Muzz didn't play so bad today.

No, he didn't NP but Jo Wilf played worse.

Lynne, Jo did shank more shots than he shoulda, especially DS's, but some credit must go to Muzz for making him hit one more shot.

linex, yeah. The rooting thing is subjective. Every1 is entitled to their opinion. Of course, if it's against a player I like, I will argue against a negative opinion.

Anyways, today of all days, when Andy becomes No. 2, many ppl seem to have a negative opinion. So, I'm just in a pissy mood.

Del Po like an earthquake rocked the city of Montreal. I think tomorrow he will come back and gulp up the Rogers Cup.

Saturday Order of Play:

Cincinnati
Dinara Safina defeated Flavia Pennetta 6-2,6-0
Black/Huber defeated Amanmuradova/Niculescu 6-4,6-1
Jelena Jankovic defeated Elena Dementieva 7-6(2),0-6,7-6(6)
Llagostera Vives/Martinez Sanchez defeated Ruano Pascual/Zheng 6-1,6-4

Montreal
Bhupathi/Knowles defeated Nestor/Zimonjic 5-7,6-2,10-4
Andy Murray defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4,7-6(8)
Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Andy Roddick 4-6,6-2,7-5
Mirnyi/Ram defeated B Bryan/M Bryan 7-6(5),6-2

Annie I am a Kolya fan too since Rome 07. So for tennis it is not only about sex appeal. It is an element in their games or their pesonalities that attract me. I like to watch Gasquet play and I do not think he is handsome. And even though Roger does things with the ball that nobody does I am never eager to watch him play ...

So I would say that in my case first of all I need to like how they play and afterwards elments like looks, personality, nationality enter the mix as relevant elements.

pspace: andy being so gracious on court right now. he's got a lovely personality. i'm happy for him. i'll be rooting for him tomorrow.

Sunday Order of Play:
Singles matches will be live on ESPN2

Cincinnati
1:30 PM - Cara Black and Liezel Huber vs Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez
4:00 PM - Dinara Safina vs Jelena Jankovic

Montreal
11:00 AM - Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles vs Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram
1:30 PM - Andy Murray vs Juan Martin Del Potro

linex: we think alike. it's a real mix and mystery, no?

I'll have to wait until tomorrow and they are a few games in until my body language tells me whom I'm rooting for. Good luck to all the players, I hope both the men and the woment play their best tennis

NP: I agree. That is one of Muzz's many strengths, he can make everyone hit an extra shot. We all know that his serve is quite 'off' at the moment but when this improves I think he could take the USO this year.

Pspace do not worry about everyone else´s feeling just enjoy the moment and by the way congratulations on Andy reaching number 2 he showed incredible consistency these past two years.

I guess you will enjoy it even better when he wins his first Grand Slam. But in your case the press likes Murray.

In my case I would like Delpo to win a Slam and imagine i already know that Pete dislikes him, so I will just enjoy if that becomes true and he needs to write about him.

Tiger Woods(-8) lead after 54 holes at the PGA.

Tiger 14 Majors
Masters - 1997,2001,2002,2005
United States Open - 2000,2002,2008
British Open - 2000,2005,2006
Professional Golf Association - 1999,2000,2006,2007

If Tiger wins, he will tie Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen for the most PGA titles at 5. Also, that would make him 15 for 15 when tied or leading going into the final round.

Prediction - Tiger ties his friend Roger at 15. Wonder if Roger is in Tiger's 15th commercial like Tiger was in Roger 15th Slam?

Annie,

""the weird thing is, i like both murray and delpos play very much,""

Join the club :-). Both fine players. Personas could use work, of course. Just give it a little time...

manuelsantanafan : Thanks for the correction. Two RUs and one SF loss to Albert Costa in 2002 for Corretja.

Wow, Woods going to win his 15th? This Federer-Woods race is getting pretty interesting. Now that Sampras is out of the way, I hope these two can push each other on and Federer can win a few more... ;-)

As for the "charisma" thing, I don't see what the big deal is. Who gives a [fig] what the hoi polloi think as long as enough $$$ is coming in? Pete's personality interested me more than Andre's even before I was a fan of either player, but that's obviously not shared by the majority of the public. Tough.

MA I said this on the other thread but in case you missed it
Tiger was peeved that he missed the birdie on 18 for a three shot lead!

linex, hehe, I usually don't care. It's just today, it's like death by drowning. Every 10mins...shall we take a poll "Who else doesn't like Muzz". No worries and tx ;-).

hmm, people are reacting negatively to MAndy getting numero dos? why? dude deserves it.just like Rafa deserved to take number 1 last year. pffft. they need to relax. it's not like it was given to MAndy without merit.

props to MAndy for taking it the first chance he had.

NP Andre Agassi has plenty of charisma and plenty of die hard fans around the world. Here in Argentina and Uruguay I would say that Agassi is more popular than Sampras.

Lynne, my CB sez more bloodsucking in order for Lestat.

Jewell,
About time you read this post, I will be gone to sleep but you have from page 8 to page 15 if you want to read the match call on Jelena and Elena. If you want the short version, read my next post on what I addressed to Andrew.

Love his game, not crazy about his personality, but I'm not crazy about Roger's personality half the time either and he's been my favorite.

linex, that's my point. Andre's flashy side never interested me much, but Pete's brooding personality did, "charisma" be damned. And again this was before I was a hardcore tennis fan.

thanks, 'spacie. andy couldn't have been sweeter in his on-court interview. saying he didn't know if it would happen with roger and rafa there and mentioning rafa's being injured. very classy. there's a vid on youtube from rotterdam this year. it's of murray greeting rafa in the hotel lobby and congratulating him on his ao victory. he says something like "well done." It's very sweet.

Jewell,
Here is the short version of Elena and Jelena but my advice is to read the match call as TWibers had things to say.

"Andrew,
You can save money on that DVD from Cincinnati. Elena played a bad first set tiebreak and made crucial mistakes in the deciding tiebreak after getting off to a 6-2 lead. Elena dominated the second set by coming to the net consistently. Also, Jelena was serving for the match in the 3rd at 5-4,40-0 but Elena dictated the next 5 points to extend the match. In the end, you had 25 DFs, 15 breaks of serve, 92 errors total, and 7 blown match points and a lucky ducky win for Jelena(108-116 pts). That is the WTA drama for today. It may not be ATP style but it was drama."

Toonie,
Tiger is always peeved at something to the point where he curses every bad shot that is caught by the audio.

NP I understand that you could be a Sampras fan as I said before it is subjective (plus Sampras cool down to earth personality gained him a lot of fans (just as is the case with Roger). I was a fan of Hingis when half of the world thought she was too arrogant and a spoiled child, so there is no rationality to these choices.

MA:It's tough to be perfect!

NP, i like the brooders, too. it's that their broodiness often mean they are incredibly self-possessed.

but my love of federer ruins that brooder thing. federer in the heart of his prime was like cary grant in screwball comedies in the late 30's...in my eyes, perfect, admirable, and still somehow human.

Actually, linex, that's exactly why I like(d) Hingis. :) The sharpest tongue to occur on the WTA in my tennis-viewing history.

Well, one thing is for sure Muzzah does now deserve that no. 2 ranking, he has worked very hard for it and I think it will be a very exciting match. It is now time I was off, so goodnight everyone.

"Tiger is always peeved at something to the point where he curses every bad shot that is caught by the audio."

That reminds me of a very funny P.G. Wodehouse short story about swearing golfers... :-)

Night Lynne. I'm off now too folks. Happy tennis talk!

And in her last interview in order not to lose her honest sincere approach no matter the consequences she said she no longer follows the WTA. That she follows the ATP matches because WTA matches are just ball bashing and there is no variety. She even said that she appreciates what Safina did in terms of fitness and work to reach the number 1 but that to be honest it is not as if she is looking forward to watch her matches ...

I think it's reprehensible that the #2 ranking can go to someone who's never won a major while the #3 has six.

knownaim&, I do like Fed's game, but he personally never appealed to me much. Ditto with most celebs. Of course your inclinations will vary.

(j/k, btw)

NP: even with a * in the middle, it's still a profanity, and the Site rules apply here as well as TW proper:

1 - Please refrain from profanity. If you feel impelled to use a foul word, keep in mind that leaving something to the imagination is a lot more fun in everything - even comment posting. $#$%@ is a four letter word, too.

Added bonus: In contrast to the pedestrian, thoughtful comments at TW, that dark, intense, profanity-laced just-right-for-Indie-film-if-only-Coppola-could-read-it screenplay that you’ve been working on all these years will now seem that much more hip, that much more edgy!!!!

So the official TW policy is that the use of profanities may get your comment deleted, depending on the context and usage.

'night lynne and toonie, i'm off too.

see y'all tomorrow for the final, and congrats again to andy murray for reaching #2!

WTA evening matches for the first 3 nights at Toronto

Monday 7 PM: Nadia Petrova vs Maria Sharapova after the exo doubles match featuring Monica Seles, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, and Aleksandra Wozniak

Tuesday 7:30 PM: Qualifier vs Kim Clijsters

Wednesday 7:30 PM: Qualifier or Daniela Hantuchova vs Serena Williams

"I think it's reprehensible that the #2 ranking can go to someone who's never won a major while the #3 has six."

News flash: Rankings are calibrated on a yearly basis. Rafa's previous 5 major titles don't factor into this year's rankings.

Another news flash: Lendl was No. 1 before he won his 1st major at RG. How reprehensible that was!

Understood, Mod. So is "f*#%" OK?

tinalidav, gotcha.

NP: no. See my 11:51pm.

NP, it's funny i never think of federer as a celebrity. he is, isn't he. i now think of him as a legendary tennis player. but he's still playing! he came late to the celebrity thing. it wasn't until his second year of total domination in 2005 that he started to milk it. in 2004 i really liked that the #1 tennis player was running a mom and pop organization.

i really don't care about the other nonsense outside tennis. the celebrity stuff got in the way of me digging agassi for a long time. but i appreciate the celebrity thing because it means people who read magazines at supermarket checkouts get to know who these people are and that means more hdtv coverage of my favorite sport.

^^ Heh. I have never read that site rule, but have been in violation of it many times and never called out on it. I must be really smooth. LOL

Well, I don't like Muzz even though, yes, he deserves the number 2 (seriously, there is no argument against this...the numbers are the numbers) or JMDP so I won't be watching tomorrow. I am positive neither one of them gives a flying fig about my feelings though. I am sure neither will lose sleep over the fact I am not watching and that I am not a fan.

So, all it needed was for Muzza to dethrone Rafa for the
No. 2 slot. I thought Rafa got defensive way before and
indicated that he preferred a two-year rolling ranking
system ... Rafa and Roger fans have no skin ...

Gotcha, Mod. Think rule no. 1 could be more clear, though.

knownaim&, any public figure is by definition a celeb, and what he does outside tennis, for better or for worse, is part of the person. Lemme just say I draw the line between his private and public activities.

Hey NP! Did you ever think about the fact the fact that
you can use WTF without being called up on by the Mod :-)
Where will we be without the ATP?

I am having a celebrity moment, sorry for the fangirl nonsense, but... I informed Dr Ivo of the outcome of the Roddick/DelPo match tonite! We were alone in an elevator, and it was all I could come up with for conversation... "Hey, did you see the Montreal score?" Luckily, he hadn't. OMG I love Cincy.

I love a bit of sharpness myself. I loved Hingis and I still wish she was around to brighten up the WTA with both her smile and her tactless comments. I see a bit of her in Roger - must have rubbed off through his being her apprentice at the Hopman Cup, but Hingis is still the GOAT of frankness.

NP,

i think the dictionary definition of celebrity is lagging behind real world usage. but just my opinion on that one. the dictionary doesn't back me up.:)

with u on that Corrie, re Martina.

AllyR, how long are u in Cincy for? the whole week? keep us updated of all the off court stuff! hee.

first, good call. WTF.

knownaim&, today's dictionaries are overrated anyway. Nothing beats Dr. Johnson's original.

Yep, drove in from Six-burgh today, here til it's through. Will keep you up to date on the goings on in the hotel lobby. So far, strange mix of ATP players, WTA players, HS reunion attendees, and hotel security guards...

thanks AllyR. i love hearing off court stories, they make these players seem...human. enjoyed Jackie's Cincy 08 stories as well as Beth's at IW. will look forward to yours.

no rest for the wicked, i'll be up for the final which is on around 3am Sydney time. ick.

NP, Del Potro is very Samprasesque, to me. i'm loving it. for you, too?

so you guys are still here ?
I was here happily watching the television with my daughter
and then she got a call from some boy and is gone
figures
as I know the outcome of Titanic - ends badly for Leo - I thought I would see if anyone was here

Ally R - enjoy your trip and do tell us all about it

knownaim&, dP is growing on me, but Samprasesque? No! Heck, no! He can't move better than A-Rod, for Pete's sake! What makes you say that?

beth, many a soul would say the ending of Titanic was anything but bad for Leo.

Only caught the last couple of games of Roddick-Delpo. Can't believe serving-machine Roddick of all people double faulted on the most important break-point of the match! Yeesh! Channeling Fed, were you?

Hugs to ARod fans, myself included. SO close yet again. But kind of happy for Elf, and not at all surprised. I think he's been playing well all tournment and has had moments where he's had nerves of steel. Fabulous signs for good things happening in his future.

I'll be rooting for him tomorrow.

And props to Murray for getting the #2. Can't say I'm a fan, but he's definitely put in the hard work for it and it's shown in his progress. Although as a Fedal fan, seeing a newcomer in that slot is already making me nostalgic...

And on a total unrelated aside...found this gem on YouTube tonight. A Nadal interview from Paris in 2007. Rafa, most diplomatic shielder of loaded questions EVER, somehow doesn't hesitate for a second when he's asked who he wouldn't ever want to play doubles with...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9b6PxDQdaU

So here's one you can always count on when watching tennis. Guy lets his first serve, follows it up with a fault, and a sizable portion of the crowd groans as if he just DFed.
Happens.
Every.
Single.
Time.

beth: how could you! Now I'll never be able to watch that movie....

Just tell me nothing bad happens to Bruce Willis in "The Sixth Sense".....

"Just tell me nothing bad happens to Bruce Willis in "The Sixth Sense"....."

Nothing does. For real.

I must be one of the few guys who quite liked Titanic... *of course this has nothing to do with Kate Winslet's hottness...*

I think several commentators have argued for abolishing lets. I like that idea. Just do away with the damn thing. It doesn't make sense...one rule for serves, and another for rallies. Besides, the bulk of the lets just barely hit the net.

Although, in league play, I often realize that it's a let and that I missed the return at about the same time. Pleasure :-).

sorry , Andrew

and about that Sixth Sense ... ok , I won't tell you :)
I really enjoyed that movie though - about the only one of Bruce Willis' movies that I ever really liked

NP - well yeah , I guess that movie did good things for Leo - but , well , you knew what I meant .

I am just bummed that I thought I was going to have a lovely evening with my daughter before she heads off to college , and she deserted me . Although , knowing the young man who called , I can certainly say I understand . I am sure that when I was her age , I would have made a similar choice

Let's see - pizza and a rerun with mom or dinner and a movie with a real hottie - hmmm - tough call

I'm King of the World!!!

Roddick has DFed in crucial situations b4. It's happened when the opponent forced him to start taking risks with his serve. USO '08 vs Nole...two DFs in the game while serving for the fourth set. The way Elf was bashing his serve in the second, he had to take chances. Of course, since it's his best shot, it almost came off.

ok - if we are going to do movie lines

I see dead people .

beth, you do your daughter proud.

I'm flying!

NP - I try

beth, Zack Morris would be proud, 2.

Btw, bad serving seemed contagious in Montreal. Nothing along the lines of the WTA's fault-fest, but Fed, Muzz, Rafa, Nole and even Roddick hardly served up to their standards. With Roddick I wonder if Stefanki has him working on so many other aspects of his game that the serve has been put in storage for a bit. With Nole I wonder if the tour isn't drawing a bead on it, which was notoriously tricky to read in years past, and now he's going for a little more. With Rafa it's probably rust. With Fed it might be the post Channel Slam/baby buzz/I'm-kinda-half-here mentality. With Muzz it seems a bit of career-long problem, though I do wonder if his first serve is all that much better than his second, when he gets the former in, of course.

I was OK with the Leo-Kate version of Titanic until Billy Zane started running around shooting at people while the ship was in serious sinking mode.

At that point, all of my attempts to suspend disbelief failed.

I am now going to try to challenge myself with a movie and view the 1970s version of Solaris.

Baby steps.

MSF, at least Billy didn't load up a giant bazooka. Now that would've been a masterstroke.

does that mean I am saved by the bell ?

I agree Roddick's serve was not the great weapon it usually is - certainly not today . Either the serve was off - or JMDPPants is a much better at the return of serve than I ever noticed before . I wonder if in his weight loss/ fitness regime - some of the oomph for his serve has gone . Or if he was just having an off night .
I am totally impressed with Roddick's much improved backhand and movement . Just hate for him to lose that weapon that was the base for his game .

and - just keeping it real - there is no way I would throw that necklace overboard
I don't care if I did hate the guy who gave it to me
that thing was worth a fortune
at least she should have sold it to the treasure hunters who found the safe

Fed's serve seemed in okay shape for his first game (better than the rest of his armory) but had clearly gone a bit off against Stan, and deserted him at the wrong times completely with Tsonga. And with Murray it is his biggest impediment, and I'm not sure it's now fixable at his age. Roddick hasn't served consistently since Wimby, but at least you know it will come back.

Pspace, agree completely on lets. Don't know the origin of the rule but it has the smell of antiquity to me, and totally out of place in the modern game.

NP:

Hey. I'm trying to get down with serious art house type fare.

Don't distract me with that s^&^*^*)*$$^$ that appeals to the low brow instincts that rule me.

Peace Out.

beth, if you're the one saved by the bell, then you're def not doing your daughter proud.

NP,

that serve is only going to get better and totally change tennis.

Fair enough, MSF. Just don't forget that you reside in the state of the Governator.

Ok - I will admit I never really watched that show
so , except that I know Zack was a character - along with Screech, Mario Lopez - and that girl from Showgirls - I don't really know much about it

wasn't Bob Golic in the show , as well ?
as a teacher ?

NP,

and that forehand on the run.

and his self-possession.

movement...(ah well. cough, it will improve.) i said samprasesque, didn't i?

not doing too well with these russian precredits or whatever that printing at the start is called.

Well, Roddick's ace total was low (by his standards) against Nole, too. At one point in the second set, Nole had seven aces to RAndy's three. But if the serve suffers a bit while Stefanki tinkers with everything else, I'm all for it. Gotta believe it won't take much for Roddick to get his serve back, and until very recently he had some ungodly 71% mark on first serves for the year.

More and more I'm beginning to think Muzz's serve stats don't mean a ton. Yeah, he's got a little pop and he's giving up potential freebies, but I kinda see him like Connors, whose serve was always a means to an end but nothing more. You know, a just-get-the-thing-in-and-play-the-point approach. Probably a little tougher to get away with in today's game, but Muzz seems to make it work at times.

No way, knownaim&! The Sampras serve is TOPS.

"""
JMDPPants is a much better at the return of serve than I ever noticed before
"""

beth, I think he's one of the better return players in the ATP. According to the stats, he's No. 10 in return games won (28%). Rafa and Muzz lead with 38% and 35%. While Nole and Ferru have 31% each. His serve has gotten better over the last few months, which makes him even more deadly.

Well I am back

Gee I wish I was living in the States again

The price will pay for running shoes here in Oz is ridiculas

My big gripe for the day!

knownaim&, I'm doubtful about much more improvement in Elf's court movement. He seems to be doing very well for someone built the way he is but, as with serving, beyond a certain (tennis) age improvement is marginal at best.

I fear The Pete Sampras Hour is approaching.

Pspace - well ,number 10 is pretty darned good then
I agree his serve has definitely gotten bigger over this year

now , if I could just get excited about anything about him
I cannot - he is buzz kill for me
bores me to tears
only watched his matches because I like Rafa and Roddick

I fear if he is the future of tennis - along with Murray , Cilic and Querrey - I shall be watching a lot more football in the future

beth, Bob was only in the College Years edition, which lasted only one season, I think. BTW Bob was easily the best part of that short-lived series. The guy should've kept up his thespian gig.

knownaim&, dP's running FH doesn't hold a candle to Sampras', at least not yet. Self-possession, maybe. And think his height will be a hindrance to his movement, relatively speaking.

sampras' serve was/is/will always be so friggin' unbelievable. but give del potro a little time and that serve is only going to get faster and bounce higher.

AM - shoes are expensive here too
there is no escape
seems to me that good shoes have almost doubled in price in the past year

beth, I dunno. I used to find his game rather dull around the start of the year. But, he's got a very nice all court game now...and approaches and volleys very well. I think several ppl have come around to him. But, I know what you're looking for ;-). Can't help there.