thanks, Andrew! and goodnight. :)

Why I do have the awful feeling that I am the last one left, quietly rambling on to myself about nothing much? LOL.

jewell, UR not alone. Us lurkers, occasional posters are still here, trying to catch up on what was missed during the day.

nervous for Serena tomorrow, so looking forward to a rematch of last year's final, with Serena pulling out the win. Azarenka's tricky for her I think.

just wondering, who's the "eye candy" in the match that got them the Centre Court? (that really reeks of ridiculous sexism that the BBC and AELTC let the prettiness factor into court assignments. i had so preferred Master Ace's prior explanation that maybe they were trying to give all potential QF a chance to play on Centre)

One strange thing about Murray's is that he just seems disgusted with himself, not just on UFE's, but also on almost impossible-to-return shots which he has no way of making (in normal circumstances) . For ex. It's sort of amusing to see him curse himself, smack his head (or the racquet) in frustration after missing a winner on an unreachable drop shot. He *does* have really high standards for himself. Good to see! Go Murray!

jewell hello my lovey. I am trying to get back into work mode and it is horrible. Luckily my boss has gone to lunch for a hour so I am left by myself.

I have missed a lot of tennis news. Did Sabine beat Caro? I hope so.

People! *loves*

I preferred Master Ace's explanation, too. But I assume they apply this "standard" to the men as well. ;-)

imjimmy - that kind of reminds me of Rafa, too, when he gets to something he shouldn't get to and then misses. But what's good with Murray now is that he doesn't let that get him down for more than that point.

Angel! You're working??? Massive hugs and congratulations. :)

I think Lisicki did win - I was home late last night and only saw the end of Hewitt-Steps (and that was fabulous) and Murray's match though. I really wanted to go to sleep early but Murray and Stan made it impossible. ;-)

This is what Murray says about his new found mental strength:

"""
But Murray is an experienced campaigner these days. Where once he would have fretted if everything started to go wrong, now he digs in and finds a way to get through it.

"When I don't feel like I can play my best, there's other things that I can do rather than just hitting a tennis ball," Murray said, "like chasing more balls down than I could before and getting as many balls back as possible. Mentally, I'm a lot stronger. When I'm not playing my best, my mentality is always 'right now'. I always feel like I can get back into matches, or work my way back into matches. Whereas in the past I would be playing badly and I would continue playing badly the whole match.

"Now, if I'm playing badly, I can find ways of turning matches around and winning and playing well when I need to. Those are sort of things that have got better. In terms of ball-striking and stuff, that’s not really changed. It's just the mentality and the physical side that’s won me a lot of matches."
"""

Lisiki is playing Dinara first on Centre Court tommorrow, followed by Serena v Azarenka,

Jewell yes I have a 2 month contract but it has interfered with my tennis watching, plus I have to start going to bed early. Last night watched a few hours but Fox kept jumping all over the place. I went to bed after the first set between Hott Sauce and Ivo.

So happy that Dinara and Sabine won, sorry Samantha. Looks like Sabine has Caro's number at the moment, hasn't she won the last two encounters.

Do the women all play tonight?

Have checked OOP for today, wish my network would show CC matches.

I think all the women will play QFs today, then the men tomorrow.

G'morning / G'night all...

That Stan/Andy match was a thriller, the closed roof certainly added to the atmosphere. But I'm still upset my may Stan lost.

Surprise for me was the amount of lights in the place. I thought the LTA was adamant there wouldn't be night tennis like the other slams.

Methinks the sessions will be split in two very soon...

Hopefully not everyone has seen this interview with Miss Hingis, if you have sorry for the double up.

http://tinyurl.com/nw8pxm

So today is the Chicks Day in tennis. I can finally get something done!

Morning, Codge. :)

"Methinks the sessions will be split in two very soon..."

Nooooo! Because then it wouldn't be special. And I think Wimbledon knows how to keep the moments special. Anyway - they don't extract every last penny in other ways, and I don't think they'll succumb to that temptation over this, either...at least, I hope not.

Angel I hadn't read it so thx.

She was a commentator before she attempted the comeback, I'm sure she would be welcomed back to the booth.

She's from the same generations as the "new balls please" players on atp. Wondering if the wta have a similar campaign for that gen?

Almost all are retired now...given their longevity, guess the Williams' were on to something.

Hm...I think Murray disrupting the entire TV schedule killed Today at Wimbledon last night.

*annoyed at lack of highlights*

I don't want to watch Federer-Soldier online, the most predictable match ever, or watch Murray for the second time in 12 hours. I want to see Lisicki-Caro and Dinara-Amelie.

Stupid BBC. Don't you realise how much I *need* Today at Wimbledon? I need John Inverdale and his awful jokes and mispronunciations, and the little song they pick to represent the day at the end...I *need* it all!

Or maybe it's stupid me, unable to find what I want...highly likely.

Morning, NP!

Hey Jewell,

Well USOPEN used to have one session for the women's finals and men's semis all on the same day. The ladies were sandwiched b/w the two, until they realised they had a cash cow on their hands.

It's inevitable.

btw are you going back for more tennis this week?

NP - pray tell what is that supposed to mean... ;-)

Hingis, unlike Gasquet, prolly did coke. Chicks. They're soooooooooooooo dependent.

Sup, j. About to hit the sack. Looks like there's no Sampras Hour tonite.

Codge, ATP > WTA. Anytime.

I hate to agree...but I must. Feel like a traitor.

Codge, you can't disagree with facts. :)

LOL, Codge - it's supposed to mean that NP is in controversy-causing mode. ;-)

No more live tennis for me...horrible busy weekend/horrible busy week. (partly because I took a day off last week).

Nooo...not inevitable! *refuses to believe* I love Wimbledon's second week scheduling of women and men on alternate days - makes lots of sense to me.

What, no Sampras Hour? *disconsolate*

jewell, it ain't no Sampras Hour unless imjimmy shows up. Looks like he has signed off for the day.

Oh well! I'll just have to survive somehow till tomorrow.

Jewell, I only mean that they will mimic the split sessions. Especially on the second Monday, that would be a windfall. So many people anxious for tix...would be great no?

At least you got in one great day and saw your faves :D

Had no idea there was a private Sampras gathering in the wee hour while the other twibers are sleeping... very sneaky..

For the rec. Pete was/is my man. Loved him when everyone said he was boring, and had weak competition. Even when the press hounded him to retire the last year and a half...damn jackals.

Anyhoo, off to manufacture some sleep...

Hoping Venus will win tomorrow.

Nite

"Even when the press hounded him to retire the last year and a half...damn jackals."

Hear, hear! And competition? What competition? Sampras would've gobbled up this current cakewalk draw!

And I'm off, 2. Later, folks.

yes, Codge, nearly every day at this sort of time...LOL. It's been my favourite time on TW since the FO, although I didn't like Sampras much and am not keen on serve and volley.

Friendly, nice, peaceful hour...*happy*

One day was enough...two would feel like too much. LOL. Goodnight, anyway. :)

Hey Jewell and Co

Am I in time for the Pete Sampras Hour?

Gee I have tried Fire Fox to my computer didnt help one bit

I have tried for hours on and off over the last day or so

Its sooooooooooooooooo frustating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AA Hi,gee hows the new job going?

Night, NP!

NP By the way theres nothing wrong with

Chicks Tennis?

Gee Serena and Miss Vee play great Grass court tennis put some Men on the tour to shame thank you very much

I see the Pete Sampras Hours has been abandoned due to lack of interest

I wonder how long it would last.

LOL. Morning, AM. :)

Stupid slow loading times. Really, the user-friendliness of this site has taken a bashing in the last few months...makes things difficult. But, never mind! We persevere, which says something about TW, no?

anyway - work calling. See you later. :)

*rolling back in for a second*

Gabriela Valentina says hello to everyone. :)

*rolls back out again*

Good morning all, a little nevous for Serena, I think Venus will get through in straight. Hoping Lisicki goes out early. I'm sorry, but she should have apologized to Caro for the bumping incident. Go V, Ree, Elena and Dinara.

I don't agree that Vika would have won the match in Austrailia. I have seen Serena come back from many similar matches. I think Dina will eventually win a slam, she has the game for it, a great serve and a powerful game. She has made it to the final so many times. Go Caro, Scandinavia's#1, world's#9.

OMG, they just said Serena was like Paris Hilton and Venus was like Niki Hilton whoever that is.

WTA Quarterfinal Preview:

(A-5)Dinara Safina vs. Sabine Lisicki
Dinara first 3 opponents were ranked below 70 but she was tested in the R16 rallying after blowing an early break in the match to lose the set to Amelie Mauresmo. However, she showed her resolve rallying from a break down in he 2nd set to force a decider. In the 2nd set, the roof was closed as rain came midway through the set. In the 3rd set, Amelie raced to a 3-0 lead but as Amelie did in set 1, Dinara rallied from that deficit to win the match. Sabine was two points away from losing to Anna Chakvetadze but managed to win. In her last 2 matches, she knocked off two Top 10 players in Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki. In the match against Caroline, Sabine won 8 out of 11 swing points(saving all 6 break pts on her serve and breaking twice - once per set). Sabine defeated Dinara at 2008 Australian Open as a qualifier and beat Lindsay Davenport in Fed Cup play 2 months later. Question for Sabine is consistency.

Prediction : Sabine Lisicki will execute her high risk and reward game.

(A-1)Venus Williams vs (F)Agnieszka Radwanska
Venus had a short day on court as Ana Ivanovic retired with a thigh injury and she and Serena double bageled Zi Yan and Jie Zheng in doubles therefore, she will have a lot left in the tank. Agnieszka ended the run of Melanie Oudin in straights.

Prediction : Venus Williams power will be too much

Francesca Schiavone vs (A-8)Elena Dementieva
Francesca is continuing her unlikely grass court run defeating some solid opponents. Elena has not lost a match in Slam play in a while against an unseeded player and she lost only 4 games against Elena Vesnina,who retired in her doubles match with Victoria Azarenka due to heat illness.

Prediction : Elena Dementieva to make her 2nd consecutive semifinal at Wimbledon

(A-7)Victoria Azarenka vs (A-2)Serena Williams
Other than the expected final, this is the matchup most people wanted to see. Serena won at the Australian Open when Victoria retired due to heat illness. Victoria led by a set but Serena was up a break in the 2nd. Victoria won at Key Biscayne in 2 easy sets against a hobbled Serena,who gutted out a 3 set win against Venus in the semifinals. Now, hopefully, both ladies will stay illness and injury free for this encounter. Victoria escape a tough 3 set match with Nadia taking almost 2 hrs and 30 minutes while Serena got off the court in less than an hour. Then, Serena(with Venus) double bageled their opponents in doubles under an hour.

Prediction : Serena Williams win easier than expected

WTA rankings news(400 pts added) for today winners

Dinara will be number 1 after Wimbledon regardless of what happens.
Sabine will move to number 20.

Venus will move to number 4. Best Venus can do is 3 even if she 3-peats.
Agnieszka will move to number 10.

Francesca will move to number 22(23 if Sabine wins)
Elena will stay at 3. She can be number 2 if she wins Wimbledon.

Victoria will move to number 7 if she beats Serena.
Serena will be number 2 unless Elena wins Wimbledon.

Patrick, I hope you're right about Serena. I'm a little concern with this one. Vika's game reminds me a lot of Sharapova when she first came out. Go Serena!

Dinara/Sabine and Venus/Agnieszka should be starting shortly on Centre and Court 1.

Samantha Elin,
Victoria played almost 150 minutes of tennis while Serena played singles and doubles in less time as she lost only 4 games all day playing 4 sets.

Right Patrick, now that Caro is gone I want an all Williams final.

Pete has posted today Crisis Center....

Scrolling through pages recently...

(a) I wonder if I'm the only person who let the eternity-to-load issues put him off posting/following

(b) if every complaint about matches not being on Centre Court were followed up they would have to play 24 hours a day.

13 days play:
days 1-7: 3 matches scheduled
days 8-11: 2 matches scheduled
days 12-13: 1 match scheduled
(7x3)+(4x2)+(2x1)=31 matches

Federer: 7 matches
Murray: 6 matches
Venus: 7 matches
Serena: 6 matches
Safina: 5 matches

That's your 31 matches already. Why should Centre Court be a diet of just 5 players? Ridiculous.

Samantha Elin,
Caroline will be back for the United States Open. First of all, she needs to cancel Bastad next week so she can be off for the entire month of July as she is not scheduled to play in Stanford. She just ran into a hot player this week(just like Charleston) who game was clicking as she won 8 out of the 11 swing points.

I hope she plays less to Patrick. I think part of Hott messes problem is that she over played. I don't want to see the same thing happen to Caro. I want her to go for quality over quantity and start to challenge the big hitters. Go Caro, Scandinavia's#1, World's#9!

cotton jack - i was home watching yesterday, and barely posted. its slow with noone here. with people, its silly. i upgraded my ie, no lurve.

but today i have to go to work anyhow, so i'll poke around some more tonite.

have fun today! Davai Dinara!