Female fans explain why they love Nadal.

Click here.

Soderling interview after Rotterdam win.

Click here.

Federer’s delimma.

Now that he has practically everything anyone would desire – professionally and personally – the limit to which he can go to express his graciousness may be tempered by how he behaved when things were moving in the opposite direction.

With a pattern already established on how much of a bad loser he has been over and over again – any added stress to act gracious now will only highlight the gulf between two extremes.

That’s one of the main reasons most greats work to maintain an even keel to keep the disparity at its barest minimum.

With Federer, there’s probably not ONE loss that didn’t bring out the worst in him further exacerbating the effect of his overly gracious and magnanimous acts now.

For rock people here are some jewels:

AO loss to Nadal: Cries.

Cincy loss to Djokovic: Long face at award ceremony.

Loss to Murray: Makes snide comment on his game.

Loss to Davydenko: Hand shake at the net gives it away.

FO loss to Nadal: Refuses to talk to press etc. etc.

Contrast all that to the extra friendliness displayed to the opponent every time he wins. While that level is not expected at a loss, the complete drop to the bottom opens up the debate on what kind of person he really is.

If that’s not enough, just look at other tennis players – some in the current era – who have endured much greater setbacks – professionally and personally – with lot more fortitude and grace.

‘Real measure of a person is ONLY when times get tough’ seals the deal. All that charity and being gracious to your colleagues starts to appear like a facade devoid of content and substance.

ANY time you judge a person at any other time, you will NEVER get close to the real deal.

That’s why, in my opinion, there are only three ways to find out who is who:

1. Be a neighbor.

2. Travel on a long tedious journey with a person.

3. Be in business for sometime.

Everything else from how religious a person is to how much charity he does to how sweet he talks to how good he looks to how much of a family man someone is to how considerate he is……. is all blah blah blabaty blah.

If you fail the ‘tough time’ test, you are just fooling the people with the mask since the perception of who you really are on any other barometer is not only inaccurate, it’s downright criminal.

Bottom line: This John Edwards-like obsession at being portrayed as a nice man lacks the basic ingredient leaving the effort fruitless if not deceiving.

Did you know?

……that every ten years you get a whole new body? Yeah, the process is on right now – old cells  dying new ones taking birth.

I use this every time someone asks me to repay a loan – I’m not the person you loaned the money to.

Photos.

Federer says he has more drive than Nadal…huh! From arbit. Thanks.

ARBIT

Federer says he has more drive than Nadal…huh!

Click here.

Tournament director in Marseill calms down. From Jenny. Thanks.

JENNY

Here is the latest audio interview with Francois Caujolle, tournament director in Marseille. He does not want Andy suspended, he’s calmed down from a previous report in the Daily Express, and now merely pointing out a player’s responsibility to a tournament, which I think is reasonable under the circumstances.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8516971.stm

Andy Murray should be suspended from ATP tour, says French tennis official. From Sol / Monique. Thanks.

SOL/MONIQUE

Click here.

Choosing/Replacing Balls. From Claire. Thanks.

CLAIRE

Here you go TP! From USTA.com

Choosing/Replacing Balls

Q. With most of the top players going to their bag for a new racquet upon the introduction of new balls, what happens when a ball is miss-hit into the stands? Are new balls put in or do the ball handlers go short?

A. You are referring to a fan-friendly initiative that was established for the 2005 US Open. On the three stadium courts, when a ball bounces or flies into the crowd, the fan that catches the ball gets to keep it.

These balls are replaced at the end of that particular game. Prior to the match, the umpire walks on court with a bag full of balls that have been worn to varying degrees. If a one-game old ball is hit into the crowd it will be replaced with a newer ball than if an eight-game old ball is lost.

Q. Just wanted to know what the pros look for in a ball when they pick up three balls and look at them, then choose two before they serve.

A. Generally, players try to choose the ball with the least amount of fluff on it. That way, when they serve, it travels through the air faster. However, some baseline retrievers might look for the fluffiest (or heaviest) ball to slow down a powerful opponent. Lastly, sometimes players are just trying to gather their thoughts, and they use the ritual of finding a “lucky” ball to slow themselves down between points.

Remember, at the professional level, six new balls are switched after the first seven games (and the five-minute warm-up) and then every nine games thereafter.

Q. Before serving, I noticed most of the professionals examine multiple tennis balls before they pick two. What are they looking for, and why?

A. For some players this may simply be an idle pre-point ritual. While they fiddle with the balls, they are actually focused entirely on what they need to try to do in order to win the next point. For others, it is a case of them choosing the balls that will best suit them. For example, a big server will look for the least-worn (newest) ball, so that it flies through the air fastest. Conversely, a baseline “grinder” might seek worn, fluffy balls to slow the pace of play a little. Lastly, some players are simply superstitious and they are looking for the “lucky ball” or, perhaps, the ball they used to win the last point.

Q. After how many games do they give out new balls?

A. During most sanctioned USTA tournaments, you start with one can of balls and then only after splitting sets do you get three “fresh” balls for the third set.

If you are talking about during professional matches, then balls are switched after the first seven games (because the warm-up counts as two games of “use”) and then every nine games thereafter. Six balls are used at all times during Tour matches.

By the way, I strongly advocate that recreational players use six balls when they play as well, because less time will be spent chasing down stray balls and players will get to hit more balls per hour on-court.

Q. A friend of mine had a Golf magazine and it stated that maybe the PGA needs to make the pro golfers use a different ball than the common player due to the distances a pro golfer can hit a normal golf ball. The article stated that in Tennis it is a well known fact that the pro tournaments use a different ball than what the common player would use because the pros would hit the normal ball much to fast. Is this true?

A. No. This is false.

Sometimes the women use a different (regular duty felt) ball than do the men (extra duty felt) during hard court tournaments. In fact, this occurs at the US Open. This is designed to “speed up” the women’s game and to “slow down” the men’s game, if only marginally. But, no… the balls that professional players use in tournaments can be purchased over the counter.

Q. Recently, I was in an argument with my neighbor because he said the tennis balls for women’s matches at the US Open were actually lighter and smaller. He said that it was to help “speed” the play of the ball and the matches. Is this true? – I have watched many professional matches and I have never heard that.

A. I am not sure that I would categorize the balls as being lighter or smaller, but your neighbor is generally correct. The women use regular duty felt balls while the men play with extra-duty felt during the US Open. If his facts are a little off, at least his reasoning is accurate. This selection was designed to increase the ball speed in women’s game and to slow down the velocity of the balls in the men’s game.

Q. The pros always look at a few balls before rejecting one when they’re about to serve. What are they looking for? Why would they choose one over another?

A. New balls are used after the first seven games, and then after nine games, during professional matches. Hard servers like the newest balls because they tend to fly through the air faster before their knap gets all fuzzy. On the other side of the coin, I believe that defensive baseliners actually seek the biggest and fluffiest balls- which is the opposite of big servers. Some players ask for the same “lucky” ball with which they just won the last point. And still some others might examine balls before serving as a part of their pre-point ritual.

So, there are lots of explanations but finding the “newest” ball is the most common reason.

Q. If I freeze a tennis ball before a match, will it improve my game?

A. Ahhh, I doubt it.

Although, you might have recognized that some tournaments- notably Wimbledon- keep the cans of tennis balls refrigerated prior to opening them for matches. Presumably, this is to help the playability of the balls. We do NOT practice this at the US Open.

Capra outlasts Watson in three-hour marathon

Live chat thread for Marseille, Memphis, Buenos Aires.

JENNY

Hi TP, We’re ready for a new live chat thread for Marseille, Memphis, Buenos Aires. Thanks.