H_B

But he was a comparatively poor clay court player - Federer is not. Clay is The Express's worst surface clearly, but he is very capable of winning the title - Sampras never was and he knew it.

I think he will. Only boredom can stop him and he seems to love tennis. His girlfriend is ambitious enough for his career that she gave up playing to manage it. I cant see her encouraging him to stop.

Has to be.. I think he already is the best player ever, even if he chucks the racquets away tomorrow, though clearly I cant remember the likes of Rosewall, Laver etc. He has the most complete game of any player in the last 30 years. Plus he is so cool on the court mentally - its like watching a Rolls Royce. Up to the new generation of Nadal, Gasquet and Murray to pressurise him. Roddick, Hewitt etc proved nowhere near good enough to do so.

3-1 down first set... going as expected. 6-3 7-5 in the end. Very good performance in the final - Federer just had too many gears for him - he is unbelieveable. Good signs for the future thoguh.

Murray's serve will win him a few games on that surface - I dont think it will be that bad. Federer likes to cruise as well, so a 6-4 6-3 type of scoreline will be about right. He is a bit unlucky his first final will be against Federer, though the experience will be great.

Depends what you mean by good... At World level, he is woeful. Would be better off getting a cushy coaching number at Craiglockhart, rather than earning 50p for winning a round in the Uzbekhistan Open.

I concur. I also think Charlie and the Chocolate factory (Depp vintage) is f'kin terrible

When you were 18 you could have played over 4 hours of top level tennis could you? He has been training at a tennis school that puts the emphasis on developing skills, rather than purely fitness. Hence the fact he has a high level of technical ability. He is also very tall and hasnt filled his frame yet. He's just a boy and in the same way that 18 year old footballers grow in power and physical strength, so will he. There are a number of British players in better physical shape that could go 5 sets no bother. They may be more to your liking. Unfortunately they wouldnt reach the 4 th set as they'd have been beasted love, love and love

Top 25 in the world by this time next year and no fitness problems at all. He will be a top 10 player and eclipse Tim Henmann's achievements as he has a better game for all surfaces and a much better serve. I thought at points last night was the best he has played. Great performance.

It was a specifically designed drink to stop him cramping. He said he always feels a bit sick after drinking it. Should have been munching bananas. Good to see him prove he can go 5 sets though and a very winnable second match on Thursday.

Its a great live scoreboard...though im sure thats little consolation! Im pretty confident Murray will break bak - he's been all over Pavel's serve most of the match.

First set 6-3, but down a break early in the second - playing very well.

Oh dear.. I feel a triple exit coming on now. Hopefully that matches my earlier prediction for quality.

US Open Day 2 Schedule Should be on about 9 oclockish. The way it works out, should be able to see all of Henmans match (first up), the beginning of Rusedski's match then switch over for the Murray game. I imagine Sky will have interactive coverage of the Murray game and keep the Rusedski game on normal. A bit dependant on how long preceding maches take, but shouldnt be far off the mark.

Possibly. I noticed the bookies have all three matches as pretty much a 50/50 pick. My guess is that 2 of the 3 will win, probably Murray(depending on shoulder) and Henman. I agree that Rusedski has been very unfortunate with the draw. If he serves well though, he can take Blake out.

Hopefully he follows Henman's route of getting into the top 50, then investing in a Ballantyne's gym membership and spending the off season before the Aussie open pumping iron with Big Bubba and his pals. The trainer may well be busy in his first match

Roddick did this as well early in his career. He became the master of the leg cramps and hobbling about the court act, which led to him retiring through injury when he was about to lose several times. He grew out of it too though. I think one of the ex-player commentators said over 80% of players on the tour have at least one semi-major injury that they play through, whether it be leg, shoulder or whatever. The experienced pros tend to keep it hidden though!

Yes, thats fine. He is doing very well. The fact he has so much to work on in his game is a positive. It would be a worry if you couldn't see where he could improve.

But it was a very rusty Safin, who looked short of confidence and was far below his World Number 4 form. You have to be critical of bad performances if you are to praise highly good performances. I didnt think he played well.

Thought he was poor last night. Even the second set Safin self destructed. Hopefully a warning to stop people getting carried away. Still a long way to go before he is the real deal.

Watched The Hustler last night. A brilliant film. Paul Newman is great. 8/10.

Excellent ... its a Ben Folds revolution tonight. I've just listened to Jackson Cannery.

I take it you already have McFly's Obviously

Little Baby Nothing - Manics

My mate's just back from Donnington and said Velvet Revolver were the best band by far and he isn't a VR fan. Very impressed though!