Beijing/Tokyo: WHY?!

It is said that for every match Marat Safin plays to his potential, one case of cancer is miraculously cured in the world.
Pity he doesn’t do that more often. 
 

 
I just watched in shock as the Hippo serve out his match against Gonzo for a place in the Beijing quarterfinals.
Why?!
The dude served up 12 aces and [...]

Picspam: Truly Aaaaaasia.

The tournament in KL is underway as the PMO organisers arranged a players party at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. 
Go back to your room Reeshie, you’re GROUNDED.
 

 
One of the great things about having tournaments in non-Western countries is that the organisers always feel obliged to dress the players up in traditional costumes.
Can you imagine tournaments in [...]

USO Day 13: Back to Bedlam.

It rained cats and dogs over Flushing Meadows today as the tennis world waited around for some actual tennis action and complained about the lack of a roof. And when we finally got to see some tennis, it was blissful bedlam. 
 
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
 
Conscious of the fact that the way the match ended overshadowed the [...]

USO Day 11: I care.

Del Poopoo is through to the semifinal of the US Open after coming back from a set and break deficit to defeat Marin in 4 sets. 
Bad execution and shot-selection for Marin on some key points meant that he couldn’t keep the momentum going despite a fairly strong start to the match. That, and also the [...]

USO Day 9: Time to “bring it”.

Time flies when you’re having fun. We’re past the two thirds mark of a slam, well and truly into the make-or-break end of things. The round of 16 is always a round of carnage where the dark horses of the tournament rear their shiny heads to make a statement.
This means only one thing: it’s time [...]

Picspam: A fresh batch of convicts to send to Australia.

Do head shots ever look good?
I love Kendrick’s face – he looks positively constipated. 
 

 
Special mention to Gael Monfils though, the guy actually managed to look normal. Overall, a much better batch than the ATP’s previous attempt. 
 

 
At least they don’t look like drug lords in these. 

Montreal Day 3: the importance of being ironic.

 
In a match that was supposed to be all about Rafa’s knees, it was Ferrer who ended up limping off the court at 3-4. Sorry Rafa fans, after two months of thirst, the 7 games that Rafa and Ferrer played probably did nothing to quench your desperation. 
Rafa was understandably rusty, but it’s hard to tell [...]

Montreal Day 2: Canadian Tennis – it, like, exists or something.

How do you say “GO TIM” in Canadian? 
I didn’t expect any of the Canucks other than Dancevic to put up a decent fight in Montreal. Ironically, Dancy was the only one who went down not with a bang but a whimper. 
 
REUTERS/Christinne Muschi
 
Djokovic def. Polansky 6-4, 7-6 (6)
The match was wrapping up as I woke up [...]

Weekly Mosaics: go thug yourself!

Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who’s the fugliest of them all? 
 

 

 

 

 

 
Yes folks, those are indeed the new mug shots the ATP put up on its website for their players’ profiles. Were the instructions “pretend the photographer’s Etienne de Villiers?”
Epic success.
 
Go-Thug-Yourself Honourable Mention: Fernando Gonzalez for his “big eye small eye” stare-down. 
Go-Thug-Yourself Third Place: Gilles Simon, for [...]

You say mono, I say duo.

No predictions from me, as promised. I dare say you’ll read enough of it in the next few days anyway. Some thoughts on the draw and just a little shoutout to a notable first round match - Roger Federer v Lu Yen-Hsun.
 
Of all the people Roger could’ve gotten for round 1, he gets “mono guy”. Yup [...]