The Round of Sixteen

This is my favorite round. Am I the only person with a favorite round? Sometimes, the expectations for later matches- the semis, the final - make them disappointing. Also, people's nerves get to them and the tennis can be not so great. Clearly, there are many many great matches in the semis and finals and quarters and early rounds....but I love the round of sixteen. Maybe it's that it's the perfect amount of tennis for one day. Yes, even I get overwhelmed with the vast buckets of tennis on day one and day two. And I get sad- really truly sad - on final day because the event is over, and there is only one last match. I feel...lonely when a slam ends. So the round of sixteen? Perfection. Not too many, not too few matches. More than just Federer and Nadal left, but not fifty dudes who you don't really know. And- maybe my final point on why I love the round of sixteen - there is a particular fight to get into the quarters. To get into "week two". I think it produces the most intense battles.

Now for some match talk:
I stayed up last night watching Venus lose to Pennetta. I will say this: they both played really great tennis. Pennetta just hit more winners and loves the clay. So it didn't suprise me that she won. But all the talk of darkness and saying that Venus should have asked to suspend play- hmmm. Not sure what I think. She didn't ask to suspend play, so my guess is she didn't want to stop playing? I don't know. The TV lights up the court so I can't say how dark it was. I will say this- they hit some great balls at the end of that match. Great tennis. Perhaps my favorite match to watch so far (Pennetta goes out with Moya so I transfer all sorts of transfer stuff onto her which is to say, I like her!)

I am watching Hewitt and Ferrer right now. And - Ferrer is Srebotnik's secret twin! That's right! And I like both of them very much. Hewitt- not my fave. But I don't hate him, like some do.

LATER:
Wow - great third round matches to get INTO the best round of all, the round of sixteen. Gonzo pulled a win after being two sets down, this, against Wawrinka, the hot player on the tour right now. And FERRER!!! He did it. Took five, too. Good stuff. Now here is Monfils v. Meltzer and Meltzer has NO ONE rooting for him, so I will. And I really like Monfils- he adds such great energy and personality to the game. But I'm half Austrian and feeling sorry for Meltzer. Rick Rock is sitting next to me and rooting for Monfils. But we're not fighting- we are being understanding and accepting of each others' differences.

Yours Truly,
Paula

Day 6 at the French, Sharapova v. Mattek, Youzhny v. Verdasco, Almagro beats Murray and so on and so forth!!!!!

Whoah! Mattek took the second set! Mattek, as I've written about, is the wierdest dresser! The girl has a serious sense of humor in regard to her outfits.

Well, the Pov won the third set and the match. But how exciting for Mattek who last lost to The Pov 0 and 0. You know, after seeing the stunning loss of Serena's, everything seems less exciting. But anyway, lots more tennis to watch. My butt is getting tired of sitting, sort of like when you spend too much time in the car? - but I gotta keep watching!

Almagro fought hard to beat Murray - the better clay courter won at the end of that fight. And, I hasten to add, the attractive bull of a Spanish player beat the pissy Englishman. ( Murray won the Binghamton challenger a few years back and had to apologize when accepting his check for being so rude to the ball boys. )That said, what was up with that strange motion he did when he won? Like imitating drinking or something? He also let out a loud "Ostia" I think, which is a nasty curse in Spanish.

Now they are showing Djokovic v. Odesnik and I really really wish they were still showing Verdasco- I head his facebook fan group- against the Youzhny, one of my fave players, too. Maybe I should email The Tennis Channel and make an official complaint.

LATER:
Dude! Verdasco was up 5.1! Now they showed he won 6.1! Will they just show me the match point? ARGG!

I just watched the incredible win Mattheiu had over the up and coming Argentine Shwank, the guy who took out Canas. It wss a seriously great clay court tennis match. Shwank is coached by Nalbandian's brother! So therefore I love him.
More soon.
Yours Truly,
Paula

Day 6 of the French Open 2008- Serena loses to Srebotnik

Well, I hate my DVR. It stopped recording stuff so I didn't get to watch tennis all day and night- just all day. Poor me. Let's hope that today will be different.

Serena just lost the first set to Srebotnik. Now, on my raquet bracket, I have Serena winning the whole thing. She's had a great year and she could do it. That said, I've always had a soft spot for Srebotnik. I'm not sure why. I like her tall build, her no nonsense vibe. She doesn't come off as nutty as some of the players. Anyway, she's a great doubles player and clearly giving Serena some trouble.

Serena is making more errors than usual. Ivanovic is looking good against the seventeen year old Wozniacki.

Break points here for Serena. First, Srebotnik comes up with a great serve. But then an error from Serena...she can't do that during break point. She looks unhappy. I guess that's normal when you're losing. But it's not fun watching her look so unhappy.

I just played tennis for an hour and really need to shower but this is so exciting that I think I'll keep watching and be sort of dirty for a little longer. Oh- Srebotnik reminds me David Ferrer! A little turtley, but wiry and well, a little dude-like. But I like the butchy ladies. I love Kuznetsova, for instance.

This is the business end of the set. 4.3 Williams and now Serena is just getting really aggresive. Loud, too. I am with Rick Rock that the noises of Serena and The Pov are sometimes too much. But now Serena has upped her game. She's hit great returns and a good volley. I think she's gonna break here. Nope. But it ain't over. Serena is doing the Diva thing. Diva culture- not my fave. Hands on hips, pissy looking. I understand that she's frustrated with her game, but I would like to see her get serene.. get serene Serena! That's when I really enjoy watching her. She needs to get her focus, calm herself. I agree with Navritlova that this is her game to win or lose. No disrespect to how well Srebotnik is playing, though. Just that Serena is off her game and if she weren't, than the score would be different.

Now, as Leif said, another bad shot selection from Serena! Let's see if Srebotnik can serve it out! I just don't think it'll happen. But here she goes...if she gets her first serves in, she has a chance. 5 all here. Gosh! How exciting! I love upsets! Of course, not ones where Nalbandian loses. But here it is- 30.15- oh my! Match point! There goes my raquet bracket. A nervous shot from Srebotnik. The belief one must have! Tight call. I wish they used shot spot. Match point number three! Holy holy! Serena did not play well. Srebotnik stayed cool. Wow.

More to come soon.

Yours Truly,
Paula

Day 5 at the French Open 2008

Well, who knew that Lapenti is a former top tenner? I did not. He's from Ecuador- not a lot of players coming out of Ecuador. And he's really really handsome. He's winning right now, playing against Bobby Reynolds, a very nice American man who is not as hot as Lapenti.

Nalbandian is up two sets against the very handsome Chardy, a Frenchman. But even if Chardy has underwear model good looks, Nalbandian is my man. See? I can be - faithful. It's not all hotness that matters. I also care about PERSONALITY. That's right. Roddick is hot but he has a bad personality. In fact, he's a jerk on the court so often that I have cringed- cringed- here in my living room while he insults the chair on my TV. Now, Nalbandian is a class act. (And he looks sort of like my husband). And so regardless of Chardy's amazing superhotness - OK, if he begged me to cuddle him or something like that I wouldn't say no - I hope that Nalby wins. In fact, like always, I have Nalby winning the whole thing in my raquet bracket! He can do it! So, I can be very faithful to whom I root for, or put my money on.

Also in my raquet bracket is Gulbis beating Blake. And- you know? - it could happen. I try to pick the upsets, man! There are always upsets.

Erakovic, the New Zealander, has taken Jankovic to a tiebreak in the second here. Go, girl!

LATER:
Erakovic lost but played valiantly against the formidable Jankovic.
Nalbandian, that butthead, just lost two sets after being up two sets. I am so angry at him. All my love and dedication and than he does this to me. Wait, they just showed him get broken in the third and I swear he's injured. He's not going after the ball at all. But he's SUCH a class act, that he'll play out the set to give Chardy the win. Anyway, that is my theory.
Gulbis did beat Blake! I like Blake, but I called Gulbis beating him. Yeah, I'm smart about tennis! Also, I called Llodra beating Berdych!
One thing I did not call: Del Potro losing to Bolelli. I'll blame Johnny Mac for that. He's always talking about how great Del Potro is. Time to ignore JMac.

LATER:
Yes, Nalby was obviously hurt. Poor guy. I hope he gets better soon. I would totally offer to rub his back or feet or whatever. I would love to rub Nalby! But I am very disappointed to see him out of the tournament so early. That said - what a MAN. Nalby played out the whole set even though he was clearly not feeling right. Djokovic needs to take a lesson from my man David regarding that stuff.
Yours Truly,
Paula

Sharapova v. Rodina (and Mattke won her first round)

Well, folks, it's 5.4 Rodina - on serve- here in the third. Double You Tee Ef?! Now Sharapova just double faulted to go to 30/30 here on her serve. This is exciting. Early round matches with the ladies is often just an ass whomp. The men often have early round fun matches, but not so the ladies.

Bethanie Mattek, the wackiest dresser out there, won her first match. I saw her once on a back court lose to some Spanish lady and her outfit was OUT OF CONTROL. She wore a see-through middriff baring shirt with a black bra showing through the tissue thin shirt. And he skirt was "low-waitsted" so that you could almost see her butt crack!!! AND- AND!!- he "visor" was a cowboy hat with the sides and back cut off! All in turquoise! As you can see, it made a big impression on me. She looked out of place, in a good way, on the court, but she would have looked perfect pole-dancing in that outfit. She cracks me up. I'm glad she won a round. (Vania King won- good job.)

It's now 6.5, Rodina, on serve. This is exciting stuff! Now, 6.6. Tiebreak time! Oh,wait- no tiebreak. Even better. I'm on of those people who feel tiebreaks aren't real tennis, but I do thnk they have their place - I don't want to watch people die on the court! That said, it can be disappointing to watch how a quick couple of points takes the whole set or match.

Break point. Hmm. I love Rodina's fight. I love her not getting overwhelmed by the bigness of the situation. She really wants this. And - it took more than one- but Sharapova broke.

The Pova is serving for the match, 30/0. She doesn't give up, either. I will say that about The Pova. Now a double- that makes 17 doubles. It is windy. Now an error. 30/30. AND- she got it. She pulled it out. Not a bad handshake.

I hope the New Zealander Erakovic won her match! (My guest blogger Rowan is a New Zealander...)

Yours Truly,
Paula

THE FRENCH OPEN 2008 BEGINS!!!

Woohooo!!!

Some brief impressions:

Bye, Bye Guga. Your smiles and lighthearted nature will be sorely missed by me. You ENJOYED playing tennis. I can't say that for many players. For many players, it's a job that makes them angry, visibly, on the court. Also- Guga- thanks for retiring before, more or less, being carried out on a wheelchair shot-up full of cortisone and God knows what else, a la Agassi. You lost to a very tough, real player in Matheiu. Anyway, I wish there were more happy faces out there like yours. God bless.

Moya lost and that pisses me off because I have the hots for him- maybe I'm madly in love with him? Me and a million other old ladies, I know... He lost to a young Argentine, an eighteen year old, who was ranked number one in the qualies. Now, this is the kind of player that Rafa has to watch out for. Yes, he has some serious competition in the top twenty- Federer, Ferrer (beat him at the US Open last year, I was there...), Nalbandian (who has never lost to Rafa and never played him on clay) and Djokovic. But- the real worry for me is- up and coming young clay courters. In other words, the next Rafa...

Gosh. I love tennis. Gonna go watch some right now. I'm also on my third piece of bacon and high on coffee so I'm super happy right now!!!
Yours Truly,
Paula

The Tennis Illegal Betting Issue

I don't think Davy did anything wrong, that's my opinion, but I think this quote below, from the NY Times, may suggest he is protecting someone near to him- his brother? Not sure. To me, this story is interesting because of the sibling thing, the rivalry and envy betweeen brothers. Family drama is the stuff of literature:

"The report did not address Davydenko, who has denied wrongdoing. He has refused a request from ATP investigators for the cellphone records of his wife and brother, and he is appealing the request to an ATP appeals officer. "

I remember reading a quote from Davy's brother, Eduard, his older brother (by ten years? I think so) who serves as his coach, saying "I'm just as good as a tennis player as him". But as we all know, he has dedicated his life to making Davy a world class player. I just can only imagine the depths of envy and perhaps resentment brewing there. Also, I'm sure Eduard is also proud and happy for his brother- I'm sure there is a lot of emotion in a few directions going on when millions and millions of dollars and fame and trophies are involved. Heck, my sisters resent me for A LOT less than what Davydenko has going on for him!

Anyway, I think the whole thing reeks of Russian Drama, Tolstoy style. I wonder if we'll ever get the whole story.
Yours Truly,
Paula