First and foremost, my blog is active again!  After almost two months of wordpress not working, and giving me no clue as to why, our webmaster was finally able to get me up and running.  Thanks, Cara!

I’m not going to bother reviewing the last couple months of tennis news, as that would be a waste of all of our time.  So, with that in mind, I’ll skip right ahead to yesterday.  It was 80 degrees and sunny, and for the first time since seemingly my last blog post, a perfect day to be outside.  But like so many of you, I was glued to the TV for about 4.5 hours watching one of the better tennis matches every played. 

I was pulling for Roddick, but found myself surprisingly not disappointed in the end.  Maybe it was because watching Federer win his record breaking 15th slam singles title was amazing (and perhaps more amazing, was he didn’t flop to the ground and cry).  Or maybe it was just because I was relieved it was finally over.  While sitting on the couch doesn’t mentally wear you out, I was so involved in that match I felt mentally drained when Roddick mishit the last shot high into the air.

It’s terribly cliche to say, but Roddick deserved to win as much as Federer.  I think once the pain of this loss wears off, Roddick will realize it and be a better player for it.  He will realize that once again he will be thought of as a favorite at every event he plays, mentioned in the same breath as Federer, Nadal, Murray, Djokovic, etc…Not to mention I have a feeling he gained millions of fans around the globe with the effort he put forth.  To me, he is like Rocky Balboa in the first Rocky movie, and stood toe to toe with the Champion, Apollo Creed.

Only in this case it was Roger Federer. I’m not going to get into the whole comparing players across era’s concept, so I wont say he is the greatest player ever.  Claiming his 15th at Wimbledon is certainly fitting, as is recovering the ATP World No. 1 ranking, taking it back from Nadal.  He will lose it again, quite possibly later this summer, and quite probably to Nadal.  But once again, Federer has climbed above his current rivals like Nadal & Djokovic; and perhaps more important has also moved above and beyond rivals like Sampras, Bjorg & Laver, and is considered the Greatest Champion in the history of the Game.

More posts, and as always, links to follow later this week! Glad to be back!

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.

…American male left in the singles draw at Wimbledon.  Thanks to Blake and Roddick both bombing out yesterday, American fans have just Bobby Reynolds to cheer for at the All England Club.  Luckily, both Williams sisters remain in the Women’s singles and doubles, the Bryan brothers are currently decimating a couple of Russians, and Jamie Cerretani (paired with Victor Hanescu) is in the second round of doubles as well in his first Grand Slam appearance.  Who is Jamie Cerretani?  Besides playing college tennis at Brown University, he also has the distinction of winning his first ever doubles title against your truly in a grinder of a match at the 1992 New England Open. (more…)

I was not able to travel to Wimbledon this year, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been able to tune into ESPN 2 during working hours.  That being said, here are some random musings on what has gone on the first couple of days:

- Once again, a European Grand Slam has not been nice to males from the United States: first round losers include Wayne Odesnik, Donald Young, John Isner, Vince Spadea, Robby Ginepri, Mardy Fish, Kevin Kim, Sam Querry, Bobby Renyolds and potentially James Blake (who just dropped the first set to Christophe Rochus.  Yikes. (more…)

I barely have time to catch my breath with all that’s going on here with regards to Wimbledon, Fed Cup, and getting ready for the US Open, so I’m just going to post some links with pertinent tennis news.  Hopefully tomorrow I’ll have some time to give some first week thoughts on Wimbledon. 

The US team has been announced for the Fed Cup in Stowe.

Federer won his 50th straight match on grass today.

Meilin Tu wishes she were coming to Stowe.

Take part in ESPN’s live chat with Greg Garber, Bonnie DeSimone & Todd Martin every day at 1 and 4pm.

Nice interview with Serena Williams.

Wimbledon makes list of ESPN Page 2’s top 101 things a sports fan must experience- keep your eye out for a couple of other tennis related items.

FYI, looks like I was off about Davydenko, who beat Korolev and just staged an epic comeback against Guccione.  The 6th seed was down two sets to love, and at 4-4 in the 3rd set tie breaker before storming back to win in five.  Ok, as I said earlier, hopefully I’ll be on with a full Wimbledon report tomorrow.