Not surprised Federer pulled out of Halle. John McEnroe is so persuasive. I bet the tournament director of the Gary Weber Open is royally pissed of at McEnroe for planting the seed in Fed’s mind in the first place. LOL!

Wait and see. Nadal knees will suddenly be re-born at Wimbledon. This is nothing more than a Uncle-Toni stunt to give Rafa an excuse if he loses.

I’m not buying any of it!

June 9th, 2009 at 5:08 pm

That is not a nice comment about Nadal’s knees.

June 9th, 2009 at 5:19 pm

I think Rafa’s knee injury is legit. I don’t think he’s building up for an excuse in case he loses at Wimby, but that’s just my opinion. Rafa’s team hasn’t really done anything underhanded, shady, or out-right lied about any of his injuries before, so I’m inclined to believe him…just as I believed Federer when he had mono and had an injured back. I give all players the benefit of the doubt until they show me otherwise.

June 9th, 2009 at 5:25 pm

For Roger, if he didn’t feel like he had prepared enough to go to Halle, then I’m glad he did withdraw. The good news is that he has shown that he still can play on the grass without a warm-up tournament since he has skipped Halle before and went on to win Wimbledon.

Just enjoy the French for a few more days; then get in that Wimbledon mode so hopefully we can bring the trophy back!

P.S. Hope Nadal is going to be ok to defend his Wimbledon crown. He’s in a no-win situation. Many people say because of the way Nadal plays, he has to play a lot of tournaments to get in the groove; but - because of the way Nadal plays, it’s hard on his body.

June 9th, 2009 at 5:44 pm

Good move on his part to trim out this tourney if he didn’t feel 100%. His focus is on the Slams now and the mandatory Master’s.

June 9th, 2009 at 5:54 pm

Rest well Fed and come back to win Wimbledon! However I won’t be rooting for you as desperately as I was last year coz you have given me MS, career GS, Olympic gold and what not? I’m most proud of you but sorry, I’d be rooting for the two famous Andys as well besides you, so please don’t mind ! I want one of you to be Wimbledon champion, and, as per my tradition, I’d root against Rafa ! ;-)

June 9th, 2009 at 5:56 pm

I’ll make no secret of this. I’m routing for Andy Roddick to win Wimbledon. He’s the best player to have never won the title, imo.

Go Andy Roddick.

Not Murray. Murray is still too much of a whiner for my taste. And this is one of Roddick’s last best realistic shots at winning the title.

June 9th, 2009 at 6:36 pm

That’s a really respectable statement from Federer. He’s not bsing anyone or coming up with some excuse. His reasoning is perfectly understandable, even if it sucks for his fans (because I wanna see him play) and for the tournament. But I’d rather not be able to see him play at all than play without interest. Good move Federer. Plus, physically he might need time to recover since he spent so much time on the court over the 2 weeks. I don’t think it’ll affect him for Wimbledon. He’s not going to lose because he didn’t play Halle, if he loses it’s because he got beat.

June 9th, 2009 at 6:39 pm

Djokovic is now first seed in Halle. :)

June 9th, 2009 at 6:43 pm

I’d be delighted as well if Roddick won Wimbledon. I’d be happy for Djoko, Murray, JMDP, and, oh what the hell, Safin (!) too.

June 9th, 2009 at 7:06 pm

Cindy_Brady, what are some recent examples of Andy Murray whining? I can’t think of any.

June 9th, 2009 at 7:17 pm

Cindy, who else whines more than Roddick these days? If he isn’t whining, he’s getting angry at the chair ump or sulking between points.

June 9th, 2009 at 7:25 pm

RZ,

Andy Murray’s facial expressions and body language. Can’t stand him.

Jeff,

Yes, Andy Roddick acted like a baby about the light situation in his loss against Monfils, but he was egged on by Monfil’s bad behavior too.

Between the two Andys, Roddick is by far the more mature. And I’m not talking about age, either.

June 9th, 2009 at 8:05 pm

“Djokovic is now first seed in Halle. :)”

No.

June 9th, 2009 at 8:06 pm

Hi everyone, I usually don’t post anything but come here almost every day for fresh news :)

I was wondering if anyone out there can help me out: does anyone know of ANYWHERE on the web that has a list of total weaks all the male players spent ranked in the top 2, top 3, top 4 and top 5, consecutivly and non consecutivly, since the rankings started?

Weaks at number 1 lists are easy to find, of course, and at tennis28.com they have complete stats for some of the more recent players, but not all of them, so it’s impossible to organize a list and compare everyone… :(

Thanks in advance for any help!

Any Federer fans out there might like to check out http://federer-records.blogspot.com/

June 9th, 2009 at 8:08 pm

roger would have to be fav at wimbledon along with rafa if he is healthy.

June 9th, 2009 at 8:34 pm

Cindy,

I don’t know about AR being more mature, I’d call it a wash. What I would say is that AM has so much natural talent and his game is beautiful and versatile and is so much fun to watch. Where as AR would be fun to watch at a serving clinic but beyond that….not so much. I do enjoy watching them both lose though.

June 9th, 2009 at 8:47 pm

Cindy_brady, Roddick is mature ? LOL probably off the court but not on the court.

June 9th, 2009 at 8:48 pm

Jeff: “I do enjoy watching them both lose though.”

But why ? What do you enjoy when they lose ? Its a strange way of watching a tennis match.

June 9th, 2009 at 8:54 pm

Kimmi,

I enjoy watching someone beat them because they are a couple of my least favorite tennis players. That should make sense, no? Do you have any tennis players you prefer not winning? When they are playing, there is a good chance the person on the other side of net is the player I’d rather see win. Maybe that is strange…haha

June 9th, 2009 at 9:03 pm

Jeff, fair enough. Every other player I wish them to win but unless they are playing my fav…The most i enjoyed recently was when Fed beat Nadal in Madrid, it was a long time coming. Does not happen often though.

Best match ever, when Murray beat Nadal in US 08.

June 9th, 2009 at 9:10 pm

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Nadal Delays Wimbledon Decision

——————————————————————————–

Rafael Nadal has announced he will be going to Great Britain on the 16th to prepare for participation in the Championships at Wimbledon.

Get more on this story and other tennis news at http://www.tennisnews.com

June 9th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

“But why ? What do you enjoy when they lose ? Its a strange way of watching a tennis match.”

Please tell me you’re kidding? This from a person who hates Roddick and wanted “anyone, please anyone,to beat Nadal”? LOL.I’ve read it all now, right here on these threads about these vacillators who overnight develop a dose of generosity towards all players. Love is in the air … it’s exciting and …

June 9th, 2009 at 9:47 pm

Nadal’s knees might not be all that true, though he has some problems with just.. just like he has everytime he enters hard court season for last couple of years.

But am sure, he’ll come out blazing at Wimbledon again… and he also suggested he might rest during the hard court season. So i guess we’ll see him going full-on for the US Open title to complete his career grand slams.

But i guess, Fed will be more than happy to deny Nadal that pleasure if they meet in the final.. just as Nadal has denied him before for last few years.

June 9th, 2009 at 9:50 pm

Jeff:

I can name a few whiners, who’d make Roddick look like a saint, but I’m not interested in changing people’s minds, so feel free to think whatevah.

June 9th, 2009 at 9:51 pm

Von, the Americans all did well at Queens today, with Fish, Blake and Roddick all winning. Sam’s match was suspended due to rain though, but hopefully he’ll come through too. I was happy for Blake after the early FO loss, and he beat a tough competitor in Ljub.

June 9th, 2009 at 9:54 pm

Anyone can have their own opinion, as you have yours and those are my opinion, I won’t stop you to insult me if you want. Good night.

June 9th, 2009 at 10:08 pm

jane: Thanks for the good news on the Americans, and i’m glad they are doing fine. I’ve not had any time to watch the matches, as I’ve been busy with hearings, OY VEY time.

__________________
Kimmi: Where’s the insult? Pointing out your past rants on how much you were begging becoming overly desperate for someone, anyone to step up and beat Nadal, is an insult? Look up insult in the the dictionary, and let’s see if I’ve in any way insulted you.

June 9th, 2009 at 10:22 pm

Murray is still too much of a whiner for my taste. And this is one of Roddick’s last best realistic shots at winning the title.

Cindy, he’s like a male Safina.

June 9th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

Von, see what i have to go through with Kimmi?
I quit with him/her. It’s like trying to go through a mountain using a ball peen hammer.
chip chip chip

June 9th, 2009 at 10:30 pm

I don’t get why people call Roddick a whiner. Roddick’s on court antics are awesome. Sometimes the umpires deserve to be cursed out and told that 2nd graders are smarter than them. I didn’t see the end of his Monfils match but I know Monfils isn’t exactly the classiest guy.

June 9th, 2009 at 10:37 pm

Von: As I said it’s my opinion as you are entitled to your opinion too. I said “Insult” because you have insulted me before that’s why I said if you want to do it again go ahead.

At the time when Nadal was winning everything on clay, yes I wanted him to lose but now he has enough share of his loses- he can win again and I will be happy for him. He is the rival of my fav player it’s normal to have that reaction. I bet Nadal fans would be happy to see Federer losing too. ie vared is a good example. But I don’t mind it because it’s a normal reaction of a fan. Guess what, players will not lose because I want them to lose, my preferences will have no impact on their game whatsoever.

June 9th, 2009 at 10:42 pm

I bet Nadal fans would be happy to see Federer losing too. ie vared is a good example

Wow that’s funny, Ryan and Gordo called me a Djok fan and others are calling me a Nadal fan. Got any others for me?

June 9th, 2009 at 10:50 pm

vared why do you have to go thru Von, why don’t you “go through” me yourself ? I still think Murray will win Queens. But congratulation Roddick for his win today.

June 9th, 2009 at 10:53 pm

vared:

“Von, see what i have to go through with Kimmi?
I quit with him/her. It’s like trying to go through a mountain using a ball peen hammer.
chip chip chip.”

I know what Kimmi is all about, her Mo, et all. I don’t know if you remember when she was spouting off her Nadal garbage, wanting him to lose in the worst way and asking her cute, coy questions, ‘but why” as she’s doing now? That’s an invitation to all non-Roddick fans to bash him some more. I’m hip to her little schemes. I got a whiff of her MO a while back with Nadal and refused to answer her questions. I told her to ask Nadal himself about her ‘why’ questions, and she got offended, at that time, she said I was ‘insulting’ her. Thankfully, Voicemale 1 put her in her place, and she shut up for a while. I told her at that time, I don’t care to interact with her, and because of that she’s had her tentacles very fixed firmly into me. Last Sunday, she was being very sarcastic to me when she was championing grendel’s cause, but I ignored her. However, today, I just couldn’t, because the hypocrisy was too much. I expect she’ll be pointing out what she perceives to be my every flaw from now to eternity with vengeance in mind.
_______________
Kimmi: You’ve not only insulted me many times, but you’ve assisted others in their wars against me. Have fun, and as I always say enjoy the ride. The FO is over and it’s now Wimby, but after that, there won’t be too many Fed fans around to discuss anything, so who are you going to talk to then now that you’re burning so many bridges?

June 9th, 2009 at 11:03 pm

whatever Von, Good nite.

June 9th, 2009 at 11:09 pm

sensationalsafin:

Some people like to see robots on courts, but that’s their preference. I like to see an honest to goodness, flesh and blood human being and it’s the reason why I like Roddick. I could easily support a top 5 player, but Roddick has been there and done that, however, it’s his personality and appeal that makes me like him.

Talking about umpires, that same Lahyani, who I don’t care for, cost Fed a point v. Monfils, due to his ’star gazer’ MO. He’s useless and has cost Roddick some bad losses. Not only would I complain if i were Roddick, I’d knock his block off, if I were a player and he cost me points = losing a match. But, to each his own.

Everyone had their opinions on Roddick’s match v. MonFils, who was a perfect, classless brat IMO. roddick should have done what Santoro did at 8:00 pm at the FO, just pack up and leave. I wonder what the tournament director would have done? Any action taken would have had to include Santoro.

June 9th, 2009 at 11:13 pm

I expect she’ll be pointing out what she perceives to be my every flaw from now to eternity with vengeance in mind.”

Von, I missed a lot of this stuff so thanks for warning me. I don’t look at all threads regularly.
But I say we ignore it and maybe it will go away.

Kimmi, I wasn’t talking to you. And since you’re clearly demented I won’t be listening to your response.

June 9th, 2009 at 11:16 pm

Exactly what Grendel and Ra were saying. Bullying. And I agree. If you saw I shut up for a while, it’s because YOU made me do that. Voicemale did not insult me one word but you did insult my character. That was a big difference.

June 9th, 2009 at 11:29 pm

Could we stick to “tennis talk” rather than resorting to personal attacks. I detest rudeness.

June 9th, 2009 at 11:31 pm

vared - nothing wrong with being a Djoko fan. Or a Nadal fan. Or a Roddick fan. Or anybody’s fan on the tour, although when Murray does that thing with his neck muscles it sure looks scary. But eating haggis does that to you. Trust me - my grandmaother was Scottish and fed it to us a few times.

Me? I am an unabashed Federer fan, but I have discovered that a strange thing has happened in the afterglow of the French Open - not only is the pressure off Fed a lot, but it is also off his fans.

We all suspect Slam #15 is just a matter of time for him now. After Wimbledon last year we were nellying whether #13 would ever come, let alone #14 and beyond.

So - may the best man win in a fortnight. If Rog doesn’t win it, I would like to see Roddick come through. I do believe - agreeing with Cindy - he is the best grass player to not have won at SW12, although his lateral movement is not as good as Murray’s. But Murray is still a pip - he can win it anyime in the next 5 or 6 years.

fed is afraid - The oddsmakers now have Fed as the favourite, slightly ahead of Nadal.

Here is where I have to disagree with you, Cindy -as to announcements of Nadal’s injury being planned by Uncle Tony - I don’t believe so, even though Tony is capable of some pretty idiotic stunts. I suspect the Paris fans have long memories and it will be interesting to see the reception Rafa gets at Roland Garros next year. My suspicion is that should Roger and Rafa meet in the final they will be all on Roger’s side. After all - they are not stupid! :) lol

June 9th, 2009 at 11:39 pm

I don’t want to get caught in the middle, but the back-and-forth sniping on this board is quite irritating at times. I enjoy the debate and reading everyone’s intelligent opinions (even if they differ from my own), but the personal attacks are tiresome.

June 10th, 2009 at 12:08 am

Sean: It was 8:00 pm GMT time zone, I believe. It doesn’t matter much anymore — it’s a mot point now. I believed someone else mentioned it on the roddick/Monfils thread.

June 10th, 2009 at 12:12 am

Kimmi:

You’ve got a nice little weapon to hold onto now, e.g., bullying. If you’d like to know the history of bullying, read the posts — it was more of my being bullied than the other being bullied, but have it your way. I wondered when you’d latch onto it and use it as a weapon. Enjoy it for as much as it lasts. Street smarts are always a marvel to me, and I admire those who can fully exploit it when it suits them.

June 10th, 2009 at 12:16 am

Now that Roger has won RG, expect him to play scary-level tennis on the lawns of SW19. Think 2006 level.

June 10th, 2009 at 12:29 am

Sean:

I believe GMT and Paris time is the same. it’s now 6:30 am both GMT and Paris time.

June 10th, 2009 at 12:29 am

Sean: I don’t have much info available to me at the moment, but I’ll try to find the correct information, and if I can’t I’ll defer to you. Is that alright with you?

June 10th, 2009 at 12:38 am

hey we nadal fans will be happy if our boy wins,we dont celebrate on any others defeat

June 10th, 2009 at 12:39 am

Gordo:

“We all suspect Slam #15 is just a matter of time for him now. After Wimbledon last year we were nellying whether #13 would ever come, let alone #14 and beyond.’

Try to digest the No. 14, which is still so very new, and you’ve probably awakened the last two mornings thinking it was a dream. That said, don’t start imagining that No. 15 is right around the corner. Leave a little room for enjoying and savouring the moment, will ya. LOL.

“If Rog doesn’t win it, I would like to see Roddick come through. I do believe - agreeing with Cindy - he is the best grass player to not have won at SW12,”

Oh my, this would be so wonderful, but I’ve learnt not to get carried away and just hope for all the cards to be shuffled in Roddick’s direction = Roddick wins. Could you just imagine the headlines? Now who’s getting carried away, you or me? LOL. I need to follow y own advice, but I don’t think I can be faulted for dreaming, eh?

June 10th, 2009 at 12:48 am

Sean:

I didn’t look at the link, give me some time, please. I also need to find out the correct match I’m talking about, because I know I’m going to have a lot more to you.

June 10th, 2009 at 12:51 am

Sean: “I also need to find out the correct match I’m talking about, because I know I’m going to have a lot more to you.”

should be: because I know I’m going to have to ‘prove’ a lot more to you.

June 10th, 2009 at 1:03 am

Kimmi:

“If you saw I shut up for a while, it’s because YOU made me do that. Voicemale did not insult me one word but you did insult my character. That was a big difference.”

First of all, I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, because I don’t have that kind of power over anyone. Would you jump off the CN Tower if I told you to do so? That’s how ludicrous your statement sounds. You shut up because you didn’t have an answer to my statements. Secondly, how could I “insult your character”? That’s a new one to me. I can insult you, but NOT your character. And, thirdly, if I did attack your character, what did I say about it? Please stop flailing around for ammunition to use against me, and speak truthfuly, because I know you think I’m a DEMON, and a BULLY, et al., per your references, so is there anything else you’d like to add to make me appear to be the worst low-life you’ve encountered on the face of this earth? Thank God the air I breathe is not hand out by you and those whose opinions you value and/or cherish as the gospel truth, or else I’d be suffocating right about now. LOL

June 10th, 2009 at 1:24 am

I think nadal’s knee problem is not that big of a deal. Besides he has won a wimbledon 2008 and AO 2009 with the knee problem. So I think watever that happened to him in FO 2009 was a real dip in form.He just got outplayed period. Von , you might be knowing this but roddick stated the other day that he has been playing with knee tendonitis for years.

June 10th, 2009 at 1:51 am

Ryan:

Thanks for sharing. Yes I know of Roddick’s knee tendinitis, but it’s not something he advertises, and it’s why his movement is not as good as the fast movers. Unfortunately for him, when he was 19, he was recruited by P. Mcenroe as a practise player in Davis Cup to practise with Agassi, Sampras and the other DC guys, and they literally killed the kid from too much practising. He subssequently had to have arthroscopic surgery, and is left with the tendinitis problem. I like Andy very much and admire him for not lamenting his knee woes and/olr using it as an excuse, and it’s why I defend him when he’s made fun of, because there are so many who don’t know the real story b ehind his on-court movement.

June 10th, 2009 at 2:00 am

Nadal intends to defend Wimby title:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/wimbledon/article6466037.ece

June 10th, 2009 at 2:12 am

Either of the two Andys will do 4 me and they should meet at Queens. However, I’ve a feeling if playing the way he did at the final of RG, he’s gonna be very hard to beat. Wants his title back rather badly too.
Gordo: hope u picked up my post re “kippers and mash.” Tut, Tut.
Cindy-brady: if you don’t like personal remarks, why make them about a player?

June 10th, 2009 at 2:47 am

Boo! of course referring to Fed in above post, apologies.

June 10th, 2009 at 2:48 am

Nadal punishes his knees with all his sliding and so forth. I’d be very happy is Murray gets eliminated. His a whiner and immature. Bad example for youngsters

June 10th, 2009 at 7:53 am

I also suspect rafa’s camp’s press release re knee injury. I have no clue of the motives behind but I’m sure reports are exaggerated to a large extent.

As for FED, congrats for claiming the FO crown at last and I hope you’ll come to SW19 hungrier than ever.

June 10th, 2009 at 8:00 am

Nadal is still just pissed he lost. He has been playing with these “injuries” for years. They always seem to flare up right when he has a loss.

June 10th, 2009 at 8:48 am

Margot,

That’s what we are here for. To discuss the players whether it’s good or bad. The writers only ask that disparaging claims towards players be backed up with credible proof of some kind. Don’t state an opinion as fact without the evidence first.

As far as other posters bashing each other. I’ll just pop some corn and enjoy the drama. It’s all good!

June 10th, 2009 at 8:54 am

xmike: You can do the tabulation yourself at the ATP site by going to the profile and checking the ranking history.

June 10th, 2009 at 9:34 am

“Rafa’s team hasn’t really done anything underhanded, shady, or out-right lied about any of his injuries before, so I’m inclined to believe him…”

I am inclined to believe Rafa as well, however, his coach Toni did cause quite a stir at the end of 2007 by suggesting that foot problems Nadal had could be career threatening, so either this is getting lost in translation, or he is a bit of an alarmist or it is possible that they are trying to explain his loss of form. Personally I think Toni is trying to take just a little pressure off of him by mentioning real physical problems he’s having.

I’m not a fan of that - not when anybody does it. I have the feeling that it’s all a big waste of time. After all, if you’re fit enough to play, you’re fit enough to play. We only ever hear of the niggling injuries of the top players, but every player on tour is battling some condition. That’s the nature of professional sports.

June 10th, 2009 at 9:51 am

One of the bad qualities of Tony Nadal is that he’s a master in blowing things out of proportion and making exaggerated claims re Rafa’s injuries. But Rafa’s clearly a honest and truthful and a good natured guy who’s forced to sound politically correct.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:01 am

Cindy, it’s very nice to hear from you that you also think of Roddick as the best grass court player without a WIM title.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:16 am

Are some people really serious? They really believe that Roddick’s a whiner? Well, lemme tell ye, if there’s one guy who’s never been a whiner, it’s Andy Roddick. So please don’t sound so funny by accusing Roddick of being a whiner.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:21 am

Why should anyone doubt the integrity of Nadal. The only person who knows the degree of pain being suffered and the effects it is having, is Rafael Nadal himself. It is not for anyone else to comment, whether his name be Federer or Roddick. It was obvious throughout the clay season that Nadal’s game was not up to its usual level and that his movement was compromised, here’s wishing him well.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:27 am

Huh: While I have a great deal of respect for how Roddick carries himself off the court (the fire in Rome, his press conferences, and his charities, etc.) I have to say while I wouldn’t call him a whiner, I would say his behavior on court is not always the best. I know that many feel this adds “color” and “personality” to the matches, and that’s fine.

However, I’ve just found him to be to quick to take out his frustrations of losing on officials, often in situations where he’s DEAD WRONG on the rules. I’m not saying he’s the devil, I have just been very turned off by some of his rants at officials in matches that appear to me to be incited solely by the fact that he’s losing.

Murray, on the other hand, often has an on-court personality that is less than appealing. I applaud him for improving that, but he most of his anger and petulance is directed either at himself or his “team”.

Nobody’s perfect, but more often than the other top players, I find both of them to be less than pleasing.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:32 am

I think the ideal situation for Roddick’s WIM win’ll be if doesn’t face Murray or Fed at any stage and reaches the final. And then if it’s a final vs Djok, Roddick’s a chance ! For Roddick, beating Rafa’s tough but possible, especially outside the final.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:44 am

MMT:

Are you saying of the top players only Murray and Roddick are the least pleasing? I know you most decidedly don’t like Roddick, but I don’t think you are being altogether fair. I believe the top players all have their own little quirks, and they also become embroiled in umpire tiffs. Roddick’s tiffs are more audible because he speaks louder and he’s also English speaking, while the others can use their obscene language and disguise it very carefully. I agree sometimes Roddick is not 100% correct, but he is most of the time and does let some of the bad calls go without saying anything.

On the other hand, which would you prefer, a player who airs his displeasure at the umpire for what he thinks is a bad call, or one who continuously and flagrantly disrespects his opponents by keeping them waiting and also repeatedly abuses the time rules? I’m more prone to be turned off of the latter, but, to each his own.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:07 am

any live streaming anywhere of Halle or Queens?

June 10th, 2009 at 11:20 am

Cindy-Brady:

“As far as other posters bashing each other. I’ll just pop some corn and enjoy the drama. It’s all good!”

That’s a good idea, I’ve had quite a few laughs from you over the past month. I guess popcorn sales have gone up in your neck of the woods. LOL.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:24 am

You are right - nobody’s perfect, but for me, I prefer a player who makes his point and gets on with it, whereas I find Roddick argues beyond the point of a purpose or objective and appears to me to be just venting at that point. The umpire is not there to be a sounding board for his frustrations.

That said, I also have a big problem with Rafa and Djokovic’s routine(s) and abuse of the injury time-outs. They are annoying and I also feel they give them an advantage in that the extra time between points allows them to play in a way that they might not otherwise if they had to get up to the line and serve again quickly.

I guess the example that stands out in my mind with Roddick is the two occassions he’s berated or insulted the referee for a correct ruling on whether to replay the point on an overrule. The rule is that the point is to be replayed on an overrule if, in the opinion of the umpire, if the incorrect/overruled call interferes with their ability to make a play.

The first was against Kohlshreiber in 2008 at the AO - where he let a ball go thinking it was out, and THEN it was called out. On review the call was overturned, but he expected the point to be replayed because he could have played it. In fact the fact that he could have played it, but let it go, confirms the umpires decision not to replay the point. But Roddick proceeded to lambast the umpire, tell him he has the intelligence of a 3rd grader and yell to the crowd, “Stay in school kis, otherwise you may wind up an umpire.”

Not pleasant.

But he did it again in Australia - he did the exactly same thing - he let a ball go that he thought was out, then it was called out, and it was overturned by hawk-eye. He then aggressively insisted that the umpire answer his question, whether he felt he could have gotten the ball, and the umpire said no, because he let it go, and Roddick proceeded to tell him, “You don’t believe that…have some sack.”

Again, I don’t want to make it out to seem that he’s the devil, because he isn’t, but I can only say that these kinds of displays are less than appealing to me.

Anyway, I did mention that for the most part I respect him as a person, and I will add that he doesn’t waste time, or abuse the injury time-outs either, which I appreciate.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:24 am

Did you try atdhe.net vared?

Djoko and Troicki are getting schooled by Zverev and Kiefer in doubles. Remember Zverev from Rome? He could be great on grass as he has that big serve and likes to volley. Plus Kiefer always does well at Halle. As I mentioned before, I could see Djoko losing to Kiefer if he meets up with him next round; they had a tense match at Wimbledon the year before last, and Kiefer often heats up this time of year - on grass and the first part of the hard court season.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:24 am

That second example was this year at the AO against Federer.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:25 am

vared:

Try ATDHE.net. when the menu comes up, look at the time slot for 6:00 am Halle and 7:30 am for Queens. Click on each. I’ve been able to watch two screens side by side.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:26 am

ok got it thanks

June 10th, 2009 at 11:29 am

MMT:

My mention of the top players concerns Fed’s behaviour at Wimby in ‘07, in his final vs. Nadal; even HE came into some abuse. Another was at MC last year vs. Hidalgo-Ramirez. There are other times I’ve seen Federer have it out with the umpire, but I don’t have the exact dates and matches, so it’s pointless my mentioning them without tangible evidence. For Nadal, it was at Toronto last year where Du Mourier called a time violation and Nadal was so ticked off, not only did he make a scene with the umpire, but he called for the tournament referee. After that incident, Nadal continued to abuse the time rule and it seemed to me as though he was daring the umpire to call a time violation.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:38 am

Mina,

god bless you. the sniping is the #1 reason why i just post and read rather than get into cyber tangles with people …particularly with a couple of folks who shall remain unmentioned.

i too love reading the analysis and the in-check opinions.

June 10th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

I just came across a jaw-dropping stat:

In the last 20 slams, you know, the slams where Roger rached the semi or better, his record agianst player not in the top five is…

111-0 (no it’s not a typo, it’s one hundred and eleven to nothing).

June 10th, 2009 at 12:10 pm

Kimo,

What is Fed’s record VS Nadal in Grand Slam finals?

It is 2-6….AND Nadal has beaten Fed on 3 different surfaces in them. Not just clay. Should have beaten Roger in the 2007 Wimbledon final too.

It’s just so interesting to know Federer’s beautiful game can beat everyone except the Ugliest.

June 10th, 2009 at 12:31 pm

Actually it’s 2-5, they’ve only played 7: 3 RG, 3 Wimbies, 1 Ozzie.

I was just mentioning a stat, not related to anything you guys were discussing.

111-0!!!!!

June 10th, 2009 at 12:37 pm

Okay - and bear with me on this, because I have an analogy to make between the film industry and the world of mens’ tennis. At least as it deals with my high opinion of Andy Roddick.

There are some talented actors who have these weird off-screen moments that makes me call into question whether or not I can enjoy watching them on screen, because the sight of them irks me so.

Billy Bob Thornton is a recent example. In Toronto a few weeks back he acted like a petulant immature child and now I couldn’t care less if I ever watch another film of his. Where I used to think he was a talented actor I now wouldn’t go out of my way to watch a film he stars in.

Russell Crowe is another star who has acted like a boor and a buffoon off screen - in fact, more so than Thornton. However, I find him to be such a talented actor that I will still watch movies he acts in. And when I watch him on screen I forget what a jerk he can be when he is not acting.

Now this brings me to Andy Roddick. When he blows up at a ref and gets rude and personal I cringe. His behaviour is unacceptable and I think there is this switch in his head, similar to the one John McEnroe has, that causes him to just act like a total goof for brief stretches. However - for some reason I cannot dislike the man and I still root for him when he plays anyone except Federer. I suspect it is because when you see him interviewed, either away from the courts, at a post-match conference or by journalists, he really does seem to be a nice fellow and a genuine person. So I forgive him his occasional on-court blow ups. The pressure these guys are under is immense, and although objectively there is no good reason for an athlete to be abusive to the guy or gal in the chair, I understand that it occasionally happens.

Besides - getting back to acting - I think Roddick’s acting in his commercials is easily the best of any athlete, in any sport. :)

June 10th, 2009 at 12:43 pm

Kimo,

I stand corrected. I added the 1 semi-final in 2005 where Nadal beat Fed. My bad.

My point still stands, though.

June 10th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

Kimo -

111-0 is pretty impressive but it makes sense.

To get to 20 straight semis that accounts for 100 players he would have to have beaten that would not have been ranked above 4 in the world.

In the semis or in a final he is most likely to face the number 2,3 or 4 seed.

That is what happened when he met Rafa, who was either #2 or number #1 when he lost to him 3 times at Roland Garros, once at Wimbledon and once at the Australian Open.

Also when he met and lost to Safin at AO 2005 - Safin was ranked #4 in the world and Djokovic was ranked #3 last year when he defeated Fed at the Australian Open.

But yes, 111-0 is well… pretty damn good, isn’t it?

June 10th, 2009 at 12:58 pm

they are not showing Tsonga at Halle on atdhe but i will keep trying on channelsurfing.

June 10th, 2009 at 1:09 pm

I doubt Nadal would be playing the injury card….

I agree that Roddick needs to coller that dog and these antics shouldn’t be tolerated in the house of tennis…

BEACH TENNIS USA continues to grow, latest tournament, Virginia Beach Blast, was a blast and a half….

http://zsmart.blogspot.com/2009/06/whitesell-henderson-take-title-in.html

http://beachtennisusa.net

June 10th, 2009 at 1:16 pm

111-0 is incredible because it just shows you that Federer is really untroubled by hot players. Baghy, Soderling, Gonzo, all these guys played like top 5 players but it was only for that tournament. Djokovic and Nadal and kinda Safin have shown to be able to sustain a top 5 level of play for… long time. And it’s not like Federer ALWAYS loses to the top guys, either. He does have those 2 wins against Nadal. He’s got a winning GS record over Djokovic, and even Murray (if you wanna count 1-0). He’s got winning records over just about everyone in GS, top 5 or not, except Nadal. If you wanna say that his record against Nadal blemishes his GOATness, then fine. It does, so Federer’s not the GOAT because IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO BE THE GOAT WHEN YOU ACCOUNT EVERY SINGLE LITTLE OR BIG THING!

June 10th, 2009 at 1:20 pm

The American magazine Sports Illustrated tends to neglect tennis - it took last year’s Wimby final to finally get a tennis story on the cover.

It looks like that is changing… this just in -

Roger Federer will grace the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated, with writer S.L. Price arguing that Federer is the best tennis player ever: “Historians will look at Federer’s résumé—at least five U.S. Open titles, five Wimbledons, three Australians and one French—measure it against Laver’s 11 and Sampras’s Frenchless 14 and declare him supreme. But there’s also the matter of Federer’s unparalleled consistency: Federer has made an astonishing 20 straight Grand Slam semifinals.”

June 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pm

Von - I’m not familiar with the incidents you’re referring to. I checked youtube and the interview transcripts and didn’t find anything on confrontations with the umpire. I do recall one incident where Federer had it out with the Brazilian umpire in the Masters Cup in Shanghai against Gonzalez (I think) where he was angry that the umpire didn’t respond to his request for a replay. But again, it was one and done - no insults or anything like that, just made his point and moved on.

What were the details of the Wimbledon and Monte Carlo incidents?

June 10th, 2009 at 2:03 pm

Oh well, Novak out of doubles. You are right Jane, he will have lots of work to do if he gets to Kiefer. And Tsonga is having a lot of trouble with Haas. I think Haas is the best looking man in tennis.

June 10th, 2009 at 2:10 pm

Tennis is not being unfairly treated when it comes to coverage. If you think about it, tennis is the most covered INDIVIDUAL sport in the world. I think golf comes as a close second, maybe even surpasses tennis in the US, but that’s because America has consistently produced phenomenal golfers, and now there’s Tiger, which makes golf even more interesting to Americans. Unfortunately, America has not produced tennis players of that caliber in this decade. I bet tennis was right up there with all the major sports back during the Sampras-Agassi era, but since no Americans even came close to the quality of Pete and Andre, American’s just lost interest.(Not all of them of course, but an overwhelming majority).

Let’s face it, Americans don’t follow any sport when they are not the best at it. No offense.

June 10th, 2009 at 2:17 pm

Does anyone know where JMDP is playing? Or JJ?

June 10th, 2009 at 2:20 pm

MMT: Murray has behaved like a petulant teenager and also swearing rather too much on court, but usually at himself rather than anyone else. I grant you this, but today Andrew Castle said how popular he is with the ball girls, being available, endlessly signing autographs etc. I think you are being unfair, growing up in the glare of publicity aint easy and some people grow into their skins and their tennis, later than others. Andy is one of them.
In interviews these days he smiles!! Yes he really does so please give the guy a break. And even you must agree his tennis is classy if nothing else.

June 10th, 2009 at 2:27 pm

Jon Wertheim published 3 thoughts I had on his initial French Open write up in his weekly mailbag - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jon_wertheim/06/09/mailbag/index.html?eref=T1

June 10th, 2009 at 2:40 pm

Kimo said: “Let’s face it, Americans don’t follow any sport when they are not the best at it. No offense.”

I’m an American and no offense is taken, because generally I’d actually concur with that.

Connors has been on the cover no less than 8 times alone and once as part of the year in sports.

McEnroe 7 times - all alone.

Agassi 3 times - all alone.

Sampras 3 times - all alone.

There are a few exceptions - Bjorn Borg’s been on the cover 5 times, all alone, and he’s Swedish. But I would have to say Borg is probably the first international tennis star, so an exception can be made for him.

Federer just made his first (and only) sole cover of Sports Illustrated. The last one was with Nadal (the latter’s only appearance on the cover).

Even Ivan Lendl was once featured on the cover, although rather insidiously labelled, “The Champion That Nobody Cares About”.

Edberg made it once.

Becker twice.

Arthur Ashe made the cover 4 times; twice as a player and twice in retirement (actually once posthumously).

What did all of these American players have in common - they either won Wimbledon or were ranked #1 at the time (except Ashe’s ‘66 cover).

June 10th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

Margot
Murray and ball kids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP9U7_pktpg

June 10th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

Actually a couple of Connors later covers came after the US Open - his last (thankfully) in 1991.

June 10th, 2009 at 2:43 pm

Margot - I did give him credit for directly most of his anger towards himself and for improving his behavior. It seems a turning point was that wrist injury that kept him out for so long. The only thing I’ve taken issue with since then was the farce he pulled in his match with del Potro in Rome. If he hadn’t been so arrogant I might have found it more amusing, because it really was ridiculous.

June 10th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

I think I’d have plenty of time for those ball girls in Madrid too. ;-)

June 10th, 2009 at 2:48 pm

I just recently learned that Arthur Ashe was a big friend with Sargent Shriver, the first head of the peace corps. At Cincinnati in 2005 I saw how tennis is mildly jingoistic in the U.S. (maybe elsewhere too …). Anyway I saw Federer at an evening session, the other singles match on the grand stand was a walk over. So the Bryan Brothers were on the stadium court and world #1 Bjorkman and Mirnyi were on a small outside court. I went to the small outside court just due to being able to literally sit court side. I could understand the Bryans on the stadium court they were #2 and are U.S. citizens, but the #1 team did not get moved to the grand stand when the walk over came through. I guess Belarus and Sweeden don’t put butts in the seats in Cincinnati.

June 10th, 2009 at 2:51 pm

Fed never ever crosses the limits of decency when interacting with an umpire, no doubt about that.

June 10th, 2009 at 2:56 pm

margot, you needn’t worry about Murray’s popularity even if he doesn’t show all his teeth in an interview coz Murray’s a pretty nice guy and most people accept his behaviour as nothing to scoff at.

June 10th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

Tennis in the U.S. should have grown a lot during the Sampras-Agassi-Courier-Chang era - The U.S. produced at least 1 male slam winner between 1989-2003 starting with Chang’s Roland Garros and ending with Roddick’s U.S. Open triumph. How the USTA failed to capitalize on that I’ll never know. Even Todd Martin and Mal Washington were in a combined 3 major finals in that period.

June 10th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

MMT said:

“I think I’d have plenty of time for those ball girls in Madrid too. ;-)”

So would I. Do they have the prettiest ball girls or what!!!!! ;)

June 10th, 2009 at 3:10 pm

Andrea - bless you! I thought I was the ONLY one who didn’t appreciate the sniping, since everyone else seemed to ignore my little comment.

In any case, this is why I take breathers from reading these comments occasionally and only read the articles - ’cause I just can’t handle it. Unfortunately, that means I also miss reading a lot of the intelligent thought-provoking comments too…which are mixed into this jumbled mess somewhere.

June 10th, 2009 at 3:11 pm

Dan, I think it’s because the way tennis is taught in the US right now is extremely one-dimensional. It’s basically like this: “Be agressive, crush you serves and explode on your forehand while moving forward and not giving any ground.”

And what you get is Roddick, Blake, Fish, Querrey…and so on.

June 10th, 2009 at 3:13 pm

Kimo, that’s the direction women’s tennis seems to be moving in, too, and that saddens me deeply. I miss Justine Henin.

June 10th, 2009 at 3:23 pm

I agree Mina. I also miss Martina Hingis.

June 10th, 2009 at 3:27 pm

Kimo Says:
MMT said:

“I think I’d have plenty of time for those ball girls in Madrid too. ;-)”

So would I. Do they have the prettiest ball girls or what!!!!! ;)

I too would like to give some precious time of mine for those girls. ;-)

June 10th, 2009 at 3:38 pm

Kimo,
“tennis is the most covered INDIVIDUAL sport in the world. I think golf comes as a close second, maybe even surpasses tennis in the US” ?
Tennis surpasses Golf in the US?
French Open final was viewed by half of the Memorial final (Golf) on that day in America: 1.8 mil to 3.6 mil. Imagine TV rating for Belmont Stakes (Horse Racing)on the same day was 3.9 mil?

June 10th, 2009 at 3:40 pm

Tennis Freak said:

“Tennis surpasses Golf in the US?”

Dude, I said the exact opposite.

June 10th, 2009 at 3:49 pm

It is interesting that Madrid has babes as ball girls and all goes well, but 2 years ago, when one of the ball girls at the Australian Open happened to have long blonde hair with a striking figure, every time she picked up a ball guys in the crowd started hooting and hollering so much that she became a distraction and was replaced after 2 sets.

Does this speak more to the maturity of the Spanish crowds, or to the immaturity of some of the Australian fans?

Just a thought!

June 10th, 2009 at 3:53 pm

Kimo,
My bad. I sometimes tend to read in reverse. Don’t be surprised if you see similar gaffes from me in the future.

June 10th, 2009 at 3:55 pm

I hate watching woman’s tennis anymore. Nothing but an army of two fisted clones who grunt loudly. No artistry or thinking. Just bludgeon the ball and hope it goes in. The player who makes the least unforced errors wins.

Oh how I miss the days of Chris, Martina, Steffi, and Monica. Too some degree Hingis. Woman’s tennis Stinks!!

June 10th, 2009 at 3:59 pm

Wow - I share so many sentiments in this thread. Where to begin? First I just want you to know that I am recovering from third back operation in 9 months and basically my computing is limited to a blackberry, so please excuse my grammitical and spelling errors. A small keyboard and no spellcheck being the culprits.

Let me change gears here and pass on some recommended tv viewing and news snippets. I watched a really interesting program on the tennis channel today “Wimbledon: A center court celebration. It was produced for the christening of the new roof on centre court. The innagural matches were - get this - andre/steffi vs. Kim clijsters and tim henman in mixed doubles and then the ladies and men squaring off in singles. One set format. There were some earlier posts lamenting the abscense of steffi (and andre for that matter). For two 40 year olds, steffi and andre were in great form. Steffi still moves very well and has that killer forehand and the familiar slice bh and super high ball toss. Andre was displaying his killer ball striking and return skills (he is still the best returner ever). I’ve never seen steffi or andre smile so much on court before. They were clearly enjoying themselves. Steffi has really become more extroverted since she married andre. Henman/clijsters won the mixed. Andre won his singles match and clijsters won hers.

It was a bbc broadcast with john lloyd and the uk davis cup captian in the booth (his name escapes me). The long periods of silence and abscense of drivel from the likes of carillo and dick enberg was very refeshing. They happened to hold this event on the same day as the madrid final between fed/rafa. Being that it was raining, they matches were held with the new roof closed. It is SO STRANGE to see a roof on centre court. The sounds of the ball strikes and crowd noise is amplified as you would expect. The man made lighting is again a strange effect. They had taped comments from fed/nadal, and interviews with andy murray and boris becker who were in attendance and post game interviews with the four players. All of the players were praising the new roof. In his taped piece, Fed mentioned that this was a good thing for media, fans and players. The roof closes in 9 minutes and then it takes about another 20 mins for the new environmental systen to completely dry the court out. The 3 year renovation is probably one of the most difficult yet sucessful architectural/construction projects ever attempted. They took a structure built in 1922 and completely re-built it and modernized from the ground up. With the roof closed and the lights on, the detail really stands out - the new seating and the brick work, railings, facias all look brand new but still maintain their original look. Really amazing. AELTC officials say that this is still considered an outdoor tourney, so there won’t be night matches and they can now garuntee that the tourney concludes on the third sunday with no play still on the middle sunday.

Kim clijsters announced that while she was preparing for this exhibition, she has decided to rejoin the tour and play at this year’s USO. It will be nice to see kim come back as she has a nice game. She also doesn’t yell or groan on the court. She is 25 so perhaps she can rejoin the top 10 and add a new dynamic to the tour. Best of luck to Kim. She’s a great sport.

OK so honestly I’m not sure I like the roof. It takes away the rain delay which has played a part in many matches over the years, including last year’s fed/rafa final. At the same time it adds a new dynamic. Once the roof is closed, you have switched the match to an indoor affair where the balls will not be affected by wind and will be more predictable. I think this will favor fed and the other big hitters. Soderling too. Anyway, I’m a traditionlist so these types of changes take a long time to grow on me.

June 10th, 2009 at 6:26 pm

federer exhausted from searching for pictures of himself on the internet all day?

June 10th, 2009 at 6:28 pm

Von - I equate roddick’s on court antics to a 21st century jimmy connors routine (even before he coached andy). His banter is usually good natured and, although infrequent, his questioning of an umpire or a lines person’s call don’t bother me in the least. Like it or not, its a trait that many american champs have demonsrated in the past. IMHO, andy is a better sport than connor’s and his dedication to davis cup wins over many tennis fans who aren’t necessarily andy fans. Connors pretty much shunned davis cup much to the chagrin of his compatriots, not the least of McEnroe who believes this was the root cause of the tension between the two. As an american I am really down on our current pros and state of our juniors program as mentioned before. However, as long as fed is not playing against them, I’m a homer. It would be so satisfying to see an american eliminate djoke, murray, nadal, etc; especially andy. Go USA

June 10th, 2009 at 6:49 pm

I like tennis bullies Says:

federer exhausted from searching for pictures of himself on the internet all day?

Maybe he is a little tired cause, you know, he has won 14 Grand Slams.

June 10th, 2009 at 6:51 pm

WOW, this thread has turned into an Andy Roddick bashing fest instead of its theme. This is one of the reasons why I cringe whenever I see his name mentioned, and I knew last night it would turn into this. Unfortunately, very few Roddick fans post here regularly, and I’m always going to be the one with the spotlight on me, since I’ll definitely defend him, sorry to those who don’t like ’sniping’, but that’s how things work here and every other site. if this makes me an unmentionable, since we’re in the caste system, then so be it. Thankfully, this is the Internet and we don’t have to rub shoulders on the street.
___________________
Joe, thanks for the vote of confidence for Andy Roddick. His on-court scenes are not like they’re premeditated with clock-work precision and anticipated, plus there is some basis to it, and they only happen when he perceives a bad call. I honestly think he has an eye-sight problem and it’s the reason I tend to believe him that he couldn’t see the ball in his match v. Monfils. It’s unlike the time violations which are anticipated and a foregone conclusion for every service point played when some players are playing. I’d take an ump tiff any day as opposed to the time violations, which are exceptionally time consuming, not to mention wrong.
_____________________

Andrea: Is that really you talking? Gosh, you’ve suddenly become holier than thou. Go ahead mention my name among the unmentionables, I’ll admit to my ’sniping’/rebuttals of your inane comments on Djoko’s porcupine head, his parents, Roddick’s antics and one-dimensional game, et al. I’m not even a Djoko fan but I resond to your demeaning comments about him because I feel they are so wrong. Shall I say more? You knock down every player you don’t like, and set your own fave up as a god. You’ve mentioned a long time ago to Shital Green when he asked why you only post your unkind comments and run, and your answer, because you debated a lot in college and that was enough for you. So why are you stating differently now? Anyway, it’s not like your comments are about the matches and shot-making, etc., that anyone wants to debate over, they are more along the lines of an annoyance and spark anger, but carry on and do so smartly or smartlessly, whichever floats your boat, tickles your fancy and exalts you above the plebes.
_____________________
Mina, first and foremost this is a forum and if you were to look at other sites, you’d see there’s always dissension. This site is great as opposed to other sites where the vulgarity is through the roof and gross does not begin to describe the behavior. We have people from all walks of life posting here. Anyway, I’m sure by now you are fully cognizant of whose posts are not worth reading, mine for instance, so all you need to do is hit the scroll button, and you’ll eliminate the comments you don’t like. I like to read them all because it gives me an insight on the workings of the human mind, which I find to be very fascinating. It’s like a pyramid and a hierarchy of different minds all melding together, but it’s all good and fair, and done as squeaky clean as a female could appreciate, considering we have both genders posting. Also, if there aren’t any rebuttals and/or ’sniping’ as you call it, think of how boring it would all become, if we were all in agreement singing a chorus of praises for just one chosen player. Last night I rebutted a comment which has generated so many more. I’m sure if I didn’t we’d have one-half less comments, because how much can we talk of Federer pulling out from Halle or Nadal’s questionable Wimby participation? I’m OK with anyone who doesn’t want to interact with me because it’s not like my livelihood depends on my popularity here on these threads.
_____________________
MMT: I don’t have the YouTube videos for those incidents I’ve mentioned. There’s another I’d like to add, Fed shouting out to Djoko’s parents to ‘be quiet’. I suppose you’ll condone that too? Zola had posted those videos and says she has them all, whenever she posts again, I’ll ask her to post them for you, or maybe you could ask her yourself, if you absolutely need the proof.

June 10th, 2009 at 8:35 pm

Cindy_Brady:”Oh how I miss the days of Chris, Martina, Steffi, and Monica. Too some degree Hingis. Woman’s tennis Stinks!!”

I think Monica was also guilty of bashing the ball, though have not seen a lot of her matches, the ones I have seen indicate that. I also think You can add to that list Justine Henin and Mauresmo (when she is on) beutiful tennis.

June 10th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

Joe:

That Wimby Celebration was absolutely awesome. (I taped it and it got wiped out due to the FO taping, as the DVR has a limited capacity.) For once, I saw Henman really enjoying himself and loosening up instead of that rigid form he adopts while playing. Clijsters seems to be in good form. If she were to return full-time, I think she’d definitely win some more titles. Steffi could still put the present crop of WTA players to shame if she were to compete; she’s got what most of them don’t have,’smarts’ and it’s what sets her apart from most of the other female players. I liked what I saw of the new roof, it has a certain amount of elegance as opposed to the other roofs, e.g., OZ, Madrid, etc..

I’m so sorry to hear of your back problems, and I wish you a speedy recovery. It probably has changed your lifestyle tremendously. I have a friend who’s around 44. She’s had to have two back surgeries thus far, and one of my best friends who is an orthopedic surgeon has had to have 3 surgeries also, which has shortened his career as a surgeon and he now only does consulting work. It almost seems like 3 surgeries is the norm. So take heart and I hope it all turns out better for you, because with life there’s always hope, and our priorities shift dramatically when we’re faced with illness.

June 10th, 2009 at 8:53 pm

Sean Randall:

I’ve not been successful finding any YouTube videos to document my mention of Santoro, but I’ve not really had a ton of time to so so either. Also, I could be wrong on the time conversion, since I was under the impression that Paris time coincided with GMT, hence the two-hour difference. All I know is that Santoro didn’t want to continue playing in the dark, and he walked off the court. In view of the foregoing, you’re right and I’m wrong, and it’s not difficult at all for me to acknowledge I’ve made a mistake. ha ha.

June 10th, 2009 at 9:06 pm

hi MMT, and thx for answering

i had actually already tried to go the playing activity and/or the ranking list on the atp site but they are only complete and detailed from mid-1984 onwards, which makes it virtually impossible to calculate a complete total for someone like Connors or Lendl, whose career started way before 1984

Since Federer is no longer ranked at number 1 (at least for now - i do believe he will regain the ranking at the exact same weak he lost it last here…) and is spending so many weaks at number 2 I was curious to see how well we would be placed in a list of “Total weaks in the top two” and “Consecutive weaks in the top 2″.

Any other ideas on how to find and build the data are more than welcome

xmike

June 10th, 2009 at 9:12 pm

kimmi,

Monica Seles was an exciting player to watch. She generated more pace and angles from both sided (WITH CONSISTENCY) than other player. She had a flair in her game that many of the modern players don’t.

And I agree with you about Henin and Mauresmo. They are a dying breed. Henin had one of the most beautiful one handed backhands woman’s tennis has ever seen. Too bad she was disliked so much. Another player from the 70s Evonne Goolagong had a sensational one handed backhand as well. She was liked.

Henin quitting at the AO open and stealing Mauresmo’s thunder a few years ago was a classless act. I began to dislike her intensely after that. That’s why I didn’t mention her earlier. I’m glad she’s gone.

June 10th, 2009 at 9:39 pm

Hewitt and Roddick are playing at Queens tomorrow. That could be a good match for old-time rivalries. Both have won extensively at Queens also: Roddick has 4 titles there and Hewitt 2 or 3? I hope I can find it on streaming.

I see Blake and Querrey are playing as well, and Malisse and Ferrero, another old-time match up.

A lot of the “bigger” names have been knocked out already at Halle, which doesn’t have the depth of the Queens draw, but both Djoko and Kiefer wil play tomorrow. Tsonga’s still alive in doubles there but Haas eliminated him from singles. Haas is a toughie at times, but he runs so hot and cold.

Anyhow - lots of actual tennis going on this week!!

June 10th, 2009 at 9:47 pm

I’m hoping Roddick comes through his battle with Hewitt. Hewitt can be tough at times for Roddick due to his return game and speed, and their last encounter was a close one with roddick obtaining the ‘W”, so here’s hoping. I’ve not had the opportunity to watch the matches, but I see Berdych was knocked out by Zverev. I’m at a loss as to what is happening to Berdych and he seems to be lost also. So much talent, and yet he can’t seem to capitalize on it. Too bad.

Haas, has now gotten some confidence due to his match v. Federer, which I’m sure he’s still agonizing over, considering he had the match on his racquet. Also, he seems to be much healthier than he’s been over the past year and if he keeps up his present form he could give a lot of players some headaches.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:01 pm

Von I know what you mean about Berdych, but you have to give that Zverev guy credit. Remember how well he played at Rome? The big serve and volleying got him to the quarters where he took Fed to a tiebreak, so I am not surprised to see him do well on grass and to beat Berdych. At least Berdych won the Munich title on clay this year.

As for Haas, yep he’s dangerous and likely confident, as you say.

I hope Roddick beats Hewitt too, of course, just pointing out it might be a fun match to watch. I think Andy will win.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:09 pm

jane: You’re eight about Zverev’s game, and he does seem to not be bothered by who’s on the opposite side of the net, which is a good mind-set. I’m just so disappointed with berdych lately because he seems to do a walk-about after the second set and then spurts back into action around the 7th game in the 3rd set.

As I mentioned I’ve not been fortunate to have the time to watch the matches this week. I posted today during lunch and am doing so tonight having worked until 7:30 pm this evening and work will continue tonight also, which translates to a dog tired moi. Do you know what time Roddick’s match is scheduled for tomorrow? If it’s during my lunch time, I could at least watch some of it on my laptop, as we’re not allowed to watch that stuff on the office computer.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:18 pm

I hope Roddick wins too and blah blah blah… Anyways Roddick and Hewitt both have a record tying 4 titles. Pretty exciting match up. Based on their last encounter, Hewitt still has Roddick’s number somewhat, but I think Roddick wins this because he’s learned to play his nemesises (Haas in Madrid is another example).

June 10th, 2009 at 10:22 pm

SS;

Yes, their H2H has gone through a shift, and is much more respectable now; ditto for Haas. Keep sending Roddick your positive vibes, and here’s hoping.

jane: Kiefer should not be a problem for Djoko. I’m somewhat surprised that Tsonga’s gone from the singles line-up, considering he passed on queens. Was he on Djoko’s side of the draw? If so, you’re probaably shouting for joy LOL.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:34 pm

As a Djokovic fan, I’d love to see him play Tsonga. Tsonga presents a challenge that Djokovic is perfectly capable and needs to overcome.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:40 pm

Good evening everybody.

Von, I see our Roddick has once again ursurped the great goat Federer in discussions. ;D This is a good sign I take it.

I have been unable to view any of the Queens or Halle matches this week. Federer is not playing Halle, I find that surprising only because I don’t recall him ever missing that tournament.

Hoping Nadal’s knees are good to go for Wimbledon, he has had this knee problem for quite a while now hasn’t he? if it’s smoke and mirrors then I would not worry a thing about it.

jane my dear, why is your serbian sensation boy not playing Queens this year? Is he injured?

Von Says: “Thanks for sharing. Yes I know of Roddick’s knee tendinitis, but it’s not something he advertises, and it’s why his movement is not as good as the fast movers. Unfortunately for him, when he was 19, he was recruited by P. Mcenroe as a practise player in Davis Cup to practise with Agassi, Sampras and the other DC guys, and they literally killed the kid from too much practising. He subssequently had to have arthroscopic surgery, and is left with the tendinitis problem.”

You know I consider myself a die hard Roddick fan along with you but this is a story I knew nothing about! I knew he had knee surgery but I did not know it was a result of the Davis Cup team running him ragged. I am quite shocked by this revelation.

June 10th, 2009 at 10:58 pm

Cindy_Brady:”I’m glad she’s [henin] gone.

OK what she did in the AO against Mauresmo was classless but to be glad she is gone is not cool. Henin has brought so much for tennis during her days and I agree about her beautiful backhand…amazing, but what even more amazing is how she could compete with the biggest girls on the tour and come out on top most of the time. Richard Williams didn’t fancy her too much; she was stopping his girls from winning the biggest checks.

Now we are left with ball bashers who compete on hitting the ball even harder. Oh well, kim clister is coming back, who also can be a ball basher but pleasing to watch. Hope she gives us the magic she showed before. 2009 French Open champ is not too bad either.

Never heard of Evonne Goolagong, I hope to see some of her matches.

Marion batoli is trying to play like seles, I guess she had not got it right yet. It’s funny to see her with new service motion few times in a year. But I have to give credit, when she gets it right, she can have quite a zip ..especially one at the T.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:06 pm

Von I know Roddick will win tomorrow, not sure about Djok. Berdych and Gulbis have gone cold. Bryans are out. I really like them but Nestor/Zimonic still alive.
SS Tsonga was on Fed’s side so Djok has to deal with Haas if he gets past Serra tomorrow and then Kiefer/Melzer.
Too bad Fed’s not playing Halle. Djok’s never played Fed on grass.
Jane hoping Djok pulls out a win tomorrow against Serra.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:21 pm

“Was he on Djoko’s side of the draw? If so, you’re probaably shouting for joy LOL.”

Von, LOL, no he was on Fed’s side and I was hoping to see those two play again, but alas they’re both gone. I am not sure about Djoko vs. Kiefer, which would be next round if they both win. Kiefer and his doubles partner beat Djoko and Troicki 6-1, 6-1 today! And I think (?) Kiefer was in the finals last year or the year before? Or maybe semis? Anyhow, I remember he played Fed there recently in the latter stages of the tournament.

Sorry, I am not sure what time Roddick’s match is on but I do know that it’s not one of the first ones. I think Blake and Querrey are on first.

———————————————-

Hi TD (Tam) - Djoko decided to play Halle instead. Maybe he wanted to avoid Rafa! Or have a shot at Fed on grass if he could get that far? I am not sure why he chose Germany instead. Is it cooler there? I don’t imagine it’s baking hot in merry ole England eh? Anyhow, I hope Roddick does well at Queens - I think he’d set a record if he got a 5th (!) title there!

————————————————-

sensationalsafin,

I agree; I think Djoko could or should be able to handle Tsonga as all of his losses to him have been very, very close ones. So I think he can right that H2H in the future. Hope so anyhow.

———————————————–

vared - me too. I really hope he gets past Serra and then has the challenge of Kiefer. Even if he doesn’t win, it will be a good chance for him to face a volleyer. He and Kiefer had a tough match at Wimbledon in 07. 4 tight sets I think…

June 10th, 2009 at 11:36 pm

Roddick actually has a pretty tough draw, perhaps tougher than Murray’s. If he beats Hewitt tomorrow, which he should, he then has to face the winner of Karlovic/Mahut (who always plays well here) for a spot in the semis. Murray meanwhile will play Garcia-Lopez tomorrow and then the winner of F-Lo/Fish for a spot in the semis.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:47 pm

At last: Roger Federer in his rightful place on the cover of sports illustrated, as the winner

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/11260/index.htm?eref=sircrc&eref=sisf

and the article:

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1156468/index.htm

There you have it; enjoy while it lasts! Tennis never makes the cover of Sports Illustrated
unless these days it’s the best player of all time or the best match of all time.

June 10th, 2009 at 11:49 pm

Cindy_Brady says: “Henin quitting at the AO open and stealing Mauresmo’s thunder a few years ago was a classless act. I began to dislike her intensely after that. That’s why I didn’t mention her earlier. I’m glad she’s gone.”

Exactly the time even i started disliking her. I used to be a big fan of her, especially her back-hand. But after that incident i did not support her much. I was rather happy Mouresmo followed that with another win over Henin in the wimbledon final.

June 11th, 2009 at 12:02 am

How funny this Federer French Open(clay) King and Nadal Wimbledon(grass)King. Who would of being saying that shit 2 years ago!!!!! Go Nadal Bounce back man.

June 11th, 2009 at 12:15 am

TD(Tam):

“Von, I see our Roddick has once again ursurped the great goat Federer in discussions. ;D This is a good sign I take it.”

I could do with some help defending Roddick here. Gosh, do I wish you would post more often, then I’d be able to kick back and let someone else do the dirty work for a change. As it is, I’m the most hated on this site having to defend Roddick all of the time, so how about stepping in and giving me a me a break will ya, by taking the heat off of me for a change. LOL. Did you not read my last report card where I was bisected, dissected, demonized and thrown to the wolves? And, now others are doing the relay job. OY VEY.

FYI, that’s the story I’ve read and heard on Roddick’s knees, and I’m selling it the way it was mentioned. However, I won’t be surprised if someone steps in and calls me a liar, because anything’s possible where my Roddick defense is concerned, e.g., demon, bully, liar, et al.
________________
jane: My guess is that Djoko felt he had a better shot at the title beating Federer, since he’s been able to do so in their last 2 meetings, as opposed to beating Nadal, and I’d say his gamble has paid off with Federer pulling out of Halle.

Re: Roddick’s Queens draw, I didn’t want to mention it, because I’ve learnt a lesson commenting on the FO draw, so it seems that it’s forbidden to talk about the draws. All, I’ll say is that I wish Roddick had Blake’s draw. Mahut is a tough competitor on grass. He’s mainly an S&V guy, but Roddick has beaten him in the past, so I’m hoping for the same to be repeated.
________________

Vared: I wish I were as confident as you of Roddick winning v. Hewitt. Thanks for the news on he Bryans. I’m saddened by their dropping off so badly, and now teams they’ve once beaten easily are now beating them. I think Bob’s shoulder has been an issue for quite a while now, over the past year for sure, and it’s one of the reasons they’ve fallen off so badly. Another, is due to the format being changed with the tie-breaker being substituted when the teams are locked at 1-1. The Bryans seem to fall short in the tie-breakers for some unknown reason. At least that’s the way I see it.

June 11th, 2009 at 12:23 am

Von - thanks for the sentiments. Like your friend I am 44 too. Just completed my fourth and hopefully last operation. It better be as my. wife is really getting tired of waiting on me. Its easy for me to understand how your
Surgeon is unable to operate any longer. That is tragic and ironic at the same time isn’t it?

BTW, I really enjoy your posts. Your insight and writing style are most enjoyable. As my college public speaking professor would say “your brains are not mashed potatoes” which the class understood was a compliment coming from her. You are the ultimate, and most passionate roddick resource around. Careful, you might just be turning me into a roddick fan. Keep protecting the shield girl and stay out of the weeds.

June 11th, 2009 at 12:25 am

I have not been able to find coverage of halle or queens on american tv. Has anyone else had better luck?

June 11th, 2009 at 12:29 am

I just wanted to say that I have no doubt in my mind that Nadal will play and be fit for Wimbeldon……..When you play as much tennis as these guys do year in and year out there are going to be some injuries that occur and tendonitis is one of the most common injuries for tennis players whether it be in the knee, shoulder, or somewhere else……Also, there are different personalities which means that the individual will handle the injury in a different way……There are many tennis players that are playing with problems at the moment and Rafa is just one of them, but also it seems that the injuries to Rafa’s knees seems to come up in the press more than anybody else……I am not saying that Nadal is making excuses, but I am saying that we hear about his injuruies more often than other players……….On a different note I predict that this years Wimbeldon will be a very exiting tournament for everyone to see…….We will see if Nadal has what it takes to come back from a defeat and defend his Wimbeldon crown….We will see how Murray is going to handle the pressure of expectation……We will see if Djokovic is going to make a deep run this year……Delpotro is a player that I expect to do some damage on the grass in 2009…..Roddick I believe has a great oppurtunity to make a semifinal or better if he stays away from Federer in the draw……And last but not least the headline story will be can Roger Federer break the all time grandslam record at Wimbeldon and win his 15 major championship……I for one believe
roger has already cemented himself as the “Greatest Player of all Times”, but to break the record at Wimbeldon would surely win the hearts of the few who do not believe he is yet……I am not a fan of one player over the other, but a sports fan in general and I cannot think of a better and more exiting time in sports than that of what Roger Federer is trying to do right now…….Prediction for Wimbeldon

Final
Roger Federer def. Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer= 15 majors= GOAT

June 11th, 2009 at 12:47 am

Joe:

Thanks for your encouragement, and you’re making me cry. After last night and some comments today, I’ve seriously thought of posting on other topics, and leave tennis alone. I’ve found one, which I think I’d like to pursue, time permitting, on the psychology of aging and the aging parent, etc., and one which would be close to your heart, how illness affects the family unit and personal relationships. My boss told me a few months ago that I’m waaay out of my league posting here, and he felt I’m wasting my time. It seems to me that one has to be a conformist to survive, but sadly I’m not one, and believe it or not I’m liked in my job and personal life for being independent and not one of the sheep.

I don’t think your wife would mind waiting hand and foot on you if there is love, it should be a privilege. My friend’s wife left him on his stomach and took off to visit her parents, three days after his surgery. Needless to say, they are now divorced. Which translates for you, that if your wife is still around after your fourth surgery, then I’d say the gal is madly in love with her guy, and kudos to such a loyal and wonderful woman! Show this post to her please, so that she’ll be encouraged.

“Careful, you might just be turning me into a roddick fan. Keep protecting the shield girl and stay out of the weeds.”

I hope you know what happens when the weeds are plucked out, then the good seedlings are also destroyed. In essence, along with the good, there’s bad, and no one is perfect.

Joe, seriously, please take care of yourself and don’t rush because you feel helpless. Try to lean on others and don’t be too proud to ask for help, you’d be surprised at how many wonderful people there are who’d be only too willing to lend a helping hand. aAl my very best to you and your wife, and even though I’d be frowned upon for saying this, God Bless.

BTW, there’s nothing in the way of TV viewing for either Halle or Queens. You’ll have to watch the computer screen on your stomach, and don’t overdo it, please. ADTHE.net and Justin.TV are carrying the matches. If you can watch, enjoy!

June 11th, 2009 at 12:49 am

1. Henin has (had) the best single back hand in the history of the game, mens or womens. I miss her because she could compete with the “us vs. the world sisters” and is the only player that richard williams complimented.

2. The model ball girls in madrid are a good fit for the spanish culture which is why they worked. Different sensibilities down under for sure.

3. Von, Steffi is my favorite female player of all time.never more apparent than watching her play today. My facebook top five tennis player list includes her as well as anna k, who has other talents. Jane cleared me on this choice. Btw, did you see kim perform her trademark slide out wide/ splits while hitting a fore hand winner up the line?!
She’s a good egg. Hope she does well.

June 11th, 2009 at 12:52 am

Andrew Miller,
awesome! thanks for that…
it really is so stupid that Federer had never gotten to be on the cover of SI…. hes the best tennis player of all time and Nadal got it before him?…. stupid american magazine

June 11th, 2009 at 1:00 am

“Steffi is my favorite female player of all time.” Good taste, Joe, she’s mine too. Possibly even my most favorite tennis player period. Or maybe not - too many good men to admire also. But Steffi was a cat on the court, if you know what I mean.

And to echo Von - do take care of your back and get well soon. It’s amazing how well you write with that blackberry. I think I am going to steal your college professor’s line: “your brain is not mashed potatoes!” Love it.

June 11th, 2009 at 1:09 am

Just a quick mention for all the debate on how Federer can’t be the GOAT since he’s dominated by Nadal… Dominik Hrbaty is 3-1 against Nadal and 2-1 against Federer. So that means Hrbaty is the GOAT. It’s so obvious, isn’t it? :D

June 11th, 2009 at 1:13 am

Joe:

“Btw, did you see kim perform her trademark slide out wide/ splits while hitting a fore hand winner up the line?!”

Yes, it was awesome! She left tennis because she was tired of waking up with all types of aches and pains, but from her split at Wimby, I’d say she hasn’t missed a step and the beat will go on. I like Kim for her kind-heartedness and her pleasant personality. I’ve never heard her boast about anything.

I suppose you know Steffi’s nickname, “Fraulein forehand”? Well the forehand still looks great. She did seem a bit winded, but if she were to compete again, I’m sure Reyes would be able to whip her into shape in a few months. Steffi has been, and continues to be one of the women players I’ve always admired and her tennis was just terrific. The woman has 27 GS titles. Is that mind-boggling or what?

June 11th, 2009 at 1:20 am

huh: re comments about Andy M., thanx
Guys re Andy M. now, I’m talking about the ball girls at QUEENS not Madrid and FYI they’re schoolkids so careful……

June 11th, 2009 at 2:01 am

SS: Hrbaty used to play doubles with Federer, and I’m sure he knows Fed’s game, or used to, hence the H2H.

June 11th, 2009 at 2:02 am

Von:
I am aware the comment boards on other tennis sites are totally out of control which is why I avoid them and read this one instead. But I don’t feel that this is the way it is “on every other site”. I have been a moderator on forum boards (not tennis-related) before where debate was strongly encouraged but personal insults or attacks on other posters were simply not tolerated. What we encouraged posters to do was ignore personal attacks (which is what I would consider “sniping”) and comment only on the debate at hand. This was something that worked well in that case, but I know that all website/blogs/forums, etc. have a different approach to these things.

I do quickly scan comments and if they seem to be something that I have no interest in reading, I skip them (just as I’m sure people are choosing to skip this post or my other posts as well). What is irritating is having to scroll through SO MANY of those types of posts and having to find the non-attacking comments (which I greatly appreciate reading) mixed amongst the high number of (in my opinion) objectionable ones which involve name-calling or demeaning language.

And just to clarify Von - I greatly enjoy reading your comments as I know that you take great care to think out your posts and make some very intelligent points and thought-provoking points. I agree with you on some things and disagree with you on others (same holds true for other posters as well) - which is great, because as you pointed out - if we were all the same and held the same opinions that WOULD be boring. But I don’t think cutting down on the sniping would make the comments boring in any way, shape or form because the lively debate would still be there.

June 11th, 2009 at 3:37 am

S.L. Price = Such Low Price!

“How Federer humbled SI”???

I have no problem with all the euologies piled up on Nadal — he deserved it, and more. But I do have issues with S.L.Price’s piece only 2 or 3 weeks ago titled “How Nadal humbled Federer”. Did he have to put down Fed so much in order to praise Nadal? After so many years of disappointment with mainstream jurnalism, it’s still beyond me that journo’s can change so shamelessly.

Bandwagoner, thy name is journalist.

June 11th, 2009 at 3:42 am

Twocents
“S.L. Price - Such Low Price!” Lol.

The media are all bandwagoners when it comes to athletes - they praise Federer to the heavens, he stumbles (and okay, it was a mighty stumble by his lofty standards, but way exaggerated nonetheless), they proclaim his demise (yes, he dropped all the way down to #2, people - his career is OVER!) & make it seem like he’s on the verge of slitting his wrists because he can’t beat Nadal, anoint Nadal as the next one & wonder if/when he’ll win more Slams than Federer, then Nadal stumbles (okay, yeah, it sucks he was knocked out in the 4th round, but he’s still had an exceptional past 12 months), proclaim that his career is in jeopardy and wonder if he’s suddenly become a bit of a head-case with confidence issues, and Federer’s back on top again.

I never understood the need to beat one down in order to appreciate the other one. Seems so silly.

June 11th, 2009 at 4:03 am

Von, go and watch the video which you’re talking with respect to Fed’s shouting towards Djoko’s parents and you’ll be sure that Fed didn’t shout or yell at Djoko’s parents, just said keep them to keep quiet and that too in a reasonably low & audible voice

June 11th, 2009 at 4:23 am

Has my post again disappeared or what?

June 11th, 2009 at 4:27 am

Wade Said:

“How funny this Federer French Open(clay) King and Nadal Wimbledon(grass)King. Who would of being saying that shit 2 years ago!!!!!”

No Wade. Rafa is still the king of clay and Roger is still the king of grass. Just because Rafa lost one match at RG and Roger lost one match at Wimbledon doesn’t mean they are not the best players on those respective surfaces.

June 11th, 2009 at 5:19 am

Kimo,

Rafa is still king of clay by a LARGE margin.

Federer is still king of grass but by not so large a margin.

Rafa is far more likely to beat Federer at Wimbledon than Federer is to beat Rafa at the FO. The scores over the past 4 years prove that.

Rafa will be back to win 2 or 3 more FOs before it is all said and done, bad knees or not.

June 11th, 2009 at 7:54 am

Rafa is not the king of anything at this point.He wont win another french open…guaranteed

June 11th, 2009 at 8:24 am

Ryan Says:

“Rafa is not the king of anything at this point.He wont win another french open…guaranteed.”

LOL. I know you don’t believe this. You’re just trying to get a rise out of people.

June 11th, 2009 at 8:44 am

Pat Cash is will prolly clean nadal’s toilets if he gets a chance. I’m pretty sure of that. I’ve never seen anyone as biased as this pr#@k. Even wilander who said that federer has no balls is better than this garbage. This is wat he said wen asked about fed’s GOAT status

“Nadal is the better clay-court player, and I think Sampras is the better grass-court player. So if Federer is No. 2 on grass and No. 2 on clay, does that make him the best? There are all these ifs and buts”

Yeah rite…Cash is just jealous. If he says sampras is the best grass courter thats fine. He has 7 wimbledons vs fed’s 5. If thats the case then how is nadal the best clay courter. Borg has 6 FO’s and nadal has 4.

First of all who the f@#@ is this guy to even give an opinion on this topic in SI magazine.
He talks like as if he is someone important in the hall of fame….he just has a mere one slam and he is putting parameters for GOAT….its funny.
I got an idea.How about electing Cash for the WOAT…Worst of all time. Pathetic wretch!!!

June 11th, 2009 at 8:59 am

Good point by Ryan re Pat Cash’s statement about Rafa being the clay GOAT. And right now, come on people, Fed’s clearly the KING OF CLAY upto next year’s FO, no question about it ! And in the same way,
Rafa’s also the GRASS KING for now.

June 11th, 2009 at 9:47 am

What happened in the Roddick vs Hewitt match? I’m curious .

June 11th, 2009 at 9:58 am

Mina,

Can’t agree with you more there.

June 11th, 2009 at 10:01 am

Von, I don’t think this thread has allowed a Roddick bashing Fest to take place, I think it’s far from that and even if something like that starts, I would surely defend Roddick. We mustn’t worry too much if people differ from us on some point.

June 11th, 2009 at 10:16 am

Regarding the Price article at SI:

Its’ worth remembering the point Price makes about Federer being humbled has more to do with Federer as an individual, not so much as a player. He brings up the US Open in 2007, when Federer was stating flatly during an interview that he almost envied spectators watching him as though they were privileged to be witnesses to his greatness. Talk how you like, but this is a hubris of a unique kind. I’d offered before that this was the central reason Federer chooses not to work with a full time coach. After all, if he really believes we’re all witnesses to his greatness (and I think it’s clear he does believe it), then someone like that would have no use for a coach.

Federer’s press conferences after he loses a match offer yet more insight into his own sense of self. Even after the Australian Open this year, his comment was that the problem with 5 Sets is that “..the best player doesn’t always win”. To Federer, his losses are not the result of someone playing better than him. It’s because they other guy was lucky; or he has a bad back, or he has mono (and he might be the only player in history to cite a case of mononucleosis and never miss or withdraw from one single tournament because of it). His losing pressers often come across as nothing more than sour grapes. He often sounds a lot like Serena Williams when he loses a match.

Even his courtside interview with McEnroe shows the same hubris Price talks about. Having the moment he campaigned for so hard at hand, McEnroe gave Federer the microphone to address this GOAT question. Federer started graciously enough, saying he was probably “one of” the best, which seems fair enough to say. But he couldn’t resist steering the topic into what he REALLY thinks. Unsatisfied with humility and not wanting to leave that answer on camera as his official Final Word on the GOAT subject, the hubris rose once again. It was FEDERER who posed HIMSELF the question on whether he was the GOAT or not: “Now, Am I the best player ever? We don’t know that. I think I’ve done a lot…” So within a span of 1 minute, he went from assessing himself as “one of” the best, into “We don’t know…” if I really am the best ever. Which when translated from its’ subtext really means: “Duh, John, of course I am the GOAT. After all, you your brother, Drysdale, et.al., have been saying it for years, so I believe you!!”. Federer just can’t resist telling us again and again how he’s his own biggest fan.

You have to wonder if Federer really gets it that this whole GOAT nonsense is a subjective parlor game at best; there is no official coronation ceremony or commemorative plaque or any other such thing. It’s nothing but fodder for media an bloggers the world over to ponder. McEnroe has been making the Federer-As-GOAT some sort of personal campaign (along with his brother) from the prominent broadcast perches for the last three years. But the irony is if Laver and Emerson hadn’t been barred from playing Majors for 5-plus years, their tally of Majors won would dwarf the 14 currently held by Sampras or Federer, which would end this discussion altogether. The fact Federer not only takes this stuff seriously, enough to actually start actively promoting the idea of his own sense of GOAT-ness on worldwide television, tells us Price’s point on Federer’s need of some humility is right on the money.

June 11th, 2009 at 10:21 am

Jane:

Thank you for the sentiments as well. Its been a long, frustrating experience but in for a penny, in for a pound. I have lots of things to accomplish this summer which are sliding right. I mentioned to Von that I have a 3 year old girl that looks like Kim Clijsters and will probably wind up with her build when she grows up. I’ve already introduced her to tennis and she loves to hit balloons. And I am a football coach for the local youth league. So i don’t like being sidelined. BTW, the first post I ever read on this blog was yours and I was very impressed by the quality and thought of your posts. So much so that i thought you might be a jouranlist by training. You didn’t answer my question?

June 11th, 2009 at 10:24 am

I’m saddened by their dropping off so badly, and now teams they’ve once beaten easily are now beating them

von,the Bryans have been on a losing streak this year, actally it started in the fall 2008. But, Nestor and Z are getting old, just had kids, and are trying to grab all they can. They are friends of Bryans to boot. Don’t worry, Bryans will beat the Woody’s record. They only have a few to go and they are only thirty.

June 11th, 2009 at 10:39 am

xmike Says:

You’re going to have a lot of work to do, but you can tabulate those records as far back as 1973. Here’s the link to Connors earliest ranking history.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/5/en/players/playerprofiles/rankhistory.asp?playernumber=C044&selyear=1973

The ATP computer rankings were only started in 1973, so you won’t have anything going back further than that - before then rankings were unofficial and very subjective, although you can get a sense of the top 3 by going to the following link on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_number_one_male_tennis_player_rankings

Best of luck, and let us know your results!

June 11th, 2009 at 10:40 am

Hey Joe,
You sound like a very active person. I am glad to hear things are “sliding right” for you. being sidelined by illness or injury can be a downer, but it sounds like you’ve got a positive take on things. No, I’m not a journalist; but I do teach film and literature at college so I do have that analytical bent to me. I am kind of ashamed to admit this, given all of the grammar errors and typos in my posts, but I usually don’t proofread and often post on the fly. I’m posting too much presently as I am on my non-teach semester, so it’s “all tennis, all the time” these days. But what the heck right? It’s good to chat with like minds. And even not so like minds.

—————————————–

huh, the Roddick Hewitt match is just beginning so you can follow scores if you’d like.

June 11th, 2009 at 10:46 am

I don’t remember the Price article in SI on Fed mentioning anything bad about him, it was a pretty good one which I liked very much to be honest. So what’s this fuss all about? However I very rarely go through SI, that’s all.

June 11th, 2009 at 11:00 am

Jane, Djok is on too.

June 11th, 2009 at 11:00 am

I know vared - do you know of any working live streams for these matches? I hate just watching scores if I can see some matches. Djoko’s having a tough go this first set, hasn’t converted on his break chances and is now down love-30. Serra might walk away with the first set if not the match…

June 11th, 2009 at 11:03 am

http://p2pstation.net/channel3.html
He just lost the set

June 11th, 2009 at 11:06 am

To Voicemale:

Maybe some people in this world want people like federer to bow down and say he doesnt deserve to be where he is at. If u people think he is cocky then wat would u say bout ali….u said it out loud many times…I am the greatest. Atleast federer hasnt said any of that. Nadal once said something like the numbers are the numbers referring to his clay’s win streak.I could say thats thats cocky too. He was also yapping off that he won 3 out of 4 tournaments on clay and he was favourite for the french. Somehow thats not cocky.When fed says something then its arrogance.Cant believe the double standard. Show me the quote where fed said that he is jealous of the crowd who were watching his US open 2007 final. He just said that they were witnessing greatness and that was quite true because thats wen he won his 12th slam.

June 11th, 2009 at 11:07 am

Thanks vared. Yeah, Djoko is not playing well today. Last I checked he was serving at 48%. Yuck. Maybe he’ll come round, but he has a long battle ahead if he doesn’t start playing better.

June 11th, 2009 at 11:16 am

screen freezes a lot but just keep refreshing. Yes, he is playing badly.

June 11th, 2009 at 11:21 am

Von:

Okay, the Wimbledon 2007 incident, as I recall it, was not abuse towards the officials, but merely an expression of disbelief at the accuracy of hawk-eye. If there is another incident, I’d be happy to admit that I am/was ignorant to it. A lot was made of this, but 6 months later Federer was somewhat justified at the Australian Open, where hawkeye was revealed to malfunction at certain times during the day due to shadows.

I don’t know what happened in the Hidalgo match at Monte Carlo - youtube clips don’t show any conflict with the umpire, but the Djokovic family incident…I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I thought it a rather mild response to an offense by the Djokovic camp. It is not their place to impose themselves on the match by yelling at Federer to check the mark of the shot. Federer (like most players, Roddick too) always checks the mark on questionable calls on clay and regularly reverses/concedes when he sees a mistake. Actually they should be thankful that he did not ask them to be removed from the stadium, which is his right to do with any spectator, including annoying family and friends of your opponent.

In a sportscentury documentary Roddick himself said that particularly in the early part of his career, he made a point of not shying away from confrontations with both officials and other players and may have done so to a fault. As I see it, it is a habit that has remained with him throughout his career.

He has also admitted taking out his frustrations on officials as this presser transcript will attest:

http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=40935

“Q. You had quite a few discussions with the chair umpire. What was getting under your skin out there?

ANDY RODDICK: Just a couple calls. And when you disagree about something at an important moment in a tiebreaker, it’s a bit frustrating. He’s pretty much the only other person I can vent my frustrations to besides myself. So unfortunately sometimes they catch the brunt of it.”

“At the end of the first set you told the central umpire that he was a glorified scorekeeper, and you said I think we should get machines. Obviously heat of the moment. But is there a part of you that thinks that one day tennis is going to be better off being run by machines than by people?

ANDY RODDICK: No, I don’t think so, but that’s always a good line to go to because they don’t really have anything to respond to (laughing).
No, I think it’s great what they’ve done with the challenge system. I think it takes a lot of the question out of it. You don’t see yourself arguing as much because the proof is right there. So I think if they just keep building on that, I’d probably be supportive of that.”

Again, some may find humorous and I admit that I also laugh at some of his milder jokes, but there have just been one too many instances of him going the line…maybe my line is very thin, but I’m old school.

He got into it with Tsonga at the Australian in 2007, but another reputable blogger has indicated that he said somewhere (haven’t found the quote) that Tsonga initiated it - that I believe. But then there was the incident with Nishikori in San Jose - there the initiation was entirely Roddick’s after Nishikori legitimately hit it right at him and Roddick proceeded to tell him, “…stick me with it next time.”

Again, tough and competitive for some, over the line for me. Nishikori didn’t do anything wrong, and he has no right or need to holler at him about it. Not dissimilar to the Murray/del Potro incident, but I digress. Roddick’s hit at plent of players in the past, and there’s nothing at all wrong with that play.

I want to reitterate that I admire Roddick as a person, and even as a player. For me, the supposed limitations of his game, only indicate what a fighter he is, that he has been able to remain very competitive with the best players in the world in spite of them. He has always behaved correctly before and after matches, and even during matches, I can find no other faults in his behavior aside from occasional, but unnecessary confrontations with other players and particularly officials.

June 11th, 2009 at 11:25 am

vared, I am getting tired of this inconsistency from Djoko. He should be able to go deeper in this draw than a couple of rounds. And now he’s out. It’s so not impressive and I don’t think he can count on staying even number 4 if he keeps playing off and on like this as JMDP will pass him.

At least the Roddick vs. Hewitt match is proving to be good so far.

June 11th, 2009 at 11:37 am

saved 4 match points. who knows? He’s not very good on grass.

June 11th, 2009 at 11:44 am

jane: I’m in entirely same boat re Tsonga! OMG when is he ever going to get some consistency and string some wins? Agree with MMT, all style no substance. And now Monfils out of Queens with another injury!

June 11th, 2009 at 11:56 am

wow resurrection from Djok. 5 match points and down 5-2..

June 11th, 2009 at 11:56 am

Okay I jumped the gun there. Pure frustration talking. I hope he can now play well in the third set. It was a great comeback by Djoko to come back from 2-5 down and take the second set 7-5. By why was he down in the first place!! Argh. Oh well, at least he’s fighting to stay in it. And that’s something.

Tight first set in the Roddick vs. Hewitt match but glad to see Andy dominate the tiebreak. Although I think something happened where Hewitt got a bad call or something? I missed it (and Djoko’s comeback) as I had to take my son to school. Now I can watch.

Thanks again for the link vared.

June 11th, 2009 at 11:59 am

margot, I hear you re: Tsonga; I like him too and he can be so thrilling to watch as well when he’s on form. And both Djoko and Tsonga were so exciting about a year ago, at the AO and for a while after. I wonder what path their careers will take from now? Tsonga’s a couple of years older and perhaps more injury prone than Djoko. Djoko is more trainer/retirement prone, much as I love him. LOL. Hope that goes away altogether, though. Anyway, I wonder what’ll happen with these two, who have so much potential. Both of whom could win slams I think.

vared, “He’s not very good on grass.” You think? Djoko got to the semis at Wimbledon in 07 and the finals at Queens in 08, where at he played Nadal very, very close, even having leads and points that he blew. I think Djoko could be a touch stronger mentally and more focused. For instance, he could play the big points against the “big boys” (top teners) a little better, and he needs to stay focused and intense in matches against those ranked below him, not take his foot off the pedal. But personally I see him as an excellent all surface player. He’s loaded with potential, but he needs something - better fitness, slightly better mental focus, more consistent serving, and keep improving volleys. Otherwise, the shots, speed, movement, tactics - it’s all there. Anyhow… let’s see if he can make a match of this and WIN already! :)

June 11th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

Why does everyone say Sampras is a better grass court player than Federer. Just because Sampras has won Wimbledon 7 times and (SO FAR) Federer has won 5 times. Federer’s career is not over. He may end up winning 7 times too.

Also, the only real meeting between the two was on grass which Federer won.

Wait til’ Federer has retired and then judge.

June 11th, 2009 at 12:30 pm

KUDOS to Djoko for not playing well, or at least not consistently well, and still rallying to a great comeback win. Let’s hope he can find his game in the next round or he will be o-u-t.

June 11th, 2009 at 12:30 pm

i guess he is good on grass. Serra might have woken him up. Visions of Kohlschreiber danced in his head. This is how he has to play from now on or Kiefer/Melzer will kill him.
Tough loss for Serra.

June 11th, 2009 at 12:32 pm

And now Roddick had won. Good day for tennis. :)

June 11th, 2009 at 12:44 pm

vared, “Visions of Kohlschreiber danced in his head. ” LOL, and you’re right; he has to play better or he’ll be ousted next round. And also true that Serra must be devastated right now, having had the match on his racquet, match points, etc. And then it all just unraveling. Poor guy. But that’s all about playing the big points well isn’t it? So many of these guys have the skill and talent and so forth, but it’s so crucial to be able to stand their ground at crunch time. Or it can all go awry pretty quickly. Tennis is so dramatic that way, with it’s momentum shifts.

June 11th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

Good win from Roddick pulling out the tiebreaks. Couple of costly mistakes from Hewitt. I like him too. See Von told you he would win. Looking good for #5 for AndyR.

June 11th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

Thanks for the information Jane ! And hey Roddick won and Djoko also won ! However I’ve a little soft corner for Hewitt and I hope he’d do well at Wimbledon. But right now Go Roddick !!!

June 11th, 2009 at 1:14 pm

huh, I like Hewitt too; he’s a fighter, and coming back from surgery to try to fight again is admirable. So I know what you mean. But that said, Go Roddick! I’d like an all-Andy final at Queens.

June 11th, 2009 at 1:16 pm

“Cindy_Brady said: Why does everyone say Sampras is a better grass court player than Federer. Just because Sampras has won Wimbledon 7 times and (SO FAR) Federer has won 5 times. Federer’s career is not over. He may end up winning 7 times too.”

Well, if Federer reaches 7 (a big if) then I’m sure history will put them on par at Wimbledon, but you have to admit that 7 is an incredible # of Wimbledons. Also, Sampras won 90% of his matches at Wimbledon, while Federer is at 89.90% - a very small difference, but it will be hard for Federer to keep up that percentage for the remainder of his career.

I think also there is a feeling that Sampras’ serve and volley game is really best suited for grass, whereas Federer’s, good as it is, seems to be well suited equally for multiple surfaces. This doesn’t support the idea that Sampras is/was better (although I believe he was) but it may explain why he is perceived as the better grass court player.

June 11th, 2009 at 2:07 pm

Mina:

Thank you for your response, which I find to be extremely insightful. I still consider myself to be a ‘newbie’ at this whole posting scenario, since this has been the only site on which I’ve ever posted. However, I have read posts from other sites, e.g., Tennis Planet, Yahoo (for which I have an email subscription and 4 other sites) and from reading the posts on those sites, I have come to the conclusion that this site is by far the best, IMO, on which a female could post on the topic of Tennis.

With reference to the ’sniping’ and/or personal attacks, you only have my word here, but if you can just separate the comments you’ve seen from me, and what I’m about to tell you, if you could find it possible to believe me, my comments here are a very far cry from my true personality. I absolutely abhor name calling, insults and the back and forth jawing in which i’ve indulged, and I’m not proud of so doing, but I’ve learnt over a period of time, and through shedding many tears (yes tears, because I’m extremely sensitive) and the advice of someone older than I who’s posted on forums, that the only way I’ll be able to survive is to fight back, or else in his words “I’ll be chewed up and spit out”. That said, I’ve had to revamp my thinking and put on a whole new demeanor/personality the minute I visit and post on these threads.

I’ve learnt that there are some who are instigators, play games and also play sides. Then there are those who like to be popular, agree with anything and everyone; some are vituperative, somewhat crazed, and then we have the absolute, downright cruel ones who live their lives by using these threads as a conduit to let out their frustrations, venom and bitterness at anyone, but more specifically at a few posters, and one in particular. I happen to be at the receiving end of a couple of such poster’s rants and demonization, which I’ve had to endure throughout the 18 months I’ve posted here, but one poster in particular, and I’ve come to the conclusion that this is someone who’s jealous, spiteful, venemous, crazed, and exaggerates, blowing both the truth and fiction out of proportion. Due to his rants and his projection of what he thinks is my personality, I’ve earned a bad name as a ‘bully’, ‘liar’ ‘exaggerator’, et al. This guy’s so good at transference of guilt and feels he’s an expert on my character, that makes me think he really and truly believes what he has written. He’s so effective in his assumptions and his detailed descriptions whenever he writes his demonizing dissertations with his focus on me, that now some other posters have picked up on it, and are perpetuating the ‘bully’ designation. My character assassinator has left due to what he claims being ‘bullied’ away by me, just to make me look bad, and he has succeeded, if you read the posts that follow by some. This is his MO. He has done this many times during the 18 months that I’ve been posting. If it’s not me who has bullied him away, it’s someone else, but the way I see it, he comes here, uses the threads as a conduit to let out whatever instability he has in his emotions, picks a fight with a few posters and culminates with me as the chief source. I’ve in the past stopped posting after his rants, but this time he anticipated that I would, and he left instead. And now, we have Kimmi, who is very meddlesome and likes to perpetuate problems, stating I’m a ‘bully’ and bullying her from posting. I’m being accused of insulting her, and insulting her character, but when asked, she has zero answers as to what I’ve done to ‘bully’ her or ‘insult’ her character. I’ve excused her nonsense many times because I know she’s an ESL poster and has comprehension problems, but I’ve also seen her as a vicious person and it’s why I can’t interact with her.

The following thread should give you some insight of what I’m talking about. Look at the post on June 7th @ 7:25 am, and those following and you can judge for yourself whether this type of personal post, should even be still on this thread. If you have the time look at the posts from that poster throughout the entire thread and you’ll have an idea of how much I’ve ignored him without success. And, what do you think of the others who’ve championed his cause? Then ask yourself, if you think I enjoy these scenarios? I’ll answer the question, not in a million years, because they upset me very much. Thanks.

http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2009-06-05/1507.php

Last year, 1 year ago to the date, a similar, unprovoked dissertation was written by my demonizer. If you’d like to see it, I can find it for you and you’d see that this is the norm for this guy. It truly is very pitiful and upsetting.

June 11th, 2009 at 7:05 pm

hi again MMT

the link you posted does have the link for most of the weaks of 1973, however, if you try to find the ranking history for 1981, for example, you will find it is non existent, at least on the ATP site

http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/5/en/players/playerprofiles/rankhistory.asp?playernumber=C044&selyear=1981

i don’t mind the hard work, but this stat has been proving impossible to organize for lack of data, based on the Atp site (and anywhere else, at least that I know off) and compiling the full records seems a lost cause, because some of the years are missing (unless someone has newspaper clippings from that time with the rankings and has them posted somewhere…) That’s why I posted here asking for help!!!

After 1984 everyhting is sorted out so no problem for the Sampras generation onwards.

In any case, thanks once again for answering and here are some stats you might enjoy checking out(it should help the GOAT discussion :))

http://federerstreaks.blogspot.com/

xmike

June 11th, 2009 at 7:06 pm

I’ve seen so many post here of their personal struggles with tendinitis, join the club. I’ve suffered nerve damage to my hands, shoulder rotator cuff, and nerve impingement for a few years and I speak from personal experience when I say it’s like hell. The inflammation damaged my nerve endings so badly that at one time I couldn’t even pick up a fork. Time and good medical care (surgery) have restored my arms/hands, but it’s still a painful ordeal, when the flare-ups bein, hence more typos.

Ergo, if Nadal does have chronic tendinitis, he’s only to be commended for going out there and giving his all in his matches, so kudos to him. I wouldn’t lie about that type of condition for all the money in the world, so we should admire, believe him, and give him the bebefit of the doubt. He has my empathy.

As an aside, I’ve amassed a ton of knowledge on tendintis and nerve impingement, et al., through reading and information freely given by my Orthopedist and ‘Physiatrist’ (not ‘Psychiatrist’) doctor friends, which I’d like to impart to those who are suffering and/or interested, as follows:

For the knees:

(1) There’s Synvisc, which is Hyaluronic acid injected into the knees of 3 injections, for three (3) consecutive weeks. This will provide the cushioning your knees crave and stop creaking/grating, that happens when your natural synovial fluid dries up.

(2) There are pain patches, viz; Flector (which is an NSAID, or anti-inflammatory) and can be applied to any area on the body that’s prone to inflammation; and

(3) Lidoderm/Lidocaine patches for pain, which can also be applied to any site of the body where pain is rampant and/or unbearable.

These patches are helpful to those who want to save their livers and are stomach medication sensitive, which I am. The Flector patches are costly, $200 per box of 30, but can be cut in strips, and the Lidocaine/Lidoderm patches are 300 per box of 30, and can also be cut in strips.

These are physician prescribed patches and are covered by most Health Insurance plans with a co-pay or maybe none at all, depending on the type of coverage you have.
__________________
Joe: Please read the above. I wanted to tell you about the patches last night, but I forgot. anyway, you were the reason I thought of mentioning them, but now I see many others can be helped, so it’s like catching several flies with honey or several birds with one stone. LOL.

Joe: How ya doin’ today? A smile from me to you. (smiley emoticons do not work on this site, bad bad, Tennis.X)

June 11th, 2009 at 8:16 pm

“It is hard for me to admit, but I simply cannot imagine giving my best effort in another tournament right away and I don’t want to risk injury if I am not 100 percent prepared. I need to rest and recuperate,” Federer said.

Er… Why not? Why is it an injury risk when he has made the French Open final in the past 3 years as well and went on to play and win Halle every time (except once when he pulled out). Not 100% prepared?

If it’s because he WON FO this time instead of losing, Nadal won it last year too and still played Queens and won that as well as Wimbledon.

Weaksauce.

June 11th, 2009 at 10:20 pm

Von - I am sorry to hear about your negative experiences on this and other boards.

On the boards I moderated, those types of posts would be immediately deleted, the poster issued a warning, and if it recurred multiple times their ISP address would be banned for a period of time with longer and longer bans for repeated infractions until finally they were completely banned from posting. This type of approach doesn’t seem to happen here, which is fine (every board is run slightly differently). Essentially this means that we need to police ourselves.

Personally, I’ve always found the best approach is to ignore the insults and reply strictly to the debate at hand. If worse came to worse, I would just completely ignore posts from those who were attacking me and just as is a bully’s (or “troll” in net-speak) nature, they would continue trying to instigate something, but eventually would give up having not gotten the rise in me they wanted. I haven’t followed that “fight back or else you’ll get chewed up and spit out”. In fact, I’ve found quite the opposite to be true - the more confrontational one is, the more confrontation is invited.

I don’t doubt that your offline personality is different than the one on this board that comes out occasionally. I think most people use stronger language than they might otherwise…which again, is why I take everything with a grain of salt and shrug off and ignore the insults. I don’t know any of you personally, so why take your comments personally to the point of it saddening or upsetting me. I know that when someone disagrees with me, they are disagreeing with my opinion. If someone attacks me on a personal level with insults, well, I just disregard those. I respond to debate, not insults. I have found this works for me, but of course, everyone is different and your mileage may vary.

June 11th, 2009 at 10:21 pm

Mina, thanks for the reply and assessment.

As you could see, I did try to ignore, and have done so many times, but I just kept being pushed repeatedly, and even then, I didn’t say much. What bothers me though, is the other posters who meddle and add their comments to fan the flames. I mean how could anyone reading that post call me the bully, not to mention taking away the guy’s freedom of speech is beyond me? sheesh, I’m befuddled.

BTW, do you know of a good forum on which I can post using my Psych knowledge? I’d like to post where I can add something to the lives of others, giving back so to speak, and not having to bicker, but at the same time broadening my knowledge base. Thanks.

June 11th, 2009 at 10:34 pm

Von - From my experience some people tend to like to “jump into the row” so to speak, especially when they have the relative anonymity of the internet to hide behind. Personally, I would completely ignore those posters too, although, I know it is difficult when someone is calling you names, insulting your intelligence or making attacks on your character.

In a rational real-world situation you could try to state your case and use reasoning to try to sway those people back onto your side and stop the insults, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the internet it’s this - real world rules don’t always apply. People tend to act much more civilly when you are standing right there in front of them, looking them in the eye - the internet is a whole different animal.

Unfortunately, I don’t know of a good forum that would be a good fit for your interests and knowledge of psychology. I’d rather make no recommendation than one I that I don’t stand 100% behind (i.e. I don’t want to refer you to a forum that I don’t have first-hand knowledge about in case it’s not a good one). Hope you understand - if I come across something, I’ll definitely let you know :)

June 11th, 2009 at 10:44 pm

Mina: Thanks for everything and taking the time to answer me. You’ve settled some very real questions in my mind, and it’s a relief to find an impartial take on the whole situation. You’ve no idea how much I’ve brow-beaten myself and agonized over the whole scenario.

I understand about recommending a forum, but If you do find one, please let me know. I’ve also seen one that I will try on the deleterious effects of illness on the family unit and people in general, e.g., lifestyle, etc.

Re: The Internet anonymity, as you probably know Marketing has a lot of Psychology as its base, and one that’s very important is a phone interview vs. face to face confrontations. It has been the consensus of opinion that people give the most honest answers over the phone than when there is eye to eye contact. Hence, it can be assumed likewise with the Internet, and it can definitely be a tool at times, not 100% of the time, to assess and guage another’s personality traits. Oh WOW, Mina, this is heady stuff and an OY VEY time for sure. LOL.

June 11th, 2009 at 10:58 pm

Well well, looks like t-x has resorted to manual moderation. Now every comment has to be approved before posted. My second post which was to ask why my first post was awaiting moderation, did not get posted. This probably won’t either.

I’m quite disappointed in your lack of belief in free speech t-x.

June 12th, 2009 at 1:41 am

Von, please read this http://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2009/06/rafda.html

June 12th, 2009 at 1:52 am

Thanks for that link sensationalsafin.

Pete Bodo is such an engaging and poetic writer. I love reading all of his entries.

June 12th, 2009 at 2:29 am

Did you read the one before this one called ’spezzeturra” or something like that? It’s really good, too.

June 12th, 2009 at 2:34 am

STAFF: I can see how you put Djokovic in the trunk for his early loss at the French, but how can you call his clay season “sad”? The guy was in 2 Masters Series finals, 1 MS semifinal, and won 1 title on clay. I don’t get how that’s a “sad clay season” exactly.

June 12th, 2009 at 7:37 pm

SS:

Thanks for sharing. Bodos’s a very flowery writer. Well he’s giving Fed lots of kudos and in essence is saying Federer is THE MAN for all seasons, and is embraced by the both the plebes and Patricians in tennis world-wide. I suppose you wanted me to see the part he mentioned about Fed humiliating Roddick? I believe we had discussed that a while back. Good memory, my young friend!

June 12th, 2009 at 8:03 pm

Tejuz:

Thanks for the info on the year-end bonuses. Wow, that was a lot of details to sift through. I’m glad the bonus is given to the Top 12 instead of just the Top 4.

June 12th, 2009 at 8:06 pm