[envenonearo]

Got into the Open late last night. A few observations:

*The most fun I had last night was at Palmolive vs. Chipola. FIRST- let me suggest something, for those so inclined- give up on them Dolgopolov sexual fantasies you know that you all have been having. 'Cause all I can say is- EWWWWWWWWWWWW! One of the downsides of live tennis and getting close to players is discovering how so many players have really, really bad skin. (More than understandable- nelslus is certainly not at his most ravishing when he has not gotten enough beauty sleep either- and with the insane schedules players must keep, bad skin is very understandble.) (Still, EWWWWWWWWWWWWW! That bad-boy ponytailed vibe Dolgopolov can pull off on TV sure as hell doesn't work when you're feet away from his scawny icky-faced self.) When I waltzed over after seeing Little Miss America and Sock squeak out the third set tiebreaker (Melanie tried to suck as much as she possibly could- talk about a loss of confidence- but, fortunately for them, Polasek sucked even worse than Melaine- and Melanie also had the good sense now and then to duck and let Sock take over), Dolgopolov blew a 4th set break-up lead, only then to immediately go down a break in the fifth. The 2 feet tall Cipolla has a fun, old-school-kinda game- slices, dices, constant changes of pace, decent volley- your basic pain in the ass opponent, especially when you're not playing at your best. It truly looked like Dolgopolov was gonna blow it all- especially with me there tryin' to lend my GET SOME PEOPLE OUT OF THE DAMNED MEN'S TAT POOL ALREADY mojo- he was too often looking impatient, rushing, and falling into Cipolla's web- until, close to the end, it seemed like Cipolla just ran out of gas (at one point late in the match, Cipolla talked with the umpire- not sure if that was ouchy-related or not, as a trainer did not come out)- and fortunately for him, Dolgopolov had remained JUST barely interested enough in the match up to that point to be able to take advantage, and finally do what he should have been doing all along- hit through Cipolla, instead of just trying to beat Cipolla at his game. As most of us know- Dolgopolov also has a very fun game, and every shot in the book. Just the usual headcase. STILL- he moves on.....

*Got to see the end of Sloane's win. MAN!, was Shahar sucking by the end. Still, all credit to Sloane- who couldn't get a first serve in to save her life in the second set tiebreaker, but otherwise played like SHE was the veteran.

*SO sad to see Tammy/Erakovic go out. Still, the dainty and willowy wallflower Amanmuradova and Panova deserved the win. Panova kept tracking down shots, and Akgul appears to be playing with a hell of a lot of confidence. Excellent tennis.

*ALSO caught the last game of Bob/Liezel vs. Kas/Rodionova. If I had been the opponent- Bob's cutesy-poo playing to the crowd would have worked my last nerves. Still- Kas and Rodionova took it all well, and kindly obliged Bob's antics by losing. (As you might be able to guess, I had to run around a lot back and forth to catch up with these matches. )

*Another observation- it always throws me when real-world mundane stuff intrudes during these matches- a worker slowly and loudly dragging a garabe bin nearby, phones going on, casual conversations. It always makes me want to scream, THIS IS A SLAM, AND ABOUT THESE PLAYERS' HISTORIES, NUMB-NUTS, SHOW SOME RESPECT TO THE OCCASION!!!!

*Seeing the Novak match live was even more embarrassing than it was on TV.

*I best run now- gotta go see today's tennis now. John arrives tonight.