Tennis at the Olympics 2008

I'm following the scores on Craig Hickman's site:
http://craighickmanontennis.blogspot.com/

Yours truly,
Paula

Juan Martin Del Potro defeats Andy Roddick

Well, Juan Martin Del Potro has been proving all of the many people (including JMac) who say he'll be top ten right. I never saw it in him before- he seemed ungainly - but last night, I saw it! He's filled out, he's gotten more comfortable and settled in his body, he has a good new haircut- I like longish hair but it didn't suit him - and his game is fantastic. The first set was a stunning display of power and precision, the score- 6/1 Del Potro. Andy fought harder, changed tactics, and made for an interesting second set.

Then, last night I had a very wierd dream about Del Potro. It had to do with finding out he had been in jail for a year or so, and so he was very very tough. I woke up and thought that I had heard that on the TV last night, but as my mind woke up further (coffee helped), I realized I had just had another one of my wacky tennis dreams.

Yours Truly,
Paula

Battistone Brothers' Two-handled Rackets!

Yes, I watched them win the quarterfinals in Binghamton today. And yes, it was, hands down, the wierdest thing I've even seen tennis-wise. That said, Gotta Love Em! Oh, I am too stupid to know how to imbed this, but I will eventually get someone to do it for me.
One of these dudes- BTW- changes hands mid serve. Yes, he throws up the ball with his right hand, switches hands, and then hits the ball with his right hand.
Man, I love how wacky these brothers are.
CHECK THIS OUT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzNr90XZ05A

Yours Truly,
Paula

The Binghamton Challenger 2008

People! I just came back from actually playing a lot of tennis instead of sitting on my ass drinking and watching tennis! I went to Total Tennis, in Saugerties, New York, where I have been many times. They have a kids' camp and an adult camp. You play about five hours a day. I had to take an advil on one day. The pros there are- largely- SOUTH AMERICAN!! I had Mattias first, this really lovely man from Salta, Argentina. He had that whole Argentine Pride thing going on. I loved it. Then I had Flavio, from Brazil, who I have had before. He is hilarious. Sometimes, you are laughing so much you forget to hit the ball. And then there was this Colombian guy who helped out with my group once for an hour or so because my group was overly full because one woman insisted on being in it even though they tried to move her out (people, man, I could go on here about her, and others, but I won't, I won't feed the irritation, I'm gonna try to focus on the love) and I can't remember his name because- he made me nervous he was SOOO HOT! I practiced my Spanish with him some. In my mind, I call him Guapo. He will be in my mind for a loooong time. TOTAL TENNIS is great. We call it, in a silly voice, TOTALLLY TENNIS! Here is a link:

http://www.totaltennis.com/home.html


Now, to the subject matter of the title- I love Challengers! The quality of the tennis is so high, it's so so intimate. And it's cheap. And The Binghamton Challenger is near where I spend my summers. The Binghamton Challenger rocks. If you have a Challenger event near you -GO!

Before heading off to TOTALLY TENNIS to try to get handsome South American tennis pros to flirt with me, I went to one day of the qualifying rounds of the Binghamton Challenger. I was there cheering on my tennis pros from The Binghamton Tennis Center. Two of my regular teacher/pros were trying to qualify for the doubles- and they won! I have never been so stressed out watching (that's a lie, every time my boys play a match I want to barf) a tennis match. These are men in their thirties, beating young kids. I was soooo sooo proud of them. Now, I am just getting to the Binghamton area and I have not kept up with who has been winning there. But today are the quarters and I plan on stopping by. During the qualies, I walked by Scoville Jenkins. I said, "Scoville Jenkins!" He said, "How you doing?" I said, "You're awesome!" And that was it. I also saw Paul Capdeville, who was the number one seed there- a cute Chiliean, who I remember for getting into a shoving match with Ancic once. He sat in and watched some of the match where my GUYS WON! GO BILLY AND KRIS! Of course, this was last weekend. We'll see who is left in the draw. No matter, of course, because they are so awesome for qualifying- they won two qualie matches!!!! ( I might post some pics later). Here is a link:

http://www.tennischallenger.com/

Here is some more funny info on the event. Last year, Tomas Johansson won it- the man has won the Autralian Open. He's good! And he beat, in the final, this guy named Vemic, who Andy Roddick beat last night in LA! Vemic was a true eccentric at the final last year. He skipped a lot and wore black socks. I loved it. Vemic is also Rennae Stubbs' partner for World Team Tennis. Anyway, it 's a great even. More later!
Yours Truly,
Paula

Rafa is Number One

Hi - Rick Rock here -

Yay. It's time. I love Roger, but, this is good for tennis. It just opens everything up The idea of Roger being just another player in the hunt - and Djokovic for sure feels he is Nadal's equal - so all of a sudden things are wide open. 4 years of dominance to some degrees equals a a little boredom... so this is all good. Plus, Rafa really deserves it. I often fretted about how sad it would be if Rafa never achieved number one, after all he had achieved. It could have just been a knee injury. But he has done it.

I am watching Djiokovic beat up on Nadal right now, and I think Djokovic will win this match. But you never know, Rafa often starts slow. So we'll see, but I think Rafa having a little let down after achieving number one, and Djokovic all the more eager to say, hey, what about me??

By the way, I have something to say about Federer and Karlovic, and Murray and Karlovic. Watching Federer in that match, I kept thinking, has he come in to net once? You have to take the initiative against Karlovic, especially as his game has improved. Murray showed that - he adjusted, played more aggressive, and had at least 3 breaks in 2 sets. Roger is a smart player, obviously , but he kept trying to kill it from the baseline, and hit tons of balls long? Que?? On the other hand, I gained respect for Murray - he played Karlovic so well, adjusted, realized he needed to be aggressive, etc.

Fun times in tennis - change is good. Let's see if Rafa can adjust against Novak. If not, there will be many more chances, many more challenges. I'm looking forward to the new tennis order...

Signing out - Rick Rock

The Semi-finals of Cincinnatti 2008

People. I am just starting to watch the Murray v. Karlovic match.

I must share this bit of info, though. I AM NUMBER ONE IN THE ATP RAQUET BRACKET CHALLENGE!!!! My name there, if you wanna check my picks, is iheartnalby. Now, I must also say this: I will not remain number one. Because the later rounds are rewarded more points and I did not get the final round right (I have Rog winning it). So, I will most likely drop down to below the top three, which means I will not win one of the great three prizes awarded the winners. BUT!!!! For now!!!! I am number one out of 11471 people. Man, for a compulsive tennis fan, it's like, a really great thing. I am going to just be happy all day. Although at the end of the day, I won't be number one anymore.

Yours Truly,
Paula

Nadal defeats Haas

Well, a great energy throughout, a night match vibe in the best way, and a confusingly bad tiebreak to end it. What was that? Ah, the great mystery of tennis. Sort of like the great mystery of life and like, how smart whales are.

Yours Truly,
Paula