I feel obligated to make at least one AO post considering saying absolutely nothing would be such a turnaround from my onslaught of posts last year. Not that I haven't been closely following the action (it is my favourite Grand Slam of the year, due in large part to it being the only tennis tournament I have the luxury of intimately following for its entire duration). I have to say that something felt lacking in this year's tournament ... considering the AO has regularly hosted some memorable epics & a few of the most thrilling matches I've ever seen (e.g. Roddick v El Aynaoui QF 2003; Marat v Roddick AND THEN Marat v Agassi in the QF & SF respectively in 2004; Marat v Roger SF 2005—nothing else will ever compare, Nole v Fed SF 2008; Rafa v Verdasco SF & Rafa v Fed Final 2009). I didn't feel very engaged with this year's draw. Nole had a gift of a draw, not really being tested until the QF, which he lost in abysmal style 2-1 sets up. Rafa didn't look his best though he fought hard against Murray until he retired. Dinara retired. Baghdatis retired in much-hyped match against Hewitt, though he was playing shit anyway. Marat retired, only forever. Čilić v Delpo apparently a good match but never saw a second of it. Shining light was Čilić defeating Roddick, but even then it didn't mean much (and not that I watched it). Fed v Tsonga terminally underwhelming and utterly disappointing for a Grand Slam semifinal. Murray no hope against Fed, Fed wins 16th major, GOAT status reinforced, etc.

Well. Not all is lost. I did finally realise my latent love for one certain umpire who I've always appreciated and been drawn to but whose name I ever knew. Until Whit told me "Unrick Malina or some shit is the umpire ... Enrich? No Clue" during the Roddick v Gonzo match (which was yet another disappointment and a subset of the crowd woefully misbehaved, but anyway). I googled, found a spelling correction (Enric Molina) and a link to an article interviewing him with his picture, which confirmed it indeed was him. That was the QF, I'm not sure whether he chaired a match after that, but I was elated to discover he was selected to be the umpire for the men's final. The height of interest always occurs when I start taking pictures of the TV. This isn't even like following a player, when you can see their schedule and they have their own website and each televised match is at least 50% focused on them (or 75% if they're the higher ranked player, 95% if they happen to be Roger Federer). The only time you get to see an umpire is at the start of the match (flipping the coin – which I woefully missed because a) I didn't know he'd umpire the final and b) I was being driven back from dinner/grocery shopping & missed all the opening hoo-hah), or when a player challenges a call/argues with the umpire. I don't even know the next time I'll even see his face, so ... for the record.


"Ladies & gentlemen, Murray is challenging the call on the right baseline."


"The ball was called out."
( ~what does Hawk-Eye say~ )

I really adore his demeanour when he's umpiring, he seems very attentive (always quick to call the score), calm, composed, utterly professional, sympathetic to the players and fair. I don't get any imposing, cavalier, arrogant, stiff, nervous or sloppy vibe from him. I love his voice, the slight accent, the musical, balanced tone. (Shit – I just realised that I missed all that part where the players shake his hand after the match ... probably too absorbed in the moment of Fed victory & Murray's loss.) Anyywaaayyy. Basically from the way he carries out his professional duties I just think he'd be a lovely man with a wonderful temperament, and I'm a sucker for goodness in others.

Just like I instantly feel sympathetic towards players who cry at trophy presentations (except Fed last year ... that was a little too much). I did feel for Murray when he was so emotional he just gave up mid-way through his speech because he didn't want to start breaking down in front of the microphone. Of course it didn't help that Roger was so elated (by his own admission) and chatty in his own speech. (Quite a contrast to Rafa, who was clearly concerned and moved by Roger's tears last year, such that Rafa couldn't even properly savour his victory.) Still, you can't argue that Roger just played better than Murray. At the end of the day, one's tennis speaks for itself.

Apart from Enric, another plus that can be taken from this year's AO is that Nole reaches a career-high ranking of #2 (at least according to a sloppy edit on his Wiki page from a fan who doesn't know how to spell February). Granted, Nole could've (and should've) reached that ranking last year had he beaten Jarkko Nieminen at Sydney, but at least it's happened. I said when the AO wrapped last year I had grave doubts whether Nole could keep his #3 ranking. He's elected to play less tournaments this year and still has a significant number of points to defend, so we'll see what happens throughout the year. In most respects 2009 was a decent year for him, particularly near the tail end when he won back-to-back tournaments in Basel & Paris. Hopefully the reduced schedule works to his advantage. Apparently Todd Martin is trying to get him to be a more offensive player & come to the net more, though hopefully not at the expense of his serve, which just about died in hell during the Tsonga match. And may Sergio Tacchini design him something better. Something more closely resembling what he used to wear with Adidas perhaps? You know I loved those shirts.

( travolta voicing dawg, miley's right mix of youth & huskiness )

In Mariah's words herself, this movie is "too cute".

P. KOHLSCHREIBER def. N. Djokovic

6‑4, 6‑4, 6‑4

Lol...in 3rd round. Shiteous (yes, that's my new favourite made-up word now, along with emohut) since many commentators were predicting he'd reach the final and maybe even threaten Nadal after their epic Madrid semifinal.

In Nole's words, "suddenly I haven't played in the last three Grand Slams the way I wanted, and I don't know ... I cannot allow myself to have such a bad performance as I had today. I cannot allow myself to be that defensive. This is not me. This is not my game."

He seemed quite positive and mature about the loss, and also praised his opponent on his win. Asked whether he was mentally exhausted this far into the season, he replied, "mentally I'm a little bit exhausted, yes. But still, that's not an explanation for my loss today. That's not excuse, for sure.

I mean, it's a Grand Slam. Look, you know, I'm one of the favorites to get far in the tournament. This cannot happen. Of course, it's all my fault, and I accept the responsibility. [...] I think it was just me and my head today. I don't want to blame anybody else."

Now Nole's quarter of the draw is wide open and pretty uninteresting. Whatevz, just let Rafa have his title already.

Also, great article about the Roger/Rafa rivalry.

Ugh. I started off liking Anoop but my real favourite this season was Matt, but only because of his iTunes studio recordings of his performances each week. His voice is exactly the type of male voice I like listening to. It's like a more vocally agile Justin Timberlake with a greater singing focus in his songs. I downloaded his 2 pre-Idol albums but they're largely too amateur for me to enjoy. A few songs are nice, like "How" and "Could You Use a Love", but his AI recordings are several notches up in both the vocal department and production value. And yet they're still largely tacky covers of other people's songs. I really feel that he can be successful if he gets the right people behind him to help him write, produce and market the music that would best suit his considerable strengths. The talent is certainly there. The voice is there, and probably could do with even more improvement and strenghtening, especially in the upper range, if it were to be really spectacular. His riffs are like nothing else. He has a really gorgeous sense of groove to his voice with a really strong and modern pop/r&b sensibility, but grounded in natural technique. Just listen to his "come on, come on, come on" part in "Let's Get It On" or the smoothness and integration of his runs in "Part-Time Lover". His "Who's Lovin' You" is probably my favourite live performance on Idol this season from any contestant. He just has a really nice tone, really good vocal control, and the requisite passion and expertise. I'm kind of bummed he was eliminated even though it was overwhelmingly predicted. I really just wanted him to stay until Top 3 or something so I could have enough studio recordings of his to form an "album".

As for Anoop, he's probably still my sentimental favourite. I like Matt because I like what he offers. I like Anoop more on an emotional/personal level. He just seems like a really intelligent, well-spoken guy with an unexpectedly soulful voice. My problem with Anoop was I felt he essentially regressed throughout the competition. He started off the best with "Angel of Mine" and "My Prerogative", but then subsequent weeks he just delivered the same old, same old. I think he probably just lost confidence among his competitors and lost his sense of self. His relative lack of musical experience (not just in solo performance, but in arrangements, production, recording etc.) probably also disadvantaged him, particularly as he doesn't have an absolutely stand-out voice, but rather just a competent voice with a really nice smooth/r&b tone. He needed to take more risks, to go for more glory notes, to go for more riffs and runs, to go for more inspired song choices. I just became frustrated with him because I felt he had more to offer than what he was presenting. Then I think, maybe I really just liked him with the Clef Hangers? Maybe he performs best in the setting he's used to, among his friends in that group, where he is clearly the stand-out and can comfortably and confidently shine. But then I listen to "Angel" and I'm just confused ... why didn't he sing like that, or a song like that, on Idol? I listen to his performance of "The Only One For Me", or "I'll Make Love to You" and it's just like, wtffff. For me, while the setting is of course different, those performances are so infinitely superior to anything he ever did on Idol, possibly "Always on my Mind" excepting. Oh well, I think this season sucks. The glory days are over for Idol, but I still love the show for what it brings. I think entertainment still needs and craves American Idol.

BJ kisses what appears to be a purple anemone ball. ( Gloves and cap again?! )

So ... what did I think. I thought he was a little under in the group performance, and Jason's evaluation that he was the worst would've hit him hard. The Project Moda routine was awful, his costume was embarrassing, the final lift had a fault, but I credit his and Talia's commitment and fearlessness in executing it. I thought the night was shaping up to be a sure-fire kiss of death for BJ, so thank God for the second Nappytabs routine. BJ stated Napoleon & Tabitha are among his favourite choreographers, and he was doing a routine in a style which completely befits him (lyrical hip hop), so it was the perfect opportunity for him to shine. I've always loved Nappytabs' routines on the American SYTYCD (I've watched the Katee and Josh one to "No Air" a hundred times), so I was pretty excited to see BJ and Talia work with them. The reaction from the judges and crowd could not have been any more positive, which was in the moment extremely thrilling for me (as Whit would've seen, when I began fangirling over MSN to her in the commercial break). I am really glad BJ managed to score and deliver the routine so brilliantly, because the rest of the night was flat for him, and no matter what happens, he at least has this moment to define and pinpoint the pinnacle of his experience with the show. I'm also hoping that this so very well-received routine might be exactly what he needs to possibly push him over the line into the Top 4, though I still maintain the odds are against him, particularly as Ben and Charlie remain rock solid in their fanbase and popularity. But, like BJ said, even if he does exit tomorrow, all it really means is he misses one week of rehearsals. He made it through each but one, and was the star in a routine the judges unanimously heaped superlatives on ... you couldn't ask for much more.

At least it ain't twirly.
( super mario, is dat chu? )

So, as completely expected and predicted, BJ was in the bottom 2 males. And as hoped, Timo was the once who left. Both their solos were amazing (come on, BJ's turns!), but Timo's I admit was more dynamic and entertaining. It seems like almost an inevitability that Charlie and Ben will be the top 2 male dancers, with their popularity reinforced week after week. Charlie still hasn't had to ever perform a solo facing elimination, and Ben seems to have only gained in popularity the further he advances in the competition. Which is why I've decided that I'm going to vote next week ... I'm thinking maybe there'll be some sudden influx of BJ voters who haven't been voting in past rounds just so they can see their favourite make it to the finale. I don't know. I still think with 95% confidence he won't make it to the finale (which ironically might make the achievement of making it to Top 6 hurt more than if he left earlier), but at least I'll be able to say I did my bit.