Scooter Chronicles

This afternoon we got to celebrate our nephew Ryan’s first birthday. It was a good time, as all kid’s birthday parties can be. He got a lot of loot, but not as much as my nephew Braylen. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to post some pictures tomorrow.

While at the birthday party, we kept an eye on the men’s semifinals of the US Open. Andre Agassi defeat Robbie Ginepri in a good match (from what I saw). Though Ginepri played well, and Agassi struggle against James Blake the round before, Andre was clearly the beter player, though it took 5 sets. In the other semi Roger Federer defeated Lleyton Hewitt. This will be Andre’s 6 trip to the US Open Finals (having won it twice) and Federer’s second...

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As you know from my previous post, I did a bit of reading on Monday morning. After that, Marcia and I had David and Catherine over to BBQ some burgers and hot dogs. Thanks to them for supplying the main course.

Before eating, we watched a bit of the US Open. Watched Andre Agassi beat Xavier Malisse of Belgium, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 4-6, 6-2. Then after that match, American James Blake took on Spain’s Tommy Robredo. We got through the first set and it looked like Blake’s surprise run was going to end. But we didn’t make it through to see him come back winning, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.

After dinner, we watched the movie “Sideways” which is going to be reviewed in a matter of moments.

Hope everyone...

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Marcia and I started watching Andy Roddick’s first round match last night (seeded 4th). Funny how things can turn around so fast. He was up 5-2 in the first set, only 20 minutes in, looking like he was going to win in a route. But he ended up losing to the 68th ranked player in the world, Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (1).

Just for the record, Marcia likes to root against Andy. I have slowly become a fan of his. Though it has been frustrating watching him play second fiddle to Federer for about three years now.

We watched the first two sets, and Roddick wasn’t playing all that bad. At one point Muller had over twice as many unforced errors. But it just wasn’t to be. Even Roddick’s...

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And it wasn’t a good beginning for the defending women’s champion, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 5th of the tournament. She lost to fellow country woman Ekaterina Bychkova, ranked 97th in the world, 6-3, 6-2. From what I have read, Kuznetsova has been hampered by a back injury. Still a surprise. Unfortunately for her, she made history with the loss.

On the men’s side, 9th seeded Gaston Gaudio of Argentina lost to American Brian Baker, 7-6 (11-9), 6-2, 6-4. A rather big surprise, seeing that Baker appears to have just turned pro a few weeks ago, and is ranked 195th in the world.

It will be very interesting to see how Andre Agassi does. This appears to be his last shot at the US Open. Other Americans...

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I came across a link on a sports web site that I found very interesting. It is for the Association of Modern Tennis. This is a hybrid version of tennis that is nicknamed “moderno.” I am always interested in different or unique sports (I would be a charter subscriber to Obscure Sports Quarterly if it existed). But as a tennis purist, I am not overly thrilled with this. I would suspect that it stays in a niche type of category, like arena football and indoor soccer. Both are successful (to a degree), but neither has replaced the original sport.

I read over the rules quickly and it sounds interesting. It is really just a matter of scoring differently, and...

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In very convincing style, too. Federer beat Andy Roddick for the second straight year, 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-4. Like the two before, Federer was in tears, holding this edition of the Grand Slam as the most prestigious.

Federer made easy work of Roddick in the first, going up two breaks, then breaking Roddick’s serve again for the set. In the second set though, he was given a bit of a challenge with Roddick breaking his serve very early. But he fought back quickly and broke back, leaving it at 3 games a piece. Soon they were off to tiebreaker where they traded mini-breaks on points 2 through 5, then Federer gained absolute control.

There was a twenty plus minute rain delay after the second set was completed, and like last...

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And boy was it a classic! She defeated fellow American Lindsay Davenport 4-6, 7-6 (4), 9-7. Both women deserved to win this match. It started later then normal, due to the last mens’ semifinal match (between Roddick and Johansson, which Roddick won). It also turned out to be the longest womens’ final in Wimbledon history, taking almost three hours to complete.

Things started out quickly for Davenport, and before anyone knew it, she had broken Venus’ serve twice and was up 5-2 in the first. But then Venus fought back with to love games, showing that she wasn’t going to roll over. Davenport served out the set, but you could see the seething determination in Venus’ eyes.

The second set went according...

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Davenport d. Amelie Mauresmo, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-4
Williams d. Sharapova 7-6 (2), 6-1

Amazed to hear that Sharapova was beaten so easily in the second set. Also surprised that Mauresmo actually made it tough on Davenport. I have no confidence in Mauresmo winning a Grand Slam. She always seems to choke.

Federer d. Hewitt 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4)
Roddick leads Johansson 6-5 (rain delay)

Looks like Hewitt came alive a bit too late. I am assuming that Federer was just too overpowering like he has been now for three years on grass. At least Hewitt is showing he still has it. He performance in getting to Grand Slam semifinals lately has been very good. As for the other match, it looks like they will have to wait...

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The top three seeds on both the mens’ and womens’ side advance to the semifinals. Going to make for some good tennis. The men finished their quarterfinal matches this afternoon. Three of the four matches as you can see were in straight sets. Only Andy Roddick had a real battle going. Thanks to Wimbledon.Org and their real-time scoring, I got to check up on the matches throughout the day to see what was happening.

Here are the scores:

Federer d. Gonzalez, 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2)
Roddick d. Grosjean, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Hewitt d. Lopez, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (2)
Johansson d. Nalbandian, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2

There will be no super long-shot upset winner in either the men’s or women’s championships this year at Wimbledon. We are down to the quarterfinals and only have seeded players left.

Womens’
Lindsay Davenport USA (1) (1999 Wimbledon Champ) v. Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (5)
Amelie Mauresmo FRA (3) v. Anastasia Myskina RUS (9)
Mary Pierce FRA (12) v. Venus Williams USA (14) (2000 & 2001 Wimbledon Champ)
Nadia Petrova RUS (8) v. Maria Sharapova RUS (2) (2004 Wimbledon Champ)

It seems rather obvious that Davenport and Sharapova will meet in the finals. But I think if Sharapova gets to the semis, she is going to have a real dog fight with either Venus or Mary Pierce. And why do I have...

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