Linz Went To Memphis And All I Got Was This Amazing Delpo Footage.

So as you may or may not know, the legendary Linz was at the Memphis 500 last week doing some behind-the-scenes camerawork, and she sent me this fantastic video of Delpo being interviewed by The Koz of indietennis.com.

That’s right, Linz was that close to that much adorableness and somehow survived the experience.

Courtesy of Racquet Required, Linz was also on hand to film Delpo’s pressers after his win against Ivan Dodig and a more dejected Delpo after the semifinal loss to Roddick.

A big hand to Linz’s camerawork, Racquet Required and The Koz for the videos.

Indian Wells Results & OOP: Monday

Sorry for the smallish blogging hiatus. Life, work, weekend, you know how it is. I’ll be back a bit later, hopefully; in the meantime, enjoy this exclusive photo of the newly beefy, back and amazingly-still-in (although his days are numbered) NB fave, Mario Ancic.

(photo courtesy of jb – thanks, chica!)

Sunday’s Results

Men’s Singles – Third Round
[29] V Troicki (SRB) d [5] N Davydenko – w/o (broken left wrist)

Men’s Singles – Second Round
[1] R Federer (SUI) d V Hanescu (ROU) 63 67(5) 61
[4] A Murray (GBR) d A Seppi (ITA) 64 64
[6] R Soderling (SWE) d E Korolev (KAZ) 62 64
[7] A Roddick (USA) d [Q] Y Lu (TPE) 64 64
[9] J Tsonga (FRA) d [Q] M Matosevic (AUS) 61 63
S Greul (GER) d [12] G Monfils (FRA) 16 62 63
J Blake (USA) d [13] D Ferrer (ESP) 61 64
D Sela (ISR) d [14] R Stepanek (CZE) 64 16 62
[18] T Robredo (ESP) d S Stakhovsky (UKR) 36 63 75
[22] J Melzer (AUT) d [WC] D Nalbandian (ARG) 64 61
N Almagro (ESP) d [23] I Karlovic (CRO) 75 76(5)
[24] A Montanes (ESP) d [Q] R Mello (BRA) 36 64 64
[27] M Baghdatis (CYP) d A Clement (FRA) 76(7) 61
[28] F Lopez (ESP) d P Mathieu (FRA) 36 63 64
T de Bakker (NED) d [30] J Tipsarevic (SRB) 32 ret. (abdominal strain)
M Russell (USA) d [32] I Andreev (RUS) 46 63 62

Men’s Doubles – Second Round
M Llodra (FRA) / A Ram (ISR) d J Tipsarevic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) w/o (Tipsarevic – abdominal strain)

Men’s Doubles – First Round
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d E Butorac (USA) / R Ram (USA) 63 64
T Berdych (CZE) / P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 76(4) 75
[WC] M Lopez (ESP) / R Nadal (ESP) d [3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 64 36 10-6
[6] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) d J Kerr (AUS) / F Polasek (SVK) 75 63
F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) d [WC] M Ancic (CRO) / M Fish (USA) 76(9) 63

Women’s Singles – Third Round
[2] C Wozniacki (DEN) d [32] M Kirilenko (RUS) 60 63
[4] E Dementieva (RUS) d K Flipkens (BEL) 64 62
[5] A Radwanska (POL) d [31] G Dulko (ARG) 61 60
[18] J Zheng (CHN) d [10] M Sharapova (RUS) 63 26 63
[11] M Bartoli (FRA) d J Craybas (USA) 62 60
[19] A Rezai (FRA) d [15] F Schiavone (ITA) 67(4) 76(2) 64
[16] N Petrova (RUS) d S Peng (CHN) 61 75
[WC] A Molik (AUS) d [Q] E Baltacha (GBR) 60 62

Women’s Doubles – Second Round
[2] N Llagostera Vives (ESP) / M Martinez Sanchez (ESP) d G Dulko (ARG) / F Pennetta (ITA) 75 76(4)
I Benesova (CZE) / B Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) d [5] A Kleybanova (RUS) / F Schiavone (ITA) 57 75 10-1
[6] B Mattek-Sands (USA) / Z Yan (CHN) d [WC] T Garbin (ITA) / J Jankovic (SRB) 64 46 10-5

Monday’s OOP

STADIUM 1 start 12:00 noon
[25] P Kohlschreiber (GER) vs [2] N Djokovic (SRB) – ATP
Not Before 1:00 PM
M Ancic (CRO) vs [3] R Nadal (ESP) – ATP
Not Before 4:00 PM
S Errani (ITA) vs [6] J Jankovic (SRB) – WTA
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) or E Butorac (USA) / R Ram (USA) vs J Blake (USA) / A Roddick (USA) – ATP – Possible Court Change
Not Before 7:30 PM
[23] A Kleybanova (RUS) vs [14] K Clijsters (BEL) – WTA
Not Before 9:00 PM
[15] J Isner (USA) vs [17] S Querrey (USA) – ATP

STADIUM 2 start 11:00 am
[21] J Monaco (ARG) vs [11] J Ferrero (ESP) – ATP
[12] V Zvonareva (RUS) vs A Sevastova (LAT) – WTA
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs [26] T Bellucci (BRA) – ATP
[19] T Berdych (CZE) vs [10] F Verdasco (ESP) – ATP
[3] V Azarenka (BLR) vs [28] M Martinez Sanchez (ESP) – WTA

STADIUM 3 start 11:00 am
[25] A Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs [8] S Stosur (AUS) – WTA
[9] F Pennetta (ITA) vs [17] S Peer (ISR) – WTA
R Vinci (ITA) vs [13] Y Wickmayer (BEL) – WTA
[Q] B Dabul (ARG) vs [20] I Ljubicic (CRO) – ATP

COURT 4 start 11:00 am
K Peschke (CZE) / K Srebotnik (SLO) vs N Grandin (RSA) / A Spears (USA) – WTA
[6] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) vs J Benneteau (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) – ATP
[1] C Black (ZIM) / L Huber (USA) vs A Amanmuradova (UZB) / D Kustova (BLR) – WTA
C Suarez Navarro (ESP) vs [27] A Szavay (HUN) – WTA

COURT 6 start 2:00 pm
A Hlavackova (CZE) / L Hradecka (CZE) vs [3] N Petrova (RUS) / S Stosur (AUS) – WTA – After Suitable Rest
D Ferrer (ESP) / A Montanes (ESP) vs I Karlovic (CRO) / D Vemic (SRB) – ATP

I, Witness: Further Adventures of AmyLu and JJ

So I tried to update the original post with this, but I couldn’t quite make it work. Anyway, following up on the success of our previous post about their adventures at the US Open final, our favourite couple have now gone multi-media! Have a little video melange …

I just love these photos. Seriously. Every time I look at them I get too happy and have to go off and have a cigarette and think about death for a bit …

(I think this one is my favourite. The more you look at it, the better it gets.)

Could you cry? I could cry.

I, Witness: AmyLu and JJ at the US Open Final

As many of you probably know, our very own AmyLu and Juan Jose were present to witness history in the making at the US Open final on Monday. I certainly thought about them at various times during the match, and given the pivotal role that JMDP himself acknowledged the crowd’s support played in their victory and the accounts of just how much and with what tenacity JJ was cheering, I don’t think it would be exaggerating too much to say they basically are responsible for the Elf victory which I for one still haven’t got over.

Anyway, they were kind enough to send me a written account of their experiences which I have read like a zillion times already and am still loving. (I’ve popped the bulk of it under a cut, but it is so worth reading, please do.) So enjoy! There may even be photos and video to come …

AmyLu: It would be an understatement to say that JJ and I were excited to see the Elf play in his first Grand Slam Final.  In fact, JJ was singing “Olé, olé, olé, olé, Delpo, Delpo! so loudly when he took a shower Monday morning that I heard him in the next room.  I panicked Monday morning because I realized that my clothes were the wrong color.  I’d packed a red shirt, as I had hopes that a certain Spaniard may just surprise me and make the final.  But now, I was going to be wearing Swiss colors, which I found somewhat unpalatable.  Since we were staying a day longer than we expected, thanks to the rain, I didn’t really have any other options.  And, it seemed nuts, even to me, to go buy a different shirt.  Plus, red is one of my lucky colors so I decided that the shirt would bring luck to the Elf – although it took quite a bit of persuasion on my part to convince JJ that the red would not bring about the Elf’s downfall.  Once we sorted out my attire, we made the hour-long trek on the subway to Flushing Meadows and arrived very early so that we could soak in the whole experience of seeing the men’s final of the US Open.  It was clear from the beginning that we were going to be in the minority on the cheering front.  A parade of fans in RF gear made their way past us as we sat in the shade outside the stadium.  We did see a smattering of Argentinean soccer jerseys, though, so we knew that Elf would have other support beyond the two of us.

I, Witness: Looking Good

How fab are these photos of Jo? Thanks, ptenisnet!

I, Witness: Rulin In Montreal

As usual, you know how I love eyewitness reports, keep them coming …

Today’s installment comes courtesy of Rulin, who was lucky enough to stalk see Elf in Montreal and generous enough to share the love. First up we have Elf practicing shirtless before the semis:

At the end, his coach tossed some balls over to us and then Juan hit some over too.
The practice seemed very positive and it inspired a lot of hope in me that he would win that night, even after he was a set down.
As I said, unfortunately the photos aren’t that close…
Murray actually practiced on the court closet to the camera, so they were my best photos.
I think we all wish the situation was reversed. =P

That last photo … Seriously, I love nice backs. And that is a nice back.

Ahem. Anyway.

Here’s some Sunday photos of (1) JMDP arriving at the stadium (with familiar looking shoes ), looking kind of bleary-eyed (uh-oh…), and (2) the end of his practice.
I got some nice shots of both Murray and Juan practicing, but these are the photos that were sort of foreboding.
It looked like the heat was getting to him, and he spent a couple of minutes just sitting and watching Murray (#1), and also talking to his coach with his head in his towel.
Then he just suddenly left (#2). As I said, he arrived after Murray and left before.
I was preparing myself for a straight set loss after that, so as not to be disappointed… needless to say, JMDP totally exceeded my expectations.

Hmmm … Knowing how it turned out, these pictures kind of make me sad. But then they’re photos of Elf. So not that sad.

Thanks so much to Rulin for the great photos and eyewitness report

I came. I saw. I Schwanked.

As promised, here be my eye-witness report of my trip to Indy on Thursday. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the most eventful of experiences – particularly compared to my trip to Wimbledon last month (my first time) – but then again, that’s sort of like comparing mountains to mole-holes, don’t you think?

The pathetically undersized crowd

Anyway. Naturally, as soon as I arrived in Indy, it started to rain, so play was suspended for a bit. This allowed me the fantastic opportunity to stroll around and browse overpriced merchandise and buy a $4.50 hot dog. (Seriously. $4.50 for a hot dog!? I could probably buy a pig and a field of wheat and make my own damn bun and dog for that much.)

After the rain stopped, and the courts were squeegeed ( © me), I was able to catch the second set of the John Isner (USA) / Denis Istomin (UZB) match. Spoiler alert: Isner won, 64 64. And let me just say … I didn’t realize how ungodly tall Isner is, at 6’9. Move over, Dr. Ivo!

Despite the scoreline, I thought Istomin put up a good fight, but he just couldn’t match the service power of Isner. Since no one was cheering for poor old Denis – actually the 8^th seed in Indy – I attempted to make my support for him known. Alas, twas in vain.

I returned to “Centre Court” (um … can’t remember what it’s actually called) just in time to see Sam Querrey claim victory over Rajeev Ram (USA), 63 63. The court was then invaded by “Sam’s Samurai,” aka a motley group of his friends from back home in California, who proceeded to play bongo drums, be shirtless, and use the t-shirt gun to shoot some Samurai t-shirts into the crowd.

(Photo courtesy Tennis Indy)

Yes, a t-shirt gun … obviously, per the 2^nd Amendment, we are required to have guns for everything in America. As such, I bought my ticket via the ticket-booth gun.

Next up was Dmitry Tursunov, the no. 1 seed, who gave a proper thumping to Marcos Daniel (BRA), 63 63. Dmitry was serving well – his fastest serve, by my count, was 135 mph. I then became mesmerized by the treat that was Dmitry’s black briefs – highly visible from his sweat-soaked white shorts. (Sadly, no photos. Use your imagination.)

FINALLY – the moment I had been waiting for – was the match between Robby Ginepri (USA) and Eduardo Schwank (ARG). Obviously, I was rooting for Eduardo, not only because of his Argentinean-ness, but also for the fact that his last name provides endless hours of inevitably hilarious Schwank-related puns.

(Photo courtesy Yahoo! Sports)

A sampling: “Gee, I’d like to Schwank that.” “Schwank me up, Scotty!” “Sorry, Robby – you’ve been SCHWANKED!” “Shall we Schwank now, or Schwank later?” etc., etc.

Unfortunately, my Schwankaphobia (© me) was short-lived, for although he won the first set 67(1), he was then reverse-Schwanked by Ginepri, 63 60.

Oh, Schwank. How we hardly knew thee.

I, Witness: Pico is Adorable. Confirmation.

Continuing with today’s “paying tribute to hot Tandilese who are no longer in the tournament” and “posting stuff I should have posted days ago” themes …

YFBer (we need a name for ourselves, I think) Lauren was lucky enough to be at Wimbledon on Monday and was courtside for the “ico” smackdown between Juan Monaco and Nicolas Almagro. As she put it, “Three tie breaks, four hours and five sets – but still it didn’t get a mention in the press.” She was generous enough to send me some hot pictorial Pico goodness to go with her description of the match – check it out.