Oh, hooray! Rafael Nadal managed to survive the current plague of "Upset-itis" affecting this second week of Wimbledon by bouncing Robin Soderling from the tournament. Rafa won their quarterfinal match in four sets - 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1. It would've been so sad, but harldy surprising if the No. 2 seed lost here. Things have been upside down at Wimby the past few days. Roddick? Gone. Venus? Gone. Clijsters? Gone. And in doubles: Bryan Brothers? Gone. Williams Sisters? Gone. Then earlier today: Federer? GONE!!! Done in by Berdych in 4 sets that were not even particularly close. My brain still has not completely accepted Fed's early dismissal. But at the time of the day when Federer had match point against him on Centre Court, Rafa was trailing in his opening set to Soderling 5-0. I could only watch the score tick by on SlamTracker. I couldn't see how Rafa was actually moving. Was he injured? What else could account for what was shaping up to be a bagel set against Soderling? I was very dismayed.
But then, Rafa woke up and fought back a bit - losing the first set, but getting it to a somewhat respectable score of 3-6. He then took complete charge in the second, winning that 6-3. The third set was closer, but Rafa remained ahead. And then the 4th set was all him. I was so relieved and happy he made it through. What a sweet comeback it would be to go from injury at this time last year to once-again Champion!
The Wimbledon crowd has been extremely supportive of Rafa throughout the competition. I have a distinct feeling that will not be the case when he takes on home-crowd favorite Andy Murray in the semis on Friday. That's gonna be a really tough match, as Murray has been playing outstanding tennis this tournament. But Soderling had been playing incredible tennis as well, and that didn't stop Rafa from finding a way to win. Really, with Federer out of the competition, all four remaining men have a great chance of winning the competition. Each one has to really like their chances. Rafa's the only one of them to make it to a Wimbledon final, though. Hopefully that experience gives him the edge.
(Rafa is relieved he got through in straight sets! So am I!)
I wrote this and then forgot to post it! Congrats to Rafa on his straight sets victory against Paul-Henri Mathieu today (err.. Monday.). He's back in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon! It was a pretty straightforward win for Nadal, finishing things up 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. He got through the match in just about two hours. This was the kind of win he needed going into the next round where he'll meet the dreaded Robin Soderling. My irrational and intense distaste for Soderling has been expressed here before. Soderling beat Rafa in the 2009 French Open and again at the end of the year Masters Championship, but Rafa avenged those losses by beating Soderling in the 2010 Roland Garros final just weeks ago. Grass is different than clay though, and Soderling's play has been outstanding this tournament. Hopefully Rafa will be in great shape for that match, which will be played on Wednesday (err... today). Soderling must be DESTROYED! Vamos Rafa!
On a sadder note, Andy Roddick is out of the competition after losing to 82nd-ranked Taiwanese player Yen-hsun Lu, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 9-7. This is really disappointing, since Roddick really should've rolled through this match. Andy served up 38 aces but converted only one of eight breakpoint chances! It sucks that he only lost serve once, but it also happened to be the last game of the match. I really wanted him to have another real shot at the title. A Nadal-Roddick Final would've been ideal because then I'd be delighted by whoever won. I still think Roddick has a Wimbledon title in him before the end of his career. Next time, Andy!
Congrats to Rafael Nadal for making it through another tough match in the 3rd round of Wimbledon on Saturday. This time it was against Germany's Philipp Petzschner, and Rafa pulled out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 victory. For the second straight match, Nadal had to come back from being down 2 sets to 1 to win. I'm a little concerned for Rafa right now. as he is contending with injuries to his left arm and right thigh, needing to call the trainer twice for treatment during the match. Nadal needed more than 3.5 hours to defeat Petzschner. While that isn't 70-68 in the fifth set, it's still a long match if your body isn't feeling right. Luckily he has today off and his 4th round opponent is Frenchie opponent, Paul-Henri Mathieu. Matthieu is currently ranked 66th in the world and Rafa's never lost to him - a 9-0 record. Still Rafa had a crazy win streak against Feliciano Lopez going into their match a few weeks ago at Queen's Club, and lost that due to a minor leg injury. So certainly moving forward I hope Rafa is in good condition and can win quickly Monday giving him a chance to save energy for some tougher opponents who still loom large in his side of the draw.
Another interesting tidbit from the game. At the beginning of the 5th set, Rafa's energy and focus was fading a bit, when the chair umpire gave him a warning for receiving coaching from Uncle Tony from the player's box. This is a big no no, especially in men's tennis (though against the rules, it goes largely ignored in the women's game) and Rafa freaked out a bit over the warning. He got very animated in conversation with the ump, pointing at him and saying what I like to imagine was "you're a dead man!" Maybe that's just what I was thinking at the time. Obviously, this is not what he actually said, since Rafa would never say that, nor would the tournament allow him to, but the warning really got the fire lit within Rafa again, and he tore through the end of the 5th set to win. It wasn't nice to see Rafa receive the warning, but it was great to see him snap back into focus afterwards. I
hope Rafa enjoys a restful middle-Sunday at Wimbledon. He's half-way to the finish line! Vamos!
(A KISS BEFORE DYING. Even the Power of Pasha can't save Christina as the judge's send her home, perhaps a week too early.)
It's an all new season of SYTYCD! 10 Finalists Remain: 4 contempos, 1 jazz hands, 1 breaker, 1 salsa, 1 tappa tappa tappa, 1 lyric dancer and 1 ballet boy are ready to take it up a notch after an impressive first week of live competition. Welcome... to So You THINK You Can Dance!
They've finally figured out how to film the opening credit solos! Bravo! We greet the judges and then we get to see the contestants pair up with the All-Stars and find out what's they're doing. Some are not the easiest match ups: Billy gets Comfort and Krump (!!), Lauren gets Dominic and Lyrical Hip Hop, Adechicke gets Allison - so it's another week of Contempo from both, Kent gets Courtney and Jazz, Melinda gets Ade for Contemproary. Alex gets Lauren for Broadway, Christina gets Pasha for Paso Doble, Ashley gets Mark for Jazz, Robert gets ANYA! for Argentine Tango and then Jose gets Kathryn and Bollywood! Ohh, it's gonna be crazy. Also tonight the contestants tell us about their childhood dance memories, but they are really not worth going into separately. They all had a lot of energy and loved to dance! Shocking, no?
Christina - her number with Pasha is by Jean-Marc & France. There are a lot of lifts. They keep talking about it in the clip package as the "Passionate Paso Doble" which makes me wonder if there are other types of Paso Doble (like there are different variations on the tango or the waltz). In any event, this Paso Doble is not very passionate. The steps are fine, but there isn't a lot of heat between Christina and Pasha. It feels a little labored. When it's over, Pasha is allowed to stand with her for the critique, and the other All-Stars will likely follow suit! A good tweak, Show. The judges heap praise on her, but I didn't think it was quite all that. Better than last week, though. Pasha runs off before the numbers are read so the public is not confused about who they are voting for. However, if we keep getting rid of female dancers, the likelihood of seeing Pasha week after week dwindles.
Adechicke - his number with Allison is by Mandy Moore. It's very strong. There's no story. It's just emotion. Adechicke still has his great form on hand, but this time he's bringing some variation of facial expression with him as well. The judges give him praise for improvement, but still hold back on full praise. I still think he'll be the first guy to go when the judges get the chance.
Alex - his routine with Lauren is by Tyce. It's in the "style of Fosse" if you know what that means, tell me. Because it's not Fosse choreo. It doesn't even seem Broadway to me. I like both of these dancers, but I didn't like the routine. All the judges blame Alex, but I think that's ridiculous. It's Tyce's fault. Mia doesn't think the outfits fit the song. I just think the whole thing was ill-conceived.
Ashley - Now Ashley is here, suddenly sexy as all hell. When did this transformation take place? Kudos to her and Robert for escaping the almost certain fate of early elimination as a result of lack of screentime. She's my favorite girl now. She's dancing jazz* with Mark by Travis. They are gorgeous. They are dancing to Annie Lennox. It's Ashley's 20th birthday this weekend! I would kill for Mark's abs. * - The judges hate the choreo. Not that the routine wasn't awesome, but they insist it wasn't a jazz routine. I watched it back, and I have to agree. It has a very contempo vibe. But when have the judges ever dissed Travis. Travis looks so pissed in the audience. How DARE they question his choreo! You know you're in Bizarro World when Travis is the problem, not the solution.
Billy (Elliot/Jamie) Bell - The Krump with Comfort is being choreo'ed by Lil C. Oh, it just isn't right. No one wants to see Billy dance this way. He's giving it his best, but it's just not aggressive enough. You feel uncomfortable watching it. You just want it to end. The judges are as kind as possible to him personally while panning his performance. Comfort starts to stick up for her partner which is sweet of her, but she can't convince us that Bill was bucc during this number. Billy seems just relieved to never have to dance this style again in his whole life.
Robert - the Argentine Tango with ANYA! is choreo'ed by Jeanne Marc and France again. They make an incredibly good looking couple, but this dance is off from the beginning. It's not the steps. it's the style. I don't know a lot about a lot of dances, but i DO know that the man has to totally dominate the woman in the dance. His steps are weird and his face looks distressed and ANYA! is flipping and kicking away, but it doesn't look like Robert's leading her through it. Nigel tries to say that Robert succeeded as the dominant partner, but Mia, Adam and I disagree. I felt like she was doing all the work. ANYA! SPEAKS! She defends her man. Still I think this wasn't a great dance for him. He's still my NGBF though!
Melinda - her contempo routine with Ade by Stacey Tookey is all about Mother Nature. I... I'm sorry, Ima get right to it, I don't like this routine and I really don't like the costume Melinda's wearing. She's supposed to be mother Nature, but it's like... if Poison Ivy was a character on the 60's Batman show, that's the dress she would've worn. It looks cheap. Ade is strong and awesome as usual, but I think this is the weakest routine of the season so far. Sorry, Stacey Tookey! I've liked other routines of yours in the past! The judges offer her mixed reviews and try to soften the blow to Stacey herself - but all Mia can say is that she appreciated "the concept" but seem to be distracted by the crazy dress and the not stellar . I'm just kinda done with Melinda.
Jose - It's time for Kathryn and Jose to go Bollywood with Nakul Dev Mahajan. In rehearsals, no one knew each other's styles. Would they all be able to come together for an entertaining routine? You may be not-so-surprised to find out it worked out in the end. The only problem is that they keep losing bits and pieces off their costumes that i fear they will step on and hurt themselves during the routine. Also Jose's handwork is not great, but he makes up for it with his overall energy. The judges all give him a pass on technique for the entertainment value, and Jose is grateful to get through it.
Lauren - she's with Dominic handling some Lyrical Hip Hop by new choreographer, Tessandra Chavez. Lauren has to emotionally connect this week since she was a bit artificial last week. Lucky for her, she can tap into the always comfortable emotions of an abuse-themed routine! It seems like a tough place for her to go and it doesn't look like Dom's thoroughly pleased with being the abuser either. Still, Tessandra demands perfection! I remember her as a good hip hopper from Vegas, so I actually expect good things here. It's a good routine. I think Lauren really acquits herself from last week's technically strong, but emotionally sterile routine. I think this was probably the best routine of the night. the judges tell her all is forgiven and implore her to go farther in future routines so that maybe a girl will survive the the top 5 this season.
Kent - Jazz with Courtney and choreo by Tyce. It's very sexy and Courtney's like "sure. let's do it." and Kent is all "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY DO IT???" Even before they start Cat informs us Courtney's about to eat him alive. In the dance, Courtney is dressed like a no-need-for-rehab Amy Winehouse and will be dancing to an Amy Winehoues song called "Amy Amy Amy." Kent is wearing some weird harness. Overall, I like this routine, there's some "Doing It On a Table" motifs that look good, but Kent looks slightly intimidated by Courtney the whole time, which is not the right tone for this kind of dance. The judges cut him no slack about letting his big personality and nerves overpower the feeling of the piece he's dancing. Nigel takes another opportunity to make a knock at Travis by thanking Tyce for an actual Jazz routine. There's a cut away shot to Travis sitting next to Tyce looking dumbfounded by all the disapproval shovelled his way tonight.
With Kent's dance done, we've got a little bit of time left so Cat replays the numbers and then we get an extended freestyle sequence between the All-Stars and the Contestants and Cat on stage. SO GOOD. Kinda better than any of tonight's routines actually.
In order of my preference tonight's routines went: Lauren, Ashley, Adechicke, Jose, Kent, Christina, Robert, Alex, Billy, Melinda. This should be a weird bottom 3 though because I think Billy might be too popular to fall so far into danger. Even after the Krump! Boy, it was a weird performance night this week!
So. here we go with elimination night. There's a group dance that looks cool, but my DVR is spazzing so I can't get a sense of the fluidity. Boo! The bottom 3 wind up being Christina (really?) Melinda (Really!) and Robert (NO!!!). Why is America turning on its New Gay Best Friend??
Before the solos, we get a routine from RemoteKontrol featuring Brian Gaynor, who has graced this stage with his awesomeness several times before, including Nashville this season. He's a SYTCYD All-Star in his own right. I like that the producer's continue to let the show be a platform for his dancing even though he could never be a contestant. I wanted to post a clip of this latest routine because it is both brilliant and kinda indescribable, but the producers have already taken it down off youtube. Lame and a shame! It needs to be seen.
Then the solos happen and they're not really that good. Then Debi Nova comes out to sing her song "Drummer Boy" but she employs 6 of the all-stars to be her back-up dancers and it is a WISE CHOICE. Also of note: Cat is several feet taller than Debi Nova.
After the break. Robert is spared despite the growing male female disparity of the contestants, and Christina is eliminated. I think it should've been Melinda, personally. Nigel lets it be known that he would've cut Melinda too, but he got outvoted by Adam and Mia. If she falls in the bottom 3 again and they save her again, the judges are crazy. Christina wills herself not to cry, thanks everyone sincerely and then the rest of the dancers rush onto the stage for a giant-sized group hug.
Next week, there will be nine dancers remaining and Melinda will be dancing with a giant target on her back. It will still look better on her than that Mother Nature Dress...
(Your eyes do not deceive you. The score behind Isner is a "68." That's the amount of games won in the 5th set by the guy who LOST. Insanity.)
As I mentioned in my last post, 5-setters have been quite common this Wimbledon, but I'd be remiss if I didn't dedicate a separate blog entry to the most insane 5 setter in the history of tennis. I say that without hyperbole. This one will be in the record books for a long long time. It seems unfathomable that a match could last longer and have higher stats than this one. It seems unfathomable that it happened at all.
Of course I refer to the marathon 1st Round match at Wimbledon between American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. The match lasted a whopping 11 hours:5 minutes over the course of three days. Play went so long it was suspended twice not because of rain, but because of darkness. Tuesday went by with no winner. Wednesday went by with no winner. It was crazy.
I first saw the match on TV after the US won its third world cup game. Looking at the score, I was confused. Why did it say the score in the 5th set was 44-43? It didn't make any sense. One of the people in my office explained that they'd been playing for almost two straight days. Wimbledon of course has that fun rule that the 5th set can't be determined by a tiebreak. One player has to win by two games. The problem here was that neither player could break serve, so the score just kept piling up game after game after game. It was unbelievable, and kind of exhausting to watch. I can't for the life of me understand how both players maintained such fitness as the hours rolled by. As they passed the 100 game mark in the fifth set, I was astounded. The scoreboard freaked out. It couldn't deal with it anymore and reset as if a new set had started. I understand how it was feeling. You can win a whole match just by capturing just 18 games and here each player had almost tripled that amount won in the 5th set alone. Who could of thought it possible?
Play resumed (for the second time) on Thursday, on what had become a jam-packed Court 18. The score was 59-all in the 5th set. The two players went at it for 20 more games and an additional hour of play before Isner finally won: 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68.
Isner finished with 112 aces, and Mahut was no slouch with 103. Both totals far surpassed the previous match record of 78. They combined to hold for a staggering 168 games in a row. The duration of fifth set on its own lasted 8 hours, 11 minutes, which was enough to beat the previous longest match altogether. That distinction used to be a 2004 French Open Match that was 6 hours, 33 minutes long. That seems like nothing in comparison!
“We played the greatest match ever in the greatest place to play tennis,” Mahut said. “John deserved to win. He just served unbelievable.”
Isner told the press he felt “completely delirious” by the end of play Wednesday and who could expect otherwise?
The last shot shot came at 4:48 p.m. on Thursday — almost two full days from when the match began. Both players got a well-deserved standing ovation and Isner and Mahut shared a long hug at net as they took in this once-in-a-lifetime moment,
“It’s something Nic and I will share forever,” Isner said. “I don’t think I’ve ever said five words to the guy prior to our match—not that he’s a bad guy. Now when I do see him in the locker room at other tournaments, we’ll always be able to share that.”
Isner had the unenviable task of playing AGAIN today, as his side of the bracket was backlogged by his never-ending 1st round match. As you'd expect, Isner had nothing left in the tank and lost to Theimo De Bakker in three quick sets - 6-0, 6-3, 6-2. Still you have to applaud the effort of such an amazing record-breaking first round match. Both players were phenomenal. Such a feat may never happen again. I wish them both a well-deserved rest and good luck for the rest of the season.
(Rafa celebrates his hard-fought 2nd Round victory!)
It seems all the top seeds want to have long 5 set matches this first week of Wimbledon. Federer and Djokovic both had five setters in the first round, and now Nadal had to win in five coming back from 2 sets to 1 down today to beat the formidable Dutch server Robin Haase 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. I could only watch the score go by on SlamTracker at work, and I couldn't believe when Rafa lost the first set 7-5 and then again the third 6-3. I wondered what his body language was on the court. Did he look like he was ailing, or was Haase just really taking it to him? When he won the fourth set 6-0, I relaxed - but just a little bit. The 5th set wasn't so tense, but of course I'm very relieved and pleased that Rafa made it through.
Rafa will next face Philipp Petzschner of Germany in the third round on Saturday. I don't know if I've ever seen Petzschner before. The name doesn't ring a bell even though he's the 33rd seed. Rafa holds a 2-0 record against him, but this will be their first meeting on grass. Petzschner is coming off a 5-set win too (they are everywhere this year at Wimbledon! I swear!) so we'll have to see how this one goes. I'll certainly be cheering for a quick victory by Nadal. Vamos!
As if World Cup was not time consuming enough here comes Wimbledon as well. Rafa is back and ready to go after missing last year’s tournament with knee tendinitis. We all know how disappointing that was. It's great to see him here again brimming with confidence and playing in good health! There was a small bit of controversy before the tourney started because Wimbledon decided to rank Federer as the top seed and Nadal as No. 2 even though the world rankings are currently the opposite. I admit I'm a little insulted on Rafa's behalf. I wouldn't really care except that I think part of their reason is total bullshit. They said they that grass is it's own surface and deserves it's own considerations, plus both players would still be positioned at the right places in the bracket only on different sides. I would've been more accepting if they'd just said "Look, Federer has won this tournament 6 times and while mathematically he's slightly behind Rafa in points, we still believes he deserves to be the top seed at this event." Because the rest is just spin. Nadal is more dominant on clay than Federer is on grass, but when it came time for the French Open this year, that tournament didn't rank him over Federer. There were no surface considerations given there. Plus which half they fall on can be very important because it determines their road to the final. Take, for instance, Federer. Because he was ranked No. 1 he almost wound up losing his 1st Round Match against Alejandro Falla of Colombia barely surviving after going down 2 sets to love with a 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-0 victory. Had he been ranked No. 2, he'd have instead faced Kei Nishikori whom Rafa easily beat in 3 sets 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. Now both men are through to the 2nd round and Fed has a chance to regroup. I don't want Federer to win this year, but I didn't want him to lose like that either. He's got much tougher competition coming up in later rounds he better be ready for.
(Federer's down but not out!)
But the most important thing to focus on here is that Rafa is playing well. His road to the final isn't without obstacles. He's got Murray and Soderling in his half of the draw and several other players who could possibly beat Nadal, if they are at their best and he has is not. Hopefully he'll make it through! One round at a time though. Next up is Robin Haase from the Netherlands. Rafa never played Haase before. Haase, just beat James Blake in a disappointing 1st round match where Blake got into a heated exchange with Pam Shriver of all people! It's not good when the players and commentators go at it. So Rafa and Haase play on Thursday. The Queen may also be on hand for that match! Exciting, no? She hasn't been there since 1977! Why she's going on the first Thursday of the tournament after all these years is unclear to me, but I'm sure there's a good reason. Vamos!
(I'm happy Soderling is gone too, Rafa.) 
