ROLAND GARROS 2009

Because the qualifying draws are out - men's, women's, I'll have intermittent internet access until the weekend and there's already plenty to talk about.

- COQUET! Richard Gasquet has done a Hingis and been busted for coke. In Miami. Somehow, given who it is, this isn't at all surprising. And guess whos' rushed to his defence? Anyway, he won't be at RG, which at least saves him having to find yet another way to wuss out of the home pressure.
- The TRIVALRY has continued to bring the goods in the clay season - Djokovic played an amazing match against Nadal in Madrid last week, really one of the best I've seen, and held match points against him, but couldn't close him out; but Federer beat Nadal in the final for the first time in the last 5 goes. It felt almost like a tag-team effort - I remember when the Williamses and Davenport seemed to do that to Hingis. She'd be able to beat one, but it would take so much out of her that she'd lose to the next. Maybe that's how Nadal will finally lose at RG?
- Serena/Safina catfight! Well, not as bitchy as some of the ones we've known in the past, but when Safina ascended to No 1 a few weeks ago, Serena immediately ran her mouth about how she's the best, everyone knows who the real No 1 is. Which is true, but she doesn't really have an excuse to whine about it given that her refusal to play a proper schedule is the only reason Safina got there in the first place. Anyway, it inevitably came back to bite her: Safina immediately won the two big back-to-back clay warm-ups, while Serena lost three opening rounds in a row and hasn't won so much as a match since March. Right now, Serena holds two Slams but no other titles, while Safina holds five big tournaments - a Slamless No 1 is never ideal, but it's not all that clear-cut.

Also, who saw the Graf/Clijsters exo at Wimbledon on Sunday? Really enjoyed it - a women's match with ACTUAL DECENT SLICES OMG - it was better than most WTA matches this year. I miss Stefanie, she obviously couldn't hack week-in-week-out tournament play but I'm pretty sure she could still beat over half the top 100 on grass. I don't miss Kim at all but she's coming back this summer anyway, and will probably promptly win the US Open, sigh.

Serena lost three opening rounds in a row

Supposedly because she's injured and she's being "forced" to play these events though unfit to avoid $75k in fines? Which is actually a complete (deliberate?) misinterpretation of the WTA rules, as far as I can make out, which require her to turn up to events to which she has committed (do a bit of press, etc) but not actually play if she's unable to. Very odd.

Delighted to see Fed beat Nadal on clay (though, as you say, there's no recovering from a four-hour semi inside 24 hours so I hardly think we'll see a repeat on June 8th); I have this little dream that we're about to see some kind of 20-match streak from Roger that overturns his 4,000-pt deficit, restores him to #1 and beats Sampras's record. Even if it only lasts until Murray takes his US Open title, it would be nice.

Yeah, the WTA's supposedly strict new rules actually have a number of loopholes which make their "mandatory" tournaments far from mandatory. Given that these loopholes were instituted to help the Williamses get out of Indian Wells, I'm sure Serena understands them! Ivanovic, Zvonareva and Sharapova also skipped Madrid, so I don't know why Serena thought she was being "forced" to do anything.

Oh yeah, Sharapova's back this week, in Warsaw. Nearly made a hash of her first singles match since last Aug - nearly blew a 6-1, 4-0 lead and 8 match points over Garbin, but pulled through in the end as Garbin responded in choking kind.

what's the UK TV coverage of this gonna be?

Safin-Supports-Gasquet is like my dream url right there, love the shit out of both of those guys. was thinking about starting an all-purpose tennis 09 thread after the gasquet incident (do we have one?) but never got around to it. of course being potentially banned this long for (alleged) recreational drug use is retarded but hey

watched most of the fed-nadal match last sunday, and while as a nadal hater the result pleased me quite a bit, i have a hard time seeing him do it again. federer was able to get a lot of cheap points on his serve and work nadal's backhand pretty well, which are two things he can rarely do to rafa on clay. of course, nadal playing a tough match with djokovic the day before probably didnt do him any favors. nadal only had 12 winners!!

The "trivalry" is really a quadrivalry at RG, because Verdasco is a beast now.

Qualifying done, draws out (men's, women's), it starts tomorrow! Quick predictions for the 4R and on...

Men's -

4R: Rafa, Fit Dave, King Kolya, Naked Fernando, Mopey, Sexxxpanek, Gorila, Youzhny, Del Pony, Principality, Boredo, Nole, Anita, Crivoi, Chardy, Fed
QF: Rafa, Naked Fernando, Mopey, Gorila, Del Pony, Nole, Anita, Fed
SF: Rafa, Mopey, Nole, Fed
F: Rafa, Nole
Champ: Rafa

Women's -

4R: Safina, Caravane, CSN, BAG, Vesnina, ALG, Shriek, Li, Jankovic, WozDen, AMG, Demented, Sweta, Batty, Flavia Flav, Silliams
QF: Safina, BAG, Vesnina, Shriek, WozDen, Demented, Sweta, Silliams
SF: Safina, Shriek, WozDen, Sweta
F: Safina, Sweta
Champ: Sweta

oh, those were c/ped from the tennis board I frequent, so there may be some unfamiliar nicknames in there

Somewhat surprised that Radek Stepanek is twelve days older than first-round opponent Gastón Gaudio!

vague analysis -

HORRID draw for the Williamses. Venus gets Lisicki (who beat her in Charleston) or Safarova (who took a set off her in Rome) in 2R, then Szavay (who took a set off her in Acapulco) or Vesnina (who has really improved dramatically this year) in 3R. Suspect she'll lose to Lisicki again, but Lisicki will lose to the more consistent Vesnina. Silliams, on the other hand, gets Zakopalova in 1R - they played 1R in Marbella a few weeks ago and Zakopalova won, setting off Silliams' current losing streak! Can't see it happening again though, and Vaidisova in 2R is more of a name than a threat right now. But Silliams is in bad enough form that SURELY even Sweta can't fuck it up in the QF - historically a good round to take Silliams out in.

Really soft draw for Sharapova to make her return - Petrova in the 2R should beat her, but we know what Nadia is like with matches she should win easily. And then poor Bepa 3 has pulled out, leaving that section of the draw really open...

Horribly easy draw for Roddick. Even with his clay ineptitude I can't see any real threats in his section.

Federer got Nole in his half = cementing the Rafa win.

Women's tournament is Safina's to lose, and she will probably oblige us in that regard.

The current big story in women's tennis won't be at RG. Alexandra Dulgheru, a Romanian teenager ranked 201, came through the qualifying to win her first ever WTA tournament in Warsaw this week - a huge achievement. She missed RG qualies because of it, but she should be at Wimbledon...

Actually, it's also a really good draw for Mauresmo...which of course means she'll play passive loopy crap which will get blown away by ALG in the 1st round.

"Federer got Nole in his half = cementing the Rafa win."

But Nadal got Verdasco in his quarter. Verdasco's chances of beating Nadal on clay are probably higher than Fed's (yes yes, Fed finally beat him on clay last week, I know).

hmm, Rafa's beaten Verdasco twice this clay season already and didn't drop a set either time...the amazing AO match seems more like Verdasco zoning, in retrospect, rather than something likely to happen again. if anything clay will help Rafa more, b/c Verdasco can't just blow him away with the FH.

i forgot it started today - early winners are A-Pav and Li.

first couple of epic chokes in the bag - Karlovic loses from two sets up against Lleyt the Llout (insert a MILLION rolleyes in here), while Mathilde Johansson blows EIGHT match points - four with double faults LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL women's tennis - against Slam debutante Vitalia Diatchenko to lose 8-10 in the third. It's all good though, I was supporting VITA! VITA! VITA! anyway

Apparently Tatiana Golovin is commentating on French TV...there goes that promising career :(

hmm, Rafa's beaten Verdasco twice this clay season already and didn't drop a set either time...the amazing AO match seems more like Verdasco zoning, in retrospect, rather than something likely to happen again. if anything clay will help Rafa more, b/c Verdasco can't just blow him away with the FH.

Verdasco was up 4-0 in the second in madrid, and he was up 30-0 on Nadal's serve at 4-4 in the first.

It was not an easy match for Nadal at all.

Good call on Mome v ALG, lex! (Didn't see it, so I dunno if it was passive loopy crap though.)

Karlovic loses from two sets up against Lleyt the Llout

Revenge for '03? Doesn't get him the #1 ranking though. It's not a ladder system.

New aces record in the process, by the way. 55 I think it was.

Keothavong (or something) on her way to "eating" a double bagel against Marat's sis. strange, i was fairly sure i saw some pretty good results from her lately.

Jeez, talk about coming down to earth with a bump. Yeah, Keothavong is inside the top 50 and became the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1983 to make a clay-court semi in Warsaw last week (I think Durie's semi probably WAS the French - losing to Jausovec). That's just embarrassing.

Rafa and Rog both through in 3. Starchy benefits from a retirement.

still haven't seen a point of this yet, boo...no eurosport any more so i guess i'll be hunting for live streams.

Couple of WTF upsets - Flavia Flav losing ONE AND ONE to Alexa Glatch - surely down to some sort of injury! Kirilenko losing to the Australian WC Olivia Rogowska is perplexing, too. The Chak Attack lost to Duque Marino, too - technically also an upset, sadly less surprising.

On the men's side, Berdman lost to Bolelli. Pretty much every other seed of note went through, even Safin.

i hate bartoli so much

i can watch a lot of matches on the tennis channel but i woke up at noon today (EDT) and i missed most of the matches i'd have been interested in, apparently. fuck if i care about radwanska-de los rios

hahaha i was just thinking that i was never going to see any first week matches because coverage stops @ 12:00 edt

i just checked and tomorrow espn2 will run coverage from 1230-6pm, dunno why they're not doing that today

oh also bartoli is gross and lame and i predict that venus will save like eight match points in the first three rounds and then crush whichever "promising" "talent" she plays next like 1, 2.

that "practice serve" shit she does makes me want to punch her. shes so awkward and boring :(

I love Bartoli, mental service action and all, step off. I would've totally watched Bartoli/Parmentier.

Batty out to K-Bond, hurrah - and what is this, Wozniacki a set and a break down to Dushevina?!

I still kind of love Bartoli too. I'm even charmed by her silly short interview on the roland garros site, where she mentions how she loves spider solitaire.

Looking forward to seeing some good matches.

Vaidisova can't even beat semi-retired doubles specialists any more: gone in straight sets to VRP. Hanturexia follows, losing to La Razz; WozDen, who recovered from a set and a break down yesterday, wraps up Dushevina with no problems today.

I was hopeful that we'd see a rare triple bagel for Schittler as he lost the first 13 games (at least) to Gicquel, but the third set ended up as a boring 6-4. AUS teenage hope Tomic gets killed by Kohlschreiber.

Big story right now: Silliams has blown a 6-3, 5-3 lead and multiple match points against Zakopalova, and we're in a third! NB: Zakopalova beat her a few weeks ago in Marbella, kickstarting her current slump...

I wonder how much of a horror show Dokic/Sprem is.

serena is looking really, really bad right now. she's down a break in the third set, but i havent seen her play this...nonchalantly in a while. not moving her feet, netting easy balls, going for too much way too early in points

aaaand just like that we're on serve silliams up 3-2

Silliams with the break now.

Zakopalova saves another three MPS when serving at *2-5!!!

And then breaks Serena to 15!!!

Zakopalova zoning...why does Serena persist in feeding her BH?

2 match pts for serena

Zakopalova missed a couple of easy shots, started pouting, and it was over - Silliams through on her ninth MP.

So far today, Murray dropped a set to Potito Starace but won anyways, Sharapova beat Petrova 6-2 in the first set, and Ivanovic is rolling over Tammy.

Nadia Petrova is actually the most useless tennis player ever, right?

Maybe Hanturexia, though.

Was also surprised to see Szlumping Szavay thrash Vesnina so comprehensively.

I really hope Zheng can come back against Larcher de Screamo...

Petrova is the worst, that is true. Has anybody been able to watch the match to see if Sharapova has been looking sharp or if it's typical Petrova choke? Sad thing about French Open and Wimbledon is that I can't actually watch any of the matches except over the weekend.

The BBC player is so tantalising but I have work to do...

Well, it's Petrova and Shriekapova, so not THAT tantalising. I'll tune in if it gets close.

anyone know a good place to stream matches online? the ones on chann3lsurfing.n3t either keep stalling or won't load at all. i'm not in the UK/US so official streams won't work for me. :(

Petrova is now up 5-1 and on the serve in the second set, but the "exciting" thing about her game is that she could still easily lose the set.

She got that set and took it to 6-6 in the third. Had a BP on Shriek at that point, missed it, and in the next game double faulted to give Shriek a match point and then smacked a stupid FH into the tramlines to seal what we all knew was inevitable. Useless!

Let's just pause to remember that time Petrova lost to Silliams at the AO 07 from 6-1, 5-2 up, when Silliams was fat and ranked like 80-something.

And that time when, having somehow got herself in the position of being a favourite to win RG (LOL, as if), she went out 2 and 2 to Mpaperfolding in round one.

Useless!

Oh yeah, and that time last year when Demented tried her best to essay an epic choke against her at Wimbledon, but Petrova just wouldn't let her lose!

Sticking with the theme of useless Russians, Safin is a set down to a French wild card.

I don't know if it works anywhere other than in France, but you can stream all the games on France 2's site, http://roland-garros.france2.fr

More updates, though I have no comments cuz like I said I can't watch any of the matches (not even the night ones): Safin now down 2 sets to the qualifier, Nadal rolls in first set, but is tied 4-4 in second set. Two male seeds went down today, Lopez and Tursunov, but neither of those is really an upset.

Unbelievably, Safin actually fought back to push it into a 5th set. And once there, got broken on...

...a netted smash. Of course.

i'm watching http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nahalolo2 btw

oh, safin broke back!!

ouanna at match point w/some incredible FHs!

...saved w/an ace

safin ;_;

Play is now suspended, with Venus Williams down a set. We can only hope this continues. Women's tennis is so screwed up right now, anybody can win, even Maria Sharapova.

the livestream i was watching cut out at like 6-5 to Ouanna, deuce. SO ANNOYED.

Safarova is a terrific player and one of my favourites - she took a set off Venus the other week and I was half-expecting an upset when the draw came out - obv the delay will slow her roll though, and Venus has to be favoured tomorrow. Still, Safarova's such a randomly explosive player that she's not as out of it as others might be - her lefty FH is something to behold.

You're right about Sharapova, sadly - she has a clear draw to the QF (Li could well beat her, but it's never wise to depend on Li), and if Venus is upset before then, make that the SF. One Safina collapse later, we're in the final, and mentally stronger in those situations than anyone in the bottom half except the out-of-form Silliams. Women's tennis!

BBC commentators are so clueless! "Safarova has good courtcraft but lacks a really big shot" - WTF Lucie S is one of the purest ballbashers on tour, has a HUGE weapon in her lefty FH, and I don't think has ever had a tactical thought on court in her life, as SURELY THEY CAN SEE FROM THE WAY SHE IS PLAYING?

honestly. Safarova's problems are that she plays kinda dumb and has no defensive game whatsoever. how can you possibly watch even a point of her playing and say she lacks firepower! just...how?

three amazing points in a row from Safarova!

AMAZING RALLY ends w/AMAZING FH DTL WINNER from Safarova!!

Venus in "taking care of business" mode. 4-4. This is the best women's match I've seen all year.

Aw man, Safarova blowing match point.

Also Federer escapes first set tiebreak with Jose Acasuso. Based on the stats, maybe a little rusty out there, hopefully he can pull it together

Safarova didn't choke, but she did blow a great chance with that 0-30 on V's serve at 5-4...she bossed an amazing rally but missed the FH DTL putaway. Would've given her three MPs. Venus played amazingly on to save the actual MP though.

What was disappointing was Lucie playing three loose points after missing the MP and really giving the break to Venus, who is now serving for the match...

...Venus serves it out to love. Of course.

That was a genuinely great match, anyway - am glad the women's game is finally providing some quality. Silliams/Zakopalova was a good match too - Serena obviously subpar but not to a horror-show extent. And I've seen worse than Shriek/Petrova - it was dramatic and fairly good quality until Petrova pathetically chumped up at the end.

ok, BBC now showing Fed/Acasuso. back to work. not interested in Fed-error making life difficult for himself.

I think it's fair to say Federer is in a spot of bother here. Lost 2nd set and has immediately gone a break down in the 3rd.

not interested in Fed-error making life difficult for himself.

He's a double break down in the third. Life getting very difficult.

Federer can barely keep the ball in court.

There was a time when that comeback would have been almost inevitable but I think he had to dig really deep there. He looked a beaten man sitting in his chair after the double break. Acasuso seemed to wilt at the thought of actually winning.

is it just me or has fed lost a lot of weight lately?

Wow, I ignored the BBC stream for 25min there and clicked back to see Mirka all smiles in the crowd. Wondered whether she'd actually got some money on Acasuso until I saw the scoreline.

I guess it's been a really boring day at Roland Garros or else nobody is watching. Certainly, none of the results seem thrilling.

I wasn't at home - doesn't look like I missed anything. the prospect of a Dominguez Lino/Wozniak match for the 4th round is gross. Looks like Demented had a lucky escape vs Dokic (lost first set, Dokic retired in the second - haven't looked up details yet). Surprised and v impressed that Tsonga beat The Principality.

i watched just enough of the third set in the fed match to give up watching

I'll take CSN to upset Azarenka tomorrow. Szavay over Venus...maybe? ~hedges~

Rafa to triple bagel Chewitt PLEASE, it would be incredible. Hoping for wins from Ouanna, Caravane, Shvedova, Cibulkova, Li, Simon and Anime Eyes too.

I noticed that Simona Halep, last years juniors winner who if I am remembering right is quite popular among a certain segment of tennis fans (horny males) failed to make it out of qualifying.

http://uberoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/simona-halep-busty.jpg

gee I wonder why she's popular

that is one busty.jpeg

O_O

yo

Has set a date for reduction surgery, was the news this week. Apparently they're a significant hindrance.

simO_Ona halep

Has set a date for reduction surgery, was the news this week. Apparently they're a significant hindrance.

― anatol_merklich, Thursday, May 28, 2009 6:05 PM (6 minutes ago)

:(

http://sports.popcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/simona-halep-big-boobs.jpg

CATTINESS WATCH:

Q. Would you say that [the French players] help each other out?

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Well, you know, the atmosphere is good. Marion complimented me in the cloak rooms. It was from the bottom of her heart. I found it so cute from her, so nice. She said, You don't like Hantuchova at all, do you? ... It's true. I was so happy to win, and that's the way it is.

Talking of Marion...

Q. What about the incredible number of break points?

MARION BARTOLI: Well, you know, the court was really heavy. The balls were heavy. My serve was not okay at all. I couldn't hit the balls correctly, either. So I wanted to fight back as well as I could,but that was not sufficient.

The way she played, her attitude was getting on my nerves, so I had to calm down. It was not easy. She would always return all the balls, all the points.

Q. You said her attitude was a bit strange. What do you mean by this?

MARION BARTOLI: Well, it's her clan. When I made unforced errors, her team would shout. It's not sportslike. They're Italians.

Q. You're Italian too. Your grandfather, as well, is Italian.

MARION BARTOLI: I'm from Corsica.

jesus christ xp

thread delivers

holy

ok DUDES venus is 0-6, 1-2 down to Szavay!!

haven't seen it yet - BBC was showing Verdasco trying to choke to Almagro (he came thru on his 9th MP, and was v lucky that Almagro donated some errors at the end), but it's ON NOW

OK enough giant Halep boobs, let's talk about tennis again. Specifically, Ana Ivanovic has been rolling, at least by the stats. Has anybody here watched any of her matches who could chime in?

I haven't, but I don't put too much stock in her scores - apparently her 1R vs Unforced Errani was a horror show, then Tanasugarn who is AWFUL on clay, then Benesova who never troubles top players ever. Softest draw ever.

OK, so when I tuned in Szavay was playing pretty well, and then at 3-3 she played a HORRIBLE szervice game which ended with a double fault then a FH halfway up the net, and it was like...women's pathetic choking playbook, once again. But it's not as if Venus has got it together herself, and she handed the break right back with, yes, a double fault. Women's tennis.

OK, awful Venus errors and Szavay is a game away from the upszet...

...match point!

She did it! Match point rally was a horrible, awkward thing where Szavay took control immediately, then backed off tentatively and let Venus start dominating, then Venus dumped a BH inexplicably into the net for like no reason whatsoever.

so aggravating to root for the Williams sisters these days

eh, Wimbledon's around the corner.

OK, we need Sharapova out, because if so the semi-finalist will be one of SZAVAY, CIBULKOVA, LI AND SHVEDOVA, which would be amazing.

Davydenko/Wawrinka is the match I'm most interested in today - going on right now and tied at one set apiece, with Davy about to pick up #2.

yeah, if I could watch that I would, really like both dudes. Kolya with the third set - think he'll take it.

Oh man I wish I could've watched Caravane beating de Screamo. Apparently there was outright HATRED going on between them - Caravane complained to the umpire about the screams, de Brito STUCK HER TONGUE OUT at Caravane, glares and bitchy fistpumps abounded...

Davydenko did indeed take it and now awaits Verdasco in what should be another good match. And Ivanovic has a good test coming up next against the winner of Azarenka/Suarez Navarro (that quad is stacked).

de brito's bratty "handshake", ensuing boos

Q. Did you say to the chair umpire, It's not natural?

ARAVANE REZAI: Yeah, I said it's a little bit hard for me to continue playing like this. But, you know, it's hard to play against a player screaming like that. She's very good player, but very hard character. I hope she's going to be better, but she's young. She have to learn many things.

Q. I think you have played Maria Sharapova before. If you were to compare, which one of the two makes more noise? Which one of the two shouts in a way that bothers you more?

ARAVANE REZAI: It's different. She really shouts loud. Maybe it's the way she tries to impress the opponent, but it really did upset me because it was really unpleasant. I did try to talk to the umpire about this. She kept shouting. I think the umpire did not really do his job, and so I told the referee. You know, it's a pity, because she really plays well. She's talented. She fights, but she still has a lot to learn. She's very young, and I think she's just going through a phase.

She's only 16. She has a lot of time to learn more.

Q. Could you please tell us exactly what you told the umpire?

ARAVANE REZAI: I said, She's shouting too loud. There's a limit. You can't really shout that way. She said, Sharapova has never been told that she was shouting too loud. And I said, No, I have told her in a previous match. But it did bother me, although it's not the important thing today. The important thing is that I won the match. I'm very happy.

That was just a tactic. She was trying to impress me with her shouts,and I managed to win the match all the same. Yes, it did bother me, but the most important is that I won the match.[/i]

okay normally I hate petulant tennis players but massive lolz

lol Hewitt

Chewitt thrashing :D

If Shvedova somehow beats Shriek, I'll be over the moon...

OMG first set 6-1 to Yaroslava...she was 0-40 down in that last game too :D

Oh well, Sharapova pulled it out. No real surprise there.

Loving lex reports on women's grudges & infighting & cattiness -- of course it's all on net and findable but please continue doing the linkage for those of us with sometimes barely enough time to look up the scores lex! :D

(In the men's too whenever it's found of course! I love Oscar Hernández' ahem graceful acknowledgement of victory at about 1:50 in this South American report on Bad Boy Dani.)

The ILX outage means this read was robbed of a coupla dozen OMGs/WAU/:D posts, particularly on Sunday.

Shame BBC's contract doesn't seem to allow them to show live tennis after a certain time - highlights on BBCi last night instead of Monfils stomping on Roddick.

yeah Nadal's defeat has to be one of the most surprising tennis moments in quite some time. It was unevitable he'd lost at some point, even at Roland Garros, but you'd expect a semi-final defeat against Djokovic or something.
Federer vs. Haas was crazy as well.

btw, Soderling has the most stupid beard thingie ever. He looks like a very old man trying to be hip.

Toaderling!

Yeah I would've expected Nadal's run to end at least at the hands of someone with some sort of clay proficiency...the Toad is a fast-court player, historically. But then it makes a weird kind of sense that it's not - clay players are all, to an extent, B/C/D versions of Nadal. Soderling has no choice but to blast away and he happened to zone.

Knew Federer would freak out and not convinced he's stopped despite the Haas Been choke/comeback. Everyone's talking about the amazing FH Fed hit to save the break point at *3-4 in the third, but Haas choking with a DF and stupid errani at *4-4, 40-15 was also important.

Roddick threw such a tantrum about the light last night that even Monfils was openly laughing at him. At which point Roddick told him not to get "too cocky" LOLOLOLOLOL in the face of such a whipping. Watched on a live stream and genuinely thought Roddick was going to punch Monfils at the net - instead we got a "handshake" to rival Larcher de Brito's earlier.

Jankovic defeat was pretty WTF too - she's blown all year, and Cirstea was a promising junior, but Cirstea's been in terrible form herself and I'd pretty much given up on her ever making it big. TBH despite this run, some of her losses are so horrendous that I still don't think she'll be a top player. Nice game, though - like the way she'll play a normal FH in rallies, sometimes a loopy slow one if needs be, and then out of nowhere crank it up with a monster FH winner of doom. She's a bit like a diet Ivanovic - less relentlessly powerful, better at running and volleying.

Sharapova vs Li had me tearing my hair out. Aaargh, Li won 10 of 12 games and then just DIED at the end, and I'd forgotten how intolerable Sharapova is generally. And I don't think Cibulkova's perpetual motion thing will be enough to beat her today either :(

Oh, and I would love to see KING KOLYA come through that top half to make his first Slam final. And I think he will! And Fed agrees.

As for the women's, form says it'll be Safina vs Sweta, but the playbook on mental weakness probably says that we're heading to a horrific Shriek/Silliams final, in which case...is it possible for both to lose? Please?

o incidentally, I probably should point out that Dominika Cibulkova, who plays later today, has the kind of booty you really would never expect from a 5'3" white chick. like, even I noticed it. to my mind surely this is more exciting than SimO_Ona Halep's comedy tits.

Safina and Davydenko both lost their first sets 6-1.

Also the Roddick thing was great. I don't know what I'm gonna do when he retires, he's so much fun to hate that I almost love him.

http://www1.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/WTA+Fashion+Show+TdVYpOkLjNPl.jpg

This is the first pic of her that I could find that even partially showed her from behind; it is not very often that you're going to see a photo of a tennis player from the back.

this one might be better, but i can't find any adequate pictures tbh, and didn't notice it at all until i actually saw her play on tv

http://www.ontennis.com/files/imagecache/image_450/files/images/dominika-cibulkova-doha-2008-16.jpg

and i've only seen her on a proper tv (as opposed to livestream) once, so it may well have been her outfit that day giving that impression!

ex-gf of monfils, btw

lex your tennis posts are impressive in their analyses

how the hell is soderling beating nikolay? come on grim reaper!

He's destroying him. Two points away from 1, 3 and 1.

Kolya :(((((((

Toaderling must still be zoning.

boo. :(

safina just broke azarenka again. now serving for the match.

whatcha know 'bout putting bricks in the spare man
i can stuff a coupe like a motherfuckin' CARAVANE

^^what i should've posted when caravane was beating up on de brito

show me my opponent...show me my opponent

lol

Dinarahrahrah!! :)

If Safina manages to beat Sharapova like 2 and 0 in the SF, this entire tournament will have been worth it.

again, anyone know a good livestream? ustream keeps stuttering on me. (i really just need to get a better broadband connection actually.)

do my eyes deceive me? shriekbot's getting bageled.

she got bagelled against Li, too, and even Shvedova breadsticked her. my prediction was that she'd shed errors for a set then her fucking ~mental strength~ would get her through - though I'd love for Cibulkova to prove me wrong.

live streams - just had a hunt and the 3rd and 4th RG ones here seem to be working http://www.atdhe.net/

Wow, Dominika is playing BEAUTIFULLY. Gets everything back, is v happy running around on her little legs like ASV used to do, moving the ball around and extending the rallies until Sharapova can't cope any more.

thank you!! <3 <3 works a treat.

yeah cibulkova's playing amazing right now. now up 2-0.

3-0!

OMG awesome angled FH - 4-0! DOUBLE BAGEL PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, wow this is hilarious and awesome

LOL Sharapova dropshot. HILARIOUS

grr I don't want to watch Murray-Gonzalez, I want to watch Sharapova get embarrassed

oh shit, 5-0 lololol

5-0! She'll serve for the double bagel. COME ON DOMI.

She's making Shriekapova look HAPLESS.

aw

so close.

The comeback starts here. 0-6 7-5 6-0, I can feel it.

ok I admit that would be hilarious

Blows a match point. She is CRUMBLING.

IIRC, Kurhajcova led Raymond 6-0, 5-0, 30-0 at RG one year, and lost from there.

And of course the infamous Novotna choke to Rubin from 5-0, 40-0 up in the final set.

Double fault oh no oh no oh no

OK, match point no 5 (at least)...

YAY

There. I knew she'd do it.

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

yay! also lols at the massive difference in height - cibulkova is so tiny.

She's 1.6m, five-three. Not quite Olivier Rochus beating Ivo Karlovic but almost as satisfying.

Really, Cibulkova played the perfect clay court game against Sharapova - tracking everything down, opening up the court with angles to get Maria off balance, and really giving Maria no opportunities to hit through her.

It was kinda miraculous that Sharapova got to the QF at all, given how rusty she still is and how bad her form is...but, Petrova being pathetic and Sharapova's fucking annoying FIGHTING SPIRIT~~~~ will get us here. This was where it all caught up with her.

Sharapova's 1/8th of the draw was also incredibly weak - maybe the weakest I've ever seen at a major.

Really, Cibulkova played the perfect clay court game against Sharapova

eh - it was more "competent" than "perfect" but thats all anyone really needed lol woman's tennis

one set each but gonzo's now up 4-0 in the third against murray.

muray about to get bageled :(

apparently he had to get a re-string by someone who doesnt normally string his racket and it's fucking him up

6-0 gonzo

murray breaks back at 5-3 but is about to get broken at love :(

wouldn't like to be a linesman at Gonzo/Toad...talk about absolutely monster hitting. what a weird SF! well, Gonzo I understand. I have...no idea who will win at all.

Q. It was so hard to believe what happened out there. Can you explain a little bit to us what that was?

DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA: Yeah, I mean, it was, I think, more surprising for the people who don't know me, you know.

<3 <3 Domi!!

i want a Gonzo - Fed final, if that's possible draw-wise.

eh, been there, done that. fed would kill him

lol @ sharapova btw

eh, been there, done that. fed would kill him

probably, but Gonzo seems to be at his best ever.

re: Cibulkova's butt:
http://www4.pictures.fp.zimbio.com/Tennis+Stars+Training+Hopman+Cup+Perth+lfKP2A8yZrSl.jpg

it is! I guess that's what I want too. at this point I probably like Pony and Monfils more than Fed, but there must be absolutely no question that Fed is greater than Sampras, so I'll cheer for him at Slams (and esp RG) until that record is broken. which may mean I never stop cheering for him.

if Sorana and Sweta win tomorrow, I'd be happy with any of the female winners. Domi probably my favourite, but if Dinara comes through it'd be pretty sweet too.

btw did y'all see the amazing Monfils point from last week? it's here - breathtaking. (UK only, sorry)

xps

xpost

ha, somehow she looks 100x better with clothes off than on

yeah i know the one you're talking about - that point was amazing!

i feel monfils might go all the way - he seems mentally stronger this year and his ridiculous athleticism/speed will make it tough for wobbly fed. plus he's french. just as long as that knee injury doesn't give him any problems. xp

i'm not sure if they're still going out, but lol height difference

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/4856/odominikaug7.jpg

haha kinda cute actually.

i wish i'd seen that ouanna/safin match last week. 10-8 in the last set!

Monfils looks like a spacerockstar that just landed with the Mothership Connection or something. (or Mos Def in the Hitchiker's Guide)

Tuned in just in time to watch Sweta get broken to 15 when serving for the opening set. SURPRISE.

C'mon Svetlana you can't choke this one away. BTW Cirstea had a quite lovely 12/1 unforced error to winner ratio in the first set. She lost 6-1

man I wish I wasn't at work

Hey why is Cirstea/Stosur on main court and Williams/Kuz on side court?

Wow, Sweta playing a terrific TB so far! Unexpected. Still time for her to choke it away, though.

good girl sveta!

So sad to see Cirstea have such a great tournament then chump out like this to Stosur, of all people.

Wow, she hit some amazing shots there, that FH DTL on set point! I expected Silliams to be the one who stepped it up, this goes against Sweta's very nature.

Assume that Cirstea/Stosur on Chatrier b/c

- spread out the stars - don't want to leave Lenglen tkt-holders just with Boredo and Stosur
- make it more fair to Cirstea and Stosur in the winner's SF - I don't think Cirstea's played on Chatrier so far

I wish commentators wouldn't say that they don't understand how the rankings can be screwy (re: the possibility of Silliams winning here, and thus holding the USO, AO and RG, but still being ranked No 2). I mean, it's not ideal, but the rankings are simple to understand. It's basic addition. They go screwy b/c Serena barely plays, and when she does play barely cares, in regular tour events, and thus garners v few points from them.

Basically, blame either Serena's pathetic and unprofessional attitude to regular Tour events, or Dinara's pathetic chokes in big finals, but there's no reason to act like the ranking system is so weird and arbitrary, or so arcane that it's beyond your understanding.

Anyway, Sweta 3-0 up! Playing some good defence inc two terrific lobs, and needless errors are creeping back into the Silliams game.

Just looking up their records...Safina holds 5 titles, 4 of which are Tier Is (or Premiers, or whatever they're called now) - the level just below the Slams. And she has a further two Slam finals on her record, the Olympic silver, and the USO SF.

Serena holds 2 titles, both Slams, and has the Wimbledon final as well, and the Miami final, and then LITERALLY NOTHING ELSE. Five opening round losses in the past year alone. To make her No 1, you'd have to come up with a ranking system based on some really distorted maths.

And it's even more galling that it's SAM SMITH saying these things. Hello, Sam? Did you not use to play on the Tour? Yes, you did. YOU KNOW HOW THE RANKINGS WORK.

Cirstea from 1-4 to 3-4. A Stosur choke would be so welcome here.

I agree completely Lex. Serena is the best player at the slams, but Safina deserves to be ranked number one. I don't see what the problem is.

Meanwhile Kuznetova gives up an early advantage yet again in the second set. Let's see if she can stabilize.

Sweta turns her ankle serving at *4-2, 40-30. Think she's fine physically, but that FH fifteen miles out to give Silliams break point was not. And Silliams breaks back.

No comeback for Diet Ivanovic :(

lol women's tennis, your semifinalists are seeded 1, 20 and 30

wow amazing point!

Sometimes I think it's a sort of practised ignorance, Lex - we know our audience don't understand this stuff, so let's feign the same blank incomprehension. But, most of the time, you know you or I (or anyone on this thread) could commentate more knowledgeably on tennis than almost anyone who gets paid to do so. The T'n'A stuff would just have to be reined in a bit.

Didn't they have all four women's qf on Lenglen one year? With Fed and some other men's qf on Chatrier?

Sweta breaks back with a BH return winner...and will serve for the match. Oh, we have been here before!

Is there any in-match betting available on this? Sveta can't be better than evens to serve this out, surely?

But of course.

Broken to 15. What a useless player.

Serena will now win like seven games in a row, drop one through careless errors, then not drop another point. Just like in Australia.

Sometimes I think it's a sort of practised ignorance, Lex - we know our audience don't understand this stuff, so let's feign the same blank incomprehension

Yeah, I think this is where they're coming from. But the thing is...the audience isn't going to understand if you don't explain. And it's REALLY EASY AND SIMPLE to explain. 52-week rolling additive rankings. THAT'S IT.

I am confused

rolling AND additive? That makes no sense!

Meanwhile, I've just worked out Federer's aggregate head-to-head record against the other five players left in the men's draw: 33-1*. And yet I still don't feel any great confidence that he's actually going to take this title.

(* Gonzalez beat him in a round-robin match in the Master Cup in Shanghai in 2007 - it may even have been a dead rubber).

oh god sveta

I wish I could pay closer attention to this Williams/Kuznetsova match because whenever I dip in it's really exciting; I actually really like both of them (Serena more than Sveta obv) so it's fun rooting for a long, competitive match.

grrr and of course my feed has now switched to Federer/Monfils, which I do want to know about but NOT RIGHT NOW

Wow what happened?! I gave up with Serena leading 3-1. Now she's down 4-5 (on serve)! Did Sweta actually fight?

Two match points for Sweta...

Two m-ps gone!

...return error, FH out for no reason, then Serena closes the game with a smash and an ace.

...and then Sweta holds to love, courtesy of some hideously lazy Serena returns.

this match is agonizing.

lol @ williams

Takes it on her third match point! Oh, Sweta. Serena just looked tired at the end.

Ooh, Fed/Monfils TB...

oh noes gael's getting steamrolled - federer's now up 4-0 in the second.

4-1 now. come on monfils.

i found that weird to watch, my head is supporting fed b/c it's thinking long-term, but when you actually watch something live you can't help but go w/your heart...ie monfils.

otm - I want fed to win but I don't want monfils to make it easy.

Glad to see Serena pulled her famous "I lost the match, she didn't win it" excuses after she got beat.

SERENA WILLIAMS: In the third I had an opportunity and I got really tight, and I pretty much gave it to her. It was like, Here, you know, do you want togo to the semis? Because I don't. She was like, Okay. (laughter.)

And that's why she's Silliams.

From what I saw...she looked fatigued in the third set (though she denied this in the interview), and hence was hitting needless errors in a bid to shorten the points. So in a sense she's right, she absolutely helped a mentally weak Sweta over the finishing line. Though it's also her subpar fitness and form finally catching up with her, like Sharapova yesterday...neither have played well all tournament.

Still, she forgets that she was only in that third set b/c Sweta choked and pretty much handed her a lifeline. If Sweta had lost that match, she'd also be entitled to say she gave it away, Serena didn't win it.

Thought Monfils would put up a stronger fight...apparently the first set was really high quality, but all eyes were on Sweta and Silliams then. Good to see Fed's not freaking out and has his eye on the prize now, though.

Honestly though she's said this so much that I think everyone just rolls their eyes and sighs at this point.

Oh and again, glad b/c it was mostly high quality - I mean, many UGLY errors, but considering the potential for any Sweta/Silliams match to be entirely composed of ugly errors, I thought both played some terrific points. It's been a while since the women have had such a good RG. The SFs both have unfortunate steamrolling potential, but hopefully the final (probably Dinara/Sweta) will be good...

Meanwhile, a photo for Dan:

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2009-06/47287672.jpg

Safina takes the first set 6-3 and currently has a rather impressive 17/9 winner to unforced error ratio. Can anybody confirm if this has been a well played match.

n.b. while I was posting that, Safina made 2 straight unforced errors

oops forgot these were happening. only gonna switch on if either SF gets close tbh...have to clear backload of work today. tbh can easily see all SFs, men's and women's, being straight-set blowouts.

whoa foxsports's mic is loud - safina talking to herself in english "just move your fucking feet!" lol

ha, i've known russian speakers to be shocked & appalled by the language Safina apparently uses on court…

The unforced errors have gone out of control in set 2 anyways. Looks to be a snoozer. But Kuz/Safina should be good for the finals.

and it's done anyway. safina 6-3, 6-3.

Lex: Not only could all 4 SF's easily be straight set blowouts, but the Gonzalez/Soderling match could easily be a straight sets blowout in either direction.

Yeah I was thinking that too, that match has 6-0 6-4 6-2 writ all over but to whom! I have no idea. Going with Gonzo as the establishment pick.

Also, I've always been disappointed with Del Potro's showings against elite players in big moments, but maybe this is the time he pulls it together.

I know someone who's actually bet money that Del Pony will win fewer than 10 games.

oh sweta... lost the second set after choking from a 4-1 lead in the TB

AARGH.

Sweta looked like she was cruising to the win, but at *5-4 in the TB Stosur did come up with three great points out of nowhere, so credit to her for that.

Earlier in the TB there was a really awesome point with both of them at net, which Sweta won, and I really thought it was over for Stosur at that point.

Let's take bets on whether Svetlana will be able to serve this one out.

lol was just coming back here to write "wau I guess Sweta was pissed about that second set huh"

Wow, Swetlana serves out a big match!! That was actually good.

A second all-RUS final at RG on the 5th anniversary of the first :D

And the first all Russian final was certainly one of the crispest and best played grand slam finals in recent memory.

I didn't see it so I can't really comment but I do find it very hard to believe that any match with Myskina in it could be described as "crisp" (how many victories did she have where she lost at least one set to love?).

haha I think greg was joshing, it was a lamentable and cringey match which thankfully only lasted about 40 minutes, much of which were taken up by elena dementieva crying.

we're guaranteed an improvement!!! oh wait I said that in 2005 and then Henin's whipping of Pierce was even more one-sided.

lolz thank you for reaffirming what I guessed to be true

it's a fitting final, anyway - the third final of the clay season between the two. they split the first two bouts - Sweta won Stuttgart (indoor clay) 6-4 6-3, Dinara had her revenge the following week in the bigger Rome final 6-3 6-2. then Dinara won the third big warm-up in Madrid while Sweta...crashed out in her opener to A-Bond, lolz. Dinara seems to be the heavy favourite but she's visibly feeling the pressure, while as chokey as Sweta is, she is the one who's won a Slam before...but in the event that both are nervous, I def give Dinara the edge: she can camp out the baseline being a wall forever and Sweta won't know what to do. Dinara is so strong, Sweta can't bully her w/the topspin FH like she can most other people.

<3 Sweta more though...she was quizzed about her love of hip-hop in the interview, and said: "If you want to listen for some tough lyrics and never give up, you listen to No Matter What of TI, and this is unbelievable song"

i'll root for dinara only in the hopes that it drives her bro to get his shit together

Basically I have had mad love for Kuznetsova since she won the US Open.

It's irrelevant. I heard somewhere he's retiring. This week's Sports Illustrated, I believe.

xpost

you could almost think there was something in the fact that Dinara only got her shit together once Marat had fallen so far that here was no shadow to step out of any more.

Sweta's finest moment = still those CORNROWS.

Turning to the Men's for a sec I'm really hoping Fed doesn't even get to drop a set both in the semis and the final...

To be clear, the Dementieva/Myskina final was an abomination, and one of the worst matches I've seen.

I am usually better than that at detecting bald sarcasm!

Soderling still absolutely rolling against Gonzalez, wins first set 6-3.

I love the way Soderling completely covers his head with a towel in what looks like total despair at every break.

I'm not watching, but this looks like a shockingly low number of unforced errors for what I would expect is such an aggressive match.

I figure this is Soderling's Pernfors moment - three big names (in Mikael's case it was Jaite, Becker and Leconte) and then get spanked in the final. Still fancy Gonzalez to take a set though.

Or even his Gonzalez moment (the AO 06, when Gonzo was just ON FIRE and beat Nadal and Haas to reach the final)

Meanwhile, in "lol mixed doubles" news, I had no idea Vania King was playing for the title! (she didn't win but still, woot for her)

Well, fuck my hat, Gonzo back at two sets all. Wish I'd seen the arse pitch-mark cleaning incident.

Man, this is just a winner-fest on both sides. Can anybody actually watching chime in on whether this has been an entertaining match?

I'm barely watching - I have the feed on but I can't linger over it for fear I get sacked. The few points I've seen have been terrific.

oh fuck if i'd known it was gonna be this good i'd've tuned in!! didn't even look at the scores

You can't take your eye off this one (which I keep doing, for like 20min at a time) - Sod back from 1-4 to 5-4 in the 5th and now pressuring the Gonz serve!

Wow, Soderling wins 5 straight games from 1-4 down to take the match.

Should I mention Puerta here? I probably shouldn't.

I do wish these Cinderella runs would happen to journeymen that I actually like. Feels churlish to moan about Soderling but I really don't like his game, on court behaviour or...face.

lol yeah that thing growing on his face annoys me so much

DP breaks Fed in the first set

Fed saves three break points at 2-4...and the Del has a bit of a tumble. Seems OK.

noez why do they have to play a good match when i'm trying to concentrate on a) the collapse of our government b) an article i'm on deadline for c) preparing for an interview in a few hours

DP up 5-3, Fed serve

(lol is it sad that I am rooting for DP just because of his last name's initials)

BAM HE TAKES IT

wow! it's similar to the Monfils match for me, supporting Fed b/c of HISTORY but if I start watching it I'll find I actually like Del Pony more. (where "like more" = want to have sex with) (not that I'd say no to Roger) (back to watching the government collapse)

Rog rattles thru the breaker 7-2 to level. Phew.

And DP breaks at the start of the 3rd. Cripes.

Bloody hell, he's hitting like a beast. 5-2, double-break. Gotta go home now...

argh! come on roger.

6-3 6-7 6-2. At some point this guy has to start missing, right? But that's what we said about Soderling last Sunday.

not just hitting winners but some seriously lethal serving there. 13 aces to roger's 3.

WHY IS THIS NOT ON TV

This is gripping stuff! I have an hour's commute ahead of me with no web, no radio... If you know my number and you get free texts, let me know what's going on, yeah?

1-1 4th set.

a break and a hold and roger's now up 4-1!

Pony tanking now, just blasting away and saving energy - Fed's got the double break.

lol I guess Fed was mad during that set

nah - it was pretty tight until he got the break (with some GREAT play - he's not playing badly at all, though it's funny to see him go to the dropshot so much), and then held for 4-1, and then Del Pony just tanked the rest of the set.

like, in that last game he was pretty much just standing there and letting Rog ace him, or just blasting away on whatever ball without really aiming.

i..want to watch this!!!

...and now Rog breaks Pony to start the 5th!

Pony must have been playing out of his skin in the first 3 sets, especially considering their past matches. This is about how I expected the whole match to be.

kevin: http://www.atdhe.net/7049/watch-grand-slam-roland-garros

thanks!!

drop shot again!

lol and again!

i remember a few years ago he derided it as, basically, a pussy shot that you only played if you didn't know how to end the rally w/a proper winner.

ha it's funny...i recall an inteview he gave years ago in which he expressed his disdain for the drop shot as a tactic, saying it was cheap and disrupted the flow of the match or something.

ha xpost!!

omg that rally!!

pony givin him props too

whoa nice volley

I am nervous just reading this thread.

Del Pony holds after an AWESOME game, still a break down though...

...but not any more! Del Pony hits some huge returns and we're back on serve...

... for now

lol 2nd serves

couple high pressure points from pony down 15-40, now deuce at 3-all

...wow. Del Pony fights back from 0-40, only to double fault on break point. Fed *4-3.

my feed is lagging like crazy, did he just double fault to lose that?

damn

yah hes going for too much on first serve missing by a couple feet wtf 223 km/h its clay bro federror's jumpy as hell no need 4 that

ha, fed goes to the dropshot AGAIN except this time it is rubbish

5-3 fed!

is it 2 sets to 2?

yeah 5th set

holy shit

yeah thats what that first column means, iirc tennis channel does that too. i perfer the cbs model from a couple years ago where they'd show all the scores in the upper left of the screen

lol federror looks to be in pain for a couple of points looks even worse for the next two but wins them then ANOTHER double from del p

wowowow DF @ 40-30

del potro loses a 40-0 lead on his own serve, match point fed!!

match point!

Man, what a ballsy shot by Del Potro on that MP.

i tht he played that whole thing weird and then fed misses to end cmon i just want to go 2 lunch! -finish him-

there we go!

For four matches we feared and anticipated would be blowouts, we didn't do so badly. What a terrific RG this is.

i think federer comes to play sunday and takes soderling in straights

Two excellent semifinals. Great showing by DP, especially after the embarrassing blowout at the AO.

I mean, the obvious predictions would be Safina and Federer, both in straight sets, but...who knows any more!

glad DP didn't win, i only saw 2 sets, but the guy has a boring game. (and looks like a stoned surfer)

hope Soderling can do something exciting sunday, it shouldn't be too easy for Fed to get his last crown.

(and looks like a stoned surfer)

lol whenever I see him I'm always reminded of Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein monster for some reason

well now safina's broken sveta in the very first game.

lol and sveta breaks right back.

Sweta breaks to go up 5-3 and per usual, fails to serve out the set.

... and promptly breaks safina to take the set. now up 2-1 in the second.

Yikes, that was a pretty rough match. Well, congrats to Sveta.

yeah safina really crumbled at the end there. double faulting on championship pt gah.

hmm dutch commentators seem to care more about Safina. "oh we feel so sorry for her" etc. etc.

fuck that. i usually like her but dear god, safina is awful and pathetic in big matches.

steffi!

lol @ safina

LOL Safina. Glad I missed that! Happy that Sweta's not a one-Slam wonder any more, this confirms my view of her as Pierce Pt 2, right down to the five-year gap between Slams - wildly inconsistent and will never dominate the tour, but every so often catches fire and wins a big title. Only one Slam behind Sharapova, too - it'd be awesome and hilarious if Sweta ended up with a better resumé.

Can only watch two hours of the final today so hoping that Fed wraps it up quickly. So I can see HISTORY, and then turn off in disgust at the inevitable tears.

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/98/fullj.0f1802b868446d4ea4314b5650d0a6a7/0f1802b868446d4ea4314b5650d0a6a7-getty-86151674jd178_2009_french_o.jpg

Quite nervous about today - less nervous than I was about the semi, but still. Haven't done the sums but I'm assuming Fed win today = something like a 2400-pt swing away from Nadal but not nearly enough to make Fed #1. Nadal will lose further points for failing to defend at Queen's though (assuming Fed wins at Halle for a 7th straight year), setting it up nicely for a winner-takes-all SW19 final.

I can see a free-hitting Soderling running through a jittery Fed for an hour: 6-2 3-1 or something, before it starts to turn, a la Baghdatis AO final. Though I guess Sod could completely freeze today.

Fed in three sets. He's made hard work of getting there but now he's in the final and not seeing Nadal on the other side I think he'll seize the day.

The No.1 is surely a minor side-issue, right? Fed is not the player he was. I'll be surprised if ever has another year of any kind of dominance, and if he wins today +1 more Wimbledon (or not) I can see a retirement from the game.

Fed in four, I reckon. xp

The No.1 is surely a minor side-issue, right? Fed is not the player he was. I'll be surprised if ever has another year of any kind of dominance, and if he wins today +1 more Wimbledon (or not) I can see a retirement from the game.

yeah, that would be good. just retire on the spot with the Wimbledon trophy in your hand. He's going to be a dad, what else can he win etc. otherwise he might play for 3 year more years, struggle to a couple of slam semi's maybe a final or two.. but it isn't worth the trouble, i'd say.

as for today, Fed in 4 sets, Sod is going to take one set in a tie-break.

I really wish I knew why it was the case but I have so much less problem with Federer's run as a dominant player than I had with Sampras's. And I don't hate Sampras!

It's because Sampras was a huge cock.

Fed comfy on his way to a fast 6-0 first set here.

if this will be a 6-0 6-2 6-1 thing it'll be just like Ferrero - Verkerk, where Verkerk had played super throughout the tournament and then fail hopelessly in the end.

steamroll ahead

Federer is playing so well right now.

holy shit wtf is going on?

some clown ran on court waving a flag and got shockingly close to federer - looked like he was trying to put the flag over his head?? that dude needs shooting. luckily fed doesn't seem affected by it.

that was scary yo. fed looked a little unnerved there but recovered quickly enough.

oh man i hope this drizzle doesn't get any heavier.

Come on Fed!

Missed the first hour but returned in time to see a ridiculously well-executed tie-break. 6-2 3rd set, I reckon.

(Fatherhood changes everything - I had no idea it was due during Wimbledon fortnight, jeez that's bad planning - but I figured he'd stick around and have a go at one more Olympics, seeing as it's SW19 and all. But perhaps not with a kid around. 15 Slams and the #1 ranking plus a baby - you wouldn't fancy the North American hardcourt season much, would you?)

i read that the baby was due in the post-wimbledon downtime...

come on fed, close this quickly. i need to leave the house in 45 minutes and tbh i care more about seeing his reaction than any more tennis.

what... i thought his baby was due in August? xp

Fed to serve for the match, and to be the Undisputed GOAT...

OMG chokey drive volley to give Soderling BP.

Didn't need to hit so huge on those two points but Sod lets him off... Back to deuce. MATCH POINT.

Get in!!!

WIN! And tears before he even gets to the net.

YAY!

Uh-oh - getting legend ex-champ to present trophy = probable floods from Rog.

oh he's totally gonna bawl

The No.1 is surely a minor side-issue, right? Fed is not the player he was. I'll be surprised if ever has another year of any kind of dominance, and if he wins today +1 more Wimbledon (or not) I can see a retirement from the game.

He's made something like 18 grand slam semis in a row, and has won 5 US Opens in a row. With Nadal seemingly on the decline, I don't see why a handful of slam titles aren't in Federer's future.

how is Nadal on the decline?? one surprise early exit, which had to happen someday...he's still won more tournaments than anyone else this year. it's federer who isn't just on the decline, he HAS declined and he now needs some real breaks to win any tournament. which may well happen at 1-2 more slams.

he's taking off queen's club because of "knee problems" and is "hopeful" that he can play Wimbledon. This after the aforementioned early exit and losing to Fed in Madrid.

Looking ominous.

i don't see federer retiring too early. he loves the game too much and i imagine he'll keep playing as long as he stays fit. another couple of years at least. and while i don't think he was ready to let go of his no. 1 ranking last year, now that he's won the french and tied sampras' record, going back to no. 1 prob isn't as important anymore.

as for rafa, we don't know how serious that knee injury is - it's too early to call it any kind of decline anyway. he could take two weeks off to rest and come back fitter than ever or it could set him back the rest of the year. we'll see.

I really wish I knew why it was the case but I have so much less problem with Federer's run as a dominant player than I had with Sampras's. And I don't hate Sampras!

maybe there were many more alternate players you liked in the Sampras era?

Mm possibly but few names stand out beyond Agassi. Because I sure as hell couldn't give a care about Jim Courier, say.

as a serve-and-volleyer myself i look up to sampras like crazy, hate it when ppl hate on him

He's made something like 18 grand slam semis in a row

20 to be exact.

Always half-suspected that Nadal would burn out fairly early on - these teenage prodigies doesn't necessarily just keep on winning. Becker had four Slams by the age of 21 and was apparently ready to dominate the '90s but it took him the rest of his career to win another two and he only ever spent 12 weeks as #1. Nadal has obviously already surpassed that but I do wonder whether he can sustain this.

Really, I just want to see them both near the top of their game for another couple of years.

It's way premature to start talking about decline and burn-out over a knee injury which "may" take, what, a month to heal? A few weeks out ≠ a major injury. Of course, it could well be more serious - we don't know the details - but people have been predicting that Nadal's body won't hold up with his style of play for years now, and yet he's barely suffered more than a few minor niggles over the years.

I seriously can't remember who my favourite Sampras-era player was. Possibly that grumpy money-loving contrarian Kafelnikov. Loved Guga, too.

Roll of honour!

Men's singles: Roger Federer
Women's singles: Svetlana Kuznetsova
Men's doubles: Lukas Dlouhy & Leander Paes
Women's doubles: Anabel Medina Garrigues & Virginia Ruano Pascual
Mixed doubles: Bob Bryan & Liezel Huber
Boys' singles: Daniel Berta
Girls' singles: Kristina Mladenovic
Boys' doubles: Marin Draganja & Dino Marcan
Girls' doubles: Elena Bogdan & Noppawan Lertcheewakarn

*home winner in the girls' singles! Mladenovic was wildcarded into both the AO and RG senior main draws, too, and took a set off Schnyder at the AO and Rybarikova here. Looks like she has a good future ahead of her.

but people have been predicting that Nadal's body won't hold up with his style of play for years now, and yet he's barely suffered more than a few minor niggles over the years[

also Nadal seems talented enough to adopt some other game-plan and still do well. as for his injury, if it is any serious (and I was Nadal) i'd consider focusing on the hardcourt season and win the US Open, that would make 2 players complete the quartet in a year.

New rankings -

1. Dinara Safina (1)
2. Serena Williams (2)
3. Venus Williams (3)
4. Elena Dementieva (4)
5. Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
6. Jelena Jankovic (5)
7. Vera Zvonareva (6)
8. Victoria Azarenka (9)
9. Caroline Wozniacki (10)
10. Nadia Petrova (11)
11. Agnieszka Radwanska (12)
12. Marion Bartoli (13)
13. Ana Ivanovic (8)
14. Dominika Cibulkova (19)
15. Flavia Pennetta (14)
16. Jie Zheng (15)
17. Amélie Mauresmo (16)
18. Samantha Stosur (32)
19. Anabel Medina Garrigues (20)
20. Na Li (25)
21. Patty Schnyder (17)
22. Alizé Cornet (21)
23. Aleksandra Wozniak (24)
24. Kaia Kanepi (18)
25. Virginie Razzano (36)
26. Alisa Kleybanova (23)
27. Sorana Cirstea (41)
28. Sybille Bammer (29)
29. Agnes Szavay (31)
30. Alona Bondarenko (28)
...
73. Maria Sharapova (102)
...
90. Michelle Larcher de Brito (132)

men's -

1. Rafael Nadal (1)
2. Roger Federer (2)
3. Andy Murray (3)
4. Novak Djokovic (4)
5. Juan Martin Del Potro (5)
6. Andy Roddick (6)
7. Gilles Simon (7)
8. Fernando Verdasco (8)
9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9)
10. Fernando González (12)
11. Nikolay Davydenko (11)
12. Robin Soderling (25)
13. Marin Cilic (13)
14. Gaël Monfils (10)
15. Tommy Robredo (17)
16. James Blake (16)
17. David Nalbandian (15)
18. David Ferrer (14)
19. Stanislas Wawrinka (18)
20. Richard Gasquet (21)
21. Tomas Berdych (20)
22. Radek Stepanek (19)
23. Marat Safin (22)
24. Philipp Kohlschreiber (31)
25. Mardy Fish (24)
26. Igor Andreev (27)
27. Dmitry Tursunov (23)
28. Jürgen Melzer (26)
29. Ivo Karlovic (28)
30. Feliciano López (30)

My favorite Sampras-era player was Agassi; also Michael Chang if he counts as the same era.

I want Fed to just go on and on. The persistent criticism of his achievements (usually from Sampras fans) is that he's won the lion's share of his Slams against fairly weak opposition (Baggy, Scud, Gonzo, a 35-y-o Agassi, etc).

The argument is usually along the lines that Sampras's immediate contemporaries (Agassi/Courier/Chang/Rafter) were of a much higher calibre than Fed's (Hewitt/Roddick/Safin...) and the half-generation preceding (Edberg/Wilander/Becker/etc) were much better than the crop of players born in the mid-'70s than were in the ascendant when Rog turned pro (er, Henman/Rios/Moya/Kafelnikov?). The counter to that is that the half-generation after Roger are very, very good indeed (Murray/Djokovic/Nadal) and Sampras didn't have such young whippersnappers wrecking his title campaigns in his late 20s.

I don't think this line of thinking holds much water but, just to be sure, I'd be glad to see Roger regain #1 for a spell and win at least 3-4 more Slams right in the heart of the Rafa/Nole/Andy era. Just to really rub it in.

That pro-Sampras argument can be hoist on its own petard...because the bulk of Sampras's Slams came at Wimbledon in an era when there were, frankly, no champion-quality grass courters on the tour. The mid to late 90s, after Edberg had retired and Becker was elderly/retired, and Sampras racked up like 9580503 Wimbledons. I mean, who was there? Agassi was dropping in and out of the game back then, and wasn't a grass expert anyway. Rafter only came into his own right at the end of his career, and I'd hardly call him a potentially dominant champion. Ivanisevic was a one-dimensional flake. The other men of Slam-winning calibre - Kuerten, Moya, Kafelnikov - were non-factors on grass. Who else was there? Henman, Martin, Pioline? LOL. Yeah, Sampras's era was SO much better than Fed's!!!

Plus, it's a natural corollary of anyone being as dominant as Fed that their contemporaries' resumés will suffer, because there are just fewer Slam titles to go round. If one man is winning so many, then the others...will be winning less. I don't see Hewitt/Roddick/Safin as any less talented than Courier/Chang/Kafelnikov (and tbh their accomplishments are pretty equal anyway).

Really, the only possible argument against Fed being the GOAT is the "how can he be GOAT when he isn't even the greatest of his own era" re: Nadal, and that will only hold water if Nadal goes on to win 14+ Slams...their h2h isn't nearly as lopsided as it's made out to be, and Nadal's lead is very much to due to over half their matches being played on clay.

also due to the fact that federer is much older than rafa!! nadal started his ascent just as federer began to plateau

Lex: Dead right. I've seen the pro-Sampras argument chase its own tail a few times on tennis boards..."LOL, Fed struggled to beat an ancient Agassi...but Sampras had to contend with legends like Lendl and McEnroe early in his career." And they were 23 or something, were they?

also due to the fact that federer is much older than rafa!

Well, it's only five years' difference and if you're the GOAT then you should be able to hold your own for a bit in your middle years rather than just capitulate as soon as the new guard appear. It didn't look good when he lost five in a row to RN (and started losing more often than not to Murray and Djokovic too) but he may be in for a better spell against the kids of '86-'87. Who is in the next wave?

not all of them are from 86-87 but i guess now there's del potro, monfils, tsonga, cilic and simon. plus gulbis ('88), who is quite possibly the most naturally talented player i've seen in ages but bit of a mental weakling. might get better once he gets older tho.

really i think fed's more than held his own so far - 20 slam semis in a row, and 15 out of 16 consecutive finals is pretty fucking unimaginable to me. i don't see Nadal (or anyone else) repeating this particular feat at all anytime soon, even if Fed retires right now.

yeah Gulbis is so talented - word is that he's not as motivated though, he comes from a v wealthy family. I definitely consider Del Potro and Tsonga as being on the brink of the elite, just a level beneath the Big Four.

the 15/16 finals is incredible - for all that Djokovic and Murray have been beating Fed more and more in tour events...they're not even close to bringing that sort of form to the Slams yet.

Before the final I wrote elsewhere - if Rog does win this...what will he be like afterwards! Still feeling the pressure of trying to beat, rather than just tie, the record? (Even though with the Full House there'd be no doubt that he's the GOAT.) Re-imbued with his old JesusFed confidence? Relaxes too much at finally fulfilling his destiny and starts losing earlier and earlier (Dad mode rather than God mode)?

Now...I think the first option is least likely. This title was the hump, he's over it now, everything from here on in is icing. I'd guess that he has a spell of God mode as afterglow, maybe even coasts to Wimbledon with Rafa out/injured, but give it another year and things might start slipping. Doubt he'll consider retiring until after the 2012 Olympics though.

Arguably the 'goal' if he still has one to drive for would be 20, I guess.

yeah, i was jut thinking that the only question worth contemplating is not whether he's GOAT, but just how many slam titles he'll have when he retires. i'd say 16 as a minimum, maybe 20 as a max? (if he stays healthy etc.)

I say...17! Wimbledon this year to make 15, picks one up next year, then enters a drought as he declines properly and Djokovic/Murray improve even more, then picks one up at the end of his career like Sampras did. the question for me is, does he get the Olympic singles gold medal? It'll be played at Wimbledon in 2012...

I don't think Djokovic/Murray are gonna be the guys who do it.

I would think he would be pushed now to try to reach Sampras' 7 wimbledon titles.

Djokovic said his goal for this year was to "maintain his ranking, maybe pass Andy." That says a lot about Novak.

have to say that fed still seems scarily fit as hell. his serve failing him + less accuracy in general seem to be his biggest problems these days but his usual power, speed and stamina are all there. I mean he played so many four/five set matches in this French Open yet didn't seem tired at all after any of them whereas someone like novak esp. seems really susceptible to fatigue.

i dont think novak will really challenge for the #1 - hes not mentally there and yah he seems to tire easily. hes a threat but imo he just doesnt have what it takes to really fuck w/ fed or nadal long term

a cop out but i think that predicting fed's total # of slams is impossible simply because its seems impossible to predict how he plays in any given tournament. physically he still has an amazing game and tactically i dont think anyone can outplay him but i still remember him just breaking down in miami this year - total wtf. and both of his wins this year are on clay so he still has it in him to be really dominant again, i think, he beat nadal in spain! but really i dont see it mentally.