What a stacked draw!

Check out these first round matches:
Kuerten vs. Fish (both men won titles yesterday!)
Gonzalez vs. Blake (Blake suprisingly leads 2-0)


Pou, Federer, Nalbandian, and Roddick are all on the same half of the draw. I don't think Nalbandian will play, though, which must be a sigh of relief for Roddick. A Federer vs. Roddick semifinal looks likely - I've got a feeling about Grosjean, tho...maybe he can surprise Roger?

I'm looking for Massu to break out again, and for Coria to continue to bld on his success from this week. Massu and Coria should meet for a place in the semi's.

The very top of the draw is a mess. El Aynaoui SHOULD advance, actually, with good head-to-heads vs. Ferrero and a game that matches well against Srichaphan. Let's see what happens there.


[Thread title modified to correct case. - Outsports moderator]

[ October 27, 2003, 03:25 PM: Message edited by: m1 ]

Well, hopefully Ginepri doesn't feel TOO bad about not getting past his qualifier today (sniff ... his last match of the year!) - maybe it will convince him that the sideburns have to go? In any case, he's not alone - ALL SIX of the qualifiers got past their higher-ranked opponents today, including three Frenchies! French wildcards didn't fare so well, Gasquet came from ahead to lose to Gaudio, while Mathieu, who I thought would beat Arazi, was unable to overcome the Moroccan.

Santoro currently holds a one-break lead in the third against Mirnyi - good to see Fabrice playing well. Costa had a solid win over Zabaleta. Blake/Gonzalez is still to come, and tomorrow brings us Spadea/Clement and Fish/Kuerten.

I'm hoping Paradorn can overcome a whole lot of variables, along with Grosjean and Philippoussis, and grab at least the #9 alternate spot. I know that Flip had a better hear, but I'd still rather watch Srichaphan play.

Me, too...I'd like to see P-dorn make some noise. End the year with a proverbial bang (not win, necessarily, but score a few upsets). That'd give him GREAT momentum heading into the Australian.

Mirnyi lost. Damn. James Blake, however, beat hard-hitter Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3, 6-4. Blake is now 3-0 vs. Fernando!

Already today in Paris, Srichaphan d. Beck, while El Aynaoui had to retire from his match vs. Arazi. Methinks Hicham will give Paradorn fits, but P-dorn *should* advance.

Srichaphan's Houston hopes are still alive, then! And if Nalbandian is still seriously injured (which he, himself, predicted), the Thai's chances to get to Houston are even greater.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. HA. HA.

[breathe, breathe]

Ha.

Dang...Fish "floundered" against Guga
Mardy fought pretty hard, but Guga ran away with the second set tie-breaker to win 6-4, 7-6 (2).

Sigh.

Massu, however, is up on Al Costa in the third. At least something right might still happen today...

Hey, I like Guga and considering all his struggles since the hip surgery, I'm very happy to have seen him win a title last week and now survive the tough first-rounder with Fish. Mardy is very young and has plenty of time for the future...I'd love to see Guga build up some confidence at the end of the year and return to form in 2004.

:cool:

Well, Gaga, Guga K. puts it on the line vs. Pou tonight. They're the last match of the day... Should be interesting. I think they've played only once, and Pou won, but given Guga's current form...

Nalbandian has withdrawn, as expected. Sucks for him, because he was thisclose to making it to Houston. Now, I think P-dorn and Pou are vying for the final spot/spots.

Coria d. Lopez this a.m. (yay!) and James Blake is doing his best to hang early with Rainer Schuettler. Blake has problems with the big servers, and with Schuettlers. Here's to hoping J.B. can put together a good match...

I'll be happy with whoever comes out of the Guga/Flip matchup. I like both of them alot. I tend to go for the flashy, talented types. ha ha. Guga plays more the type of game I enjoy stylistically, but the Scud is just so hot, how can you not love him?

I'm torn.

Just to clarify - the only way Nalbandian is out of Houston is if one of the following players wins Paris: Philippoussis, Grosjean, or Srichaphan. Those players are within 18 points of each other, so there's a significant race on for the #9 spot - the alternate - which could come into play, particularly if Nalbandian doesn't improve between now & Houston. I have a feeling the ATP is really hoping for a Grosjean/Flip 3rd round meeting tomorrow - drama that will draw attention to the Race and a Frenchie involved to boot.

Blake's year ended roughly, but this will be a pivotal offseason for him. Is he willing (and able) to make that next step? As Fish and Ginepri and Dent race past him in the rankings, what will become of the young man from Yonkers? Hopefully he can improve his mental focus and consistency... That much, at least, is purely up to him.

Blake's problems, in my humble opinion, are confidence and technique. His conditioning is superb. His forehand and court instincts are also excellent. He can be successful against players like Agassi, Gonzalez, and Moya because he can hang in rallies and hit winners.

He is unsuccessful, however, against bigger servers (Federer, obviously, but also Schuettler and Ljubicic). Blake needs to defend serve better, which means adding a least a little more pop to his own pitches and developing better technique or more consistency on the backhand side.

I like Blake a lot, and he'll continue to be one of my favorite players for a while. But b-portjake is right, with Dent and Fish serving bigger and better and Ginepri hitting harder, Blake is on the verge of being passed by...

Guga v. Pou looks like a thriller, at least by the on-line live score!!!

After winning the first set in a tie-break, Pou had his hands full with Kuerten, and almost a handful of match points in the second set tie-break (at least three, by my count).

Guga's returns must've been monstrous today, because Pou had a hard time converting those match points. Guga ended up winning the second, in fact, by a score of 13 points to 11.

Guga won the third-set tiebreak 7-1 (saving 5 match points in the second set). This means that only Paradorn now has a shot at the #8 spot in Houston - and he would have to win the whole thing.

The race for the Alternate spot is far more entertaining - with the following players still alive for that ...

Philippouissis
Srichaphan (needs a win against Arazi to go ahead of Flip)
Kuerten (needs a semi to pass Flip)
Massu (needs a final to pass Flip)
Novak (needs a final to pass Flip)
Verkerk (needs a final to tie Flip - a win to pass)
Robredo (needs to win the whole thing to pass Flip)

I love Arazi, but GO PARADORN!!!

God, I just don't care anymore about the season! Is it wrong of me to say that! I couldn't care less about that tournament in Paris, only the WTA final, since I can get to see Jen this year! Hopefully, she'll be motivated!

I'm ready, just like the players I'm sure, for this season to end!

So glad to see Guga win in a great match, man how I would love him to have a great run next year.

And can we please stop calling Flipper "Pou"?

So, can Guga make it to Houston? Is that really possible?

Vamos Gustavo! Hurrah!

Poor Pou. (Heh heh... )

Damn! Paradorn is done, time to return to Thailand and try to ramp up his game a notch. He had such a great opening with Novak defeating Ferrero (although honestly, if Novak is in form, he's the tougher guy for Paradorn to handle indoors). So the finalist in Paris will be either Novak, Arazi, Pavel, or Schuettler - I'd love it to be Arazi, honestly.

The bottom half plays today from here on out. Roddick needs one win to go ahead of Ferrero in the Race. Federer needs some major help to have any shot at the two top dogs in Houston. Kuerten has already beaten two tough opponents and gets Henman next! And Carraz, the last Frenchman standing, would love this opportunity to make a name for himself on the tour. After seeing Carraz in Indy, I feel like he's definitely capable of being a Top 20 player (as if that means anything anymore)...

I was concerned when I saw that Coria withdrew from the dubs last night. Does one get a fever during a match? Yikeys!

Interestingly, Novak and Arazi are tied in their head-to-head 3:3. I think the surface favors Jiri Novak, and he's played better ball recently that Hicham. Both have been poor, to tell the truth, but Jiri is my pick.

Schuettler had a piss poor head to head vs. Massu, so I'm irritated he won. Schuettler is also 0:3 vs. Pavel. Given Schuettler's form this fall, you have to nod his way.

A Novak vs. Schuettler semi could be compelling. I think the German is the better all around athlete, and he's given Federer and Roddick, both, problems before...

I resolved this summer that I must always call Pou Pou.

Andy wins handily - new #1 in the world. What's that I hear? Oh right! The screams of Andy being called Overrated. Even if he fails to win another match, he's had an outstanding year - in a sport where it's increasingly difficult to be consistently outstanding.

Starting in January with an "instant classic" match against El Aynaoui that made the Aussie Open seem to matter to the sports world...

Through a solid but uninspiring spring which included a rare American winning a European clay tourney (St. Poelten) but a dispiriting first-round loss in Roland Garros...

To matching the fastest serve ever recorded and winning at Queen's Club...

To reaching ANOTHER semi at Wimbledon, but having the misfortune to meet Federer, who lost only one set during the entire tournament...

To demolishing all comers during the North American hardcourt season and winning his first Grand Slam...

To securing the US a berth in the Davis Cup World Group next year (true, he blew the first match but hey, he won when it mattered)...

To finally gaining the #1 ranking that nobody seems to want - 4th top-ranked player this year...

And of course, securing the Saturday Night Live gig and dating Mandy Moore - he's been living with the pressure of trying to carry American men's tennis on his shoulders for years now, and has handled it all remarkably.

Even if he is a one-slam wonder, even if he loses tomorrow and goes winless in Houston, even if he takes a ride on the H-train or blows out his rotator cuff or is disastrous on SNL - to me he's lived up to his hype today and done himself proud.

I agree, he's had a phenomenal year. At least, I think that's what you were saying. I'm just shocked and appalled that he got the SNL gig before Mandy Moore did.

I can't wait to see how Andy does next Saturday (8 Nov.) on SNL. You just know they are going to get him dressed like a girl at some point.

Roddick as a Gap girl. I'm already laughing.

Maybe James Blake and Mardy Fish will also show up. They do that sometimes, you know...

Back to the action, Arazi's win over P-dorn guaranteed Nalbandian a berth in Houston (good eye, bridgeportjake!)

Henman d. Kuerten fairly easy, so one might assume Guga was spent from his encounter yesterday with Mark Philippousis

B Man, since you consistently spell correctly Philipousis's name, maybe that would be a good compromise.

So disappointed to see Guga go down to Henman, but I did rather expect it would take a miracle to win such difficult back-to-back matches for him.

I'm glad to see Nalbandian make the Championships. He's clearly been playing better tennis than Mark, Sebastien and Paradorm recently. I hope he'll be healthy enough to play.

You're right JC, if anyone of the handful that were scrambling for the spot really deserves to be going to Houston, it's David Nalbandian.

Given the head-to-heads of the players who are participating, Houston could be the most exciting event of the year... And Roddick and Agassi, of all the players attending, might end up looking chumped by the competition... Stakes is high, boys! Everyone: bring your A+ games!

Great win for Henman today. I'm so proud of him! 7-6 6-1 over Federer. now he plays the number 1 tennis player and hottest tennis player on the planet Andy Roddick. Why can't this be on tv!!

and Novak plays Pavel in the other semi. GO HENMAN!

Henman did it. 7-6 7-6 over Roddick in 2 hours and 2 minutes. I'm in shock.

As like the biggest Henman fan, I guess this prooves to me that he still has something left in the tank and shouldn't retire. He just beat Grosjean in 3, Kuerten easily in 2, Federer 7-6 7-1, and now Roddick 7-6 7-6. He'll play the Pavel vs Novak winner tomorrow.

I attended the semis yesterday at Palais Omnisports. (Nice facility by the way.) Andy was never really committed to winning the match, from what I could see. He wanted to win, but I think his fall schedule has been way too demanding. He was never really able to muster up his usual service game, and Henman did come out ready to win. Tim played very well.

Andre Pavel is someone I enjoy watching. Nice game and all. Nice to see him back actually healthy and playing regularly. He played such a fine match against Novak. Should have won in two, but got a little ahead of himself. The Novak/Pavel match actually had some more entertaining tennis than Henman/Roddick. Both Novak and Pavel were striking the ball well, although there were some patches of scratchy tennis as well.

Nice crowd in Paris. I thought they would be a little more engaged in the matches. Neither proved that exciting, so there was a lot of silence. I did get to see the end of Bjorkman/Woodbridge vs. Santoro/Llodra before the singles matches. The crowd was definitely engaged, and it was very fun to watch.