It’s that ‘pit-sniffing’ forehand again.
“The heat here is important,” Nadal said. “It’s not easy to play here.”
You know it’s been bad when “the solar-powered one” declares it unfit for purpose.
He wasn’t the only one.
“The conditions are tough here,” Murray said. “I’ve played seven matches in nine days, and every one was between noon and 3 o’clock, when it’s warmest. I think anybody would be feeling (tired) in my position.”
Both toughed out three setters over Ernie and Benneteau respectively.
It wasn’t USO winning form. Few expected it to be.
Benneteau, in particular, seemed set to repeat the kind of upset he pulled off in Paris against Fed last year – ya know, when he turns into that nutter at the net.
Unfortunately, in doing so, he also succumbed to a bout of muscle cramp allowing Rafa to meekly close it out 5-7 7-6 6-2.
Djoko had what, perhaps on paper, seems the easier 6-1 7-6 win over Daveed.
Anything but, as it turns out: as has been the case all too often recently, he found a way of making things more difficult for himself and when he did finally make his victory wave, did so looking scrawnier than usual and with his eyes bulging out a little more than usual.
Heat? Clearly not an issue.
Roddick won over Sod in three, but not before being dragged kicking and screaming into a 2nd set tie break, in which he blew match point and then went all “fire and brimstone” on the ump for allowing Sod to challenge what he presumably thought was well outside the scope of time allowed either by the rulebook or umpire’s discretion (also, funnily enough, part of the rulebook).
Roddick’s version of events:
Discretion: Can’t live with it, can’t live without it….
Love you Andy, but a piece of string is as long as discretion says it is.
Robin didn’t hear the call and the ump obviously exercised discretion in allowing him to challenge once he had realised the true score.
It’s the very same discretion that allows Rafa to habitually creep over the unofficial 25 secs allotted to complete your serve.
In either case, no malice is involved and so, well, it should be ok.
It was very close, but ARod would likely have gone on to lose that set anyway: Sod seemed to have picked up his game and was crunching those groundies in the way only he can. He saved match point by finishing at the net – do we need further proof he was in the zone?
It’s become increasingly difficult to stomach the patronising way in which Roddick takes aim at officials: it’s both insulting and counterproductive – berating an ump with poor English about his communication skills makes for a far uglier spectacle.
In other news Brad Gilbert almost got arrested by a rentacop and was practically frogmarched out, after demanding access to the locker room on the back of his “former champ” status:
“Commentating Ugly”. Look out for the forthcoming book.
Why is it that all the best shit seems to go down when I’m tucked up in bed dreaming about jellybeans?
When TopSpin’s away, the mice will play…
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