Especially considering how disparaging I've been towards his forehand, a stroke which I'm unlikely to revise my opinion of. Ever.
Not that he or anyone else should care of course. It's unsightliness serves almost as a forewarning of the devastation it's capable of inflicting. Whoever said that brutality wouldn't be a necessary ingredient to bringing about the biggest upset in clay court history? And besides, it gives us a different take on 'Winning Ugly'.
"We should shoot pool or something..."I have no idea how tomorrow's match versus Gonzalez will turn out, but if it is to be Robin's last appearance here, he can go out knowing he's pulled off what in my eyes is a greater achievement than the way Nadal unseated Federer at Wimbledon last year.
(There was always a sense that Nadal was inching ever closer towards doing that having made the final there for the previous two years, but Rafa at RG was about the safest bet in sport).
Nadal's always been vulnerable to flat hitters, but like many others, I thought he had exorcised that particular demon in the way he'd turned around his record against James Blake and MikailYouzhny.
I'm not sure what lies next for Robin. It's probably a safer bet to assume he won't follow up on this form in the immediate future. But I will say this: hitting the ball as flat and as accurately and aggressively as he does off both wings won't just cause Nadal problems.
There's probably less than a handful of players that can do that.
If you can do it for any extended period of time -- à la Safin v Federer Melbourne'05 -- it almost doesn't matter who's on the other side of the net. That just may be the other safest bet in tennis.
***
We did have some ladies semi finals action today.
Dinara came through in straights against Cibulkova in a match that deserved a third set given how intensely fought it was. I'm pretty sure I've never seen Dinara get more Marat on us. I counted two expletives ("Move your f****g feet!") amidst the usual gloriously toned episodes of Russian self berating.
It clearly matters to her.
But it didn't stop there. Dinara was in full flow today.
And Russian Drama preceded Deadpan Humour. And Irony. Look out for her 'That was a good shot', after a serve that went so horribly wrong, it hit her side of the court before ending up in the net.
I love having mics so close to players. Best media innovation ever.
I've always been a sucker for underdogs and Dominika, with the way she contests each and every point and the punch that she packs, makes the job of liking her all the more easier.
And the sight of all 5 foot 2 inches of her doing battle with the big girls, meant I was the closest I've been yet to backing one of Dinara's opponents.
She's surely one of the most consistent players on tour, but that usually indicates a distinct lack of aggression (think Jelena). No so here - if anything it looks like she's taking aim for the lines.
Yes, ultimately her lack of height does prove to be a problem where she's unable to direct anything she's forced to hit above her shoulders; but I actually think shorter players like her have a unique advantage against the taller women.
Cast your mind back to the match Ivanovic played against Jie Zheng at Wimbledon last year. For Ana, it was the onset of that great journey named 'all at sea' tennis players take once in a while. There's been reports of her vessel approaching the misty French harbours this week, but her return date remains uncertain.
Anyway, one of the things she said after the loss was how difficult she found it to reach those low bouncing balls that were practically skidding past her - the bounce no doubt made worse by the grass, but also largely down to the stature and technique of her opponent.
No need for a maths lecture here, but most short players compensate for their lack of height by hitting with bucket loads of topspin. Now consider the trajectory of a flat stroke and compare one struck by a taller player to that struck by a shorter player.
Because the taller player's shot will be begin it's journey from a slightly higher position, the corresponding bounce will also be higher. Yes, it's easier for them to execute a flatter stroke because of the height advantage, but their ball will also sit up a little more.
Conversely, a flat shot will be a lot harder to execute for a shorter player - they run the obvious risk of over shooting. But if they do manage to land the ball in, it will be that much more difficult to return as it will likely remain pretty low. That's what Ivanovic was up against rally after rally. Not surprised she emerged as flustered as she was.
It takes a pretty talented player to pull that off. But I think Jie Zheng and Dominika Cibulkova, ranked 19 and 15 in the world respectively, fit that bill perfectly.
The other semi involved Sveta and Sam Stosur - a woman that has made #1 in the world in the Doubles Rankings. I was looking forward to this one as it involved two very unique talents.
Two of the only female players capable of serving a kicker.
I feel about kicked serves the same way I do about single handed backhands. A uniquely effective but somewhat lost art, particularly on the womens tour.
I also loved the inspirational story of the big return from Lymes Disease, that sat rather well, I thought, alongside the first Aussie showing at a Grand Slam Semi in 21 years.
There was a lot resting on this one for me.
Unfortunately it failed to live up to it's billing.
Stosur was sadly missing in action, until late in the second set when a sudden surge from her secured the tie break. Sveta's form coughed and spluttered the way it usually does, periods of sheer brilliance punctuated with brain dead nonsense (Remind me again why I'm a fan? Something to do with effortless shotmaking).
Things picked up in the last set though, and featured rallies of the highest quality from both women. Rallies that convinced me that Stosur, despite it being an off day for her, is capable of pushing her ranking higher than her current position at #32.
She really does play her tennis a little differently. The serve is not the heaviest I've seen, but quite brilliant in it's placement and variation. And of course there's that kicker - not put to best use today it must be said. But what really stood out for me -- because I wasn't prepared for it like I was with the kicker -- was the forehand.
Eurosport had a great slow-mo camera profiling the best groundstrokes of both players and I couldn't help noticing how Federer-like her action is.
I'd love to see her playing at the peak of her powers - she said in an interview she was cutting back the doubles to focus on singles and 'making her mark' there. Maybe this Slam is the first of many that sees her do just that.
But I can't help feeling that with the way Sveta fudged and slurred her way through this match, and with the way Dinara mocked and caricatured her way through hers, it's Dinara that's demonstrating the greater determination.
Sveta has bags more talent but it seems to be Dinara's time.
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