Monthly Archives: April 2008

Roddick the Closer

Andy Roddick closed out the U.S. Davis Cup win over France and we got the running commentary.

French player Paul-Henri Mathieu was serving at 1-2 in the first set of his Davis Cup match with U.S. player Andy Roddick when he lost his serve the first time. In that game, Roddick threw a number of slices at Mathieu’s backhand then followed those up with his new shot, a backhand flicker passing shot that landed at Mathieu’s feet. That was the point of all the junk Roddick was floating across the net – keep the ball low and mess up Mathieu’s rhythm while pounding away at his forehand which can be weak under the pressure of big points.

We know this because Roddick told us and he didn’t wait until the post-match media session, we got it in real time through a running commentary with Versus commentator Justin Gimelstob who was sitting courtside. Earlier in the game, Roddick had already told us (through Gimelstob) that he could break down Mathieu’s forehand and, after a questionable out call against Mathieu, Roddick turned to us with a look that said he’d just received a house call.

Forget all this commentating stuff, just put a mic on Roddick and turn on the camera. He’s as entertaining as most commentators anyway. Speaking of which, Gimelstob is growing on me. I was initially turned off by his blatant politicking for a broadcast job to the point where the last matches of his career became auditions for his future job. After he lost to Roddick at the U.S. Open last year, he hijacked the mic and interviewed Roddick himself as you can see above.

Okay then, let’s just give the mic to Robin Soderling the next time he loses to Rafael Nadal and let HIM interview Nadal. Can’t you hear it now? So Rafa, what’s with the incessant time delays? And what’s with holding new balls sarcastically just because I ran off the court to get a new racket in the middle of your service motion? You got a problem with that?…

Anyway, Gimelstob is funny, he knows the players strokes and understands their personalities, and he’s not afraid to throw down some smack. Why is Roddick such a good closer? Gimelstob: “Because he wants this moment. He’s the anti-Gasquet.” It’s harsh and I agree with him but I do wonder if he’ll have to rein it in if he wants to stay in the broadcast booth.

For example: Gimelstob also described a conversation in which he asked Mathieu why Gasquet wasn’t playing. Mathieu just shook his head and walked a way. Gimelstob is still in that netherworld between the players and the media because he just left the tour, but when Mathieu hears that Gimelstob reported him dissing his fellow countryman on air, he might think twice about being so chummy next time.

Back to Gasquet: Are today’s players less gutsy than players of the past? Is Roddick a throwback and Gasquet the modern player? Gasquet hit earlier on Sunday but it was still Mathieu who was thrown out there despite the fact that this was likely to be the deciding rubber and Gasquet surely could have done better than Mathieu – he went down in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. And if something had been seriously wrong with Gasquet, Mathieu would not have walked away shaking his head.

I don’t think the players are overall less gutsy. Nadal and Roger Federer play Davis Cup only when they want to but they go deep in Masters Series events and slams and they just finished consecutive two week Masters Series events. So did Roddick but he’s the exception today in Davis Cup and Gasquet is exceptional for the opposite reason.

As much as it annoyed me, Novak Djokovic did call five timeouts against Gael Monfils in the U.S. Open in 2005, more than a few of them to treat cramps, and Gasquet himself played an amazing set of tennis against Lleyton Hewitt at the same event one year later. Gasquet could barely walk – you could literally see his thigh muscles cramping – yet there he was, hobbling over to the corner and hitting a passing shot past Hewitt who was hugging the line. Gasquet lost the match but you had to appreciate him.

Roddick has now run his closer record to 10-0. Ten times he’s had the chance to close out a Davis Cup tie and every time he has delivered. Players may be just as gutsy today but he right up there at the top of the list.

Three Surprises in Davis Cup

The first three rubbers in the Davis Cup tie between the U.S. and France each had a surprise.

I’ve been lying in bed with a twisted vertebra and none to happy about it. Using my arms is uncomfortable so I haven’t been keeping up with all of your comments and I’m unhappy about that too. And I think I’d rather go on a fast than eat one more rye cracker with tuna. Anyone available to come over to my house and make me a meal? Meanwhile, Davis Cup is here.

In the world of the NBA, Kobe Bryant is playing with a torn ligament in his pinky, Derek Fisher is playing with a partially torn tendon in his foot, Pau Gasol is playing with plantar fascitis because he came back from a sprained ankle too soon, and Dirk Nowitzki returned 11 days after suffering a gruesome leg injury. And Richard Gasquet can’t play first day singles in Davis Cup because he has blisters? At first I thought the blisters were on his feet and I wondered if he’d run a marathon between his second round exit in Miami and Friday, but it turns out the blisters are on his hand. Maybe he ran it on his hands.

Gasquet’s absence is especially surprising as his team desperately needs him after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bowed out with a knee injury. Instead, Roddick gets to play Michael Llodra. Llodra is one of the few guys on tour with two victories this year so it might seem like it’s not so bad but it is: Roddick also has two titles and Llodra hasn’t won a match since the end of February.

The court surface in Winston Salem, North Carolina, is a fast indoor court. Llodra is a serve and volleyer and Roddick has an average return of serve so this match was closer than expected.

After winning the first set 6-4, Roddick found himself at 4-4 in the second set when he hit an ugly but effective backhand passing shot from deep in the corner. He kind of flicked at the ball like he was getting rid of a pesky fly, still, it’s not a shot he’s known for and I guess it’s time to ask the question: Is Roddick experiencing a career resurgence or an isolated peak similar to David Nalbandian’s consecutive Masters wins late last year?

Roddick turns up in name only at the clay court Masters Series events so the answer to that question will come when we get to Wimbledon and the U.S. summer hard court season. If he does well at Wimbledon and gets a title or two in the summer, it’s a resurgence. If not, it’s a peak. One quick note. The Tennis Channel Open has been sold to the ATP so they can relocate it elsewhere – meaning outside the U.S. There goes another stop on the U.S. tennis court circuit which is shrinking as we speak.

For the first time in Davis Cup history, the Davis Cup champions received championship rings. The U.S. won the Davis Cup last year and the USTA honored the team with a ceremony before the opening match handing out 14 carat gold bejeweled rings.

In the second set tiebreaker, the chair umpire overruled an out call on a Roddick serve that wasn’t obviously out. That call was the turning point as Roddick won the last six points of the tiebreaker to go up two sets to none. They don’t have Hawkeye at Davis Cup? Wasn’t Hawkeye developed precisely for situations like this: preventing bad calls against visiting teams? If it’s a matter of money, maybe the USTA could melt down those bejeweled rings and trade them in for a Hawkeye setup. I hear gold is valuable at the moment.

Llodra did not play badly. He lost in straight sets by the score of 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(5). There was only one break in the entire match and, as you can see, the last two sets went to tiebreaker. Llodra had the misfortune of being thrown into the lion’s pit on a slick surface against a big server who had home court advantage.

Next up were James Blake and Paul-Henri Mathieu. Mathieu served lights out in the first set but Blake kept pace to get to the tiebreaker where that well-known concept known as pressure reared its head. Blake went up 5-0 in the tiebreaker with some well-timed winners and Mathieu hit a double fault to go down 6-0.

Davis Cup is a different kind of animal. Your heart should swell when you play for your county and that lifts many a player from mediocrity to excellence. Marat Safin has lost his first match in four tournaments this year, yet there he was beating Tomas Berdych in five sets on Friday. Safin will also play the last, and possibly deciding, singles match. He could be a Davis Cup hero for Russia yet again.

Sometimes, though, you end up being the goat. Mathieu lost the fifth and deciding rubber to Mikhail Youzhny in 2002 and it was a crushing defeat because he was up two sets to none in front of his home crowd and that match gave Russia the 2002 Davis Cup title. Many people think it set his career back a few years and it looks like it did.

Mathieu resurrected himself and took the next five points in the first set tiebreaker but it wasn’t enough to win it. In the second set tiebreaker, though, it was a different story. Blake managed to win a total of three points. You weren’t expecting a lot of breaks of serve were you, because this court played like an ice-skating rink. Any decent first serve was good enough to hold serve most of the time. We didn’t see a deuce point till 2-2 in the second set.

By the way, Mathieu is currently ranked number 12 and that’s a bit surprising. He’s never gone past the fourth round in a Masters Series event and only gone past the fourth round in one slam. It means he’s playing consistent tennis but it also means a lot of other players are faltering. One other comment while I think of it: doesn’t Blake’s grunt sound like the closed thing to sex in the world of tennis? Shrieking is like screaming but that deep, rumbling grunt followed by the smack of the racket on the ball kinda turns me on.

Both players got a bit tired in the third set and Mathieu hit three straight errors to lose his serve which was enough to lose the set. Mathieu hit a scorching return to break Blake at 2-1 in the fourth set which was also enough to win the set and now we were in danger territory. We worry for Blake in slams and Davis Cup because his five set record is 2-10.

Uh oh, Blake hit two errors in the first game and he was down a break right away. Mathieu had been annoying Blake all match by pumping his fist and loudly yelling out Vamos! Did he forget he was French? Blake gets easily annoyed by his opponent’s behavior and that’s a problem. The saving grace here is Mathieu’s aforementioned uncomfortable relationship with pressure.

Actually, neither player is comfortable with pressure and the fifth set was a seesaw battle to see who could keep themselves from falling apart rather than taking over. Blake lost his serve again and found himself facing two match points at 5-4. He managed to win that game and then break Mathieu two games later to win the rubber by the score of 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

There were three surprises in the first two days of this Davis Cup tie: Llodra turning up instead of Gasquet, Blake won a five set match, and the doubles. Mike and Bob Bryan had a 14-1 Davis Cup doubles record coming in but they were facing Llodra and Arnaud Clement – a top ten doubles team and the only grand slam winners the Bryans have ever faced in Davis Cup.

After the Bryans won the first set tiebreaker, Llodra and Clement got a break of serve in the next three sets to win the third rubber, 7-6(7), 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. The U.S. now needs to win one more rubber to move on to the semifinals and I’d be very surprised if there were any more surprises.

Davis Cup Gains Ranking Points and Loses a Top Player

Davis Cup kicks in again this week with ranking points looming in the future but without a player who could have gummed up the works.

Yes, it’s time for the second of four Davis Cup weekends this year and visions of five set, knock down, drag out matches with four of the best fast court players on a slick indoor surface were dancing through my head. Maybe Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Roddick will have a 38 point tiebreaker in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, just like the one they had at the Australian Open last year. Maybe Roddick will go down a set and a break to Jo-Willy again before crawling through in four sets just as he did in Australia but maybe, maybe, this time he doesn’t crawl through.

Maybe Roddick will have another fit about a bad line call like he did in that 38 point tiebreaker – no, scratch that, Hawkeye this time – maybe he’ll have a fit about something else. Because maybe Jo-Willy pulls out another wondrous performance to match this year’s Aussie Open and Roddick gets frustrated and throws his racket then has a fit in the post match media session.

Maybe Jo-Willy will take care of James Blake too leaving the U.S. boys in the precarious position of having to beat Richard Gasquet in both singles matches and getting us all excited again because Jo-Willy will have taken a step closer to the promise land of promise fulfilled.

Maybe I should get over this pinched nerve that has me lying horizontal much of the day leaving me with little to do but mentally practice my tennis game and anticipate the U.S. – France Davis Cup tie because Jo-Willy won’t be showing up. He has a knee injury.

Paul-Henri Mathieu gets the upgrade to singles and he’s a bit harder to get excited about. He hasn’t beaten Roddick since 2005 and he lost his only match to Blake. He’s better than average on indoor hard courts – he had a semifinal this year in Marseille and he had a final in Moscow last year – but it’s just not the same.

Oh well, maybe Roddick and Gasquet will have another five set marathon with two tiebreakers and an 8-6 fifth set just like they did at Wimbledon last year and maybe Gasquet will let out another primal scream as his backhand flies down the line and out of Roddick’s reach on the way to an uplifting win. I’d put my money on the over for a five set match because one third of Gasquet’s nine Davis Cup singles matches have gone five sets and that’s all I’m really asking for: a bit of drama.

Blake’s matches with Gasquet have been straight set, one-sided affairs so I’m not looking for drama there. Bob and Mike Bryan lost to this week’s French doubles team of Michael LlodraArnaud Clement at Wimbledon last year and, by my count, the brothers have a losing record against them so that could be exciting.

Tsonga could have gummed up the works by taking a few singles matches and Clement/Llodra could still gum it up if they can take out the brothers, so I’ll settle for that.

Davis Cup Ranking Point

Remember a few months ago when we were all taking sides about the future of Davis Cup? Maybe Davis Cup should morph into a year-end team event or maybe we should keep the current format but fix the final geographically so we can market it a year in advance instead of only the few months between the semifinal and the final.

Maybe Davis Cup should hand out ranking points so top players would turn up now and then. Nah, too hard. It isn’t fair to players who don’t get onto a Davis Cup team. I guess it wasn’t that hard because starting next year, players will get ATP ranking points for playing Davis Cup.

If a player’s team won the Cup and the player won eight live singles rubbers – the most you could play in four ties – that would earn him 625 points which is a lot of points but it’s pretty unlikely, especially as dead rubbers don’t qualify for ranking points. Winning seven rubbers is more doable because Roddick did it last year and his team also won the Cup so he would get 500 points if he does that again next year and that’s not bad.

Davis Cup will count as one of the ATP 500 level tournaments and that means a player’s accumulated Davis Cup points would be the same as if he played one tournament. That also means those points would only count if it was one of the player’s best ATP 500 level tournament results because that’s how rankings work. Currently, for instance, only points from the player’s top five International Series tournaments count toward his ranking.

All in all, especially since most players skip a Davis Cup tie or two each year, the rankings won’t be that significant. The system doesn’t add points to a player’s ranking, it just gives a player another tournament from which to pick his best results.

It’s okay, though, mainly because I’ve decided I like Davis Cup just like it is – geographically diverse with crazy fans traipsing all over the world to wear nets on their head and generally act like tennis’ version of a rabid soccer fan – in other words, the most polite sports fans in the world outside of polo spectators.

I also think they handled the inequity problem for players who can’t get on a Davis Cup team because Davis Cup players don’t get additional points as much as they get an opportunity at a better result in one more tournament. What do you think about all this rankings stuff?

Racket Love and Torch Songs

Nikolay Davydenko swung his magic sword to victory in Miami, but retired tennis player Arnaud Di Pasquale had a much harder time carrying the Olympic torch.

Racket Love

One of our readers named David left a very good comment that goes some way to explaining Nikolay Davydenko’s love affair with his new Prince tennis racket. Like the proud parent of a new baby, he couldn’t stop talking about it after his victory over Rafael Nadal in the final in Miami on Sunday. By the way, David, I’m guessing by your email username – gasparddnuit – that you’re a fan of Maurice Ravel. True?

David left that comment because I messed up while we were live blogging the men’s final on Sunday. Davydenko’s new Prince racket has a dense stringing pattern – it has 18 by 20 strings instead of 16 by 18 strings – and I said that having more strings allows you to get more spin on the ball. I was completely wrong. So here you go, here’s a little string theory for you.

String density refers to the number of strings in a racket. The more strings there are, the more strings come into contact with the ball. The more strings come into contact with the ball, the more strings there are to absorb the impact. The ball doesn’t bounce off the racket as hard and that means you have more control over it. Of course, you give up some power and it’s harder to put spin on the ball because the strings can’t dig in to the ball as well.

It’s a bit curious because most players today do anything they can to improve their power and they use spin to do it. Luxilon strings grab the ball and allow players to whack the ball as hard as possible but keep it in the court by putting topspin on it. Davydenko gave up some power and spin so he could play more aggressively. He wanted to go for more short angled winners without the ball sailing on him and it worked against Nadal – he had 19 winners to Nadal’s 12 and he was the champion of the day.

If any other racket stringing expert is tuning in and wants to add to the discussion, please do because I’ve never strung a racket in my life.

Torch Songs

Retired French tennis player Arnaud Di Pasquale was one of the athletes ferrying the Olympic Torch through the streets of Paris on Monday, and like his fellow French torch carriers, Di Pasquale was unable to make his way through the hoard of demonstrators who oppose China’s recent crackdown on Tibetans. Five times security officials had to douse the flame on the torch and transport it using a bus. You can see in this picture that Di Pasquale is not a happy camper.

Many people believe that politics should be kept out of the Olympics but that doesn’t make much sense. The process of bidding for the Olympics highly political and the act of staging the Olympics is all about politics. This is the first time that China has hosted the Olympics and it’s the mother of all propaganda moves just as it is for every country that hosts the Olympics.

As far as I’m concerned, go ahead, protests the procession of the torch. The torch is a direct statement of protest to China. Look at the alternative: do nothing which stands as tacit approval of unacceptable practices. But don’t physically attack people to get at the torch. You lose moral authority when you do that. Make your protest and make it peacefully.

And don’t interfere with athletes competing in Olympic events. If protesters interrupted Olympic events in progress or impeded athletes in competition in any way, I disagree with that. It serves no useful purpose. Besides, many other countries deserve similar protests for their practices so which athletes should you interrupt?

If I won a medal at the Beijing Olympics in, say, skeet shooting or something else that doesn’t require too much running, or jumping, or slogging – I’d be tempted to pull out a small Tibetan flag from my sleeve and hold it high. I’d make sure it was okay with my fellow medalists just as Tommie Smith and John Carlos did when they raised a black glove in support of civil rights after winning the gold and bronze medal at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. The silver medalist, Australian Peter Norman, wore a human rights badge in support of Smith and Carlos.

Of course, I’d only do it if it was my swan song in the Olympics. I’m not that brave. Norman went on to qualify for his country’s team in the next Olympics but the Aussies refused to put him on the team. But no, I wouldn’t do it because it’s on the field of competition. Carlos and Smith have every right to do what they did and we protest to protect that right, I’m just saying I wouldn’t do it. For the same reason, I don’t support boycotting the Olympics to protest political disagreement because, again, that interferes with Olympic competition.

Ten days before those 1968 Olympics in Mexico, hundreds of student holding a peaceful demonstration were killed by Mexican police. The students were using the occasion of the Olympics to protest politics in their country. Olympic protests have a long history and that won’t end any time soon.

Miami Men’s Final – Live Blog

Good morning/afternoon/early evening everyone. It’s time for the men’s final of the second Masters Series of the year, the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Rafael Nadal is trying to pad his ranking points going into the clay court season where he has to defend a lot of tournament wins, and Nikolay Davydenko is trying to win his second Masters Series title.

Join in by leaving comments and we’ll insert them into the live blog as we go along.

Nate: I think this is going to be really good. I believe this stuff about Davydenko’s racquet, and he’s playing so aggressively. Roddick’s Agassi comparison was sound.

Nina: Hi Nate, I want to start off by saying something about Nikolay Davydenko. Here’s a guy who’s been the target of a gambling investigation and, in fact, the catalyst for a host of new, and some unnecessary, rules that go all the way from requiring background checks of coaches and trainers to monitoring cellphone use by spectators to prevent them from passing on live information about matches before they post online. And yet, here is Nikolay, still number four in the rankings, surpassed only by the three best players in the world. I pretty sure that match was fixed because hard core gamblers are positive that it was fixed, but this guy has performed unbelievably considering all that and he deserves a lot of credit. Wait, what did they say about his racket?

Nina: By the way, and this includes anyone listening in, predictions? For me, I can’t see Nadal losing.

Nate: He got a new racquet last week that’s 18 strings instead of 16. Says he has more control with it. But he only has one, so if he breaks a string or anything, it’s back to the old ones.

Nate: For my prediction I guess I’ll go with Nadal, but it’s not going to be easy. Davydenko played him extremely tight on the clay last year.

Nadal 1-1

Nina: I suppose, if the racket didn’t weigh too much, you’d play with as many strings as possible, right? Because you could put more topspin on it. What do you think about Vic Braden’s theory that the current wraparound forehand turns players away from the net and contributes to the lower number of net players we have today.

Nadal and Davydenko exchange breaks: 2-2

Nina: Gabriela Sabatini is in the house, god she’s beautiful! Good player too :0)

Pat: Nadal breaks back, good for him but I like Davydenko here, give us something different. I think the Russian wins in three, why not?

Nina: It’s not clear to me that Davydenko has any way of taking the game to Nadal. He won’t hit many service winners, his defense is no better than Rafa’s, he hits a flat ball but he doesn’t hit it hard enough to outrun Rafa. Am I missing something?

Davydenko fights off two break points: 3-3

Nina: Nadal is playing more aggressively than he normally would and he has to do it to have a chance against Nadal. So far it’s working but he’ll hit a lot of errors.

Nate: It’s me who’s missing something. Apparently, even though I’ve paid for a year’s subscription to their service, Masters Series TV will not allow me to watch the final live. Completely outrageous…

Davydenko breaks Nadal: Davydenko 4-3

Nina: So far aggression is working. Davydenko needs to finish off the match as soon as possible – he didn’t grow up in Majorca on clay. He even looks like he’s allergic to sun. I’ve been too busy getting set up this morning to pay close attention: is Nadal hitting the ball short? Nate, there you are. The match is on CBS not Fox and not, I would guess, ATP Masters Series TV, you got a TV anywhere around? It’s network.

Nate: (TV, but no antenna, no reception) So Davydenko’s taking Rafa’s time away, going for the lines?

Pat: Mary Carillo remarks how Davy was hoping for cloud cover! Guess what guy, you provide your own today! I don’t think he’s serving anything like he did with Andy, but he is stepping in and taking it early, that helped.

Davydenko: 5-4

Joel: Davy’s got better court positioning and his serve is really a weapon here. I’m inclined to think PD will be right. Davy will win it unless Rafa steps up.

Gloria: Hi Nina! Remember me, the Nadal fan, from Jerry’s Deli last year? I’m holding my breath during this match, because Davydenko is scary! Rafa needs to win this one to improve and underscore his No. 2 position. He has too many points to defend this clay season, and folks like Nalbandian are not going to let him slide on in for numerous easy victories. [What’s with the on-screen scorekeeper and all the mistakes?]

Nina: Joel and Gloria (good to see you here!), thanks for joining in. Hadn’t noticed the scorekeeping problem and the chair umpire missed a let call. Yeah, Davydenko is taking the court away from Nadal as Joel pointed out. Nate, what do you think about this more strings thing. See my question above.

Pat: Is anyone counting the shanks? Lots of errors so far.

Nina: Do you mean by Davy or both of them? Is Rafa being too defensive or is Davy down his throat too much for him to step up.

Pat: Davy with set points, who woulda thunk it? Davy not the greatest volleyer, but he’s getting them back, all except that last one that Nadal scooted up the line for a winner. Great point! Davy opening court up well that and grabbing the first set. Good stuff, Nadal playing too defensive here to pull this out, he’s going to have to rethink that.

Davydenko wins the first set 6-4

Nate: Nina, you mean their follow-throughs are too protracted, so they lose valuable time that could be used in moving up to net?

Davydenko breaks to go up 6-4, 1-0

Nina: Oy, another break for Davy. Nate, I mean that the current followthrough is not towards the net but, instead, wraps around the body and points away from the net so the players’ momentum is not moving towards the net as it used to be. Also, this things about more strings in the racket. Wouldn’t every player want more strings if the racket didn’t weigh too much because you could grab the ball better?

Gloria: Rafa must not want this! He’s making too, too many errors!

Pat: Davy is hitting the ball flat enough with pace that Nadal cant get around on it, his swings are too big. OK, Davy with the early break, let’s see how he runs while he’s ahead. He ought to really try and put the clamps down early in the second set.

Nate: The follow-through thing makes sense. As far as more strings, maybe every player will want more after watching Davydenko this week. I gotta be off to work. Hope it’s not over by the time I get there…

Davydenko: 6-4, 2-0

Nina: See you later Nate. Rafa did get tired last week in Indian Wells and he couldn’t do much against Djokovic (I think?). He’s the only player to do this well in the Indian Wells-Miami swing and it absolutely tires you out.

Jenny: Hi Everyone, Davy’s whizzing isn’t he!

Gloria: Yes, Davy is truly outplaying Rafa!

Pat: Davy likes being a front runner, he consolidated that break with a good flat serve out wide. His serves have picked up, he’s cracking them in there now.

Nina: Jenny!!! Good evening. Okay, so what does Rafa have to do to get back in the match? Theories anyone?

Davydenko 6-4, 3-1

Nina: Jeez, has Davy popped some biceps or downed some banned substances of some sort :0) I’d never heard of the 18 by 20 racket before today. Where can I get one :0)

Pat: If Davy is worried about the heat, he’d better really hang in and try to close this deal in two sets.
Uh oh, break point for Davy now and this could be the match.

Davydenko breaks to go up two breaks in the second set: 6-4, 4-1

Nina: I’m really bothered by this because I always want tennis to put on a good show when it gets network time. It also speaks to the problem with having back to back Masters Series tournaments. Near the end, you get some very tired looking matches instead of exciting, close, tight matches.

Davydenko: 6-4, 5-1

Nina: Omigod, who is that player out there cracking shots left and right. He always takes the ball early but it’s a combination of things. Clearly the racket helps and I know that when I have a new toy, it helps my confidence. Nadal is probably tired, and Davy appears to be in the zone at a very fortuitous time.

Joel: theories? davy’s just outplaying rafa but for a couple of reasons:

1. rafa has had way more unforced errors today than in previous matches.

2. davy has better court positioning

3. rafa forgot to shave???

Pat: Go Davy! Nadal’s balls are kind of sitting up there, aren’t they? “Hit me hit me” they say, and Nik is doing just that. He’s pouncing on everything, and that break for 4-1 is pretty much the match, wouldn’t we all say? Is Nadal having sympatico feelings for Roger? He looks quite befuddled. His game just can’t cope today, he’s too loopy and Davy is playing shooting ducks in a barrel

Jenny: Second that Pat.

Gloria: This is too sad for Rafa! All I can say is at least he’s not getting throttled by Djokovic!

Davydenko serving for match: 6-4, 5-2

Nina: Joel, I’m going with “forgot to shave.” I don’t know if Rafa’s balls are sitting up more than usual or Davy is just taking them exceptionally early. It seems like the prospect of playing a three set match in humid weather pushed Davy to play aggressively, somewhat like Jelena yesterday was pushed to play aggressively against Serena, and it has worked like a charm.

Pat: Nina, I think what Nadal needs is a flatter ball thru the court, but he doesn’t have that shot. Davy is playing really really well, how great to see him keep the consistency going from the Roddick match. That right there, given how others have fallen off in this event, is his best accomplishment. When he nearly beat Nadal in Rome last year I thought he had found the way to beat nadal, i.e. taking the ball really early and moving like a laser around the court. He is really building on that strategy today.

Pat: Joel, I noticed he didn’t shave either!! What does that mean, I said? ‘Cause it must mean something.

Joel: rafa lacking in the “vamos!” department today too don’t ya’ll think? He’s not his usual “fired up” self. Davy caught both Roddick and Rafa after big wins – Rafa’s domination of Berdych was something new for him. But all credit to Davy – he’s gettin some serious revenge on the ATP people today 😉

Davydenko wins the Sony Erisson Open by the score of 6-4, 6-2

Nina: Good point Joel, I hadn’t considered revenge as much as I should have. Sweet, sweet revenge and there is no better response to adversity. Sorry we couldn’t give you a better show today, folks, but maybe we have a new power player and a new technology. Every 3.5 player in the world will be googling 18 by 20 racket stringing instead of getting out that report tomorrow morning. You can count on it.

Pat: OK, the moment has arrived, Davy wins, shakes hands….then the ATP powers arrive on court and march him off in handcuffs….just kidding. How nice to see the Invisible Man being highly prominent! Great inside out forehand to close the deal! Good craft!

Jenny: Well done Nikolay!! Sorry Rafa.

Nina: Well put Jenny. Sayonara everyone, thanks for joining in. We’ll be back live blogging for the final of men’s French Open. Predictions for that one anyone?

Gloria: Congrats Davy! You won it!