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!

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.

Obviously, losing in the second round is a huge disappointment for Roddick.  However, it should be known his opponent, Janko Tipsaravic is an extremely talented player who did play one of the better matches I’ve ever seen him play yesterday (for those unfamiliar with Tipsaravic, he is perhaps best known for almost beating Federer at this year’s Australian Open).  Blake, on the other hand, has less of an excuse.  Less than a month ago Blake dismantled Scheuttler at the French Open, on Blake’s worst surface, in straight sets.  Then yesterday he completely lost his nerve, and lost yet another five set match at Wimbledon.

Speaking of losing nerve, the most shocking upset yesterday occurred when Maria Sharapova (champion in 2004, and two time semifinalist) lost badly to 154th ranked Alla Kudryavsteva 6-2, 6-4.  Sharapova looked downright terrible most of the match, double faulting 8 times (in 9 service games) and making 22 unforced errors.  Somewhere at the All England Club, Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams (the two other best contenders on Sharapova’s side of the draw) are smiling.

Finally, Roger Federer cruised into the round of 16 today with yet another straight set victory.  Before people starting claiming the end of Federer’s reign, perhaps they should have stepped back, realized he still made the finals of the French Open, and watched the best player ever most likely win a 6th straight Wimbledon title.

- 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.

- Wimbledon has also not been nice to people who thought Nalbandian might be a dark horse to make a run here, myself included.  Set with a draw in which he should have been able to cruise into a round of 16 clash with Bagdhatis (especially after Karlovic went down in the first round for the 4th straight year), Nalbandian instead lost to young Canadian Frank Dancevic 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.  That being said, two contenders on that side of the draw, Djokovic, Federer, as well as the aforementioned Bagdhatis are not shedding any tears.

- Speaking of Djokovic, he leads off the action on Centre Court tomorrow with a second round matchup against Safin.  What is so intriguing about this match is that I would not be remotely surprised if Safin pulls off the upset, or if Djokovic wins  6-2, 6-1, 6-2 (or a similar score).  That is how talented, and mentally inept, I perceive Safin to be.

- Real quick, who says tennis is not exciting.

- Nothing too major of note on the Women’s side.   A few minor upsets (like Dellacqua over Schnyder and yet another Russian, Dushevina, taking down her compatriot Maria Kirilenko).  One top seed that narrowly avoided a major upset was 4th seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, who barely beat Mathilde Johansson of France 6-3 in the third set.

- As usual, both Serena and Venus Williams were solid in their first round victories.  Typical of them, they did not blow out their opponents as they seem to play their way into the tournament, getting stronger as the fortnight plows ahead.  Seriously, do not be surprised if Richard Williams is watching both his daughters play in the finals.

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.

- A Roddick vs. Federer final is impossible as they are in the same half.  I think Andy is primed for a big tournament, so he will make it through to the Semi’s, where he will lose to Roger. 

- I’ve predicted good results for James Blake the last few tournaments, and that has backfired.  So I’ll try the whole reverse psychology thing and pick Andreev to beat him in the first round.  Wait, that doesn’t really work.  If I admit to the whole reverse psychology ploy, then its pointless.  I think Blake wins that, then has a pretty decent draw up until the round of 16, where he would potentially face Gonzo, who has looked somewhat vulnerable lately.  The winner will then lose to Federer.

- Nadal has an intriguing draw.  A first round faceoff against an American power player can not put a smile on his face, especially after last year’s near loss to Robert Kendrick.  This year it will be Mardy Fish on the opposite side of the net. This will not be an easy match for Nadal, but ultimately I think he will prevail.  After that, his next two matches should be easier, before a possible round of 16 clash with Youzhny (who defeated Nadal at the US).  Here comes a bold prediction, wait for it…if these two do indeed meet, Youzhny will win.  If Youzhny gets taken out earlier, Nadal will lose in the quarters to Tomas Berdych (who would also beat Youzhny should they meet).

- Speaking of Berdych, who made the 4th round here in 2006, I think this will prove to be his Grand Slam coming out party.  He won the Gerry Weber Open last week in Halle, and seems to be peaking at the right time.  I actually think he has as good a chance as anyone to be the winner of the annual runner up trophy.  I’m predicting a semifinal win over Djokavic in what ultimately be the best match of the tournament.  Two young guns vying to lose in the finals to Federer, can there be better drama?

- So yeah, I think Roger will win Wimbledon, again.  Now, onto the Women’s side.  Actually first I’ll pick one major upset from the first round – Korolev over Davydenko.

- Serena and Justine are in the same quarter unfortunately, but I expect them to meet, and I expect Justine to win (and Serena to take out her frustration on the Russian Fed Cup team a couple weeks later).  Serena will squeak by Hantuchova in the 4th round, and not have enough gas in the tank for Justine.

- Jelena Jankovic will beat Justine in the semis, after cruising through her quarter of the draw.  The match against Justine will be an epic battle, possibly the match of the tournament. 

- On the bottom half of the draw, the seeds will stay somewhat true to form.  I sincerely hope Mauresmo makes it through, but fear she will have her hands full with her round of 16 opponent, Nicole Vaidisova.  Actually, I’ll just go ahead and say it – I see Vaidisova winning, then defeating Ana Ivanovic to move to the semifinals.

- Her opponent in the semis will be Maria Sharapova, whose tennis game only seems to be getting written about in a negative way.  I guess her last four Grand Slam results – semis, winner, runner up, semis – are not enough for all her critics.  Ultimately I think Vaidisova will prevail and advance to her first Grand Slam final.  Wow, it must be Friday afternoon, I just picked two young Czechs to make the finals of Wimbledon.  Did I wake up with my mind in the 80’s?  These guys are good, but Lendl and Navratilova they are not.  Screw it, I’m sticking to my guns.

- Jankovic wins her first title in a route over Vaidisova.  And just in case you didn’t get my point earlier, Federer will win his 5th Wimbledon in a row. 

- On a positive note, ESPN 2 will be broadcasting Wimbledon from 8am-5pm every day next week.  So not only do you get to watch tons of tennis, but you don’t have to listen to me rant about the lack of good tennis coverage again!  Have a good weekend

There are tons of arguments, all of which make lots of sense, that fall on both sides of the controversy.  Why should Women make equal prize money when Men work harder? The whole 2/3 vs. 3/5 set debate.  There is a simple counter argument to that – there isn’t an hourly wage for tennis players.  Roger Federer and Serena Williams have the same essential job- entertain fans while playing tennis, and hopefully winning.  People can literally go back and forth all day debating this, much like the debate between who is better – Tom Brady and Peyton Manning  (that was a joke, we all know Tom Brady is still superior).  In fact, arguing that Men typically have to play more was usually my go to point when debating prize money, but I’ve since realized that is a relatively irrational argument.

Tennis, like all sports, is a business, and its main goal is to make money.  It’s obviously a bit different than sports such as baseball, football, etc, because it is not a team sport paying its athletes yearly salaries; but again, the NFL, MLB, ATP, ITF, WTA are all trying to make money, there is no doubt about that.  The governing tennis bodies make their money through ticket sales and sponsors.  What generates sponsors and ticket sales? Players.  And while I sincerely believe that Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer probably generate close to the same amount of revenue, no one could ever convince me that worldwide, the top 10 Women are as popular and create as much revenue as the top 10 Men.  I’ve been to almost every significant tennis tournament, and I have witnessed first hand the crowd each event receives.  And while most stadiums are 100% packed for the final, I sat in a half full Arthur Ashe stadium in 2005 to watch an exciting semifinal match between Mary Pierce and Elena Dementieva.  The SEMIFINALS of the year’s biggest tournament!  That same year, the TV rating for the two finals were 3.1 and 6.2, guess who had the larger rating?  In 2006, the Women’s final had a rating of 3.2 and the Men’s fell back to 4.2, but that is still a 25% larger audience.  There is clearly a reason as to why the Men’s final is always on a Sunday afternoon, a more primetime TV slot that the Saturday night spot that the Women’s final receives.  My basic point is this – if Men’s tennis creates more revenue than Women’s tennis, should they not get paid more as well?

Some of you will not agree with my opinion, but keep in mind it is only my opinion, and opinions can be changed with a good argument.  So I urge you, try to change my mind.

Today’s Link has nothing to do with tennis, but feel free to watch one of the greatest NBA Playoff Moments of All Time.  RIP Dennis Johnson