I’ll take it.

 

 

 

 

 

Someone won two consecutive matches – only her fourth in the past 11 months.

 

I only saw her win over Petkovic. It wasn’t pretty and I doubt it was any different against Nadia – who doesn’t need any help snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

Still, a win’s a win. And a win over a top twenty player when you yourself are ranked #70 probably benefits you in more ways than you can hope to understand.

 

I’ll take it.

 

Franny next.

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Roland Garros: “Ladies & Gentlemen - Light is Suspended due to Awesome Play”

Don’t ask me about the match.

I only saw the first half of it on a live stream, which switched over inexplicably, at the beginning of the third set, …to Football.

Not premier league football mind you, not even Bundesliga football – but by the looks of it, a Sunday league event that might follow a village fete held somewhere in the provincial outskirts of Hungary.

I’m told it was good tennis. Best of the week even.

Which, to be honest, the tournament needed it to be.

It’s a sorry, and somewhat sodden, state of affairs when the rains wash out nearly two days of play, and the closest you get to having your fire lit involves Muzzard outlasting Reeshie in a match ‘The Talanted One’ should have won, and a more literal take on Lights Out Tennis.

How is it possible for a match on Chatrier involving two top twenty players – one of whom is not simply a home favourite, but the hottest player on tour right now with recent wins over Henin and Venus – to not receive even a minutes worth of coverage?

Oh I’m miffed alright. And by the looks of it, I’m not the only one.

Nice to know that whatever differences may exist with those folks over the pond, our respective broadcasters remain equally clueless and out of touch with their fanbases on what exactly constitutes ‘Box Office’ Tennis.

I’ve no qualms with having to sit through Marin procrastinating over closing out another one of those five setters he’s so fond of.

I’ve long since made my peace with the tennis universe ceasing to exist for the four or five sets it seems to take Murray to close out his matches nowadays.

And you can’t fault them for electing to broadcast the defending champion’s last gasp (didn’t see it, didn’t regret not seeing it), a result that will land Kuzzie around #18 in the rankings in two weeks time. 2005, before you ask, was when she last “did time” there.

But it’s a little much, is it not, when you’re forced to sit through Dementcha taking the path of least conformance through to a blundering three set victory over Aleksandra Wozniak – knowing as you do, how you’re being actively denied the sumptuous treats on offer in Chatrier.

And let’s reserve that pose for when you’re able to elevate your play to the level it was at during Wimby last year, shall we?

I didn’t sit around, as it happened, electing to use the “down time” to stock up on bog roll and beverages.

I returned to discover that I’d missed out on the event’s greatest shindig of the week. Both women had seen three match points come and go before, at 7-7, light was suspended due to awesome play.

***

-- “Viewer, I bagelled him”

And if you can’t place that reference I’ll find you unwell-read (or well-unread).

Nice to know that whatever else might be happening, the Naderer age of blemish-free straight-sets wins in the early rounds of Slams is upon us once more.

Leister tried to make things happen, but seemed as much a part of the furniture as Roddick was in Oz 2007, and before he knew it had been bagelled and was watching Federer double fault at match point. Not quite blemish free then.

-- Wawa bundled out AbFab in straights in a match I’m guessing no one knew was happening and no one cared about enough to see even if they did.

AbFab seems to me to resemble the the type of provincial Italian Charlotte Bartlett might have been keen to protect Lucy Honeychurch from in ‘A Room with a View’ , or for that matter, the strawberry sucking Adonis type that did seduce Winona Ryder in ‘How to Make an American Quilt’.

In other words, exactly the kind of shallow journeyman you don’t expect to make many waves on tour.

I wanted to sock him one when he made such a song and dance of wanting to stop play that night (and it was night) against La Monf – but I seem to have come away with a new found respect for the way in which he then held serve.

Poetic justice served then on La Monf and the-powers-that-be? I think so.

Wawa to play Federer next – ideally it’ll take a little longer than it did in Madrid.

-- Albert Montanes played 9 clay court events coming into the FO.

I’ve got this image in my head of Ed Rooney (of Ferris Bueller Fame) complaining to Albert Montanes’ management team about “how he’s been seen skipping the tour in favour of lower-tier clay court events no less than nine times this season......nine times."

Someone mind doing the research and telling me which ones?

(Photos: Getty)

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Melbourne: Days 4 & 5 – “Shock Infested” Swamps

So it all happened out there yesterday.

It was hot, it was muggy and some of the play looked to have been extricated from a swamp.

Petrova d. Clijsters 6-0, 6-1

A shocker, but perhaps also something of required reality check. Cupcake Kim she’s most certainly no more, but even the most ardent of her fans would concede she’s not immune to the odd bad day at the office.

Perhaps more interesting was the the way she dealt with it in the presser:

"It sucks," she said. "I was completely off. She was good but I made all the mistakes and she didn't really have to do much. She served really well and was aggressive in the rallies, but that's because I let her play. It sucks that it has to happen at this stage of this tournament. If it happens in another tournament, then you can say: 'OK, it's not a big deal, just keep working hard.' Matches like this happen maybe once a year.

"You just try to stay calm because there were points where I really wanted to break my racket into pieces, but that's not going to help either, so you really just try to stay positive. At some points I was just happy I was hitting a ball in. That's how bad it was."

The Guardian

Yowza, Yowza, Yowza!

Kimmie 2.0 has very much arrived – with not a cupcake in sight.

She’s picked up on court largely where she left off after her first Slam, but it’s off court that the real transformation has taken place.

Kimmie 2.0 is a darker, more edgy figure, with a more Hingis-like, caustic world view of her opponents. She's also more comfortable using words like ‘suck’.

The rest of the year suddenly got more interesting.

Bondarenko d. Jankovic 6-2 6-3

First things first.

What on earth is going on with Jelena’s serve?

There seems to be a viral marketing campaign currently doing the rounds in women’s locker rooms, that like any properly constructed sales pitch, is disturbingly effective in signing up consumers for stuff they don’t need.

Jelena’s first serve was a liability………back in 2007.

It was never going to assume B-52 proportions but since then I did think she successfully fashioned it into something more competent, something she might use to do more with than simply start the point.

I’d put up a clip except I had my first run-in with Tennis Australia who insisted I take down those two Henin clips from my last post (You know you’ve arrived on YouTube when that happens for the first time, though whether a 50 second tennis clip actually infringes copyright or should come under what most would consider ‘fair use’ remains open for debate).

For now I’ll attempt to describe it as best I can.

From the peacock-like head cocking, to the bending of the knees to an angle so acute, you’d think she needs the type of knee protection Moto Rally GP drivers are routinely issued with.

The pay off for such excessive re-architecting? Darned if I can see it.

She may even have regressed.

As for the rest of her game, it’s not entirely in tatters – but a visit to the drapers wouldn’t go amiss.

What little rhythm she did manage to create, was quickly quashed by Bondarenko who I’m sure has come on leaps and bounds since the last time I saw her.

Sign me up as a fan.

Kuznetsova d. Kerber 3-6 7-5 6-4

Sveta left it all out on court in round two. It was smooth, it was dreamy and as always when she’s on song, so cruel it was cute – Pavlyuchenkova didn’t know what had hit her, with no idea how to respond even once she did.

I was even deluded into believing she might have taken that next vital step up to becoming comfortable in her skin as a two time Slam Champion.

She must have left it all out on court – because last night, there was nothing left.

She made Kerber look as good as she did, by letting loose a total of 43 UFEs (peanuts compared to Shaza’s first round outage, I know) – shoot anyone that tries to convince you otherwise.

This one should have been over in 1:25, instead it lasted over two hours.

Maybe starting after the Nadal match at 12am had something to do with it.

Champions sometimes have a stinker in the first week – but are conditioned into putting it behind them and playing their subsequent matches with such panache, you sometimes think they were undergoing necessary detox.

I’d like to think it’s that way with Sveta – except I’ve been wrong so many times.

Safina d. Baltacha 6-1 6-2

Brits have been busy celebrating the first time two women have reached the second round of a Slam outside of Wimbledon since 1992.

But Dinara poured hot tar over all of that yesterday - just like she has been in all her matches so far.

The difference in class was all too evident.

I’m rather liking the look of Safina’s groundies since the beginning of the event.

That serve however...

Henin d. Kleybanova 3-6 6-4 6-2

Justine dropped a set and has picked up a leg inflammation – no doubt from all those hours spent 'comparing notes' with Elena on court – could she be the next big story with a flat ending?

Nadal d. Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 2-6 7-5

Oh the unqualified joy of seeing the ‘Declinist’ position on Rafa’s game, being sequestered in it’s proper place.

I have no idea whether or not Rafa will go all the way – at this point I’d say that’s not all that likely, nor for that matter as important as the question of whether his play resembles something like that of Pre Wimby 2009: It does.

If there’s one thing Kohlschreiber deals in, it’s BIG-UPSET tennis.

This might just have gone the same way as his match with A-Rod did two years back, if Phillip didn’t run out of gas somewhere near the beginning of the fourth set.

We were all waiting to see Rafa go up against credible opposition, and Phillip might just have been the tonic with which to put a seal on Rafa’s revival.

The confidence very evident in the way he shunted back a once-in-a-career wide angled backhand winner that was so far out of court he had to go round the net post.

Yeah that’s what comes of not being able to post up YouTube clips anymore. Boo.

Cilic d. Wawrinka 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-2

This one had five set bruiser written all over it.

I didn’t get to see it – but it’s kind of the result I expected.

Stanislas has been all at sea since Wimbledon last year, a period that’s coincided rather nicely with Marin’s upward march.

Marin is “the new Delpo” according to some – a view I would almost share were it not for the fact that their styles of play are a little like oil and water.

But there’s no doubting Marin is the best placed to have a Delpo like breakthrough year.

Somewhat befitting then, he should be playing “Mr Breakthroughs-are-so-2009” himself, in the next round.

A match that could go either way if you believe there’s anything behind that wrist injury Delpo came into the event with.

***

I didn’t catch very much of the action from day four.

I’ll try and be quick.

Davydenko d. Marchenko 6-3 6-3 6-0

Kolya’s the man of moment right now, and something tells me this is different from the surge Nalbie experienced at the end of 2007. One that was promptly extinguished in Oz the following year (nice to have you back Daveed, almost).

I’m still not confident of him going all the way, but Davy looks awfully close to embracing at least some of the attention that goes along with taking out the best two players on the planet at consecutive events; he definitely has a different look about him this year – one that was in full show yesterday against poor old Marchenko , who to his credit didn’t play a poor match.

The top ten is sometimes a dark, murky place; full of untold misery for any hapless intruder unfortunate enough to blunder into the wrong party (remember Fed performing live vivisection on Delpo last year?), and Davy is currently it’s arch-executioner.

I do so want him to go all the way, but will for now be content with the knowledge that seeing him face off against Fed in the quarters might turn out to be every bit as good as the Rafa/Sod encounter we won’t now get to see.

Federer d. Hanescu 6-2 6-3 6-2

Normal service ‘resumptionalised’. For the time being.

Djokovic d. Chiudinelli 3-6 6-1 6-1 6-3

Having not seen any of Djoko’s matches so far, I’m not entirely sure where he is (yeah, that old chestnut). I’d like to think he’s been bolstered by that win in Paris last year.

Until I see him face off against Tsonga, Haas or Youzhny, who all lurk menacingly in his quarter of the draw however, I can’t be completely certain of that.

Not crazy about the “Hell’s Angel meets Kung-Fu Fighting” edition Sergio Tacchini have kitted him out with either. Though it’s far more preferable to the incoherent slather of colour Murray’s been daubed with. Especially beneath those ‘pits’.

V. Williams d. Bammer 6-2 7-5

This time last year I was highly optimistic of Queen V’s chances of fixing that gaping hole on her CV, by winning her first Slam on a blue surface since the early Noughties.

This year I saw nothing leading into the event that would suggest that’s even a remote possibility.

Dulko d. Ivanovic 6-7 7-5 6-4

It’s becoming difficult to avoid at least considering the possibility that Ana’s set to go the same way as Vaidisova, and understanding the root of her problems sometimes feels like a niche Philosophy.

I’m not about to embark on either.

There were some good signs in her play, but not very many, and more disturbingly an action that almost suggests she’s made her peace with wonky service tosses – they seem to have fused themselves into her game so stealthily, she’s now more inclined to adapt to an errant ball toss than she is to continue to try and work it out of her game.

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Wood Chippers, ‘from what I understand’, are all the rage in the Far East…

So quite a lot of this happened yesterday.

For those that still don’t know it, Marin knocked seven shades of minty-green out of Rafa, whose serve, from what I understand, has a lot to answer for.

I’ll be using the phrase “from what I understand” an awful lot over today and tomorrow.

And maybe even in the future; at least until that great British Broadcasting Machine stops pretending men's tennis doesn’t exist in between Flushing Meadows and Shanghai.

This Asian Swing, has taken shape in a way, I certainly didn’t see coming.

Beijing in particular.

The suits cannot be well pleased at having missed out on televising what might well turn out to have been the best ATP 500 event this year. And you all thought the tour couldn’t survive the absence of Roger Federer.

That’s the second top four player disposed of, head first through the Cilician wood-chipper, in little over a month.

“From the beginning of the match until the end I didn’t let my level of play drop and definitely I came into the match really good,” Cilic said. “I was aggressive when I had to be.

“The best thing I did today: I didn’t back off, I was just stubborn with my style of play.”

(ESPN)

(Photo: AFP)

Following up opposite Juan-Marteen proved more difficult after his ‘upset’ of Andy Murray at Flushing last month.

I’d like to see him use more of that stubbornness, to follow up good n’proper this time round, even though I’d normally back Novak to break his finals curse. This is turning out to be something of a breakthrough year for Marin – and I think he needs a title at this level to underscore that. More so than Novak, whose interests would be better served at the Masters level – where he’s already made a staggering 4 finals this year.

Speaking of which, Novak played some pretty fine tennis of his own yesterday.

“From what I understand”, Big Rob was far from his best, but that in no way detracts from Nole’s performance; one that included more of that ‘grind’ I’ve found so unpalatable these past few months.

I’ve no objection to it being used in moderation provided it’s mixed in with those more aggressive bouts of play that should, under normal circumstances, be considered the mainstay of his game.

But there’ll be no Rafa Soderling final tomorrow. Rafa’s chipped to bits. ‘The Rob’ stops here. My ‘double-blind’ predictions saw to that.

***

Not to be outdone, the Sveta wood-chipper made equally short work of Nadia, racing to a one set lead before Petrova had even found her feet. From there on in, and understandably feeling the after effects of her three setter against Vera the day before, Nadia made an admirable commitment to a match she must have known was never going to be her own.

Not with Sveta firing on five out of four cylinders.

Nadia did however reinforce my conviction that no Russian serves anywhere near as well as her. You know who to hit with Elena. Another day, another opponent, and it might have been so very different.

"If I play my best game I think I'm to be the favourite but you never know," said Kuznetsova.

(SkySports)

No you never do know, but it’s A-Rad, rather than the favourite (and my favourite) Sveta, that I’ll be rooting for tomorrow..

She triumphed in straights over Bartoli, a result I would normally have expected to have gone the other way round; but perhaps not that unexpected this week with A-Rad seemingly set to go A-Rad 2.0, and not nearly as unexpected as the sight of Bartoli turning up to the match in what looked like a Matron’s castoff.

(Photo: AP)

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Beijing Quarters (WTA Edition) and some Retirement Speak

Williams praised her 27-year-old opponent and said: "I ran into a girl today who has never played so good in her life.

"I don't feel like I ever got into high gear ... I felt like in the second set I got one break and then I just made sure I held serve so I could go to a third set."

(BBC)

I only saw the closing stages of this match, including that controversial call.

But I can vouch for Serena’s comments: I can’t remember Nadia ever playing as well as that even back in her world #4 heyday. What I do know is she’s long been touted as having the weapons and the muscle to do exactly that sort of damage.

(Feng Li/Getty Images)

She also has one of the more powerful and surprisingly underrated serves out there – something of a rarity on tour. Peng Shuai seems to have this angle figured out on turning former world #1’s into her pigeon. Nadia’s no one’s pigeon, but is all too frequently her own.

Kuzzie’s match with Alona Bondarenka yesterday, was of a similar high quality.

I’m not quite ready to forgive the Russian top twenty female tennis-playing population for that gutless debacle we saw at Flushing Meadows this year.

But if one of these two pick up this title, which is btw now anyone’s for the taking, I might just be persuaded to stop grimacing at them.

In the other quarter, I’m backing A-Rad over Elena.

Here’s why:

1) I’m still not on what you’d call cordial terms with Elena, partly because of her post-Wimby slump, but mostly because of her outlandish insistence that her extended post-Flushing guttural excursion has something to do with not having had enough recovery time.

2) Like many, I haven’t seen A-Rad play as well as this since 2007. Could this finally be her time to shine in the shithouse? Why not? Everyone else is.

She should at the very least be able to fashion a fairly secure top ten position on the back of this showing, but I’d like to see her do so much more.

Finally, Vera takes on Bartoli, after avenging her US Open loss to Flavlova. Flavlova picked things up after a horrendous start (including a comic spell in the third set where Flavs moonballed her way into Vera’s head), but was otherwise, essentially, out of town.

Vera’s capable of some extremely fine things on a tennis court. We’ve seen that both at Flushing and back in Indian Wells. Unfortunately, she all too often gets in her own way of achieving them.

I’ve sort of learned to live with that. I could do without the annoying tick she’s developed of holding her hand up before every point on which she’s receiving serve.

(AFP/Getty Images)

Vera, like Nadia is her own worst enemy, but is still very open to all forms of mental manipulation. A tendency Bartoli seems exquisitely well placed to take advantage of. Bartoli in three.

***

Some retirement speak I forgot to include in my last Marat post.

"I don't think today's match is going to be the key to my deciding to play another year, definitely not," Safin said.

"It's easy to play when you have nothing to lose, no points to defend, so you have no pressure at all so you can just play, just go for it.

"If I was playing and had to defend something, it would be a different matter. I would get nervous at some point."

(BBC)

I still do think he will call it quits at the end of the season, but this is a lot more ambiguous than any of his recent comments on the subject have been

Someone a little less ambiguous, on the same topic:

Mauresmo said on her Web site: “Since I came back from the U.S. Open, I’ve been trying to practice but I can’t find again the desire to come back to competition. I don’t want to rush or force things. (I will take) some time to think before making a decision regarding the remainder of my career.”

(Yahoo! Sports)

I shudder to think I may already have witnessed the last ball Amelie every struck.

Volleying is officially dead . But you already knew that.

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Flushing Meadows: Gutless and Armless...

"I don't think she did anything too well. I just did unforced errors all the time. You don't have to do much. You just have to put the ball back. I was creating the point or I was losing it. This was it."

--Sveta reflects on being Sveta

(Source: BBC)

Sveta rolls over, and the match is called more or less as it happened: Major props to the Woz for hanging in there, and congrats for reaching her first Slam QF, but Sveta really should have put her away in two.

What happened with the Woz happens to Oudin three times over, and we're hearing comparisons being made with Justine Henin, whom she resembles only in height.

Oudin deserves all kinds of crazy props, for being one of the few women players at this year's event to show some steel - more so, considering her age.

And I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but Svetas comments sound a little like Jankovic's 'no weapons' grumpdown after losing to Melanie at Wimbledon this year. You've only yourself to blame love.

"Worst Comb-Over Ever"
(Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

But none of this changes the fact that this has been the worst ladies Slam showing this year, where Melanie's been lucky enough to run into a string of gutless, or in Shaza's case, armless Russian players.

I realise that may not be a popular opinion right now, but there it is.


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Call that a TV schedule? Combined Edition

I really like that Sharapova came through her match against Petrova with such ease, but I'm not sure there's that much to be read into the result.

I didn't see the match (much like the rest of the week, though the quarters and the finals have been deemed fit to broadcast for some reason), but have seen Nadia check out of matches like that in the past. A trait that remains unchanged in spite of her top ten position.

What I'm saying is that, for it to have been so easy, I'd guess it happened again. And if I were to go with what I've read, it seems I'm right.

Not that any of this should matter to Shaza of course, who should be looking to string a set of wins together -- preferably strong ones like this -- in an effort at building up those depleted levels of confidence ahead of the US Open.

She'll play the winner of Venus and Kudryavtseva next.

"Its always great to come back and play someone who's at the top of the game and playing pretty well. I always relish playing the top players," she said. "I'd love to play against her."

(BBC)

Not sure what form Venus is in, but if she is anywhere near the top of her game, it should be a good matchup - I always enjoy these two teeing off against each other. It's visceral, feral tennis at it's best. Not very pretty, but full of the right kind of drama.

"No, not the slice Elena, not even the drop shot, but never the slice..."
(Photo: AP)

Dementieva took out Kirilenko just as easily. I quoted her a couple of days back as saying she was unaffected by that semi final loss to Serena at Wimbledon. Which I think is rather impressive; it would have been so easy to relapse into that slump she'd been in earlier on this year. Also bodes well for her ahead of the Open.

Customary racquet throwing pic - is he deliberately trying to sport that nostalgic clean-shaven US Open 2000 look?
(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

In LA, Ernie went down in three sets to Safin, in a match that despite the 26 63 64 scoreline, was actually quite close. Yes feel free to double take. Not often you see or hear of Marat getting through many of those. But playing so much (don't forget that exho with Pete) has caused him to snap out of that dreamy state he was in earlier on this week, and his recent pressers sound more grumpy. Guy's nearing the end of his career and it seems he can't wait to reach the finish line.

"You're ok kid, you'll do alright" Or something like that...

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Not that I blame him, of course. With the amount of excess energy he's consumed in those mental outpourings over the years, I should say he's spent. Not unlike Pete Sampras was, in that regard.

As far as young Ernie goes, it's not this loss, I'm just not ready to buy into him as a concept. Not just yet. At his peak I'd put him right up there with the del Potro's and Roddicks of this world; but Ernie's not the first and will definitely not be the last young player that failed to capitalise on his talent.

Looking at his stats, his only result of note is that QF at RG last year. Apart from that nothing. Not at the 1000 level, not below it. Not a single ATP title in fact. Isn't it time he picked up one of those unintrusive clay court titles in Europe? The ones I bitched about a week or so ago, because of their particularly suspect calendar positioning.

It might be better to start with something as small as that. Something that doesn't cramp the style of the big boys, but puts you on the map. He really needs to get that monkey off his back before it burgeons in to a snorting gorilla.

I'd go as far as to say he should have played something like Gstaad instead of LA this week.
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Round of 16, Round Up...

Fed v Sod

Straight sets as I expected, but from what little I caught this was a lot more competitive than any of their previous sets. Next up Dr Ivo.

A-Rod v Berdych

Didn't catch any of this. But I was glad to see him get through in straights. Will give him some confidence ahead of his next match against Lleyton.

Hewitt v Stepanek

This one went the distance with injury timeouts all over the place. Lleyton will be spent. Irrespective of when he's scheduled to play, you have to go with Roddick now.

Simon v Ferrero

It just gets better and better. The Juan-Carlos Ferr-airy tale is not at an end just yet. He'll be playing the winner of the latest match ever to finish on Centre Court. Andy and Stan are slugging it out as we 'speak'.

Haas v Andreev

Straight sets. Unreal. This fairy tale lives on too. Haas versus Djoko next. Yes Haas beat him on grass two weeks back. No I'm not about to read anything into it.

Djoko v Sela

Toldyaso.

Nando v Karlovic

I was backing Nando but I'm actually kind of pleased to see Ivo come through to his first ever Wimbledon quarter. His game is rather boring, but anyone with a freak of a serve like that deserves more success on grass.

Safina v Mauresmo

When Safina went down 0-3 in the final set, I thought it was all over. Somehow Dinara clawed her way through in a way I still don't completely understand. Really, Amelie should have closed it out.

Wozniacki v Lisicki

I was really quite surprised and disappointed with what I saw from Caroline. I don't think she's the type of player that plays very well with her back up against the wall. Lisicki's confidence and positivity was only surpassed by her pace. But we know all about that and I expected nothing less. Caroline on the other hand was showing what can only be described borderline petulance.

Venus v Ivanovic

Didn't think Ana would have got a set from Venus anyway, but I can't help feeling for her after the way she went out. Having a freak injury like that end her Wimby campaign, one in which she appeared to be finally gaining some momentum, is cruel and I don't understand why things like it happen. But they do.

Radwanska v Oudin

A-Rad through in straights. Likey, likey, likey.

Dementieva v Vesnina

Dementieva through in straights. Likey, likey, likey.

Azarenka v Petrova

Well I had my first great test of trying to defend Victoria's indefensible behaviour today. "WHY YOU GUYS HAVE SO MUCH POWER TO RUIN MATCHES!?", she screamed at the umpire after an overrule that went against her. Erm, because it's their job maybe?

Less easy to laugh off though, is her mock attack of a linesperson, in whose direction she pretended to launch a ball after losing a game that involved a disputed call, thankfully deciding against it at the last second. Borderline assault, and I'm surprised she didn't get a code violation.

Nadia got some treatment early on after having some problems coping with the heat. And to her credit she won the next set. But I can see why more and more people are picking Victoria as the best of the rest, outside of the Williamses.

Serena v Hantuchova

An absurd, one-sided, butchery of a contest. Which is what I thought it'd be.

Murray v Wawrinka

And so we come to our match of the day. And probably of the tournament.

(Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Within minutes of the opening game, it became clear we were going to see something special.

-- New found respect for Stan, who came out and played such a blinder of an opening set it left Murray and the entire crowd stone cold. Especially sobering, after the pageantry we had with the closing of the roof, that began during the previous match between Safina and Mauresmo. Probably the best set of tennis he's ever played.

-- Any doubts I might have had about Murray's fitness are well and truly vanquished. Well, maybe I'll continue to entertain little doubts about his ability in searing heat. But this has to be his his best five set victory yet.

-- Stan Wawrinka has the best single handed backhand in the world. There, I said it. Gasquet may have the more stylish action but Stan's does a lot more damage.

-- Latest ever finish at Wimbledon. The match lasted three hours 56 minutes, with the end coming at 2238 BST.

(Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images)

-- Loved the fact that for once Murray brewed up just the right blend of rope a dope tennis and more aggressive play. I'd say in a 30-70 percent ratio.

-- Murray could barely walk in the last set and performed an elaborate balancing act of trying to conserve his energy and going all out attack.

-- Murray said at the end he'd derive confidence from this five set win. Yeah. But don't you think the on court interview right after the match was a bit much? The guy could barely walk - I'm surprised he strung a sentence together.

-- That 9 shot rally Murray played with a broken string. A series of forehand slices, willing Stan to crack first. Best point I've seen at this event and the weirdest I've seen in recent years.

-- British crowd weren't as loud as I expected them to be. In fact it was all very well behaved and in surprisingly good taste. A+. Five gold stars. But at one point I was willing them to show more vociferous support for Andy. In fact I believe Andy tried to rouse them up at one point in
the third set.

-- Stan belongs back in the top ten. Get back in there fast. I miss your backhand already.

-- Murray will get a day's rest followed by a (hopefully) less challenging match against Juan Carlos. Or so I think.

Thoughts too muddled to compose anything more coherent right now.
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Epic Overload...

I wasn't originally going to post today. But today is the day RG came alive.

I don't normally pay much attention to the early rounds at Slams but it's not everyday you get to see two former world #1's bringing some of their best tennis to the fore.

The day began with Murray putting on another convincing display, this time against Italian Potito Starace; he's still losing his way for large parts of the match, and there's no doubting he'll need to get on top of that if he is to stand a shred of a chance against Djoko and Federer. But I'm beginning be drawn to his philosophy of playing clay-courters like you're on a hard court and hard courters like an old school clay courter.

But the day belonged to Sharapova, Safin and the guy he lost to - a little known Frenchman by the name of Josselin Ouanna. More on him later.

I'm not going to go through the scoreline or the peaks and troughs of the Sharapova-Petrova.
match. The pertinent facts are this:

-- Any remaining doubts I had about the Sharapova serve being a problem were well and truly obliterated. It may never be what it was in the early parts of 2007, but is operating at around 80% - put that together with those firebrand groundstrokes of hers, which are as sizzling as ever, and you have a means of catapulting yourself back in the top ten. No problem. There, I said it.

-- Twas great to see that intensity again. Those Siberian Tiger like eyes. That unyielding desire. Serena has it, but only seems to bring it to the fore in the second week of a Slam. Nadal has it, but you get distracted by how nice a fella he is, not to mention the niceness of his supposed 'rivalry' with Federer. No, it's only Maria who has that singular focus in every single match she plays, even when she's being thrashed as badly as she was in the Aussie Open 2007.

-- Twas great also to see the the return of the 'stink eye'. The look Serena sometimes gives to opponents she doesn't, let's say, hold in high esteem. As far as I'm concerned there's only one other woman on tour who delivers 'the eye' as well as Serena, and that's Maria. Let's just say I don't think Maria and Nadia play Bridge together.

-- On that note, wouldn't it be nice to see Rafa deliver the odd stink-eye? Not to Federer maybe - that'd be a shock to the system. But come on, not even to Robin Soderling? I'm sure I've seen Roger deliver the odd dagger-eye to Djoko. Come on Rafa, it goes with the territory.

-- Nadia Petrova has the most underrated serve on tour.

-- We got a laugh and a smile from Maria at the end of the match. Not the one she gives at countless photoshoots. This was heartfelt stuff. I get the feeling the hiatus may have been a blessing in disguise as it may have reignited her love of the game. I seem to remember her, prior to the injury, balking at the suggestion she might play through to her late twenties, almost as if the grind may be beneath her. Maybe now she really will.

And so we come to our second near-epic of the day. Again, go read the broadsheets and the tabloids if you want to know what happened. Don't think I could do much justice anyway. Suffice to say, it was a standard five setter where Safin cedes a hard earnt break in the final set and with it the match. Except, not quite.

-- Sure Safin lost again. But this was a different Marat we were seeing. I'm really hoping someone else saw what I saw, because I think maybe the fact that this was going to be his last ever appearance at RG, pushed him into bringing something a little extra.

-- And it showed, not just in his game, but in his victory gestures and his body language.

-- No racquets were broken or even swatted that much in that last set.

-- Safin riling up the pro-Ouanna crowd by insisting that lines be double checked, and then immediately finding his way back into their good books by kissing the net after a net-cord that went in his favour?

-- Safin doing Djoko-like chest pumps? Directly at Ouanna? I've never seen him like this and I loved every second of it.

-- Safin fist pumping, at every opportunity it seemed. Positivity being scraped off the courts while they were being prepared during the changeovers. Why'd you wait so long to show us this side of you Marat?

-- Unreal serving. Both first and second serves. Instrumental in those match points he did manage to save.

-- And yet he lost. I'll miss you Marat. Please don't give up.

-- But there was a reason this match was as great as it was and that's the guy on the other side of the net. All I can say is where have you been Josselin?

-- It's about time we had another French player strutting and styling his way up the rankings alongside Simon, Monfils, Gasquet and Jo-Willy. And this guy seems a combination of some of the best of the rest.

-- His forehand is extremely Reeshard like in execution. Right up to the way in which he finishes by jumping up, like he's delivering a stylish, powerful, but very well-timed upper cut. And it's as powerful as anything James Blake hits your way.

-- Single handed backhand watch: Josselin Ouanna. At first I didn't like it very much - he didn't seem to have the confidence to use it, slicing most everything that came his way.

-- But even those slices had purpose. He was knitting a very large, complex web with which to hopefully net Safin with. And those slices were an integral part of that. Check out the backhand slice he passes Safin up the line with if you get a chance. Deftly executed and feather light in touch.

-- Just when Safin may have thought his backhand was the weaker wing. He started producing winners by hitting over the ball. No more pansying around with those slices anymore. This was brutal (his stroke execution is not dissimilar to James Blake) but so stylish. So French.

-- I don't often jump on to bandwagons too soon. But I think I might at least start following young Josselin. Apparently he's beaten up on Jo-Willy on the practice court. Not that hard to believe.
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