in the third. If I'd attended today I'd actually have watched that; Rybarikova was a very good junior who's going to crack the top 100 for the first time after Wimbledon, having qualified, and Niculescu has one of the odder games on tour: apparently in the juniors she only had a slice forehand, which is just...mind-boggling. She's as close as there is to a female Santoro, all slices and drop-shots and ridiculous spins, and she was driving Jankovic crazy in the 1st round of Roland Garros.

Uhhhh a paragraph about Magdalena Rybarikova and Monica Niculescu? Onwards.

- Frank Dancevic is hott! And I am going to get to perv on him in person on Wednesday because he thrashed Lazy Fat Dave
- The Chak Attack needed 8-6 in the third to beat Dubois? Rock bottom, Anna, rock bottom
- Too many retirements on the men's side: Nishikori, Llodra (so much for that match-up), Lee, Stakhovsky, Volandri. Wusses! None of the girls retired. Especially disappointed that I won't get to see Next Big Thing (TM) Nishikori live now
- Pity Korolev (a certain Anna K's cousin, btw) and Haase couldn't finish the Berdman and Chewitt off respectively :(
- How has Ivo Karlovic managed to lose in the first round of Wimbledon for...is it three straight years now?
- Saw most of CAKE vs Lisicki. Cake was playing really well. Where has this Cake been for the past year? She's so much fun to watch - it's unbelievable to see the angles she comes up with, how she takes the ball earlier and earlier as the rally progresses, how her anticipation is so keen that even Lisicki's most powerful shots had no effect. Lisicki is talented but wild, and her pouting skillz must be unmatched on tour. Also, hott
- Melanie South is fat, and not very good, but A-Bond is so one-dimensional that it was a close match. A-Bond's game is so metronomic that it nearly put me to sleep, but she looks quite cool: funky asymmetric neckline, pink scrunchies and a plait the likes of which we have not seen since the days of Anna K, massive tattoo on her back

Someone emailed me to tell me that the following exchange apparently just happened on the US coverage:

ESPN discussion about Estonia.

- Estonia is a small country near, erm, ...

- The Balkans?

I'm on Virgin and can get the BBCi coverage (just red button on BBC1), it wasn't working properly earlier so maybe it was just down for maintenance when you tried.

"Zattoo is not yet available in the United States."

Go Cake!

Just caught Casey Delinquent's last set demo job on Batty Patty.

If not before, and regardless of anything Stosur does over the next few days, Casey is now confirmed as womens' FOAT. She bumped Mesmo off in January and beat Cake a couple of weeks ago, and might even be seeded by the time the circus moves to new York.

And let's face it, she makes a much better front page of the sports section that Hewitt will in a million years.

It is a very nice cardie.

Last night's higlights are repeated at 10.30 this morning (and presumably every morning).

Keothavong's off to a rather good start. broken twice already.

can't serve for shit though.

Anne lost the first set, eek. I know she's not great but even she should be able to beat Vania King on grass - I suspect she's feeling the pressure of actually being in the top 100 now.

aren't they next to each other in the rankings?

Yeah, Anne is one place higher. But King's game is not suited to grass at all, and she's always sucked on it in the past. Basically, even Anne should be able to overpower her.

c'mon tim!

(pumps fist)

From now on Anne Keothavong's nickname shall be "Tim".

Tommy Haas makes a right Tommy Haas of set 1 v Canasta (and looked thoroughly ordinary in the process), Sania Mirza a set up on Castano after tiebreaker, Cilic serving for set 2 and a 2-0 lead on Roger-Vaseline, Boom Crash Sugiyama cruising at 6-4 3-0 against Belgian Yanina Wickmeyer.

MerdeTV now showing Venus v local Naomi Cavaday who frightened the bejesus out of Hingis this time last year. So far the fly that bugged her (boom! boom!) as she was about to serve is giving her more trouble than the Cadaver.

Cilic Bang!

Who's the worst drug cheat playing at the moment? Is it Canas?

I refresh and find Cadaver is ack 2 games up on the Villiams, who I swear was 40-0 in game 1 in about twenty seconds on TV. Bloody Foxtel!

Cavaday now 3-1 up.

Haas about to serve for the second set.

BBC site says Venus was stung by a wasp at 40-0 up in the first game!

Sania, getting taken to a tiebreak by Castano on grass...eek.

Two more retirements, shockingly none involving Gasquet (yet): Odesnik and Lapentti. WUSSES.

Wozniacki and Wozniak both a set up on their opposition, which means that we are en route to an ALL WOZNIA- showdown in the next round.

ilx Wimbledon meme?

Wickmayer lost to Sugiyama in straight sets! Guess that Edgbaston final was something of a false dawn.

Mirza broken in set 2 - double eek!

Nic 'Flinger' Keefer 2 sets up on United Colors. Grosjean through.

Mirza broken in set 2 - double eek!

RIP grass court tennis

we are en route to an ALL WOZNIA- showdown in the next round.

ie WOZZES!?

Headline:

"Wozz Up!!!!!"

Catalina Castano, who is about to cream Mirza 6-2 in the second set, has been on the scene since 01 and is yet to reach the third round of a major. Nice one Mirz!

Mirza showing some ticker at last to break back but still trails 5-3 and struggling to hold to stay in the set. Robredo about to serve for the match against Kristof Vleijen, who is yet another Belgian unknown, but notable for looking disturbingly like Roy Baker from 'Cop Shop'

Wopwatch: Potito roasted but Flavia through.

Canas getting canastaed by Haas in the third. Right now I suspect his knee is in similar condition to Tiger Woods and he might join the retirement queue.

Clickety-Click Castano perhaps best known for falling in the first round to a 49-year-old Martina Navratilova a few years ago...

Cav continues to give Venus a game, 5-6 and serving in the first. She-Tim and Vania locked at 2-2 in the third. EdRogVass on the verge of clawing his way back in the third against Cilic.

Cadaver is anything but svelte and looks like she might expire in the heat it it ever hit 25C but she is matching Venus shot for shot and even winning the long rallies. Shots of Serena in the crowd looking concerned. Mercifully still no sightings of Mr or the appalling Mrs W.

Venus about to serve for 7-5 in tiebreaker, on a fault, screen goes green and ads ever since. Good one Rupes!

Canas storming back v Haas who apparently is famous for finding creative ways to lose. Mirza breaks Clickety-Click at first try in decider and hopefully has abandoned the 'Crapping About' strategy.

Marin swerves Erv in the tie-break and goes through. Gorgeous Pouting Ernie Gulbis is a set to the good on New Wave Of American Chins superstar Jeff Isner; The Arvid Twin's 4-0 up on Bam-Bam; Gasket's a set up on Fish; Venus has to go to a tie-break to snaffle the first set off Cav. Kiefer's sealed the deal on Benny, Tommy "Never see them in the same room" Haas has taken excessive yonks to go two sets to one up on Canned Ass.

Oscar Hernandez an early break on P-H 'Victor' Mathieu. Sgt Baker pinches set from Robredo to force a fourth.

John Isner, all 17 stone of him, a set down v Deadly Ernest Gulbis.

Woot! A British woman through to the second round!

I'd call that a successful tournament already.

Anne won! Next up...Venus.

Mirza is injured (AGAIN) apparently, hence woeful scoreline against Castanets.

All the freakshow huge servers yesterday lost - Karlovic, Guccione, Querrey. Hopefully Isner will follow them today.

Woot! A British woman through to the second round!

That's two of them through

Don't forget Scoto-Ukranian battler Baltacha

There are two British women in the second round! Though both of those wins were pretty much expected. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if Katie O'Brien beats Shahar Peer later either, though this is more to do with Peer's current slump and lack of grass court prowess than O'Brien's talent.

Yup, Our Anne finishes The Chronicles of Vania in three sets. Our Naomi, however, ran out of luck and got squidged 6-1 in the second set. Mirzbow's having another go at serving out against Castanets.

A gentleman called Woods has taken a big slice of cred off the 'injury' excuse recently.

Mirza 30-30 - ballsing this up is still well within her capabilities....

And she finally does. Mickie Krajicek - a quarter-finalist here last year - has dropped the first set to Marina "Rack Off" Erakovic, the best New Zealand tennis player since... erm... the last one. Robotnik's a set up against Julia Goerges, another of the German scrappers that seem to be peppering the draw. And on Court 8, Martin's Vaseline Argument is getting the better of a five-set slog against Ivo Minar.

Krajicek hadn't won a match between October last year and Edgbaston two weeks ago. Her Wimbledon QF is basically the only thing keeping her afloat in the rankings - she'll be out of the top 100 if she loses this...

NotBoris away against the Grim Reaper, and Deadly Ernest now two sets up on John 'King Kong' Isner.

MVA and Haas womble on through to Round Two. Gasqs is two games away from wrapping up Fish, and there's sets for Radical Stepladder and PHM. Bam's snapping back against Son Of Arvid, 4-1 in the second - and the Swede's retired hurt. Ah. The Great Double Bagel Hunt may be nearing an end - Alla Kudryavtseva is 6-0 2-0 up on Smokey Makarova.

NotBoris about to consolidate his second break to lead Davydenko 5-1.

6-0 3-0. Rowr-fael (as the Sun is probably not calling him, I guess, though I'm not checking) is going with serve on centre against Andy Beck (not to be confused with Karol Beck. Or Mikkel, for that matter). T-Rob has finally scratched his Belgian itch, 6-4 in the fourth. Racka's looking to serve out Richard's sister.

Erakoffnormie had match point but blew it, back to deuce.

And again. And again.

Meanwhile, on court 11 Arnie Clement and Jonas Bjorkman (combined age: approx 103) away, early break to Jonas.

Kraj has broken back. Yay Kraj.

Grim reaper serving to stay in first set. Victor Mathieu now well on top of Hernandez.

Makarova finally digs one out, but she's still 5-2 down and facing. Kudryavtseva, going by the pic on SlamTracker, is being played by Imelda Staunton in The Singing Detective. In roughly no time at all, Schiavone's 6-3 5-5 on upset maestro Tam Paszek. Krajicek is scrambling hard on court 6, still 5-4 down but serving. Chardy's a set up on ol' Gil, Tammie Tanasugarn starts her umpteenth campaign by taking the first set off Cetkovska (didn't she have a decent run at the French?), and there's sets for Becker, Goerges... oh, it's all happening.

Krajicek's pulled back to 5-5...

Cetkovska, aided by a section which fell apart around her, reached the last 16 at RG, where she was double bagelled by Ivanovic.

Schiavone v Paszek started yesterday - Schiavone was 4-2 up in the second. On paper it should be a good match but given Schiavone's dislike of grass and Paszek's, er, 'personal issues' this year...I doubt it is.

KING KOLYA did a mini-comeback but still lost the first set 4-6 to Unboris. I wonder how hard he's even trying, given that he opted to play a clay tournament in Poland rather than a grass warm-up.

OMG Makarova saves at least one match point and has won four in a row against Kudryavtseva! If Alla lets this one get away from her it'd be worse than her choke against Venus last year.

Sharapova has kicked off, against one S. Foretz.

Best of luck Sherwood.

Currently seeing Mathieu take third set 6-zippo. No Oscars in Hernandez' role as a credible grasscourter, the talking heads were flabbergasted that Victor gave him a set....

Nadal has broken Beck. GR-BB on serve in second but the Reaper still unconvincing. Crash Krajicek-Normie in a tiebreaker in which Crash is ahead.

Kudryavtseva wraps it up 6-4 and must be exhaling with relief right now. Erakovic also survives her own mini-choke to take the second set TB. The top 100 bids you farewell, Michaella Krajicek!

Paszek's levelled up against Voney, and Isner's tie-broken The Fastest Milkman In The West Of Riga to hammer on into a fourth set. Bjorko's taken the first off Arnie Clem, and Tammie T's scuttling Cetkovska in double-quick time. Way out on court 18, Azarenka's serving notice - 4-1 up on Pironkova.

Didn't refresh fast enough AGAIN - now Normie has match point.

Which i think she blew - MP again but on Crash's serve this time.

....TF that's over. The top 100 says RAK OFF MICKY!

Becker follows up three consecutive 'lets' with an ace and a near-ace to go 5-3 up in the second.

Nicolas Almagro takes the court and is trying to win his first ever ATP match on a grass court surface.

well done to MARIA JOSE MARTINEZ SANCHEZ, who managed to score her first Slam win ever in approx 7 years of trying. Aptly enough it was over the terminally useless Martina Muller. Three more, and she'll have as many Slam wins as she does names.

And that just about wraps it up for the Grim Reaper....

the video sidebar on the bbc site keeps telling me Ivanovic is "looking for love". tempted to stop off at Wimbledon on my way home tonight....

[insert tennis-related innuendos here]

"New balls please" etc

Frannie the Slav goes through 10-8 in the third, phew.

restringing my racket was where I was gonna go with it.... xpost

Oh no, poor Paszek :( She lost 10-12 in the third in her Australian opener, and now 8-10 here. Wouldn't bet on her career getting back on track any time soon...

Meanwhile in the day's other epic, Gorgeous Goerges serves for the match for the second time at 13-12 over Robotnik...

Actually this match is kind of nuts. Goerges has served for it at least three times and had at least two MPs...and will now serve for it AGAIN at 15-14 up.

Why is Court 16 not bloody televised. Who gives a shit about Roddick holding serve or Lazy Leach stomping all over some hapless Czech when this is happening.

And why does BBC Slamgrabber or whatever it's called not even have a photo of Andy Murray it can use?

Santoro-Murray was tremendous stuff; Our Andy appears to have come on quite a bit even in the 24 months since he whacked Roddick here.

Mixed fortunes for the Brits still out there - Shirley Eaton is up a set vs Shexy Sherbian Shpy Pashanski but Joe Don Baker is getting irradiated by The Galvanometer.

The host of the highlights show looks like one of the undead.

Santoro <3

I knew this was likely to be the last time I'd see him on Tour, so I bailed on the cinema to watch it. Tremendously entertaining; on one point he literally had Murray running in circles.

Jankovic v Savchuk was a nice match. Savchuk is a swashbuckling net-rusher, who knew? Pity about her awkward groundstrokes and her ability to hit terrific winners only when match point down. Also, wtf at the crazy enthusiastic Savchuk fan who'd call out "I LOVE YOU OLGA" midpoint?

Second round prediction: Gorgeous Gise d. Big Momma Lindsay 3-0 ret.

Kudos to Ai Sugiyama! 57 consecutive Slam main draws, apparently some sort of record.

Sub-600-ranked Brit (a wildcard into qualifying) Eaton into the second round - v happy for him but I would like to invite anyone who's ever criticised the standard of women's tennis relative to men's to watch that match. Awful, park hacker stuff. "He's done a great job of getting the ball into play," gushed one commentator. Welcome to the fucking point of tennis!

Gulbis v Nadal has big upset potential, but only if Gulbis has one of his good hitting days.

KING KOLYA's newly vacated eighth of the draw remains wide open. I'll take Cilic to come through for, oh, no reason at all, more of a process of elimination (Chardy and Melzer = creatures of clay, Clement = old, Levine = crap, Mathieu = choker and wuss extraordinaire, etc).

The host of the highlights show looks like one of the undead.
-- G00blar

wait a minute ... don't tell me Gerry Williams is back!!

'Arthur Ashe ...' <breaks down in tears>

or as I think Desmond Lynam once put it to him:

There were ghosts in the eyes
Of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets

Just checking out highlights of Roddick's match yesterday.

I utterly refuse to believe his opponent was really called Schwank.

And gone before we had time to call him Hichlary. (Unless WBS did and I missed it).

I was really hoping that Mike could tell us some Gerry Williams anecdotes.

He was a great Lendl apologist, Williams. "Why doesn't he smile on court, people ask - well, I asked him and it's because he used to be very sensitive about his teeth. As simple and as human as that." And also "Lendl has a marvellous, Puck-ish sense of humour."

More Gerry Williams paraphrased memories tomorrow.

at the same time, shortly before noon? I'll be here. this could be the highlight of the tennis thread for me.

(I may have promised far more than I can actually deliver. I wonder if GW will now email me with corrections, in the style of Gary Bl00m?)

And we're away on day 3 - currently looking at Sammy the Stoat make a not specially convincing start against Vaidisova, despite the optimistic forecasts of Wal and Josh.

Vad the Impaler survives a break-back point to go 2-0 up.

And gone before we had time to call him Hichlary. (Unless WBS did and I missed it).

I was gonna go for Eddy Schwuave (or, in a pinch, Po...)

They're underway for the day, opening up with Bally vs. Jie-Z, The Stoat vs. Nicci V, Del PotRoast vs. Swiss Stan, The Serrater vs. Seppi-Seppi Ay-Ay-Ay, Casey Of The Water vs. Mlle. Parmentier, and Lovely Bobby vs. Lovely Frank. Early breaks for Jie, Vaidisova, Parmentier and Dancevic.

Some incredibly feeble tennis is being played by Stose and Vaid right now....4-1 Vaidisova. 4-1 receiver over server. Rupert, is there anything else on????

1. I'm not sure GW can use email

2. I'm not sure GW is alive

Surely google-proofing Gary Bl00m is the cruellest thing you can do to him - this is the man's raison d'etre.

Stose now 5-2 after holding (with difficulty). All the points she won in that game were off the second serve, which does look threatening sometimes whereas her usual first serve wouldn't knock the froth off a pint of Tetleys Bitter.

I look away for 5 minutes and every first set has been completed!

It is raining in Leeds. Or rather it was when I went to get lunch. Now I'm back in the office, it appears to have stopped. Hmmph. Still, using mystic foreseeing powers, that rain will probably hit Wimbledon in a few hours.

Anyway, yep, all first sets completed with the exception of Pot Roast-Embedded Waw, who are locked at 4-4. Bally bombed 6-2 in the first set, but better news in the doubles where Our Anne and Our Mel are serving at 4-5 down against Ji and Sun. In terms of first match to finish, I'll stick my neck out and suggest Dellacqua-Parmentier, the French lass having taken the first 6-1.

Gerald remembers Bill Threlfall:

A commentary pairing in tennis is somewhat like a marriage. You spend so much time together, tightly corralled in an airless commentary box and playing off each other, that you almost begin to grow into one person.

It was rather like that with Bill Threlfall and me when we were paired by Sky TV as their main tennis commentary team and began touring the world's high places. We were very different people, and I sensed this especially each summer in New York at the US Open. Bill loved the electricity and eccentricity of Manhattan, and the little breakfast shop on Lexington Avenue; and he blossomed in the late nights. I disliked them, and I dreaded the weariness it produced in me. Bill thrived on it. He became jokier through the fortnight, I more crusty.

As in a marriage, there would be times when we would snap at each other - always during a commercial break, of course. But we had far more times of sharing wonderful stories over a glass of wine (off-air, it goes without saying) and some of sheer hilarity.

In 1996, Bill and I were commentating live on Sky at a Davis Cup final in Malmö between Sweden and France and it went down to the two final rubbers on the third day. Both matches went to five sets and the indoor stadium had been temporarily rigged for television in such a way that Bill and I could not get to a lavatory without clambering over spectators.

What began as a bit of a nuisance developed into a serious crisis. Before the end, which meant after almost eight hours (Vic Wakeling, Managing Director of Sky Sports, claimed it was a record stint for any live sports commentary), we discovered an emergency exit and it saved the day, even though it led into a public car park. The most sensitive way I can put it is to say that we were relieved. And afterwards our bursts of commentary hid guffaws of laughter.

Stose and Delinquent have both made better starts to set 2: two breaks each.

Long-time followers of this thread might remember the epic battle between New Zealand's last, best hope for being any good at tennis (Marina Erakovic) and Richard Krajicek's sister (Michaela Krajicek) yesterday, with Racko emerging victorious 7-6 7-6. Turns out they're partnering each other in the doubles, and they've dropped the first set 6-0 to the the 15th-seeded Czechoslovakian Connection (Benesova & Husarova).

Meanwhile, Bally-Zheng is looking like a cracker - the Bonnie Babby of the Baltic had a break at 3-2, dropped it, fell back to 3-4 but just broke back again, and is now serving at 5-4 up in the second.

It's not like it's a ghost town elsewhere, neither: Stoat's stormed back to take the second set 6-0, Light Lunch With Mel & Anne took their first-set tie-break, Pots 'n' Stan are still trying to resolve their first set, Sepp's about to go two sets up, Aussie 'acqua's got the second set 6-2, and Lovely Bobby is about to level things against Lovely Frank. Have we had any completed matches yet?

I now want Mike, as one who knows, to tell me whether marriage is indeed like being tightly corralled in an airless commentary box and playing off each other, and not being able to relieve oneself for eight hours.

Off-air, it goes without saying.

Lenny The Bruce couldn't seal the deal, it's 5-5.

But on centre, it's eyes down for the Eastern European Hott-Off - Yung Djok and Saffie have just taken the stage, going with serve so far.

Vaid the Impaler remembers just in time that she is playing somebody who has achieved an almost Zen-like state of mediocrity, and wins the third 6-4 after conceding the first three games. Meanwhile, Casey D wrangles Capt. Wilton Parmentier (F Troop of course) 6-3 in the last.

Hewitt yet to kick claer of Montanes, Safin is (inconveniently for Djoko) having an on-day, and similarly Annie Johnson is battling to stay in a tiebreaker with Dechy.

Is Dementieva the chokiest player ever (bearing mind Lewis Hamilton doesn't play tennis)?

Ivanovic lost the first set to Dechy. Hilarious.

Nadia Petrova is much chokier than Dementieva.

Mentally Vera 'Vinegar Tits' Zvonareva (so far unsighted this time) is 100% proof pure candy-floss.

Sort it aaaat Ana....

Burt Reynolds now 2 sets to one up on Dancin' Frankie, Camerin has set point to level with Dementieva, former NBT (Next Big Thing) J-M Del Potroast now 2 sets down to Wawrinka, JCF in trouble early v Zverev, Hewitt and Montanes still locked together at 6-6 in tiebreaker.

Djokovic two sets down. He made my "ooh, Major Dude in troub" comments seem ridiculous fairly quickly vs Yogi, so I'm saying nowt.

He's totally in trouble though!

Dechy blows a double match point against Ivanovic! Can she come back and win?

Safin now 3-0 up in the third.

I'd use the old PJ O'Rourke line about age, guile, youth and bad haircuts, except that Saffers has all the guile of two short planks.

COME ON MARIA ELENA!!!

Djokovic capitulates with back-to-back double faults: 4-6 6-7 2-6.

Virginia Wade driving us nuts in the Ivanovic-Dechy. Will not shut up no matter how much I shout at the scream.

Try screaming at the shout instead.

all over my typos today, aren't you!

It's like someone took a knife, baby, edgy and dull, and drove a six-inch valet through the middle of your skull.

This Dechy-Ivanovic match is, I am sorry to say, a perfect illustration of how to choke on serve.

OK, they've recovered now, thank goodness.

Is the BBC web stream down for everyone else? C'mon, it's 6-6 in the 3rd!

Pretty gripping stuff!

Playing fine for me

I feel the logos all over their shirts/headbands somewhat spoils the sartorial esthetic Wimbledon goes for

Although it'll probably end now I've said that.

ya rly :-/

"This content isn't available at the moment". Aargh.

Someone had to lose I guess. :(

Dechy blows a double match point against Ivanovic! Can she come back and win?

Wow, I didn't know this bit!

Wasn't there a stone-dead net cord involved when Ivanovic served at 6-7 4-5? Possibly on the m-p itself?

yep, on the second match point.

Boris Becker got a net cord like that at match point down vs Derrick Rostagno at the US Open one year; went on to win the tournament. Looking good for AnaIv.

Three hours and 24 minutes! BlimXor. Just 21 mins shy of the longest ever Women's singles at Wimbledon apparently. I hope neither of them has a doubles match later.

Anna Keothavong im middle of first set v Venus, and the Vong has her second break point....make that third....and a fault....now back to deuce, come on Anna, you need to take one of these before she wakes up.

Venus finally holds after 11 deuces.

Nadal down a set.

Gulbis is a massive, massive hitter and I'm not surprised he's taken a set. Not sure he'll be able to keep it up over five - but after his RG quarter-final he's on a roll, so who knows...this was always going to be a danger match though.

NB I had a great time yesterday, my new favourite player is crazy Romanian bitch Monica Niculescu, and I will write it up when I retrieve my brain from whatever champagne-filled hole it fell into yesterday.

Mirza just lost 9-7 in the third to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. How the fuck do you even do that on any non-clay surface. The bagel in the first...man, Mirza must have just been an unforced error machine.

I bet Bepa 3 vs Tammy is a good match! Am surprised but very happy about the Tammy Resurgence in recent weeks, I'd written her career off years ago when she fell out of the top 150. Never would have guessed she had another title in her, let alone beating Safina in the final to get it, especially considering how bad she used to play in finals even when she was good.

Venus takes first set 7-5 and the signs were not great for the Vong towards the end. A better serve will win this for the Villiams - not that her first serve is a massively reliable conveyance today but at least when she does put it in play it has menace.

Vinegar Tits a break down in the decider. Youzhny irons out Galvani in set 3 to go 2-1 up. Nadal has awoken v Deadly Ernest.

Nadal now serving for second set, VTs showing bottle for the first time since about 1965 to....oops, nearly break back Tami, Haas and Robredo away in the Battle of the Tommys.

Still no BBC web coverage for me. I wonder if it's been blocked? What absolute cocks.

Venus now 5-2. Come on Anna, at least make her serve it out....serves a double to give Venus two match points, of which she needs just one. The Vong has had the gong. Not a bad effort but oh, that SERVE!! Venus never looked much better than ordinary but neither was she looking exactly looking unbeatable by the first Thursday last year.

Blake about to go a set down to Rainer bloody Schuttler. How can this BE???!!!

Never write off the Germans, Fred. Especially Das Scuttler.

I'm really quite cross about the lack of web tennis - it's precisely because the Beeb offer this service now that I didn't waste precious annual leave on afternoons off to watch Wimbledon! I knew I could drop in on a couple of games when I wanted to (unless the boss was hovering). Could be a Flash issue? But it suspiciously went dead yesterday around the time our LA office gets in and they control our firewall.

Melzer finally gets past Levine is 5 sets, which paves the way for Wozniak v Wozniacki on Court 14. Cue much confusion and merriment all round no doubt.

Could be worse.

For instance Juan Carlos Ferrero and David Ferrar could team up and play a doubles match against Miguel Berrer and Florent Serra.

around the time our LA office gets in and they control our firewall.

Maybe you're appearing as a non-UK IP address. Beeb blocks content to anyone outside the UK, I think.

I'll try to pick it up in Oz - scould someone gimme the address?

Murray match: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7465300.stm

"Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory."

Blake has just blown his second-set break. I am starting to find him distinctly irritating with that bloody baby blue headband and the way he looks like Homer Simpson only not quite so hyperactive and the fact that when the rubber hits the road he really isn't particularly good....

lol, Blake is so mentally weak. Schuettler's barely won any Tour-level matches for over a year.

Y'see, I get a "this content is not available at the moment" which is rather like the benign "cannot play this video at the moment - try again later" message I used to get on Flickr videos until one day it magically worked.

The Inspector finally takes set 2 after earning then blowing a mini-break at 9-8, when Schuttler moon-balls a forehand halfway to Bournemouth.

Had enough of this - change channel - PackerTV has Nadal 2-1 and 3-2 up on serve. Deadly Ernest has aced Nadal 15 times.

Murray! Malisse! McEnroe!

I get "this content is not available at the moment" when using Firefox, but it's fine with IE.

I notice Murray's very keen on the drop shot this year, to good effect so far.

Murray's keen on the dropshot in every match he plays. I love to watch them so I approve, but tbh his overuse of it hinders him far more than it helps him usually. Haven't seen Malisse play in ages but I understand he's had a fair few injuries, so if his movement isn't what it was then dropshots would be a good tactic. But if we get to play Nadal we should probably not revert to it so much.

Troicki a set up on Sexxxpanek!

ut if we get to play Nadal we should probably not revert to it so much.

I was thinking watching a couple of them that Nadal would be all over them. I think he won points with all but two of the ten or so drop shots he played today.

Troicki a set up on Sexxxpanek!

Two sets, 7-6 7-6

Commentators please please please, if you have nothing to say don't say it...

"You can feed her balls from a bucket..."

OMG ALLA K IS A SET UP ON SHRIEK! GO ALLA!

Exact replication of last year's choke to Venus will ensue, though.

How on earth did THAT happen?

okay BOO BLAKE but YAY KUDRYAVTSEVA

How on earth did THAT happen?
24 stone dead net cords

i love watching roddick cause i like it when he wins but i like it even more when he loses

LOL. Apparently the American media still treats Blake like a potential Slam champion. That will never happen.

So weird to think that three months into the year, Sharapova looked invincible. Looking back on her AO run...it looked so impressive at the time, but you could easily say her main wins came over a demotivated and close-to-retirement Henin, an exhausted Jankovic and a chokey Ivanovic. Kudryavtseva's interview was cute though, she talked about how she was focusing on how she choked against Venus last year and how she didn't want that to happen again.

Maybe it'll be Kleybanova this time next year: she led Hanturexia by 6-2 4-2, and totally choked. At 4-4, 30-15, she served three consecutive double faults! She's very reminiscent of early Davenport: huge, very impressive groundstrokes which she absolutely clouts, but also obese. Think Pierce at her most buffalo-like and add some more pounds. She's not all that much slower than Hanturexia, watching those two clump around the court was like watching a match in slo-mo.

GOOOOO TIPSAREVIC. Roddick had set points just now and blew them in the most bizarre way - the second on a Tipsarevic second serve which he kind of just...pushed into the net. It was v funny.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

JOY UNCONFINED

Three magnificent backhands in that breaker by Tipsy. I was reading a Clarice Bean story to Ava, pretending everything was normal while my pulse was racing. We all cheered at the end and Lulu mimicked Tipsy's celebration. A win for all the family! (Except the American, and she's out anyway).

Even as an American it was hilarious for me to see Roddick and Blake go out like chumps today. Key here is who the heck is gonna come out of that quad?

The Tipsarevic/Tursunov winner, I think! Hott.

Tipsarevic is really, really gorgeous.

Roddick/Blake/Sharapova all losing by Day 3 = mass suicide at ESPN.

Hanturexia adds "loss to choking opponent" to "loss to crippled opponent" on her list of achievements.

At this point, we're left with the most bizarre draw I've ever seen on Nadal's side. You've got one half where seven of the eight remaining men would all be legit semi-finalists (Gasquet, Haas, Murray, Stepanek, Youzhny, Kiefer, Nadal). None of these guys would be strange to see in a semi -- in fact, all of them but Murray and Stepanek have reached a Grand Slam SF.

On the other, you've got two past-their-prime speedsters (Clement and Schuettler), two guys who whack the crap out of the ball but aren't capable of anything like consistency (Tursunov and Melzer), two solid but essentially second-tier players who have yet to break through (Almagro* and Tipsarevic), and two guys with top-10 talent but who definitely don't seem "there" yet (Mathieu* and Cilic).

Impossible to say who's coming out of that side, but I pick...Mathieu, if only because a Mathieu-Nadal match could be very interested. Paul-He(adcase)nri can hit winners from anywhere, but zee brains, they are not always, how-you-say, togezair...

*assuming each of them wins, which is starting to look doubtful in Almagro's case

intereGORDON SUMNER, that is

Do we have good nicknames yet? Whatever we call Youzhny, it has to involve bleeding in some way. ("Bloodsport"?)

LOL LOL LOL Alla's BBC interview! "It was very pleasant to beat Maria because I don't like her outfit"!!!!

wow!

I bet I would have liked it

Her interview is up now - http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/interviews/2008-06-26/200806261214506968796.html

She's great. Love this bit:

Q. Does it speak about the depth in the game that this can happen? People say the women's game is predictable. It hasn't been predictable for the last two days.

ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: It's guys. They always say the women's game is predictable. They always say you women can't serve, you don't go to the net, you can't slice. No, we can do it all. We're strong. Don't listen to them.

The stats on Tanasugarn-Zvonareva are kind of amazing -- Zvonareva won more points (108 to 106), and was better in almost every category (unforced errors, aces, double faults, winning % on first and second serves, receiving %, serve speed), except for break point conversions. And yet Tanasugarn won!

Q. Have you ever pinned your father?

ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: What is "pinned"?

Q. Pinned.

ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: No. I hit him once.

Q. Why did you hit him?

ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: You know how some bad parents, they are being abusive on the kids? Well, we are the other way around: I was very abusive on my father. He would be like on the match, watching the match, and he would be like all afraid and scared.

She's totally charming, and I quite like the sound of her voice. As Slavic voices go, it's kind of the opposite of Ana Ivanovic, who I think is probably the most attractive female athlete I've ever seen, but whose speaking voice often has a weird, grating/whining quality.

Yeah, she speaks really good English.

Tipsarevic's interview also worth a read - v thoughtful and smart. http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/interviews/2008-06-26/200806261214513206535.html

Q. What are your thoughts on why there's such a difference that you peak for the big matches?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Maybe I'm being a little bit too honest with the press now, but definitely the reason is when I play against big guys, top 10 players, world No. 1's, ex world No. 1's, in my head there is this thought knowing that if I don't play good I'm going to get killed on the court.

That leaves me with no option and I rise to the occasion, which when I play with other guys, sometimes for no reason I think that I don't have to play as good to beat them. Then at the end, that costs me the victory.

Anyway, yes, my report! Queued from 8.30 - it's funny, in everyday life I hate queuing, to the extent that even if I urgently need to buy something, if there's a queue in the shop I'll go without, but the Wimbledon queue never seems like a trial. My friend Annabel had never been to Wimbledon before so I'd prepared myself for not doing my usual court-hopping thing - we got to see some terrific tennis though.

Wawrinka v Del Potro: I guess a warning sign should have been JMDP warming up his volleys from behind the service line. Neither Annabel nor I had a clear favourite at the start but Stanislas the Manislas won us both over. Spent much of the time trying to work out if I think he's hot - still haven't decided. First time I'd seen him play at length though and I love his game - that backhand is just gorgeous. The first set was scrappy, both players took a while to find their game, but the second was great. JMDP still hasn't learnt to put his big shots together into a proper game plan yet though, and his volleys suck. Wawrinka made some terrific gets. Left after the second set.

Ferrero v Zverev: got there just as Zverev was trying to serve out the first set. Served DFs on his first two set points but JCF couldn't take advantage of the choke. JCF played wonderfully at the start of the second set - some really amazing winners from all over the court - but couldn't sustain it. He took an injury time-out at 4-3 up, I think, but I didn't notice anything wrong except an increase in dumb errors. "He's just missing his mummy," snorted the sarcastic man next to me when he retired. He attracted a gaggle of posh schoolgirls to the court and their conversation was hugely entertaining - he was literally two feet away from us when one of them turned to her friends and said very loudly and clearly, "I've decided that I definitely would sleep with him." Matters then turned to her actual boyfriend, specifically whether he was too skinny or not. When a friend tried to point out that she didn't want to hear about their sex life, the loud girl said very firmly, "We're not talking about my sex life. We're talking about his HOT BOD."

Niculescu v Szavay: got there at 5-5 in the first. Monica is a wonderful moody bitch who constantly chatters to herself and chirps when she wins points. Gamewise, she really is a female Santoro - so many crazy angles and spins. On one point, she hit a FH with so much spin that it bounced backwards. (She hit about 60% FH slices, btw - it's not her default rallying shot, but then she doesn't really have any default shot.) She was really slicing and dicing Szavay up but you could feel her getting tighter and playing more passively as the second set went on - that 4-2 service game where she had 40-0 was key, but she had tons of chances to close Szavay out after that and missed them all. She doesn't really have a kill shot she can rely on, either. Szavay did adjust really well - started making her smashes, seemed to focus on just getting Niculescu's spinny shit back into court until she got a simple putaway. I didn't feel the crowd was appreciative enough of Niculescu's game, but Annabel and I loved the crazy bitch. Left at the end of the second set and felt as though we'd abandoned her.

Mauresmo v Ruano Pascual: eek. Saw end of first set and most of the second. Amelie is going to get annihilated by Silliams. FH went anywhere but the court, anything that did go in was the usual passive loopy crap. Big bulldyke behind us said "Oh, for fuck's sake" after almost every point. She was right.

Saw a couple of games of Rodina v Vesnina. Kind of dull.

Pavlyuchenkova v Li - the big match that Annabel and I both really wanted to see! Only saw the last few games though. Surprised at how much of a hard hitter A-Pav is, for some reason I hadn't thought she was that powerful. Don't know why she had so many bad results in Challengers - she's got massive groundstrokes off both wings and seemed to control them fairly well. Li was disappointing, she didn't seem to be hitting as explosively as she usually does and committed a million UEs.

Went to CC for boring women's doubles just so Annabel could see inside it. Then we went to a birthday party where I topped up my champagne intake with more champagne, then gin, then I came home and fell asleep before setting my alarm and was an hour late into work today and thought I was going to die. But I'm fine now :D

Just caught the last moments of Sandshoe Face v 'Zorro' Tipsarovich and the Roddick press conferenc.

All I can say is that Andy did extremely well to make it onto court at all with such a nasty case of toothache.

Hey you guys - I was questioning my cousin who's a physio at Wimbledon about her favourite players, personality wise, and the two she mentioned were Flavia Pennetta and Tammy Tanasugarn, who is apparently THE must fun and lovely person ever. Monica Niculescu is, indeed, quite insane, apparently.

omg more details please Mark! facebook me if they shouldn't be public! I want to hear all about Niculescu's madness.

damn, just realised we missed a prime opportunity for a PRAISE ALLA joke yesterday, oh well, she'll just have to beat Serena in the final or something now.

At last I am watching an episode of TODAY AT WIMBLEDON.

how BAD is John Inverdale at this job? please tell me, how bad he is. I don't think Tony Blair could do it worse.

Casey not off to a flying start v Vaid the Impaler - broken in the first game and 1-2.

Lex, the conversation didn't go much deeper than "is Monica N. insane?" "oh yes, she's absolutely barking", so there's not much more to say!

is there any tennis going on?

There's about to be, but it's been a bit wet out.

Well I just tried to go to a barbecue being held in the building our office is in and almost got drowned, so unlikely?

I think they're about to start again

lol federer

oh ok fine

very impressed with how the Chak came straight back out and wrapped up the first set - no messing around, two clean gorgeous winners. I love watching her when she's playing well - she studies her opponent, then she dissects her methodically. Her game is deceptively high-risk, though, so it doesn't take much for her to unravel herself. Still, best tactician of the post Hingis/Myskina era for sure.

Wow, she's carried right on through the second set. 5-0 up, she's playing so purposefully and beautifully. Rodina's barely won points. Where has this game been all year? I love the Chak.

Casey Delinquent's Wimbledon wrapped up in very short order by Vaidesova on resumption.

Now looking at Rodge about to serve for set 1 v Giggles - dunno if this is real live....

He just took the set, did you see that? If so, it's live

Yeah, that last game must have taken all of a minute...

Oh look, back to 5-3, two MPs gone and we can hardly land a ball in court. This is the unravelling I was referring to, then.

Finally crawls over the finish line on a Rodina error after giving up a 40-0 lead on her own serve. Do better against Vaidisova.

Not sure how to read Vaid after tonight's effort - yes she did beat an in-form player without too much trouble, and her technique looked good and there werfen't too many howlers, but even while she was playing well she still cracked the shits regularly over next to nothing. You got the impression even tonight that disaster was always only one net-hop or dodgy call away.

Meanwhile on Court 1, Australis's sole surviving singles player is giving Simon Bolllellli a tennis lesson.

Unfortunately it's Hewitt.

Watching A-Pav and A-Rad now - it's pretty good. A-Pav hits with tremendous depth on her shots but is too slow to react to A-Rad's switch-ups, and generally makes an error when out of position. Most fun shot so far = perfect A-Rad dropshot off huge A-Pav first serve.

Pretending Silliams v Mauresmo is not happening. Silliams only nine games away from the double bagel :/

BARRY DAVIES !!!

So, Federer-Hewitt part 21 on Monday. Remember when this looked like being a great rivalry? For the duration of one Davis Cup rubber in 2003, I think. Thereafter Fed went from 2-7 to 13-7 with five love sets chucked in. Last meeting was a tight one though. I'd be surprised if Hewitt takes a set. Something like 3, 4 and 5.

Szavay prevents the horror of an Anabel Pusher Garrigues showing in the second week, 6-2 in the third. A-Rad looked v strong - I'll take her to upset Sweta in the next round. Awful and saddening loss for Our Cake to Mattek :(((

Mauresmo managed to take Silliams to a TB, inevitably lost it by dumping a BH into the net.

UHHHH Zheng has just won the first set 6-1 off Ivanovic!

I had an inkling Zheng might push her - Ivanovic has historically had trouble with very flat hitters like Zheng, and after struggling against Dechy it was clear that she's not at her best, but this is a total shellacking so far.

Ay ya ya Ivanovic can literally not put a ball in court right now.

BBC commentators: "Ana needs to dredge up all those memories of how she got to where she is now - No 1."

So...she needs to cast her mind back to Justine Henin's retirement press conference, then.

She did it! 6-1 6-4!

Women's draw so crazily wide open right now. Meanwhile, inevitable Federer-Nadal finals matchup trudging along nicely.

It continues the Ivanovic trend of, every time she wins a big tournament, losing early and badly in her next one. Check her results: it's happened every time.

Jelena Jankovic will be world No 1 if she reaches the SF!

So on the women's side, the realistic front-runners remaining are:

Venus
Serena
Jakovic

Anyone else? Are Safina, Kuznetzova and Chakvetadze competitive?

(prob Venus needs an asterisk with the way she's been playing; I included her because she's the defending champ and ps I lurve her)

It's Wimbledon, Venus is capable of anything here. I like Jankovic, what a nice girl.

The "Venus can play like a sub top 20 player for 50 weeks of the year then come out and win Wimbledon" argument has some validity, cuz she's done it twice, but it's equally possible that she plays like a sub top 20 player for 50 weeks of the year, then carries right on at Wimbledon too. Remember the Sprem loss? And indeed her last early-round defeat...to Jankovic. Anyway it can't be underestimated just how huge the Venus/Jelena quarter-final will be - not even just in terms of this tournament, but its ramifications on the rankings and the rest of the season.

The top quarter is so weird...Szavay, Vaidisova and Chakvetadze have all been slumping rather badly this year. They've managed to scrape through their draws - and now suddenly one of them, or Zheng, will be a Wimbledon semi-finalist! And who knows whether they'll rediscover their mojo along the way. I wouldn't have said any of them are ready to win a Slam yet, but they're all capable of pulling an upset out of their ass, eg beating Serena or Sweta in the SF.

Safina...the draw has really opened up for her. But from what I saw in the Dutch final last week (she lost to Tammy T in straights), she isn't totally comfortable on grass, and will really struggle against the Venus/Jelena winner.

Kuznetsova is an enigma...who knows. Her match against Serena in Miami was one of the best of the year...but she really hasn't been one for taking her opportunities in recent times.

I'm hoping A-Rad can slice and dice her way through the top half!

Why are people who report on tennis so stupid? I will not deign to call them "tennis reporters" b/c they clearly know fuck all about the sport. From the OFFICIAL WIMBLEDON SITE:

Bartoli, the 11th seeded Frenchwoman, did not look in trouble early on as she took a 4-2 lead against the tall American

Bethanie Mattek is FIVE FOOT FOUR INCHES TALL.

This follows hot on the heels of reports where I've seen Agnieszka Radwanska referred to as a "power player in the Sharapova mould" (buh?!) and Ernests Gulbis as the first Latvian ever to play Wimbledon (Larisa Neiland's doubles finals, forgotten so soon). And a pre-RG report which talked about how Jelena Dokic could hopefully qualify when she WASN'T EVEN IN THE QUALIFYING DRAW. Seriously. All you have to do to check that is click on the draw and look at it, which you should have fucking done anyway.

Oh yeah, and people calling Alla Kudryavtseva an unknown. Umm...one would think that even if you only pay attention to tennis at Wimbledon, you would have remembered her taking last year's champion to a 7-5 final set?

I love this paragraph from that same article:

Bartoli, who performed admirably to reach the final last year, then folded. A brilliant Mattek backhand down the line just caught the line. The chair umpire correctly over-ruled the line judge’s call of “out” to award the point to the American who took a 3-1 lead.

There are only 3 sentences here but one is super clumsy and one is flat-out gibberish.

This is what it's all about - two geezers who can barely see the ball in the gloom throwing themselves about the court. Ferrer serving at 4-6 4-6 7-6 5-6...it's 9:07pm but with this cloud cover it's more like 9:45.

Tie-break! I love this kind of thing cos I've done the re-queue for CC returns myself but I never got to see anything as good as this. You just know the majority of the four or five thousand still on Centre were not there at the start of the day. Top atmos.

What a terrific match - everything about it just left me with a warm glow in my heart. And I was supporting Ferrer! (Though yeah, Ancic, rrr, would totally do.) Just...the crowd, the quality of the tennis, everything.

Safin and Seppi for the day's last bit of tennis!

Marat Safin is. so. fine.

Perfect evening really.

Flicking through Wiki biogs just now I stumbled across Tommy Ho - the Chang Who Never Was. Anyone complaining about retirements should've been courtside for this doubles match:

In 1995, Ho and Brett Steven became the fastest-ever losers of a match at Wimbledon. In the very first point of their men's doubles match, Steven served and Ho tried to intercept the return at the net, only to injure his back. The pair thus had had to forfeit the match after just one rally, which had lasted all of five seconds.

(- By the sound of it, it sounds more like it was <heh> *Trevor* Steven, that was serving the tennis ball on that particular occasion!

- Ey, there's a football match still going on, you know, by the way.)

ok wtf is happening to Jankovic, I'm nowhere near a TV

she's a set down, just started the second.

Won the second, swapped breaks for 1-1 in the third.

Petrova wins set 1 after winning tiebreaker 13-11.

Murray is kind of a jerk isn't he?

spot the person who seldom watches tennis

Why is Nadal playing Silent Bob?

Murray is a dick. Long may it continue tbh, it's what stops the former "Henmaniacs" from embracing him. And once they do...and Wimbledon fortnight turns into all Murray, all the time, over and above every other player in the draw...just like it did with Henman...that is when I start to hate him. And not in a "love to hate" way as in with Roddick, in an actual "get the fuck off my TV so I can see some OTHER PLAYERS" way. I'm still fuming about that year the BBC cut away from a Myskina third set to show Henman ~practising~~~~~~~~~~ aaaargh.

So he can keep the chippiness, basically, people can continue calling him a moany Scot or whatever, and I can safely enjoy his game, which is what I like to watch him for. He does need to keep the hair under control though. I used to think he'd grow into his looks cuz he's got all those angles to his face to work with but I am beginning to doubt this, if anything he's getting fuglier.

Good to see I didn't miss anything of interest yesterday. Nothing will stop an all-Williams final, which is OK as I have to go to a wedding on the day of the women's final anyway and wouldn't want to miss a good match.

Very happy about Tammy T's seventh last-16 appearance here! SHAKE YOUR TAMARINE GO AND GET YOURSELF A WHISTLE

And Murray's just a bit mopey, he's not as obnoxious as eg Roddick or Kiefer or Serena or Shriek.

I'm still fuming about that year the BBC cut away from a Myskina third set to show Henman ~practising~~~~~~~~~~ aaaargh.

Ha ha - I was just talking last night about the debacle in 2003 when BBC2 pulled away from Agassi-Philippoussis as they entered a fifth set in order to show Henman and Nalbandian knocking up on Centre. I went out and bought a Freeview box the very next week. So, well done, BBC (and Crown Castle and BSkyB). (Freeview still isn't enough channels though - the coverage ended with the Ancic and Nadal matches these last two nights but the Safin and Youznhy matches were still going on; unfortunately, so was Glastonbury...)

Tennis generally is being kind of slow to adapt to new methods of coverage. It's got such a strong global platform to build from - I think it should be par for the course that every match from every ATP or WTA tournament anywhere in the world on a televised court should be shown on some TV channel somewhere and/or streamed live, maybe for a nominal fee, with options to download etc. Actually, Wimbledon's probably the best at exploiting new technology, strangely enough, because this is basically what happens - you could still watch Safin/Seppi online, in good quality, after BBCi had finished (which I had to do anyway, cuz BBCi fell over for me). Obviously TV network rights will be a headache but I think the potential benefits would be worth finding a solution.

But yeah, no excuse for showing puff pieces or practising while there's actual tennis going on. Save that shit for the highlights.

Although its not quite the same thing I hated when they cut off 4-5 games of the Nadal Kiefer match to show the weakest link, and the 1st set was the best and most competetive of the match.

Any forecasts on Gasquet-Murray? I'd say Murray in four due to imporvements in service and focus, but I get the impression he is kinda iffy against players of roughly the same age/ranking that are talked about as potential slam winners.

Other hopes for the coming week: a classic Safin-Fed SF! Venus to play someone other than her sister, and to win Wimbledon again (although I can't see any classics as in that terrific Venus-Davenport final from a few years back), and for Nadal to win Wimbledon, its time for Fed to change his game a bit, come in the net more...in the long run it will be good for tennis if Fed loses.

I really don't know about Mopey/Wussquet...going with Richard in four I think, he seems to have come to life on grass, just as everyone started writing him off. But who knows when he'll find another way to wuss out of a match. Murray is overdue a Slam breakthrough but I'm not convinced it'll be here, now. Definitely the pick of the men's 4th rounders though.

Kuznetsova/A-Rad is the key women's match - I think A-Rad will come through, but if Sweta can survive it she might have a shot at Serena.

Second week predictions...

Federer d Hewitt
Ancic d Verdasco
Safin d Wawrinka
Baghdatis d Lopez
Tipsarevic d Schuettler
Cilic d Clement
Gasquet d Murray
Nadal d Youzhny

Federer d Ancic
Baghdatis d Safin
Cilic d Tipsarevic
Nadal d Gasquet

Federer d Baghdatis
Nadal d Cilic

Nadal d Federer

Zheng d Szavay
Chakvetadze d Vaidisova
A.Radwanska d Kuznetsova
S.Williams d Mattek
Dementieva d Peer
Petrova d Kudryavtseva
V.Williams d Kleybanova
Jankovic d Tanasugarn

Zheng d Chakvetadze
S.Williams d A.Radwanska
Petrova d Dementieva
V.Williams d Jankovic

S.Williams d Zheng
V.Williams d Petrova

zzzz

actually also can I just say how much I hate Middle Sunday? I've been immersed in this tournament all week, this is one of the only days I'll actually be able to watch all day, and there's...NO PLAY? wtf.

I found some footage of Henman practising to tide you over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdMBD8WlWiA

Tanasugarn has just tipped Jankovich out in straight sets to continue the carnage - 1, 2 and 3 are all now headed for Heathrow, and it seems only Villiams and Silliams remain.

UHHHH wtf! JJ had been my favourite title contender, but I'm so happy for Tammy - six Wimbledon 4th rounds, eight Slam 4th rounds in total, and never even a sniff of a QF place - and suddenly she makes her first by straight-setting the No 2 player in the world, two years after seeming completely washed up. And it's not even as if her career was particularly marked by victories over top players even when she was good! I'm so, so thrilled for her - she looked so happy when she won. She's on an 11-match winning streak now out of nowhere, I hope she can keep it up.

Also really happy because, despite her stalwart Wimbledon record, I don't think she's ever played on Centre or No 1 - this should now be rectified for her QF match.

First time ever that none of the top three seeds have made the Wimbledon QF, apparently.

Rodge and Lleyts in a tie-break. Zheng also through. Silliams about to start v 'Auto' Mattek. Vaid the Impaler loses first set to Tadz.

Idiot commentators: "Federer might win this set, but he's not playing as well as he was a year ago".

Duh, because he is in a tie-breaker with Lleyton Hewitt.

On MerdeTV it's been 'Lleyton who?' all night. Currently watching Serena v Mattek with Lindsay Davenport as guest commentator.

I wonder if Kuznetsova is in the locker going "Wait... I'm the highest seed left? At WIMBLEDON?????? lol wtf"

or even locker ROOM (the wtfs might be more appropriate if she's actually stuck in a locker tho)

COME ON CHAK retain your lead and close this thing out...

Verdasco has broken SBCE in the fourth.

Federer has two breaks on Hewitt after winning the first set tiebreaker 9-7. Was set 1 Lletyon's llast great act of defiance?

I watch Fed-Hew from 6-5 to 6-6 (6-6) on a big telly in Curry.digital on Oxford Street before feeling the need to get back to the office, despairing at Fed's poor serve, poor movement and mistimed backhands. I get back to the office and learn that not only has he dodged a set-point in the breaker with a successful challenge, he's 7-6 4-0 up. So all's well then.

Hewey holds to avoid the bagel (and he's eaten a lot of bagels over the last few years vs Fed, including one on Centre Court).

The Silliams wins first set. NoIdea Petrova off to a flying stsrt v Kudrayavatseva. Hewitt now 5-1 down. SBCE still kicking, breaks back v Verdasco de Gama.

Snuck on to to the BBC player to find Chak completely melting down :((

I've eaten a lot of bagels over the last few years, too. Though usually not on Centre Court.

SBCE has levelled v Verdasco. NoIdea already a break up in the second.

I know Federer but who's the annoying bogan dude on the other side of the court? I don't know who he is but I don't like him.

He's from Adelaide, just like you!

AND DON'T I KNOW IT

Tanasugarn has just tipped Jankovich out in straight sets to continue the carnage

Nooooooooooo!

At least Hewitt gets his bagels for free vs Federer. I imagine a bagel at the All-England Club goes for £3.50 or something. £5.00 toasted.

Ancic has bounced back from two sets down, I see.

Tadz in now a break down in the decider v Vaidisova. And it looks like goodbye and thanks for coming Lleyts - Hewitt broken in the third.

Verdasco was 4-2 up in the fourth set. I would link to his recent naked Cosmo shoot but I'm at work. Didn't think Ancic would be pushed this hard but now I think about it, Verdasco did reach the Nottingham final last week, and he's never been a typical clay grinder de Espana.

Chak is actually insane and this match has slipped from her grasp :(((

It scares me to think that a dude STILL wearing a cap backwards at his age is going to have a second child soon.

NOOOOO, my poor Chak :(((((((

why can i not like a player who is somewhat mentally stable for once!

Bah, Ancic broke, served for it and blew it. Now 7-7 in the 5th. Whoever is left standing at the end of this has to face Federer on Wednesday.

(Or maybe Thursday if the forecast is to be believed).

Flippin' heck, 5th set and 9-8!?!

"this ... epic battle"

10-9

11-10!

Nadal apparently injured his knee early on but has gone a break up vs Youzhny anyway. Elevenses on court 11!

Scuttler's coming out of his shell - he's taken the first set against Tipsy...

SBCE BREAKS! Thanks to a Verdasco DF to set up break point...

2 match points saved by tabasco...

Take that, Spain!

fucking colleague decided to stand behind me and talk about nothing for 10 minutes as Ancic was serving for it. i hate them all

Meanwhile, Kuzzy seems to have re-established some measure of control vs RadicalWanksta after losing the first set. Baggy enjoying the silence vs F Lopez (which is a joke I make every year and only Julio gets), up two sets to one.

btw the slightly saucy dream I had that featured Kuznetsova - I have since figured out it was actually Myskina pretending to be Kuznetsova. Just thought you should know.

I don't think I should know.

RadicalWanksta - you know, I think I have met this person, or a few of their relatives or colleagues, at various reading groups.

seeing as no-one, naturally, is prepared to answer me on the other thread, I am going to ask politely on this thread: is it just me or is facebook broken today?

not for me!

Got a broken Facebook? Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, huhhhh?

I have a feeling that must be a magnificent joke, and I feel contrite and limited for not understanding it.

I wonder why fbk works for the Lex and not for me. He is probably doing all kinds of amazing Social things even as we speak.

not really, sadly. debating whether to accept friend request from someone who I've never met but whose art gallery mailing list I'm on is about as much fbooking as I've done today. I don't even have a Scrabulous game on the go.

wow, La Kuz really is dominating now.

I've almost given up on Scrabulous - finally losing to the Lex left me bereft.

It was a lame Pixies joke, PF.

Baggy-Lopez goes all the way...

Mike, I thought you were being the 80s Toshiba robot :(

Jamie Murray = big fan of Neighbours.

Actually, yes, I was thinking of "Allo Tosh, Got a Toshiba?" too, though in truth I could not have told you this was spoken by a robot.

Alternatively of something involving a lot of 'Uhh-huuhhh'.

Hm, I will have to look up Pixies lists and try harder to get this lame joke from a bereft ex-scrabbler.

Good grief, Radw won 7-5 in the 3rd!

Baggy-Lopez seeing if they can outmarathon Ancic-Verdasco now...

lolz, so now Dementieva is the highest-remaining women's seed! This is sort of an amazing Wimbledon.

OMG it is Dementieva, too - I'd thought it'd be Serena. I am not used to Elena Dementieva still being around at Wimbledon.

In the run-up to Sweta's match, even before JJ's loss, I don't think I thought at any point that A-Rad would lose. I briefly considered it when she led 4-1 in the decider but the next time I looked at the scoreboard A-Rad had pulled back.

OK did Youzhny hit himself in the head again? Down 5-0 in the third????

and Baghdatis is out, too! This is a fun Wimbledon to follow online

It's also entirely possible (though not exactly probable) that one of the men's quarter-finals will see Rainer Schuettler take on Arnie Clement. In 2008.

And Scuttler's keeping up his end of the bargain, two sets to one up on Tipsarevic now.

It's also entirely possible (though not exactly probable) that one of the men's quarter-finals will see Rainer Schuettler take on Arnie Clement. In 2008.

If this comes to pass, not only would we be in a time machine, we would be at the Australian Open.

Women's quarter-finals set.

(WC) Jie Zheng vs (18) Nicole Vaidisova
(14) Agnieszka Radwanska v (6) Serena Williams
(5) Elena Dementieva v (21) Nadia Petrova
(7) Venus Williams v Tamarine Tanasugarn

...I have no words for how wacky that is.

Nadal, with a dodgy knee, beats the guy who took him to five sets at the same stage last year (led by 2-0 indeed) 6-3 6-3 6-1. I think he can play on grass now.

I think I want an A-Rad/Tambourine final. Who knows any more.

Q. How does it feel to finally be in a quarterfinal?

TAMARINE TANASUGARN: Can I say, wow, wow, wow? Well, it was very great feelings because, you know, I'm being in the fourth round so many years and I make this year, so was very happy. You know, wow, it's really good feeling, yeah, uh-huh.

Q. You seemed very emotional at the end. Were there a few tears?

TAMARINE TANASUGARN: Yes, of course, because, uhm, every years I was goal, my thing, I would love to be in the quarterfinals, and, uhm, I didn't make it.

Blimey Murray's third set winner. When he does that face I keep expecting him to shout "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT".

^haha yes!

some great slo-mo gnasher shots from the BBC there

is this Murray live??

Err, yes, unless there's been some enormous trickery.

I see, it is

there is often trickery

when you're around

Shall I link to that Rick Astley thing again?

that's what im talkin bout!

BOO! TOILET BREAK.

more liek DRUGS BREAK

extended DRUGS BREAK

this booing is not on

just not tennis

damnnnnn son

http://www.geocities.com/play_kool_2005/dhalsim.gif

"well, if she had a tail, she'd be wagging it."

: O

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e45/bobbyg1976/nba_jam2.gif
BOOM SHAKALAKALAKA

http://e.photos.cx/GetMoneyFuckBitches-795.gif

Total Andymonium.

brilliant

felt sorry for poor gasquet towards the end, the crowd bullied him

god....gotta hand it to the guy.....that was amazing, and has replaced Euro 2008 nicely for a fix of sport.

If this is the way Nazi Germany started, then sign me up.

that was bare drama

awesome

czn is right, really

but I guess Murray won it fair

It's also entirely possible (though not exactly probable) that one of the men's quarter-finals will see Rainer Schuettler take on Arnie Clement. In 2008.

IT HAPPENED.

Safin-Clem final. I'm calling it.

Men's QFs:

Federer (1) vs. Ancic
Safin vs. Lopez (31)
Schuettler vs. Clement
Murray (12) vs. Nadal (2)

Henman as pundit: any views? I guess the short answer is that he's a much less distinguished pundit than he was a player, and he wasn't the world's greatest player.

(yes, I know he was Britain's greatest player)

haw, only saw the third set (inc that awesome winner), which was fun enough. got to meet erykah badu instead of the rest of the match which beats seeing my player choke, so still happy. i do like murray but i love gasquet that much more, but he's a wuss as all can see.

i rub my eyes and rub my eyes, and still "rainer schuettler vs arnaud clement for a spot in the wimbledon 2008 semi-finals" makes no sense at all to me.

Well, I didn't get to meet anyone, but I sacrificed Murray-Gasquet for Joan As Police Woman at the Borderline. Which beats anything.

Note: If Arnaud Clement beats Rainer Schuttler, there will have been an unseeded French player to make the semifinals of each of the 3 majors this year.

aka "someone to show up Wussquet on every major stage so far this year"!

When did Dementieva get good, and when will she choke?

She's always been good, and very soon.

And Petrova, on grass, was the ideal match for her on paper!

From the BBC's liveblog of Venus-Tam:

There's Wu-Tang's Method Man in the Royal Box, sandwiched between Richard Stilgoe and the Duchess of Gloucester.

Petrova can sometimes struggle on grass because of her FH's extreme western grip. Makes it hard for her to really deal with the low balls as effectively as she wants. Plus, she can be astonishingly bad for no reason on any surface. I thought she'd win because she looked steadier than the Demented one in the first week, but then Demented has clearly been improving match by match...she hammered Peer yesterday.

From the BBC liveblog:

We've had a few texts in asking if Method Man is really in the Royal Box. Sorry, I made that up. June Whitfield is though.

Venus vs Tammy T is actually a pretty good match. She's coming very close in lots of the games she's losing. But V is serving well now, so it's presumably curtains shortly.

She's always been good, and very soon.

Here we go. From 6-1, 5-1 up to 6-1, 5-5. Anyone know if she's missed any MPs yet?

Oh, now she has. Was 6-4 up in the TB, lost four straight points.

The rest of Wimbledon may may totally screwy but Dementieva's choking skillz remain constant.

BBC website:

Demen is like a boxer who, with her right hand swinging to administer the knockout blow, smacks herself on the nose instead.

4-0 up in the decider. Let's see if she can blow this lead as well.

Multiple points on Demented's own serve for 5-0 go begging and Petrova breaks.

It begins, again.

All this time while Venus was playing Tami and all the drama in the Elena-NoIdea match was unfolding, bloody MerdeTV stuck with the mixed doubles.

All reminiscent of Rupert's minions staying home and putting kickboxing on in the middle of week 2 last year.

Dement hans back one break and it looked dodgy for a while but at 5-2 surely to hell....

Elena will serve for it at 5-3. How many doubles? Two, three?

She made it. Well done on getting your first serve in, Lena.

Well done Elena. You are ridiculous. As, frankly, is Nadia.

Cheering on Elena, I feel like a badly abused woman going back to her drunken, violent and emotionally cruel ex-husband.

Those winning statistics:
Double Faults 9
Unforced errors 28
2nd serve points won 35%

Zheng wins first set over Quo Vadisova. Serena about to start.

Breaks traded between Rene and A-Rad. Good so far.

Heh:

Q. What are those differences and similarities between you and Venus when you play each other?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think Venus hits harder serves than I do. You don't have to nod your head that vigorously.

lolz

There's basically no way this won't be a Williams-Williams final, is there?

wau

VWilliams vs Dementieva
SWilliams vs Zheng

Not quite the semifinals I imagined!

There's basically no way this won't be a Williams-Williams final, is there?

this was the case from the minute Jankovic hurt her knee! Any other surface, Dementieva has a fighting chance against Venus, but not here.

good to see that Zheng polished off Vaidisova during the half hour I actually concentrated on work.

Highest ranked opponent Venus has faced on her way to the SF: 42
Number of top 100 opponents she's played so far: 2

She hasn't even played anyone who's obviously underranked, eg Zheng, either.

Obviously must be him as it's not at all hilarious and really quite dull:

hey. at home shooting some pool with ross. looking to close out the series. good hit this morning. feeling good for tmrrw.

http://twitter.com/andy_murray

Is Safin worth a flutter to win at 20-1? Maybe a stray tenner I've got sitting in my wallet...

Oh it's RAINING on Andy's big afternoon!

i can picture the bbc's photo montage, and even hear its soundtrack.

Yeah, the scheduling (Murray on second to catch that post-work ratings boost) is not going to do Big Forehand* any favours. Fed-Ancic have only managed 9 games between the showers so far so there's a good chance Mur-Nad won't even get on. So then it's Thursday and the women's sf take precedence (though if the AELTC have got any sense, they'll split them across the two show-courts), so once Serena has seen off Dement and Rog-Mario tidy up any unfinished business, Andy-Rafa finally get on. But they won't finish (wet tomorrow too) and we're into Friday, which looks a better day - Wimb may even schedule the Fed/Anc-Saf/Lop semi for this, after getting AM-RD and AC-RS finished.

And the forecast for the weekend is crap.

(* - "Big Forehand!" was Murray's roar to himself when he broke Haas in the 3rd set on Saturday. Bless him.)

presume someone's already linked up the video of djokovic doing the impressions of all the other players?

his impression of federer is hilarious

Didn't the stupid BBC learn from last time? They put Henman v Goran on second for the same reason, then it started raining and Timboy never got his game back or indeed another chance to be champ.

privatise_now.jpg

i thought they had a roof now?

They're supposed to have one by next year, I think. I'm sure it will be on time and to spec just like Nu Wembley.

structure of roof is already in place. some of the whinier players have been complaining that it alters the wind currents around centre court.

presume someone's already linked up the video of djokovic doing the impressions of all the other players?

i would guess that if they had, they would have done it nine months ago, when he actually did them.

coverage in today's newspapers was awful - usually the focus is on the previous day's results with only small previews of today's matches, but it was all murray murray murray as far as the eye can see, endlessly filling space cuz there's only so many ways you can analyse the nadal match-up, w/ the women's quarter-finals relegated to a definite second place. i fucking hate nationalistic fans, esp the ones who are barely aware of tennis for 50 weeks of the year, i follow this sport b/c there's so little of that shit compared to team sports and it's really tiresome. i really like murray's game but i'm already starting to hate this blanket misdirected coverage, and i hope - and expect - nadal straight-sets him.

though the slew of bizarre articles about how england will never take the grumpy/arrogant/anti-english scot to its heart give me hope. hey, all you home county ex-henmaniac twats, he doesn't give a shit about your support! which is still really refreshing.

I do wonder how much influence, if any, the BBC has over the AELTC schedulers. In the US, it seems like the USTA is entirely in the pocket of the networks - see the rain-decimated 2003 US Open for evidence: Roddick and Agassi getting preferential treatment, other poor sods stuck at match-point for 3 days.

Roof is built but won't work until next year.

Dingbod's point allows me to trot out my pet theory (again) that 2002 was actually Timmy's best chance of winning Wimbledon. In 2001 he'd have had to face an inspired, rested Rafter in the final and probably would have lost. In 2002, by the time we reached the quarters, there was only one man left in the draw who could beat Henman on grass - Lleyton Hewitt. LH was coasting vs Schalken in his QF but threw away a two-set lead, went a break down in the decider, came within a point of going a double-break down and then came up with a ludicrous outside-edge of line pass to hang on. I think that shot cost Henman Wimbledon. (TH got thumped by LH in the semi but would surely have beaten Schalky & Bandy).

Which tennis thread would that Djoko linkage have been on 9 months ago, Lex? We only really do this four times a year, y'know.

I do apologise for not being au courant

I'm not a nationalistic fan but I definitely concentrate my viewing on Wimbledon. I prefer watching tennis on grass so there isn't a lot of coverage in those other 50 weeks apart from Wimbledon warm-ups that the players don't seem to fussed about winning.

I'm all for people supporting Murray but I can see the media coverage really annoying me as/if his status grows much more. We finally put "Come on Tim!" and *clap clap clap* "HEN-MAN!" behind us and the press have latched onto a new Great British Hope in no time.

Note to press: please stop calling anyone Scottish who's any good at anything "Braveheart".

xposts

too* fussed

i gotta concur, the uk press is staffed by a crew of morons.

"i fucking hate nationalistic fans, esp the ones who are barely aware of tennis for 50 weeks of the year"

= rockism in action

i am a total tennis rockist. have never been otherwise. i like old-skool finesse players over modern ball-bashers, i get annoyed when the media focuses on the 'stars' rather than the wealth of interesting non-glitzy players on both tours, i hate the way everyone involved in the running of the sport is so keen to bend over for 'casual fans' in every way, leaving actual proper fans seething.

Which tennis thread would that Djoko linkage have been on 9 months ago, Lex? We only really do this four times a year, y'know.

i haven't been on ilx for about a year! i dunno if you guys linked it but it was pretty huge in the us open coverage i did see. (he'd been doing the impressions for some months before that, but that was the first slam they really got noticed.)

i also agree with mike about 2002 - henman's failure to 'solve' hewitt should be far more of a regret than repeatedly getting beaten by sampras. cuz in retrospect, hewitt was just a transitional champion who dominated over a couple of years of kinda weak competition.

Simon Barnes did a piece on Federer in the Times last week which began "I am a genius."

But you are a genius too, he goes on to say.

Yeah I know but that makes it a bit gloopy and dolphiny.

simon barnes needs to stop writing about federer. it makes me cringe a bit now. his piece on venus today is pretty good though.

Anyways - we have some tennis!

Fed leads Ancic 6-1 5-5, Lopez leads Safin 6-3 2-3. They've been out there for about half an hour. Seems fairly bright in central London.

It is cloudy but relatively bright down here in South West London (Mitcham)

Has the score thing broken on the Wimbledon site or has this current Fed-Ancic game had around 20 deuces?

Federer takes the second set, Safin lets a break slip in the 2nd vs Lopez. Now, if it stays dry for the rest of the day, we've got about 4 hours of light left, only 30min of which will be Federer finishing off Ancic (he hopes). Cor, we might actually get the ManMuscleBeefcakeSmackdown as promised.

1718: A marathon first game in the third set on Centre. Ancic is serving and there have been five deuces so far.

^ six minutes ago and it's still deuce!

I'm waiting for the game to end so I can check the 3rd set stats and then tell you how many deuces there were!

Ancic finally holds after 15 minutes, 10 deuces and several break points. That's almost as long as the first set.

and Federer hold in about a minute :) Poor Mario

murray/nadal starts, i scarper to dine on iraqi/israeli food

Watched an interview with Jie Zheng and she mentioned that there are no grass courts in the country of China!

A lot of kangaroo courts tho.

tim henman is dead, long live tim henman

um nadal is completely dismantling murray right now. he just won 8 straight points. murray isn't getting in hardly any of his first serves.

that's my point

There is no-one even close to Nadal/Fed playing at the moment, the final should be awesome.

yeah. that said, woooo Safin in a semi! sooo happy for the guy. And he's predictably unpredictable - on a good day, he could definitely trouble Fed... so hopefully, we'll get at least one exciting s-f.

Nadal and Federer both gave up only 10 points on service today, and had 8 and 6 unforced errors, respectively.

fuck this quarter/semi charade

dudes this is the pay-off of an exciting early week w/upsets galore. if we'd had a boring first week which went to form we'd be getting great matches around now. uh...actually not so much w/the men, never mind.

There is no-one even close to Nadal/Fed playing at the moment, the final should be awesome.

haha wouldn't bet on that at all.

and yup, thrilled for safin. he's still my ex favourite player, after i decided that to put any kind of emotional investment into his career would be mild insanity, but...he's still my favourite player! and, you know, still astonishingly hott.

(he will lose in straight sets to fed)

GO AHEAD AND LOSE ELENA! I DO NOT CARE!

am taking the blink and miss it approach

LOL. Clement went 6-0 up in the third set TB, then lost eight points in a row :/

oh no that's wrong, Clement came back from 0-6 to 6-6, then double fault, then ace Schuettler. Which means both of them are mildly retarded.

Oh ffs, a COMPETITIVE TIE BREAKER between Elena and Venus. Why god?

Ah, that's good. Four straiht points and over. And now, I pledge never to get excited about Elena again.

Clement breaks back in set four - they've been in progress now for 3hr42. Not sure what I want to happen here - Schuey to finish it sharpish to at least stand some chance of rattling Nadal or for it to turn into one almighty marathon of the sort Clement specialises in.

Well, even if either of them had a three-day break I doubt they'd trouble Rafa, so let's aim for the five-hour mark.

Ian La Frenais takes the 4th-set t-b 9-7 and, after 4h7m, we're into a decider. You've got to laugh.

Whatever happened to the likely lads?

Barker/Beckinsale lead Bolam/Bewes 2-0 (rain)

Anyhoo, the thirtysomethings are back out and it's 4-4 in the decider, Arnaud having squandered an early advantage. 4hr38, folks. You used to be able to get from London to Glasgow on the train in less than that, even stopping at Preston and Carlisle. I don't suppose you can now. "Track upgrade works".

Zheng holding her own vs Serena in the 2nd set having been panelled in the first.

AC Grayling and RS ErrorCorrection locked at 5-5. I think Arnie may have had a match point there. Closing in on 300 magical minutes of slog.

Oh no, Schuey breaks for 6-5. This is not what we wanted (at least not yet).

AC Grayling! Is this his contribution to the next RAE - My Wimbledon Diary?

... I really ought to try turning the TV on.

This Clement geezer's not bad!

But with that beard, headband and shades - who is it he reminds me of?

Er, The Boss?

Off for rain again - of course, SchYouKnowWho couldn't serve it out, because it's not that sort of match, so Freud is serving at 6-6 (40-40). FIVE HOURS AND FIVE MINUTES. How long was Baghdatis-Djokovic last year?

Ha! it could be! Or maybe just some kind of suave villain from Miami Vice?

US commentator just said 'your muscles develop lactic acid and get stiff'. Lactic acid? Is that what he said?

Contrary to popular belief, this increased concentration of lactate does not directly cause acidosis, nor is it responsible for delayed onset muscle soreness. This is because lactate itself is not capable of releasing a proton, and secondly, the acidic form of lactate, lactic acid, cannot be formed under normal circumstances in human tissues. Analysis of the glycolytic pathway in humans indicates that there are not enough hydrogen ions present in the glycolytic intermediates to produce lactic or any other acid.

Do your research, commentator dude!

And he WON'T COME BACK FROM THAT!

(Have to imagine that last post spoken by Gerald Sindstadt. Perhaps the last two posts, in fact.)

Meanwhile, the Bryans were match point down to Bjorkman/Ullyett in the men's doubles semi when the rain came.

In the women's invitational doubles, Navratilova and Sukova were SPARED by the deluge as Annabel Croft and Jo Durie had just figured out how to turn the tide, having initially allowed the more "illustrious" (ha! Have the 'ovas ever made a pop record? Or worked with Anneka Rice?) pairing to build a deceptively comfortable 6-1 1-0 lead. By God, once those Union Jack brollies go down they'll be wishing they were still mopping Aunt Eliška's front step back in Ostrava.

I'm thinking Clem's going for the Macho Man Randy Savage look, meself. Then again, would PF be familiar?

How long was Baghdatis-Djokovic last year?

Here:
http://tennisblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/djokovic-marcos-baghdatis-quarter-final.html

Schu-Clem could well end up topping Gonzales v Passarel, in time taken if not in games played.

It's pretty amazing, after all the bemusement that these fellows were still in the tourneymount and all, that they're playing an epic and the longest match of the fortnight.

McEnroe is now discussing bandanas and sunglasses.

"It's very cool to watch him"

The acidosis that is associated with increases in lactate concentration during heavy exercise arises from a separate reaction. When ATP is hydrolysed, a hydrogen ion is released. ATP-derived hydrogen ions are primarily responsible for the decrease in pH. During intense exercise, aerobic metabolism cannot produce ATP quickly enough to supply the demands of the muscle. As a result, anaerobic metabolism becomes the dominant energy producing pathway as it can form ATP at high rates. Due to the large amounts of ATP being produced and hydrolysed in a short period of time, the buffering systems of the tissues are overcome, causing pH to fall and creating a state of acidosis, a natural process which facilitates the easier dissociation of Oxyhaemoglobin and allows easier transfer of oxygen from the blood[2]. This may be one factor, among many, that contributes to the acute muscular discomfort experienced shortly after intense exercise

I want to hear Annabel Croft's pop record.

Was the 2nd Silliams/Zheng set as good as the score would indicate?

ooh, and it's over.

so uh, is Nadal still in it? and Serena?

yes to both

someone asked me one year whether venus or hingis or someone was still in it, the week after it had finished. i was like, obv you didn't actually care that much!

poor schuttler has to face nadal tomorrow...

saw last few games of silliams/zheng. pretty clean play though obv not enough to gauge the match. silliams' serve was incredible, not seen it like that for years. zheng had a set point, got an uncharacteristically weak 2nd serve, read it perfectly, was uber-aggressive on the return, which just hit the net. she double faulted on match point :/

go venus! put lil sis in her place

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I get to watch Serena again. Just like last year, but...

Andrew Castle: Federer's only equivalent is Tiger Woods in golf - 'a related sport'.

How clean and contained, blithely economical and serene, is Federer's game, even against masterly and dangerous opponents. I loved the last backhand flick with which he won that match.

Assuming the foregone conclusion is a foregone conclusion, then the only player to have taken a set off either of the men's finalists before the final will have been Bulgin' Ernie Gulbis.

Of course, no-one's taken a set off either of the women's finalists yet. They haven't dropped a set as a doubles partnership either, and get to face Lisa Raymond and The Stoat in the final of that.

"Soft hands from a strong man"

Nadal's slice backhand swerving return winner to clinch the third game was unreal.

"Andrew Castle: Federer's only equivalent is Tiger Woods in golf - 'a related sport'."

Its curious how often Roger and Tiger Woods get compared as if both sports are similar. They both have four majors but that's about it.

Henman did go on to comment on Fed's record of 17 straight slam SF appearances, as if its 17 top 3 finishes in golf -- that was better.

Of course, no-one's taken a set off either of the women's finalists yet. They haven't dropped a set as a doubles partnership either, and get to face Lisa Raymond and The Stoat in the final of that.

If things continue on their merry way, the four finalists will have a sum total of ONE win over a top 10 player between them. It's fair to say that this is not going to go down in history as a particularly tough Slam.

My colleague and I have a sweepstake on how many games Nadal is going to lose this afternoon...she went with 8, I went with 5.

Nadal's slice backhand swerving return winner to clinch the third game was unreal.

otm

Its curious how often Roger and Tiger Woods get compared as if both sports are similar. They both have four majors but that's about it.

it's not like they correspond regularly or appear in ad campaigns together or anything

I suppose they are related in that you play for yourself against a field based on mostly the same people, and Woods and Federer are the indisputable masters of them, dominating their sport in a quite staggering way. I could think of worse comparisons.

(they have four majors, but also a fairly similar set up outwith their majors with tournaments, ranking events etc)

"People forget this is one against one, it's not a team game" -- an uncompromisingly tough-minded Boris Becker brings us back to inconvenient and easily overlooked realities.

when is that ever overlooked? it's the essence of the sport

"I suppose they are related in that you play for yourself against a field based on mostly the same people, and Woods and Federer are the indisputable masters of them, dominating their sport in a quite staggering way. I could think of worse comparisons.

(they have four majors, but also a fairly similar set up outwith their majors with tournaments, ranking events etc)"

I would compare Federer to someone Like Stephen Hendry...I think Woods had surgery and didn't win a major for about two years, whereas Federer and Hendry have had roughly about 4-5 years of virtual dominance (and both reinvented ways to play the game).

But snooker isn't a sport of a high enough profile. xp

Meanwhile well done Sch. for making a game of this.

Lex, without the likes of Becker to keep us focused on realities, we would lose sight of many things. It's also important to remember that a lot of tennis is played in the mind - it's a game about pressure, and in some ways *mental* strength, at this stage, is even more important than physical strength.

Ha, I actually was going to shoehorn snooker in there as well, but decided against it.

I don't know enough about Golf (or done as much armchair watching as football/cricket/tennis/snooker over the years) to really get to know enough about Woods' achievements...it seems to me that he bought a more professionalized approach to work as regards fitness, something that Navratilova seems to have done for Tennis 20 years before (?)

Anyway, I'd say tomorrow we'll have a new king of grass...Nadal we'll never be as dominant as he is on clay, but its far more inconceivable he won't win on Wimbledon than Roger winning on clay.

I just don't think Roger has a plan B, or wants to have one against Nadal on grass, and this weekend he might really need that.

Venus makes the first major advance of the final - breaks Serena to win first set 7-5.

This despite Serena hitting more winners by a ratio of 2-1.

And that's that. Villiams 7-5 6-4. They take it in turns to be interviewed by Sue Barker. Only one sighting of the appalling Oracene so far (thankfully).

Serena's ground strokes were a bit better, sure, but Venus' 1st serve was v good and kept her in the game. All round she coped better with the conditions. Her introverted character turned out to be a strength as she internalized any frustrations, whereas Serena was demonstrably boiling over (the downside of the extroverted side of her character). That gave her all the edge. Serena converted only a fraction of her many break points, Venus was something like 4/5. In the end there were too many unforced errors from Serena.

I'm glad Venus won her 5th Wimbledon title - she hit some lovely volleys, when required to.

Good final, and this championship really needed that. Ashamed of not wanting Serena to get to the final now. McEnroe was v good in the build up and got me quite more excited than I thought I'd be.

Jeezus, how bad is Inverdale?

1. tomorrow's final 'the biggest tennis match for a generation - and probably all time'

2. long montage of stats, slow-motion etc

3. comes back to a shot of the moon. 'that's the moon ...'

4. shot of London - 'and that's the London Eye ... which Tracey went on yesterday! ... is that right?' Tracey Austin: 'Sunday'. 'Oh'.

this BS palavar didn't really convey a strong sense that there was any urgency in talking about the GREATEST TENNIS MATCH OF ALL TIME. jeezus. I have said it before and I will say it again - Inverdale might as well be replaced by Tony Blair, you would hardly notice.

BTW I think the greatest match of all time thing is total BS - it's just that inept Inverdale isn't even consistent with his own BS hype.

Hurray for Venus and her wunnerful 1st serves!

Federer in four. That's four days, going by the weather forecast. (I like to be pessimistic about these things - witness my gross overestimate of second week disruption above - but it is rather stormy here in S London. I'd love to see a finish in late-evening sunshine, like Sampras-Rafter in 2000, the court illuminated only by flash-bulbs by the time of the presentation).

Nadal is extraordinarily improved, not just over last year but over the clueless clubber who crumpled to defeat vs Tsonga in Melbourne in January. Grass is probably his second-best surface now - certainly he's had better results than indoors/hardcourt. But I'm supporting RF as I always do and I think he's a couple of notches above the level he displayed last year (Ancic and Safin may be meh-opponents current-rankings wise but, in another year, they could've been his legitimate seeded QF/SF opponents - in fact they beat the dudes that were, so there ya go). Schuey had a simple plan yesterday, from the little I saw of the match - attack the backhand, try to hit a (often wrongfooting) winner off the (usually) short response. It worked for about 30min.

It's masterly - it's meticulous - it's marvellous - it's Mike!

Huh, not sure how to watch this, was going to watch it at parents' house before returning to London...but might come back to London first, because if it goes on into the evening I'll have to leave anyway. Stoopid weather.

Prediction: Nadal.

In straight sets.

Nadal in four.

I've got no choice how to watch it - ever since the quarters it's been Packers Ghost TV with its hack commentators and annoying ultra-high- rote ads or it's nothing, thanks to the 'gentleman's agreement' between Nine and Foxtel.

Inverdale might as well be replaced by Tony Blair, you would hardly notice.

That doesn't make any sense.

OK, agree, Blair would be more entertaining.

If I am allowed, as a novice and outsider to this game, to venture a prediction, I am going to tip Nadal to win it, in 4 or even 5 sets. I'll say 4.

I think Nadal in 4 too.

Oh god, Australian commentary team, right.

GUESS WHAT THEY THINK FEDERER MUST DO TO WIN?

Hmm, hard to say from one game, but is Fed deliberately taking a bit off his topspin backhand? Playing the percentages a bit?

...serve and volley?

Crikey, this *is* a high quality match. Watching the first point it already struck me that I was watching two virtually unbeatable players finally playing each other. And the rallies and strokes since have been high calibre.

Nadal the first to break serve. Castle: 'First blood to the Spaniard'.

You know, I am slightly more impressed with Henman today. Perhaps he's better when wearing a suit.

I am noting some shorter returns, wehther deliberately or not. Enjoynig it a lot so far.

and yes, Lex, you're right!

A bit of S&V might shorten some points but, really, I can see Fed getting passed just about every time he fails to put away a first volley.

Practically every Nadal serve is to the backhand so far. I think that's called a Game Plan.

Interesting BBC graphic at the change of ends illustrating the difference in the grass - comparing a 126mph Fed first serve from the 2003 final with a similar serve from this year's event. By the time the ball reaches the opponent it's several inches higher in the 2008 version and 9mph slower. That's why Fed isn't S&Ving, Aussie commentators. (Oh, he just did!)

Tallulah's awake - I'll have company for the rest of the first set.

its mysterious to me why i root for federer over nadal when generally id go for the charismatic upstart every time - its prob nadals horrible shorts that turned me.

6-4 Nadal but very, very tight. I don't think any of us went for Fed in 3 so we're all still in the running.

I was initially mildly impressed by Tim Henman's use of the phrase 'scar tissue' to signify psychological damage and doubt, but he has now used it about three times, and who knows when he will stop doing so? Move on, Tim, use other metaphors please.

is this thing where nadal learned to play w/his off hand in order to improve his backhand at all common in tennis

Looks like this is heading Nadal's way

Ok, I'm out. Kinda amazed Fed didn't take his chances in that set. It's exhilarating stuff but there's a knot in my stomach watching what appears to the end of an era. That bloody drive volley though. Should be set all!

that Nadal shot at 30-30 in the last game was wau

End of an era, yes, know what you mean.

The Lex could yet be the most accurate predictor of this final.

Nadal has hurt his knee.

Nadal has called for the trainer for the next change-of-ends after a bit of a spill. He promptly bats away a backhand winner.

I shouldn't be that surprised at the 2nd set reversal - twice this year Nadal has won sets vs Federer from double-break down: 7-5 from 0-4 in Monte Carlo and 7-5 from 1-5 in Hamburg. Fed has to work so hard to win points and to close out games; winning a set seems an insurmountable task right now.

It does. Do you thing RF is so used to winning that he finds it difficult to find it difficult - he struggles at the prospect of a struggle?

thinK

That used to be the received wisdom with Federer - a defining match of his early career was a Davis Cup rubber vs Hewitt which he lost from two sets up (RF was already Wimb champ by then). He didn't seem to relish a scrap and his five-set record wasn't very good. I think that's changed after last year's final, the five-setters he's had in Aus, the Roddick/Agassi US Open finals. I think his singular problem is Nadal.

Fed blows another couple of break points but then holds with ease - the pattern continues.

the improvement in nadals grass game is pretty shocking here

This is agonising actually - Federer has won more points in the match than Nadal. He's had 12 break points and taken one; Nadal's had four and taken three.

Ok, that's 85 points all. I think this is the moment... Nadal now "ahead". Love-40.

well that gives him a better chance to come back than most in this situation

hes being dominated but not dominated

wowo federer back from 0-40 effortlessly

Huge hold from the champ. Still a scintilla of hope.

4-4 30/30, rain in the air...

And they're off. Nadal to serve at 6-4 6-4 4-5 when they come back.

o its raining now wtf

tho watching them walk off together game faces on is pretty great

In SE London, skies are blue and clouds are fluffy white.

Oh, it's BECKER!

just a scattered tstorm

Impressed we got 2+ hours of continuous play. Forecast for 6pm onwards is pretty good.

one of these doubles ladies is kinda a fatty

This BBC Federer thing is like something they show on aeroplanes.

"Allo Allo is now on on BBC Two"

It's odd to be showing this doc about someone who is two sets down.

that was like a promotional video federer's agent would use to secure sponsorship deals.

Here we go, back with the terrible docu. Can we expect to hear the thoughts of Gwen Stefani?

At the end he puts his hands on a skeleton and it grows flesh and becomes a tennis player. Federer beats him in straight sets.

Ha ha. Actually, I'm compounding Suebarker's error in calling it a documentary. If you look up "puff piece" in the online dictionary there's a gif taken from this...thing.

I think the whole nation will be pulling for Nadal by the end of this (and it's not even RF's fault).

Yeah we were just saying that, this is ridiculous, how on earth do they not have anything better than this in the can?

This really is terrible, isn't it? Roger Federer, style icon and shopping fan.

He can run through a forest without breaking any twigs.

Can someone explain what "air conditioned air" is?

I think this is the first time I have ever posted on a tennis thread. Hello!

'I think the world of fashion is, very nice'

'His image is very understated - James Bondy in a way, in that you have to look closely and then you see it'

Mike, that 'look x up in the dictionary and get a picture of this' is one of my most long beloved tropes in your comic handbook -- glad to see it's still worthy of occasional use.

I would have liked to see the thoughts, or whatever, of Gwen Stefani.

You dog.

Once a good trope, always a good trope.

HI!

gwen stefani is best mates with lindsay davenport, fyi.

got back home just in time for resumption of play. dunno whether i want nadal to wrap it up here to a) be right and b) cuz i want him to win, or for this to go to five so i get to watch lots of lovely tennis

You've missed quite a lot of lovely tennis, Lex, but also some truly ugly stuff (most of the 11 break points Fed has missed).

I was about to say, just popped over to my tennis board and consensus there is underwhelmed-to-bored (and they all seem to be pro-Nadal).

OK I was wrong but I get the drama now :D

wow. so the Lex didn't call it quite right after all.

that was quite a BREAKER!

Perhaps your tennis board folks see a lot more tennis year round than me but I thought the level has been fairly high. Perhaps they're like SOTCAA whenever Chris Morris does something that isn't quite to the standard of the first three minutes of On The Hour.

We have a fourth set.

But surely Nathan Barley transcended those minutes, like Concorde beside a stagecoach.

We do + I'm glad.

Perhaps they're like SOTCAA whenever Chris Morris does something that isn't quite to the standard of the first three minutes of On The Hour

I have no idea what this sentence means but they're a cynical bunch who watch tons of tennis throughout the year!

"He's almost saying 'If you go there I'm gonna go for it from the word go'" - T. Henman

The very slightly ironic thing here is that Fed's level has dropped considerably since the resumption and yet he's still in the match.

It seems to me like Federer has dumped quite a few backhands into the net. It's strange.

Dumping easy BHs into the net + shanking easy FHs miles out = what Fed does against Nadal.

Fed just dug himself out of a 0-30 hole to claw back to 5-5.

If this was any of, for example,my headcase favourites, losing that opportunity would pretty much = match over. But I don't think I've ever seen Nadal even the slightest bit ruffled by losing a lead/having a lead/any of the innumerable scoreline permutations which send eg Dementieva into crisis.

like Lex & Mike say - Nadal makes RF play worse. Not just through his own good play, but RF screws up things that look easy for him. He just did it again, 4th set, 6-5 or whatever it is now.

BREAKER

this match is starting to deplete my supply of alcohol

I am back on the Pimm's and have finished the lemonade entirely

omg

exactly

Amazing point to start the TB

VAMOS RAFA

4-1 Rafa!

AAGH choketastic from Rafa now

Gavin out of Bush is really fired up.

7:25 pm, 6-6 -- how on earth did RF miss that set-winner??

Sweet.

WHOA THAT PASS

this is crazy

WHOA THAT PASS, pt 2

These two are a bit good.

amazing tie break

nice! 5th set!

Incredible!

Oh, I say.

5th set.

Aww, the gang's all ici.

It's the ici on the gateau.

WOW

roger :D :D :D :D :D

Henman's swapped scars for wounds.

Ok, that was the appropriate level of play for The Most Important Match of John Inverdale's Life. F'ing hell.

This is incredible.

the two match points, Nadal couldn't do anything about, but that double fault at *5-2 up...such a choke.

Oho, that first point was a beaut.

i luv u roger

incredible shots being interspersed w/ inhibited rallies & unforced errors now

on which note it's a pity that Sara Errani hasn't stuck around long enough in a Slam for us to refer to her as Unforced Errani yet

This really does remind me of watching McEnroe vs Borg as a kid

can we talk about how boss roger's serve on championship point was

This is great stuff

ok that was an awesome point and the drop shot Nadal finished it off with was just <3

only to give the game away with that lame-ass return? jesus

lol. rain puts a halt to the endless unforced errani and chokeyness.

qn to those who watched the first two sets - how much did that 4-5 in the third rain break Change Everything?

didn't feel that way to me

Steady Mike said, RF played worse after break?

just luck and doggedness brought RF back?

Nadal could still win the whole thing of course and nothing wld be Changed?

lol. rain puts a halt to the endless unforced errani and chokeyness.

You fit in well on that board, Lex.

The rain break didn't really change the momentum of the match - in fact, Fed went from repeatedly outrallying Nadal to set up break opportunities (which he then squandered hideously; at 3-3 in the 3rd Fed had won more total points than Nadal) to not threatening the Nadal serve at all.

I didn't think Rafa was capable of choking but that 82mph 2nd serve at 6-6 (*5/2) off the tape was Novotna-standard.

No way Fed loses now. Unless delay lasts overnight then I hereby waive said prediction.

This match is gonna give me a heart attack.

This really does remind me of watching McEnroe vs Borg as a kid

yeah, i wasn't sure who the right analogy would be, but from the start, i've thought we're back to a real '80s-level rivalry now

Novotnadal!

xxp

The funny thing about Borg-McEnroe '80 is that the match was a bit underwhelming (they were all saying that on Rec.PigeonPost.Tennis) until the point where Borg served for it at 5-4 (40/15) in the 4th. At which point it became incredible.