Well, Federer, Blake and Roddick are all out of Toronto before the weekend.  One of the Semi’s will be Indy champ Gilles Simon against German vet Nicolas Kiefer.  The other semi will be decided tonight, after Nadal takes on Gasquet, and Djokovic (defending champion) will play Andy Murray.  To hold you over until the exciting weekend, here are some links to enjoy:

Bodo on Federer and fatigue.

Nice feature on Mario Cilic (beat Roddick in Toronto) and a few other ‘young guns.’

Nadal’s take on Federer’s Toronto loss.

A bit dated now, but here are some great shots from the Wimbledon Final.

Some results from the WTA stop in Carson, California.

Harkleroad on Harkleroad, from Tennis Week, not Playboy.

John McEnroe, not exactly a prime example of politcal correctedness, has replaced Justin Gimelstob in the USTA ads. 

More McEnroe, who is not impressed with the way the ATP has handled the Hamburg event and the overall schedule.

Two big events going on this week, Toronto (a Masters) for the Men, and Los Angeles for the Women, so I will have more to report on these results later in the week, for now here is an assortment of random links and tennis news:

- There has been no settlement reached beteween the Hamburg Masters Event and the ATP.  Details can be read here.  Obviously, Hamburg will not be happy unless the ATP keeps it as a Masters Event.  There is no middle ground here, it will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

- Steffi Graf & Andre Agassi will no longer be major shareholders in a proposed luxury resort at Tamarack Mountain, in Idaho.  They cited litigation and market reasons, however I think they want to focus more on the future tennis careers of children Jaden Gil & Jaz Elle. (more…)

While there are some tournaments going on this week, I simply couldn’t muster up the energy to watch, knowing it would pale in comparison the the Nadal/Federer final.  So I really don’t have much to report.  Instead, here are some tennis headlines:

Some TV rating info from Wimbledon.

Steve Tignor’s Wimbledon Report Card.

Latest Wertheim Mailbag.

ESPN Page 2 hosting a contest to play against Andy Roddick.

Newest podcast from Bill Simmons with James Blake.

Gimelstob’s future in tennis is definitely in doubt.

Some thoughts from Jim Courier regarding Roger Federer.

Tennis Week interview with new Hall of Fame inductee, Michael Chang.

What a weekend of tennis at the All England Club!  At home, the beach was beckoning me away from my TV, but I simply couldn’t tear myself away from the action.  You almost have to feel bad for the Williams sisters, who played a very competitive match that was one of the most enjoyable Women’s matches of the entire fortnight.  However, that match will obviously be a footnote, at best, to the epic final between Federer and Nadal that lasted an entire day with rain delays, with almost five hours of tennis action.

There is one saying that wraps up the Men’s Final, which saw Nadal dethrone the five time reigning champ 9-7 in the fifth set, albeit a bit cheesy – “At the end of the day, tennis was the real winner.”  I was rooting for Federer, mainly because I am sick and tired of hearing about his demise, but I hope people realized after that match yesterday – this is not about the demise of Federer, this is all about the rise of Nadal.  In my opinion, Federer played the same level of tennis he generally played the last 65 matches he won on grass.  Could he have played a few of those break points better? Of course.  But if yesterday’s Roger Federer played last year’s Nadal, I submit Federer would have won.  Unfortunately for Federer, and the rest of the ATP, Nadal has risen above and beyond all, and is the best tennis player in the world.

Here is how some others said it, most likely better than myself:

Peter Bodo

Tom Perotta

Jon Wertheim

Sandra Harwitt

Greg Garber

Ok, so this is cheating a little bit, since Venus already took down Dementieva in straight sets to advance to her second straight final.  However, knowing Dementieva’s big match history, and my propensity to pick favorites anyway, I think we can all agree I would have picked V. Williams.  So, let’s move on quickly to S. Williams vs. Jie Zheng before that match is over, and in all honesty, I’m not sure we have much time.

I say that in jest, actually.  Jie Zheng is playing great tennis, and should feel absolutely ZERO pressure against Serena.  I can definitely see Zheng keeping the match tight, but I cannot see her actually winning the match.  Serena simply has too much confidence on Centre Court, and I think the prospect of playing her sister in the finals gives her a little extra motivation.  Expect Serena in a tight two setter, something like 6-3, 7-5.

One of the Semifinals over on the Men’s side is actually not set.  Because of the rain delays yesterday, Schuettler and Clement have to finish their quarterfinal match today.  The winner, of course, will enjoy a thrashing at the hands of Rafa Nadal.  I know both players have done well to get here, but the most accomplished either has beaten was James Blake (who Schuettler beat in the second round), and Blake has a pretty poor history on grass.  So, while I applaud both of their efforts, and I will hope for a close match, I think either is in for a pretty good throttling at the hands of Nadal. 

The premiere Mens Semifinal match is Federer vs Safin.  While Safin is ranked 75th, by this time it’s apparent to everyone that he is playing like player that was ranked in the top 10 so long (just ask Djokovic) before he was riddled with injuries.  His opponent this time is not Djokovic, it is Federer.  And this is not the Federer that won only four games off Nadal in Paris, this is the Federer that has not dropped a set in five matches here, nor has he lost on grass in his last 65 matches or so.  I think if Safin can get off to a fast start, he will have a fighting chance, otherwise look for Federer to win in straight, or maybe four sets.

Two notes: Serena just took a 4-1, two break lead over Zheng; Clement just won the 4th set tiebreaker to force a fifth and deciding set.