Photos.

NEW YORK – AUGUST 31: Jelena Ristic, girlfriend of Novak Djokovic of Serbia, watches his first round men’s single’s match on day two of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Wonder who initiated it?

Lindt Lindor Truffles and Roger Federer “Airport” TV Commercial — Extended Cut. From Sol. Thanks.

SOL

Rafa’s self-designed Richard Mille Tourbillon watch stolen? From M. Thanks.

M

Rafa’s self-designed Richard Mille Tourbillon watch stolen?

Click here.

Between the legs shot already from Federer @ this USO? From Overcaffeinated. Thanks.

OVERCAFFEINATED

And Roger has done it again…

Not as sweet as the one against Nole (given Nole was covering the net and that it brought up match point in that particular match), but it is pretty darned close and just as sweet to view. The (blink and you’ll miss it) reaction from Dabul was wonderful to see as well

Contenders: US Open 2010.

Player	Aces	Ist serve pct.	Sets lost	Unforced errors / Winners	Bk pt conv %	Time on court.	Matches played
Nadal	37	63	0	135 / 163 = +28	41	14:23	6
Federer	74	60	0	133 / 183 = +50	53	8:52	5 OUT
Djokovic	22	68	4	198 / 186 = -8	48	15:45	6
Murray	20	58	0	43 / 69	56	3:16	2 OUT

Change at next year’s US Open.

With the ‘Polo’ sign on the linespeople shirts getting bigger and bigger every year, the company has now decided to take the next step claiming its not helping:

Linespeople will now be sitting on a horse with that ‘polo’ stick – naked. Company spokesman later clarified with a warning that if that fails to fire up sales, things can get ugly – on and around the horse.

Baseball player wants to be a ballboy at US Open? From Bettyjane. Thanks.

BETTYJANE

Click here.

This live streaming from US Open is fantastic or freaking what?

It’s like being right there – with picture in picture, screen swap ability, wall to wall coverage, commentary, the freaking works. Why can’t we freaking have it at ALL tournaments.

Great job, turkey necks!!!!!!!!!!!

Who has screwed up whose career/life and who is most bitter about it?

You have to understand that tennis players at the top-level are ultra ultra ultra competitive by nature to the point where it comes very close to being diagnosed as a personality disorder. Not winning ANYWHERE is completely unacceptable to these maniacs BUT to be relegated as a sidekick is beyond being humiliated – for the rest of their lives.

It’s like Jordan or Ali playing second fiddle to some clown not just during their playing time but way past their retirement and being lambasted and remind of it for the rest of their lives. How can I make this real so you toddlers can understand? Imagine an older sibling of yours as a brain surgeon while you drudge through your menial job. It’s not like a friend who you can break ties with and that’s the end of it. No. Here you are stuck for life. And the comparisons will haunt you till you die.

Now imagine all that with the ‘competitive’ personality disorder. Can you see how massively it’s magnified then to agonize the individual without end?

So here are some tennis players living with this endless torment:

Sampras-Agassi. Duh!!!!!!! For rock people, Agassi was being trained by his father for a tennis career when he was in the crib with hanging toys to master his eye-hand coordination. When that devoted a passion is relegated to second best by ANYONE, its devastating. But to have that done to you by a guy who did NOT start that early or with such crazy obsession is like pouring truck load of salt on an open raw wound – every freaking morning.

McEnroe-Borg. It’s debatable as to who screwed whom definitively. But the pangs are unmistakable on either side. By walking away from the game prematurely, Borg pulled the rug from under McEnroe denying him the near-certain double-digit Slam numbers and a shot at the GOAT throne.

McEnroe by beating up on Borg repeatedly ‘broke’ Borg and forced him to retire ahead of schedule. Borg has clearly resented that and has made numerous failed attempts to return to glory days. It can be argued that the bump early, affected his life and lead him to attempt suicide. He secretly still blames McEnroe for ruining a great thing for him.

Federer-Nadal. When you reach proportions of ANYTHING Federer has managed in his career, even the slightest hit takes on a whole new dimension. It’s like that director in Godfather said “And man in my position cannot be made to look ridiculous”. But when that hit is relentless and is stemming from as determined a bull as Nadal, your manhood takes a huge hit – as a competitor.

And the one who is MOST bitter about it is………………………………..Agassi? Duh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photos.

NEW YORK – AUGUST 30: (L-R) Andy Murray of Great Britain and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark pose with their 2010 Olympus US Open Series Men’s and Womens title trophies during day one of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 30, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Beckham?

Day 1. From Claire. Thanks.

CLAIRE

Click here.

Nadal disdains discussions of his place in history. From Chicago Fan. Thanks.

CHICAGO FAN

Nadal disdains discussions of his place in history:

Click here.

Chris and Martina discuss their friendship. From Chicago Fan. Thanks.

CHICAGO FAN

Chris and Martina discuss their friendship in Parade Magazine.

Click here.

Dark horse who can win US Open.

Ist round for the 32 seeds. Any upsets coming?

Men Seed Player Name Opponent Round 1 Rafael Nadal vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili RND 1 2 Roger Federer vs. Brian Dabul RND 1 3 Novak Djokovic vs. Viktor Troicki RND 1 4 Andy Murray vs. Lukas Lacko RND 1 5 Robin Soderling vs. Andreas Haider-Maurer RND 1 6 Nikolay Davydenko vs. Michael Russell RND 1 7 Tomas Berdych vs. Michael Llodra RND 1 8 Fernando Verdasco vs. Fabio Fognini RND 1 9 Andy Roddick vs. Stephane Robert RND 1 10 David Ferrer vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov RND 1 11 Marin Cilic vs. Illya Marchenko RND 1 12 Mikhail Youzhny vs. Andrey Golubev RND 1 13 Jurgen Melzer vs. Dmitry Tursunov RND 1 14 Nicolas Almagro vs. Potito Starace RND 1 15 Ivan Ljubicic vs. Ryan Harrison RND 1 16 Marcos Baghdatis vs. Arnaud Clement RND 1 17 Gael Monfils vs. Robert Kendrick RND 1 18 John Isner vs. Frederico Gil RND 1 19 Mardy Fish vs. Jan Hajek RND 1 20 Sam Querrey vs. Bradley Klahn RND 1 21 Albert Montanes vs. Michal Przysiezny RND 1 22 Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Martin Klizan RND 1 23 Feliciano Lopez vs. Santiago Giraldo RND 1 24 Ernests Gulbis vs. Jeremy Chardy RND 1 25 Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Mikhail Kukushkin RND 1 26 Thomaz Bellucci vs. Tim Smyczek RND 1 27 Fernando Gonzalez vs. Ivan Dodig RND 1 28 Radek Stepanek vs. Julien Benneteau RND 1 29 Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Tobias Kamke RND 1 30 Juan Monaco vs. Peter Polansky RND 1 31 David Nalbandian vs. Rik De Voest RND 1 32 Lleyton Hewitt vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu RND 1

Notes on Federer’s ‘trick’ video.

The clip has drawn more than 5 million views on YouTube.

“I couldn’t believe the amount of hits I got,” Federer said Saturday. “I’m happy, then, that so many people have seen it, liked it, and debated about it. I was shocked.”

He said it took “one or two takes … five, 10 minutes, and that was it. It was at one of the shoots I did after Wimbledon in Zurich, and we had a fun time doing it.”

Andy Murray, twice a runner-up to Federer in Grand Slam finals, was asked about the clip’s authenticity.

“You think it was real? Is that right?” Murray replied, smiling.

Then Murray noted that he liked the video, before adding: “There’s not a chance it’s real, though.”

Defending U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters also was asked Saturday whether she thinks it’s legit.

“Let me just say that I would not hold that thing on my head even if it was Roger Federer,” Clijsters said. “There’s your answer.”

Some other goofy Godfather moments.

If Michael was not involved in the family business, how come he was able to dial Luca’s home number from memory.

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If that singer Tommy’s former boss was not willing to release him from that contract and then Luca was brought in to close the deal ‘with brain on the contract’ BS, how come it took one full hour to do it WITH a thousand dollar certified check. Shouldn’t it have concluded within minutes with no money changing hands?

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If Pauly (guy who was sick and was not there to drive Don to office) was supposed to be killed for betraying Don and being responsible for the hit, why go through such an elaborate plan for a road trip and other BS, specially when Luca and Michael’s brother-in-law (far credentialed people) were terminated with next to nothing fan fare? And why did they have to lose a whole freaking car for it? Shouldn’t he at least be thrown in the bushes and an expensive car retained?

Who, among the top four, is most desperate to win US Open title this year?

Considering Murray is the only one without a Slam, this is considered his favorite surface, has reached two Slam finals already, is 23 and his country is about to give up on him – he could logically be the contender for the most desperate wife. But how many times have we witnessed this ‘logical’ dude get thrashed and annihilated by a host of intangibles over and over freaking again.

Didn’t logic just got beat at this year’s Wimbledon final? Not only had Berdych not won any titles there he had beaten Federer and Djokovic back to back before reaching the finals. One of them in straight sets. Contrast that to Nadal who was coming in with seven Slams and one Wimbledon title – over Federer. If someone was still in doubt as to who wanted it more, the scoreline settled that debate once and for all. Nadal won in straight sets.

Could that scenario be playing itself over again here? I mean, is Nadal the one wanting it more than anybody else including Murray? After all, Murray is just attempting to get on board with very little historical implications other than being a Brit. Nadal is fighting history if not attempting to recreate it. Title here will not only get him the career Slam but more importantly if will remove that ‘clay specialist’ billboard around his neck allowing him to play far more freely on surfaces not called red. Not to mention the very real possibility it will produce for Nadal to reach at least 10 Slams before turning 25 (Win @ FO 2011).

For Nadal personally, it also allows him to match another of Federer’s amazing records: Career Slam. With much of what he does measured against Federer’s esteemed numbers in his never-ending quest to validate the winning H2H he enjoys over Federer, Nadal winning here will go a long way towards that goal – other than winning another Slam Federer was ‘supposed’ to win.

Nadal is on a horse with a dangling carrot. The intriguing part? Once he destroys the first carrot the next one becomes even juicier producing an adrenalin rush even stronger than the one he got just done with.

Bottom line: Nadal is aiming for much bigger and larger picture than any of the other three clowns can achieve with a title here. The target transcends his personal goals. He has much bigger fish to fry than all the other three put together. Isn’t that the true measure of how desperate or compelling anything is to anybody anywhere?

Does all that mean that desperation equals results? Not necessarily. But it does guarantee one thing: Effort stemming from the best a human can produce under the conditions. Will that be enough to win is what we’ll all find out soon.

Federer re-elected as President on the Players Council, Rafa Vice-President. From Jenny. Thanks.

JENNY

Federer re-elected as President on the Players Council, Rafa Vice-President. Where’s Novak, I thought he was part of it? I knew Ivan Ljubicic had stepped down as President a couple of years ago, and Fena [Gonzalez] was already on the council, good to see the other names too.

Click here.

How long will Federer-Anaconda relationship last?

For rock people, Federer has officially selected Anaconda to be his coach after the trial period which produced a final and a title after decades. While there was no other way to go for Federer after this showing, it was more than a foregone conclusion as it is rumored that Cahill was locked up for the entire period with a kangaroo in a zoo. For curious minds, it was a male.

But if tennis coach’s job security is directly related to how many titles his pupil wins in the long run, this one could be all that and more with the addition of ‘short run’ at the end. So what was Anaconda thinking? And how was that any different from what Cahill thought when he was in that chair before bailing out?

Anaconda has nothing to lose? Duh!!!!! Cahill had the assignment of ‘making’ Federer win at the FO among other things. Anaconda is landing on the pad already heavily softened by the impact of fading results pointing to a certain slowdown thereby blunting any serious expectations. So even if Federer fails to win another title for the rest of the season, it’s not going to overly raise eyebrows while scoring massive points if he does. It’s like a bad person doing a good deed and surprising everyone pleasantly.

All this while he pads his resume with another luminary at his feet. While there’s no question that his personality appears to mesh seamlessly into Federer’s current set up without ruffling too many feathers allowing his message to seep in far deeper with Federer, the notion that he can at this stage produce any miracles like winning the US Open title for the sixth time seems like a little stretch if not outright unrealistic. It will for sure help Federer move far deeper than he has at other Slams this year but to outfox the big cats specially Murray or even Nadal may be far beyond Anaconda’s realm. That stratosphere is Federer’s to resolve – on his own. What Anaconda is fighting for is upto the semis.

Clearly this addition is mainly to add to No. 16 with the rest as just morale-boosting stepping-stones. So if Federer continues to reach finals at everything else and manages to add to that number – even slowly – mission may be called ‘accomplished’. But if these Toronto-Cincy results turn out to be just the new ‘change’ effect weltering with every step forward Federer may find himself in that uncomfortable spot he was in before firing Tony Roach.

Bottom line: Federer has to either win one of the next two Slams OR reach finals at both OR win two Masters by year end for Anaconda to swim above water. If not the rift will be in place to only get wider with time.

Photos.

The guy is bordering on malnourishment and starvation. Geeeeeezzzzzz!!!!!!!

Changing the face doesn’t always work.

I think he needs that jar filled with food NOW.

FILE – In this Jan. 24, 2010, file photo, tennis official Shino Tsurubuchi takes her place on Rod Laver Arena asRafael Nadal of Spain plays Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in a Men’s singles fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia. Tsurubuchi, who called a foot fault on Serena Williams in last year’s U.S. Open semifinals, will officiate at this year’s tournament.

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And here’s someone to be removed from food. Geeeeeeeezzzz!!!! All this in one year?

Federer on how to be modest.

Order of play for Day 1 @ US Open.

Click here.

5 signs he’s into you.

Click here.

Something’s fishy here. Hope Mirka is not watching.

Now ‘Picking at both ends’.

Fiona “He is wasting his and everyone else’s time. We all know he is done. And you ‘own’ him. BTW when are you doing your next pick? It turns me on”.

Photos.

Roger Federer of Switzerland rrives to hold a news conference during the Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York August 28, 2010. The 2010 US Open will begin on August 30. AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY

Novak Djokovic from Serbia sings with the Bryan Brothers band during the Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York August 28, 2010. The 2010 US Open will begin on August 30. AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY

Demi Lovato performs during the Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York August 28, 2010. The 2010 US Open will begin on August 30. AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY

Should we toss a coin? Heads she’s yours. Tails she’s Hewitt’s.

“I have had mono since winning US Open”.

Current ‘Exorcist’ cast member? Geeeeeeezzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s not bad.

Fiona any time now.

What else is ‘up’? Geeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW HAVEN, CT – AUGUST 27: Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark walks back on the court with her father and coach Piotr Wozniacki while playing Elena Dementieva of Russia during the semifinals of the Pilot Pen tennis tournament at the Connecticut Tennis Center on August 27, 2010 in New Haven, Connecticut. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Tetchy Roger Federer convinced he can win US Open for a sixth time. From Claire. Thanks.

CLAIRE

Click here.

Where Are They Now? From Chicago Fan. Thanks.

CHICAGO FAN

Did anyone know that Andrea Jaeger became a nun? A where-are-they-now article from the Wall Street Journal.

Click here.

Nike Prime Time Knockout Event. From Dee. Thanks.

DEE

Which No. is MOST desperate @ US Open?

Nadal @ US Open vs Federer @ FO. Is there a pattern?

Year	Nadal	Federer
1	2nd rd	Opening rd
2	2nd rd	4th rd
3	3rd rd	Quarters
4	Quarters	Opening rd
5	4th rd	Opening rd
6	Semis	3rd rd
7	Semis	Semis
8		Final
9		Final
10		Final
11		Winner
12		Quarters

Photos.

Can you get any more closer to a shark face? Geeeeeeezzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!

Defending US Open Tennis champion Kim Clijsters shares a laugh with New York Mets David Wright at batting practice before the Mets -Houston Astros baseball game on Friday, August 27, 2010, in New York.

Williams’s Injury Needs Explanation. From Rick. Thanks.

RICK

Click here.