I am able to get a lot of matches which is so unusual that I can't believe it. Murray and Del Patro was in a totally empty stadium due to lots of rain.Rather typical match for both. Murray looking a trifle bored and Del Potro playing well but hardly inspired. Amazing how those long arms can get to some shots. He pulled a muscle in his back and is either a very goof actor or really tore something because he broke down in tears. A kind of Evita moment. But Tipsy and Gonzalez today was a fine match. Gonzo managed to squander a lead, had to be heavily taped around his thigh, broke Tipsy and then managed to win a very exciting tie breaker. In Serbian(I cannot breathe on clay courts solidarity) Tipsy wore won of those straps across the brodge of his nose to improve breathing. I expect Djoko will show up with one as well.Fed swept through easily as well.

I watched Murray / Del Potro last night on TTC.  I thought the stadium was empty becuase it was a night match on an outer court, but it could have been the rain.  Maybe there were 20 people in the stands.  Very intersting match.  Surprisingly, Murrary spent a lot of his time at the net.  He often served and volleyed.  While his constant drop shots are annoying, the cantakerous-Murray can be entertaining to watch.  Potro's inside out FH was awesome but his BH needs work.

Looks like we have finally seen an American advance to the third rd on clay!!! Even if it was courtesy of a first rd bye for Roddick and then being matched up with another American (Fish).  Congratulations USA.

 

I've been watching. There's been some good matches, particularly the Fernando/Janko match.  Right down to the wire.

Murray/JMDP was good too - Murray as usual was ill tempered at the beginning, and I felt sorry for JM at the end.  So many injuries, he must be frustrated.

Fer V just beat Lord Carlos.  I like them both, so yeay for Fer and sadness for Carlos.

I didn't see today's matches but was told that Gonzo-Tipsy match was very entertaining. would like to see the Tsonga-Roddick come off. Saw Blake-Fish won in doubles today. The depressing sagas of Safin and Gasquet continue. In Safin's case I think those knee issues have just taken too much from him and the mobility - especially on the slow surfaces - will never be what it once was so would like to see him just play even more aggressively, but of course you take more risk and play closer to the lines you make more errors and without the consistency he just can't build the confidence. In Gasquet's case, really puzzled as to why he won't at least try working with a sport pyschologist. Mauresmo - who also went through some very trying confidence, choking and closure issues (blowing leads, struggling to finish matches, etc.) - did use one and it did help her in breaking through. The guy looks burdened to me at times like he's got some ominous cloud of dread hanging over his head. It's a shame because you think back to when he doesn't overthink, overanalyze and get in his own way, when he just lets the game flow and he's a wonder to watch - the win over Roddick in the Wimbledon quarters last year, the win over Fed in Monte Carlo in '05, the run to the Toronto final in '06, etc. When he gets grooved and plays more instinctually you see how gifted he is, but now it's almost like he has second thoughts before hitting the ball, like he's waiting for something to happen rather than trying to make something happen. He's never mastered the art of consistently finding a way to win when he's not in a zone and that's something Safin struggled with in his career as well. It's like these guys know the heights they can reach and become morose when they can't reproduce that level in a match, but it's managing those matches when your level fluctuates, finding a way to use what you have and what is working on a given day that makes a consistent winner.

Safin just does not want to succeed anymore.  That is the impression I have.  He is happy with the money, fame, the women, and the partying.  He is just going through the motions.  It is sad with the talent the possesses. 

Gasquet needs to work on getting trimmer, and faster.  His forehand is a non-weapon, and that is a problem in today's game.   

It is sad and he may have had his fill of the competition and just hangs around for the lifestyle. I'm not sure if it's a case of him not wanting to succeed or deep down lacking the belief he can succeed or simply not caring enough about the outcome anymore. Whatever the case, it is sad because the guy was a phenomenal player. Gasquet has good speed it's a question of using it more proactively rather than reactively. He gets too passive at times as if he doesn't have a clear-cut idea in his mind of what he should be doing so figures he can rely on his speed to defend on clay. I would agree he could get fitter though as he can wear down.

I watched Gasquet in the Juniors. He was talented, very talented, but somehow he never seemed to WANT to win. It just came to him with his intelligent game. Since then I have decided he is a young man who only played to please his father and who had great pressure on him in the French media. My guess, and while my years in schools were girls schools, that there is some low level rebellion here expressed in these now I am good and now I am not and if you don't like it I could not care less. Too bad he never absorbed the ethics of Santoro or Grosjean who had less talent but made the most of their game with physical fitness and a gritty determination to win at all costs.

And Roddick and Blake move on! Into the quarters! Andy was given a pretty tame draw with a fellow American in the first round, and an inexperienced Italian in the second (although Bolleli was in the finals of Munich last week), but Blake's third round win was pretty good against Verdasco. I hadn't expected him to get by Seppi, but beating a spanish lefty on clay is impressive. With Rafa gone, his draw doesn't look terrible. He's the undergog against Wawrinka, but he held a two set's lead on him at Roland Garros a few years ago.

Maybe  the problem with Safin is that he got spoiled by the appearance money. Once you're a grand slam winner you can show up and pick up a fat check even if you lose. This always seems to happen at warm up tournaments before a slam. They advertise a famous name will be there and he shows up, goes through the motions and is out of there in the first round. I don't recall Federer or Nadal ever doing this but some other players haven't even bothered to work up a sweat before they throw in the towel.