2 Heads R Better Than 1

Rogers Masters Cup 2007 Wrap Up

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 20:02:02 +0200

Rogers Masters Cup... Not Roger's Anymore

So the US Open Series is finally getting somewhat interesting, coverage is in full gear and at last week's Masters tournament in Montreal all top 20 players were present. Leez and I are finally starting to feel like the US Open is near.

We thought that we would wrap up last week's tournament with a couple thoughts that emerged during the week.

Someone else is finally in "the mix":
Djokovic meant serious business this week as he took out ARod, Nadal and finally Federer (gasp) to take his second Masters Series title this year, regain his number three position and jump to the head of the class in the US Open Series standings. Maybe Novak read our blog and saw our question, "who would be the next young gun to win a Maajor?" and decided he would give us his personal thoughts on that!! He really delivered the goods every time, saving 8 break points against Nadal and breaknig Fed while he was serving for the set 40-0 up. "No Joke" really showed that he is able to deal with the pressure moments on big occasions. We were most impressed with his serve and defence throughout the week, both of which may have caught Rafa and Fed by surprise.

That being said, while he's in the mix (which is great for tennis)- more so than any other #3 player since the Federer Nadal title monopoly of the last few years- Djokovic is yet to prove that physically he can withstand the test of a two week long best of five set tournament. Perhaps the US Open will be the place where he will answer that question!

And on a lighter note, he loves to take his shirt off way too much! After the fist 100 times it really isn't that cool, so use the celebratory strip downs wisely Novak!

Some free PR advice for Davydenko:
So the details surroundig the alleged betting incident involving Davydenko are a little sketchy. The fact that the bets for the top ranked Russian to lose even after winning the first set, along with the unusually large sums of money involved and the fact that he pulled out with an injury yet he came across to Montreal the very next week with no signs of any physical problems surely makes him look guilty in the court of public opinion... but as they say "innocent until proven guilty".

However, it seems that Davydenko is trying to "explain away" the situation by suggesting that the betters may have been aware of his injury. In a clip of one of his post match interviews on ESPN Davydenko basically said (in his limited English) that the only one who knew about his injury was his wife and then he said maybe his trainer also knew. We just think it's really funny that he sort of implicated his wife in the whole thing. While her involvement is not impossible, even if he suspected her, we still think it's pretty slick to sell out your new bride to the press and remove yourself entirely from the situation... how about just keeping your mouth shut Davydenko!

Do they get paid or is it charity work?:
This week I (Zar) observed a disturbing trend, it made me think back and I realise that this has been going on for a while now. I wonder: do linesmen/ women and chair umpires do get paid to do thier jobs? Because since the tournaments started up with their shot spot/ hawkeye/ player challenge/whatever they call it system it seems that on court officials too often prefer to let the players challenge than to get involved. During the Stepanek- Federer match Fed's serve was clearly long, as in the person in the last row of the stadium could call it: both players are waiting for the linesman's call...no call. Federer looks confused, Stepanek asks the chair who responds by saying that he "couldn't tell" or "hadn't seen it" (where was he looking?!?). Federer still confused by the lapse finally suggests to Stepanek that he should challenge, the result- the ball off by a mile!

Oh and is it just us or does Stepanek have the strangest (most annoying) on-court antics ever?

In the Djokovic- Nadal match, Nad gets to a short ball but Djokovic sees that the ball bounced twice before Nadal got to it. Although Nadal's shot goes wide Djokovic confronts the chair about not making the call and the umpire calmly states that if he thought Nadal's shot would have gone in he would have said something. I'm sorry... isn't the rule that you call it when you see it!

My issue is that, we now see players becoming more and more aware of using thier challenges wisely, is it that they feel that should they run out of challenges too early in a set they are screwed? If so, something is really wrong with this system because the officials are still supposed to do thier jobs regardless, or does the challenge system mean that the on court officials can take a laid back attitude? I say unlimited challenges if that's the case!

Now we are on to the Masters Series in Cincinnati, the jam packed schedule is never more obvious than when there are back to back Masters Series tournaments, even with the byes for the top 8 players it's still a pretty big ask... so we'll see how the semi-finalists and finalists from last week rise to the occasion this week!

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Wimbledon 2007 wrap up

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:53:03 +0200

The Championships Wimbledon as interpreted by Zarlee

Characters
King of Grass                    Roger Federer
King of Clay                      Rafael Nadal
Sir Novak                          Novak Djokovic
Duke of Cyprus                 Marcos Baghdatis
Monsieur Gasquet              Ricahrd Gasquet
Sir Haas a lot                   Tommy Haas
Meloncoly Davy                 Nickoly Davydenko
Prince Marat of Russia      Marat Safin
Andy Roddick                   Andy Roddick
Robin Soderling                Robin Soderling
Lleyton Hewitt                  Lleyton Hewitt
Servants                           Ball Boys
Court Gestures                  Announcers
Chorus                              Tennis Fans

Act I Scene i
Curtains rise the King of Grass; Roger Federer, is seated on his throne in royal attire. He wears an off white polo T-shirt under a sweater vest, matching trousers and a jacket with gold embelishments. His shoes and handbag bear the mark of his conquests- four consecutive Wimbledon titles. It is Friday he has already completed his second round match against Del Potro and is contemplating what lies ahead.

King of Grass:
A heavier task could not have been impos'd
Than I to speak my burden unspeakable;
To equal the legendary Borg's 5 consecutive titles.
I'll utter what players wantest to stand in my way,
Sir Roddick will return again, for sure
But I have beaten him thirteen to one
Young Prince Gasquet bears a skriking resemblance to my skill and form
Oppose my crown he will, wear it...he will not
Then there is the King of Clay we fought several times, (sigh)
I lost many, never on grass of course, I am the King of Grass
He shall not be underestimated however, he did make the finals last year
and would hope to repeat his success and even seek more...
But no more
Next I must face my friendly foe, Prince Marat of Russia
Exuent stage right

Act I Scene ii
Due to further rain delays on Saturday and the traditonal day-off on Sunday, the play schedule is far behind. It is Monday, The King of Clay and Robin Soderling finally begin to play.

Robin Soderling:
It is undisputed that you are the King.
King of Clay that is
Your prowess lies not upon this turf, young Spaniard

King of Clay:
Indeed I am the King of Clay and this is the Championships
But I have proven many wrong before
And shall repeat the gesture with this shot

The forehand goes wide, the crowd sighs and the rains resume. Exuent stage left.
Enter stage right, the King has finished practice and speaks from his locker room

King of Grass:
Too much rain so little play I haven't played since Friday
Well I have time. Time to complete so many things
I shall make a visit to the city, get a royal haircut and -

Enter Meloncoly Davydenko:
Your Majesty I am extremly bored with this palace. It is frustrating
How could you enjoy this four year reign?
This is torture, no covering, expensive food, stawberries and cream everywhere-

King if Grass:
Say no more
It is only fitting that your be relieved for such high treason ( He summons the servants who take Meloncoly Davy away, the King turns back around to face the audience)
Now where was I?
Another delay another day without play
And yes! Time is the positive outcome
I will commence my journey forthwith
Exuent stage right

Act II Scene i
It is Tuesday, dark clouds luke in the bokcground as the weather permits only o small amount of play for that day. Enter stage left, Nadal and Soderling in a fiere battle. They speak no words only communicating with racquets and very suggestive gestures. The Umpire suspenses play again as the rain resume again!
Exuent stage left

Enter stage right the King of Clay with his beautiful bride to be Mirka, she is adorned with fine jewelery. They carry several shopping bags some marked Prada and Gucci which they set beside their thrones as they sit .
Enter servant:
Your majesty, I have just received a message for you.
It was sent by the Tournament Council of the Championships
and states (he reads)
It is with the utmost regret that we inform you that your next opponent Sir Haas-a-lot from the land of Excuses has withdrawn from the tournament due to severe injury. However, you have now advanced to the Quaterfinal round to be played when the weather permits
Curtains fall

Act II Scene ii
Curtains rise. It is Wednesday, Nadal and Soderling are center stage in the final set. A rainbow beams in the sky.
King of Clay:
Vamos! Finalmente! (The match is finally over and he is ushered off the stage by officials to attend the highly anticipated media interviews)
Exuent stage left

Enter Sir Novak and the Duke of Cyprus. They play simultaneously against their respective foes, Lleyton Hewitt and Meloncoly Davydenko. After two hard fought matches Sir Novak and the Duke of Cyprus advance to the Quaterfinal.
Curtains fall

Act III Scene i
Andy Roddick and Monsieur Gasquet are playing the Quaterfinal match and it appears (as expected) that Roddick would face the King of Grass in the much anticipated Semifinal match up.

Andy Roddick:
This is exactly what Sir Connors and I had hoped for... tommorow I will clash with the King of Grass and I will leave that battle the victor, far too long he has shamest me on the ATP tour... But wait I hath lost my senses as I am currently playnig Monsieur Gasquest and with my mind wandered far away so has my level of play!!!!

As the final ball flieth past Any Roddick he exists the stage with his head hanging low.
Curtains fall

Act III Scene ii
It is Sunday, the final dat of the Championships. There is a huge crowd around the court and the audience anxiously awits the arrival of the Kings.

Enter stage right
The King of Clay, Rafael Nadal. Then with trumpets sounding and angels singing (Zar wrote this) enters the King of Grass, Roger Federer. After a lengthy battle the match is over and the two men converse in the net.

King of Grass:
O ye King of Clay, you deserveth this victory just as much as I. I had damn near losteth my mind in the fourth set, I do think that my royal haweye hath betrayed on this day.

King of Clay:
Indeed you losteth you damn mind, unfortunately you had settled your mind in the fith set of our battle. I congratulate you on your victory nontheless, maybe next year...

King of Grass:
Methinks you should also be fitted in Royal wear next year, I w'll order the royal dressmaker, Nike, to hooketh you up

Exuent all

Prince Marat of Russia runs across the stage with a bowl of stolen pasta and two chefs chasing him..

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Wimbeldon 2007- "You never know what you gonna get"

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 19:18:01 +0200

Wimbledon 2007- A box of chocolates

So, here we are Wimbledon 2007 already!!!! It feels as though the French Open was just last Sunday, yet we are at another major on a completely different surface. Looking at some of the matches from Queens and Halle, you realise how very different grass is from clay, shots that for the last couple of months we've seen players run down with easy, fly by at a comparatively dizzying speed (although most will agree that grass is not what it used to be). To transition between the two surfaces cannot be easy, which makes what Nadal and Federer did last year so amazing.. That being said, it's a new year and a new draw. Here's the link so you can check it out yourself: http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/draws/ms/msdraw.pdf

So first thing on Friday Leez printed out our draws and we had a look, we both realised that this would be a tricky one to forecast. The thing with Wimbledon is that, unlike clay, there's no real lead up. Most players pick between Halle and Queens so the talent is never really all in the same place. Roddick won Queens but what does that really say about his grasscourt game this season... not much.

ARod didn't exactly play a bunch of grasscourt pros other that Mahut who was the Junior Wimbledon champ and Tursunov whose game should translate well on grass. The point is the draw in these warm up tournaments are very unlike the real deal, i.e. Wimbledon, and will continue to be this way until we have at the very least one main MS tournament that will attract all the top players at the same tourney and then we can get a better sense of what could possibly happen at Wimbledon.

Before we say what we think, we want your opinion. Vote on our poll (look to the right just under the calendar) to give us your Wimbledon predictions

That being said here's a look at all the quarters and the main players to watch as well as some possible exciting matchups.

Federer's quarter (click on image to enlarge)

With Federer skipping Halle, his good luck charm and favourite warm up tourney, who knows what shape the reigning King of Grass will be in. One can only hope he has forgotten about the French and has his game face on . A possible meeting with Safin in the third round should be interesting with Safin's big serve and all court game.
Fernando Gonzalez may do well here, he' done it before in 2005 (pre Larry Stefanki) loosing to Federer in the Quarterfinals where he's scheduled to meet Federer this year.

One thing is for sure Blake must be pretty upset with his draw , playing the big hitting Igor Andreev in the first round cannot be good news...look out for the upset!!!

Roddick's quarter (click on image to enlarge)

Well gone are the days when a Federer- Roddick Wimbledon Final is all everyone can talk about. Since ARod never got the job done on a Sunday he must be excited about the prospect of getting a crack at the Fed Express on a normal week day where he may not be a sfocused. One thing is for sure, after the smack down Fed put on him in the Aussie Open this year Roddick won't be talking crap . Before he gets to Fed, there's still the small matter of the Battle of the Andy'sAfter last year's defeat to Murray, when the Roddick downward spiral really took a turn for the worst (Roddick's expression after that match was like a deer caught in headlights ) this year's match up will be a bit different. Murray not at his best and Roddick has way more confidence and momentum.

Djokovic's quarter (click on image to enlarge)

In this quarter we have a lot of what ifs. Nalbandian, Davydenko, Hewitt, Baghdatis, Canas and noDjoke himself. All these guys can either do really well or they can loose to some nobody qualifier who's on fire. So who knows... we sure as hell don't!!!

Nadal's quarter (click on image to enlarge)

Everyone seems to think that the Nadal-Fish first round match may be tricky. It's possible, but I don't think Fish has what it takes to take Nadal out. Other than "Mr. Destroyer of all Federer's hopes and dreams" (Zar is still a bit upset) Berdych is definitely one to watch in this section. The Beryd man just won Halle 2007 so momentum is definitely there. Youzhny is another player to watch.
Tommy Robredo is apparently another player to watch... naked he claims it's for charity (we think it would have been more charitable to keep those clothes on and spare us the ballerina pose), check out the pic courtesy the ATP:

For more details here's the link: http://www.atptennis.com/en/news/2007/robredo_cosmo.asp.

We close off on that bizzare note and look foward to two weeks of tennis drama!!!

Comments

Sport is not a Game! - Roland Garros 2007

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:54:08 +0200

Sport is not a Game!

Hey Guys!
Thought we abandoned the blog...No...we could never do that! It's just that the past few weeks have been very hectic for Zar and I (Leez) and I won't even bother to give details cause TRUST ME that will need a whole other blog. So lets get into it. The Clay court season has come to an end and as any dedicated tennis fan will know Rafael Nadal won the title for the third time in a row. But before we get to Rafa Roger saga let me give you a 'lil wrap up of the first week of the tournament. Seeds flew in the breeze as quite a number of qualifers / wildcards made it into the draw. At least 7 qualies / Wc made it to the Second Round and two even made it further. Seems like a futile result? Well it's a better result than any of the American players who did not make it past the First Round including top seeds like Andy Roddick and James Blake. Other seeds who fell early were Gonzalez, Berdych and Hrbaty. Oh! I must commend Zar for the predictions Good job Zar

The Quarterfinal Panic
As we arleady told you both Zar and I wanted Nad and Fed to be in the Finals so naturaly we panicked. On the day of Fed's quaterfinal game I texted Zar to find out what was going on, Zar's response was "Fed losing & Davy wining" and she didn't give any further updates like she usually would. This must be REALLY bad I figured. Only to find out when I got to work (totally afraid to check by the way) that Fed won in Four Sets against Tommy Robredo. What a freak right! Well thats what I thought until the following morning (day of Nad's quaterfinal game) I woke up and my first thought was "what if Nadal loses to Moya" And you know what I did call Zar of course and said, "What if Moya Moys win!" Well like a true friend she reassured me and had a good laugh.

Semifinal Tension
After our boys made it into the Semis the claws came out. As the Nadal Federer Final looked clearer, we aligned ourselves to our favs and gave them full support...no nonsense, no giveaways and as usual our banter had begun

Day before the Final
Henin defeated Ivanovic to gain a threepeat win of the Women's Roland Garros Title. So of course I was thinking "Well since Henin did it Nad should do it too. I refused to discuss tennis with Zar on this day because I knew all she wanted to do was persuade me to come over to the Dark Fed side.

Final Day
This final was like History facing History. On one corner a the ring there was Rafael Nadal fighting for his third straight RG title (a feat that hasn't been done since Bjorn Borg did it in 1978-1981) and the opportunity to carry on that title of "The King of Clay" and remain undefeated at Paris. At the other corner Roger Federer was battling for his first RG title and a chance to hold all the Glam Slam Titles in a calendar year, which hasn't been done since Laver did it in 1962 and 1969 an accomplishment that only he and Don Budge who won it in 1938, have ever achieved. Also there was that minor issue of being granted that elusive title as "The Greatest Player of All Time".

Ok yeah so I fully understand Zar's (and almost all of France) point of view. I have said before that it will be quite remarkable if Fed was to have all the titles in one year. But I was supporting Rafa all the way. If Fed wants to have the title he'll have to earn it no? This is no game; no sympathy is involved in this match. This is Sport! We came to win and we did! I was, of course, very proud of Nadal for being totally focused and staying with in the fight with Federer (saving 16 break points out of 17, that's crazy skills!) Why I say this? Well my dear friend Zar surprised me just a bit when she called me after the Finals. I knew she would have been sad and probably in tears but she was furious! yes mad and she was mean. Although I would have preferred if she was a little happy for me because I would have been happy for her had it been the other result, I refused to allow her to kill my joyVAMOS RAFA! She didn't even talk with me about tennis for some days after but say what, that all a part of Sport no?
Zar would like to add that she was not involved in the creating of this post as she has divorced herself of all things Roland Garros... until next year young grasshopper

Comments

Predictions - Roland Garros 2007

Thu, 24 May 2007 19:59:01 +0200

Looking Ahead for another Federer Nadal Showdown

We're not even gonna front about it!

This is Roland Garros; second Grand Slam of the year. Federer and Nadal have again proven to be the best contenders for the title coming of a successful claycourt run (Nadal winning three titles and Federer capturing one) They are both ranked at # 1 & 2 And! they are our favourites

So! lets take a look at our draws (that never fails to get us laughing ...yeah we're sooo mature!). Here's the link to the men's singles draw so you can take a look for yourself
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/draws/ms/msdraw.pdf

Firstly lets go over to Federer's quarter (click on image to enlarge)

With his confidence level raised ther's no reason that the Fed Express should be de-railed in the early rounds. However, with the French crowd behind him Benneteau might stir things up a bit .

Technically, Federer should play Mikhail Youzhny in the 4th round... but we all know these things don't always go according to plan. Fed would most likely meet Ferrero: a player who hasn't given much trouble in the clay-court lead-up this season, but he's a Grench Open champion and a former world #1 nonetheless. With a best of five set match Ferrero may be able to find his way into the game, so look out for a possible four setter with a tight 4th set... but we still think Fed will pull through what should be his first real test.

Look for the Italian Filippo Volandri to upset Ljubicic. This little section of the quarter seems to favour Safin making his way through to the quarters: the only person standing in Safin's way is Safin (as is usually the case!). That being said, Tommy Robredo from Spain will probably pull through to the quarters.

Nikolay Davydenko's quarter (click on image to enlarge)

There are a lot of big names in this section of the draw namely Canas, Gonzalez, Davydenko and Gasquet. Of course most players with ESP and ARG behind thier names can be consdered a threat on this slow surface i.e. Almagro and Nalbandian. Speaknig of which, look for Nalbandian to loose the first two sets and be down a break in the third... and for some extra drama he should save about about two match points , before he realises that he just might loose and finally start to pick up the pace! Against a player like Chela we don't think Nalbandian's "style" of play will make the cut this year. We figure a Davydenko, Gonzalez quarterfinal is in the making, unless the underachievers like Canas and Gasquet have anything to say about it!

Andy Roddick's quarter (click on image to enlarge)

A Rod probably won't make it past the third round - all that clay court practice gone to waste [insert sarcastic look here]. With an early round loss Roddick will really open up his little section of the draw to players like Baghdatis and Hrbaty. Djokovic might be interesting to watch because he seems to really turn up his game a notch on the big stages. Ferrer is also a dangerous player here, after taking his first set off of Federer at this year's Rome quarterfinals he must be feeling pretty good about his chances of competing with the rest of the contenders. So a Ferrer-Djokovic match up on the big stage should provide some drama but we think on this occasion Djoko is favoured to win despite loosing to the Spaniard in straight sets at this year's Monte Carlo R16.

Rafael Nadal's quarter (click on image to enlarge)

Rafa seems to be on stream to play the resurgent Aussie-Hewitt. There last show down in the Hamburg semifinals was interesting, Hewitt gave Nadal just about all that he could stomach- so a rematch would be highly anticipated - we can almost guarantee that there will be no practice hits between these two at RG! Nadal has his antennas up now and on the RG centre court he's the definite favourite to pull through in fine style.

As for the top section of this draw, who know what James Blake is capable of. He can slide on this slow surface, there's no doubt about that, so he shouldn't be as crippled as most of his American counterparts, but James' head just doesn't seem to be in it these days . Moya has been ready, steady go this season, so it won't shock us to see the Spaniard meeting up with his younger counterpart- Nadal- in the quarter finals.

Players to watch

Nadal- Still the King of Clay
Federer- Looking back to his old self again
Jokovic- Seems to be a factor at every tourney of late
Gonzalez- Look out for the Chilean- once he keeps his grounstrokes under control he can be dangerous
Hewitt- Seems to us that a certain someone is hell bent on impressing Roachie and that means the Aussie is back to yelling "come-on" (unfortunately)
Davydenko- The Russian cockroach that never seems to go away
Safin- Maybe it's just wishful thinking but it would be great to see the big Russian make it far at the French.

Comments

Two for One Special

Mon, 21 May 2007 18:26:13 +0200

Two for One Special

WOW! Back to Back Masters Series tournaments really takes a toll on you! I tell you mentally and emotionally draining (Good thing we aren't players right!)

But seriously, Hamburg literally started as Rome ended so we'll wrap the two tourneys up in one post. OK so Rome we touched on a bit...up until....the Semis! yes! Big showdown with Nadal and Davydenko! That was intense, it almost felt like we were watching a best a five set match. Both players played soooo well the first two sets both went to a tie break Nadal taking the first and Davy the second. At this point it was clear that the match was a battle of the wills and as odd as this sounds it appeared to me that Davydenko was battling on his will to win whereas Nad was battling on his will not to lose (call me crazy but as he kept increasing his winning streak I kept feeling the pressure and it was getting more intense).

So the third set was about to begin and by this time I was REALLY taking to the TV. I called Zar to vent about Davydenko challenging our winning streak and she was just as peeved as a matter of fact she said that Davydenko was just like one of those cockroaches that just never die. I was cracking up her expression was so apt cause it didn't only describe how we felt about this match but about Davy's career on the whole. He has never won a Grand Slam but somehow manages to reach the quarters and semis and is currently ranked at # 4 on the tour. How he does this we often wonder! Of course he not a bad player we know that but what does he do Although the cockroach metaphor may not show it we have nothing personal against Davydenko but when you try to mess with my boy's winning streak you're a PEST! (Unless you're Federer of course... but we'll get back to that)

Anyhoot! By the third set Nadal's will took the match as he won that set 6 4.After the match he fell to the ground with relief and he even cried awww. I didn't even realise till then how much it took from him, his parents were teary-eyed- it was a beautiful moment I was ready for the victory speech but soon remembered it was the Semis. It was just like watching a final I tell you. and after watching the "actual" final" Zar and I agreed that the Semis was truly the final. In the final match Nadal played Fernando Gonzalez from Chile. This match was routine Nadal played very aggressive and won the titleYeay!

And off to Hamburg we go! Take it away Zar! d-dum chiisssssh

Thanks Leez

For me this year's Hamburg tourney was all about "back to basics"
Last week we saw the strange way in which Federer lost to Fillipo Volandri at the Masters Series Roma. I don't say "strange" because of the fact that he lost to a player ranked much lower than he is; I think it is senseless to think that Federer must NEVER lose and we must all drop our jaws in shock everytime he looses a point much less a set or God forbid a match.

The loss was strange because Federer played in a way that can only be described as wild and reckless. then it got even stranger because soon after we heard that he and part time coachie Roachie had "mutually" agreed to part ways. The "mutually" I didn't buy for a second, Fed would not have split with Tony Roche in the middle of the clay court season, one of the very reasons he hired him in the first place, if there wasn't some serious trouble in the waters.

For me, I think it is clear that Roach has contributed to Federer's game in a positive way...Fed's improving net games serves as proof of that. However, I have always wondered if it was ever a situation where there were too many cooks in the kitchen. We have to remember that for some time before Roach after the split with Peter Lundgren, Fed was his own full time coach and he was doing a fine job at that! With Roche as a part timer, I think that Federer retained some of that independence and self reliance turning to Tony as somewhat of a consultant. That could have been problematic; especially when they were trying to solve the clay puzzle, because I'm sure they didn't always see eye to eye on everything. Of course, this is all major speculation, but it just seems as though Fed needed to clear his head a bit and he did that by eliminating one of those exta voices that made things a bit muddled for him.

Federer's win and Nadal's loss has been both their gains.

Both players have now cleared the slates. Federer now has made some considerable moves to cast aside some of the mental demons that have been plaguing him over the past few weeks. For him the wins means that he's more motivated and has more self belief as he has always said that the road to the Roland Garros title has to pass through the Spanish phenomenon.

For Nadal the win means that he no longer has to bear the burden of the winning streak, because let's face it 50% of the beauty of any winning streak is the how and when it will all end, because it is at that point the accomplishment is truly sealed in history. Besides we agree with Nadal when he said during his on court interview that if he had to loose the streak, it should be to Federer because he's the man no?

What does it all mean:
Who knows? I think it's pretty funny that the tennis world seems to be already predicting a dramatic Federer- Nadal showdown at Roland Garros 07 when the day before Sunday's Hamburg final, Nadal lifting the trophy at RG was a foregone conclusion along with a Federer early round crash out and the demise of his career as world #1... fickle fickle fickle.

I think we need to just sit back and enjoy the show nothing is ever carved in stone until it actually happens... for all you know we could have a Blake Roddick final well that's more than a stretch of the imagination but I think you guys get the point!

Star profile
1. Nadal- sets the record at 81, still the King of clay and pretty tough to beat no?
2. Federer- Exorcising some mental demons at Hamburg and ending the much talked about drought, and ending Nad's streak!
3. Davydenko- Russian cockroach that just won't quit tests Nadal on his favourite surface.
4. Hewitt- Aussie road runner looks to be making a comeback.
5. Gonzales- The Chilean continues to back up his impressive run at Aussie Open 07 with quality play on the red dirt.

Scrap Pile
1. Roddick- Backing out of Hamburg because you think you'll get better practice away from Europe-where all the dirt ballers are???
2. Ferrer- Getting upset with the umpire because coach has to leave the stadium to get you racquet re-strung... dependency syndrome much?
3. Online ATP masters series TV- What exactly are you guys thinking? Oh, and stop emailing us to sign up we're NOT interested we want to watch it on regular TV thank you very much.
4. Canas- Much ado about nothing.
5. Roberdo- Defending Hamburg champ early round crash out!

Comments

Majorca to Rome

Thu, 10 May 2007 20:41:59 +0200

Majorca to Roma

Hey guys we have been kinda busy this past week but not too busy to stay away from the blog. This thing is addictive I tell you!

So Lets see...
Oh Fed and Nad played the exhibition match which Nadal won. Honestly! We couldn't care less about the outcome of the exo. There were no injuries; our boys had fun; they are happy - WE ARE HAPPY!

Well the fun and games are over and its back to business for our boys as they compete in Rome

The second Masters Series tournament on Clay began on Monday in Rome and guess who showed up.....Yes American Singles Players and five of them too! No more Americans are remaining in the tourney (suprise to no one) Andy Roddick who advanced the furthest of all the Americans reached the Third Round after defeating former Roland Garros Champ turned Head Trip Case, Gaston Gaudio (lets not even get into his issues right now!) If Roddick had not capiltised on that opportunity it would have been even more sad. Roddick lost to Chela who served him a bagel for breakfast as he beat him 6-0 6-4

Chela is now going to face Gonzalez in the Quaterfinals. The other Quaterfinal matches are Davydenko vs Robredo(which Robredo lost by the way, after taking the first set 6-1! Tom Tom what's going on); Volandri vs Berdych and Nadal vs Djokovic....Some-thing's Miss-ing???

Yeah No Federer!!! Fed suffered an unfortunate lost to Volandri yesterday, Zar is still recovering but she'll be OK. Even Nadal was suprised as he said "But for sure it was a suprise for me the loss of Federer. I wasn't see the match. I was in the room watching a film, and after I put Internet and I saw...Volandri, I always say is a very good player on clay. Obviously it's a suprise he beat Federer. But well some days it's difficult for everyone. Everyone have bad days no? (www.asapsports.com) So very true my boy, a very difficult match he had indeed Zar saw the match but we didn't hav time to talk about it in detail.

Actually! Volandri is now into the Semis he just took out Berdych 6-2 6-3 (yeah bloging at work and following the matches at the same time - tough! lol) Well "Big Ups" for Volandri - Aye! as Zar and I always say - If you gonna take out Fed or Nad better make it to the finals or at least win the next match.

Oh! Nad and "No Djoke" Djokovic are up next so I need tp devote all may time to that now

..........So I'm bac Nad won taking his wining streak to 75 Vamos Rafa!
Last game comin up soon but I'm hungry so I am going to have lunch now mmmmmmmmm smells good but we'll be back with a wrap up of Rome and our Star Profile and Scrap Pile for the week.

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Leave the "BOAT" alone

Wed, 02 May 2007 17:20:34 +0200

Leave the "BOAT" alone

So I, Leez, found an article on eurosport.com entitled "McEnroe: Fed has two years". It was bascially about McEnroe's opinion on Federer wining Roland Garros and Nadal's dominance on clay. Of course, no disrespect to Mc, he's actually one of the commentators we prefer to have covering events, but I had to respectfully disagree with some of his opinions and of course call Zar and ask her what she thought about it and as usual we have a lot to say.

McEnroe claimed that Federer has to win Roland Garros to be the Best Of All Time aka "the BOAT". My first issue with this is that, to me, the idea of a sports person, regardless of what sport they play, being deemed "the BOAT" is an extremely subjective idea. Of course there would always be playeers who stand out way beyond the rest but because of the changing nature of sport, all sport, it's always difficult or unfair to compare players of one era with another.

I also had to ask myself, Is there an official list of criteria for someone to be considered to be "the best of all time"? Am I just oblivious to this fact? And if it does exist who the h--- made it up and could he/she post this list up on the web or something so we can take a look? Or is it that I'm So into tennis and really have no clue about the rules? (Kinda like the ATP Chairman aye! Lol)

I mean come on! So if he does not win Roland Garros in two years it's IMPOSSIBLE to win it after? Give the man a break he's not even close to retirement let him play before you make his records for him. Sorry if I come off a bit on edge but I just rather if people follow Federer's career to the end before they judge him and set limits for him to achieve whatever their idea of success is. Nothing's wrong with making predictions and speculating but an ultimatum! That's a bit extreme. Thank goodness Federer does not pay too much attention to what is said in the media but we just can't help it

Actually Federer is quite happy about his clay court success as he said afetr losing the Monte Carlo final, "I'm happy, this is my fourth claycourt final in a row." One of McEnroe's comments that is definately agreeable (no bias here of course) is his well deserved praise of Rafael Nadal as he said "Tennis needs people with the character of Nadal" Awwww! All respect wasn't takken away from Federer however as Mc recognized that it would be very difficult for andal to be the world # 1 with Federer present. (Quotes taken from www.eurosport.com)

So what's going on with out boys lately...
Well! Nadal just completed another successful tournament which took place in Barcelona (www.openseatbarcelona.com) he picked up his second clay court title for the season beating Guillermo Canas 6-3 6-4. And! HE was also runner up in the doubles after Rafa and Bartolome Salva-Vidal (Sasson hahaha just kidding) lost to Andrei Pavel & Alexander Waske. Oh and, just in case you didn't know, Nadal has become the second person to win 3 consecutive Barca titles since Mats Wilander (1982-1984) and his winning streak has been extended to 72 matches and clay VAMOS!

Coming off another successful week Nadal would have surely gained more confidence for his next event in Rome which begins may 7th Leez is feeling a little at ease but can't be comfortable yet cause the Fed man must NEVER be ruled out!

Talking about Fed not exactly sure what he's been up to in the past week (did not play in any tournament) but we're sure he has been getting prepared for rome while spending time with Mirka lol and you can find him (and her) in the latest issue of Vogue Magazine looking pretty damn fine we might add. The man can carry a suit I tell you. Leez loves the beach pic the most and as foe Zar...well! She loves EVERYTHING!

But before Rome begins our boys will meet in Majorca, Nadal's birth place for an exhibition entitled "The Battle of Surfaces" on May 2nd, 2007. The concept: - 1 court 2 courafces half clay the other grass where the king of clay and king of grass will collide. Sounds like a recipe for disaster (injuries) but they know what they'll be doing. Both Fed and Nad seem happy and are looking forward to it and well we wish we could see it too.

So best of luck to both our boys in the exhibition tourney (remember it's just for fun) and in the mean time we'll be anxiously awaiting the draws for Rome!

STAR PROFILE
1. Rafa - Barca champ in more ways than three
2. Canas - clay court debut takes him to finals
3. Andrei Pavel & Alexander Waske - winning doubles team @ Barca
4. Paul-Henri Mathieu - won 3rd ATP tilte in Casablanca
5. Fed and Nad - true champs and good friends have fun in Majorca!

SCRAP PILE
1. "Best Of All Time" - enough with the ultimatums ok let's just watch him play

Good to see that our scrap pile has lessened this week . Lets keep it up!

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Monte Carlo 2007

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:43:39 +0200

Federer-Grass; Nadal-Clay. Deal or No Deal!

So jus a lil over a week ago the clay court season was approaching and I was panicking…sort of. Why? Well I am the dedicated Nadal fan. I love Federer but when it comes to Nadal on clay I’m sorry have to keep my priorities in order! So what Zar and I did about a year ago was to make a deal (which she tries to back track on from time to time…like during the clay court season) The deal applies to Federer vs Nadal matches; if played on grass Federer takes the win, when on clay its Nadal who has to win and any other surface is a toss up. So clay court season is back again and she still wants our tournaments.

Here’s a look at what took place in Monte Carlo through our eyes:

Well! The third ATP Masters Series tournament for 2007 began last Sunday April 15 which marked the beginning of the clay court season. Unfortunately, Guillermo Canas who pulled out of the tournament due to injury was unable to make his highly anticipated clay court debut (since his return to the main events) and Andy Murray was also forced to withdraw due to a back injury.

With top seeds, such as, Nalbandian, Ljubicic, Gonzalez and Davydenko losing early our Federer vs Nadal final seemed more and more likely. And our wish was granted! Sunday, our boys Federer and Nadal played their second consecutive final at the Monte Carlo event. In 2006’s final they played a best of five set final which turned out to be an interesting 4 set match and set the stage for the Nad vs Fed clay court monopoly of 2006 (Wow that was pressure!). This year’s final was a best of three sets match which Nadal won routinely in straight sets. Did we wish it was a best of 5 set final? Of course, there is something about the rollercoaster nature of a best of 5 set that keeps us more excited and more on edge. Now don’t get us wrong we weren’t expecting to have a replica of last year’s final just that we missed the nature of the best of 5 ( Hey if it will help the players cope with the rigors of the clay court season then I’m game).

So Nad and Fed if u could provide us with more finals this year we’ll accept.

L: Zar I know u really want Roland Garros for Federer to complete the year Slam which I must admit would be very nice for him but if you want RG we’ll have to take Wimbledon

Z: (Silence as she cringes)

L: So guess we’ll stick to the deal then Right?

Well as Zar takes time to absorb the idea of Fed not winning Wimby 07 or worst yet losing it to Rafa (points matter here) we’ll see what happens later for the rest of the clay court season now that the first one’s in the bag.

Fed claims he’s in the mix with Nadal on clay and Zar sure hopes that he is.

Zar says to Leez: You may have won this battle but the war is not over yet young grasshopper. See you in Rome!!!

Star profile
1. Rafael Nadal:Kicking off the clay court season in style!!! Defending Monte Carlo title for the 3^rd time (2^nd time beating the world #1 Federer for the title). First player to win the Monte Carlo title three times in row since Ilie Nastase and keeping that clay court winning streak going and going and going and.....

2. Roger Federer: beating clay courters Ferrer and Fererro in straight sets (who said he can’t play on clay?). Besides he looks good doing it (we are loving the slim fitting red polos lol).

3. Bryan Brothers: (at least two Americans had the courage to show up on the clay and win the doubles title no less!)

4. Ljubicic, Nad, Fed Moya and any other player standing up for the Monte Carlo tourney.

5. Monte Carlo Tournament: Great event huge fan support –here 2 stay!

Scrap pile
1. American ATP players not named Bob and Mike: injuries and whatever else keeps you from attending the first clay court Masters of the year. We seriously doubt any of you would have showed up injured or not! Way to start off the clay court season boys!

2. Etienne de Villiers: what can we say.. you are in the process of creating a real mess, just because the American players don’t value the clay court season doesn’t mean that its not important to other players, the tournament organisers and the fans (you know.. the other stake holders in this besides yourself and James Blake and co).

3. ESPN Coverage: ESPN 2 seemed to have abandoned tennis leaving only other option ESPN International with very poor reception (Buffering 45%) lol

4. Thomas Berdych's camp: A bit presumptious for your coach to be scouting Federer's semi final match before your own semi final with Nadal don't you think? Seems as though time could have been better spent working out a strategy for your match with Nadal. Have you all heard of videotaping? Or did you think you had Nad in the bag?

5. Safin,Safin,Safin:4 wasted match points...what more can we say? (we still love you though!)

Lob of the week (you know...those statements that just go way over your head!)

"For me it's something that doesn't quite fit into the schedule. It's going to be real tough to go from Houston all the way over to Monte Carlo, then come back just for a week or two to train for Rome. For the Americans, that tournament has never been exactly the easiest one in the schedule. I'm not going to be able to make it to that one"

James, with commitment like that success is guaranteed...right?

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First post comming soon!

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 21:08:22 +0200

In the mean time check out a little about "us":

The first thing you should know “about me” is that this is really about us. By that we mean that Zarlee and this blog is really owned and authored by two people (Zar and Leez)- we weren’t kidding when we said two heads are better than one!!! We are two completely different people with different styles, tastes and personalities (the style part is painfully obvious at times, more specifically when shopping together). We do however share one thing in common- a love of tennis. It seemed only logical that we make this blog about the one thing that we spend time (way too much in other ppl’s opinion) discussing, dissecting, analysing, criticising and admiring. click on the link www.blog.co.uk/user/zarlee/

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