I feel some sympathy for him, too. He’s worked very hard to improve his game, but just never had a prayer at catching up with Federer and Nadal. [There was a time, probably in 2003, when my little brother would argue with me that Roddick was going to be superior to Federer. I won’t remidn him about that.] Roddick’s results have been consistently excellent for about seven years now - he’s been in the top ten more or less the entire time, and he was the clear #3 for a good three years or so. When Federer was killing him every week, he improved his serve placement, his backhand, his net game… and still didn’t win. He’s not only the hardest server on the tour, he’s consistently the most accurate, which is impressive. One-dimensional? Yes, but I think he’s also making the most of what he has, and he deserves credit for that. On a personal level, while he gets pissy sometimes, he’s usually refreshingly honest and funny about how he’s doing.
Lisicki just had a chance to serve for the first set again Safina, but she couldn’t do it.
Yeah, and he actually flipped through the magazine, saw her, and had his agent contact her to see if he could get a date. It took a long time for her to say yes, but she did eventually…and now they are married.
If I’m not wrong, I recall someone in the French Open thread saying that Robin Soderling looks like Gary Oldman.
Naturally, I’ve been thinking about this. I can see a resemblance there, but I can also see what I consider to be another tennis player/ movie person likeness. Therefore I ask this.
I’d consult an optometrist. I just don’t see it. Tarantino’s got that squished face and a huge chin, and Federer has neither. Soderling/Oldman is pretty good.
You won’t believe this but I have an appointment for an eye test scheduled for next Wednesday.
I’ll try to get it brought forward, but in the meantime it’s another hot, humid day at Wimbledon with temperatures expected to reach 90 degrees. The mens quarter finals kick off at 12pm GMT with Tarantino/Karlovic on Centre Court followed by Murray/Ferrero. Djokovic/Haas are first up on Court No. 1 followed by Roddick/Hewitt. This is slightly annoying because I’d really like to see Roddick/Hewitt but there’s an obvious clash with Murray/Ferrero.
Here’s what the market says about these matches.
1/12 Federer v Karlovic 6/1
1/12 Murray v Ferrero 6/1
2/5 Djokovic v Haas 7/4
2/5 Roddick v Hewitt 7/4
In effect, the layers are saying that Murray will beat Ferrero 12 times out of 13. While I think he’ll win, you’d have to be out of your mind to take that price. Similarly with Federer, but in tennis prices like this are by no means unusual where the market sees a mismatch. The other two matches are framed as much closer. Does anybody see Haas getting past Djokovic. I think it’s just possible, but I am very often wrong. Roddick should take care of Hewitt and stop Really Not All That Bright whistling so much.
I really hope there’s a thrilling five-setter in there somewhere.
Federer v Karlovic Murray v Ferrero Djokovic v Haas Roddick v Hewitt
Federer’s immense and has barely broken sweat so far: might end up with a few tie-breaks though, but he should come through eventually. Not going to be a game for the purists, more a case of “get the job done” for Federer.
Murray looked slow under the roof the other night (65mph serves!) but the conditions were against him. Two years ago Murray would have wilted but his physical conditioning now means he should be OK for today. Ferrero is past his normal expectations on grass, so I think this will be where he stops.
Djokovic is a good player, and Haas has always struck me as “almost but not quite”. Should be a good solid game of pro tennis but won’t set the world alight.
Roddick and Hewitt is the hardest to call. I think Hewitt’s suprised himself with his form this tournament, but Roddick should power past him. This could be a cracker of a game - Hewitt had the trainer on in his last match, so that might prove [del]cruciate[/del] crucial.
Roddick v Hewitt could be very interesting. They met a few weeks ago at Queens and Hewitt lost in two tiebreakers. He never had a breakpoint against him except in the tie breaks, missed one opportunity to break Roddick and was up 3 times love-30 on Roddick’s serve. As Hewitt said after the match “But against a guy like Andy you got to take those half chances when you get them. I felt that I mixed it with him, it could have gone either way.”
Serena is currently 6-5 whereas Venus is marginally longer at 7/4.
It’s worth noting that prices tend to fluctuate depending on the amount of money wagered on the various participants. The idea is to make the books balance. It seems the layers wish to attract money for Venus because they have enough for Serena.
And those odds are pretty close. Still, Venus has won Wimbledon three years in a row and hasn’t even lost a set there since the third round of 2007!
Federer’s doing just what you’d expect against Karlovic - taking the one opportunity he needs per set. So he’s up two sets, and the two breaks Federer has won are the only times Karlovic has dropped serve all tournament.
Federer wraps up the win against Ivo the Giant. Very impressive run by Haas, who’s 31 and has never been this far at Wimbledon before. He did have a chance to be a very successful player once upon a time, but injuries and his parents’ motorcycle (?) crash got in the way. He gave Federer a hell of a challenge in Paris. I’m not seeing a repeat here, but he’s obviously playing well.
Speaking of “having a chance to be very successful,” what the hell is wrong with Djokovic lately? He’s still got a high ranking but lately he’s been spinning his wheels, and his mental game still seems iffy.
