Santoro lucky to be alive.

 

Did you see the two bullets that grazed Santoro few minutes ago? Last one paralysed him so much he could barely move.

Roddick’s serve reached speeds as high as 148 mph to move him past Santoro to face a very dangerous Gulbis in the second round. Roddick may have looked sharper than he really was, with Santoro across the net. But Roddick has gone out in the first round here – twice – 2000 and 2005, so he must have been excited to move on.

Roddick’s shoulder and neck seemed impeccable and his movement appeared classic, raising hopes for a scintillating encounter in the next round.

Santoro appeared flustered and embarrassed for the thrashing Roddick was dishing out. He was taking it too seriously considering whom he was playing, at what venue and what the age disparity was. It’s not the opponent’s responsibility to not hit a body serve. YOU need to have the reflexes to either get out of the way with some grace or make contact with the ball.

There’s no point in making a scene by not even attempting to play the last point just because you got humiliated due to your own snail pace. Lighten up or go home. Just because you have played so many tournaments in your career doesn’t mean jack on the court. There’s a reason players retire. If you haven’t figured that out yet, you will – very soon, with more than your ego bruised if you keep that attitude.

So where do the three contenders stand after one match a piece.

Djokovic clearly had the highest degree of difficulty (Clement), followed by Nadal. If that’s a given, Djokovic is ahead by a mile. With that as a yardstick, he has the most impressive numbers so far across the board. Other than the first serve percentage (64 vs 74 and 73 from Federer and Nadal), all numbers work in Djokovic’s favor.

While this is just after one match, these numbers are significant in view of where the three are positioned currently and what’s on the table and at stake.

Federer is attempting to salvage his season after winning the confidence boosting Olympic gold medal. Nadal is testing the water first time after plunging into the No. 1 rank stream. And Djokovic is desperate to pick up a hard court title in the second half of the season to validate his stake as the best hard court player in the world.

Being the last Grand Slam of the year, this is the final shot at making your statement.

Nadal is clearly lagging behind with his unusually high UE count (35), 15 percent break point conversion and three hours on the court. It’s understandable since he has logged the most minutes and played the most matches – 78 compared to just 59 and 61 from Federer and Djokovic respectively. But isn’t that what comes with the territory, if you are No. 1 in the world? You have to win and play more matches than most players.

So this could be the first test for Nadal to see if he can sustain that perch at the top, by continuing this streak without using the ‘tired’ excuse to wimp out. With the break he has had, hopefully he will be able to recuperate and hit his stride again.

Federer is not too far from that landscape. The spike in confidence and conviction that Olympic gold was supposed to generate is still not visible. Or at least it has not translated itself on to the court yet. He still has one more match to get it all together, for based on his showing this year, just Stepanek (3rd round) will kick start the uphill journey this time.

With the pressure off, Federer is last of the three expected to win the title. That’s as much an uncharted territory for him as it is for Nadal playing his first major as world’s No. 1. Will that invigorate Federer to win his fifth straight US Open, or this is just another disappointment waiting to happen?

Nadal blogging from the USO. From RishA. Thanks.

RishA

http://timesonline.typepad.com/rafael_nadal/
Nadal blogging from the USO.

How come the head band area is darker than the rest of the freaking face? Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Geezzz!!!

Contenders: US Open.

Joker	Aces	Ist serve pct.	Sets lost/ Tie bks	Unforced. Errors - Total	Bk pt conv %	Time on court.	Matches played
Federer	84	65	3 / 4	187	37	13:55	6
Nadal	20	68	2 / 3	125	53	12:28	5 OUT
Djokovic	58	65	4 / 4	166	62	14:23	5 OUT

How tennis influences fashion, and vice versa.

The Case Against Uniforms

How tennis influences fashion, and vice versa.

By Lauren Murrow – New York Fashion Magazine.

• Published Aug 17, 2008

(Photo: The Granger Collection, New York)

1528
King Henry VIII builds a tennis court at Hampton Court Palace and commissions suits—most likely “tall stockings, short blist’red breeches,” as in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII—for the ensuing matches.

 

1867
The “croquet sandal,” featuring a laced canvas top with a rubber sole, makes its debut. The original sneaker offers players a solution to unsightly grass stains.

 

(Photo: The Granger Collection, New York)

1886
Women dress in aristocratic style—ground-grazing skirts with voluminous bustles, corsets, high necklines, and floppy hats. The game is rechristened “pat ball” as women gingerly tap the ball over the net.

 

(Photo: The Granger Collection, New York)

1919
Suzanne Lenglen wins Wimbledon in a knee-length dress with three-quarter sleeves and a widely imitated bandeau. (Women reportedly walk out, calling the display “shocking.”)

 

(Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

1920
Big Bill Tilden ushers in the golden age of tennis sporting a preppy array of cable knits and V-neck sweaters.

 

1927
René Lacoste earns the nickname “the Crocodile” after he makes a pre-match bet over a crocodile-skin suitcase. He later has a croc emblem embroidered onto his shirts and blazers.

 

(Photo: Bettmann/Corbis)

1933
Helen Jacobs breaks out Bermuda shorts at Forest Hills. The Prince of Wales later weighs in: “They are … quite the most practical costume for the game, and I don’t think the wearers lose anything in looks.”

 

(Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

1949
“Gorgeous” Gussy Moran scandalizes Wimbledon by revealing lace-trimmed panties beneath her skirt. Photographers lie flat on the ground in order to shoot her knickers.

 

(Photo: AP)

1968
Arthur Ashe wins the first U.S. Open sporting an ahead-of-its-time hipster ensemble: short shorts and bookish black-rimmed glasses.

 

1970
Television viewers complain that they can’t tell the players apart in their all-white suits. For the first time, the U.S. Open permits pastel.

 

1974
While playing for the Philadelphia Freedoms, “Battle of the Sexes” champ Billie Jean King gives admirer Elton John a uniform. In turn, John writes “Philadelphia Freedom” for her.

 

(Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

1976
Sweatband-wearing Swedish heartthrob Björn Borg takes the first of five consecutive Wimbledons. Later, he founds a clothing line known for its boldly patterned underwear.

 

(Photo: John P. Kelly/Getty Images)

1981
An unusually festive John McEnroe wins his first Wimbledon singles title on the Fourth of July wearing a blue-and-white striped polo shirt, matching tube socks, and a red sweatband.

 

(Photo: Getty Images)

1985
Leggy blonde Anne White takes the court at Wimbledon in a curve-hugging white unitard, distracting her opponent, Pam Shriver. Though the attire satisfies requirements, officials request that she dress more traditionally the following day.

 

1987
Chris Evert halts play at the U.S. Open when she loses her diamond-studded wristlet on the court. Jewelers like Tiffany & Co. and Bulgari promptly create their own versions of the “tennis bracelet.”

 

(Photo: Mike Powell/Getty Images)

1990
Andre Agassi plays the French Open in hot pink. The tournament’s director says he might institute a white-clothing rule. Agassi calls him a “bozo” and segues, briefly, into a lime-green phase.

 

1991
In a hotly anticipated moment, Agassi removes his warm-up suit at Wimbledon to reveal an all-white ensemble, with white Lycra shorts peeking out from under white denim; the crowd erupts in applause.

 

(Photo: Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

2002
U.S. Open champ Serena Williams plays in a shiny, skintight black bodysuit: the infamous “catsuit.”

 

(Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

2004
Bethanie Mattek arrives at the U.S. Open poured into a formfitting leopard-print ensemble. She loses, but continues to dress for future Opens as though attending a Halloween party.

 

(Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)

2007
Maria Sharapova fails to defend her U.S. Open title despite wearing a Nike dress encrusted with 600 Swarovski crystals, inspired by the Manhattan skyline.

 

(Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters)

July 2008
The riveting athletic rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal again spills into the fashion domain at Wimbledon.

 

August 2008
Ninety-fourth-ranked Vince Spadea qualifies for the U.S. Open. The charismatic amateur rapper (sample lyric: “playing singles, mixed, and dubs, slugging passing shots and mugs”) sells tees reading “Spadea Ain’t Afraid of Ya.”

Did you know you have just a limited number of minutes on this planet? And that they can end anytime?

The best way to invest those minutes is to enjoy all the good things you have around you – thoroughly, while NEVER bringing up all the BS you have gone through / are going through.

Don’t give the wrong stuff any power by talking about it, thinking about it, whatever.

Sit down NOW and write down all the blessings you have. You have never done that, haven’t you? Blessings include your sight, hearing, ability to close your eye lids, sleep etc. Go back and read them every freaking night before you, OK, go to sleep.

Remember no one has the complete package. Not even Federer.

That officially ends all I can remember of this BS I read /  heard somewhere. You are now free to go back to your stupid negative thoughts and actions. Geeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzz!!!!

What do Federer and Graf have in common?

Is this the worst time for Roddick to be looking for a coach? Duh!!!

Other than having ‘Roddick’ on their resume, no sane coach is thinking he can turn this ship around now. The coach, other than the high profile ones, will be the one benefiting the most from the union. Only someone who has nothing to lose from the union is going to step up to the plate.

Can you even imagine a Brad Gilbert or a Cahill even touching this ‘destined to go down ship’ with a nine foot pole now? 

Federer is in quite a similar boat. It’s just that Roddick is sailing a few miles ahead of him. How? Because Jose has not quit yet – like Connors.

How envious must both these jokers be of Nadal?

But both of them are to blame, significantly, for where they are today. Roddick ran through coaches in his hey day like there was no tomorrow. Well, tomorrow is here, and pickings are going to be few and far between, if any.

Two reasons that have contributed hugely to Roddick’s woes are:

1. Physical break down.

2. Getting engaged just when he needed that extra focus and discipline to fight the younger generation.

Roddick started the year with tremendous promise: Winning two titles at San Jose and Dubai while defeating Nadal and Djokovic back to back in straight freaking sets. Then he capped it by taming his nemesis Federer at Miami.

He even followed all that up with a surprising semifinal showing on clay at Rome and then reached the semifinal again at Queens before Nadal took care of him.

Unfortunately that was also the time he declared his most stupid decision too: Engagement to some exhibitionist.

Result: Lack of focus resulting in physical weaknesses flaring up to spell doom.

While Roddick has come back from the dead in the past, this is not the most ideal time to be repeating or attempting it. Why? Because the younger, hungrier crowd has arrived for real. When the newly crowned world’s No. 1 player is already under attack, you are just a minor annoyance on their road to the top.

Roddick first priority has to be returning to his old self physically (Duh!!!) while shifting his new flame to the back burner until order is restored. He may also need to revise his strategy on the tour to gun ONLY for the majors to fend off that ‘one slam wonder’ label.

What he does anywhere else pales big time in comparison to that ‘one slam wonder’ deal. It’s to him what No. 14 or 15 is to Federer. Everything else is all BS now.

What these past US Open champions looked like in the past.

Roddick looking for a coach. From Ricke.Thanks.

RICKE

Andy Roddick is on the look out for a new coach according to his article. Patrick McEnroe is helping out for now and his brother is out. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/usopen08/columns/story?columnist=garber_greg&id=3554266