[anaa lpz]

Well, the final was painful, but I'm happy that both Maria and Vika got a medal...well, Vika got 2! =)

And, I can't see Andy winning tomorrow after playing twice today...he can win mixed doubles though! But I hope to see Vika getting that gold medal!

[MyNameIs]

I realize that amid all the Olympics finals/games, nobody probably cares, but Dolgopolov is in the final at the Citi Open in Washington DC. His second final this season. He's playing Haase, who's ranked lower but who's had way more experience and success and has been playing really well lately. Still, hope Alex pulls it off. Would be a great way for him to end the week and makeup for the fact that he couldn't participate in the Olympics.

[Scott]

andy has done it! at wimbledon and with britain as the host nation....if ever there would have been pressure,it would have been now more than anytime. but no,he looked like the one with no pressure at all. he played brilliantly! and he finally did something big at a big moment which i think is even more significant after all these years of disappointments in finals. way to andy! maybe this will open the flood gates for potential major titles. it certainly opened doors for players in the past after they won gold.....andre agassi and lindsay davenport(on home soil as well) come to mind.

[pixiedust1603]

I want him to win the US Open! It's his favourite surface as well.

[MyNameIs]

Congrats to Murray. Played heck of a game. Federer had nothing.

But then I was more than happy to see Murray lose in doubles to Azarenka/Mirnyi. Glad Azarenka got a gold.

I was also really pulling for Kirilenko to get something too. To lose two bronze medal matches would've been so cruel. Glad she and Petrova pulled off that victory.

And on a separate note, congrats to Dolgopolov. His second ATP title and his first in a 500 event. Yay.

[Scott]

i was happy about kirilenko too. the efforts she put in just to get to the semis against sharapova was commendable enough. pleased she and petrova got that bronze.

and for lisa and liezel....another disappointment in a big event this year. i can't say that i'm terribly sad about it though. after all the crap liezel's been spewing all year about the sisters,obsessing over them in an unsavory way....they walk away as a pair with nothing. maybe that will teach huber to shut her fat trap from now on. they were absolutely dismal in that final set against the russian pair....and you can't afford to be that way against a pair like that. look at the way they played the williams sisters in the semis.

[Chaky]

Congrats to Andy Murray. The desire was definitely stronger in him than Roger yesterday. He's put in so much hard work, he really deserves it. Of course I would have liked to see Roger pick up that gold medal but silver is still great. He was just outplayed in the final, no question.

And with the Mixed Doubles final as well it's been a great Olympics tennis for the Brits.

[ckgirlbr]

Same here. I wanted Federer to win as well, but Murray didn't even let him try, he really deserved to win! Overall watching all the matches were exciting, I'm definitely going to miss waking up in the morning just to see them!
I also liked Federer's reaction in the final, losing is never easy, but he was happy with his medal, he even said he didn't lose the gold, but won the silver medal. A real champion.

[Scott]

andy's and girlfriend,kim sears' border terriers



*dailymail.co.uk

[Scott]

pretty good (monday) final this evening in montreal between kvitova and li na. much like their previous three meetings,it went the distance,and apart from a walk-about from kvitova in the second set,first and third sets stayed pretty tight. unfortunate at the end but perhaps indicative of kvitova's consistency this season compared with li's and she definitely looked the hungrier of the two this time. so i'm pleased for kvitova. it's been a generally solid season for petra with two major semis,a QF at wimbledon(unfortunate drawing serena so early there) but no tour titles after her 5 in total last year. i'm sure after her experience last year,it has been slightly unsatisfactory compared with the other top 5 women currently.

anyway,this will put these two in a nice space for the open. and li na will be back into the top 10 this week as kvitova will return to the top 5.

some news on the li na front were announced this week,btw. next week she will begin a "trial" tenure with justine henin's former coach carlos rodriguez lasting for the remaining season,officially.

also some big question marks going into the open with azarenka sustaining a knee injury at the olympics. she pulled out of her QF match in montreal against paszek and subsequently withdrew from cincy. she said it's bad enough that she needs the rest but uncertain about her fitness going into the open. and sharapova pulled out of cincy next week with a virus but not sure how greatly that will affect her in a couple weeks.

[anaa lpz]

I was surprised when I realized Montreal is Kvitova first title of the year, but it was also the first time this year she won against top 10 players

and, now that Nadal won't be playing the USO, unless a miracle happens, does Andy have a chance to become nº3??

[Scott]

well in her defense,that stat is a little deceptive. she did play maria sharapova three of those 5 times this year,including those two times when sharapova went on a tear on the clay. li na in sydney and of course serena at wimbledon,who she played extremely well against,which we can't say about vika and masha.

also,kvitova has been struggling early a lot in tour events too. she also dealt with a virus during the middle east leg and spring HC season in the states and also i learned not too long ago she'd been dealing with a recurring abdominal muscle tear. like i said,despite all that,she's done remarkably well even still. i'm sure somebody like stosur would gladly trade in her struggling sophomore season for kvitova's.

[anaa lpz]

yes, I know...but I still think is quite strange because she's a great player.
that virus affect her a lot, which it's a shame...I hope this title gives her a bit more confidence.

[anaa lpz]

and it's official that Rafa won't play at the USO

[Scott]

i hope so too. and it could be the very thing that could re-energize kvitova's season. look at that lull she went through till she won the linz title prior to the YE championships.....and of course we all know what happened at the latter event. the only problem this week in cincinatti is that she's in serena's half of the draw which means yet another semifinal face-off. and i hope her struggle with asthma in this part of the country will be better.

well i think that was inevitable with rafa. he pulled out of every last tournament since wimbledon,including this week. it definitely must be worse than it was the last time he went through the knee issues. i've never known rafa to be sidelined for this length of time.