roger is going to shut everyone up come the 7th. i have tickets for the women's final and i can't wait! go serena! go dinara! go venus! go sveta!

disagree. davydenko wont make the quaters. federers only potential doozy is stephanek third round. He has no excuses to not make semi. Nadals draw isnt that easy- hes got Karlovic or Berdych 4th round, Blake in the quaters (who has beaten him a fair amount) and maybe Murray in semis. But its still no excuse to not make final. Djokovic has a fairly easy draw- but he is looking at Tsonga. All the giant killers seems to be lopped into Ferrer's draw- Simon, Youzhny, Murray, Del Porto, along with Wawrinka. Thats gonna create some great great matches!!

i think you misunderstood me, i see roger winning it all.

oh nevermind, you were referring to the article, sorry.

I'm nervous about Rafa potentially meeting Del Potro. Rafa is up 3-0 but all matches were played last year before Del Potro went on fire. The latter is on a winner - four back to back titles must give him a lot of confidence plus he pulled out of the current tournament to prepare himself for USO. Relieved that Rafa's first match is against a qualifier. perks of being seeded No 1. Ed and Tenstar, we'll meet again doubtless when its starts next week. already feeling jittery. Wish there was some way I could disengage so it wouldn't affect me so. Crazy if you think about it.

i just had this gut feeling that fed would be in the same half of the draw as djoko, and i was right. if they both get to the semi-finals, i reckon it would be probably the biggest match of the tournament.

i am really pulling for fed to win this, he NEEDS this real badly, however, based on the way he has been playing this year, i would say that he has a real steep mountain to climb.

djoko has the toughest quarter of the draw, with roddick, safin, tsonga, gonzo, any of those 4 guys can pull a great upset.

rafa has maybe the easiest quarter of the draw, until the quarterfinals that is, his possible opponent by then could be nalbandian (0-2, and rafa hasnt won a single set off him thus far), and also blake (rafa has won the last 2 matches on HC but blake is so hot and cold that it is very unpredictable). i think rafa can breathe easy for the first 4 rounds, and he must be very glad that his 2 arch rivals(fed and djoko) are battling it out in the other half of the draw.

check out this very interesting (and I pray, accurate) preview of USO
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/usopen08/columns/story?co lumnist=ubha_ravi&id=3547145

stay - read that report. wow, i'll be stoked if it comes through too! Will we be able to watch it? Don't see it being shown, maybe foxsport might but I don't have it. Was going to get it before FO but then I'll get nothing else done! Might have to reply on ed and kaitepai again. :) I also fear the del po meeting, the guy is scalding at the moment. Time to ring the fingernail lady again..
Is kaitepai around btw? Earth to kaitepai! you disappeared on us towards the end of olym tennis. What happened, mate? we missed you. Will NZ show USO?

Hey man I'm around. NZ will show US Open- our tennis coverage isn't actually that bad. I've kinda scheduled my work around it but have to miss the semis due to having a 21st outta town... argh! You can rely on me haha. Del Porto... Nadal... that is way way way to early to say. If Del Porto gets to the semis, yeah for sure be scared, but has anyone else taken a close look at Ferrer's draw - it is swarming with gaint killers! That draw is gonna produce the best matches by miles, I have serious doubts Ferrer is gonna get far at all

Wow missing semis, what are you thinking...pull a sicky!! :) Yeah, Ferrer's quater is a mean draw, feel sorry for him; Nole not that easy too. I notice Fed's quater has Tipsarevic, should be a good match if they meet.

I've got foxsport, tenstar, but the will need to record and warch replays bcuz of time difference. My boss will not be that understanding. except semis and finals maybe. I only got it for tennis, no movies. really expensive if you take the whole package. I figured I wouldn't have the time to watch anything else but tennis anyway.
Kaitepai, I wouldn't dismiss Del Potro yet. he's amazing. I saw him make minced meat of Roddick and others on foxsport. That boy is lethal. he is not afraid of anyone. being 6' 6" helps. Good to see more people from our part of the world on this site.
I didn't disappear, TS. been crazy at work. been wanting to comment on Cheryl's R-R relationship but the posts were so frequent and rapid I couldn't keep up.

tenstar: I have just spotted that ESPN are giving full coverage. Do you get this? I dont subscribe (although I can watch ESPN Classic). Still trying to decide whether or not to fork out and upgrade so might not be sharing the agony/tension with you and sstay. Like you, I fear nothing else will get done if I succumb to the temptation. Plus more sports channels means the man will be even more useless around the house. He will watch any sport indiscriminately (apart from tennis!) given the chance.

sstay: Good site. Have never been there before. But will stay with Tennis Talk for chats.

Ed, I thought you were a guy! going by your name.
Since you're in Europe, it makes sense to upgrade as being centrally located, you'll get to see a lot of live matches at godly hours, except AO, unlike us here. Wimb and USO are hard as when they start, it's nearly midnight. My colleagues know that when Slams come, I walk around at work as if I'm on drugs.

sstay - yeah, that R-R blog was crazy. Log'd on yesterday to read the article and there were already over 50 enties. Started reading but gave up. Think ed followed tho. I awol'd this week, got so busy. I thought initially ed was a guy too but last week, ed said the man left the house to scavenge for lunch during olym final so that was a big hint.
No espn, basically nothing here, in this house, ed. I plan to get foxsport before FO 09 after I finish a big project, my reward. I think the other half is already thinking of setting up a separate room with a 2nd tv. Excellent...says I! Just have to remember to stock up the reds!
Me too sstay, every Jan when I watch part of AO on tv, the comments are hurled my way at work about the eye bags. If only they knew what they miss out on, sigh..
"he will watch any sport indiscriminately?" Isn't that the diea, ed? It will be mine when I finally get it! :)

tenstar, but guys watch all sport generally whereas women tend to be more selective, right, Ed? Sport has always been associated with the male identity. Separate homes is the way to go for me so no hassles and don't have to fake interest in footy. if you get foxtel, you can select the basic package plus sport, and if you want the IQ to record which is handy bcuz of the time difference, you pay a bit more. I took this deal they ran a few months ago and I pay around $62/month. Beats going to casinos and sleazy hotels to watch the finals which we used to do. Yuk.

Sstay - I'm not writing off Del Porto, hell no, I'm just not getting carried away too early. I mean, this is Nadal we are talking about... not an out of form Roddick.
If Del Porto makes it to Nadal I'll have a better opinion on whether he would stand a chance, I've just got my doubts he'll make it that far.

I'm a girl and I watch pretty much any sport... tennis, rugby, soccer, cricket, are my favs... but I watched a hellof a lot more during the Olympics. Rugby league is about the only one I can't get into.

And I know what you guys mean by time zones... oh my god, 2am morning starts for me... with coverage continued at what, 8am or something? Great, can't wait.

Haha if I hadn't already booked my plane tickets to 21st, tensta, theres no way I would be going with the semis on.

sstay, I agree guys watch more sport, not all tho. Like kaitepai, I watch a lot of sports. At one stage I was watching everything except footy, never quite caught on with me. My most memorable time was living in the UK where they showed loads of decent sports on tv, soccer especially, but I got so obsessed I even watched darts and pool. How sad is that? :)
Kaitepai you make a good point about not getting carried away. But mate, when else can we go crazy if not with the slams? Sorry sstay, not impying you are but I definitely will be soon! :)
OK that's it, I'm flying across the Tasman sea tonight. Kaitepai, where is the biggest tv screen in NZ and the nearest airport to it?
Ooh sleezy hotels sstay, I see.... :) I watched a world cup semi in a crap pub in Darwin in '98. Not nice. The worst was watching Brazil play England in 2002 in a cafe in Southampton. Me and my 2 greek friends, outnumbered, stupidly cheered Brazil. Brazil won that match and the 3 of us had to hurridly leave the cafe (sorry ed, hope you think any less of me but I've been a big Brazil fan for years. Don't like some of their gamesmanship tho but they're not the only ones. But they produce do some be-ooo-tee-ful footwork).
Ok, back to tennis...

Tensta- are u are Aussie, thats awesome! I love you guys, soooo much friendlier than us kiwis. Am moving to Melbourne next yr with the boyf. haha biggest TV in NZ... mm prob somewhere in Auckland... god knows if they'll show the tennis. But ur welcome to join me and my bro at our house, 3am starts... boy is work gonna be fun the next day!!
Hope I don't snap at too many patients....

I like to get more carried away with Gulbis than Del Porto- I love that morange! Hope he beats Andy 2nd round!

Hey watch it, kaitepai, I have few kiwi friends here who are amongst the nicest people I know! Yeah, I'm in ozzieland. Ha ha. Oh no, don't snap at patients, I'm sure they'll be scared enough as it is. Melbourne? Awesome, you can watch the AO at Melbourne Park. Great atmosphere, more than enough alcohol to go around, you'll be sorted.
Well, everyone, the madness starts tomorrow. Here's to all our personal favourite players who we'll doubtless be cheering on for!!

Oh hey, Sybil posts here as well. How does he do it? It's impressive. Keeping track of all those time zones he pretends to live in, he must be using a world map of some kind.

haha well I'm fully kiwi so I can say whatever I want about us... I just think Aussies are a tad friendlier, if you know what I mean. Thats not to say we arn't incrediably cool.

Fangirl, care to explain? I just don't understand.

tenstar and sstay: hey, you two were slow to catch on! all that talk about ironing, manicures, etc. how many men to you know with nail extensions?

In my time have followed a lot of different sports depending on whom I was married to/living with. But at a particularly low point in my life I remember watching the 1988 olympics and found myself watching live coverage of Wrestling (which I hate) at 4a.m in the morning. How sad is that?

Know what you mean about being outnumbered Tenstar (I wont hold it against you for cheering Brazil). Last year the French boyfriend refused to watch the England-France world cup semi with me and took himself off to the local bar. So I rounded up a neighbour to keep me company and walked in wearing an elegant white linen trousers suit and red tee-shirt and made an exhibition of myself when England won. Thought I was going to be lynched by the locals - the man didnt speak to me for two days!

Have just discovered a neighbour who is a tennis fan gets coverage - so will move in for the semis and final (that will be unpopular with the man!)

Ed- I relate, I think my lowpoint was this year watching the US Open... yeah, the golf. Got way to behind Tiger Woods. No girl should be into golf that much. Thankfully Tiger has pulled out for the rest of the year and my interest has dwindled.

I don't think you'd get me watching wrestling, but I didn't think that about golf either.

Oh and just to add, Ed, I can't stand Nadal's outifts. Its not just the "look how big my arms are" thing, its more the pirate pants that make his legs look short and bum look massive. But its not the worst on tour by a long shot- if you make a list check out Hbarty's pink top, Stephanek's multicoloured shirt (Rome 08) and Djok's tiedyed orange/blue shirt teamed with light blue shorts. Ooooo boy.

Ed, you really sounded like a man - I mean, an ENGLISH man. I was picturing Somerset Maugham. and guys these days know heaps about female stuff - you will be surprised (won't go into detail). Sports can make or break relationships. My most recent ex got so upset at the 2007 FO final (yes, this was at the casino) when I was routing for Rafa (he LOVED Roger) and there I was having to contain myself when Rafe won. all the way home, I wanted to scream in delight but couldn't. and oh, one time when the two prominent Australian Football League teams from Adelaide were playing each other and the team that he supported lost, he accused me of gloating and supporting the other team. Get out. Footy bores me sh*tless. I only watched it to please him.
Kaitepai - Rafa's behind is not big at all. I think the contours are perfect.
talking about outfits, one time Hbarty wore a top with a big gaping hole in the back and he was playing Leyton. L won of course and he told the interviewer later, Jim Courier I think it was - "I just couldn't lose to a guy wearing a top like that". Cracker.
Tenstar- darts and pool. Very, very sad... not as bad as me though - ABC shows lawn balls sat evenings - and yes, i have been there, glued to the TV.

Kaitepai - I have 2 kiwi friends and they're soooooo nice.

Ed - ok, but I was slightly quicker than sstay in catching on, c'mon admit it! (sorry sstay, but I would stab anyone in the back to gain more credit! :)
But, I'm with sstay, you did sound like a proper English man. Or maybe I just so wanted you to be, sorry. And yes, I'm afraid talking about nail extensions is not an obvious giveaway. These days, it's not safe to presume..
The Hewitt t-shirt saga - now that is a cracker!
Was it crows or port, sstay? If you supported crows, we're still on talking terms. :)
Darts/pool vs golf vs wrestling vs lawn balls. OK it's official from the tenstar voting panel: I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist that sstay and I are on par in the sadness category. I'm sorry ed and kaitepai, you both lose convincingly.

To the girls: hope we can go on chatting, even though I am not a man!
sstay: A seat dead centre behind the service line is a great place to appreciate the sexiest butt on the circuit. Kaitepal clearly doesn't appreciate the finer points of Nadal's anatomy. Mind you, Federer's legs are quite a turn on. re: 2008 fashion faux pas: I too particularly disliked that Novak orange/blue ensemble.

sstay: The waste of space I am sharing my home with (for the moment) cant bear watching tennis. On the few occasions he has, he has a particularly irritating habit of announcing 'double fault' just before whoever i am supporting serves. Damn it, he is nearly always right: I swear he sends evil messages through space.

Yes thats the Hbarty top I was talking about. Most revolting thing ever. Actually ever.

No no no I consider Federer to have an amazing ass. His lower half is truley very attractive. One of those Olympics photos where he was bending over Stan... mmm very very yummy.

I can appreciate Nadal's arms, but I feel even they are slightly over-rated. My boy is James Blake- he is seriously the best looking man in the world.

But his bum is like Rafa's - too big.

sstay- cool you have two kiwi mates, where are u from?

Agreed bout Roger's arms. Like I said, hes hot from the waist down and neck up. I think James is sooo hot, you're right, he has puppy dog eyes. Hes amazing. And he looked so hot with hair too!! Moya... I dunno doesn't really do it for me. Not really into the spanish look (sorry if hes not spanish, but its that look). Kinda a bit greasy for something. Nadal is an exception. Same with Lopez... just not my type. But thats Ok... its best we have different tastes haha.

Yeah.. and to think I criticise Sharapova for too many modelling shoots. Whoops

ok ed, we'll let you off this time, but no more gender transformations...it's doing my head in! :)

oh and ed- that sounds very very annoying, but my bf insists on supporting anyone BUT the player I want to win. And since he doesnt care about tennis, hes relentless. I'd rather he didnt watch it at all.

Have just had a brainwave. Get the BF's to watch and pretend we have switched our allegiance to the opposition - then they will rout for the one we want to lose. Might have the same effect as the pins!

Moya is Spanish, Kaitepai. He and rafa are good mates, hang out together and Moya was Rafa's mentor. I know what you mean about the swarthy Latin look. Not Moya though, he's a cut above. I wish James hadn't shaved his head. The dreadlocks looked hot. I?m from Adelaide, originally from Malaysia.
Ed - your expressions crack me up. I don?t think your other half would appreciate being referred to as ?wasted space? but so funny!! And you'll never be a boring old f**t even if you lived till 100!
Tensta - Neither Crows or Port Adelaide. My idea of fun is not watching a bunch of pseudo macho guys bashing each other and tossing balls. When I come across another sport that's as low as lawn balls, I?ll let you know.
All - check out this video
http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/deuce/august2008/player_calendar. asp
I won?t responsible for any girls fainting?

Agree, footy bores me to too. Kaitepai, my other half started that too, cheering for the enemy just to annoy me, and it works! Not sure what to do. Might have to borrow ed's pins. OK so who among us are watching the USO? You'll have to report back what the articles don't cover. I'm deprived here but good in a way because I really have loads to do. Didn't know you're in adel sstay, i went to uni there. just got back from a 6-month stint and stayed with my bro near glenelg. will head back next month for a conference on nth tce. Didn't quite get the video, who are we looking for, there were at least a couple. Have you guys seen: (if only..)
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/763280.html

the main video with Gonzo in b&w. they featured photo shoots of male tennis players. very artistically done. I'm recording USO everynight. can't stay up, too late.
OMG, small world. why would he rout for Crows or Port if we weren't in Adel. which city are you in? which uni?

no, sorry i mean the enemy tennis player. if i rout for nadal, he'll ask me the name of the other player (stupid me will tell him) and he'll cheer for that one just to wind me up. crazy! out west in the most isolated city :). flinders. can't wait to go back next month. I love it there (miss cntrl mkt), nice here too.

Well, I couldn't bear it any longer. Have just signed up to be able to watch the USO!!
No sleep now for the next two weeks.

Hey: Have you seen Nadal's new outfit?

Sergio is at Nadal's match.

re: Nadal's outfit. My mistake. Got a glimpse of him wearing the official red T-shirt in some publicity shots on the US Open site and thought he was going to wear that for matches. He appeared to be struggling a bit in his first match, throwing in some truly awful mis-hits and a double-fault on match point.

hence why hes not the next roger federer.... just an amazing player ;)

Yeah i was wondering there... pleased his shorts are slightly shorter and baggier :) Good look Rafa!

Great 2 see my man put on a good 5 setter and look amazing doing it :)

Who's a happy bunny then?

Have just read the Eurosport interview with Murray. In his mind he reckons he has what it takes to win a Slam. Well we'll see. My best guess is he might make it through to the Quarters but not further.. To quote (I think it was Cheryl) 'On a good day he is capable of beating the big boys if they have an off day'. But he is just too erractic.

i agree, i can't see him taking it - but i guess if they all thought one of the top 3 would win it, they may as well have not bothered heading to NY.

I'm sure that was my quote haha, no thats the equivilant of what I say about the ball on a string. Murray will not take the USO - I'll stop bloody watching tennis if he does. But he won't.