SIGHTING: Brooklyn Decker watching on in Winston-Salem

Tennis WAG Brooklyn Decker was spotted watching hubby Andy Roddick score his first win since Wimbledon taking out Frenchie Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-2, 6-4 in his opening round match at Winston-Salem.

I'm not sure what Brook is doing these days (no rom-coms that I know of) but she could help me with one thing if she's not busy: Getting her man into the Engineered Stripe Polo by Lacoste in the RIGHT size. Small favors.

Two more shots of Mrs. A-Rod after the jump.

FASHION FIX: Andy Roddick Signature Collection polos by Lacoste

Andy Roddick did more than throw a temper tantrum, kill Babolat and launch a ball into the stands during his short stay in Cincinnati this week. He fell out of the Top 20 with the loss, too. Ouch.

Oh wait. This post is supposed to be about fashion. Right.

The former top baller debuted a new polo from his Andy Roddick Signature Collection with Lacoste. Check it out, plus two other styles I really love, after the jump.

PHOTO OP: Lighting up

Now THAT'S an entrance.

Andy Roddick and Team USA are taking on Team Spain in a highly anticipated Davis Cup tie this weekend. As I type this post, Feliciano Lopez just beat Mardy Fish in an epic match going the distance with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(2), 8-6 win and using, of all things, a backhand passing shot on match point. That thing's been working all summer long. Who knew? Anyway, it looked like Mardy was pressing a bit too much towards the end and even through in a double fault in the final game.

So A-Rod must save the day in front of his home crowd against the relentless David Ferrer. No pressure.

Check out the latest Davis Cup updates from this weekend's time here.

[Photo(s) credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images]

HE SAID/SHE SAID: Wimbledon Day 5

Q. Do you realize your nickname here is actually Deliciano. What do you say to that nickname?

FELICIANO LOPEZ: It's coming from Andy's mother. She's so funny. It's just something that everybody knows now because somebody post it on Twitter.

Q. Do you like that nickname?

FELICIANO LOPEZ: I have to like it. It's kind of funny. I mean, it's okay.

Q. Do you get a lot of attention from female fans when you're walking around?

FELICIANO LOPEZ: Not really. Like another place, I think.

Q. You talked about learning. Could you talk about how your mental toughness has evolved over the years since you were a younger player? Is that something you've worked on?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, I think, you know, experience is a big thing. I think it's really priceless. But I don't think, you know, that calmness and that mental toughness is something that you can just go to someone and someone can teach you about it.

I think it's just how you see certain situations instead of just being too negative, even though it's something that you want to do. And of course it's so easy to get down on yourself, want to throw your racquet, complain about things. But I think positive thoughts and things just lead you to much better results.

I mean, it's something that you can definitely work on, absolutely. Yeah, it's challenging. But I think experience has really helped me.

Q. As the years go by, do you let thoughts creep in that it might never happen for you here?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, sure. You're human. I mean, of course it does. You know, you may never get your favourite job either. No offence to your current employer.

Q. I'm quite happy.

ANDY RODDICK: That's good. Me, too.

Q. My question was, it must be harder as the year goes on to think of this dream of yours.

ANDY RODDICK: It's similar to the question just asked. What do you do? You keep moving forward until you decide to stop. At this point I've not decided to stop so I'll keep moving forward.

Q. When did you first dream of being a Wimbledon champion and what were those images, if you can remember?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I remember when I was a little girl, maybe nine years old, I said that I want to be No. 1 in the world and I want to win the Grand Slams. That's always been my goal since then.

You know, to reach one of my goals, it's incredible, especially in such a young age that I have, that it came so quickly. It's just a positive thing for me.

Q. Did you grow up watching this tournament on the TV at home?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yes. I think this is actually the first tournament I watched on TV. Definitely a special tournament for me. I enjoy playing here and being here.

Q. Do you remember which players you watched then?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I remember I watched Martina Hingis. She was my idol growing up. I watched so many of her matches.

Q. Do you still have ambitions of winning Grand Slams yourself?

RICHARD GASQUET: It's tough. It's tough, because when I was second week in Roland Garros I had to win Djokovic, then Federer, then Nadal. Even here in 2007 I won in semi-final I had to win the same: Federer and Nadal.

So even if I'm not far, you are far because you need to win the best after. So I don't know if I can, but I'll try to go farther as I can.

Q. Why don't you use Hawk Eye more? Do you forget to use it?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I only use it if I think I need it. If I feel like I hit the ball out, most times you can feel on your racquet. I think usually when I'm challenging, I'm pretty right on.

Q. You use it a lot less than a lot of players.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I don't think Hawk Eye is there for like a chance kind of thing. I think you have to use it strategically.

If it's like the second point in a match, possibly maybe not a good time to use it. Hopefully the confidence is there that you can get the next point, some kind of thing like that.

Hawk Eye, for me, I'm confident I can win the next point. I don't need that call, per se.

Q. Unless you think it's way, way out, definitively the wrong call is made, you're going to move on?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah. I think it's important to have the Hawk Eye when it really counts. If it's 5 All and you have no challenges left, that's a problem. So it's just I think important to use it more strategically than I need it and it's there.

Q. If you get through on Monday and López keeps winning, I'm curious who you think your mum might be supporting if you meet Deliciano?

ANDY MURRAY: I think it's about time she stopped with that nonsense. Makes me want to throw up. It's disgusting. Yeah, it's disgusting.

I was practising with him before the tournament. It's quite funny because she'd been writing about it on, you know, Twitter like all the time. And I was practising with him before the tournament and my mom was on the side.

I said, when we were warming up, I shouted across the net, I said, Feli, if we sit down for a drink, if you could take a picture with my mom, because she thinks you're beautiful.

She went bright red. I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. Refused to take the picture. Quite funny. Not like her.

Yeah, I hope she'll still be supporting me.

[Photo(s) credit: Getty Imagess]

HE SAID/SHE SAID: Wimbledon Day 3

 Q. You said you watched Scream last night to relax. Do you normally watch horror films to relax?

ANDY MURRAY: I wasn't watching it to relax. You normally pick the one thing that will stop you thinking about tennis. Scream did a pretty good job of that.

Q. Have you picked a film to relax to before your next match?

ANDY MURRAY: No, not yet. I'll see whatever is on Sky Movies. I mean, the movies on Sky aren't great, I don't think. There's about 20 movie channels, and you're normally struggling to find a good one. Wait and see tomorrow what they've got.


Actually, I did hear yesterday at the end of Scream they have Scream II on tonight and Scream III on on Thursday. Maybe I'll watch one of them.

Q. The Wimbledon homepage did an online survey yesterday who was the best looking male player who played Wimbledon in history. Who would have gotten your vote?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Usually I've never liked any of my colleagues. I try to keep it professional, hence no tennis relationships. So it's probably for the best for me to stay out of this. I usually like winners, though (smiling). So anyone winning is pretty cute to me.

Q. The difference with Roger, though, was that you were deemed to be in the ascendancy. If you look on the Wimbledon website today, the most popular story is you being toppled as No. 1 if you don't win this tournament and that you may be a man in decline. Do you feel like a man in decline?

RAFAEL NADAL: Me?

Q. Yes.

RAFAEL NADAL: Maybe. But I won Roland Garros two weeks ago. I don't forget (smiling). Maybe you or the website yes. After winning Roland Garros, two weeks later is a little bit fast to say I am. You can say that maybe next year, but probably now is a little bit dangerous to say that. But, no, you know, is my seventh year without be out of the top two. Is a lot of years. Probably I started to be decline, but hopefully not. Maybe they are right. I don't know.

Q. What effect did that title and victory in Birmingham have on you for your confidence? What did you take from that?

SABINE LISICKI: Well, a lot of confidence, of course. You know, after two years not playing on grass I didn't know how I'm going to play on it, so I just wanted to go in and play as many matches as possible.

It went pretty well. Yeah, a lot of confidence and just the feel for the grass as well. It's different to anything else.

Q. Could you take a moment and talk about the job you think the American media does covering tennis.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, I think I'm going to have to separate this into first of all, there's no way I can answer this and have it be a win for me, but I'm going to do it anyways.

I'm going to separate. Tennis journalists like yourselves who cover week to week to week to week to week I think do a great job, and I respect the job that you guys do. Someone who, you know, covers something and it's the first tennis match they've ever been to and all of a sudden they become an expert bothers me a little bit. I feel like we get that sometimes. That's probably the only time where I get a little perturbed, when someone isn't, one, researched, and when I feel like they have their article written before a match takes place.

Q. Is that mostly in terms of is tennis dying, a country club sport?

ANDY RODDICK: Listen. Here is what we're going to do. If you want to talk about an, Is tennis dying article, let's go by participation numbers, retail numbers, prize money, up, up, up, up, up. I hear this, Tennis is dying. Maybe it's water cooler talk. But I'll put more stock in the business of tennis in our country growing as opposed to having fun conversations around a water cooler.

Q. Why do you think it is that people refuse to accept the stats? The Wall Street Journal printed some stats which said that tennis over the past nine years is the only sport to increase participation in America.

ANDY RODDICK: This kind of gets to my first point. You can just say something and people read it as fact, but it's not researched. If you look at racquet sales, USTA memberships, across the board, it's been up. Do we have four guys in the top five in the world? No, we don't. That's about the only difference. That doesn't mean that tennis is dying. It's an international sport. I feel like a lot of times people refuse to accept that back home, which is unfortunate. It's as international a sport as there is as far as popularity. I feel like it doesn't get its maybe fair shake.

[Photo(s) credit: Getty Images]

HE SAID/SHE SAID: Wimbledon Day 2

Q. You've been here a long time now. At one point you were the bad guy upsetting Tim Henman.

ANDY RODDICK: Actually, I never played Tim Henman here. But I'm still the bad guy. Point taken, but... (Laughter.)

Q. Do you feel you're a popular guy with the locals now?

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. You know, I think a lot changes over the course of 10 or 11 years. You almost look and say nothing's really the same, as it was.

There's a lot of stuff that changes. It's tough for me to kind of look at my relationship with the fans here objectively.

I know from my end I certainly enjoy it. I'm not going to speak for them, for sure.

Q. You got good support today.

ANDY RODDICK: It felt great. They've always been great to me, even when I was fake beating Tim Henman (smiling).

Q. This is the first match you've won since your fiancee passed away. You've played three. Did it seem easier on the court? How were you feeling?

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: No, it's not easy for me. Every day I have some up and down in my life. Today I feeling a little bit more emotion for the starting the first set. I lost 3 0 for starting, and I tried to focus only on my tennis, on my balls.

It was not easy. I have some delay starting for the first set. It was the same in Birmingham two weeks ago. I was lost 4 0 and I come back 4 All and I lost 6 4 against Rodionova.

And today it was the same problem, 3 Love, and I say, Okay, now you must to be aggressive. You are here for to play, for you, and for Stéphane, for your husband.

If you on the court, it's for to have a reaction and to play your tennis. It's not easy, but I say, Okay, no, you must be to be aggressive and to play your tennis.
I come back at 3 All, and it was better to win the first set. Good reaction on me.

Q. Do you think it's better for you that you have the distraction of playing tennis right now?

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: It's good to win today. I don't know (translated from French) if it's relief for me, because when I go on the courts it's not easy for me. I play because it's my job and my passion and I must to continue.

It was good to win today because I have a lot of emotion on me when I go on the court to start the match. I try to, you know, think only positive and what I must do to play good and win today.

And it's okay. (Smiling.) I do my best, and it was good because I win. 

Q. You talked in Paris about having less pressure. I'm wondering if you feel differently now that you're on this surface, at this tournament, and also your performance in Paris? Do you feel like some of that has shifted back over to you?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I think everybody was talking about less pressure just because of Novak and Rafa. That honestly had nothing to do with me. I think what gave me less pressure in Paris was for years I was always trying to win the French Open, and then finally I did make it, so then I came back as defending champion. Then you have more pressure. That was sort of the second year after I won it.

So I wasn't the defending champion. I wasn't chasing the French Open for the first time. I think that just made it that I had less pressure.

I definitely think also here it's somewhat similar. I can play with a bit less pressure, but at the same time I want to do so well here at Wimbledon because it's some of the big highlights for me during the season, and I've won the tournament six times.

So it feels like if things go well for me, I can go extremely far here; whereas at the French Open I feel it's a bit more on other opponents' racquets. But here I feel it's a bit more on mine. That's why I'll always play with some pressure here at Wimbledon just because of the occasion and what it means to me really. I was nervous going out in today's match really.

Q. Obviously your father is an incredible man. Comes to America, puts you on a bicycle taking you to the tennis lessons. How does he express the Russian culture with that determination?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I just think he never really believed that he didn't have much. I think coming from a place where that amount of money didn't exactly mean that you were poor. We were living as a normal family. They could have had a normal job and I could have gone to school and they would have supplied my school and everything around that. But they sacrificed their lives because they saw a talent in my game and they got recommendations from outer people, because it certainly wasn't my parents' expertise, the sort of tennis.

It was just a fun activity for my dad, and my mom couldn't really care less about it. They made that big decision to go to a country where tennis was a lot bigger, more facilities. It's tough. But I think his drive came from the fact that he never really thought that he didn't have much. Even though it was really tough, I think he kept believing that one day he would have more, even if it was one trophy, even if it was one more dollar, one victory over another, yeah.

Q. A little while ago you were the focus of all the talk in tennis. Today there's plenty of room to stretch out, not that much focus on you. Talk about this new stage. Do you enjoy having a breather, that not everyone is concentrating on you?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's been a best winning streak, the longest that I've had in my career. And it's incredible, the amount of matches I have won in a row. It was definitely surprising for myself, as well. And, obviously, with the seven titles that I've won in a row, you know, I got more attention.

You know, it was easier this year for me to handle things on and off the court because I have gained the necessary experience in past couple years playing on the top level and knowing how to handle myself on the court, how to, you know, be dedicated every single day, and how to handle the attention that you have. It's kind of normal. It comes with the success.

So when this streak ended, you know, in Paris, it was kind of a relief as well because, you know, it's been a very, very successful five, six months for me, but very long as well and exhausting. I've played so many matches. So I needed some time to relax and I'm happy to see that I'm playing well again, you know, that I'm mentally really fresh to have more success.

Q. Congratulations on the win. How did you feel the game went today?

NA LI: It's tough, of course. I mean, opponent, beginning match she has huge, big serve, and also in grass she was playing more flat, you know. So I have to rally every second. And of course I never know what happens, which shot she'll hit next one.

Q. She seemed to run you back and forth a little bit.

NA LI: Yeah, I know. I hate that, you know. (Smiling.) I like it standing.

Q. Were you able to talk to Nicolas after the match?

JOHN ISNER: Just at the net.

Q. What did you say to him?

JOHN ISNER: I just said, Good match. He said, Hey, Buddy. I want to see you in the second week of this event. I said, Thank you.

[Photo(s) credit: Getty Images]

+ NETCORDS: Quick hits from around the grounds

- Do you like your women beautiful and athletic? Well, you'll get that and more in Nike's 'Make Yourself Girl Power' campaign shot by famed photog Annie Leibovitz and starring Grand Slammers Maria Sharapova + Li Na along with track-and-field stars Allyson Felix + Perri Shakes-Drayton, soccer's Hope Solo, dancer Sofia Boutella, and surfer Laura Enever. The Double Bagel has additional shots, including Shrieka getting her crunch on.

- Speaking of Li Na, WSJ.com has a good piece on the influence her win at Roland Garros will have on sports in China. One person who's happy about the changes in the Chinese system is Zheng Jie. "I am so thankful for this mini-truce," she said.

- GQ.com showcased some of the best and worst styles worn by Rafael Nadal over the years (pirate pants!) while CNBC.com says Nike's decision to move the Mallorcan Matador towards more conservative attire helped retailers' bottom line.

- Andy Roddick knows how to deal with those pesky rain delays in London. With - what else? -  Angry Birds! Oh, and if you need to know what's been on his iPod while there, click here. For reals.

- So, this is what happens when you reach 20,000 fans on Facebook, for better or worse:



- Andre Agassi was interviewed for The New York Times and discusses everything from his charter schools, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, his controversial memoir "Open" and the 1999 French Open where he and wife Steffi Graf reigned as singles champs: "We don’t really talk about it, but the memory is so alive. But you also live with the fact her experience was way different than mine. This was a hard tournament for me, so to get over the line at that moment was something special."

- Federer likes it FAST.

- Deadspin's Dylan Stableford talks Borg-McEnroe and JMac's man-crush on the iconic Swede: "But did you know McEnroe had something of a heterosexual man-crush on Borg when he first saw Bjorn? 'I'd never seen a tennis player look like this," McEnroe admits in HBO's 'McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice,' documentary, which airs on Saturday night. 'He had this sort of perfect Viking godlike look, and I certainly wanted to get the same type of things that he seemed to be getting, which was a lot of interest and a lot of girls. … I think everyone wanted to look like Bjorn. Certainly he had the cool clothes and the sweet headband and the great locks.'"

- Dinara Safina on Rafael Nadal + Novak Djokovic for Sport.ru: "I like them both, I know them both, and they are both nice guys. What I like about Nadal is how he turns the audience on, charges everyone with his emotions, even when something is not going right. But if we take the beauty of the game Djokovic has the advantage."

- TOTALLY OFF-TOPIC: Tracy Morgan still feeling the heat for homophobic rant; Britney Spears covering Madonna's 'Burning Up' on tour (just kill me); Congressman Weiner's sexts get the dramatic (and hilarious) treatment; Well, hello there Jessie Williams; Brief-tastic Francesco Totti moments courtesy of Kickette of course; MTV cans 'Skins'

[Photo(s) credit: Nike]

PHOTO OP: Mardy Fish - Fashion Influencer

"Mine ankles be nekkid."

It was all the rage on Twitter this morning. No really, it was.

Andy Roddick, sans crew socks and ankle braces, took to the court for his second round match against Feliciano Lopez at Queen's Club in a look obviously inspired by Mardy Fish. AND PEOPLE LOST IT. In less important news, he survived 35 aces from the (other) Spanish lefty and pulled out a 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-4 win. It was his first win since getting past the third round at Indian Wells.

Now, don't tell me A-Rod's not in his happy place on the slick stuff. Meanwhile, I'm in my happy place 'cause I get to see his gams in all their glory. Yums.

[Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images]

VIDEO VAULT: (Wo)man or machine?

Boy. Not only does Beyoncé have ridic moves (seriously, how do her arms not snap off that body?) but she's got great timing to boot. She may not be human.

Anyway, here are a few things I learned today: 1) Andy Roddick pulled out today with the recurring shoulder injury along with former champ Juan Carlos Ferrero 2) Yanina Wickmayer may be dealing with a serious back injury after retiring in tears from her match in Brussels 3) Novak Djokovic is fucking everywhere.

And tomorrow we finally arrive at the official draw ceremony for Roland Garros! I don't know about you but I'm starting to feel those familiar jitters building in the pit of my stomach. Like butterflies on crack or Beyoncé dancing. SOMEBODY HOLD ME.

PHOTO OP: Talk the talk

"Not a good look for you Andy. Just sayin'."

That Andy Roddick lost a match on clay is not a surprise. That he lost to Flavio Cipolla, a baller who hadn't won a tour-level main draw match this season until today, in the first round of Madrid is a little bit more surprising. Or depressing depending on how you feel about the former U.S. Open champ.

A-Rod also didn't get a warning from Mo for the amount of fuck bombs he dropped during the 6-4, 6-7 (9), 6-3 loss. Yes, they were plentiful like the hairs on his face. Now THAT was a surprise. The beard, guys, the beard. Not cute.

[Photo(s): Julian Finney/Getty Images]

(UPDATED) SIGHTING: Roddick in Ray Bans and coveralls

Yes, that is Andy Roddick behind the Ray Ban Caravans and, no, he's not trying to fool the stalkeratti. The former top baller caddied for Zach Johnson today during the Par 3 Contest ahead of the 75th Masters at Augusta National.

"My hand's shaking...I can barely put the tee in," he said before he hit for Zach on the 9th hole. Apparently, A-Rod wasn't feeling so confident on this grass. But he did see a similarity between Augusta and the hallowed grounds of the All England Club. "The parallel is definitely Wimbledon. There’s a pride with people just being in the venue.”

I'm kinda loving the whole look including the signature Augusta coveralls. It fits him. I have no idea what that means but it does.

UPDATE: Here's video. He should stick to tennis. Just sayin'.

[Photo(s): Harry How/Getty Images]

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Andy Roddick

Anyone who wants to criticize Roger for the way he's playing tennis right now better be very, very good at his job.

- Andy Roddick at his Sony Ericsson Open presser today

Was he talking about you, Bodo?

[Photo(s): Jeff Gross/Getty Images]

VIDEO VAULT: Roddick stretches for Memphis championship

Andy Roddick captured his 30th career title when he put a stop to the exciting run of Milos Raonic, who was going for his second consecutive tourney win, defeating the Canadian 7-6(7), 6-7(11), 7-5 in Memphis. Check out A-Rod's incredible lunge-and-roll winner to convert match point. That should feel good in the morning.


[Via: Sportnet.ca]

PHOTO OP: That's no child's pose

"The things I do for money."

Here's Novak Djokovic giving us his best power shot during an exhibition with Andy Roddick in Seoul today.

Why do you make it so easy for me, Nole? Not that I'm complaining, of course, but WHY?!

It looks like I wasn't the only one enjoying the show though:

More photos from the exo after they jump (click the head.)

HE SAID/SHE SAID: US Open Days Three + Four

Day 3

Q. Melanie Oudin was talking the other day about the difference of coming in this year with expectations as opposed to prior when people didn't have expectations of her. You at 20 years of age came in as the No. 1 and had to play with great expectations of you. Can you talk about as a very young woman of say 20 years of age what it's like coming in with those expectations and what you've learned now two years later?

ANA IVANOVIC: It is a whole different story. I see myself also as two different persons. Once you're actually coming up and you have no expectations, you are hungry for success, and you really don't know what the stakes are. You just go for it. You have no fear. You play freely against anyone you come up against. 

Once you actually get in a position to defend some points and there is more outside pressure coming in, it is a lot different story. Because even though you perceive yourself the same or maybe even better, if you're improving, still there is a lot of outside effect. That creates some doubts and obviously pressure. Everyone deals with it differently. That's what I feel it was the biggest change with me, is that I managed to sort of let go of this. Now I feel, you know, as I am just coming up again, and I have really nothing to lose. I got that joy of competing again.

Q. Is that the greatest lesson you think you've learned from having been in that rarified air of being the world's top player?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it is. I mean, I learned about myself and just about the world in general and how everything goes. You know, I mean, what I learned is that it goes on no matter what. (Smiling.)

Q. There's a lot of talk with the McEnroes, John and Patrick, about the future of American tennis. Who is the next big American star. Do you embrace that and want to be that guy?

RYAN HARRISON: Absolutely I want to be that guy. I have a ways to go. I've qualified and still have a ways to go to get there, but I'm definitely working has hard as I can. I'm really putting all the work in. I'm trying to stay open minded with everyone who is giving me their opinion and really trying to listen as much as possible and take in as much as advice as I can. Then just trying to work on the game and work on transitioning up to trying to hopefully being a full time tour player.

Q. Who has given you the best advice?

RYAN HARRISON: Roddick has been helping me since I was 15, 16 years old. Every time I see him, he's always been extremely helpful and really talked to me a lot about some of the things he experienced when he was first coming up. Obviously coaches, Patrick McEnroe, Jay Berger, Diego Moyano is working with me most of the time now. 

My dad coached me from the time I was two years old, and he's been you know, he's been always there for me, always there to support me throughout my entire career. He's been unbelievable about being on me to stay humble and stay you know, stay I guess just to the point where I can really focus on taking it one at a time and just taking every day as it comes.

Q. The replay showed your left foot did touch the line.

ANDY RODDICK: That's fine.

Q. If she had just said left foot would it...

ANDY RODDICK: There would have been no discussion. There would have been zero discussion. There was two after that. It was the fact that I couldn't get her to admit that it wasn't the right foot just infuriated me beyond... The lack of common sense involved in that was unbelievable to me. I just have trouble when they stick to an argument that obviously isn't right. It's her job to call it. 

Like I said, there were two after that that they said front, and there's no argument there. There's zero argument there. I mean, we got to be able to maybe have a test, like point to your right foot, point to your left foot; okay, now call lines. I think that would be maybe standard.

Q. Did she have an opportunity to correct herself, though?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, she was talking. She was talking.

Q. She answered the one thing, right?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. Then I pointed again. She said, No. Then I said again, Have we thought about this? Do we realize that it's a physical impossibility? She says, No. I think she was definitely responding, you know, when I was asking questions. None of the responses was, It was your left foot.

Q. In hindsight, did you let it go too far?

ANDY RODDICK: In hindsight did I let it go too far? Yeah, probably. Probably. I think it was a very correctable mistake, and I probably let it get to me more than it should have. Yeah, sure.

Q. You are a good friend of Randy Lu. You play doubles together. You are coached by the same person. Randy beat Andy in Wimbledon. I was wondering if he gave you any tips to beat Andy?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Yes, he did.

Q. Or if your coach had specific tactics.

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Coach told me the regular tactics. I played him twice so I more or less knew what to expect. Coach was mainly telling me what I need to focus on, you know. Regarding Roddick, I more or less knew what strengths and what weaknesses he had. Randy gave me a couple of tips. Well, they worked, so... I am grateful for that.

Q. Touching Andy's chest with your forehead must have some meaning. You don't do that after every match. Why did you do that?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: You know what, he's not a good friend, he's a friend of mine. I think he's a very nice guy. And, you know, just to say those nice things after probably being really, really disappointed, it was just like an emotional thing. I wanted to hug him, but then it probably wouldn't be so good. So is just saying nice words after being disappointed and losing, I mean, against and underdog on your stadium in front of your home crowd, that just brings up a big champion in him.

DAY 4

Q. What are your thoughts on the possibility of playing Maria Sharapova? [She will be playing Shrieka]

BEATRICE CAPRA: I'm really excited. I think it will be an amazing experience. I know she's just such a tough competitor. You know, when I was younger I used to always look up to her, and so I think it will be a really, you know, good match for me to see where I am compared to that kind of level.

Q. What was it that you looked up to?

BEATRICE CAPRA: I thought she was just so mentally tough. You know, she just always went for her shots, and you can never tell any of her emotions. You know, that really inspired me. One of my great assets is I'm really I like to think that I'm mentally tough, and I'll always stay in the match until the end.

Q. The New York crowd tends to be loud and especially in the night matches. How does the atmosphere at the Open compare to the other Majors?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, the atmosphere here is great. I really love playing here. I mean, it's a great feeling. Also coming back from last year, you know, being in the finals, coming back here and just, yeah, playing on the big courts, it's a great feeling.

Q. How have your expectations of yourself changed from a year ago at this time when you were a surprise and you made the run to the championship match?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Um, the expectations maybe from the outside has changed, but from myself I always go into a tournament and I want to win it. Doesn't really matter what tournament I'm playing, and I always believe in myself. It's not always possible to win every tournament, but at least I give it a shot. You know, the only time I get disappointed with myself is if I feel like I haven't given 100%. You know, I'm almost always giving 100%. It's just about if I lose a match, okay, the opponent was just playing better than me that day, and I need to get back and work harder and be better for next time.

Q. Have you seen any huge improvements in your style lately with Paul on your team now?

ROGER FEDERER: No. I mean, when I'm playing great, regardless of who's in my player box, I can beat anybody, you know. It's about being consistent and being confident in the way I play. I'm not all of a sudden going to play a two handed backhand or serve and volley on my second serve nonstop. It's just not gonna happen. 

It's in the details, and it's very important to me what Paul tells me and what Severin also tells me, who I've been with for three years now. It's an interesting, you know, time right now, because I went through times where I thought every time was interesting for me, because I went through times where I didn't have a coach, I had times where I had two coaches, as well, one coach. Here we are at the stage again where there's someone new to the team, and I kind of like those times, yeah.

Q. You're the only past champion left in the men's tournament. How much of an advantage is that, or a help is that, knowing you've done it in the past versus other players who are trying to but don't know that they can, because they haven't?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, it's definitely an advantage, I would think, yeah, because weathering the conditions here in New York. A lot of players can really do well here in New York because it's a fair kind of a court. 

It's a quick court, so if you're not feeling well, it can all of a sudden slip away from you. So it's a dangerous court to play on, and everybody has the last slam left to prove. I think that's why it makes it really hard to win. You could be unlucky and get hit with a really hot day or a very windy day, and not even in your control sometimes you lose a match here. 

That's where it's important like today to get through easily instead of maybe going five hour match, you know, and losing the tournament because of a match like this, you know. Yeah, I mean, I would consider it as an advantage. But again, I'm not at match point serving for it, so still a lot of hard work to do.

Gilbert: "Do you have that tweener shot between your legs?"

Novak Djokovic: "No, I have something else between my legs." [Would you care to share???]

[Photo(s): Getty Images]

(UPDATED) PHOTO OP: Head to heart

Janko Tipsarevic pulled the upset of the US Open so far on the men's side when he ousted ninth seeded and 2003 champ Andy Roddick in the second round. The Serb was the aggressor throughout the match stepping inside the baseline, moving the American out of position and cracking winners (60 in total) at will, in particular, his fave down the line blasts. It was A-Rod's earliest exit at a Grand Slam tournament since losing to Tipsy at Wimbledon in 2008. He'll face Frenchie Gael Monfils in the third round, his best result at Flushing Meadows.

After the closing out match point the two met at the net where Tipsy was seen head-butting A-Rod's chest and excitedly grabbing at his arm. So what was that about? "I just said, 'The last time you beat me in a Grand Slam second round, you lost the last match, so don't do that,' to which he head-butted me, which was fun," said the former top baller. Nice.

It was an impressive win for Tipsy whose size belies the big-ballin' game he owns. He possesses enormous power on his groundies, throwing himself into every shot, and on his serve where he put down 16 aces, one less than the big-serving, physically imposing American.

As for A-Rod, he went out there playing as if he'd never been beaten by his opponent before, without a sense of urgency or idea of how to overcome the Serb's game. Plus his boorish behavior at getting called for a correct foot fault was just annoying. Now he gets to watch the next generation of Americans including Sam Querrey, John Isner, and now Ryan Harrison (who won his first Grand Slam match over No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic) carry the load and pressure - the symbolic torch if you will - from the sidelines. And maybe, just maybe he's a little bit relieved.

UPDATE: Here's video of the foot fault incident and A-Rod's reactions...

[Photo(s): Getty Images]

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Andy Roddick

I had a Britney Spears moment after Wimbledon.

- Andy Roddick when asked about his most recent hairy situation during his presser at the Atlanta Tennis Championships today

Wow. Of all the moments that's one of the worst. See photo.

[Photo(s): X17] 

PHOTO OP: A-Rod's latest hairy situation - was it worth it?

"Keepin' it clean y'all."

I've been trying to take a break from tennis since suffering from tired fingers + fried brain after the long haul that began on the clay of Monte Carlo, and as you can see from my actual posts this week my efforts have been a complete and total SUCCESS. I mean, it would be great to be fresh for the North American hard-court swing and the U.S. Open.

So here's another reason why I unbroke my break: Andy Roddick's latest hairy situation. Apparently he and wifey, Brooklyn, spent the Fourth of July weekend at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and got a little crazy with the clippers. But what happened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas so we have the proof.

Now A-Rod's no stranger to the pitfalls of a hairy situation but me thinks this one isn't nearly as bad. I'm sure he was looking for a fresh start after his Wimbledon fail.

What do you guys think - LOVE IT or LEAVE IT?

[Via: AdjustingTheNet.com, Image: VegasNews.com]