Can I just say that this is bl**dy ridiculous. It's the same at Melbourne Park with the AO where a hot dog or burger costs AT LEAST double what you would pay outside. Someone should be shot for it! I don't care who, anyone will do! Year in, year out, I get really p*ssed off about that.

it's called making a killing. It's disgusting. Opportunists. the wine they charged at adel hardcourts was about $8 per glass which i thought was ok, but that's adel and things are a tad cheaper than in the eastern seaboard. excuse me if I sound cheap but are people allowed to bring in their own food for slams?

of course you can sstay - I've been doing it for years. The only things you can't bring in are weapons because they check your bags!! You can either get your supplies beforehand or do it on the way in. If you catch the tram from across flinders st stn, there are loads of bakeries/supermkts. You can fill your bottle from drinking fountains in the grounds but there aren't many so you have to look for them and note where they are. The only problem is if you stay from am til night, I end up buying some food inside but over several days, you can save a lot.

I'm moving to this blog because it's not about any particular player hope there won't be any fights.
It's good Nole apologised but it's not the first time he's publicly apologised which I think is big of him. He's apologised before for his bad behaviour on court and imitating players who got offended. Let's give him a break. If we did something wrong and apologized, wouldn't we want people to accept it? Kai, didn't ed threaten you before about getting banned from the club for wanting Nadal to lose? Aren't our threats carrying any weight? This isn't good. C'mon Nadal - you can do it!

OMG!!! Kai "The closet baby snatcher" - That is hilarious! I don't care if Napoleon is only 1 yr younger than you, you are NEVER going to live that down!

Ed, I read somthing you wrote maybe yesterday, as always with you guys, I almost fell off my couch laughing. Calling your FBF a 'waste of space' and then your niece the 'nail extension niece' (ok I take part blame for that, but only PART). I wonder how they'd react if they ever found out.

oh tenstar, you crack me up. filling bottles from drinking fountains. I'm the asian, not you!!! or maybe you're jewish!! I went out with this jewish guy once and he took me to this yiros stall on a tuesday as he said they do yiros for half price or something, and I went, oh really?

Oops, sorry kait, will call you kait, not food!

Kait, I can see how you find Gulbis cute. he has this rich, boarding-school, royal look about him, no surprise as his dad's a millionaire. he hasn't got that raw sexy appeal the way Moya does (I know you don't agree Kait) or Tommy Robredo but he's cute nonetheless.

sstay, ha ha close: mediterannean so no different to jewish or asian, no? Hhmm, our own blog? No time to look into sorry. I have 3 jobs, one's FT. I don't mind either way. It's nice being here to read what others write and the blogs - the only thing I hate are the fights. That's why I quickly posted to completely new blogs, an attempt to push out the agro ones but didn't work. sstay - that was perfect: rich boarding-school royal look!
Ed: interesting dream. we should def meet at the tennis. I'll be at Hopman cup in Dec. Everyone welcome, I have a pool, 3 mins drive to beach and home-made wine celler! Ed, the Adelaide hard court warm up moves to Brisbane in 2009 so maybe you can catch some matches there (4-10 Jan). Sydney than has the Medibank International from 11-17 Jan. Than it's the Open in Melb to eat the most expensive fast food sold on Australian territory possibly outside the Cocos Keeling Islands!

u have ur own pool and wine cellar?? sounds worth a trip ax the tasman!! flag the sailing, u have a pool!!! i kinda do 2.. but new zealad weathr sucks, doesnt count.

and seriously guys - my names kate! jst spelt diff. no kai, just kait :)

I hate the fights 2, hence why I'm staying out of this wanting Nadal 2 lose shite. U guys cudnt kick me out of the club... ud miss me waaayyy 2 much :p

Gulbis has this.... thing... I just wanna wipe that innocent look off him face. Hes soooo shagable, just like Prince Harry. Moya and Robredo... they know they have that apeal... Gulbis has nooo idea.so so so so so hot. god i hpe he makes it into the big time. I mean James is just amazingly good looking, Fed is Mirka's and kinda untouchable, Rafa is hot but everyone wants a taste of him, Andy (Roddick...that goes without saying really) is hot but he has the hottest WAG so hes pretty untouchable.... and Gulbis.... well... hes mine. Aussie Open 09 - watch out Ernests, hehehe.

Oh and tensta, boyf wasnt too bad this mornig watching fed, ut he had enuf of me by the thirs set and told me 2 shut up. yeah i didnt shut up.

sorry bout th typos guys, im on a new comp and keyboard sucks.

all, check this out. real cool - technical analysis of rafa's topspin. make sure you click and drag the scrubber (the thing next to the play button)
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2008-09-04-nadal-swing_ N.htm
Pool, home-made wine... Perth here I come!!!

Kate, all respects to roger and his tennis, his body's nice but arms too skinny and face not that great. Nalby's hot I think.
ed, tenstar - we've just established Kate's too young to be cradle snatcher. yep, you guessed it, i have been known to have cradle snatching thoughts.. nb thoughts only.

True, but the "closet baby snatcher" label is too cool not to repeat a few more times.
Ed, we're on this blog. Kait moves hot to cold because she doesn't want Nadal to win. Me too, I'm routing for Nole against Roger for the same reason. We're all guitly and sad!Cool website sstay. Oh, the match is at 3am!!!! It's W's semis, not sure I'll stay up for that otherwise I'll have to go to bed soon. Or maybe I'll watch the Wimb final again while I wait.

tenstat, the men SF is not tonight (am Sat), it's at 3.30am sun adel time, so 2am sun your time. Tonight (am sat) is women's SF. check your local tv guide and sched of play at USO site. must admit I'm also hoping Nole will win for same reasons.
Ed, relationship packed up for other reasons but my life is FULL. Writing 2nd book. first book will be out April next year, publisher Harpercollins. will let you all know details later - if you are so inclined.

OMG sstay Nalby hot? Are you ok? The guy looks like yeti!

wat's yeti? I like that tanned skinned and light haired look. He's yum!

The abominable snowman, an apelike creature. Just google it! Maybe I should have said bigfoot.

OMG. Just reread kait's entry. She's fantasising about deflowering virgin boys!

sstay: There are some good story lines running through these blogs. Do you know Wendy Wasserstein's plays? (Uncommon Women, Isn't it Romantic, Sisters Rosenthal etc.) She would have made good use of this material. She drew all her best dialogue and funniest scenes straight from real life. Tragic she died so young.

Hey ed, was wondering when you'd come over. I'm up still, only just. Getting tired but need to finish my red and the movie. The other two are ahead of me - further east one goes - so probably in bed already.
Ya, it was me having a go at the grey attire worn by sasquatch at Wimb. I've never taken to him or his game.

I am planning to get a at least 8 hours sleep tonight. Will need all my strength for tomorrow evening.

Oooooo I was NOT ed! And neway, I highly doubt Gulbis is a vigin, I mean come on, the guys a 20 yr old pro tennis player who loves 2 party!

By Nlby u dont mean Nalbandian do u ??? cos thats just mental, hes on my top ten ugly list.

Feds arms arnt too hot, but he is handsome (much more so than Rafa in the face) and has a great butt. Hes pretty hairy tho... neway hes Mirkas thats cool. Hes my fav player, bt nt the sexiest fo sho. Sometimes tho he looks amazing. Like in that suit at th champians thing - hot!!!

I really hope the semis are rained off. I'm at a 21st tonight and I doubt they have sky TV.Just read that Fed drops his ranking if he loses to Djok and Djok wins the tourny. What a load of crap - Fed is the 2nd best player this yr no doubt, I have issues with the system. So that means Im going for Rafa if Fed loses - cant have Djok overtaking my man. Neone know whos semi is up 1st??

hey guys im kina confused- u guys r suporting djokovic for the same reasns i may be supporting muray right?? bt u cant possily fancy nadals chances better in the final against djok can u??? i men not that i think djok is better than fed, but surely confidence and the fear factor of nadal works more against rog than djok. if i were a nadal supporter id be hoping for a nadal roger final.

Good morning all. logged in to have my heart torn to shreds reading about your insults about Nalby. I swear he doesnt have BO. my fictional mind just KNOWS he smells yum. Apart from the midriff that's got a little less than perfect in the last couple of years, I think he's the sexiest of them all. He's a lovely guy too. they had a long interview wiht him at AO one year and I was dribbling. his game is well rounded. no partisular weapons but precise all round. it's fallen apart in last couple of years, but he beat roger at shanghai masters one year.

tensta, I am convinced now that his grey top episode is purely a fabrication in your head after hearing your views about Nalby. none of us remember, plus at Wimb, everyone wears white so how could he have been wearing grey???

ed, your porkchops joke reminded me of a Nanny epiosde (TV). her mum (sylvia) was having secretly flirting with the butcher and when Fran was over, she took out this pack of meat from the freezer and fished out a love note the butcher had slid into the pack. have you all seen Nanny? it's no longer running but it's a sitcom and Fran's jewish. Sylvia's couch is still wrapped in plastic which Fran says she's preserving for the afterlife.
you don't say about Wendy Wasserstein. I get so much inpsiration from these chats. btw, tenstar is the one that sails. the houseboats are for hire and people take turns to steer them. apparently it's real easy. at night, it's anchored.

Kate, fed and nole going first in semis, followed by rafa-popeye. god, I'm getting jitters now thinking about it. ed, having second thoughts now about getting you to do the pins. will you, pleeeeeaasse? ironing board all set up. Going for Nole and Rafaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

sstay - good point, must have been AO then, not wimb. it's one of the ones they show here and they don't show FO or much of USO. Really can't remember, but yeah, definitely grey, ed remembers too (see above). Sorry about the yeti, couldn't help it, will be kinder. He does seem really nice though, I've heard his interviews. He came onto my scene at wimb final to play hewitt and since I wanted hewitt to win, I didn't take to him. What to do..first impressions..
Kait, sorry mate but fed is by no means good looking. I think he's nose is proportionally too big for his face actually. Like his hair though, better that the ponytailed look from before. And if he's hairy, please keep that to yourself.
Still going for Nole. Don't mind Nole beating Rafa, but don't want Fed to win.
sstay, I watched nanny too, I love her irritating voice.
Kait ya because they have to defend their points from previous year and Fed won previous yr, So only Rafa, popeye and Nole can possibly improve on their USO points but not Fed.

tenstar, i was only kidding. i wasn't upset at all and knew that everything was in jest. I remember that wimb final leyton-nalby very well. i was at a conference in brisbane and had of course stayed up to watch. next morning, blurry eyed but over the moon about leyton winning, I asked co-attendees if they had watched and they all went, nah. yeah, i wanted Nalby to lose then but took to him later.
I am competely with you - i don't even mind popeye winning. Even if Rog does win, Rafa will still retain his no 1 ranking.
you are so right about the nose. the hair, etc, are all a product of IMG or Nike.
guess what, Nanny is being played sun mornng half an hour before semis USO, in Perth as well!! I checked the perth TV guide. well, what a way to chill out before i become wreck.

well i think rog is gorgeous- perfect hair and gorgeous just gorgeous. i think rafa got hot bod but pretty bd face. saw the hottest pic of gulbis tho... man hes cute!!!

im gettig nervous 2, c'mon roger baby!

"Deflowering virgin boys"! I like that. Ed is just too proper to be hanging around the likes of us: Yeti chaser, closet baby snatcher and dripping pisshead sailor!
Oh common CBS, Rafa's good looking. Can I call you CBS or is that too naughty?

hhmm that's actually too naughty. kait's much better!

DPS - I like that!! we have to think up a name for ed.
Rafa's face is intriguing. When he frowns, his eyes actually look Asian. He has those beguiling Aztec-Mayan looks that don't fall under the normal deifnition of goodlooking but he's gorgeous nonetheless. I like him with the bandana as you get to see his full face, otherwise the fringe covers most of his face.

Def, not sure what tho, ed will have to help us out. Kait must be at the 21st today, poor chook, missing out on semis when Rog is playing. Ya, i like rafa's looks. sstay, I'm adel for conference 2 weeks, if you want me to bring classic dvds for you, let me know. I'm there 23-28 this mth so can pick up before I leave. can meet at state lib where i'll be if you want. I really want Rafa to win because it would mean he won on clay, grass, than hard-beijing, but a hard-GS would be great. Than plexicusion in AO. Mmmm... one can dream...

Morning all. Just had 10 hours sleep so feeling and, hopefully, looking better and am off for a bit of therapeutic blackberry picking. Will digest the posts above and respond later.

kait, where did you see hot pic of Bonaparte? pls tell.

that will be great, tenstar, would love to catch up with you. how much time do you have - coffee or lunch? 27-28 is the weekend. wat will you be doing at the lib? so sweet of you re DVDs. maybe just one will be fine. depends what you've got. we'll email each other closer the date re details.
me too, it would be soooooo good for rafa to win for those reasons. he can do it. he just needs to battle his fatigue - as last two of his defeats have been due to that, to Nole and fererro.
ed, you haven't reported back to us re the pins!!! blackberries, yum. I just came back from my power walk too.

Oh yeay, just got back from food shopping. Have now got my supplies for the 2:30am match, starting with nasal nanny. sstay, I fly in Tue nite and leave Sun eve. Conf fr 24-27 at state lib. Ya, arrange things later. Do you work/live near the city? Will have to have early dinner soon and try to take a nap before SF.

me too, went shopping earlier, got my almonds, vege chips, cheese and of course red. yes, i work in city and live seven minutes from.

Don't know, still berry picking? Can't be. I couldn't really sleep. Than saw Nadi's cyber screems and checked the website. Can't believe our luck, waiting til 2am and still not getting the real deal.
Goind to start brewing teh coffee and make my avocado dip. Have enough chocolates, chips and nuts to last til uso 2009!
Oh, meant ot tell you earlier. Just read the west, Molik's retired. Too long having ear virus affecting balance and string of injuries plus now 27. Oh well, she's done well anyway...

why, isn't it on channel 9? it's showing here.
rafa just got broken!!
boy you sure have been awake to read about mollik. I slept like a pig.

rafa seems to be struggling on serve. sh*t

No, we must be behind. It's suppose to start at 2:10 and it's just getting 1am. We're usually ahead of you guys but not now. crap. Following on live scores.

Oh showing now, must have come to their senses!

nole is playing better from what i've seen so far. rog has been making a lot of uncharac unforced errors. he looks pale.

Popeye broke again - 5-2.

rafa got broken again n andy now servig for set. not good

You must be watching live in real time. Nole-Fed only warming up. Geepers creepers what's wrong with this country?!

If popeye beats rafa, i really hope he wins it.

Rafa is losing lots of points on his serve. don't think there's been any love games. waht's going on????

oh no. you're getting a delayed telecast. yes, i'm watchng realtime. you must be spewing. rafa facing another break pint. whre on earth is ed??

oh no. you're getting a delayed telecast. yes, i'm watchng realtime. you must be spewing. rafa facing another break pint. whre on earth is ed??

At least he's just held his serve. He's mentioned this week about confidence issues, don't know why. Which match are you watching. Only Nole-Fed showing here.

She just got home from a shopping trip but said it's touch and go so must be busy with something else. She's just tuned in tho. Give her bit of time.

I'm here! posted at 7.00 on the other thread. Will stay with you here. I'm not seeing the Nadal match until 11.00pm.

I'm here. Cant communicate properly cos the bloody WI-FI signal keeps going down.

i hope something didn't happen to ed while berry picking. it's so unlike her not to be here at these impt matches. rafas last game was a bit easier.

tenstar, ch 9 showing only roger match. when this finishes they will switch to rafa-andy. i'm checking live scrores by the second.

Oh no, Fed broke Nole. :(

Berry picker back.. maybe need to refresh your screen.

Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee He's going to do it. This will cut the Nole down to size.

Kait (CBS) tenstar, sstay: what does lol mean?

From the gossip blog sstay, just mental and nothing better to do.
CBS- closet baby... :)
BTW, that acronym SFTU meant Shut the ...up. Not THAT offensive but ya very rude I guess.

Girls: We agreed I should not be asked to commit high treason - could be sent to the Tower of London if anybody found out about the pins. Besides, Nadal is a big boy now and will sort out Popeye.

looks like second set going to a tie break

Trinity, you can join us if you like. amd btw, it is 'posts', not 'posters'

tenstar - shoot ch 9. they've just switched to rafa match, from the start!! no point even watching.
andy's got the mini break at tie break

sstay: thanks. There is a bit of a generation gap in my knowledge!!! I promised myself not to cheat and look at the live score for Nadal. Might not be able to resist.
Miracles have happened. The waste of space has offered to cook dinner while I watched the tennis!

The first double fault? In the tie break? You got to be kidding me, Andy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel like getting out of here with this nutcase hanging about.
ed, i've got live scores on so i can 'go' back, if you know what i mean

Yeah, it's fine, I'm looking at live scores. They're only on 2nd set here still. Pathetic. Nadal really needs to regroup.
Congrats ed, that's great. BTW, I don't remember agreeing to non-treason tactics. And just so you know, I would have saved you from the ToL (ahem..)

I think I just fell in love with Murray. How creepy is that? He's doing so well!

I've already emailed them to get them to remove her. you have to feel sorry for her. cheap thrills for her. well, if it makes her happy

Is it safe to start posting again, or will the lice come out of the woodwork?

After craving sleep and the rain-off meant transmission stopped at 1.30ish, blow me if I now cant get back to sleep for worrying about what will happen tomorrow. Have never seen the Scottish lad play so well. He barely put a foot wrong for the first two sets. If it had continued though it is possible Rafa boy would've made a come back - there were a few chinks in that 3rd set. But coming back out tomorrow (I mean later today) will be a different matter. His habit of getting off to a slow start will probably mean Popeye will wrap it up in 3. I bet CBS has got champers chilling in anticipations. So that will leave Fed and Andy to fight it out. Up until now I had predicted Fed but........now I'm not so sure.
Tant pis - at least one of us will be celebrating.

Will play catch up with the points raised while I was out blackberrying later.

meanwhile here are some suggestions for you to mull over.
The first person to decipher the following gets to choose:

SS PSBD MDUAL WOL WCA

Rick: What is nonsensical. My post or the main article?
I was referring to the creep who was on this site earlier.
By the way, did any of the professional pundits back Murray for the final?

ed, I actually have seen popeye play this way before, when he played and lost to nadal couple of years ago at AO (QF I think). He almost beat nadal than and no doubt intends to do so now. I'm finding it difficult to chear for one and not the other. I would love to see popeye through and beat Fed. But I would Like nadal to win so he has a hard court to add to his clay and grass crowns in one year.
Spam still on as you can see but lesser scale. don't know if it's safe. shame that some people are born into this world for such a wrong cause!
Not awake enough to decipher acronyms. When I've had a few glasses tonight I'll have a go.
Wonder if sstay is still in anger streak against the nutcase..?

Nadi, that IS creepy...what are you thinking?? :)

Hey again. 21st was super cool... but I got 4 hours sleep. Went to bed at 1am and had to get up at 6am to get the flight home. This 4 hours of sleep was interuppted by me checking my ceel phone to see if my bro had text me who won. he finally told me at 6.15am. I almost screamed in the taxi. I was amazed and so so so happy. My boys into his final... and wow he played amazing that 1st set. Oh yeah I've since watched the replay. Very good tennis for most of it, and hes proven to the world once again he is still the man to beat. I just hope he can go one further.

I am never saying anything about Backboard again. Obviously I jinx everyone who plays him. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO RAFA?? Someone wanna fill me in 0- havent watched the replays?? I was thinking tho... had Rafa played a seed up till Murray?? He kinda had an easy draw, maybe it was disgusing any chinks in his armour. He might come back and I bloody hope he does (Roger is supporting him so so am I).

Man I am SOOOO tired... its a beautiful day and I should be hitting balls. Instead I've had McDonalds and a whole block of chocolate. THIS is why I don't drink much.

I juust realised that makes 5 hours sleep (Like I said.. no sleep = bad math). It prob was four if u take out the time of me worrying about the match. Jesus i'm one proud Roger fan today :)

Roger had the easiest draw kait, and ferrer the most difficult.

tenstar: by cooking dinner, I meant he heated up some ravioli and added a can of tommies. From small acorns oak trees do grow. His father was a well known chef so I keep hoping something might have rubbed off on him. I'm doing him an injustice, he can make a mean omelette! Believe me, if you've never had French fisherman as a BF you dont know the meaning of the word chauvinistic.

Hi I'm back. my internet connection went kaput until i cleaned it up. still can't get over the fruitcake. Creepy.
Ricky, thanks for intervening. what is there to stop her from faking another user name and coming back? makes me cringe just thinking about it.
It is overcast and raining here, as depressing as the results of the other SF. I'm hoping that rafa can take the time out to refocus and make a comeback. credit to andy, he was outstanding, attacking, serving and volleying and those tradmark winners, on the run! if he wins, he has a chance of beating Rog in final. delays means finals will be playd on monday, looks like.

ed, this is not the RD who writes for the site, note the missing 'y'. Probably same nutcase from this morning.

tensta- i believe rog had the easier draw on paper, but rafa ended up with the easier draw. who were his seeded opponents b4 murray?? not that im a draw complainer- i really dont care about draws, if u wanna win u have 2 beat everybody.

Ricky, as tenstar said, your user name is not the same as in the other threads - it is without the 'y'. who is who then? this is spooky

sstay- just ignore them. some nerd sitting at home flicking between tennis talk and war of warcraft. probably 14 years old.

nobodys answered my question re wtf happened 2 rafa. haha does seem like the roger fan was missed much...

im trying 2 work out if going for a run will make me feel worse or better. what the fuck is a delayed hangover maybe just tired cure??

*doesnt.

oh my god im having a mare.

ed, thanks for advice. will stay away from french fishermen and their cooking. :) my partner used to run a restaurant in cornwall, ask him to cook and the kitchen turns into a warzone. Food not bad though but now apparently he can't remember who to cook after years of me keeping him out of the kitchen.
sstay, spam happened in othe rblogs in the past. The poor moderator, as if having to deal with tennis nuts indulging in cyber punch ups aren't enough!

rickdimon: for goodness sake do be careful or you will get us all banned if you go on like that. You must know the difference between genuine fans of tennis and the nutters. Don't be fooled by some of the cryptic conversations and bantering. We are just having a bit of fun in the downtime between matches. It's called girls' talk.

sstay - kaitepai is right on. I wouldn't call it spooky, I would call it some crazy spammer with too much time of his hands.

As for what happened to Rafa, he is putting his shots -- especially returns -- way too short in the court and letting Andy feast on them.

ed, it's spam - it's designed to ruin the website - ignore it.

...and credit to andy for being able to step in early and finish those shots.

...yes, tenstar, Andy is playing great, as he has been all year. He was capable of beating Nadal on hard courts coming into this match, and he is now showing why.

I think Andy will win even if Rafa picks up his game.

RD - Rafa mentioned this week about his confedence. o you know if that's been an issue this week or is he a little 'off'? I know he's fatigue. Any insights abotu his performance, I've not watch the mathes until the SF so haven't been into it.

OMG: I fell into the trap. I thought I was addressing the real Rick Dimon. Should we shut down until he gets bored?
Another question. How is that some of my perfectly innocent posts have been pulled when CBS can post her fantasies which border on the pornographic. I mean I ask you, The Yeti and Napoleon.

Rafa has looked fine to me; I was at his matches against Troicki and Querrey. He obviously has not been dominant, but that's to be expected on U.S. Open hard courts.

I don't know why confidence would be a factor. The only factor I see so far is Nadal is playing an in-form Murray on Murray's favorite surface....

OI Ed!!! Not appreciated! Now I understand why you're in a bad mood but thats uncalled for.

Just ignore the kid, he'll PO.

So RickY in other words- Murray is doing a Tsonga?? Bout time someone watched those AO replays and worked it out. Short balls are always there, whether Rafa is playing well or not.
And guess u won our bet so well done... I admite I was wrong about Backboard, apparently hes a very good Backboard.

That actually makes sense, RD. Last time I saw this two play at AO (the yr Gonzo made the final), Murray should have won that match but didn't. I like his tactical play and I think he reads the game very well while being. Back then , he was also very successful at changing the pace of the ball. I would definitely like to see him go one further than Henmen was able to.

ed, did some of your posts get clipped? Maybe in the tidying up this morning, that happened. I doubt it's easy for t moderators because t spam was full on in every blog. Take it easy, all. I'm just interested in RD's sheding some light for me on AM and RN and than I'm getting off. We should all take a breather.

kaitepai - No, Tsonga was way more on fire at the AO than Murray is this week. And remind me what our bet was?

tenstar - Murray will do better than Henman mainly due to mental toughness. The fact that he has more talent also helps!

I meant Tsonga's tactics against Nadal, I rate Tsonga higher than Murray - brimming with talent, I love that guy. And by tactics I mean taking those short balls aggressivly and punishing them with angles, following up to net... and boy did Tsonga have soft hands at net, beautiful volleying. I miss him, if you can't tell. U bet me that Del Potro and Murray would beat everyone bar Fed, Rafa, or Djok. I said nah, they are vastly overated. Apparently I was wrong. Guess u might be wrong too if Backboard manages to pull this one off... do you think he will??

tensta- I wasnt actually offended by Ed's comment and I hope she isn't offended by any of my posts.

Spot on RD - the talent and mental thoughness. He's also more fearless where I think Henman had doubts in the back of his mind playing against those he repeatedly lost to like Hewitt. He also unintelligently fired up his opponent by annoucing he could beat them only to get thrashed. I like THIS kid and will cheer him on from now, a little less so against Nadal tho. :)
Thanks RD - appreciate the insights.

Ricky- it must be quite flattering to have an impersonator.

I honestly didn't analyze Tsonga's tactics at the AO. He and Gonzalez in 07were on such fire that I don't even think they were thinking on the court. They were just blasting away, producing tennis I have never seen before.

Simon is THE Human Backboard. I refuse to refer to anyone else as such.

Murray I think will win, but I am rooting for Rafa to come back. Who doesn't want a Fed-Rafa final?

Agreed. Roger wants a Fed Rafa final for gods sakes! I thought its quite good of him to say that... you know... not fear Nadal too much to support him.
Tsonga's tactics were spot on, he knew exactly what he was doing pouncing on those short balls. I was actually supporting Rafa against him at the time, but he made a fan outta me by the end of the match.
Thats true... Simons is definatly a moonballer. Imagine a Murray Simon match... that would be so incrediably painful.

Flattering kait - more a pain in the arse if it were me. RD - I don't suppose you could find out who it is, and inflict a slow and painful death? I'll help get rid of the corpse I promise.

That was sarcasm tensta, :)
They must be in a tough spot in dungeons and dragons, havent written for about 5 minutes now.

kait by the end of THAT match - half the globe who weren't became Tsonga fans.

No, a moonballer is Flavio Cipolla. Simon is a human backboard. He was one of the players I most wanted to see in person at this Open (I am not kidding!) because I, like the rest of the world, wanted to find out just HOW he kept winning all those matches during the U.S. Open Series.

Well, I found out. He might be what some call a "pusher," but he is the real deal.

moonballer, backboard.... pretty similar thing, ja.
dunno who cipolla is, must be a good player.

i just jinxed myself... he musta got thru level 500. gotta get bored eventually... just gotta.

its hard to not love a guy who looks like Ali and upset so many big names. And sooo good at net. Who is ur fav, tensta?? I can tell its Rafa and now Murray... but... overall its Rafa, right?? I had to tape my knee up like Rafa last night... haha, cracked me up. I covered it with foundation tho so it kinda blended into my leg.

tensta - I can't find out, but I assume Johan can. Although I am not an expert on spam, so for all I know it is a thing rather than a person, in which case IT could be difficult to deal with.

kaitepai - Cipolla lost to Wawrinka in a third-round match that lasted over 4 hours. I was there and they did not shake hands at the end of the match.

kait, I like rafa because of his attitude/personality - essentially. But I also like a lot of other players who are good, that's why I like watching young ones/jrs come up the ranks, I love watching great talents. I've liked Murray's game for a while now, just missed out a lot this year. Aspects of distasteful personality tho, as you know, does put me off. Human nature mate. So whilst I like to watch great tennis, I like some players more than others, and simply don't like a few for reasons outside their game.

tenstar... i dislike some players too... if u cant tell. rafas not one of them, hes a total sweetheart. well who do u rate most outta cilic, gulbis, del potro, and nishikori?? Thats for u too, Ricky.

woah didnt think stan had a temper (hes another swiss sweety for sure)... fair enuf tho... my dad packed a shit when my bro did the same thing 2 him.

kaitepai:

1. Gulbis - my favorite player right now
2. Del Potro - might just be flavor of the week, but we will see
3. Cilic - Another one of my favorites after seeing his match against Djoker. He is also Top 10 for sure.
4. Nishikori - Possible Top 10. Completely different player (especially in physical appearance; ie, BUILD) from the other three.

And Cipolla was the one who refused to shake. Wawa had been imitating him faking injuries.

Kait, sorry I can't answer that question til I watch them play. I mentioned at the start that OZ didn't telecast uso, until SF. sstay was watching on foxtel which I don't have. Would love to answer it, but for now, let's put that one in the back seat. Maybe next season if you're up for it..? Gulbis is the only one I saw recently, Wimb I think and I liked his game. Reading reports aren't enough for me to judge their game.

Not shaking hands? I don't like that sort of thing, leaves a bad taste..

I thought the thing was an IT. What the hell was answering my question all about... can ITS do that??

Oh sorry tensta I forgot. Yeah of course next season I'm up for it! I don't think my tennis obbsession will be dying anytime soon. Yeah not shaking hands isn't cool, Stan u cheeky bugger - I stilll think hes sweet tho. I should be able to make aussie open 2010, wanted to do 09 but im gonna be just qualified and still pretty broke.

Ricky I agree with you. I have only seen Cilic play once (from what I can remember) and he really impressed me, mainly because of that return. A good return seems to be such an advantage with all the huge servers - look at Djok and Murray and their returns. I think part of the reason Fed won today is he returned really well. So yeah, I'd be tempted to put Cilic at two. Gulbis is great, I would also put him at one as we have seen consistancy with him this yr. And I feel Del Potro is just a teeny bit of a one trick pony. He didn't impress me against Murray. Havent seen nething of Nishikori but my bro was really impressed. Thx for ur opinion tho, these 4 fascinate me.

CBS: my patented cure for hangovers, sleep deprivation, level 1 migraine, PMT, PND, writer's block and a whole host of other ailments is as follows: the strongest teabag you can lay your hands on, preferably full fat milk (semi-skimmed will do but not full skimmed) and 3-4* large sugar cubes. If you dont drink tea, or usually take it without sugar, it takes some getting used to but persevere and dont count the calories. It's worth it. I rate my HO's by how many cups of this beverage it takes to cure it. Normally it works within 10-15 mins but I have been known to need more than one.
*this is not a typo I really do mean 3 or 4!!

PS: This is of course based on the old fashioned remedy for treating someone in shock. For reason I don't understand it doesn't work with coffee.

Got to share this one with you tenstar, sstay and kaite: While I was indulging in a little retail therapy following the blackberrying (have to own up, that was why I was late back for the match) the assistant in Newmans - trying to make me make up my mind about a sweater - asked me if I liked kiwis. I thought my french was letting me down because I couldnt think what fruit had to do with sweaters (I he didnt think he could know about CBS) so I asked him what he meant. At this point, he reached up on the shelf and brought down a sweater in that awful shade of green Nole wore for the nighttime matches. Later on, I realised a lot of other stores were featuring this colour so it is obviously this season's feature colour. Didnt see a single person trying it on, let alone buying anything in it.

On a woman that shade could work, but on a guy, it's vile, esp sporting attire. but thanks for sharing that. ed. lime green was an 'in' colour in late nineties for women, remember?
You serious about the HO cure? I can see how a high sugar intake can boost the energy levels but the milk would aggravate the nausea, surely?
going to bed soon. will try to get up early for contn of SF.

kait: your on, next season it is! Can't believe you can't make 09. Oh, wanted to pick up a point you made about Fed's comment re wanting to play Nadal. I agree, it was v nice. ed: it's chinese gooseberry, kiwis pinched the fruit's identity! :) He didn't look too bad in the green and white, I thought. Ed: thanks for your interjection in earlier. Was def refreshing to be able to correspond with someone of respectable intellect. I take back what I said about not minding this site. Own thread might be the way to evade the dim wits of this world.

What is this crap about coverage delayed due to an NFL game?? What is this??

Ed- I got that message too late, have been to sleep and woken up again hangover free. I did try going for a run, seemed to work whilst running but came back again after dinner. Will try the sweetened tea nxt time, ta. Oh god... lime green... surely not? Did I miss that section in this months Vogue? Haha my dad would not be impressed, he walked out to golf again yesterday in yet another lime green shirt. He also paired it with Nadal length shorts, gold shoes, long white socks, and a black cap. Oh and my dad does not have the long tanned legs of Rafa. What a disaster.

tensta- we may have piched the fruits identity, but can you blame us after what has been pinched from us by the aussies?? pavlova, phar lap, russell crowe etc etc. ok to be fair russell went willy nilly, but still. theres a whole ad about it, cant remember them all. looks like rafa is finally on court... c'mooooon rafa!

sstay: the green as in the green/white outfit is close to lime. But the colour in the poison snake outfit is an entirely different matter. It is an evil shade that only 1:500 women could wear. Each year there is an international colour council that decrees which colours for will be hot each season. Evidently this was one of them. If you like it and can wear it, wait for the sales - anything in it will be massively discounted.

I want Nadal to win but would prefer a final between murray and the Fed.

I dont think I have the nerves or stomach for this!!!!!!!!!!

that was retarded. how why and since when could rafa lose to murray?? im blaming exhaustion. im not very happy about it. I wonder what Rog is thinking, he wanted his revenge on rafa. cant believe murray is in the finals. Im in shock. Fed better bring his A game out again... if he can beat Djok tho he can beat Murray,surely. right??

i just dont see how that green is in! I've seen alot of orange and black around but green?? bah.

gutted have 2 miss the womens final today for work. i hate work sooo much at the mo. go serena anyway!

ooo and u guys see that dani has written about Gulbis... told ya he wasnt innocent.

oh kait, I tot you would put up a stornger fight about gooseberry :) Hey, I hope to catch W's final too. If you're going for SW, I'll go for JJ - altho I like SW too. All, I think popeye has better chance against Fed on than Rafa actually. He played better and is in-form, like RD said. I think he played better than Nole but Nole was more tired and and didn't handle the crown well I feel. Let's see... Hope he gets enuf rest tho.

I bet even Popeye didn't know he could play like that. What a performance.
And about those winning shots. I shouldn't have been bullied by more knowledgeable fans into retracting my statement a few days ago. Twice as many as Rafa managed and in spite of 35% more UE's than Rafa he still clocked nearly 20% more points overall.
Have never, ever seen Nadal look so unsure of himself.
Nole will be so busy dealing with Andy creeping up on him he wont have the energy to try to overhaul Rafa.

Shouldn't you all be bye byes by now?

ed, take that back. I've seen popeye play like that before and I said so. At the AO... AND Rafa looked so unsure (and frustrated) than already and SHOULD have lost that match but was lucky to win it. Also because popeye sustained an injury (rib?) altho he never used that as an excuse but the poor sod was grimacing in pain and tried to hide it form Rafa but cameras and crowd caught it.
I just can't wait if popeye wins it - kait will have to keep her bet promise to RD and NEVER watch tennis again! All, I think we should fly to Scotland after this and apologize to popeye for being mean to him.
Bye byes ed? I'm about to go to work..

Ok ok, murray played well. no doubt about it. But he did play a man who hadn't played a high ranked player, was absolutely exhausted from his season, is renowned for doing badly at the US Open, and who got a similar deal dealt to him in the last hard court grand slam. Nadal also played poorely, especially on the backhand side, I was pretty shocked. If Federer plays like Federer tomorrow and serves well, I don't think Murray will win. I think Djok played better against Fed than Nadal did against Murray. Time for me to go to work now, cyahs

There was a sense of inevitability after Andy broke back in the 4th set. by then, Andy had already clocked up 18 break points and Rafa only 3. If rafa had to lose, it would have to be someone like Andy. It was sad but Andy deserved the win. He played smart. he's such a strategic player, the angles were amazing. his game plan was to return serve well and he executed this plan well as he was winning a lot of points at the rallies. The hug at the end was tear-jerking. Andy's response was just great. None of that chest thumping, how great I am crap. Read the interviews for both at the USO site. rafa was fatigued, as we knew. I hope Andy can rest up enough and wins the finals.
I can now live with his unpruned sideburns and canines.
Ed, tenstar, Andy did play as well - in Toronto when he last lost to rafa. i saw that match and rafa said that too in the interview, that it was very close, could have gone either way. there was one big point when andy netted a ball and rafa's reaction was huge - like he knew how hard it was to win points against andy.

He's obviously in his element on that surface. He's worked hard and is doing very well and he deserved to win - not that everyone else didn't, but well done to him. Should be a good match between him and Fed. Fed looked a bit more relaxed after beating Nole (understandably) in the interview so he must be in good space after such a tough season. I'll be going for Andy as the underdog but best of luck to both of them - they so deserve to be in the final.

tenstar - my broadband mobile modem at home has packed up so I won't have internet AH. not sure when I can get replacement. we'll need to touch base re your trip to adel, so I'll try to check here but if I'm silent it means busy with work and can't log on, ok.

no worries. I've actually emailed Cheryl before - wonder if she'd mind an inappropriate request to pass you my email. I don't want to put it here given the bunny-boilers that lurk on this website. Alternatively, you can find me at the state lb all day from 25-27 via rego desk or something. You catching the men's final? I need to check what time and get up without waking our house guest from adel!

I'm so nervous already. Just dont know how I am gonna handle tomorrow. Federer SHOULD win. I can't handle the thought of his losing again. This is killing me already.

Oh no kait, calm down. Fed's got a huge edge of popeye because of his experience and skills. OK he hasn't been playing as well this year as in the last 4 years, but even IF he doesn't win, he'll be back next season for sure. He's not going away soon or that easily. It should be a good match and everyone's gonna be nervous so you're not alone.

I agree Andy has earned everybody's respect and we should be kinder. We could start by stopping calling him popeye! Pity tho.
The way he has upped the anti and improved every aspect of his game is seriously impressive. And at last he seems to be working on his image.

Perhaps someone on his support team (there are enough of them for god's sake) must have read and passed on our gratuitous advice. To start with, his clothes which we have already commented upon (pity about the length of the shorts but never mind) are greatly improved. As is his comportment. e.g. he kept his head up, his shoulders back and I didn't spot any drooping and shuffling during the SF.

If he wins tonight perhaps one of the grooming product companies will want him for endorsements and do something about the hirsute aspect.

Whatever, things are livening up. If it continues on this path we are in for a lot fun next season as they all jockey for the top top positions. Popeye, whoops I meant to say Andy, will go from strength to strength; Roger will stage a major comeback; Nadal will regain his temporary loss of focus; and Djokovic will have some counselling to iron out his attitude problems.

We will also have the fun of watching the other familiar names yoyo-ing in and out of the top 10 amongst the other familiar names. Plus we have the up and coming younger brigade to keep the big boys on their toes. I am still sitting on the fence about the staying power of Dell Boy, Gublis, Cilic, Monfils etc. but it will be interesting to see how they develop and if they can remain on course.

Please dont ask me to declare who I want to win tonight.

Wow...see there's some control on the website to curb the spam presumably, or us? Good. I must object to stopping with the popeye name, it's an affectionate one, nothing mean meant by it. Plus, potential confusion with ARod. Did you see the pic of popeye and rog on the uso website 'facing' each other in 'yawp'? Fed doesn't look too bad but I've to say popeye looks like he just got let out for good behaviour! The sideburns definitely need to be mowed down to skin surface level. Do you think Nadal has temp loss of focus, ed? I just think it's his hard court problem. He suffers the same thing at AO, although technically, I guess it's plexicusion now, was rebound ace (rubberised version) before. I think cilic could be a force, the problem with them all is staying away from injury.
Get off the fence ed, we're all side takers here. You need to pick a winner!

If he wins - and it's a big IF because I think Roger is in the groove - he could spend his winnings on 'top of the range' orthodontics. If he were to, he should at all costs avoid whoever it was produced the gnashers for Query.

I'm trying to think what the last shot of him on the USO site match report reminds me of.
I know. It's the face one would pull to ward of an attack by a wild animal.

OK: I'm going with Roger in 4 sets. Based on his performance against the Serb, his experience of the big stage and his record in GS finals. 1, 3 & 4 for him, 2nd to Murray.

I was wondering the same thing about the hold-up in posting. I hope it's not because of us! It must be the spam problem surely.

What's CBS up to? She should have been back from work by now. Stopped off no doubt to stock up on Tequila and Vodka.

CBS most likely in bed, must be very late that side. I'm watching the replay of popeye-nadal being shown now. Than to bed in prep for the final. The big stage thing is my only concern. Otherwise, he's 2-0 head to head with Rog but this is GS and FINAL! Had never beaten nadal before and did now in SF split over 2 days which was hard. Either way, it should interesting. Poor sstay, losing connection....

I was thinking the same thing. She must be having withdrawal symptoms

I do think Rafa has been less focussed during this tourny. But then everyone (or most people) rather expected he would have a post-Bejing reacton. plus as you say clay is not his favourite.

correction: for clay read hard

Was about to write - Federer has awoken from his long sleep. But now gross errors are creeping in.

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Have waited a very long year for this... am shocked he actually managed to win the US Open for the FIFTH straight time. What an absolute legend... couldn't be happier. And he hardly even made me nervous! What an amazing 1st set he played! If he had served well he woulda whipped Murray even more! I couldn't be happier even if I didn't have the flu. YAY Roger!!!!

Oh and just so u all know what I went thru... woke up about 5 times last night, had dreams about tiebreakers, missed second serves, 5 stters, andy murray (now when hes in ur dreams its not good) anjd woke up covered in sweat. 2 be fair i am pretty sick and had 2 go home from work yesterday so that prob explians the sweating.. but boy does that win feel goood!

hi all, connecting from work. I didn't know that ch 9 was airing the finals, so I got up at normal time, only to see Andy 2 sets down. oh well good for Roger. Felt sorry for Andy as I really wanted himt to win. did anyone watch? was it fatigue? how did Andy play?

sstay: it appears to have been nerves, he was a bit tight, understandable, big stage. But credit to rog too he didn't really let murray play his game. there was some knee issue with murray but doesn't appear to have been bad. We'll hear interviews soon I'm sure. he still did well to get those angles. Don't fret about the telecast, it was delayed so crap because hard to get into the match when you know the result or it's ahead of you. I hate it when they do that, don't know why you'd bother. very disappointing. i suppose they have commitments because of the delay from rain. looks to be murray's fav surface so I think we'll see more of him. I'm glad he at least made the finals which I don't think henman ever did at a major. ed must be in bed! kait I hope you didn't get sick because of the worry!

No I'm not.

OK CBS it is. Tell me, why is it OK for Roger to have a private jet but you think it is poncy if EG has one?

If it werent for the fact that it is the middle of the night here, I would be raising a glass with you. I was so pleased for the Fed (there was a moment in the 2nd set when I thought he was going to stall).

I admire your steadfast faith in him when all around you were jumping on the 'has he had his day' bandwagon.

Very surprised he didn;t breakdown in tears. Was expecting a major, full blown crying session.

Am off tomorrow to Helzinki for a week for the Sibelius Music Festival courtesy of all my friends who donated the funds as a Big '0' birthday present.
Many years ago the BF I was hoping to marry walked out on me never to be seen again after I announced at a dinner party that anybody could Seduce me to Sibelius's Sixth*. I still haven't learnt to think twice before I open my mouth. Dont know any Finns ( yet ) but will report back if the music works. The FBF is staying at home to look after the dog.

sstay: please post details of the upcoming book so I can pre-order on Amazon. Am v.v.impressed you are being published by such a prestigious house.

tenstar: is it really possible to exchange e-mail addresses via CM? If so, please fill me in on protocol. I would so like to hook up together if I get myself to Australia. But in any case I will keep scanning here to keep track of you all.

*one of my Desert Island Discs choices

Bye for now.

Oops, didn't mean to insinuate you're lazy and in bed! :) Helsinki sounds nice, have fun. Ya, wondered about what the diff was bw them owning/having access to pte jet, one being poncy. ss tay is listing under you? can search with it and pcode. or just realised I created that tenstar a/c to contact cm, need to look it up and make sure pw still works because it's not my actual personal one. cud also create another one I suppose. still, with BBBs hanging around, one never can tell what these (half priced :) pork chops are capable of.

have a good trip, Ed!! I don't think you could change your personality even if you tried, I mean the opening your mouth bit. It is part of your charm!! re the book, I'll publish my own website very soon with details of my book. early days yet, bk out only in april 09. at this stage, not sure if it will be available thro amazon.
tenstar - haven't got an email from cheryl yet. if all fails, go to the unisa website and look for web enquiries - all submissions from there come to my team. should be quite intuitive to find.

tenstar: Can you give some more clues. I know you travel for your work and are International!

re. what happened 2 murray. he came up against a better player, thats what happened. No Murray played fine, nervous and seemed scared of net, and served pretty badly- but so did Roger. Roger played like Roger Federer in the 1st and 3rd set, it was a joy to watch. The second was scary but he pulled thru. I TOLD people he was still the bestest... haha, but 2 be fair even I didn't expect him to beat Djokovic. Once he beat Novak I thught he must have the title. What a legend. Haha and its not renewed faith, I'm a Roger girl thru and thru... just don't have the same lust for him I have for Gulbis etc, but thats cos hes Mirkas.

Haha Rog flys a private jet?? Fair enough then. Gulbis can go in one of he wants too... don't really care!

I was fully expecting tears too!!! He seemed prety happy tho... guess he woulda cried if it had bin close.

Was on late shift 2nite but came home sick/
Wish I was going on holiday Ed I'm sick of cruddy NZ... nobody knew why I was sooo happy 2day haha.

YAY!!!

kaite: Couldn't believe neither of them could manage more than 3 aces after reaching the 20's in their respective SF. Shows how tense they both were.

tenstar: With so many young players coming up through the ranks, France's tennis starr is shining bright................ ?

ed, you've lost me. I read you messages earlier but no idea what they're about. Are you asking me something? Cryptic messages I've written? When I'm sober, I'll read them again? When are you back from Helsinki or checking here again? We need to get you on board in the private chat room sector. sstay and I are having a feast of a time. Did you read the interviews of Nadal after he lost to Murray and Murray after he lost Fed? Absolute champs ed. Nadal said he lost because Murray played better than him and he had no excuses; and Murray, despite being asked by press if fatigue, schedule, rain delay and knee were problems, he said no, Fed played great. 21 years old and such a professional young man. I'm now def a fan with huge respect for the lad!

tenstar no wonder you are confused - I mis-read the post
tenstar - haven't got an email from cheryl yet. if all fails, go to the unisa website and look for web enquiries - all submissions from there come to my team. should be quite intuitive to find.
which was from sstay to you; not the other way round: There is a Frances Starr listed and thought this might be you.................so now I need to be intuitive and find sstay at her workplace.
Feel rather left out - whats this about a private Aussie mafia chat room?
Back home 17th will look here then

tenstar- Nadal didn't make excuses, he said give full credit to Murray, but he made it pretty clear he wasn't 100%. To one of the questions that went along the lines of "what happened today" he replied "84 matches". Don't get me wrong, I am fully impressed Nadal showed a bit of honesty, he actually reminded me of Roger in that interview. I was fully suprised. He kind of tried to give full credit to Murray, but he made it pretty clear he was tired at didn't play 100%. What a change!

Murray had no bloody excuses, he got completely outplayed. If he blamed his knee, rain delay, fatigue, he would of sounded like the biggest tosser in the whole wide world. I'm not gonna give him credit for not making pathetic excuses! Thats expected of him! I mean he really did get totally outplayed in the first and third sets.

ed- yeah they both served shit. But I do think it had something to do with super windy conditions as opposed to nerves. A combination, I believe. Its SO frustrating when Fed can't get a first serve it, man its annoying!

Kait - but Rafa WASN'T 100% - he wasn't citing that as an excuse. It WAS a fact that he had played more matches than any of the others coming into USO. Fact vs excuse. note ALSO that after he lost, he raised his hands and clapped to the crowd, his way of thanking them instead of leaving in a huff and a pout the way some players do. read his blog http://www.rafaelnadal.com/nadal/en/blog
and this article
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/usopen/2707880/New-York-lame nts-Rafael-Nadals-US-Open-exit---Tennis.html
quote "If defeat can ever be a triumph then Rafael Nadal made it so with his magnificent exit from Flushing Meadows. Andy Murray was the better man, he said. No excuses. His words were those of a champion, a Spanish gallant. Win with honour, lose with grace."
- no complaints about the rain, the wind, the change of court, the one day delay.

ed and Kait - no, no, it's not OZ mafia chat room, although the idea turns me on. tenstar and I needed to touch base re her trip to adel, we didn't mean to leave you out. I will investigate the possibility of a blog as emails between 4 pp is not practical anyway. but give me some time as I'm flat out. speak to you ed after 17th.

sorry ed, didn't mean to leave you out. we've been trying to figure out a way to get you guys on, esp you because of your pending trip. but yeah, if you can decipher the da vinci code, great. i'm familiar with the system but not that difficult if you take other clues sstay mentioned in the past. don't worry we'll figure something out.
Outplayed? It's understadable he had nerves. If you want outplayed, see FO final. we know you don't like him, thats fine. unlike some nutcases, i can accept you're entitled to opinion, so we'll just agree to disagree on this one.

Interesting... I do like Nadal. Hes a great guy, I've said that a million times. Hes not one of my top five favs, but I do really like him. I never said he made excuses, hence why I wrote: 'Nadal didn't make excuses', I was just commenting on the fact that for once he admitted what was wrong - throughout Rome etc he never did that! Being compared to Federer, in my eyes, is never ever a bad thing. I completely 100% agree he was not physically fantastic. I'm not gonna say he woulda beaten Murray had he of been (because thats a ridiculous thing 2 say), but no doubt it would of been a different story somewhat. And I agree he was nice to go sign those things and stuff.

I just think its ridiculous you guys think I don't like him when I do!! If I didn't I would say, trust me, don't hear me holding back on Murray now do ya. Just because I like Federer better dosn't mean I don't like Nadal.

Nerves or not, Murray was outplayed. He hit 16 measly winners. Agreed, Federer was outplayed in RG. No reason two people can't be outplayed in the same year tho.

I do kinda constantly feel like I'm defending myself that I do like Nadal!! I was supporting him all the way up till Wimbledon against everybody except Federer, Blake, and probably Roddick. After Wimbledon I'm so scared of Fed losing to the guy again I find it hard 2 go for him- but thats all to do with my love for Roger and NOTHING to do with the way I feel about Nadal. man being sick SUCKS.
I'll just wait till you guys have this chat room or blog or whichever and just let me know, I'm hopeless at that kinda thing.

I don't think I said you don't like RN did I? I actually meant popeye because you said before you like some things about nadal but not his game, so I knew that. Anyway, forget about it, I'm tired of the whole thing. Didn't get much sleep so cranky. And I'm sorry you're sick. What is it? Flu or something else? Get plenty of rest, but than you know better than me what you need to do. Agree about the bl**by blog. But sstay's really busy right now and I'm kinda under the pump too. You have any ideas? Cud create a fake email just for initial contact. Hey, are you really sure you can't make AO next yr? Didn't you also say you're moving to Melb with bf, is that next year? Once you do that, you're set for AO. Hey do you guys like this new 'speech bubble' thingy on thie website? I'm still trying to get use to it but it looks kinda nice. Was just so used to the old design. kait, just bot a mag with lost of gulbis pics. From now on he's gonna remind me of you, and the orange-face muppet ernie from sesame street!

ooo maybe I misread u, sweet as. Yeah Nadal's lovely, I'll like him alot more when Rog or him retire (which hopefully won't happen for a long time). I dunno if its cold or flu, my bro seems to have it alot worse than me... maybe its flu and my immune system is just superior haha.
have u guys thought about msn?? i know its pretty 15yr old but its not hard 2 download and u can chat. but u cant like write so i guess thats gay. ive got no ideas other than that. I'm pretty sure wont be able to make AO (trust me, I'm gutted). Have to hang out in NZ for a bit longer whilst josh qualifies, and I'll just have a new job so I'll still be relativily broke, but more to the point I doubt I'll be able to get annual leave. If I could get the time off I cud prob go but oh well. Oooo u got a mag with lots of Gulbis!!! LUCKY! Haha I remember seasame street... just! I don't think I watched it but there were those tickle me elmos for a while. cant really remember what ernie looks like... think I had a stuffed toy of him?? Ernie and Bert wasnt it? Yeah dont really remember him so ur not gonna ruin my Gulbis fantasies for me!! Haha. U guys can e-mail me on kaitepai@yahoo.co.nz its not my real e-mail so I don't care what happens to it haha. So yeah, u 3 do that if ur keen.

Kait, I'm sorry, I misread what you wrote - that you were saying rafa was giving excuses.I only had a quick squiz and replied immediately. but really it doesn't matter either way. we're entitled to like or dislike any player. sorry about miscommunication.

Hallo I'm back. Having fun catching up with the messages posted while I was away.
Fascinated by the interview Nadal gave after his loss at USO. What a gent he is. And what a change from the usual defensive remarks from most players.
Also watched the video of Nole's tirade after his A-Rod match. What a prat he is.
He was really likable last year and I was pleased for him when he won the AO. Up until then he had a sense of humour both on and off the court, but ever since he has become more and more moody and has given way to some weird behaviour e.g. suddenly withdrawing in the SF at Monte Carlo with a somewhat flimsy excuse. His recourse to medical time out is well documented and has resulted in him losing a lot of the popular support he had previously enjoyed. During he post match interview in NY he looked positively manic. He seems not to understand why he went from being loved to actively disliked. The man definitely needs some help if he is not to end up as a paranoid wreck.