ROLAND GARROS 2010

It begins! Today! I can never get used to these Sunday starts. Men's draw, women's draw. The latter will provide scope for hilarity even beyond the default comedy of the WTA Tour in 2010 (your champions of the two big clay warm-ups: Martinez Sanchez and Rezai!), with a totally stacked top quarter and then a bottom half that is going to completely collapse. In the meantime, Henin gets Sharapova in the 3R and Silliams in the QF.

1R matches of note -

Murray vs. Gasquet, obviously. Better than you'd think for Murray given that Gasquet is a wimp who can fold under home pressure, and with his surprise title last week is actually being expected to pull off the upset. But Murray's been in such mediocre form that I'll take Gasquet there.
V.Williams vs. Schnyder - actually, more to point out that this probably won't be a good match or an upset - for some reason Schnyder's game is very effective against Serena on clay, but harmless against Venus.
Kuznetsova vs. Cirstea - last year's champ against last year's QFist, both in shockingly poor form right now. Whoever wins will lose to Petkovic in the next round.
Rezai vs. El Tabakh - Caravane's probably the biggest French hope after her Madrid title, El Tabakh represented Egypt when she first began playing before switching to Canada, so a rare all-Muslim WTA match.

and predictions -

Men's - 4R:

Federer d. Monfils
Gulbis d. Montanes
Gasquet d. Isner
Tsonga d. Youzhny
Ferrer d. Monaco
Djokovic d. Starace
Verdasco d. Almagro
Nadal d. Bellucci

QF:

Gulbis d. Federer
Tsonga d. Gasquet
Ferrer d. Djokovic
Nadal d. Verdasco

SF:

Gulbis d. Tsonga
Nadal d. Ferrer

F: Nadal d. Gulbis

Women's - 4R:

S.Williams d. Peer
Henin d. Stosur
Jankovic d. Bammer
Zvonareva d. Radwanska
Petkovic d. Kvitova
Safarova d. Dulgheru
Martinez Sanchez d. Dementieva
Petrova d. Cibulkova

QF:

Henin d. S.Williams
Jankovic d. Zvonareva
Safarova d. Petkovic
Martinez Sanchez d. Petrova

SF:

Henin d. Jankovic
Martinez Sanchez d. Safarova

F: Henin d. Martinez Sanchez

Literally cannot believe I've just pencilled MJMS into a Slam final.

LOLZ at Cirstea taking out Kuznetsova right now! Cirstea has actually looked a litttttle better after hiring former Azarenka/short-time Zvonareva coach van Grichen. At least I hope so, because I always enjoyed her good days when rocket fast backhands came out of nowhere.

I held Henin as my favorite until I penned down the semis and saw "Jankovic vs Henin"... something about it told me that Jankovic would win that match, and eventually the title. When she's great she's great and maybe she's great here. The draw isn't bad until the 4th round.

Gulbis has looked better, but it'd be typical him if he just failed completely here.

I think someone really lit a fire under Gulbis's ass this off-season. He's been playing consistently at a top 20, maybe top 10 level after the disaster of last year, he's getting lots of milestones in.

Jankovic played amazingly against Justine in Stuttgart and still couldn't win.And I think it's a bit too telling that she's considered to have had a strong clay season so far, yet hasn't picked up a title yet.

This always happens to Sweta the year after she wins a Slam. Success with her is a harbinger of nothing except a guaranteed slump.

Looks like she got her shit together to beat Cirsty now.. Also looks like funny girl Petkovic is losing to Vesnina : \\\\

Cirstea is so bad. 3-0 up, then loses nine games in a row, both of the last two from 40-0 up. Exhibit A in why the ability to hit nice shots is really not synonymous with the ability to win matches.

Just watching Soderling v Recouderc on the BBC website - Robin making mincemeat out of the poor dude as expected.

Watching Azarenka and Dulko slugging it out... Dulko unsurprisingly taking the lead in an aggressive manner. But rest assured, if she wins this match she'll find her poor form back at a later stage.

delurking after many weeks just for this thread.

lack of Delpo this year is really depressing me.

on the other hand, GULBIS! <3 I think he's as likely to get to the final as he is to go out in the first round though (he's playing Benneteau, one of the few Frenchmen who actually tends to do better in front of a home crowd).

Azarenka is getting lots of serves in, but for what? Also, SHUT UP. Dulko = hott!

I mean, Dulko is just hitting the ball safely up and moderately deep, waiting for Azarenka to go wide or, more recently, long. Working well. Women's tennis.

Or long AND wide, like that FH!

Rezai's outfit is awesome.

Literally cannot believe I've just pencilled MJMS into a Slam final.

And now you pay the price.

lol and now gulbis is about to go down 2 sets to love. oh dear.

lex your prediction-o-meter needs tuning.

aw Ernie.

sigh.

go me and my predictions, both surprise finalists out at the first hurdle! due to INJURY, I hasten to add - Ernie retired and apparently MJMS hurt her neck in the warm-up, which is sort of the death knell to a serve-volleyer.

Caravane was SCARY good against ex-Egyptian El Tabakh - I was really tempted to pencil her into the final, with her form as stellar as it's been recently. But I don't trust her to keep it up against someone like Petrova, who for all her faults is steady and experienced, and has a much better serve. Hope she does though, I love me some Caravane - every win of hers is a big "fuck you" to the French Tennis Federation, and she's still wearing that amazing gold lamé/black lace confection that is Nicki Minaj's idea of a tennis dress. Superb trashion sense <3

Flicked over from WozDEN v Praise Alla because it was boring and, ah, such a relief to see Li Na's gorgeous, flat, speedy shots.

Mladovic as well, both of them hit speedy shots, and Mladovic can run. She's too young to beat Na now, but only just, and it's obvious she's left the juniors behind and will start climbing the rankings quickly.

The only time I saw Mladenovic play was in the Wimbledon junior final against Lertcheewakarn - she didn't really impress me, she had a ton of power but her strokes didn't seem stable, they were awkward, kinda like Vakulenko's used to be.

What in the hell is Peter Luczak wearing? It's a white shirt which is yellow on the leftmost extremities of the garment. He looks like a badly-designed website from 1997. Well, he's playing Federer so he won't be out there long, though he hasn't been broken yet. All in time...

Murray v Gasquet is a great match! If you can catch it, Gasquet's backhand return on Murray's first game point serving at 2-3 in the second is possibly the finest backhand return.. EVER! Actually!

Listening to it now - sounds like Gasquet is playing batshit shots and pulling them off somehow.

Yep. THat's pretty much it. Serving quite well too. Murray is not playing badly at all, in fact, some of his drop shots are pretty artful and gorgeous. He's just not breaking through.

V frustrating not being able to watch at work! Awesomely though I will have quit my job by 2nd week of Wimbledon <--- hurrah

Gonna watch that now, been watching Nishikori's heroic win from two sets down over Giraldo, who is super-fit (in the, uh, fitness sense rather than hotness) and a bit of a ball-basher - so good to see Kei back on court. Love his jumping BH.

BTW, Sweta is live-tweeting the Gasquet match in her inimitable style.

Backhand of Richard is just stuning pfffff
19 minutes ago via web

i think Richard has much more confidence as he won last week!you can see that!And Andy didnt play many matches,this guys are so talanted
12 minutes ago via web

guys i m not terrible just want to watch nice tennis! many players strugle now and we dont see many good matches! Amelie is doing the match
10 minutes ago via web

on french tv!i would like to understad but i gotta learn french first!
10 minutes ago via web

Ivanovic winning her match, but her serve is back to being atrocious. Urgh.

filthy!

http://twitter.com/justingimelstob/status/14629761826

Richard Gasquet's backhand is so filthy it is ridiculous! #fb
18 minutes ago via web
justingimelstob
Justin Gimelstob

Oh dear, Murray 2 sets and a break down!

...but has broken twice and is now serving for the third set! Gasquet double faulted on break point in that last game, sigh.

...lol, and was broken serving for the set.

wtf!

lol men's tennis

BBC says Murray's 1st serve is about 45% - Gasquet's can't be much better for this set.

57%

Murray breaks and takes 3rd

Feeling sorry for Gasquet here - such lovely tennis, and if he goes now...

lol men's tennis

as men's matches go, this was always one of the more womanly first-rounders

Wussquet barely trying in that service game. He's going to retire before the match is out; another entry into the annals of wimpiness that comprise his career. Such a waste of talent.

boo, Gasquet now looking happy to stand around and lose.

That last game wasn't bad for Gasquet -- had a break point (probably as much to do with Murray's attitude) -- but they guy can't move.

"Can't move"?

Dude is a pro athlete playing a grand fucking slam. Unless your actual leg has broken, fucking MOVE.

this match is done

He is quite clearly struggling to move consistently around the court to take part in rally after rally to any great effect...

How many stupid lobs has Murray done now?

Dude is a pro athlete playing a grand fucking slam. Unless your actual leg has broken, fucking MOVE.

would seriously condone a position for Lex at the LTA :D

there's been some good tennis, Murray's got iceman qualities, forces the error - Gasquet's a lot more explosive, volatile

'Murray a game away from a fine victory' er...

Says so much about Wussquet that coming back to find he didn't actually quit means he surpassed expectations. No physical/injury excuses, please, spare me. He lost this match because he's a weak-minded loser, something that pretty much characterises his career. Up two sets and a break, playing absolutely sparkling tennis over a high-seeded but slumping opponent, having just come off a tournament win. The perfect opportunity to regain a bit of status playing at your home Slam. And for the 9483833th time we wuss out. Even the prime exponents of Women's Tennis are mentally stronger than Richard.

Whereas Murray could've easily zoned out at that point - it wouldn't be a bad loss, most were predicting it, this isn't a Slam he's in a position to win, even then he'd have to play 2 1/2 more sets in scorching heat to win - why not just call it quits and look ahead to grass and hard courts? The fact that he didn't actually does make it a fine victory.

That, I guess, is the difference between someone who's taken seriously as a Slam threat despite not having done it yet, and someone who people feel able to mock despite his talent. As a former cheerleader of his, I have to say actively mocking Gasquet is a ton more fun than cheering for him, and I look forward to doing it at Wimbledon too :D

Even SWETA is mocking him! http://twitter.com/SvetlanaK27/status/14635023474

A lot of what you say is based on Gasquet on tour, which I don't really follow. But I'm also prepared to believe that a stretched Gasquet (who had just won a tournament) might have 'run out of gass', but who also might have had an injury. He did look inhibited. No Gasquet fan or anything, so I'm only going on what it appears from what I saw of the match.

You could read into Gasquet not wanting to quit in other ways -- that he was disappointed that the body gave way when he was so close, so perhaps he wanted it to somehow click it into place and make a final charge. That he was trying to play through the pain.

Murray was nearly giving up at that 3rd set, just before the injury happened, looking like a player who was beaten after two great sets (no criticism, he was throwing everything at Gasquet, and probably giving a 'not my day' vibe out there).

Any disappointment at Gasquet's supposed feeble-mindedness and his failure to transform his talent into titles is pretty much completely offset for me by his Wimb QF vs Roddick in 2007. That one match is enough as far as I'm concerned. He might as well be Peter Doohan.

That was an amazing match. People genuinely thought he'd changed after that! LOL.

Murray did look like he'd just about given up, but he fought through a couple of really key points to keep it close.

Gasquet won a tournament in Nice on Saturday. Closing out a three-set match in which one is dominating on the Monday should not be beyond the physical capabilities of a pro athlete, whether prone to psychosomatic "injuries" or not. Remember when Murray would die after two-and-a-half sets? Now he looks like he could go another couple with ease. It's called the gym, Richard.

It's the fact that he's SO TALENTED that makes him even more pathetic, really. It's not like he can't close out matches because his game is lacking..

Oh, LOL. Apparently Gasquet has now blown a two sets lead in four of his past five Slams. Truly pathetic.

Bepa won her 1R so quickly I didn't realise she was playing. That's the way to go! She has a good shot at the QF vs Jankovic - they played some GREAT matches at the end of 08.

I have a weird feeling that Parra Santonja actually has a good chance against Venus in the next round.

MRS. KRUMM JUST WON THE SECOND SET AGAINST SAFINA! This would be sweet if she could win.

She was actually looking down and out at 3-6, 2-4 - she kept setting up points perfectly only to fluff the putaway, she must be a tour leader in that, beautiful rallies ending in error error error every time. Which was a shame, as Dinara was fairly useless. And then Dinara got even more useless - DFs everywhere - and Mrs. Krumm won four games in a row.

Also: Roddick two sets to one down vs Nieminen.

Christ, Lex ou aren't kidding. Krumm's spraying ludicrous UEs all over the shop and even if Safina's serve is at, what, 10% or something, no impact!

Krumm just keeps making errors, Safina just keeps double faulting.

Is Nieminen really an underdog against Roddick on clay, even with them being relatively fast clay courts? Stupid commentators!

Nieminen hasn't been ATP level on any surface for over a year now, probably longer. Thought Schwank would take Roddick out in the 2R.

Yeah, but Roddick on clay! He's not even top 50 on clay.

Let me have my wishful thinking, even if he won't go much further.

That's what I said, Nieminen hasn't been top 100 anywhere for ages! I'm surprised he's winning tbh, even despite Roddick's lack of clay warm-ups.

Hello, set point for Dick here.

Not sure I actually want him to go out so early. All that additional prep for the grass-court season! Nein danke.

Ah, but fewer points = shiter seeding at Wimbledon, esp if he falls to 9 and would thus have to to get through EVERYONE to win.. (is this possible).

or would they just bump his seeding up anyway

Oh god, this match. Krumm literally threw the game at *1-3 away from 40-15 up with (another) missed putaway and DF. So Safina responded in kind with her 13th, 14th and 15th DFs of the match.

I don't think Roddick can fall to 9, especially with KING KOLYA and Del Pony missing in action and likely to miss Wimbledon too.

86 unforced errors between Safina and Krumm.

Ah yes, I always forget that "pulls out of French with major injury" extends into Wimbledon too :(

To be fair, this is not really an outlandishly large number for a game involving rubbish Safina and someone she should be beating.

Also: note to WTA: enough fuchsia already.

it leaves us breathing like the drowning man

also if Date Krumm beats Safina I am going to do a jig

another DF on break point from Safina lolllll

Ok. This is... women's tennis to infinity. Safina double faults to lose her break. Date played some great returns in that game (inc. a very fluky one that was surely a misfire and bounced on top of the net and died) but also some howlers - OVER THE NET, Kimiko - and probably won't hold her serve again.

Yeah, they're not going to seed the guy who lost 16-14 in the 5th in last year's final outside the top 8 in SW19; do they still use their (semi-secret?) grass-court rankings? I don't actually think it matters much whether Roddick gets 10 days' prep for Queen's Club or 5 days'; he fires up that first serve on the smooth green stuff and blunderbusses his way through the first few rounds anyway.

4-4 Saffy-Date!

Rod-Nie into the decider.

also if Date Krumm beats Safina I am going to do a jig

seriously it'd be so sweet

5-4 DATE!

oh please let Safina be Safina

Krumm held! Safina will - commence laughter track - serve to stay in the match. DOUBLE FAULTS PLEASE.

Remember when Dinara was No 1 in the world this time last year?

15-30...

Hey, we're cheering for a Russian to choke! FEELS GOOD.

Are you guys managing to see any of this via the BBC site? Cos I'm getting "this content doesn't appear to be working". Which is just as well, cos if I had that up this employee wouldn't appear to be working either.

aw

mike - http://livescorehunter.com/Livescores/Livescore-Tennis.html

I remember very clearly this time last year, Dinara pummeled the opposition in several rounds and I said "this time she's gonna win it".

Good hold - what a gorgeous thing are those whipped crosscourt forehands!

And now she's 5-6 down in the third to a 40-year-old who is controlling every point (admittedly mostly into a tree at 100mph) except Safina's own plentiful double faults.

0-30! c'mon Kimiko...

0-40! yes!

zomg

jig commences NOW

Well, bugger me.

can't, too busy jigging

Roddick up a break in the fifth, that'll harshen your buzz.

Well, not Dan's. But Mike's.

lololol

haha I was just about to post something along those lines

jig jig jig jig

DANCE DANCE DANCE

that was amazing - Kimiko looked SO happy at the end! First Slam win of her comeback!

17 DFs! You're useless, Safina. Oh god, she's gonna drop a lot of points. And about time! (You're next, Wozniacki.)

You guys quick, look at Kimiko's wikipedia page.

Some Safina fan = not happy

holy shit

Missed the Kimiko Wiki hack, it's normal now.

I think Wozniacki will reach the semis of this tournament.

what was it? i didn't see it, the Krumm fans must be swift...

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kimiko_Date_Krumm&oldid=364115139

not cool

better than being a passive bitch with no heart or indeed brain, I guess!

haha true

Check the history, Lex. xp

Terrific stuff. Seriously, I can't believe the player I saw lose to Graf in weather-induced circumstances in Wimb SF FOURTEEN YEARS AGO could possibly do this in 2010.

Nadal is now palying a cute French boy. Nice.

The french crowd getting their boos on against Nadal BEFORE the match begins. Took to long to greet the umpire and opponent for the impatient french.

I think Wozniacki will reach the semis of this tournament.

depends how injured she really is - she's definitely the new Clijsters when it comes to claiming career-threatening injuries every few weeks only to rise from her deathbed and 6-0 6-2 herself all the way to Slam finals. though even if she's fully fit, any of Dulgheru, Safarova, Pennetta or Li should beat her.

"Reminds me of Gael Monfils" - i.e he's black. Well done.

Roddick through but the Date Krumm result sweetens that. I can see him making the last 16 now (Lex's favoured Schwank is losing, I see).

guys, if Sharapova also loses I might actually achieve orbit

No way.. I want her to meet Henin and go out there. Well I don't want her to go out at all, but I was overjoyed that she could meet a favourite early on and not suffer a humiliating defeat to some random traveller.

Pervak is an amazing name.

Sadly it doesn't look like Sharapova will lose here but I'll be sanguine with that, her career as a Slam winner seems pretty much done at this point and if Henin whips her in the third that'll be satisfaction enough.

Talking of random travellers that Sharapova's lost to in Slams, that "Melanie Oudin is the future of US tennis" story really isn't working out too well, is it.

Hating Sharapova is pretty despicable tbh.

Oudin has a bright career ahead of her as a perennial US/AUS Open quarterfinalist.

Half-decent match by Masha. Shoddy start, then got her shit together. Good serving first set, so-so second. Safer groundstrokes than the last couple of grand slams, but still not exactly a master of clay footwork. Won all her dropshot attempts (!!), although some were less pretty than others.

At this point in 2010, Oudin will probably take just making a Slam second round.

I've hated Sharapova since 2004 :D I supported her as a junior and up-and-comer, then she won Wimbledon and the shrieks, both from her and her hype machine, swiftly became intolerable.

Liking someone 'till they become famous then saying you hate them. A very indie attitude that.

Hating Sharapova is pretty despicable tbh.

― abcfsk, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 19:02 (2 hours ago)

what

Sharapova doesn't seem so bad when you have Azarenka picking up the shriek slack during the former's injury. Except she's out, so.. RE-AIM KNIVES!

I don't know how you can hate anyone with that on-court attitude! Not sure about the "hype", Sharapova's blonde and tall so she gets a lot of money, mainstream coverage and deals, but tennis pundits have always been more prone to dismiss her talent or athleticism than give her credit for what she's done. I don't know.. I love her sfm sfm

Trying to corner Lex into an "aha! you are indie about tennis" admission is fruitless - even he admits he is a tennis rockist and indie as fuck about it.

I think Sharapova fatigue isn't even her fault. If she were playing great and winning against lots of other talented players, she'd look better. But all those "fighting spirit" wins in the face of some (not quite Safina-level) sub-par play were real grinds. And her Wimbledon win was amazing.

The brutality of her straight sets '08 AO win was so beautiful it brought a tear to my eye (no joke).

Anyway, not too many BIG matches tomorrow. Perhaps the italian duel on court 2 and PERHAPS Dementieva vs Medina Garrigues. Mayer vs Benneteau should get the crowd going.

Rezai hits beautifully, but her movement isn't of the same caliber.

Meanwhile - hell yes, Petko! Good start.

This is great, I'm watching RG streaming from a French channel's website and a few minutes ago, they weren't showing any games because of the rain. So the camera was on the set where unknowing Tatiana Golovin is seated (she is one of the anchors). in the past few minutes, I've seen her singing, clapping distractedly at god knows what, laughing her head off to something some one else said, readjust her dress etc. It was really cute.

oh, women's etc.

Jesus the nerves got to Andrea in a major way.

OH DEAR.

Quoth an AP report on Petkovic's 1R match:

Petkovic beat Elena Vesnina of Russia 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 Sunday, collecting herself after letting a 5-1 lead in the third set shrink to 5-4, a development the German described in the frankest terms.

Said Petkovic: “It was hard-core choking.”

Well, at least she's self-aware.

Also what the hell, Jeepers Scheepers, who I remember seeing in Challenger draws when I first started following them a DECADE ago and who in that decade has never come close to breaking into the top 100, is a break up in the third against useless Dulko?

What price an Amanmuradova/Scheepers match for a place in the last 16?

Fml i don't need to watch the ending of this match. no more tennis today

What price an Amanmuradova/Scheepers match for a place in the last 16?

Ay ya ya it's on.

As for Petkovic, she saves MPs at 2-5 and 3-5 in the third, then at *4-5 gets broken o_0

Fuck me to both of those tidbits.. I can't say I trust Kirilenko to be strong enough in the head to take down Kuznetsova in the 3rd either.

I hope not! But you just know all of this is leading inexorably to, like, a Kirilenko/Petrova SF, then Petrova wins 10 points in the final.

Oh dear, you just reminded me that someone from the bottom half HAS to end up in the final. No, Dementieva and Venus are the only two acceptable choices.

Andrea Petkovic is amazing, part 9493744:

andreapetkovic

I want to kill myself!But first I will kill @SvetlanaK27 - now get the title, girl. Going to the Louvre now to get some culture in the head.
half a minute ago via web

She is brilliant!

http://www.andreapetkovic.de/media/videos

man, she is awesome

Oh dear, I glanced at the scoreboard at Ivanovic was 2-0 up. Then I glanced again after what felt like about 15 minutes and Kleybanova had won 6-3 6-0.

OMG Bepa you utter idiot.

Groth vs. Rodionova in a battle of the fake Aussies for a 4R place now.

also, you can always rely on the French girls for catfights <3

Q. Yesterday Marion Bartoli, after she finished her match, she showed some jealousy against you and the interest we, the press, have for you instead of her. What do you think about it?

ARAVANE REZAI: Well, Marion is a difficult girl. She already attacked me two years ago when I reached the final in Istanbul. So it's a bit strange she says that, because okay, if she has a problem with me, I don't know, because I did nothing. That's a bit of a shame, but that's her education. I mean, she attacked me many times in the press. I don't have the same education as the one she has. I think I have respect for players. I do what I have to do. I get on with many people. But with Marion, it's very difficult. She has difficulties getting included with the other girls.
But it's a shame she says that, because I'm a French player, just like her. So that kind of behavior is a bit of a shame, because I never had any bad behavior towards her. I always showed respect for the other players, and I think players that deserve to be spoken about in the media, well, it's because they deserve it.
But today I'm on the Fed Cup team, I'm part of many things. I try and get included to many things, and if she's not happy, she is not that much in the media. I guess she has to make efforts just like I did. Then she has to see what she wants to say.

I watched the first set of that Ivanovic match, and actually she wasn't that bad. Kleybanova made use of all the tools she had and her shots hit the line rather than outside of it.

Rezai's been 'on a roll' lately, it's not many interviews ago she did the "as a person she's horrible, as a player ok" thing about Jankovic. And today Ivanovic joined in:

#Ivanovic on Jankovic' mocking fist pump few wks ago. First she said she wouldn't comment, then "sports don't build character, it shows it."

Have they asked the WTA players to be bitchy again since they can't play tennis all that well any more?

Talking of bad tennis, Gael Force totally gave away the end of his epic match with Fognini. Just pushing pathetically, tapping even the shortest, slowest balls right back at Fabio.

"but that's her education" is oddly ice cold yet still hilarious as an insult

so what's going on in that murray match?

Maria wasting a volley opportunity and then serve & volleying the very next point.. THAT's the spirit. Otherwise a pretty solid set - 74% first serves. 6-3 for both Henin and Masha, then.

Sad to watch Ivanovic yesterday..

h8 it when i notice a match at 6-6 in the 5th and get excited about tuning in, then i realise it's ljubicic vs fish and i'd actually rather just do some work than watch either

hope CAKE has said something bitchy in her presser, today's been fairly routine

Lex' prediction of Dulgheru "upsetting" Wozniacki looking OK so far!

uh what happened to Murray in the 20 minutes I turned away?

Baggy made two errors and hit 12 winners in set three. I think he's a little bit On Fire. Break point early in 4th set too.

Tsonge is playing against De Bakker, a guy whom I had never heard much about... but he is playing great tennis? It looks like there are no shots that he can't retrieve and Tsonga has to take huge risks to win a point. Also, I dunno if the website I checked had it wrong, but it said De Bakker was 1.93m and 67kg o_O

obv just as i type this, tsonga double breaks him...

didn't see any of either match, but Murray and Verdasco dropping third sets to love seems indicative more of the usual tanking to conserve energy for the fourth than a true reflection of their form

De Bakker is an ex-top junior who's had some great results recently and broken into the top 50 - don't know much more about him though

Ok thx. Great game between him and Tsonga really.

Dulgheru just won an incredible 41-shot rally vs Wozniacki. Love watching her play, lovely finesse and it's awesome when she nails that high BH. Pity it took so much out of her that she double faulted on the next point :/

Oh dear, I think winning that rally was the worst thing that could have happened for Dulgheru :/

Such ana nnoying match! If you were just flipping to it intermittently, watching the rallies where they occur, you'd assume Dulgheru were winning.

Speaking of annoying and women's tennis, HAI ELENA DEMENTIEVA.

Our Diva is not in an especially flattering outfit. It's a bit aprony. Lovely clean-hitting though.

I refuse to watch her in Slams any more. Has she not choked and lost yet.

Tsonga PMSed his way through the last few games but still won.

She lost the first set in a tie-break. Unacceptable. Whatever.

Kirilenko won! I was 90% sure Kuznetsova would come back from yet another match point, but no, Kirilenko held out. She doesn't have too many hidden aces up her sleeve, but 80% first serves and 14 fewer UEs than Sveta just did the job today.

Meanwhile Rezai and Petrova are still duking it out.

Petrova OBVIOUSLY failed to serve out the match. 6-6, allez Caravane!

Heh, they couldn't finish it.. but very familiar brain farts from Petrova.

The double fault on the first of her three blown match points! The putaway that sailed long on the last break point! Nadezhda never disappoints. I love Rezai, she was so fired up and feisty. ALLEZ CARAVANE~~~

Was that a roaring 'allez' from aravane on petrova's double fault?

lex, i love your enthusiasm

Serena vs Pav 6-1 0-3

match turned on its head in 10 minutes.

double break 0-4

and 5

bagel is on!

What the hey is happening?

Pav started battering the hell out of the ball just as Serena's 1st serve disappeared - Serena can't get anything going at all now. 15-30...

3 point in a row for Serena to hold - she'll prob win this 7-5 now

LOLOL at Serena's flubbed overhead

Couple of tough service games each and Pav is first to blink - 3-1 to Serena

Roddick is such a douche. Bitching and moaning to the umpire over nothing as usual when he's losing. Just shut up and bow out quietly, jerk.

ROdionova v Groth is everything bad about women's tennis in one package. Or was, it's over now.

loooool Nadezhda again

Oh dear @ that Caravane service game. Stupidity rife in this match.

I like how this commentator is saying everything about Kleybanova other than that she's.. well.. fat. "She's fitter than she looks from outward appearances". "She isn't the most elegant mover". Heee.

Today's headliner, Henin - Sharapova, is going to start late and get suspended for lack of light, and the organizers should've known when they put an unfinished match on their court. Assholes.

isn't there a rule that unfinished matches have to go on the same court they started on?

been dropping in and out of today's epic five-setters all afternoon - Ginepri choked when serving for the match but then Ferrero inexplicably dropped his own serve from 40-15 up; and Verdasco came through a tough, tough match against Kohlschreiber 6-4 in the fifth. Great tennis in both matches, though it's sadly quite commonplace to see JCF just getting outmuscled these days. That'll be considered the upset of the day, but I'm actually way more shocked that Ferrer went out - and so easily! - to Melzer. Gotta think something was physically wrong with him, that score is just baffling.

Good to see Bellucci into the last 16! First Brazilian to make a splash at a Slam since Guga, I think...I've seen a bit of him on Youtube, he's a good player and he's risen to the top 30 fairly quickly. Will be interesting to see how he fares against Rafa.

I can't fucking get over the idea that Samantha fucking Stosur is apparently a top player now.

That's definitely not a rule, because Sharapova was moved from court 1 to 2 yesterday.

I watched a Stosur match earlier this year, just killing it at some clay court tournament, and she looked like a top player. When she's not frustrating to watch, she's pretty brilliant! But you can never be sure which Stosur will show up to a match.

Nadal actually had to work for it today. Not a walk in the park for him, surprisingly.

Oh, I think it's just a rule at Wimbledon then. Still, Rezai/Petrova pretty much had to go on Chatrier. And it only lasted three games anyway.

I heard that Stosur seemed untouchable at Charleston...when the hell did she magically learn how to hit groundstrokes though? She's been around for so long and she's NEVER been particularly good, I still think her top 10 status is more reflective of the abysmal state of the women's game.

Anyway, your men's round of 16 now set!

(1) Roger Federer vs. (20) Stanislas Wawrinka
(10) Marin Cilic vs. (5) Robin Soderling
(4) Andy Murray vs. (15) Tomas Berdych
(11) Mikhail Youzhny vs. (8) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
(Q) Teimuraz Gabashvili vs. (22) Jurgen Melzer
Robby Ginepri vs. (3) Novak Djokovic
(7) Fernando Verdasco vs. (19) Nicolas Almagro
(24) Thomaz Bellucci vs. (2) Rafael Nadal

Wow, the Djoker has such an easy path to the SF. Berdych seems to be playing well, I'd pick him to beat Murray but you can never tell when stupidity will creep into his game. Verdasco/Almagro could be brutal if Nando's not careful. Think I'll take Youzhny over Tsonga, who's been...unstable, to say the least, so far.

Oh, I think it's just a rule at Wimbledon then

Even the AELTC have been known to junk that rule when it suits them. In the total washout shambles of the first week in '87, I recall they put the conclusion to a rain-interrupted epic between Todd Nelson and Paul McNamee on Centre (possibly first, with an 11am start); I'm sure they started on a minor court but finished their 19-17 final set in front of the Royal Box, the roller, Cliff, the big Rolex dot-matrix, etc.

Ok, so tell me about Gabashvili. Top 60 last year, currently outside the top 100 (hence qualification), was opening day sacrifice to the God Fed when he first defended his Wimb title. I knew he'd give Roddick a match, going purely on his first two results, but this is kinda surprising, isn't it? Last 16 of a Slam without dropping a set, with his background?

Not much to say really...you do get these random journeymen making the last 16 of Slams. He had a really soft opening two rounds, then Roddick who can lose to anyone on clay and didn't care by the end.

Other than that I'm fairly shocked when Justine actually makes a first serve these days, this match is going exactly as I want.

This match is hideous now. Please can it be over soon.

I'm emotionally involved to the point where I couldn't physically handle watching it after the first set. Now I see there's a third. Shocking... but I'll watch it on re-run instead. I'm frail.

not over, but off my screen, which I'm thankful for.

Sharapova hit three DFs at *3-2 and Justine still couldn't break, which was the turning point really.

DFs? Back on that train? Jeez.

Not as bad as it's been in the past, and Justine was on that train herself.

Honestly, Justine's first serve percentage in all her matches these days must be about 20%, and she's as bad as Sweta for moronic UEs now too. So frustrating to watch.

women's last 16 -

(1) Serena Williams vs. (18) Shahar Peer
(12) Maria Sharapova/(22) Justine Henin vs. (7) Samantha Stosur
(4) Jelena Jankovic vs. (16) Yanina Wickmayer
(WC) Jarmila Groth vs. Yaroslava Shvedova
(30) Maria Kirilenko vs. (17) Francesca Schiavone
(14) Flavia Pennetta vs. (3) Caroline Wozniacki
(5) Elena Dementieva vs. (Q) Chanelle Scheepers
(19) Nadia Petrova vs. (2) Venus Williams

As far as I read this correctly, since 2005 and a Henin vs Sharapova match, Henin has not dropped a set on Roland Garros until today, again against Maria.

Yeah she was on something like 40 consecutive sets...is that right?

My wording was a bit off. She won straight sets against Sharapova in 2005, of course, and that was the start of her streak.

People are saying Sharapova played well in the second. I knew I shouldn't have trusted a Masha-hater. Will have to dig up re-run.

(4) Jelena Jankovic vs. (16) Yanina Wickmayer

Wickmayer lost to Hantuchova today

Yeah, Hantuchova has silently reclaimed some honour this year.

Maria seems to start slowly in every single match, so I think a break is bad news for her.

haha I was vaguely aware that Hantuchova had won but I cared so little about that match. Every time I've seen Wickmayer play this year she's been an intolerable beeyatch on court.

Justine started horribly and Sharapova picked up where she left off from last night, but at 0-2 0-40 Justine seemed to realise that she needed to make something happen herself, started to control the rallies and is pretty much dominating now. The constant cries of FAULT! FAULT! FAULT! in her service games are not good for the nerves, though.

breaks!

aargh DF hands it back

What the hell was that from 4-2 40-15 up!! She was in total control. Gah.

YES, Justine broke again, mostly with superb defence. Serving for the match now...

Sharapova's scream remains fucking intolerable.

three match points

YES!

:D

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Clubs/Club_Home/2010/5/29/1275148157847/andy-murray-006.jpg

Murray is such a slob. Has he shaved this tournament yet.

Nadia actually managed to beat Venus. She's such a beautiful hitter when she's not choking. Talking of which, we now have a sure-to-be hilarious QF between her and Demented.

w(s)s though

Fuck this tournament, for real.

Petrova beating in straight sets was...a surprise.

Murray looked on his way out against Berdych but he had just broken back in the 2nd and looked well in the contest before rain stopped play.

Oh this has resumed...and Murray has now lost the 2nd so it looks over.

Lot more zip from Murray on the 5th game of the 3rd set - could be a last hurrah or a turning point.

Guessing the former.

Yup. Broken in his next service game.

Berdych gets into his first slam QF. Well done him.

second - he lost to Rafa in the Wimbledon '07 QF. horrible record in 4Rs though - 1-9 before today, now 2-9. not that this is that surprising. with the form he's in, he should make his first SF.

btw, i hope everyone has seen what Dkokovic has been up to this week (with Troicki) :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtroAInG-1A

Pe'er v Silliams is proving entertaining - Shahar's just broken back in the 2nd set, in a game where Serena served 2 aces. No fear!

Of course as soon as I say that she only wins about 3 more points in the rest of the set. OH WELL.

zomg Sam Stosur wtf

Only saw the last few games of Justine/Stosur. Justine hit a terrible DF at 4-4, 30-30 that led to the final break, and then the final game went:

Henin BH putaway into the net, 15-0
Henin routine BH into the net, 30-0
Henin dropshot winner, 30-15
Henin BH into the net, 40-15
Stosur DF (of course!), 40-30
Henin BH into the net, GSM

Apparently Stosur played really well in the second set but I just cannot get used to the idea that she's a top player now, at all.

Before that piece of shit, I watched Nadal/Bells. Nadal seemed pretty off at the start and lost an early break, but Bells has no weapons or way of challenging him => an easy set.

I was thinking what a rum draw for Stosur it was, defending all those points. But she's going to hold most of them and with the carnage around her, um, top 5 is possible. She was excellent in that second set, whacking the forehand exactly where it needed to go. I'd say she can't beat Serena, but, I suppose, it is clay. But it's Serena.

But srsly, Justine can't serve for shit, and the result has to be looked at with this in mind. She drops a set to Sharapova, of course losing to a decent clay courter with some big weapons was on the cards.

She beat Serena last summer, and Serena said something like "she's very talented at framing the ball" afterwards, which is kind of a totally true zing of Stosur's horrible groundstrokes except that in the last year she's somehow inexplicably magically learnt how to hit them.

Who would've thought that at the close of RG '10, the highest ranked of the '09 semifinalists - by FAR - would be Stosur?

And yeah, Justine's serve is disgusting. I know she said her motivation in coming back was Wimbledon, and this loss might actually be helpful with that in mind given that her RG exertions have worn her out for it in the past, but if she can't hit a BH over the net or a first serve in...at this point she's just a crazy Sweta-esque error machine.

French Open final, Slammin Sam Stosur vs C Woz -- CONFIRMED!

I would watch that. Big improvement over anything featuring Dinara Safina.

Watched Stosur and she was playing ok. Couldn't quite believe she was going to beat Henin until she did it.

I think if Justine is still serving like that in six months I'd worry that her comeback was a big waste of time for everyone but right now I'm not expecting her to win slams. Although the expectations are distorted by the fact she got to the Aus final (and that Clijsters won the US) it also has to be looked at in the context of what the field is like at the moment.

Comebacks in other sports the person usually takes a year or two to regain something that approaches their former selves.

Good, energy-efficient win for Jelena over a dangerous opponent, Hantuchova was in pretty good form and Jankovic navigated past her with no fuss or drama.

Shvedova through to her first Slam QF :D It was actually a fairly decent quality match considering that they're both hard hitters playing the biggest match of their careers. Groth folded in the last game with easy UEs rather than putting pressure on Shvedova. Hope no one asks her how proud she is to be the first Kazakh in a Slam QF given that she has no actual connection to Kazakhstan, and only changed nationality for financial reasons.

QFs all set...

(1) Roger Federer vs. (5) Robin Soderling
(15) Tomas Berdych vs. (11) Mikhail Youzhny
(22) Jurgen Melzer vs. (3) Novak Djokovic
(19) Nicolas Almagro vs. (2) Rafael Nadal

(1) Serena Williams vs. (7) Samantha Stosur
(4) Jelena Jankovic vs. Yaroslava Shvedova
(17) Francesca Schiavone vs. (3) Caroline Wozniacki
(5) Elena Dementieva vs. (19) Nadia Petrova

If Soderling can maintain his dominating form so far, the Federer match could be veeeery interesting...the only other match I'm not confident about predicting is the Demented/Petrova one, which will surely be a chokefest of epic proportions. Gonna go with:

Soderling, Berdych, Djokovic, Nadal
Williams, Jankovic, Wozniacki, Petrova

Soderling - Fed has classic potential, as long as Soderling brings some belief to the table.

Can't wait.

Oh Nadezhda:

“What can I say, when two Russians are playing each other, it’s like a battle to death. We really try to leave everything possible out there, win or lose.”

Let's translate that into TRUTH.

“What can I say, when two Russians are playing each other, it’s like a battle to deathmasive chokefest. We really try to leave miss everything possible out there, win orand lose.”

Federer's Slam SF streak to end today? Can't really see it, as well as Sod is playing.

Schiavone beat WozDEN! This is fantastic!

She's getting down and kissing the clay. She's an embarrassment, and it's fantastic.

oh awesome

wtf Dementieva just hit the most amazing serve parry EVER, the ball was coming right at her, she sort of dodged it and whacked it and it happened to snap the right-hand line leaving Petrova completely shocked. And now serves to level the match at one set all.

You'd trust Dementieva to serve out a set.

WOULDN'T YOU

haha maybe in bizarro-tennis

Awesome reflexes at 5-2 15-15 from Diva.

She did it with an ace! OH GOD SO CONFLICTED. Schiavone is not the hardest SF opponent you can imagine. Dementieva in anotehr GS final. Eep eep eep. To face Serena on her worst surface? I'm going to be a gibbering wreck.

Federer's Slam SF streak to end today? Can't really see it, as well as Sod is playing.

― Michael Jones, Tuesday, June 1, 2010 Bookmark

Silly me was entertaining such notions yesterday...Fed has started brilliantly.

I think whoever said self belief might be the key was onto something. I don't think Soderling thinks he can beat Federer.

it ws me. Soderling just played a couple of brutal points just to hold his own here.

And Fed takes a min to hold his own serve...

I hope Lex isn't watching Dem/Pet. Dementieva has reeled off 7 games in a row from 3-2 in the second, and now up 4-0 in the decider.

wow Petrova

Make that nine - 2-6 6-2 6-0. Women's tennis.

6-2, 6-0 in the end -- apparently injury problems...xp

ah, I was assuming it was a Petrova meltdown

better change my display name to something else

You should do no such thing. Something definitely different between the sets, winners dried up for Petrova, she had some bad luck (well, Elena had lots of good luck) and wasn't moving so well.

If you change it, I'll use it!

haha go for it

Soderling predictably broken...Fed to serve for set.

HI DERE

Federer: 77% first serve and three unforced errors. Save this for Nadal, yeah?

haha Nadal has the variety to bring that % down...

Hey, couple of loose backhands and out of nowhere Sodelring breaks after nearly dropping his own before...

Fran!!!! She deserves this SF.

LOL @ Nadezhda...

I think this tournament is going to be determined by the Serena/Jelena SF. Oh god, can you imagine a Jankovic/Demented final. It would be AMAZING.

Always too early when that happens..but he has held to that break. xp

haha Nadal has the variety to bring that % down...

What, just through his sheer presence at the other end? I was just cherry-picking the stats that showed Fed was operating at a very high level (I realise unforced errors are rarely just that - he'll make more "errors" against Rafa just because of what he's having to deal with). Fed has a horrible tendency to have a bad serving day in Slam finals vs Nadal.

Still - game on here...

I think Nadal offers much more than someone like Soderling (especially on clay courts) in terms of types of shots but also the intensity/presence/etc he brings to the matches is heightened.

Soderling to serve for the set.

Oh dear DF: 40-40

Sod holds!

Really enjoying this second set: on serve at the min.

Did anyone see that get from Fed that nearly broke Soderling? That's today Fed freak shot!

Fucking rain breaks this off.

Yes! How the hell did he get that one back, he was 50 metres out of court (slight exaggeration)

He's won points like that before, hasn't he? Thinking of a smash-off-a-smash vs Davydenko in London last November. Typical that as soon as I think "Sod it, boss isn't around, I'll get the BBC stream up", it starts chucking it down.

Here's one of those shots he won, against Roddick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hp-EArV6s8

2002! Seems a lifetime ago. Roddick looking so much better without the cap. A year later Roddick was #1...

wow! Sod 2-1 up!

Really had to hold his cool; Soderling was walking to the chair before the unpire called him back to replay the point.

Then served an ace.

ILX predictors be damned for thinking Fed would win this easily

zomg

ILX predictors be damned for thinking Fed would win this easily

― CaptainLorax, Tuesday, June 1, 2010 5:03 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ahem

Soderling, Berdych, Djokovic, Nadal

― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Monday, May 31, 2010 6:13 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Oh and I did say 'classic' potential btw :-)

Fed has just broken in the 4th set.

Breaks back

Just joshing at your "Soderling predictably broken" comment af the end of the first set. Yes you did say the match would be interesting

Sod is absolutely POUNDING IT out there: 2-2

Fed holds easy but he looks rattled...be amazing if Sod won it in the end.

Never beaten the guy and to win that 3rd set...hope the rain doesn't come back...

Rain is hitting hard bah

What a stunner of a game: Fed has nothing left but his first serve it seems..

Oh and Soderling going over to check the lines 2-3 times is not good form on his part.

Sod breaks omg!

Soderling does it again!

How many consecutive SFs for Fed again? God, that record will be like Bradman's average of 100. That will never be broken.

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW

Now the Sod has no more GOATs to take out in the French Open QF.. what will he do next year?

omg there goes the 23 consecutive semis

btw nadal-soderling final pls YES

Gotta go through Berdych first - he's in great form.

Damn, Soderling was really impressive. Federer really looked helpless out there. Nadal - Soderling final would be great yeah.

Kinda numb about this! End of an era, indeed. Six years. Funny that Soderling opened the door for Fed to regain #1 last year and now he's probably just ensured he'll lose it again (perhaps for good this time) in the next week or two.

in a way i'm glad, for a reason unconnected to records. there are a few theories as to why Fed's performances outside Slams have deteriorated the way that they have, while his Slam record has been maintained - he's never obviously half-assed them like Serena does - but I've definitely detected a lack of effort in some of his losses this year. now, I understand why a top player at the stage of their career like Roger and Serena would want to concentrate on the Slams, but my pet hate is minimising the importance of the Tour - it does a disservice to the people who put all the effort into putting those tournaments on, and the fans who buy those tickets. it shouldn't just be fans in London, Paris, NYC and Melbourne who get to see an elite player performing like one. I also understand that there's not much motivation for the Rogers and Serenas of this world to go flat out in Madrid or Estoril unless it harms their chances at the majors - which is exactly what happened today. with Soderling's form coming into the match, the big question was whether he'd have the confidence to maintain it. and Fed should realise that if he goes around losing to the likes of Baghdatis, Berdych, Gulbis and Montanes - of bloody course Soderling will find it easier to keep that confidence than if he's facing someone who's dominating the tour.

(still think Fed's gonna win Wimbledon though)

Bodo puts it like this:

"More and more, it looks as if Federer is not really playing to win, the way a Soderling is in these upward arcing days of his career. It seems that Federer is playing not to lose. He's doing a fair job of that, hanging in, fending off, snarling and snapping like a captive wolf in a cage. But Federer doesn't seem to seek the freedom represented by victory, or triumph over his captors and adversaries."

..and that's not a bad way to put it. But found the will to win when he was in a serious post-#1-slump last time, and maybe this is what he needs to motivate his way through more slams. Wimbledon's perfectly timed to explore that.

Also I agree with the ^ point about minimising the importance of a tour. It's a real piece of shit when someone wins a solid tournament, or a match in a tournament and people can, sometimes rightfully, say "well [top player X] didn't really put everything into winning this cup, so it doesn't matter".

I am looking forward to both Stosur/Serena and Shvedova/Jankovic tonight! I think Stosur can actually win this if she serves well (which she didn't at the Australian), though I don't expect her to. What price a Stosur/Schiavone final? I'd actually bet on Schiavone in that, her loopy balls and fun, quirky play might well perplex anyone when she keeps the errors down.

(I should say I DO expect Jankovic to beat both Shvedova whoever emerges from the other QF)

this is turning into a bit of a Revenge Slam for Jelena. her opponents to date -

1R Molik - double bagelled JJ in 04
2R Kanepi - beat JJ last time they met at Dubai '09
3R A-Bond - beat JJ last time they met at the AO this year
4R Hantuchova - beat JJ the last two times they met, at Charleston and Fed Cup this year

And Shvedova, of course, beat her at the USO last year! weirdly Silliams would be the exception to this pattern, as JJ beat her a few weeks ago.

When Clijsters won the 2005 US Open and Mauresmo won the 2006 Australian, breaking their ducks as "best women to have never won slams", inevitably Jankovic and Dementieva became the best women to have no Slams on their resume. Wouldn't it be hilarious if they got pipped not just by Ivanovic, but Francesca Schiavone?

Safina actually has more of a claim to that - 3 Slam finals to Demented's 2 and Jankovic's 1, No 1 for longer than either (yes, lol). Demented has more titles, though.

(I'd agree that JJ and Demented are better players, but mere talent doesn't win you accomplishments, as I'm sure they're both well aware)

Safina will never win a Slam. THERE, I HAVE SAID IT.

(The other thing is that Dementieva and Jankovic have had this millstone around their necks for a lot longer than Safina has, i.e. 6 years since Elena's first slam final)

Silliams a set down - was very nearly a set and a break down, but she rescued her serve at *0-1 from 0-40 down (thanks to one very lucky overrule when she double faulted at 15-40, it was overruled in, and she got her first serve back).

Didn't watch the first set though - was tuned into Jankovic/Shvedova, which was a very nice set indeed, both playing very well. Shvedova's good at what she does (serve for sure, groundstrokes off both wings), but limited, and particularly bad at reacting whenever Jelena hits behind her.

Shvedova has a break in the second.

Everyone knows Serena can come back from a set and a break down. But she really doesn't look like she knows what to do. Forget breaking Stosur's serve, she's barely getting points off it.

(though this is usually when she breaks out of nowhere)

Oh and to correct: neither Jankovic nor Shvedova has held serve in set 2 so far. 2-2.

Pretty much the only women's tennis I've watched this year in any depth was the Family Circle Cup in Charleston (it was on one of the handful of functioning TV channels when I was in a Copenhagen hotel in April). So Stosur beating everyone up doesn't surprise me based on the only footage I've seen of her this year! She was immense in South Carolina.

This is the first I've really seen Stosur play since she somehow got good. Her BH is as shit as ever and she's still useless whenever Serena gets her on the run, but her serve and FH are incredibly good and completely impenetrable - rock solid and unbreakable on serve so far, and good luck getting her on the run regularly before she shoved a fucking forehand down your fucking throat.

*shoves

Oh shit. Sam to serve for the match, having been unbreakable to this point.

DF for 0-30. LOL.

You had to say "unbreakable", didn't you?

She should try getting some first serves in.

uh-hoh

Goodnight Irene. Her serve is no longer impenetrable and Serena is exposing her weak backhand.

ha I clicked over to ESPN.com based on commentary here and Serena won the tiebreaker? Has she gone into "pissed-off tennis demon" mode or did Stosur freak?

Stosur freaked serving at *5-3, then Serena started playing really well.

(notably her two excellent service games at 4-5 and 5-6)

yay Jelena through!

am happy about the fightin' Serena comeback, I want Jelena to get her.

and Serena dfs to lose h er opening serve! After the first net-cord, she said, audibly, "strange". Then served another one. Then a fault. Then a net-cord that bounced a mile out.

lol she broke back, I assume she's pissed now

Break back, Serena was pretty lucky to win that game point, but Stosur needs to play better to avoid giving her so many of them.

Women's tennis.

Stosur got 0-15, then Serena hit three aces. She's gonna kick herself.

oh I wish I could watch this

it's not very good unless you really like watching serves.

Stosur very nearly ended it for herself there with a hilarious netted volley and hilarious shanked FH five million miles over the baseline to give Serena MP, but held on to her serve. 5-5.

6-6.

it was 6-6 0-30 and I looked away and it became 15-15

My stream has died so I can't report what happened. Overrule?

STOSUR BREAKS!

Stosur breaks! Brilliant game.

Ffs Sam, serve this out so we can have someone win their first GS. Jankovic, perhaps, even though i've always been cold on her.

ALso, could a stream start working for me in next 20 seconds :(

Couple of amazing points from Stosur there. The chance to choke for the match again!

That is excelsior-worthy.

Well, how about that.

Silliams out

Except she didn't! Whoa.

And I failed to see it. What a curious and potentially enjoyable pair of semis we have!

Really goes to show the importance of having a good serve. That kept Stosur in the third set all the way, when everything else wasn't working so well.

aw

I am happy for Sam tho

Any final from this is going to be worth watching intently.

Djokovic's hold at *3-4 in the fourth set was EPIC

Melzer playing a blinder of a TB here, 6-0 up now..

The end of this match has been amazing. Match point Melzer...

OMG what a choke.

ohhhhh man

oh boy. that was quite something

Melzer alternating between some serious hardcore choking (© Andrea Petkovic) and some amazingly gutsy winners there...I love it when men's tennis suddenly lurches into women's tennis like that. that botched volley on his first MP, oh god oh god, and did he land a first serve in that game? I also think Nole totally got jobbed on that overrule which would have given him 0-30 (and given how much Melzer was gagging, he'd surely have gone on to win the game).

The 4-4 game that Melzer broke Nole in was also amazing - really didn't expect Melzer to be the one to step up like that, really upping the ante in terms of both pace (some of those rallies were brutal) and finesse (dropshots <3 ).

Great match!!

I enjoyed every minute of tennis I managed to catch today.

Can't believe Melzer had never come from two sets down before...though his Slam record prior to this had been particularly poor.

Also can't believe he's 29. Ugh, we are all getting older.

Only caught the end of Melzer's win.

Well done Stosur.

Also can't believe he's 29. Ugh, we are all getting older.

TELL ME ABOUT IT

fucking tennis journalists, man.

Q. When you were growing up, were there any Australian players to admire or follow or any other players you might have idolized?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Well, as for Australians, I watched I remember staying up late watching Pat Rafter play here and Wimbledon and all that.
But when I was, yeah, first started playing I loved Steffi and Monica. They were my idols. I always watched them. My family took us to the Australian Open final one year and we watched those two play the final, and that was just the best day of my life at that point.

Q. Who were they?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.

Q. Oh, yeah.
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Sorry.

Q. 1993?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: '93, yep.

Q. Yeah, right. Where was it played? Oh, it was Melbourne.
SAMANTHA STOSUR: In Melbourne, yeah.

And, to go against the logical grain, tonight, I predict wins for Stosur and Schiavone.

If that were a US final, would anyone turn up.

Demented a break up in the first set.

BUT CAN SHE HOLD.

Wind, fair enough, but those errors were :( :(

Oh Elena. On a double, it couldn't have been more obvious. On serve again.

So she can't serve again then. Thanks, Demented.

NOT THE DROP SHOT ELENA

i feel like i've shouted that before

Performances like these are why even though I want her to win I'll always bet against her in a clinch. This should have been a set and a break to the good by now.

What another miserable drop-shot, topped only by the flubbed putaway when it almost worked!

NOT THE DROP SHOT
NOT THE DROP SHOT

two consecutive points!!!!!!! elena you are a MORON.

Elena, you idiot, stop with the drop shots. That's three stupid ones in the space of 5 minutes or something.

haha x-post

What a retarded breaker from Elena. She should hang her head in shame. I hope her mother yells at her.

Wtf? She's defaulting?

Uhhhhh

well it saves us another hour of torture, I guess. so unlike her, and she didn't look like she was hampered physically, and this was such a massive chance for her, and oh well she will never win a Slam, ever.

Please win Jelena.

Classic Demented

I know Jelena deserves it more, but despite all the discussion about the bottom half of the draw being weak, for Jelena to win it while amazingly missing EVERYONE GOOD EVER seems unfair. I am hoping Stosur wins.

Oh hold on, she's just given up?

Literally, this time, yes.

Blimey

Also: after all these years of fan abuse, it would be hysterical if she got beaten to a slam by Samantha Stosur.

holy moly, I wish I had watched this

It was pretty shithouse.

I gathered! I find shithouse tennis massively entertaining.

Jankovic's serve not very good right now, but she'll probably survive her first service game.

Surely that serve at 30-30 was a double fault?

Stosur breaks! 3-1. Not especially good execution from Jankovic, but her game plan is solid - hit to Stosur's backhand at all costs.

'Course, helps if your opponent didn't just consolidate with a huge love service game.

interesting article on how new string technology is helping the spin-laden games of Stosur and Schiavone - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/sl_price/06/02/serena.stosur.ap/index.html

Double-break! Ah, it all becomes clear why Dementieva had to retire, she's broken into Jankovic's body and is now trying to lose two semi-finals in one day.

I like reading Sports Illustrated, but their writers can't agree. Price says Stosur IS a clay-court specialist, Wertheim (who does know stuff) says she's "nobody's clay-court specialist", to say nothing of the rest of them who are just silly.

Stosur takes it 6-1! Thoguh her first serve at 40-30 was one of the most loltastic I"ve seen lately.

Craziness

I'm taping this final

Well that was a better service game by Jankovic! Some first serves in, for starters.

Stosur's turned into a clay-court specialist since she got good (12 months ago, really).

I think Stosur's late blooming is probably down to her deeply odd game - her big strengths are the serve, which benefits her on fast courts, and that massive, heavy FH, which with her huge backswing is best suited to clay. Certainly she couldn't bully other players with it in this way on grass. And I'm guessing she didn't grow up on clay, you can see she doesn't move particularly naturally on it, even though it's the surface where her game is most effective. So Stosur's game is pretty contradictory in itself, but I'd definitely say that whereas in years past she hasn't known how to use clay to her advantage, she very much does now.

Great pass from Jelena! She's playing well now.

Well it's women's tennis! 40-15 to lose serve. See, Jankovic is secretly Dementieva!

ugh ugh ugh

I'm watching on an actual TV, anyone know of a working stream for someone else?

Also: cuet umpire

i'm watching on the bbc site, but www.livescorehunter.com usually has all available streams

Jankovic was bashing winers left right and centre for about 2.5 games there and it's hard to work out what has happened because now she's DOWN a break.

Ah, the game plan not working so much - Stosur being pretty effective with backhand here, not the WMD that the forehand is, but steadier.

so... looking back at Lex's original predictions is kind of great in light of what actually happened, if for no other reason than because it shows how thoroughly he has Jankovic's number

(Serena's too, actually)

Wow. A rout. 6-1 6-2. Jankovic held serve all of twice.

And Nadezhda's, Dan!

Blimey x2

2005-10-24 Hasselt Indoor Hardcourt QF Schiavone 6-3 6-2
2007-05-14 Rome Clay R64 Stosur 6-3 6-4
2009-03-09 Indian Wells Hardcourt R128 Stosur 6-1 6-4
2009-05-25 Roland Garros Clay R128 Stosur 6-4 6-2
2009-10-12 Osaka Hardcourt F Stosur 7-5 6-1
Stosur leads 4:1
Hard: Stosur leads 2:1
Clay: Stosur leads 2:0
Grass: Tied 0:0
Indoor: Schiavone leads 1:0

Anyway. Could've been different if Jelena had held on at *2-0 40-15. Otherwise, she got outplayed. Seriously impressive from Stosur, though her game is still unpleasant to watch (the strokes, so wooden). This is fairly unprecedented, right? Journeywoman until the age of 25 who's occasionally dangerous, but who no one thinks has much more potential, suddenly metamorphosing into an elite player both game-wise and results-wise. And at a Slam to boot.

I get to go to the park on Saturday afternoon!

I wish I worked from home, I could watch all these tennis matches

btw preemptive congratulations to one of my favorite doubles players on her first slam title

This time last year, Stosur's record in finals was 0-5 and Schiavone's was 1-9! And now they will play for the Roland Garros title! asgjhdkldkjnfknml;;;;

Well it's not like anyone else deserves to be there.

"Dementieva has confirmed torn left calf muscle forced her withdrawal against Schiavone."

aw

Stosur is *built*. Hmm.

eh, she's always been ripped. more so now, but she's one of the fittest girls out there.

I think the more plausible reason for her sudden improvement, other than what you're insinuating, is in the piece I linked about the new strings - it makes so much sense given what her weaknesses used to be and what her strengths now are.

also, oh shit: i didn't realise that fed was ONE WEEK shy of the sampras record for all-time number of weeks at no 1. and he'll probably lose it next week, without much window to regain it in the foreseeable future.

Young Laura bringin' the LOLz

also, oh shit: i didn't realise that fed was ONE WEEK shy of the sampras record for all-time number of weeks at no 1. and he'll probably lose it next week, without much window to regain it in the foreseeable future.

― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Thursday, June 3, 2010 6:47 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Why can't he regain it at Wimbledon?

Because he won it last year, and as such is defending all those points. Nadal didn't play, so even if he only wins one round he gains points on Fed - and that's if Fed wins again.

Because he's the defending champion - he can't possibly improve on his (2000) points tally from last year, whereas Nadal has a big, fat zero against his name for Wimb '09 as he was injured (the four Slams and the nine Masters-1000 events count towards your ranking regardless of whether you play in them or not).

Haven't checked the numbers but I assume Fed losing in QF here and Nadal winning the title = Nadal as #1. If Soderling/Berdych can beat Nadal then perhaps Fed will hold on for another couple of weeks.

xp

This is what happens when you build your name in just Slams - if you don't defend, you lose a shitload of points (hai Kuznetsova, down from ~6 to ~19 next week).

Checking the numbers...

Currently:
Federer 10,030
Nadal 6,880 (3,150pts back)

Fed loses 1,640 points for going from Champ '09 to QF '10; Nadal stands to gain 1,820 points for going from R4 '09 to Champ '10. That's a 3,460-pt swing and just enough to unseat Federer. If Nadal loses in the final, Federer remains #1 by 490pts. Then, assuming nothing changes between RG and SW19 (which it will slightly, they're both playing events), and they both plough through the draw at Wimbledon, Nadal will be #1 by reaching the semis there.

But it's likely to happen on Sunday.

neither of them played Wimbledon warm-ups last year - not sure of the numbers, but even if Nadal wins RG, if he then pulls out of Queen's (not unlikely) while Federer wins (or goes deep in) Halle, maybe that'd be enough to regain No 1? It's virtually a given that Nadal will be No 1 after Wimbledon, and given his poor results in the second half of 2009, likely to hold on to it for a while unless Federer goes on a hot streak at Tour events.

To clarify, you get your ranking points from your best 18 tournament results over the previous 52 weeks, thus:
Grand Slams - all 4*
Masters 1000 - all 8*
ATP 500 - best 4** (one must be after the US Open)
ATP 250 - best 2 (including Challengers/Futures)

* - assuming you can make the main draw; obv if you're ranked #200 you don't get penalised for not playing the French Open (where you would've had to qualify) or the Sony Ericsson 1000 in Miami (where you might not even get into qualifying), you just accumulate your points further down the tiers without these restrictions
** - if you're top 30, you're obliged to play at least four of these

xp

Lex: winning Halle won't get Fed #1 (it's only an ATP250 event) - he'd be 60pts short (assuming, as we are, Nadal skips Queen's). If Nadal wins this, it's difficult to see Federer getting the top spot back...kind of ever, tbh. Barring another long injury layoff for RN.

...I mean. Really, really, he only has himself to blame for pissing away Tour events this year.

Trying to imagine a scenario where Federer makes a concerted effort to regain #1 (with an eye on the Sampras record) - maybe enters the Legg-Mason in DC the week of Aug 2. Winning that and the Masters-1000 event in Toronto the following week would possibly get him back up there...for one week until he has to defend his Cincinnati title... If Nadal wins Wimbledon though, fuhgeddaboudit.

(And if Fed withdraws from Halle, you know he's not even going to try).

no-one watching soderlin-bedrych? Am I a fool for being at the office instead of watching this?

It's an enjoyable match, though not particularly tense. Berdych squandered a break in set 3, Soderling is hitting some astonishing shots though.

OK, it was tense there. Berdych was up 3-0, then went down 4-3 and nearly lost his serve. Big clutch shots including a GOOD DROP SHOT and it's 4-4.

Wow, I thought Soderling was eventually wearing Berdych down, but Berdych broke out of nowhere to take the third 7-5!

Soderling won in 5, breaking twice in the last. Curiously uninvolving match - some lights-out shots but lots of errors, Soderling is a fucking genius a) on big points, and b) at hitting the back part of the court inside the baseline. But it could have been pieced together from a three-set Soderling win and footage of a best-of-three game won in two by Berdych.

Well....Melzer was two sets and a break down in the QF and came back and he's just broken Nadal (for the first time?) as the #2 served for the match...

Want Soderling to win this even though, well, his game isn't that dynamic - head says Nadal.

Federer notwithstanding, this is the dream final, isn't it? I think it would be enormously beneficial for the men's game if Soderling won it, but I doubt it.

I'm expecting Nadal to win in straight sets, tbh. He may not quite be back to 2008 levels but close. He's never underperformed in a Slam final (OK, first set of Wimb '06 maybe). I'll be rooting for our Lingonberry Friend.

(And if Fed withdraws from Halle, you know he's not even going to try).

― Michael Jones, Friday, June 4, 2010 10:04 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Fed said he was excited to play Halle, fwiw.

I'm glad to see the proud ILX tennis thread tradition of writing off Fed is still in full swing. 60% of the time this results in another Slam for him. ;)

Whenever I write off my useless female favourites, it usually results in them choking and losing exactly how i predict :(

Think Nadal will win but if Soderling maintains his level he definitely has that ability to just blast away, I'd say he's one of the few men in the draw I'd give a genuine fighting chance to against Nadal at RG. And Nadal's opponents so far have been particularly weak. Should be a good final. I wish I liked the Toad more, his game can be spectacular to watch, but he really has come across as just an unpleasant person for most of his career.

As for whatever is scheduled today, I've made alternative plans to be in a park all afternoon. Go Fran.

I'm glad to see the proud ILX tennis thread tradition of writing off Fed is still in full swing. 60% of the time this results in another Slam for him. ;)

I, for one, hope so!

edwardo, what time our time is the women's final, i'm too lazy to look.

11pm AEST.

I'm glad to see the proud ILX tennis thread tradition of writing off Fed is still in full swing. 60% of the time this results in another Slam for him. ;)

Love Fed but he hasn't been that player for the last couple of years. He has managed to win last year's Wimbledon and this year's Aus open despite this. I expect him to win 1-2 slams at the most but it wouldn't surprise if he doesn't win another.

thanks xp

Two hours until I metamorphose into that most hated of things: a patriotic Australian.

me too and I'm not even australian.

It's been a long time since your country even had a tennis player, though!

yes we are useless.

hewitt still loses in 5 sets sometimes

Brett Steven got as high as No. 32! That'd get him a seeding nowadays!

I forgot all about him.

Though forever sour on court, a quick pan to Mary Pierce in the crowd shows her looking seriously foxy. Stosur is winning nearly all the points that go to her forehand so far, but Schiavone is doing a good job of hitting to the backhand at the moment.

holy shit this match is awesome

Stosur loses her serve on a double fault after clawing back from 0/40 to 30/40. She might be OK at the net (not on evidence so far) but she sure is dreadful at coming into it - dreadful approach shot and one of the WORST volleys I've ever seen in my life.

Good match.

Wow that point by Stosur to save Schiavone's first set point was gorgeous. More of those and there won't be any more of _those_.

It's Schiavone's serve that's working better - she's not got as much speed, but she places it well and constructs points so much better around it. And she KNOWS how to approach the net.

holy shit holy shit

glad I am taping this (tho I probably won't watch it again, lol)

I am kind of in love with both of these women?

Telling: Stosur landed her first eight first serves and won first two service games to love. Ended up on just 50% after three more service games.

Horrible relatively easy volley miss, followed immediately by a very good backhand volley from Stosur.

Big, big Stosur hold from 15-40 down. But unless she breaks Schiavone soon, she's toast.

C'mon, fight back Slam Sam. Let's get three sets out of this final.

On Austrlaian TV, Stolle criticised Stosur for not coming forward on the break point. For. Fuck's Sake.

Superb backhand from Stosur to break in the second!

And awful passive play to lose the break.

Sam just needs to.. never go anywhere near the net. She might actually win a baseline game.

Okay, she's won 10 of 16 at the net, but quite a few of those would have been won anyway. Schiavone has actually gone to the net as a means, not an end itself.

Really enjoying this match - Schiavone is really digging in and making Stosur work for it (eg that mad backhand volley that looked impossible to get).

Also: fvck me Sam's muscles are terrifying. Would not challenge her to an arm wrestle for fear of her tearing mine off.

Who'd have predicted Schiavone would serve better than Stosur?

Italy

I like both of these players very much.

One tiebreak stands between FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE and a Grand Slam singles title. LOLOLOL at the fact that Dementieva, Safina and Jankovic don't have any even more than this is usually lol.

And let's be honest, even bigger LOL that this is one of the closest finals in recent memory.

But the biggest LOL of all for that dreadful "drop shot" (what was that)

Schiavone's anticipation all through this match has been top-notch. Okay, yes, she's lucky that Stosur knocked out Serena and Justine who would have mashed her, but she's played well enough to suggest that her play itself = not lucky at all, skilful.

This is great! I'm really rooting for Schiavone now, she looks ecstatic on every point she wins.

Aww well done dude

saw the last couple of games only - <3 schiavone, A REFRESHING PERSONALITY eh

she was great.

And not one whit of nerves whatsoever. I hope certain female "elite" players were watching that.

^^^this! showed absolutely no sign of WOMEN'S TENNIS

also, like, really flamboyant in a good way, does the fist-pump properly, by the time I watched was in *the zone*

So anyway, Birmingham grass tournament on Monday..

Just kidding, it was a well-deserved enough match win even if Stosur definitely should've pushed that to a third set. She was tight and restrained when the nerves and anticipation got hold of her. But all in all it was a pretty good match and a great effort by Schiavone.

I'm not overly thrilled by the IDEA of Schiavone winning a slam, but the French Open does produce some clay specialist wins, players who'll never win another slam, and so I guess it's part of the package. And it's better that someone with a one handed backhand, a stylish game and a will to go to the net wins than, say, some boring Safina or defensive Wozniacki winning.

^^^^^^^^ this.

The idea of Wozniacki winning a Slam appalls me. This is perfectly reasonable, and she played a high quality match, and indeed, several of them.

yeah not that I'm biased against eastern europeans but basically hooray for this change of scene

(n.b. may be biased in favour of southern europeans)

also lol estela is a kiwi

what do you mean lol.

These ceremonies are always so awkward.

estela the kiwis thrive on self-deprecating humour, I was joining in

I've really fallen in love with both players throughout this tournament; Sam for knocking out the two best players in the world and Franny for being so damn EXUBERANT on every point. Some blog said that it would be "better for tennis" if Stosur won, because after being one of the in-form players on clay this year as well as beating Justine and Serena, it would solidify her standing as a new top player, whereas Schiavone would just be Majoli part 2. And I kind of agreed, but all that went away with how intelligently she played, her celebration, and her ridiculously fucking awesome victory speech (kinda nice to see Mary Pierce too!). So even if she never wins another Slam, I'm really glad she got it today, because that was just beautiful.

I sort of wish I'd watched this! The highlights were amazing, Fran's celebration on the penultimate point the best fist-pump I've seen on a tennis court, and who'd have thought that these two would give us the highest-quality RG final in, like, a decade? And her sheer joy was so contagious. I don't care whether it was a fluke or whether she's not a true top player or whether she had an easy route to the final - those are kind of why this story is so amazing, it's the perpetual underdog who lucks out and finds herself in a position she never thought she'd be in, and then grabs a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in swashbuckling style. After years of seeing players piss away opportunity after opportunity with various iterations of Women's Tennis and choking, that's really refreshing to see. And it's GREAT for tennis, a heartwarming human interest story that is surely better than watching Safina crying and screaming at her box and winning 10 points yet again.

I think Schiavone is easily the oddest Slam winner in all the years I've been watching tennis...closest equivalent is probably Costa on the men's side, clay veteran who won RG '02 when it was "supposed" to be Ferrero's Slam. Though Schiavone is far from a clay specialist, with her Wimbledon/USO QFs as well. She's different to other female one-Slammers like Majoli and Myskina too - Majoli was 19 when she won and one of the top teenage prospects back then, albeit overlooked compared to the younger Hingis/Kournikova/Williams starlets. It only seems a fluke in retrospect because she turned into a party girl and never backed it up. Myskina was already a solid top 10 player by the time she won, whereas Schiavone had never been ranked higher than 11.

And yeah it's fucking hilarious that Schiavone has a Slam and Jankovic and Demented don't. I say this as a fan of Jankovic and Demented, but tennis is a meritocracy...it doesn't matter whether they're supposedly more "talented". You want a Slam? Win seven matches in a row, then. Schiavone's done it, and totally deserves it. Her gutsy display really shows them up as cowards, tbh.

The highlights were pretty thrilling. Schiavone's backhand! Terrific attacking tennis.

(And I don't think "we" were all writing Federer off upthread; I mean, I personally would quite like to see the guy win 20 Slams, an Olympic Gold in singles and sail into the 300s in weeks-at-#1, but the general point was that his current status rests heavily on his Slam performances (one final and one semifinal this year in 250s/500s/1000s and that's it) and it was hard to imagine him doing anything other than sliding back wrt Nadal for the next six months (not cos he's suddenly crap, but cos he has far more points to lose and his non-Slam tour application is not all it could be)...after which he has an Aussie title to defend. He can win a 7th Wimbledon next month and it wouldn't prevent his drop to #2. It could be next spring before he has a chance to reel Nadal back in again. Barring those dodgy knees).

Parera just played a great game to break the Toad. Just not missing and getting every ball back so deep.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z in the crowd!!! <3 <3 <3

Soderling doesn't really to know what to do with heavily-sliced retrievals from Nadal. One extra shot that he wasn't prepared to play and the thing has the most ridiculous backspin on it = error.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z in the crowd!!!

What? Those two don't strike me as tennis fans. That's awesome. Maybe this is Solange's influence too.

I feel bad for Soderling, he gets so down on himself.

how the actual hell did Nadal win that rally!!!

Loved the French crowd cheering Soderling in the middle of that rally, only to be stunned when Nadal won it.

What? Those two don't strike me as tennis fans. That's awesome. Maybe this is Solange's influence too.

"got the us open, advantage jigga, serve like sampras" was 14 years ago ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96sFW-3vGv4

and indeed "tennis shoes, don't even need to buy a new dress" from "crazy in love"

Missed opportunities notwithstanding I think Soderling's beginning to find the range with his bashing

haha cue Nadal winning eight straight points and getting the break

Ha, I didn't even realize that was the lyric.

Defense like that last game is why I love watching Rafa play.

another incredible point from Nadal in that game O_O

now Soderling's first serve has gone.

This was fairly evenly matched at 6-4 1-1 with Nadal having to really fight on his serve - then the umpire told him to get a move on and he's hardly lost a point since.

Oh dear :/

At least Magnus Norman is looking hott.

Yeah I don't remember him looking this good when he was playing!

Poor old Sod, didn't really stand a chance.

Anyway, I'm off to Queen's tomorrow! Roll on grass season!

ooh if he's playing check out Dustin Brown, Kat - not so much for his game (have never seen him play) but he's the first Jamaican man to be ranked in the top 100!

'gratz Rafa.

Will do - I have Court 2 seats so will prob get all the qualifiers plus Mardy Fish :)

Grigor Dimitrov is in the draw too (dude on the R in this photo, which also doubles as your reason to watch him) -

http://cornedbeefhash.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/tursunov-dimitrov-marseille09.jpg

(actually Tursunov, the other dude in the photo, has also qualified)

some velvet morning?

Is there a general tennis discussion around these parts? Some interesting pre-Wimbledon tournaments coming up.

ILE rolling non-slam Tennis thread

roll of honour -

Men's singles: Rafael Nadal
Women's singles: Francesca Schiavone
Men's doubles: Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic
Women's doubles: Serena Williams & Venus Williams
Mixed doubles: Nenad Zimonjic & Katarina Srebotnik
Boys' singles: Agustin Velotti
Girls' singles: Elina Svitolina
Boys' doubles: Duilio Beretta & Roberto Quiroz
Girls' doubles: Timea Babos & Sloane Stephens

Wouldn't call Jankovic and Dementieva 'cowards'. They are just found (so far) lacking at grand slam level, which isn't at all the same...

Well done Rafa! Was away and didn't get the chance to see this. How wonderful to see him recover from a fairly serious injury and win a slam without dropping a set!

Hopefully Rafa and Murray will be on different sides of the draw for Wimbledon.

you're so lenient on the tours' mentally weak chokers!

New rankings -

1. Serena Williams (1)
2. Venus Williams (2)
3. Caroline Wozniacki (3)
4. Jelena Jankovic (4)
5. Elena Dementieva (5)
6. Francesca Schiavone (17)
7. Samantha Stosur (7)
8. Agnieszka Radwanska (8)
9. Kim Clijsters (10)
10. Flavia Pennetta (15)
11. Na Li (12)
12. Marion Bartoli (14)
13. Nadia Petrova (20)
14. Shahar Peer (18)
15. Victoria Azarenka (11)
16. Yanina Wickmayer (16)
17. Maria Sharapova (13)
18. Justine Henin (23)
19. Svetlana Kuznetsova (6)
20. Dinara Safina (9)
21. Aravane Rezai (19)
22. Vera Zvonareva (22)
23. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (21)
24. Jie Zheng (24)
25. Daniela Hantuchova (26)
26. Lucie Safarova (25)
27. Alisa Kleybanova (28)
28. Maria Kirilenko (30)
29. Alona Bondarenko (31)
30. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (29)
31. Yaroslava Shvedova (36)
...
84. Chanelle Scheepers (131)
88. Jarmila Groth (107)

1. Rafael Nadal (2)
2. Roger Federer (1)
3. Novak Djokovic (3)
4. Andy Murray (4)
5. Nikolay Davydenko (5)
6. Robin Soderling (7)
7. Andy Roddick (8)
8. Juan Martin Del Potro (6)
9. Fernando Verdasco (9)
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10)
11. David Ferrer (11)
12. Marin Cilic (12)
13. Tomas Berdych (17)
14. Mikhail Youzhny (14)
15. Ivan Ljubicic (16)
16. Jurgen Melzer (27)
17. Juan Carlos Ferrero (18)
18. Nicolas Almagro (21)
19. John Isner (19)
20. Gael Monfils (15)
21. Fernando Gonzalez (13)
22. Stanislas Wawrinka (24)
23. Sam Querrey (22)
24. Thomaz Bellucci (29)
25. Radek Stepanek (20)
26. Marcos Baghdatis (30)
27. Tommy Haas (23)
28. Juan Monaco (25)
29. Ernests Gulbis (28)
30. Albert Montanes (34)
...
70. Robby Ginepri (98)
88. Teimuraz Gabashvili (114)

You haven't done the classic "436. Plucky Brit (437)" though.

Such as 279. Naomi Broady and her tasteful neck tattoo (281)

257. Laura Robson (262)