Same as below. Wertheim’s still the man. Find his answers here.

I’m excited to be going to the Cincinnati tournament next month to watch the men and women. Can you give me some tips. What should I be looking for?
– Jim S., Chicago

Good question! You might mean “which players should I be keeping on” or “what things should I try and see at the tournament?” Either way, I’ll answer both.

I think it’s pretty obvious to say what you’re looking for with the men: Novak Djokovic, and guys who can beat Novak Djokovic. The chances of him sweeping Cincy/Montreal as well as USO like he did IW/Miami/AO seem small, but this is still a guy who has only lost once all year. As for the other guys, what adjustments has Rafa made? How’s the confidence? What about Fed? Muzz still looking good? You’ll definitely want to keep an eye on your top 3 Americans Fish, Andy, and Tree, and you might want to check out the BryBros too.

For the ladies, definitely try and see some of the youngsters if they make it out, Sabine, Heather, and whoever else. Definitely take a good look at the order of play and check where the good match-ups are. I always prefer the early round matches of the ladies as I tend to find them a lot less predictable and more competitive.

I’ve never been to the Cincy tournament, but I have been to Montreal and Toronto (where I’ll be this year, come say hi!) and I can say this: Bring a printed out draw, and especially a printed out order of play if you don’t have a sweet phone. That way you can keep track of what matches are when and what you want to see (it will never go according to plan). It’s also great to have a good idea of the draw, in my opinion, especially if you’re going to be there for a few days (I’ve always gone for four). If one of your favourites wins, you might want to go check out who they could play next on a different court.

Practice courts and general wandering around are a must. The coolest things about being at the tournament is all the little bonus moments that happen that you don’t normally see. Goofy (or angry) practices, funky outfits, funny things on changeovers, conversations with other fans; it’s all an awesome, geeky tennis experience. So make sure you don’t get stuck on centre court and get out and enjoy!

Oh, and don’t be afraid to bring a backpack with some water, food, sunscreen, and whatever else. They don’t care at the Canadian tournaments as long as you let them check it, and I would assume (hope) they don’t at other ones, either. And don’t be afraid to take a break! Especially if you’re going for the day and night session. It’s a long day. Don’t worry, there’s lots to see.

Simple question, Jon: Fish or Blake?
– Sam, San Francisco

I luckily peaked at Wertheim’s answer because of the chart he had, and overall, the numbers point towards Blake (more prize money, more titles, higher highest ranking). The trick, however, is that Blake is all but dunzo, and Fish seems to just get starting (good, cause I’m starving! Er…) This is probably the best he’s ever played and is crushing his way through easier opponents and racking up the points big time. We’ll see how he does over the summer, he may be inching towards the top 5 at this rate.

I think Ana Ivanovic has fallen into the Anna Kournikova life pattern of being told she needs to focus on her beauty more than her tennis.
– Allan Watkins, Atlanta

The only thing Ana and Anna have in common is tennis, and they’re both pretty. That’s about it. Anna K was nearly destined for “child star”-dom. Being hailed as a great junior out of Nick’s academy and not living up to the hype in singles, moving into a life of modelling and stardom came pretty naturally.

For Ana, the love of the game is still there. She’s been switching coaches and trainers in attempt to find top form. She was also never “told she needs to focus on her beauty”, and I’ve always got the sense that was something fun for her on the side, and never came as a huge distraction (even if the results weren’t great during some of those periods). Also, can was stop using the term “one slam wonder”? C Note from Forty Deuce brought up a great point… why not give some slack to Nails or Fran for being “one slam wonders” and underachieving their whole careers? Silly.

Just a comment on the reason why Roger Federer doesn’t watch the finals. If I’m a surgeon and do heart transplants all the time, do I go running to the operating room every time a heart transplant is done by another surgeon?
– Asif Khan MD, Canfield, Ohio

I… what? I think I know what you mean, and I think I’ve already agreed so… sure…

Jon, let me see if I’ve got this straight: The claycourt season goes from April until early June, ending with the French Open. Grasscourt season starts the next day, and ends four weeks later at Wimbledon. Fine, I guess. Davis Cup action happens again the next week, on the surface of choice for the hosting country. Again, fine, I guess. But then the following week there’s an ATP event in Sweden on … clay??? What?? So David Ferrer goes from playing on clay, grass, hardcourt indoor and back to clay in the span of six weeks??!! Whoa, I’m thinking the dude is probably ready for some R&R.
– John, San Francisco

Indeed. Let’s consider this.

1) The insane schedule mentioned above, not forgetting that he comes BACK to North America (he’s already been here once for Davis Cup) for Montreal, Cincy, and USO

2) He’s 29

3) His grinder style of play usually means he’s playing long points and long matches, which takes a serious toll on the body.

4) He actually wins! With, other than being crazy impressive, it means he’s playing even MORE tennis.

And, while not worth mentioning in the list, he’s only 5’9. The dude can not be worn down, not on the road, not on the plane, and sure as hell not on the court. Did I mention that he’s pretty solid on all surfaces too? A hero for the little man, figuratively and literally.

I was watching Marc Gicquel play in a Challenger event in Sopot, Poland, a few days ago and, as an ardent Federer fan, I immediately noticed he was wearing a white and yellow Roger Federer T-shirt from this year’s Australian Open! Am I the only one who thinks it’s bizarre to see a guy other than Roger compete on tour with an RF logo emblazoned on his chest?
– Marcin Zielkiewicz, Warsaw, Poland

Tennis players are pretty normal peeps, and the ones further down the rankings can be pretty removed from the top dudes. It’s almost more like wearing your favourite team’s shirt while playing. Not too weird.

I’m not sure if you heard about this on Howard Stern, but he made a great point: How long before the WTA has someone grunting corporate sponsor names? Maria Sharapova could do “Nikeeeeeeeeeeee,” Victoria Azarenka might be able to get away with “Sergio Tacchiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.”
– Jim M, Pittsford, N.Y.

Well behaved women rarely make history, no? I couldn’t help but peak at Wertheim’s answer because it’s such an intriguing question, and it’s pretty fantastic. And why limit to one sponsor? You could fill entire categories. Forehands could be “EEEEEEEEE-surance!!!!” Backhands could be “Emirrrrrrrrates Aiiiiiiir!” Serves could be “betttt-at-home-dottttt.com!”

Do you know who came up with the line, “Federer plays the game we wish we could play; Rafa plays the game we should try to play”?
– Mark S., Los Angeles

No idea, but I like it. Fed’s play is otherworldly. Rafa always tries to improve, and has a fantastic attitude on and off the court. Indeed.

I’m a little confused. Why do the players in doubles seem to hide their talks when they speak to each other after points? I see that maybe covering the mouths of the coaches in football, but doubles tennis?
– Ray Danganan, Frederick, Md.

It’s a bit like pitchers who put their gloves over their mouths, no? It always cracks me up when a doubles player on an outer court puts the ball over their mouth while they have an intense conversation and then bounce their way back to the baseline. Still, I guess you never know. There are worse habits.

Can Novak Djokovic be the next Federer? In terms of everything: domination, brand ambassador, front face for the sport …
– Suresh, Mumbai

I don’t think so. A couple of reasons. Mostly, his age and the fact that I don’t think he can keep such amazing play up forever. His head, his body, his shots… something has to go slightly. Fed also won a ton of slams when he had no real opposition, which allowed him to play a lot of easy matches and continue to keep up an insane level of play. That won’t be true for Novak, who has had to tough out a lot of wins. But hell, if Nole can keep this up for a few years, he might be the only guy worth talking about.

I attended the WTT match that featured Serena Williams of the Washington Kastles vs. the New York Sportimes. Serena played three matches and hardly uttered a grunt. What gives?
– Eric Bukzin, Manorville, N.Y.

I’ll speak entirely from my personal grunting experience (as in when I play tennis), but there’s two things in play. 1) When you really go for a ball, it can increase the grunting (which tends to be important points) 2) As you tire, the grunt factor goes up. For me, at least, when I’ve been playing for a bit, and really want to go for a forehand, I sometimes grunt. It’s mostly because my entire body is clenching, preparing for the shot, and then leans in to it and out comes the grunt (not that it’s very loud). WTT matches tend to be short, and let’s face it, not super important, and the opposition (Hingis) isn’t too scary. So a lot of factors go into it.

I’m planning to donate $1 to charity for every match Nikolay Davydenko wins this year. I have five singles in my wallet. Will I have to visit the ATM before this year is up?
– Brett Davis, Los Angeles

You’re already 9 bucks short, so you’re obviously not doing a fantastic job. Age and injury are a deadly combo. I think Kolya is likely out of the convo when it comes to big time matches, sadly.

Has anyone noticed that Andrey Golubev in the midst of an epic losing streak? He has lost 17 consecutive matches since March. He is only four loses away from tying Vince Spadea’s 21-match losing streak. To add insult to injury, his ranking just plummeted from 57 to 103 after being unable to defend in Hamburg. You have to feel sorry for the guy!
– Eric, Philadelphia

Holy crap! The last full match I watched of his was in Hamburg last year. He was cranking his one handed back hand and looked like a decent scamperer (that’s totally a word, right?) He definitely has the power to outright spank some of the lower ranked players… but apparently not. Messy stuff.

Once again, Jon always gives fantastic answers, and this is not meant as a slight to him. Also, I don’t read his answers until I’ve given mine. One final note: there were a couple questions that I simply don’t have the answers to. The Courier one was particularly interesting, and I encourage you to check it out and read the rest of his answers as well. You can find the original mailbag here.

What’s your opinion of Andy Roddick these days? If his results keep going the way they have been lately, does he make it to the London Olympics?
– Jeff, New York

Good question. There’s some real concern going around about Roddick right now, and rightfully so. I think it’s safe to say that the end is likely near. After working hard to solidify his backhand, the power is all but completely gone from it. His forehand seems to be lacking some zip, and he’s winning fewer matches on the strength of his serve alone, making it harder for him to go deep into tournaments.

As for him making it to the London Olympics? I think he will be there. Adding in the fact that it is on grass definitely helps, and it’s not like Andy is dropping in the first round of tournaments to nobodies, and he did win Memphis this year. I think the more likely question would be “do we see Andy beyond next year’s US Open?” That, only he knows the answer to.

What do you make of the fact that Federer always says he doesn’t watch the finals if he’s not in it? That just seems poor form, and he never gets called on it. Even if he really doesn’t watch, wouldn’t it be better for tennis if one of the all-time greats says he’ll be watching as a fan just like everyone else?
– Dominic Ciafardini, Hong Kong

In my honest opinion, Fed has said a whole lot worse and hasn’t reeeeeally been called out on it, in comparison to this. I can’t really blame him. If you lost in the ALCS in game 7, would you want to watch the World Series? Or the semis of the Champions League? Just to ponder “what could have been”? I doubt it. I also think it’s a bit silly to think of Fed as a “fan just like everyone else”. Of the game? Sure. But of the players? No way.

I don’t expect this to get printed but want to chime in on Chris Evert’s talent at ESPN. I thoroughly enjoyed her insight. She may have lacked some of the professionalism and wit of seasoned veteran Mary Carillo, but I believe she more than made up for that with her considerable charm, unique insight into the game and the fact that despite being a legend, she still seemed able to speak to the casual player. She did not come across as pompous as some former players turned analysts do. Rather, she was kind of like a more accomplished Mary Joe Fernandez.
– Keith Mainhart, Amityville, N.Y.

Let me start off by saying that being a tennis commentator is one hell of a hard job. They’re often ridiculed for being too boring, talking about the wrong thing at the wrong time, or being too biased. I’ve even seen Robbie and Jason hate (the guys who do the ATP Masters series events) and I thought they were universally loved.

As for Chris, it’s a two way street. I mostly heard her doing the women’s matches, and thought she did a great job. Was insightful, talked tactics and shot making, and didn’t appear biased at all.

On the other hand, I read some of the things she was saying during some of the men’s matches and they were… less than spectacular, mostly her open, blatant cheering of Federer. It’s tough. I think a lot of ex-pros come in to their side of things with a real knowledge and air of professionalism. But when they cover the other gender, they talk about it more from an outsider, fan point of view. I think this is also true of J-Mac and Mary. McEnroe in particular used to be horrible with the ladies because he openly spoke his mind and really added nothing to the match or the conversation, but he’s gotten much better over the years. This might be a similar story for Chris.

Seeing Novak break the stranglehold that Nadal and Federer have had on the No. 1 ranking is certainly impressive, but I’m also impressed and quite nostalgic to see apparel maker Sergio Tacchini return to glory and crack Nike’s hegemony when sponsoring the top-ranked men’s player (no disrespect to Martina Hingis, who wore the label in the late ’90s as the top women’s player.) Makes me think back to a simpler time when McEnroe and Sampras wore the brand before they became part of the Nike machine. Given that Novak has already been part of the adidas stable, do you think Phil Knight is putting together a monster package as we speak to lure Novak away? Will we soon see a Jim Gray interview from the Belgrade outpost of the Boys & Girls Club of Serbia where Nole announces that he’s “taking his talents to Beaverton”?
– Brian U., New York

Interesting. A few things. I think we can all agree that sponsorship, be it clothing or otherwise, isn’t exactly what it used to be. Winning a grand slam will get you set for life, but getting sponsorship deals will set you into the mega-mega-bucks. As for your question, I really have no idea. Novak and his family have done a pretty solid job of turning Novak into the “Nole Brand” if you will, not unlike other stars such as Fed, Rafa, and Sharapova. The clothes are a big part of that. Something tells me the family and Tacchini have something solid going there, so I wouldn’t expect him to jump ship any time soon.

Dude!!! Who said anything about playing Philly BETWEEN Roland Garros and Wimbledon??!!? They just played grass-court tennis in Newport. Why not shuttle down to Philly after that? Why not extend the grass-court season AFTER Wimbledon?
– Helen, Philadelphia

For the same reason there’s likely to never be a Masters grass tournament. Wimbledon is really one of the weirdest things in sports. It’s the biggest tournament in the universe, yet, as I wrote already, grass is weird. In an ideal world for scheduling, Wimbledon would become a hard court tournament, we could push it back a couple weeks, and warm up tournaments could be moved out of England and include places like France and Spain. But I think we all know that won’t ever happen.

Since we’re piling on about women’s tennis, what are your thoughts about the constant fist-pumping toward the player’s box, particularly after “big” points such as 15-15 in the second game of the match?
– Frank, Galisteo, N.M.

I peaked at Jon’s answer, and I agree with both things he said. First off, this is hardly exclusive to women’s tennis. Novak loves his box, so does Rafa. I’ve seen Pico do it when he’s not feeling too confident, and we all know Lleyton loves using the crowd to his advantage. Secondly, always trying to pump yourself does not send a good message to your opponent – it usually means you’re less than confident. In this case, the best players (if we’re talking women, Serena and Sharapova) often smell blood and up their game.

Amelie Mauresmo is only 32. With her one-handed backhand, sweet personality and athletic gifts, wouldn’t it be fantastic if she made a comeback?
– Joe Johnson, Allentown, Pa.

Not really. If you watched Momes near the end of her career, you know that her backhand wasn’t what it used to be, and her head and heart just weren’t in it anymore. It’s one of the reasons why 30 is generally pretty old for tennis players. After 10-15 years of grinding out traveling, long matches, and bad food, their confidence and will to compete go as much as their game.

Hello everyone! I’ve been on a bit of a tennis break mostly due to going on vacation, but I’m back in full this week and am looking forward to a ton of great tennis this week. Let’s do this.

Stanford – WTA (Premier)

Official Site: Here
Draw: Here
Top Seeds: Vika, Masha, Marion, Sam, A-Rad, Julia, Ana, Domi (oh, and Serena)

As per usual, Stanford plays host to a jam packed, exciting draw. Keeping in mind the top seeds, Serena, and the fact that it’s a 28 player draw, we are going to have some juicy early round matches. Oh, did I mention Sabine (possible second round match with Sam), Rebecca Marino (possible second round match with Marion) and Dani (possible second round match with Masha) are playing too? Delicious. This tournament should be fantastic by Wednesday, I can’t wait. And if for some reason you don’t already know, there is going to be excellent coverage over at Forty Deuce as well.

College Park – WTA (International)

Official Site: Here
Draw: Here
Top Seeds: Shahar, Petrova, Paszek, Dokic

The inaugural Citi Open in Maryland, while not boasting the same star power as Stanford, should prove to be an exciting one. Highlighted by big hitting veterans Shahar, Petrova, and Dokic, there are also a ton of intriguing up-and-coming young players, such as Bojana, Sloane Stephens, Genie Bouchard, Heather Watson, and the list goes on. Even if it is a veteran who ends up winning the tournament, this could be a great chance for a couple of young guns to rake in some much needed points and squeeze them into US Open qualifying or main draw contention.

Gstaad – ATP (250)

Official Site: Here
Draw: Here
Top Seeds: Nico, Stan, The Youz, FeVer

The clay season: yes it goes on and on my friends. What guys like Youz and Feli are doing in Switzerland instead of preparing for the hard court season, a surface they should prefer, is beyond me. But hey, it sure is pretty there, no?

Regardless, Gstaad has one squeaky clean looking draw. All eight seeds are in the top 50, and six of them are from Spain. Have fun, you silly clay rats.

Umag – ATP (250)

Official Site: Here
Draw: Here
Top Seeds: Chela, Dolgopolov, Ljubs, Marin

The most surprising thing about this tournament? Mr. Clean Ljubicic is ranked above Marin Cilic. Dude. Get it together.

Otherwise, it’s similar to the above, minus some of the bigger, more recognizable names. Still, there’s some solid clay players and others of intrigue (JCF, Haase) that make this tournament worth watching.

Los Angeles – ATP (250)

Official Site: Here
Draw: Here
Top Seeds: The Fishy One, Delpo, Baggy, Thomaz

Unfortunately there isn’t quite the depth to the Los Angeles tournament that we might be used to, but there sure are some sweet match-ups. First round? Dimitrov/Haas. Gonzo is here too, after a pretty fantastic Wimbledon, all things considered. The Tryin’ Ryan American combo of Sweeting/Harrison is also here, taking on Somdev and Berankis in the first round respectively.

Nadal’s Tournament So Far: Defeated: Fish, Delpo, Muller, Sweeting, Russell.

What Rafa Needs To Do: It hasn’t been breezy, but Rafa once again has himself in another Wimbledon semifinal. Getting this far never seemed too much in doubt, but Delpo definitely gave him a scare and Fish woke him up when he won a set.

For Rafa, things are pretty obvious. Keep that serve big, make sure the forehand is working and placing balls where he needs it, and be ready for a fight (which he always is). I think it’s safe to say that Rafa isn’t quite at the level he was from last year, and he’s got health issues that threaten to derail his run. He’ll need his A game for sure.

Murray’s Tournament So Far: Defeated: Lopez, Richie, Ljubicic, Kamke, Gimeno-Traver.

What Murray Needs To Do: It’s felt like Andy’s run to the semis has been easy. Routine. The draw helped him out, and it was simple. Right?

Partially. I think it’s safe to say that Andy’s draw could have been a whole lot worse, and wasn’t. At the same time, he’s dealt with Feli’s big serve, Richie’s variety, and Ljubicic’s Mr. Cleanness and made them look pretty routine. Those are definitely opponents who will ask the question of the big names, and Muzz has been ready to answer back right away.

It’s always a different beast, the business ends of slams, when only the cream of the crop remain. But I really do think Muzz is looking confident and solid. He had a fantastic clay season, looked comfortable, and looks absolutely fine with the pressure of Wimby.

In terms of his game and strategy, his serve is going to need to be cracking. If he starts having trouble on his serve consistently, it’s not going to be pretty. He will also need his backhand, probably his greatest weapon, which has been able to neutralize Rafa’s forehand in the past.

I’m going out on a crazy on this one and calling Muzz in 5 grinding sets.

For those who missed it, I asked on Twitter for people to send in their thoughts on who would win both semifinals, and how many sets it would take. Here’s the results. Whoever correctly picked both winners and respective total set count will get a follow Friday! Here’s the results from this match.

Rafa in 5: 4 total: @DancingPanda1, @jonscott9, @GVTennisNews, @elliejackson1
Rafa in 4: 14 total: @jeannab64, @delpotweeties, @nidsserz, @ljkingy, @stephinNZ, @marpal38, @omes_tennis, @ember_42, @sharapovanovic, @EllieFM, @rosso_neri, @AdjustingTheNet, @clairtennisfan, @emmpahickey
Rafa in 3: 3 total: @omygravy, @RacquetRequired, @DiscoDebMKE

Andy in 5: 4 total: @mitchjos, @sheilokavieira, @anna_tennisfan, @MindTheRacket
Andy in 4: 8 total: @BraveThinkSol, @tenniswatch, @ruthlesscourt, @Ms_Art_House, @R0si, @Daszmarelli, @zbrain, @Daily_Scores
Andy in 3: None

Djokovic’s Tournament So Far: Defeated Tomic, Llodra, Baghdatis, Anderson, Chardy.

What Djokovic Needs To Do: It’s been a bumpy ride through Wimbledon for Novak. Struggling with Baghs and Tomic after a couple of sets has tested Novak and forced him to raise his game despite some frustration. What is really going on here, no one can know. Is he physically tired? Mentally tired? Over confident after winning two sets? Tough to know. Regardless, Nole is going to be in tough against and is going to have to play his best tennis of the tournament.

I think the real key for Nole is just his head, but in terms of play, definitely his return and his backhand. Jo was able to exploit Fed’s backhand, both in rallies and on the return, and his cross court forehand was just deadly. Nole’s backhand is a lot better than Fed’s, and he’s also a better returner, which he will need with Jo’s serve being brutal this tournament.

Tsonga’s Tournament So Far: Defeated Federer, Ferrer, F. Gonzalez, Dimitrov, Soeda.

What Tsonga Needs To Do: Keep doing what you were doing! Jo’s level of play in the last 3 sets against Fed was absurd. The serve was crushing, he was looking to move in, looking to be aggressive, and then crushing the crap out of the forehand to boot.

One of the biggest problems I tend to have with Jo is his how he becomes so passive. Jo moves incredible well front to back, but not as well side to side. He also has a solid forehand in terms of power and his placement with it, but often chooses to just get the ball back with it a bit too much. When he beat Fed, he went for nearly every forehand, and because of that, was staying on the aggressive. It was insane. Jo absolutely needs to do that against Novak. He has the ability to dictate play, and he needs to be looking to do that every point. Novak is too solid not too.

If Jo can play like he did against Fed, he’ll win this tournament. I like him to win in 4 sets.

For those who missed it, I asked on Twitter for people to send in their thoughts on who would win both semifinals, and how many sets it would take. Here’s the results. Whoever correctly picked both winners and respective total set count will get a follow Friday! Here’s the results from this match.

Novak in 5: 6 total: @tenniswatch, @GVTennisNews, @ruthlesscourt, @EllieFM, @Daszmarreli, @emmaphickey
Novak in 4: 7 total: @DancingPanda1, @omes_tennis, @RacquetRequired, @mitchjos, @DiscoDebMKE, @Sheilokavieira, @anna_tennisfan
Novak in 3: 2 total: @marpal38, @r0si

Jo in 5: 5 total: @jeannab64, @delpotweeties, @BraveThinkSol, @AdjustingTheNet, @clairetennisfan
Jo in 4: 10 total: @nidssserz, @ljkingy, @omygravy, @jonscott9, @ember_42, @sharapovanovic, @Ms_Art_House, @elliejackson1, @zbrain, @MindTheRacket
Jo in 3: 3 total: @stephinNZ, @rosso_neri, @Daily_Scores

It was a hot day in June, and my job of pulling nails from the dry wall of a partly burned house was the last thing on my mind. I had high expectations of John Isner for Wimbledon. The tall, big serving American had missed Wimbledon the year before due to mono and fallen out in the first round the year before that. I had seeded him 12th in my customized Wimbledon seeds posts, taken him as a dark horse in my tennis pool team, and talked up his game on Twitter.

Alone on the second floor of the house, I madly checked my phone at any chance I could as Ana fired me updates over Twitter. John was down 2 sets to 1 to some French qualifier Nicolas Mahut. I knew that if he could squeeze out the fourth set tiebreak, play would likely be called for darkness, he could get his head together, and come back and serve the thing out in the fifth. It turned out I was right. Well, sort of.

Play got under way in the morning (for me), and I didn’t pay much attention until the business end of the set, when I was on my break. Surely, someone was going to get broken and the match would end. Not true. Frantically, I checked my phone as often as I could, and bugged Ana for updates as often as possible (while still trying to look busy). The match dragged on. I often got confused replies. “I don’t even know anymore.” Frustrated with the match, and busier after lunch, I could not afford to try and sneak updates as often. Eventually, out of exhaustion, amazement, annoyance, or a combination of the three, Ana sent me another message. “BRODIE, THEY’RE STILL GOING.”

Co-workers were amazed and slightly dumbfounded when I told them a match that had been started yesterday and restarted today was still going at 30-all in the fifth set. The scoring made no sense, yet it made it even that much more interesting. The day after, it continued, and finally finished. Another co-worker asked me “how can that even happen?”

The match, with its endurance, exhaustion, and all around weirdness caught the attention of the sports world and beyond, and we as tennis fans could not have been more proud.

But for us fans, the match joined the long history of oddities and traditions at Wimbledon that we already knew and loved; and Wimbledon sure loves it’s history.

Wimbledon is home to traditions shared by no other tournaments in the world. First off, all players must wear all white. For players, it’s a chance to be part of a tradition shared a long line of greats to play at the tournament. For fans, its equally as important. The players pop against the green grass, and it’s instantly recognizable and comforting visual cue.

The tournament also observes what is commonly known as “middle Sunday”, a near holy tennis sabbath on the first Sunday, where all play is halted. It gives players and fans alike a break, and also sets up a jam packed Monday, where all round of 16 matches are played.

Lastly, while other grand slams have scaled back men’s doubles matches to three sets, and regular tour tournaments have created no ad deuce games and the super tiebreak to speed up play and create more drama, Wimbledon’s men matches still continue to be played in a best of 5 set format.

Strangest of all, and most importantly, is the beloved surface the tournament is played on: grass. After a long and grueling clay season that culminates with the second major of the year, Roland Garros, the focus shifts to England. Suddenly, grass reigns supreme. Every tournament in England except for the World Tour Finals (played on hard courts at the end of the year in the O2 arena) is held during this month long period and is played on grass. Yet only three grass surface events take place outside of England; Halle in Germany, two weeks before Wimbledon, Den Bosch in the Netherlands a week before Wimbledon, and Newport in the United States, a week after.

No one plays on this high maintenance surface outside of this month long window. No one grows up playing on it. Yet it is used for the biggest tournament in the world.

Ideally, this would even the playing field, considering the level of experience on it. Ironically, it is arguably the most extreme surface. The ball flies on the grass, but bounces low. It changes with the rain and the heat. It is tricky to move on. And it takes a beating over the fortnight, and is reduced to dirt at the baseline.

The surface has remained, but the way players have played on it has changed. Once dominated by big powerful serve and volleyers, even players like Roger Federer, who won his first Wimbledon title mainly relying the tactic, now choose to stay back.

In the end, these are the strange truths of a strange sport’s biggest championship, won by many of its greatest champions. It is a sport played around the world with a never ending season, by people of all races, creeds, and nationalities, where 15 + 30 = 40, love means zero, people and computers call lines, and points, games, sets and matches can go on forever.

And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Enjoy the second week everybody.

Another slam, another kickass first week. The second week is typically the one with the high quality matches, but much like being at a tournament early in the week, the first week of a slam is where us tennis junkies get our fill. There’s tennis everywhere.

The women’s side has been the most exciting for me. There’s been some predictable results, some upsets, an intriguing final 16, and most importantly a ton of great matches. Once again, it’s a real testament to the quality across the draw on the women’s side. It’s not just about everything being “wide open”.

Players that really impressed me are three of the ladies who may be the future of this sport in a few years: Sabine Lisicki, Laura Robson, and Heather Watson. Sabine continues to have some of the biggest shots on the tour, and to boot, has shown off some excellent defense and good movement. Laura’s movement is continuing to improve by my eye. She just has a wonderful feel of the ball and a great lefty forehand which is proving troublesome for her opponents. Heather is looking like an excellent counterpuncher, not afraid to go for winners with great power off both wings, especially a plus backhand. Well done ladies.

For the men, I’m really quite impressed with what Del Potro has managed to do so far. Grass really is a terrible surface for him. The low balls are tricky, and his movement is a mess. He really seems to have trouble getting his feet under him to unleash that big backhand. At the same time, he’s realized that he needs his big serve to win, and that it can be a huge asset if his first serve percentage is up (and boy was it up against Rochus).

I still think Richie is going to give Muzz serious problems, and there might be a surprising upset there. Jo is looking fantastic, which is just great and fun to see. He should be able to blow past Ferru, and I’d love to see him have a crack at Fed.

It was a tricky week for Nole, who is still figuring out grass, and needed to tough out a win versus Baggy. Don’t count him out quite yet, however. Sometimes a player needs something like that to wake up a bit, and I think that’s the case for Novak here. The day off today won’t hurt either.

And hey, remember Thomas Berdych? Yeah, he’s kind of crushing everything. Hmm…

Overall, it’s been a fantastic week, and I’m loving how the draws have turned out. We’ve got some of the players we expected to be through, and some surprising winners which should result in a few curveball quarterfinalists for the big names. Is it Monday yet?

I emailed you back in May about Andy Roddick but Nole was more the popular subject back then. With Roddick not performing well in Australia, a no show for the French (which doesn’t matter anyway) and now out so early in Wimbledon; if he doesn’t do well in New York do you think he should throw in the towel?
– Brian Brown, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Tennis is a weird sport when it comes to retiring and getting old. First off, once you hit 30, you’re old. That doesn’t mean you’re done, however, and a lot of players, male and female, clear out the mental cobwebs as they get older and get better in that sense. Just look at the remaining 16 on the ladies’ side for Wimbledon.

Should Roddick retire? Absolutely not. The fight is clearly there, as he wrote after he lost at Wimbledon. I think he’s still enjoying the sport, and enjoying competing. The US Open is obviously a very special place for him, and I’d expect him to probably finish off his career there, whenever that might be. And much like he wrote in that post, being top 20 in the world is like making the all-star team in another sport, he’s not exactly terrible at tennis all of a sudden.

Why do the Wimbledon organizers insist on disrespecting the Williams sisters — Serena especially — year after year by putting them on Court 2?
– Joe, Montclair, N.J.

I fall on both sides of this argument, if possible. I think there’s definitely something funky with some of the Wimbledon scheduling… but at the same time, the same can be said for a lot of big tournaments. Were Wimbledon wrong to put Serena on court 2? Not really. The issue for me is the fact that, I believe, the Jo match was on court 1, and the defending ladies’ champ was on court 2. Goofy.

I also don’t buy this “I’ll stop complaining when Murray plays on court 1″ crap. Of course he’s going to be on centre every time, he’s the biggest appeal. Just like Roddick and Serena will be in New York. To sum it up, there’s nothing wrong with the premise itself, but in this situation, was probably a dumb move.

Novak Djokovic looks great. Is he on a diet or something? Why haven’t I heard anything about it from ESPN or anything?
– Dan, Toronto

Dan, dude. Google that shit. We Canadians are typically more informed than this. You’re letting me down here, man. Also, Wertheim, why are you even addressing this? Wasting mine and your time.

Give Rod Laver back the five years he lost for being — que horror— a pro, and his major totals are at Martina Navratilova/Steffi Graf levels and we never have this discussion … and he never gets credit from anyone for being the pioneer he was in bringing above-board professionalism to tennis, and the huge price he paid for so doing. To me, old phart that I am, the others will always be playing for second place alltime, and it’s not even close.
–Jon R., Waite Park, Minn.

Fair enough. Comparing across eras is very tricky, however. Laver will always be a god in this sport and should be treated as so; he’s an amazing historical figure and amazing man. However, he also played during a time where Americans and Australians dominated the sport. I’m so tired of the GOAT discussion. Moving on…

A quick proposal. Perhaps as a reward for being seeded at a slam, an unseeded male player must win three of five sets to defeat a seeded male player. However, if the seeded player wins two of the first three sets the match ends. They could run this through the first two rounds at least and leave matches between unseeded men as two-out-of-three affairs.
– Dan Martin, Burlington, Ky.

Sabine, it’s good to have you back.

It’s been a long road back for Sabine, who was out for months with an injury from the 2009 US Open that made her 2010 was an entire write off. Watching her blow match points against Vera at Roland Garros was painful and heart breaking. That’s why it was so refreshing to see her blow away the Birmingham competition on her way to the title. Power and talent, baby.

Today she fought hard on her way to an upset of Nails in the second round, 8-6 in the third. Saving two match points, we always knew that the power and determination was there and she could make some noise in the draw. She might just be getting started.

Sabine’s serve and forehand were absolutely off the hook today, but that might be the obvious part. The most impressive thing for me, was her defense. Running shots, awkward backhands, low balls… not the first thing you would think of when Lisicki comes to mind. But she dealt with Nails’ offense, she dealt with passing shots she had to make, and she stuck in rallies she probably had no business being in.

If both her and Ana win, they could face off for a chance to meet the winner of Serena/Marion in the quarterfinals. The WTA is alive and well.

I’ll hopefully be doing one of these every day for the rest of the tournament, and individual posts on matches of particular intrigue.

- It was one hell of a day for Canadian tennis. All three remaining Canucks in the singles are done. The most devastating of all is Milos, who went down with a nasty tumble early in the first set versus Muller and was unable to continue on for more than a game. Not only does this knock him out of the tournament, but it also nixes a chance for Milos to play in the biggest match of his life versus Rafa on centre court. There will be other chances, however, and Milos will be back. Here’s hoping it’s not too serious and his summer isn’t in jeopardy.

- Both remaining Canadian women, Marino and Dubois, went out to Vinci and Petkovic respectively. The Marino match wasn’t on a show court, but the scoreline definitely showed off the error of youth. Up 5-2 in the first, she was unable to close it out, lost it in a tiebreak, and went down in the second without much of a fight. Dubois fought well to claim the second set, but ran out of gas against the power of Petko.

- Round of applause for Kimiko and Venus. Hell of a match, regardless of age, regardless of health. Women’s tennis is alive and well.

- I still think ya’ll better watch out for Richie.

- It’s been a rough year for T-Berd, who not only lost semis points from RG, but now has finals points to defend. Nice to see that he’s moved through the first two rounds without issue.

- Good and bad news for the British youngsters. A great win for Laura Robson, who toughed one out against Kerber after a huge momentum swing in Kerber’s favour in the third. Tough stuff for Watson, however, who was in cruise control in a set and a half, and then had some elbow issues on her right arm and lost in a close three sets, 6-4 in the third. I know it’s a bit silly to hype players up, but in my opinion, both of these ladies have a real shot at being constant fixtures in the top 20, and eventually top 10.

- Sabine still hasn’t lost a set on grass all year. She plays Nails tomorrow on centre court. Be there.