Tennis: June 2008 Archives

The midde Sunday at Wimbledon is a day of rest for the players. The remaining 16 make and femalem players will resume play Monday. Unfortunately, German star Tommy Haas will not be among them as he lost to Britain's Andy Murray Saturday. Tommy gets injured or ill more than any other player so him even competing is a victory! Personally, I think Tommy could just segue into a career as a model or an actor. What. A. Dreamboat.

What a heartbreaker!

Andy Roddick, America's best hope at Wimbledon, was stuinned in the second round of the tournament today losing to a dude ranked 40th in the world. Andy lost in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals to Roger Federer and is always coinsidered a major threat at this most prestigious of tournaments.

But the U.S. heartthrob went out 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (4) Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in a closely-fought contest that Andy really should have won. Andy's probably got a few more really good chances to win the tournament to go along with his 2003 US Open crown, but time is passing him by.

At least Andy flashed his tummy to the crowd...

Yeah, I know. I need to grow up! But it looks like Russian tennis stud Marat Safin wants to give Novak Djokovic a tender kiss to make him feel better after beating him in the second round of Wimbledon today.

The loss, on paper, is a shocker. Novak is ranked third in the world and considered one of four men who could win the whole thing. But Safin is no slouch even if he's faded in the last two years. He was once the number one player in the world, beat Pete Sampras to win the US Open in 2000 and Roger Federer on his way to the Australian Open title in 2005.

I would totally want Marat to kiss me!

Because he won his first round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday with ease. If he wins six more of them, Rafael Nadal will become the first men's tennis player since Bjorn Borg way back in 1980 to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year. But Nadal's top rival, Roger Federer, is after some history of his own. If he wins the tournament for the sixth straight year, he breaks a tie with Borg for the most consecutive titles.

I know, I know. So many of you have stopped whatever you were doing today and wondered: "Gee, why hasn't Greg posted his Wimbledon predictions yet?" Right? It has consumed you!

OK, I really should stop sniffing glue when I blog. But the fact is, that wonderous sporting event called Wimbledon got underway in London today. As a teenager and well into my 20s, I would build my schedule around watching as many of the matches on television as possible. In 1991, I made my first trip to the tournament and was so escited that the night before, I did not sleep a single wink. So after a full day at the tournament, I kept falling asleep in the tube (subway) station on the way back to my friend Lorna's flat in East Finchley! I went every other day for about 10 days and it is one of the best memories of my life - especially when Lorna and I scored 10th row seats on Centre Court one memorable day.

I still follow the toiurnament but have not been back to the Wimbledon grounds in more than 10 years. One of my BFF's, Henry, is there this week and he is the biggest Roger Federer fan there is. So I am rooting for Roger because it will make Henry so happy and also because Roger is a class act who deserves to win.

But that does not mean I think Roger will win. He has won 60 consecutive matches on grass and not lost at Wimbledon since 2002 but I think his streak consecutive titles will end at five. The reason? Rafael Nadal.
Roger has beaten Rafael in the last two Wimbledon finals but Nadal has gotten closer each time. At 22, he has constantly improved his game and won his first grass court tournament a few weeks ago in london just seven days after giving Federer one of the worst defeats of his career in the fionals of the French Open.

Rafael is ready to step up and win this time. But if he falters before getting to the final, Federer will likely win. Still, he must also contend with the only other two players very capable of winning: Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick.

As for the women, it's pretty amazing that either Venus or Serena Williams has been champion in six of the last eight years. Venus, a four-time winner, is defending champion but I think this is Serena's year to win again. It would be her third Wimbledon singles title. That being said, I'd love to see 31-year-old Lyndsay Davenport, back on tour after having a baby last year, win her second Wimbledon.

Damn. It's opening day of Wimbledon, the most prestigious tournament in all of tennis, and we have already suffered a major eye candy blow. Sexy American player Robby Ginepri, coming off a stellar run at the French Open a few weeks ago, lost his opening round match to Fernando Gonzalez in three closely-fought sets.

A friend of mine sent me a funny quote from Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, one of three players with the best chance of finally ending Roger Federer's dominance at Wimbledon which begins next week: "The dream is to win Wimbledon. That's the biggest major of them all, the one with the most tradition. You get a special feeling there. If I won, I don't know what I'd do. I'd probably take off all my clothes."As you can see from these pictures, the outgoing 20 year old does indeed like to take his shirt off so I think it's totally possible that if he were to add a Wimbledon title to go along with his Australian Open title, he might just toss his shorts into the crowd.

Last year, he made it to the Wimbledon semifinals but had to default in the middle of his match to Rafaal Nadal due to injury.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who played in the French Open final on clay just seven days ago, have made a quick adjustment to grass courts by winning Wimbledon warm-up tournaments in Europe today. Federer won in Halle, Germany, without dropping serve to extend his winning streak on grass to 59 matches. It was his fifth title there. Nadal became the first French Open champion in 35 years to follow up with a title at Queen's in London, holding off Novak Djokovic in a superb two-set final and bringing his current win-streak to 17 matches. Roger and Rafael have played in the last two Wimbledon finals with Federer winning both times. This year could be different the way Nadal has been playing!

Roger Federer has long been the king of tennis - especially on grass. But French Open champion Rafael Nadal looks primed to end Roger's streak of five Wimbledon next month. He beat four-time champion Andy Roddick 7-5, 6-4 Saturday to reach the final at the Queen's Club for the first time. He is vying to be the first Spaniard in 36 years to win a grass-court tournament. He will face Serbian hottie Novak Djokovic in the final. Roddick (seen w/Rafael below) was aiming to become the first five-time champion at the Wimbledon warmup.

The tennis tour moves to grass for the next month culmiating atr Wimbledon, considered the most coveted of all the sports' big prizes. Hunky American Robby Ginepri (I seem incapable of typing in his name without the word hunky also being included) is seen here playing in the first round of the Queen Club tournament in London. Andy Roddick (pictured below during a training session) is the defending champ at Queens which he has won four times. Could this be the year Andy finally wins Wimbledon? He's been runner-up twice.

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And finally, closing the door on this year's French Open, pictured below is four-time champ Rafael Nadal getting a congratulatory hug from six-time champion Bjorn Borg who retured to Roland Garros for the first time since he won his last championship in 1981. Roger Federer, runner-up for the third straight year, looks a bit forlorn here but took hos loss with grace. He fares better on grass and is the five-time defending champion at Wimbledon.

A few more pics of Ginepri afdter the jump...

I dozed off during the second set of the men's French Open final, woke up and it was 5-0 in the third set. A few moments later, it was over and Rafael Nadal had beaten Roger Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. It was one of the worst losses of Federer's career and continued his frsutration in Paris where he has lost to Nadal four years in a row. OK, I'm off to the Pride Parade in West Hollywood...Details later...

THRILL OF VICTORY: Rafael Nadal has good reason to flex his big biceps. On Friday, he made it to the finals of the French Open for the fourth straight year and preserved a perfect record at one of tennis' most prestigious tournaments. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic (below) suffers the AGONY OF DEFEAT: The Serbian star and reigning Australian Open champ lost to Nadal for the second year in a row in the semifinals. Still, he was generous enough to provide us a peak at his tummy!

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So, if you were Novak, wouldn't you take the opportunity to grab Nadal's chest at the post-match handshake? I sure would! I'm not sure if Roger Federer (below, right) will do the same if he loses to Nadal for the third straight year in the finals on Sunday. I like Nadal a lot but I am really hoping Roger can find a way to beat his clay court nemesis and win the only grand slam tournament to elude him...

Roger Federer turned back the stiff challenge of Fernando Gonzalez at the French Open today to advance to the semifinals for the fourth straight year of the only major tournament he's never won.

Roger wants this title badly and at 27, his chances diminish every year he comes up short. It's been like a recurring nightmare with Rafael Nadal eliminating him in the 2005 semifinals and 2006 and 2007 finals - each time in four sets. Let's hope something different happens this time. My friend Henry, Roger's biggest fan, just had a birthday and my hope is that Federer can deliver him the gift of a French Open win.

...tennis stud Rafael Nadal. When I posted a picture earlier today of Rafa after his quarterfinal win at the French Open, I forgot to mention that he also turned 22 years old today. Two appears to be his lucky number - or unlucky deoending on hows you look at it - he has been the number two ranked player in the world for longer than any other male player in history (three full years) but has never been ranked number one.

I just love that after a tennis match, some of the male players like to give each other loving glances or a big hug. I'm still waiting for the day when two of them approach the net after match point and start to full-on make out. Think it'll ever happen?

Anyway, it was just hugs (no kisses) at the French Open earlier today when Rafael Nadal improved his record in Paris to a perfect 26-0 and got a congratulatory embrace by his quarterfinal opponent Nicolas Almagro who won only THREE games from the Spanish hulk. Nadal will no doubt face a much tougher match in the semifinals when he goes up against Novak Djokovic (below) who reached his second French semifinal in a row with a tough win over Ernests Gulbis.

American heartthrob Robby Ginepri's surprisingly strong showing at the French Open ended earlier today when he lost to the Fernando Gonzalez in a fourth-round match. Still, being the last American standing must have done wonders for Robby's confidence as he works to improve his ranking. It was three years ago that he made it to the semifinals of the US Open so we know he can play with the big boys.

"A disappointing performance on my part today, to not have my A game when I really expected it to be there," Ginepri said in a post-match interview. "At the same time, it was great last week and great tournament. I'll probably be a little bit more happy tomorrow, but at the moment I'm a little discouraged with the way it went today."

With his green tennis outfits and bulging biceps, Rafael Nadal reminds me of the hulk. He won his 25th consecutive match at Roland Garros on Sunday giving him a perfect 25-0 record at the French Open. That is a stretch that includes three titles in Paris and a quarterfinal run so far this year. But if anyone can snap the heady streak, it's Novak Djokovic who also won Sunday and will play Nadal, who turns 22 on Tuesday, in Friday's semifinals if they both make it that far.