lovely pic, thanks

zverev into the third round, didn't see that coming
that's too bad for PHM he had to play 2 matches in the same day
I guess he felt great to win over a player like Ferrer and then felt terrible to loose to a player like Zverev, all in one day. Well, that's tennis...
I hope Simon will eliminate Zverev tomorrow to restore my draw :-)

Obama and Rafa are responsible for the ills of this world???!!!!!!

Someone here actually said that?!

I officially rename TennisWorld as Crazytown.

hey guys, i've been having the busiest and most awful day here, but I'm glad to see that Fed won, even if the serve is a bit off.

Now if only Ernie could pull another upset...

Aww Roger has the nicest hair!
Nice pic!

Frances, i totally get the fangurl thing, no need to explain your preferences :)

5-2 for Richard. But that second game was a cheap donation from Richard while serving for the set. Ernie serving to stay in the set.

Thanks Rosangel!!

Oh man..I went to check my bracket, saw that I had dropped 2,000 spots, and was very confused. I then see that I actually picked Lopez, not Stepanek. I thought I had picked Stepanek and was rooting for him to win the match, LOL!!!

I think Rome with its rain delays and upsets has completely fried my brain!!

Come on Reeshie, keep it together!!!! GO GASQUET!!!

i'm liking the volleying from Ernie...

Rosangel: Very nice and objective post at 2:51 PM.

CPM: I think most Rafa fans here would love to see Fedal finals. And no-one is writing Federer off. He's still the #2 player in the world, and I wouldn't bet against him turning things around soon.

Tim: Tennis appreciation is a very subjective thing. Sometimes brutal and efficient tennis can just be as appealing: For instance, I could spend an entire day just watching Sampras serve, and I've always been a fan of quick serve volley tennis of yore.

I think it is very likely that some people admire Rafa more for the competitiveness and intensity he brings to the court, rather than his brutal shots, awkward serve and (seemingly) monotonous style of play. Plus he's such a sharp contrast to Federer: a perfect foil for someone who's not sworn lifetime allegiance to TMF.

I think Rome with its rain delays and upsets has completely fried my brain!!"

Linz,
You're not alone, and I too find myself rooting for a player thinking I picked him! :)

I think one of the reasons why Rafa played really defensive in his match in the semifinals of AO against Verdasco is that Verdasco, like Tsonga the year before, was "in the zone". He pulled off shots he'd never before attempted. It was an insanely high-quality match by Verdasco. If Rafa played attacking tennis, he was bound to make unforced errors which if they had come at a crucial stage could have cost him the match. And I think Verdasco's offense in HCs is much more superior to Rafa's anyway. So Rafa played smart percentage tennis. I think deep in his mind Rafa new Verdasco would crack if he kept up the pressure. It wasn't his best match(actually I thought Rafa played so-so in the finals as well)but he did what he had to do even if it was energy sapping. But the most important thing was there were many examples of Rafa's growth as a hard court player. A year back he could do nothing against Tsonga now even when Verdasco was red-hot Rafa could keep up with him. Shows the improvement in the game. As he said after winning AO, he'd been working for this his whole life. Every single year spent in HCs helped him.
I think more than high-quality tennis it was bravery, determination and perseverance that I saw from Rafa that day. And of course in typical fangirl fashion I cried after that match...
Just my opinion.

I would really like to Jackie but with these darned rain delays his matches keep ending up not televised - ugh! Oh well, glad to see that your boy got through! A hearty congrats to Fed! I would truly like to see him retain the number 2 position.

Why don't I ever a see pic of Rafa on these threads.. forget about the main posts, poor kid doesn't even show up on the overflow threads.. so much partiality to federer as always

Aargh, sorry typepad fooled me.
i thought my post didn't appear in previous overflow.

c1: where are you watching?

lolol now Rosangel is getting accused of being partial to Fed.

Hate the DFs from Ernie.

"I too find myself rooting for a player thinking I picked him! :)"

mee too :-)

I get it, i just cant imagine anyone preferring Rafa's brand of tennis to Fed's just doesnt seem possible aesthetically, from a ball striking, diversity perspective... depends if youre watching the ball or something else, i guesss :)

rafligo, there have been plenty of Rafa pics over the past 4 tournaments. Its nice to give every player their day in the sun.

Besides, who knows how long we'll have Fed around to "appreciate", so may as well see him now.

TT, both of my boys. ;)

Grrr, I'm going to be away from a computer alllll weekend, so I'm gonna miss the end of the tourney! Damn life interfering with tennis!

After seeing certain posts in other overflow last page i just want to say aesthetics especially in tennis differs from person to person and i would truly appreciate it if some people did not think others are inferior to them because they like another type of tennis.

I hate elitism.

wow vicktor knows how to pick em, another example of unattractive men nabbing very hot women! lol

Wow, Troicki's GF is gorgeous.

AM, what is with you this week? You are offending people left and right! ;)

Yay! I just saw that Sa/Melo won. They are having such a bad year, thet I think every win must be celebrated!

what's elite about beautiful tennis?

Jason Goodall is in love with Victors G/friend lol

He said "that is a very becoming look isnt it"

Victor your g/friend indeed is beautiful

I think the Latvians are going to work and school tomorrow. No free holiday from the government.

W/UFEs

Gasquet 9/8
Gulbis 14/20

Doublefaults

Gasquet 1
Gulbis 6

yeah great pic of Roger - looks like he's giving us the 'high five'

right back at you, dude!!!

So yeah, if you like dodgy serving, shakey forehands, and ineffective on handed backhands, Fed's certainly the way to go.

rafligo: Certain corners get ornery at the appearance of even appreciation of Rafa.

I'm in 152nd place! Woohoo!

ava; word on your 3:21. or constantly baiting people about how bad or boring their player is.

Gasquet's won the first set over gulbis, Arun.

Did I know Troicki had a gf? Pics??

He's not so bad himself.

Well count me as one who can appreciate both Fed's and Rafa's styles and not think one is better than the other, just different.

Ernie fails to hold his serve even once in that set. I hope Gasquet doesn't have a meltdown now.

And, I'm outta here. ttyal.

I don't get how people keep trying to characterize Nadal's game as one-dimensional. That may have been true from 2004 up to 2006. But since then, that charge can no longer be leveled against him. Not even Federer is trying to use that mantra anymore. The person who said Nadal's game is "bang, bang, bang, you're dead" is living in the past.

Jenni Yes I am just being my Condensending self? lol

Gee last night with Englishmen? hence not the offending P word

rafaligo - I'll take that as a compliment. FYI I made it to 37 of Rafa's matches in person last year.... he doesn't have a bigger fan in this forum than me, and quite a few of my own pictures of him have appeared in TW over time.

I believe the young man was pictured here twice during Monte Carlo, but there are a lot of fans of other players here too, and as far as running TennisWorld is concerned I try to spread the picture coverage around and not favour any player.

Soderling's grandmother doesn't even like him.

well, murray's out.
now all ya need to do nole, is defend a title for the first time.:)

What's with the Soderling hateration?

Tim: Very well put. The difference is that Federer's domination was based on stylistic innovation, creativity, variation and artistry. Rafa's game is based on numbing repetition, with occasional great shots seemingly out of nowhere. Rafa's game is fun to watch when juxtaposed to another great player, but not so much in itself unless one likes endless repetition and defensive wall tennis.

That said, I agree with frances that it is ultimately a subjective matter. Both Roger's and Rafa's games are great in different ways, and appeal to different tastes. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all that. I just happen to prefer a game based on elegant stylistic variation to one based on dogged bulldog repetition and defensiveness. To each her own.

I personally over the years found Fed's tennis and dominance truly uninspiring and downright boring.
There I said it!
Like I said, I think it is elitist when you assume you are the true tennis fans because you enjoy "beautiful tennis" and others watch other players for "something else".
I prefer Nadal's crazy gets and angles to Fed's artistry.
Doesn't mean I'm not a true tennis fan or a Fed hater....

Ava: I agree with you about the sense of elitism. I have a friend who keeps telling me he just wants to see Rafa tank because he can't stand Rafa's style. It is too brutal and aggressive, he thinks that Federer "defines" the best tennis form. I enjoy watching Rafa play. Granted I do not know a lot about Tennis fundamentals but I find his game entertaining.

Jackie: same here. I graduate on Saturday and then am on the road for the next three days straight. Ugh! Yay for graduation and going home but BOO for missing the tournament.

'Grrr, I'm going to be away from a computer alllll weekend, so I'm gonna miss the end of the tourney! Damn life interfering with tennis!'

Jackie, same here. And that last phrase I should get tattooed somewhere ;)

That Delpo/Troicki match has not been the best so far. I puts me to sleep. Are there any Elf fans here at all?

oh and TT, you've got mail. well, not yet (as I have some difficulties with focusing obviously) but I wanted to say it. so wait a minute ;)

"I officially rename TennisWorld as Crazytown."

I suspect Sarcasmdetectionfailville would be more fitting.

he doesn't have a bigger fan in this forum than me"

Ok I think we need to have a competition to decide that one.
I'm a pretty big fan too ;)

So Tim, your taste is better than my taste? How about my taste is better than your taste? Trying to justify one person's taste over another person's taste (and acting incredulous that someone can have different preferences than you) becomes a ridiculous and useless argument.

bummer. i would have loved to see viktors gf. did they show
her in the stands? it's weird watching these late matches when
no ones there. must be strange for the players too!

why is tennis.tv showing me the FIRST set of Ernie-Richie? I want to watch the 2nd, the live tennis.

Rosangel - have you spoken with rafa? and if so does he noticed that you attended so many tournaments?

oh wow lucky you!! im so jelly!!!

crazyone, log out and then log back in.

It's normal now.

More importantly,
Is that a callus in the middle of Federer's palm?

sandra: i lot of us scroll when certain posters get like broken records.

peanut: do you remember a match between sod and rafa from wimby 07? very long match but there was some bad feelings between the two. it's on you tube. someone posted it earlier. maybe around noon if you want to look for it.

Ava: I think the AO-SF match was more about Nadal not having enough confidence in his offensive game. The periods of the match where he did well against Verdasco were when he was taking the game to Verdasco and hitting more winners (The winner. serve % stats were noticeably better in the 3rd and the 5th sets which Nadal won) . The reason why Verdasco cracked in the 5th set was because Nadal continued to be offensive on his serve and went for more(not less) on his shots.

Anyway, If there's one weakness in Nadal's game, it is that he always goes into the default defense (run everything down mode) when the other player is playing very well. That's what he has to guard against on the faster surfaces.

Ernests got the break? Gasquet DFs on the brake point I guess... Anyway, go Ernests!

Ernie should be prolonging the points to exploit the fact that Richard has played an earlier match (against JWT).

But I don't think he realizes his advantage.

I think some, actually most of you need to find their sense of humor. A bit tongue in cheek in most of these posts and they are being read as straight talk.

Soderling's grandmother doesn't even like him.
--
I was really getting pissed off when I saw this and I laughed out aloud.
Thanks Sandra!
Poor SOD maybe he changed his ways....

Okay, Ernie consolidated the break at 3-1. Can he hang on?

BTW, it's the first meeting between these two.

who's saying my taste is better? Im saying there's nothing elitist about playing beautiful tennis, and if you ask 100 people for one adjective on both Rafa and Roger's tennis, who would get more 'beautiful's chosen? why do far more pros prefer to watch Fed than Rafa, as proven by the poll by SI during last year's US Open? why is Fed always the ATP fan favorite every year?

sorry but them's the facts fangurls!

Annie,
I remember the match. But surely, the statute of limitations has expired on that incident.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eog0TaQ1o3c

ptenis, here it is. watch the 2nd part.

Aw, you GUYS. Can we just watch the tennis and be happy for fans of all players here instead of getting into Fedal knife fights?! We've got Fed fans here who like Fed for a reason. We've got Rafa fans here who like Rafa for a reason. We have FOOPs who don't like either and some who like both, all for their own reasons. That's the way it is, so let's move on, yeah?

Happy family, happy family, happy family ... ;)

TT, congrats on your graduation!!!
What is your chosen profession???

Anyone else sad that Coria retired...?
I always thought with his game he had to win at least 2 FOs.
He missed his opportunity once and then Rafa arrived and everyone started playing for runner-ups...I wish him all the best for the future though.

Jackie the closest families are the ones with the most passionate fights, dont u know that? :)

you'd think it would have, but i don't think he's popular for other reasons.

Tim, not mine ... ;)

TT, CONGRATS if I haven't said it already!

annie- i remember that match. Thanks for posting.
I was watching that match with my brother. Was a pretty ridiculous moment.

The descriptions of Federer's tennis by some commenters here make him sound like a figure skater or a rhythm gymnast. I'll bet Federer himself would prefer to describe his tennis as much tougher than it's being characterized here.

Jackie dont u wathc Brothers and Sisters on Sunday nights? lol

Sandra watch a few of his Wimby finals and tell me he's not all of those things with tennis shoes on... rafa is competitively astounding and has that special energy, but Fed's comes out through his racquet skills

'Fraid not, Tim.

If I want to see fighting, I just turn on wrestling. :)

Ernie gets the insurance break for 4-1 in the 2nd set.

I just saw the Latvian flag for the first time. It's two horizontal vermillion stripes flanking a white one.

Thursday's OOP is out btw.

""Thursday's OOP is out btw.""
Annie: Can't see it on the official website. How about posting a link for lazy bums like me?

I want to be clear that I don't get the elitism here, but I understand where Ava is coming from based on personal experience outside of TW.

Tim: I enjoy your comments! :)

Thanks for the well wishes!

Ava: I want to be a human rights activist fighting the modern day slave trade. I talked about it A LOT on the last DC (thanks again for that opportunity Jackie!) and would be more than willing to share more in the future.

I must go - senior activities call and my family arrives tonight!! Hope to stop by tomorrow but if not an early VAMOS for Rafa. Thanks for the fun!

imjimmy @3;33
I see your points.
I've seen the match only twice and that too months back maybe I'm not recalling correctly but from my memory I thought Verdasco consistently outplayed Rafa in long patches. I'll see the match again. But one thing I totally agree with you is that rafa does have a tendency to get into extreme-defensive clay court tennis circa 2005 mode when he sees that the other player is too hot. But I was very happy with his performance in AO overall. Hey can't complain if you win the whole thing, lol!
Thanks for your thoughts!!

Imjimmy
Try the ATP site, it's on there

wait did F Lo not want to muss his makeup? wtf?

Gasquet getting treatment on his hand.

Ok, one thing is for certain most fans will prefer to see Rafa's posterior than Fed's stomach!! lol ;)

i just lol-ed at the atp website homepage. they replaced the roaring tiger image of Murray w/ Fed. geez, they make the players look so ridiculous.

NDMS, my stream is still wayyyy behind.

Ernie breaks Richard at love for the 2nd set. 6-1!

W/UFE

Gulbis 9/10
Gasquet 3/11

Richard is receiving a medical timeout. He's getting a massage in his right arm.

So now Federer's fans are now being subjected to the heinous charge of "elitism" for valueing the elegant and beautiful (and some people wonder why I once compared attacks on Federer and his supporters to the tactics of certain elements of the political Left).

Well thanks to Tim (kudos) we now have the perfect term to define Federer's sylistically varied game: Diversity! Ha ha. So there! Now we're politically correct too. Diversity is the perfect defence to charges of elitism. And Rafa fans above all should appreciate the value of an impenetrable defence. :)

wow, Ernie with 3 SPs and my SB will probably freeze at this moment :-))
Ernie will have advantage if he takes it to 3rd set as Gasquet will be really tired
Go, Ernests

Lol, you guys. Since I'm going crazy today, tell me who you think will win WTA's favorite ATP player??!!

I think Verdasco lol. I've heard a lot of Rafa admirers as well.

crazyone, log out and close the browser. Open a new window and log back in.

but somehow it works better in IE.

c'mon Ernie!

I dunno, I fancy the tummy. :)

Meanwhile, rain again?

OMG...Ernie is playing Resshie...whoaaa...ummm sorry baby Fed but I have to go with family here...c'mon lil' bro you can do it...Sauraj (sp?) Ernesto!!!! Live streams pretty please???

The Fed's hair is just unfreakingbelievable...I mean it still looks fabulous after a match...I can't even get my hair to do what I want it to do after a wash and a blow dryer and a curling iron....pfffttttttt

NDMS, I tried that about 4 different times with Firefox, didn't work.

Gulbis match is suspended due to rain...
Gasquet- "saved by the rain" :-))

gulbis and gasquet have split sets and are just starting the third.

@Annie: You can google "Suncica Travica" for some pics of Viktor's girlfriend.

sokol; where'd you see that? i just saw them walk on court to start the third. no rain.

Hey TWibers! Happy Humpday.

Fedal knife fights? I'm trying to decide if S.E. Hinton would be proud or roll over in his grave.

Meanwhile, in current tennis news, Viktor is up 3-0 on Elf in the second. Someone get gauloises a shot of...anything.

crazyone, I don't know what else to do. If mine is working and yours is not, then the problem is local to your terminal.

thanks Gusztav! i will.