French Open '09: Point by point coverage

[tikigirl]

What an awful loss for Blake. The Americans are embarrassing, not that I care about anyone's nationality.

[lt]

What is bizarre to me is how much I dislike Tursunov now. I'm really hoping Clement (who I've never liked) beats the pants off of him. Goes to show that being a good guy trumps having great abs any day (I don't want anyone telling me horror stories about Feli or Fer. I want to live in ignorance).

[Jer2002]

James Blake SUCKS! I hate him.

[falafaclese]

I think Serena is tense or nervous. During what little I've seen of this doubles match, she's all over the place, and running shit down that Venus could have gotten much more easily.

[admin]

That's how i feel about Dima now. I liked him a while back, but then stories came out about him being an ass. I've seen him being slightly unpleasant at times on court too. I can't put a finger on why exactly, but i'm come to quite dislike him. Clement is well known for being a jerk too, but for some reason i don't have the same antipathy for him.


Ohhhhhhhhhhhh they've suspended play.

[lt]

And with Rochus up 5-3 in the fourth. Heh, that's what he gets for playing a frenchman. Is the women's doubles match the only match the only one not suspended or is live scores just not listing it yet?

[admin]

Naw, that's done too. Although they did play on a bit longer than the others. 3-4 at close.

[falafaclese]

Interestingly, Serena is getting passed repeatedly on her right again in this doubles match. I'm wondering how that knee's doing.

It looks like Santoro's reprieve came just in the nick of time. He better come out with guns blazing tomorrow, or it's all over.

[apocalipstick]

I can't wait to get home and watch some of the matches. I'd be more pro-Blake if Roddick had lost. I'm convinced of it.

Fabrice and I are going to spend this evening performing a panto of Peter Pan and drinking Vouvray directly from the bottle. We'll collapse in a pile of giggles only to have him wake up late and rush to the match unshowered. He'll be so worried about his hair and getting off the court that he'll play like a demon and pull it out.

I want Safina to take this slam so I'm kind of okay with Serena going out. I've always liked Serena, even in her monster ego bitch moments.

Tursunov. Blah. I'm not fussed about him at all. Clement always strikes me as elfin.

[prettyvacant]

I wish I could have seen some of the Ferrero v. Ljubicic match, but I guess I can't expect ESPN to care about those guys anymore.

[falafaclese]

I re-watched some of the Serena/Zakapalova match, and I have to recant some of what I said. It wasn't Serena's best performance for sure, but she did play pretty well during most of the first set, and then during most of the second set. She had a slow start and then a major lapse at the end of the second set and into the beginning of the third, but it wasn't the complete disaster I described before IMO. Klara should be commended for taking it to Serena at times in this match, moving well, and playing smart. Serena had some rust and nerves, but Klara was a tough competitor.

[breezybee]

Clement is well known for being a jerk too, but for some reason i don't have the same antipathy for him.

I read an interview with the head ball boy (a grown man) from the US Open and the only one he specifically cited as being nasty to the ball boys was Clement so I always root against him even if I do think he looks like a cutie.

ETA - way back when we all answered a questions about which ATP player you would like to have on a date and I said that I could never have a date with Nadal because he was some sort of man-child. Case in point. From Rafa's interview with Vogue (June issues)

‘”Being home alone at night makes me a bit nervous. If I’m at home alone I have to sleep on the sofa—I can’t face going to bed. I’m there with the TV on and all the lights on. I’m not very brave about anything in life… In tennis, yes. In everything else, not very.”‘

[harry24]

Hi, everyone -- Thanks for the invitation/reminder, admin. I've been away from tennis for a while because, as a huge Fed fan, it's been wretched watching him unravel emotionally on the court. He's playing the way I would (if I were as physically skilled as he is.) I would totally choke/lose it on court all the time, and it's tough to see him so psychologically vulnerable.

Actually, I was amazed that he held it together well enough to beat Nadal in Madrid, even a Nadal who was clearly diminished. Although perhaps it's the threat of someone who can really challenge him that makes him come unhinged, and he may have felt confident that Nadal wouldn't be his normal self that day. (Hopefully not because of some knee injury. I want Fed back playing really well and winning, but not at the expense of dear Rafa's health.) Hopefully Roger will make it at least to the RG semis and play Djokovic a good match without freaking out.

I was moved to post again (and not just read all the hilarious and insightful posts here) by seeing Rafa mentioned in the rarified air of The New Yorker, and not in a sports-related column, but in a movie review by the estimable Anthony Lane. He writes at the conclusion of a review eviscerating the new Terminator movie:

"By the end, I felt as weary as the Terminator whom we meet in the bowels of Skynet, and who, for some reason, wears a bandanna around his skull, like Rafael Nadal. The poor wee thing. Is he hot? Would he like a glass of water?"

I love that there's no need to identify Rafa.

Important RG notes: 1) I love Rafa's latest look with the hot pink, yellow and slate blue. It's much better than the horizontal stripes of his previous shirts, which made him look like an overgrown toddler. 2) I also love Serena's hair. It's very chic and suits her explosive, powerhouse personality much more than the demure styles she often sports. 3) He may be a douchey, name-dropping brown nose, but I find Justin G. much more interesting than either Brother McE. He just says more stuff that I haven't thought of/heard someone else say before. 4) I can't express just how much I love the Gulbis and wee Dinara avitars. I totally agree about the "40-Year-Old Virgin poster" comparison.

way back when we all answered a questions about which ATP player you would like to have on a date and I said that I could never have a date with Nadal because he was some sort of man-child. Case in point. From Rafa's interview with Vogue (June issues)

Quote:
‘”Being home alone at night makes me a bit nervous. If I’m at home alone I have to sleep on the sofa—I can’t face going to bed. I’m there with the TV on and all the lights on. I’m not very brave about anything in life… In tennis, yes. In everything else, not very.”‘

I have a friend who is a doting Rafa follower. She was stunned to learn that he had been dumped, but I made a similar point to yours, breezy, that Rafa may be sexy as hell physically, and adorable and endearing as all get out, but if you're looking for a man to be your boyfriend/husband, he's probably too much the little boy.

[tikigirl]

Ha ha, that's funny breezy. Scary, but funny. And okay, whoever I picked as my date then? I'm changing it to Verdasco. For the moment. I'm fickle like that.

So, is anyone going to be around tonight?

(Hi, harry!)

[tikigirl]

Well, here I am again; there better be some damned tennis played. I got a nice long nap, and I'm supposed to be working on a column for a website (assigned topic: the arts; does anyone work in the arts? want to be interviewed?) but really I'm just parked in front of the TV and cheering for Safina.

And why, oh why must 2009 be the Year of The Asymmetric Ta-tas? There's going to be a heinous wardrobe malfunction at some point.

Still no one? Oh well. Safina completed her beat-down, and Murray is surprisingly off in the 2nd. All I can say is that I better see some magical Fabrice before I fall asleep here...