Hey guys! I thought I'd try to organize the discussion a bit, since that 4-page French Open thread kind of drove me nutty. This thread is obviously for all the men's competition, singles and dubs. There's another thread for the women. Put any posts on mixed dubs in either/or.

The seeds came out today, and as always, the All England Club's finagling was pretty interesting.

1. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia (1)
2. Marat Safin, Russia (2)
3. Andre Agassi, United States (4)
4. Tim Henman, Britain (5)
5. Tommy Haas, Germany (3)
6. Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russia (6)
7. Pete Sampras, United States (13)
8. Roger Federer, Switzerland (9)
9. Thomas Johansson, Sweden (10)
10. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain (8)
11. Guillermo Canas, Argentina (17)
12. Andy Roddick, United States (14)
13. Jiri Novak, Czech Republic (12)
14. Younes El Aynaoui, Morocco (19)
15. Thomas Enqvist, Sweden (25)
16. Andrei Pavel, Romania (21)
17. Nicolas Escude, France (33)
18. Rainer Schuettler, Germany (23)
19. Sjeng Schalken, Netherlands (31)
20. Juan Ignacio Chela, Argentina (22)
21. Tommy Robredo, Spain (30)
22. Max Mirnyi, Belarus (28)
23. Nicolas Lapentti, Ecuador (26)
24. Greg Rusedski, Britain (38)
25. Gaston Gaudio, Argentina (27)
26. Fabrice Santoro, France (37)
27. Todd Martin, United States (39)
28. Xavier Malisse, Belgium (34)
29. David Nalbandian, Argentina (32)
30. James Blake, United States (35)
31. Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia (36)
32. Stefan Koubek, Austria (40)

The biggest beneficiary of the grass-tinkered seedings was Sampras, who goes from 13 to 7. Hey, the guy's won it 7 times. Even though he's hit some tough times lately, he still deserves the seeding. The other two who stand out are way down on the list, Blake and Ljubicic, who weren't ranked high enough to get a seeding had they gone directly from rankings. The seedings will change a bit since #5 seed Tommy Haas has announced that he is withdrawing from Wimbledon to be with his parents (his father is still in critical condition).

Predictions anyone??? Can't guess at the semis and finals yet because the draw hasn't been posted, but I'll predict a Hewitt victory. While he's never gone that far at Wimbledon, his two Queen's titles are impressive. He's been dominating men's tennis for the last year, and I see no reason why he won't continue at the Big W.

Interesting...and closer to the computer than I expected. In particular, I thought Safin would get dropped behind Agassi and perhaps Henman who have much more grass-court success. And it looks like this time around they did take other grass-court tournaments into account (like Canas winning at Halle(?) last year). They didn't drop Ferrero down as much as they did last year, when he was #4 in the world and seeded 8th, even with Guga missing. They only moved sampras up 4 spots really (he's #11 with Guga & Costa out of the picture).

Are you sure Blake got moved up? It may be that a lot of people above him are just missing from the commitment list. Nobody below him is higher ranked and several players seeded above him (Martin, Santoro, Rusedski) are even lower ranked.

Did I miss something or are did they bump Henman up too? I don't mind it, but just wondering.

Just a tad...he's having a great year and is #5 by the entry ranking.

Right now, here's how I see the men's draw shaking out. I'll prob. change my mind tomorrow, though (depending on how the boys play at their tune-ups)...

Rd of 16
Escude d. Hewitt
Federer d. Schalken
Henman d. Robredo
Canas d. Johansson
Rusedski d. Kafelnikov
Agassi d. Kiefer
Sampras d. Gambill
Safin d. Carlsen

Quarters
Federer d. Escude
Henman d. Canas
Agassi d. Rusedski
Safin d. Sampras

Semi's
Henman d. Federer
Agassi d. Safin

Final
Henman d. Agassi

I swear I was NOT copying you, B Man.

Fourth Round

Hewitt over Youzhny
Federer over Schalken
Henman over El Aynaoui
Johansson over Canas
Roddick over Malisse
Agassi over Philippoussis
Sampras over Mirnyi
Todd Martin over Carlsen

Quarters

Federer over Hewitt
Henman over Johansson
Agassi over Roddick
Sampras over Martin

Semis

Henman over Federer
Agassi over Sampras

Finals

Henman over Agassi

USA Today on Sampras:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/02wi...-21-sampras.htm

The NY Times' Selena Roberts writes an excellent article about the declining fortunes of Sampras's game: Sampras Enters Wimbledon in Disarray. [Registration required]

Patrick McEnroe still thinks Sampras is the favorite, but Mal Washington has a more pessimistic (and in my opinion, realistic) view. If Pete doesn't do really well at this tournament, i.e., either winning or at the very least losing in the final to a guy playing out of his mind, I wonder how much longer he can go on. It's already two years and counting since his last tournament victory (W 2000). Sampras's confidence has sunken to Mariana Trench depths, something that a guy who holds the record for most grand slams and consecutive years at number one cannot be used to.

BoSox, I agree with you and Patrick M, if Sampras doesn't put on an impressive two weeks of tennis, getting at least to the semi's, I think his amazing career might be over. Sampras in disarray is the perfect description of his state of mind. He seems to have lost it. Of course we all know he played some fantastic tennis at the U.S. Open but since then, ouch. Of course, a few good matches this first week and he might get on a roll, which is when he's most potent. We'll see.

Due to an injury Sampras aggravated on Saturday, he may not play Wimbledon, according to ESPN.com. Sampras requested his first round match against Martin Lee of Great Britian be pushed back to Tuesday, but Wimbledon officials refused the request. They did, however, schedule him for the third match to give him a few extra hours.

Can't really imagine Pete skipping the Big W, but there is precedent. He bailed on the US Open a few years ago just hours before his scheduled match.

This news re: Sampras is quite disturbing. Changes everything for me!

My amended picks:

Rd of 16
Escude d. Hewitt
Schalken d. Federer
Henman d. Robredo
Canas d. Johansson
Rusedski d. Kafelnikov
Agassi d. Kiefer
Gambill d. Sampras
Safin d. Carlsen

Quarters
Escude d. Schalken
Henman d. Canas
Agassi d. Rusedski
Safin d. Gambill

Semi's
Henman d. Escude
Agassi d. Safin

Final
Henman d. Agassi

Big article about Jan-Mike in this mornings edition of the Spokane-Spokesman Review, Sports. Says he is feeling good, and that there is no feeling in the world like playing on centre court. I hope and believe he is going to be on the morning broadcast on TNT.
Go Jan Michael!!!! I really hope he does well, but I have to go in with low expectations, then that way its a surprise if he does better. Guess his father (coach) and mother are in tow with him at Wimbledon.

Upset #1 is in: Taylor Dent took out Mirnyi! I'd love to see the kid from the US go on and have a good tourney here. But his next match would probably be against Gambill. That's one of those matchups that i'd hate to see either player lose and be out in the second round.

Sampras is kinda in trouble right now, folks. This local kid is giving him all sorts of trouble. I advise y'all to follow on-line if you can!

I couldn't believe that was Jim Courier. Jim for petes' sake, that hair style went out in the early eighties......

I thought Jim was an ass today, making fun of Martin and Sanguinetti for being old. Jerk.

The commentating was just _off_ today...from everyone

Bman: I must have missed Couriers' comment, as I was watching at least a few minutes worth of this match. I was impressed today by alot of people, mostly the guys. Sampras looked very good as did Todd Martin. Roddick won by default. He gave a good interview with TNT. He was talking about hsi new house, at age 19. Mentioned that because he was the new kid on the block and didn't want to offend the older people who were already living there, he went up to them and told them to tell him if his music was too loud or something. Class act this guy Roddick!! He was raised right!
Anyone know how Jan-Mike did today? I think I heard he was leading his match...

[quote] Sampras looked very good

---

ya, he looked very good feigning another injury.

yawn! hope this drama queen gets the early boot!

Hi, tziele - I always thought I was the ONLY person who thought that about Sampras. I totally agree - his injuries have always seemed very convenient.

Jan-Michael won in "straight" sets

Re: Sampras...you know, if he ending up winning this thing, it'd feel just like when Johansson won Oz and Costa won the French... I'm still cheering Henman along. I think it's Tim's year.

[quote] I think it's Tim's year.

---

ya, it's his year to be a four-time semi-finalist!

he hasn't the 'mental fortitude' to win it all. a veritable choker!

Sampras has always worked those injuries..it seems..

He wasn't exactly dominant today but he got through and I'm thrilled that so many American men won...

Finally some upsets in the making after a pretty routine day yesterday. Johansson, the Aussie champ, is in the 5th set, down 8-7 to Flavio Sarretta. This Sarretta guy is grunting like crazy. The problem is that he doesn't grunt until well after the ball has left his racquet. Quite annoying.

And more surprisingly, Roger Federer is down 2 sets and 1-3 in the third to 18 year old Mario Ancic from Croatia.

Already out today are Tommy Robredo and Younes El Aynaoui.

SHOCKER!!!

Ancic defeats Federer 6-3, 7-6, 6-3! Ancic is a qualifier from Croatia. He played a great match, while Federer looked bewildered. Two straight first round Grand Slam exits for Roger.

Is Federer injured? Or was it the pressure of being a favorite this year? Too bad. He was my pick.

Federer is now out, 6-3 in the final set to Mario Ancic--our first major surprise of the tournament. The Johansson match goes on, now at 10-10 in the fifth.

Big win for Angelique Widjaja over Smashnova this morning too.

I know that the big stories have been made about the williams sisters' insistence on being placed on opposite sides of the draw so that they won't have to meet until the final. But did anyone notice the men's draw?

the poor Rochus brothers of Belgique.... Olivier and Christophe had to play against each other.. in a grandslam... in the first round!! One would think the tourney committee would be a little more sympa to the situation.

Hey Ung, it doesn't work that way. The Williams are on opposite sides because of being #1 and #2 not because they requested anything special. The brothers Rochus just had an unlucky draw - no tournament allows draw requests especially not a Grand Slam..

If Venus and Serena were ranked 93 and 117 (just for example-I don't know the Rochus boys rankings), they'd be meeting in the first round too. The draw is conducted in front of too many witnesses for there to be any shenanigans. Luck of the draw!

I know that one can not make special requests per se. that was what the Williams sisters have heard for many years. But as a player and someone who has served in making up the draw of tourneys, I can say tourneys do have the power to move players around so that (for example) players from the same house, same family or same team don't play each other in the first round of a tourney having seven rounds.

I'm not saying opposite sides of the draw. but avoiding 1st round encounters between brothers definitely is do-able. It is just as much within he tourney committee's jurisdiction as is their right to move the seeding around as they see fit.

[quote]TZeile29 on Henman: Ya, it's his year to be a four-time semi-finalist! He hasn't the 'mental fortitude' to win it all. A veritable choker!

---

I think "Our Tim" had his chance last year but rain--and Goran I.--intervened. Choker? Cruel, but possibly fair. There was this bit in a NY Times Magazine article about the pressure on Henman to "Win One For England" (which no man has done since 1937:

"There is also the widely voiced perception that Henman is simply too nice a guy to win a major tournament. John McEnroe has publicly urged him to be more demonstrative on the court, and the former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash of Australia once said: ''He has that comfortable middle-class look about him. The English middle class basically don't have the stomach for a fight.''" Ouch!

[ June 25, 2002: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]

There are some EXCELLENT matches tomorrow. Totally stoked. I'm more excited about the men's matches tomorrow than the ladies, and that's saying a lot...

Enqvist vs. Flip
The Swede leads their head to head series 2-1, but their only previous Grand Slam encounter went 5 sets. Mark P. has had better results on grass and at Wimbly, but is coming off an injury time out. Almost too close to call, but I pick Scud in at least 4 sets.

Blake vs. Krajicek
I hope James is able to dig in and play to the best of his ability. His lightning bolt returns may give Rich K. some frustration...

Arthurs vs. Novak
A potential upset, in favor of Arthurs. Good all around grass court game on the Aussie. Novak has been pretty damn consistent this year, though. Both are cute. Tough call.

Spadea vs. Malisse
I kinda want Vince to win just cuz it's a better story.

Martin vs. Clement
Here's a "barnburner" as Fred (or is it Cliff?) would say. Two Grand Slam event runner-ups in the second round. Too bad one of these guys will be leaving early.

first off, on a completely irrelevant note, Pat Cash is still a smokin' hottie.

OK, that out of the way now ... Jon Wertheim wrote an interesting column about Tim Henman a few years ago. He said that you couldn't compare the pressure that an American faces trying to win the U.S. Open with what Henman must deal with at Wimbledon. In this country, the U.S. Open is on the back burner (and that might be generous) in the minds of the American sports fan, what with baseball pennant races in full gear and the start of the pro and college football seasons. With the English, on the other hand, Wimbledon isn't just front page of the sports section, it's the front page of most newspapers. I was in England once during Wimbledon, and the coverage is astonishing! And it's on "Our Tim's" (as the English refer to him) narrow shoulders to score a triumph in the name of the British Empire. The pressure on Henman is far more intense than anything any American has to face.

Besides, I don't know if I'd call Henman a choker. Does he have the mental fortitude of Pete Sampras in his salad days, Steffi Graf, or a pre-stabbing Monica? No, but he's a long ways off from Jana Novotna. While Henman's a very good player, his game doesn't really stand out head-and-shoulders above his peers, and his results reflect as much.

Well said BoSox!
I agree w/ you completely!

I'm with you, BoSox, Pat Cash is one fiesty Aussie hottie...

I also agree that the pressure on Henman is simply enormous. And he's continually run into top grass court players deep in the second week of Wimby. All the top players are jonesing over Rafter and Goran being out, and Sampras being all creaky and rusty. Monster servers like Richard K., Mark P. and Arthurs are all wondering if they can serve their way to the final just like Goran.

As far as tomorrow's great matchups go, I'm hoping Flip gets through, and the serious hottie James Blake somehow gets past the former champion Richard K., and I think Arthurs will put on a serving show and get through. Martin should get past the cute Frenchman as well..

The Federer loss was painful to watch. He looked lazy compared to the young Croat. And I never saw any nerves from Ancic, that's impressive.

May have a few more upsets today. Sampras is down a set and a break in the second to George Bastl (who is cute as hell, by the way!). And Safin is down 2 sets to Rochus. Also Todd Martin is down 2 sets to Clement and they are 5-5 in the third!

Update-Martin has been eliminated 7-6 in the third.

And Sampras has dropped the first two sets 6-3, 6-2!

[ June 26, 2002: Message edited by: George_vikingfan ]

I'm surprised that Clement and Flip won their matches so easily: in "straight" sets.

Wierd...

Not surprised by the Flip result. Enqvist has never done well on the grass. Am surprised he had only 2 aces against Flip. Enqvist has a bigger serve than that.

Sampras won the third set and is now up a break in the 4th.

Safin won the third set as well, but dropped the 4th in a lackluster tiebreak to lose the match. Safin totally tanked the tiebreak.

Taylor Dent straight-setted Jan-Michael Gambill.


Arnaud Clement vs. Olivier Rochus in the 3rd round! These guys wouldn't be able to ride most roller coasters at Six Flags!!!

[ June 26, 2002: Message edited by: George_vikingfan ]

[ June 26, 2002: Message edited by: George_vikingfan ]

SAMPRAS IS OUT!!!!! Loses in 5 sets to Lucky Loser George Bastl of Switzerland 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4!!! Shocking upset! Court 2 claims another victim!!!

Sampras looked shell shocked after the match. I'm sure he thought he had it locked up after coming back from 2 sets down.

[ June 26, 2002: Message edited by: George_vikingfan ]

[ June 26, 2002: Message edited by: George_vikingfan ]

What's up with the Wimbledon website?!? I can't get connected to it and I will cry the whole day without live scoring!!

<pouting impishly>

i think the website was overloaded from everyone gettin' sampras updates.

bye bye pete and marat!

au revoir, pete 'drama queen' sampras!

BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAH!


BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

TA!

Homepage for the Man Who Slayed the Dragon!!!

GEORGE BASTL

Homepage needs some serious updating!!!

[ June 26, 2002: Message edited by: George_vikingfan ]

It's official:
The sky is falling

Agassi just dropped the first set to Paradon Srichiphan (sp?).

Andre is known to start slowly in Slam matches, but on a day like today he needs to be very, very careful...

ooh...George is cute! that's pretty much all I have to contribute.

[ June 26, 2002: Message edited by: Gaga4Gaby ]

This kid Srichaphan is playing AMAZING tennis. He and Agassi are in a tie-break to decide the second set right now. I have I didn't just jinx Paradon... Seriously, y'all, watch the highlight show tonight, or leave work and go home now to watch!

Srichaphan WINS!
6-2 in the third.

W
O
W

Bastl is a hottie. I love the look of that rather thickish brown pelt on his chest. Oooh la la!!

[ June 26, 2002: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

Sampras, Agassi, Safin and Martin all out on the same day and in the SECOND ROUND??? At Wimbledon?
What's going on? This is simply too shocking. This tournament is now Hewitt's to lose. Unbelievable.

I heard that Srichapan played out of his mind, winners all over the place and very few unforced errors. It sounded like Agassi played OK, but Srichapan was just too good on the day. On the other hand, Sampras was reportedly listless. I wonder if the injury was bothering him or if he was just really off. Guess I'll have to wait to watch my tape tonight, although who knows when I'll have time because there's a Sox game at 7 pm!

B Man, I love your idea of staying home and watching W all week! I used to work at a place that allowed me to switch days around fairly easily, and I'd take off a couple of days during the week and work the weekend instead because I much preferred HBO's coverage (remember the good ol' days of W coverage without commercials? besides, there are no matches the middle Sunday). Anyway, I'd do it up right by going out and buying strawberries, Devonshire cream (hard to find, frighteningly expensive, and about a zillion calories, but as an occasional treat - YUMMY), fix myself a spot of tea, and kick back and watch Wimbledon all day long. It was awesome!!