I missed the Roddick vs. Hewitt thiller! Why? Because NBC’s “protected” tape-delayed coverage messes up everything here in the Western time zone, and it makes hunting for tennis on t.v. akin to wandering the Sahara without a map. NBC’s live streaming option may be too little, too late, but it beats drinking my own pee. Click here to check it out.
Okay, moving on to the wrap.
Andy Roddick summed it up best on Twitter: “124 home….. 4 left”
And he’s one of those four remaining after beating Lleyton Hewitt today in the aforementioned classic. You know it was an exciting match when you see this:
(That’s Hewitt’s coach, Tony “Dozy” Roche cheering in the stands.)
Roddick will be the underdog in his semi against Andy Murray, who beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in three straight-forward sets (though JCF was up a break in the second.)
P-Andy-monium is my new favorite expression for the whirlwind of excitement, expectation and exhortation that’s swirling around the Scot right now. The Scottish Daily reported that people began queuing up on Monday morning to score a ticket for today’s semi final – that was 17 hours before Murray beat Stan Wawrinka in the Round of 16. Over 12 million people tuned into the BBC to watch that match at home. The Scot’s even being credited for reviving Britain’s failing economy – or at least helping his country-folk forget about it.
Here’s a summary:
If, like the freaky butcher in the video, you are among the few who’d prefer the “other Andy” to get to the final, you’ll like today’s ominous quote from Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Q. Do you think you might have lost to the eventual winner?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Of course, he’s playing very well. He’s moving well in this court. He’s serving very well. So of course he has a lot of chances to win. But he has two matches left. He will suffer, for sure.
I like Andy Roddick’s strategy: “I’m just going to pretend when they say “C’Mon Andy” that they mean me.”
Federer Fans will love this quote from Ivo Karlovic, who lost to Roger today in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6:
Q. Can you explain what Roger does differently than other players with your serve? Does he hit it back sooner, or is it clear to you why he can handle it a little bit better than others?
IVO KARLOVIC: Oh, it is only because he is better than everybody else. That’s it.
Roger broke Dr. Ivo’s serve twice in their quarterfinal match – the first time(s) the Croatian’s been broken all tournament. But an alert Fedophile never rests easy – here are a couple press conference quotes that set us on edge:
ROGER FEDERER: We’re just gonna try to, you know, push through this weekend, you know, and then after that (Mirka) can completely relax, even though she is already. There’s still obviously the pressure with all the big matches, and especially towards the final weekend.
Doesn’t Roger realize that using the word “pushing” when his wife is ready to pop sends BabyFed Watch into the red zone? Even more nerve-wracking was Roger’s talk of five set matches and Tommy Haas:
ROGER FEDERER: It’s fun, you know, playing the biggest matches. Especially I like playing best‑of‑five‑set matches. And maybe this is where, you know, I’m best at, you know, because everything comes out. Not only your mental strengths, but physical, tactical skills. Tactical skills, you know there needs a lot happening, you know, that I lose a match over best‑of‑five sets, you know.
No, it’s not fun, Roger! (Please excuse me while I wipe off my sweaty palms. . .I think I have mild PTSD from the French Open.)
Tommy Haas will have another chance to push Roger to the limit on Friday, when the two meet in the semifinals. He took out a hang dog Novak Djokovic in four nervy sets – continuing his win streak on grass and his cunning evasion of the Tennis Gods’ caprices.
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, well, I mean, basically I think if you just look through the past, I don’t know, maybe 13, 14 years of me playing Wimbledon, you know, there’s a lot of bad luck involved.
Even the matches that I have lost in the third round to maybe get a little further, you know, I’ve lost a lot of tight ones. I always felt like deep down Wimbledon will maybe still have something left for me. It better come up soon, because I’m not getting any younger.
And the Tennis Gods aren’t getting any kinder, either. At this point I don’t know if they’re waiting to take him out with a wasp sting when he’s, say, 5-0 up in the fifth set against Federer,
or if Tommy’s endured such a flood of bad luck that it’s finally overflowed into the good karma bucket. We will see.
Novak Djokovic isn’t suffering from bad luck as much as bad attitude. The No. 4 seed was just becoming the talked-about “guy who nobody’s talking about” at Wimbledon, easing into the quarterfinals losing only one set. And now everyone will be talking about him – because of today’s lackluster loss to Haas.
“Today was a real disaster.” Novak said after the match, blaming nerves and pressure.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I just think that the difference, you know, is a little unpatience (sic) in that important moments. I think I get nervous a little bit more than I used to. And I guess that’s probably pressure that I feel. But I shouldn’t.
Sports psychologists all over Serbia are plumping the sofa cushions and putting out the Nole Bars and Aqua Novak in anticipation of a new client. Maybe some Orbit gum, too.
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