“He served well, and that’s it.” That’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after losing today to Ivo Karlovic, who served 46 aces. Sh*t.
Dr. Ivo tells the press he doesn’t mind being called a one trick pony:
Q. Are you getting angry about persons who are saying you can just serve and that’s all?
IVO KARLOVIC: No. It’s actually, I mean, I like it, because if I can win with only one shot, I’m, I don’t know, a genius, so I like it (smiling).
And then Ivo gets a Dumb Press Conference Question:
Q. Can you name any player who gave you a compliment, a player we would know who said something?
IVO KARLOVIC: I don’t remember now.
Roger Federer, never short on accolades, is now the subject of a poem by poet Niall O’Sullivan, called “The Boredom of the Gods.” Not sure if it’s ridiculous or deep – here are the final stanzas:
The second set falls
and Federer calls the ball girl
to bring his towel,
the laws of physics
and spatial temporality
put up even less of a challenge.As both men settle on chairs
and stare deep into a place
that most of us will never know,
the Umpire calls out the name of the ultimate victor.Time.
Oooh, shivers – click here to read O’Sullivan’s full creation and click here for my review of Roger’s exciting four-setter against Philipp Kohlschreiber today.
Federer’s Rd. of 16 opponent, Robin Soderling, has never beaten Roger in 10 tries. Will the Sod make good on his Roland Garros joke: “Nobody beats me eleven times in a row”? Here’s his take:
Q. Do you have any reason to think that you could get closer to Roger should Roger win on the grass here rather than the clay of France?
ROBIN SODERLING: No. (Laughter.)
Novak Djokovic played an almost perfect match against Mardy Fish today, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
In a very random connection with current events, it turns out that Novak has a Michael Jackson impression in his repertoire. Here he is (I think) at the Monte Carlo players’ party a couple years back:
Djokovic’s surprise Rd. of 16 opponent, Israel’s Dudi Sela, scored the upset today against Tommy Robredo in 4 sets. His press conference was filled with Dumb Questions, but this exchange might be the winner for the fortnight. Really, people:
Q. Are you the king of Israel, or is it David? I didn’t get that straight.
DUDI SELA: David, David.
Q. We were both listening and trying to hear, were they saying, “Dudi, king of Israel”?
DUDI SELA: Yeah.
Q. Did you know that the chair umpire’s name is Mohamed?
DUDI SELA: Yes, of course, I know, Swedish. (Dudi went on to say “Mohamed’s great.”)
Ugh.
In other men’s results, Verdasco is through over Montanes in four. Haas and Cilic are embroiled in a real thriller – tied 6-6 in the 5th set – that was suspended due to darkness. Haas had 2 match points in the fourth set on Cilic’s serve. Will Tommy Haas conquer the Bad Luck Bug or is he destined for another soul-wrenching defeat? Seppi vs. Andreev is also unfinished. Click here for more scores.
On the ladies’ side, Serena Williams beat Roberta Vinci fairly easily today but I’d just like to say “Roberta Vinci, I like your game.” She has a great one-handed slice backhand and she serves and volleys. Can’t we have a separate tour for the gals who don’t play Big Babe tennis? I’d watch.
The Williams sisters also won their doubles match against Lisicki/Wozniak in straights.
Speaking of Big Babes, Victoria Azarenka beat fellow young gunnette, Sorana Cirstea, 7-6, 6-3. I’m looking forward to her driving Nadia Petrova crazy in the Round of 16. And hopefully she’ll do more of this:
How’s this for a WTF scoreline? Schiavone beats Bartoli 7-6, 6-0.
In other ladies’ results, Dementieva destroyed fellow Russian, Regina Kulikova, 6-1, 6-2, Vesnina beat Cibulkova in three, Hantuchova came through over her dubs partner, Ai Sugiyama, and Virginie Razzano got the walkover from the ankle-addled Vera Zvonareva. Click here for more.
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