15

Roger Federer broke Pete Sampras' 14 majors in Sunday's Wimbledon Finals against Andy Roddick. A text conversation with a friends summarizes what I feel about the historic occasion.

SE: Federer won.
ME: That's old news. :-(
SE: A friend said last night sya kita sa finals.
ME: Sunday nyt ang finals.
SE: Ay. Hehe. Ok. You don't like him.
ME: Nope and never will.
SE: But he has a smooth game.
ME: He's the greatest. I just don't like him.
SE: Nevermind.. Haha. G'nite!

Oo na. I'm bitter.

Vamos Rafa!

Obsession

For years now I and my friends have a common obsession. That is Roger Federer, that Swiss maestro who has an uncanny resemblance to Efren 'Bata' Reyes, not winning any more majors particularly the French Open.

We would trade text messages, chat through YM, and talk about it every January, May, June, and September of each year. We would wait, with baited breath, when the draw comes out. We would curse when Federer had an easy draw and feel elated when he would meet tough opponents in the earlier rounds.

We can now heave a huge sigh of relief. The obsession can now stop. Federer won 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 against Nadal-slayer Robin Soderling in the French Open finals.

I knew coming into the semifinals, after the Nadal-Murray-Djokovic triumvirate lost before the semis, that the Swiss will win the title. It doesn't take a Nostradamus to predict the outcome. Only one of the three semifinalists - Gonzales, Soderling, and del Potro - had won a match against the player who will hereon be called by fanatics and sports critics as King of Clay and the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT).

Damn you Rafa, Andy, Nole! Why did all of you have to lose? At sa Roland Garros pa?

By the way, writing down King of Clay and GOAT and Roger Federer in one sentence hurts. Dammit!

Scud's Random Thoughts: Part VII & Roland Garros Predictions

I'm going to start with an emo random thought. Pasensya na.

Today could have been a happy day. A milestone on the matters of the heart. Today would have been me and X's nth monthsary. A bit depressing. I wonder if X remembers what today signifies.

*****

Why are there no airport staffs at the exit of the NAIA Terminal 3 (or some domestic airports) that make sure the check-in luggage(s) a passenger is carrying out of the airport is actually his? One can actually take any luggage from the conveyor and walk out of the airport undetected.

*****

I watched Angels & Demons yesterday. I read the book many years back and could not remember exactly the plot. It was like watching a movie without any prior knowledge of the premise. It was a pretty good adaptation although a friend who watched it with me (and read the book a week before) said the filmmakers made quite a few changes. Still it was far better than The Da Vinci Code. I was entertained. Ewan McGregor rocks.

*****

The 2009 French Open starts today. Here are my predictions. I hope I get most of the quarterfinalists right. My predictions for this year's Australian Open were not good.

MEN
Quarterfinals:
Rafael Nadal vs Fernando Verdasco
Roger Federer vs Gael Monfils
Andy Murray vs Fernando Gonzalez
Novak Djokovic vs Juan Martin Del Potro


Semifinals:
Rafael Nadal vs Fernando Gonzalez
Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic

Finals:
Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic

Champion:
Rafael Nadal


WOMEN
Quarterfinals:

Dinara Safina vs Ana Ivanovic
Serena Williams vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Venus Williams vs Nadia Petrova
Elena Dementieva vs Jelena Jankovic

Semifinals:
Dinara Safina vs Venus Williams
Elena Dementieva vs Svetlana Kuznetsova

Finals:
Dinara Safina vs Svetlana Kuznetsova

Champion:
Dinara Safina

Australian Open 2009: Final Thoughts

Here are the top newsmakers of this year's Australian Open:

1. Rafael Nadal. After winning the longest ever Australian Open (semifinal) match against countryman Fernando Verdasco, the World No. 1 beat Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 to win his first ever hardcourt major. Read the story here.

2. Roger Federer. Missed out in breaking Pete Sampras' 14 major titles. Lost for the 5th time (FO 2005-2007, Wimbledon 2008, AO 2009) in a major to great rival Rafa. No wonder why he broke down during the awarding ceremonies. Read more here and watch the speech here.

3. Serena Williams. Won her 4th Australian Open title and 10th major. With the win, she displaces Jelena Jankovic from the top of the women's rankings.

4. Dinara Safina. Missed her chance to winning her first major and getting her place in the record books, with brother Marat Safin, as the only brother-sister to have won major titles.

5. Fernando Verdasco. Beat red-hot favorite Andy Murray in the fourth round and last year's finalist Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. Played his best match in the semifinals but lost it after double-faulting on match point.

6. Jelena Dokic. Remember her? That 16-year-old kid who beat Martina Hingis in the first round of Wimbledon in 1999 on her way to a semifinal run? She's back and went all the way to the quarterfinals where she was beaten by Safina.

8. Russians. If Svetlana Kuznetsova had won her quarterfinal match against Serena, all women's semifinalists would have been Russians.

8. Serbians. A bad tournament for the Serbs, all three losing before the semifinals. Ana Ivanovic lost to an overweight Russian in the 3rd Round. Jelena Jankovic lost to a former Wimbledon finalist in the 4th round. Novak Djokovic, as always, retired in his quarterfinal match.

9. Live at Melbourne Park. A friend's girlfriend watched the Australian Open. And she has pictures to prove it in her Facebook account. Ang swerte!

10. Pinoy. A Filipino, from Cagayan de Oro, won the juniors boys' doubles title. Read the story here.

Terrible. That is how I fared in my predictions. I didn't even get one finalist right in both men's and women's singles. Next stop - Roland Garros!

MEN'S SINGLES:
Quarterfinals:
Rafael Nadal vs Gilles Simon
Roger Federer vs Marin Cilic Juan Martin del Potro
Novak Djokovic vs Andy Roddick
Andy Murray Fernando Verdasco vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Semifinals:
Rafael Nadal vs Andy Murray Fernando Verdasco
Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic Andy Roddick

Finals:
Novak DjokovicRafael Nadal vs Andy Murray Roger Federer

Champion:
Andy Murray Rafael Nadal


WOMEN'S SINGLES:
Quarterfinals:
Jelena Jankovic Marion Bartoli vs Vera Zvonareva
Serena Williams vs Agnieszka Radwanska Svetlana Kuznetsova
Dinara Safina vs Ana Ivanovic Jelena Dokic
Elena Dementieva vs Venus Williams Carla Suarez Navarro

Semifinals:
Jelena Jankovic Vera Zvonareva vs Dinara Safina
Serena Williams vs Elena Dementieva

Finals:
Jelena Jankovic Dinara Safina vs Elena Dementieva Serena Williams

Champion:
Jelena Jankovic Serena Williams

100

9 months, 4 days, 100 posts. That's a personal milestone, averaging 11 posts a month. Not bad for someone who used to maintain two other blogs and only managed 4-5 posts for each

This blog is stating put (for good) and since the last quarter of last year I started planning my 100th post. I thought of listing 100 things to do in my lifetime, same as raft3r's, but discarded the idea when I could not stretch the list to a hundred. I then contemplated blogging about:

a. my 100 favorite movies. I have more than 100 but could not make up my
mind which movie to scrap from the list. I ditched the idea.
b. 100 best blog posts of others. I have a few favorite posts but it was
too daunting a task rereading every post each blogger from my blog roll
had posted. Maybe next time.
c. my 10 best blog posts. I didn't even come close to making the list. I'm
not a big fan of my writing.

Discarding all three and leaving me with no choice, I reverted to my plagiarized idea. I classified the items into different categories to make it easier to reach 100. And by the way, some of these are fillers.

ADVENTURE
1. skinny dip
2. sky dive
3. go whitewater rafting
4. bungee jump
5. get involved in a bloody fist fight
6. backpack around the philippines
7. attend boot camp

ANIMALS
8. own a dog

BOOKS
9. read nick hornby's books
10. read haruki murakami's books
11. read khalil gibran's the prophet
12. read james ellroy's la confidential
13. own hardbound copies of all Harry Potter books (i have softbound copies of books 1, 2, and 4).
14. read stephen hawking's brief history of time
15. read ian mcewan's books
16. read kazuo ishiguro's books
17. finish reading my backlog of books (a total of 16 and counting)

CAREER
18. be a top-notch business analyst
19. be successful in my career and smugly turn down my former bosses who want to pirate me

CHARITY
20. help build a "Habitat for Humanity" shelter

EDUCATION
21. get a master's degree
22. get a mensa membership

FAMILY
23. pay off all of my parents' debts
24. watch a sharon cuneta concert with mama
25. watch an nba game with papa
26. watch the world cup match with my bro
27. have my own family

GADGETS TO OWN
28. nikon d90
29. macbook pro
30. nintendo wii
31. nokia e71

HEALTH
32. gain 10 more pounds
33. achieve 6-pack abs
34. run the treadmill at >= 9kh for at least 30 minutes without resting
35. wear contacts
36. discover a cure for cancer and diabetes
37. get a monthly massage

MONEY MATTERS
38. save a million pesos
39. set-up my own business

MOVIES
40. watch the decalogue
41. watch the best of youth
42. watch lav diaz's films
43 watch kung mangarap ka't magising
44. watch it happened one night
45. watch akira kurosawa's films
46. watch gerardo de leon's films

PLACES TO VISIT
47. new york city
48. paris
49. mt. pinatubo
50. mayon volcano
51. batanes
52. antulang
53. palawan
54. bantayan island
55. caramoan
56. grand canyon
57. phuket
58. camiguin
59. pagudpud
60. banaue rice terraces/sagada
61. great barrier reef

PEOPLE TO MEET
62. martina hingis
63. marat safin
64. arundhati roy
65. conrado de quiros
66. my great love

REAL ESTATE
67. own a beachfront property
68. own a resthouse in tagaytay
69. build a house with my own library and entertainment room with kickass sound system

SEX/DATING
70. watch a live show
71. interview a sex addict
72. get on the mile high club
73. go on a blind date
74. speed date

SKILLS
75. learn a foreign language
76. learn chess
77. learn tennis
78. learn to cook
79. learn to drive a car
80. learn to play the guitar
81. learn to swim
82. personally design my blog template

SPORTS
83. win a badminton tournament
84. win a bowling tournament
85. score a perfect 300 in bowling
86. attend a tennis grand slam tournament

STATE OF MIND
87. be fearless
88. be friendly
89. be cool

TV
90. join Survivor
91. join The Amazing Race
92. watch all seasons of The West Wing
93. watch all seasons of The X-Files
94. watch all seasons of The Wire
95. watch all seasons of OZ
96. watch all seasons of Battlestar Galactica

WRITING
97. write a book
98. write a screenplay
99. get published in PDI's Youngblood
100. win a Palanca

Scud's Random Thoughts: Part VI

Fever. Asthma. Cough. Colds. I have all of these inside of a week after moving in to our new office location. I blame it on (house) dust, which I am allergic to, and bad management. They made us move to the new site without vacuuming the whole floor. I heard that the floor was foggy with dust early Monday morning. Ggggrrrr...

I had dinner with a few friends a couple of nights back. Two of them are leaving - one for Melbourne, the other for Philadelphia. That means no summer outing, no dinners, and no Red Box for the whole gang.

I got my annual salary increase and it had me grinning from ear to ear. The amount isn't worth bragging but still it is way better than what I expected. I think I even got promoted since the percentage increase I got was in the same range as those from my team who got promoted earlier in the year. No cause for celebration. Performance evaluation rating is yet to be discussed with me and it is already a month delayed. Bad management!

Oscar nominations are out and you can find the official list here. There were major surprises. The Dark Knight was scratched from the Best Picture list and replaced with The Reader (the book, by the way, is a great read). Clint Eastwood's acclaimed and box office hit Gran Torino didn't get any Oscar love. Kate Winslet got nominated for Lead Actress, not for Revolutionary Road as widely predicted, but for The Reader. And Dev Patel who played the Slumdog Millionaire got shut out for Supporting Actor.

Today is the fifth day of the Australian Open. Roger Federer and Marat Safin will battle it out later for a place in the fourth round. I hope Safin wins. I'd be comfortably propped in my bed by then. I called-in sick.

Australian Open 2009

The first tennis major, the Australian Open, kickss off today in Melbourne Park until February 1, 2009. The draw for men's and women's singles can be found here and here. Another tennis year, another year of obsessing over Roger Federer not winning Roland Garros or any major for that matter. Haha!

As per a tradition that I started in last year's US Open, I'm posting my fearless predictions. Feel free to add yours.

MEN'S SINGLES:
Quarterfinals:
Rafael Nadal vs Gilles Simon
Roger Federer vs Marin Cilic
Novak Djokovic vs Andy Roddick
Andy Murray vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Semifinals:
Rafael Nadal vs Andy Murray
Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic

Finals:
Novak Djokovic vs Andy Murray

Champion: Andy Murray
Darkhorse: Marat Safin
Match to watch out for before QF: Roger Federer vs Marat Safin (Round 3)


WOMEN'S SINGLES:
Quarterfinals:
Jelena Jankovic vs Vera Zvonareva
Serena Williams vs Agnieszka Radwanska
Dinara Safina vs Ana Ivanovic
Elena Dementieva vs Venus Williams

Semifinals:
Jelena Jankovic vs Dinara Safina
Serena Williams vs Elena Dementieva

Finals: Jelena Jankovic vs Elena Dementieva

Champion: Jelena Jankovic
Darkhorse: Amelie Mauresmo
Match to watch out for before QF: Serena Williams vs Amelie Mauresmo (Round 4)

****************************
Here are the best photos of professional tennis 2008.

Rafael Nadal falling to the ground after beating Roger Federer in a thrilling Wimbledon final.

Rafael Nadal raising the Wimbledon trophy.

Roger Federer looking devastated after failing to win his sixth straight Wimbledon trophy.

Tennis: Tennis Masters Cup

Nikolay Davydenko spoiled my Nole-Andy dream final when he beat a tired Murray 7-5, 6-2. Thank goodness Nole beat the crap out of him in yesterday's final 6-1, 7-5.

Nole is now only 10 points behind World No. 2 Roger Federer in the year-end tennis rankings. Wohoo!

Scud's Random Thoughts: Part III

Prince of Persia, the video game that to this day I still have to figure out how to play in my psp, is now being shot as a live action movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Wohoo! I hope the movie is as bloody as the video game. Hehe...

*****

I watched the last few games of the 2nd and 3rd set of the federer-murray round robin match at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai which the latter won in 3 tight sets 4-6, 7-6, 7-5. It was a fascinating match. Excellent shotmaking. Drop shots, slices, net play, laserlike groundstrokes, unbelievable gets. It was not your typical slam bang tennis.

Two memorable games stood out that Federer won. These were the 36-shot rally late in the 2nd set and the 20-minute 10-deuce 10th game of the 3rd set. I tell you, if they only played those two games in the match I would still have gotten my money's worth. The match reminded me a bit of the classic Wimbledon final played this year.

Here's hoping Nole and Andy win their respective semifinal matches today.

*****

Survivor Update! Charisse won immunity and Vern got the boot. Nagsimula na ang pagtatanggal sa mga Jarakays. Cha's head is in the chopping block next week courtesy of the black pearl but I'm guessing the Naaks will boot out Marlon next. Too bad since Marlon is a pretty good strategic player. Maangas nga lang.

*****

I was scourging for books at Booksale last Sunday and found a copy of Bernhard Schlink's The Reader for 40 pesos. Wohooo! A few weeks back I also found copies of Tom Perotta's Little Children, John Grogan's Marley & Me, and James Frey's A Million Little Pieces. I actually have the last two books but they were too cheap to pass up and in mint condition to boot. Parang binili ko sa Powerbooks.

*****

I finally found a copy of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood at Bestseller's. It was a little bit expensive than the usual paperback books but what the heck. Nag-iisang copy na lang yun. People who have read the book say that it is similar, and in some way, better than J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. I hope I won't be disappointed.

*****

One time my manager (female) wanted to charge her laptop but since there was no free power outlet on her cube she asked my team lead (male) if she could use my tl's power outlet. My TL agreed. This was their conversation a few hours later:

Manager : TL, pakihugot na nga nyan. Kanina pa yan nakasaksak eh. Nag-iinit na dito (referring to her laptop).
Team Le : (Laughing) Ano'ng ihuhugot ko? Wala naman ah. At ba't ka naman nag-iinit.
Manager : (Laughing) Baliw!

*****

An officemate, who I shall be calling Ms Melamine, started a conversation with me regarding musical plays. We talked about West Side Story which we both watched separately. She babbled on about the other plays she had attended. I feigned interest and played with my pc's mouse instead. After a few minutes, she mentioned that a Hollywood musical starring John Travolta was being locally staged and was grasping for the title. She asked me what the title was. I feigned ignorance.

Allow me to digress a bit. I have to write about this. Hehe. I'm pretty good at remembering movie titles. I remember a few month's back our 16-member team held charades. Local movie titles daw. Each person must write on paper a movie titles that they want the other team to guess. I wrote "Ang Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo". When entry was picked it was a riot. They couldn't figure out what simboryo was. Yza, who unfortunately picked my title, complained incessantly and tried to draw a snake on the white board. Her teammates shouted "Ano yan? Bulate?". More laughter.

Now back to Ms Melamine. I thought for a bit and told her I didn't know what the title was. Then she smiled. Parang alam na daw niya ang title. Sounds like "Paintbrush" daw. I burst out laughing. In between gasps for breath I told her I knew what the title was. "Hairspray". I laughed some more while she pouted and beat my arm with her stuffed toy. Sweet!

Scud's Random Thoughts: Part II

A survey came out friday that the leading presidential candidate for the 2010 elections is Noli de Castro. Wtf! Di na talaga natuto tayong mga Pinoy. Are we seriously going to vote someone who made a career out of reading the news and hosting a magazine talk show? Are we going to vote someone who has not said nary a word regarding the corruption and lies that hound the administration he is serving? Lord help us if he wins.

*****

Venus Williams beat Vera Zvonareva 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 in the finals of the WTA Championships in Doha. She won an incredible $1.34M for winning all five matches in the 8-woman field tournament. Wow! The commentator mentioned that Martina Hingis and Venus turned professional one week from each other. And that Hingis won her 5 majors even before Venus won her first at Wimbledon in 2000. This year, Hingis has retired and Venus is still in the tour winning her 7th Slam and 5th Wimbledon title. I told a friend a few weeks back that I don't have the same passion for the WTA after Hingis retirement. Bummer.

*****

The ATP Championships (Shanghai Masters) is currently being held in Shanghai. Novak Djokovic has guaranteed himself a spot in the semifinals after winning his first two matches against del Potro and Davydenko. Wohoo! I'm hoping Nole meets Murray in the finals.

*****

On our weekly Manila team meeting last Friday our manager informed us that we can individually talk to the higher management regarding our salary increases. For what? Para lalong mainis? Ma-bad trip? Hindi na. Maghahanap na lang ako ng malilipatan. I actually won't know my increase until mid-December when I turn 2 years but based on ALL who have received theirs, my prospect of getting a decent increase won't happen. Bummer.

*****

Blogging. Ito ang kinahihiligan ko lately. An online journal. Pansin niyo naman halos araw-araw ako nagpopost. Araw-araw din ako nag-tsetsek ng blogs ng iba. Ayos magbasa ng blogs lalo ung mga "personal" bloggers. Sila yung mga nagsusulat about their personal experiences, thoughts, dreams, and aspirations. These bloggers pour their hearts out in their writings, giving me a glimpse of the lives they live. These bloggers inspire and make me forget the sometimes rotten life that I live. Atticus, Duke, Ely, Jayclops, Zherwin - saludo ako sa inyo. Pinapangarap ko that I could write as well as you all do. Props also goes to Raft3r, whose blog I accidentally stumbled on yesterday, who write short but interesting entries.

*****

I chanced upon the TV show A Moment of Truth on Saturday while waiting for the rain to stop. The premise of the show is a contestant is placed on the hot seat and asked very personal and damning questions. After a certain number of questions is answered correctly, the contestant wins $25000 and can go up to $500000. It' showcases man's greed and how man is willing to sacrifice treasured relationships. The guy on the hot seat on Saturday's show confessed tht he maintains a spreadsheet of all the girls he has slept with, that he has had over 100 sexual relations with women, that he got paid for sex in college while his parents, sister, girlfriend,and friend looked on. Then he stopped when he won $100000. I'm not sure if this show is bogus or not but it sure caught my attention. And I have to admit, I was entertained. Aabangan ko yun sa Sabado. Haha...

*****

I finished reading Sebastian Junger's non-fiction book A Death in Belmont about a serial killer, aptly named Boston Strangler, who strangled and raped women in the 60s in Boston. It is a nice book to read but not one that I would recommend.

*****

Watching A Very Special Love, starring John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo, was a welcome respite from the dreary movies I've watched for the past few weeks. The film is not an entirely a love story but also about acceptance. It was sweet, funny, and utterly forgettable.

*****

Survivor Philippines is getting better and better everyday. Kiko's ouster changed the dynamics of the game and made it more interesting. I still hate Marlon even though he's a hoot. Tarantadong gago. He should get the boot but based on what I saw on last night's episode where Nay Zita was interviewed looking fresh and well-rested wearing a yellow-orange blouse (which I think she has not worn in previous episodes) is a telling sign that she gets the boot Friday. Dammit!

US Open 2008: Final Thoughts

The last slam is finally over. None of my favorite players won (Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Safin, Gasquet) although I did pretty good in predicting my winners especially on the women's game. If you have been following my blog, I guessed correctly the 4 semifinalists in the women's game (Jankovic, S williams, Safina, Dementieva), 2 finalists (S Williams and Jankovic) and the eventual champion (S Williams). Serena Williams has now won 9 majors at the age of 26 and is now the best tennis player in the women's game. She last held the top spot way back in 2003. Wow!

Btw, check out Jankovic post-final match interview. She is hilarious. Endearing even. :-)

I didn't fare well in the men's game though. I only guessed 3 of the 4 semifinalists and didn't get one right on who would fight it off in the finals (Nole beats Rafa). Worst of all, Roger Federer won his 13th slam and 5th straight US Open title. I'm not a huge Federer fan although I have to admit - he is a fucking tennis god. He is now one shy of tying Sampras' 14 majors and will definitely surpass him in that department. Andre Agassi may be right, Federer may win 17 majors before he retires. If I remember it right, Sampras won his 14th Slam in his 30s (or was it in his late 20s) and Roger is still 27. He has many more majors to participate him before he hangs up his record for good. :-(

Men's Singles:Roger Federer beats Andy Murray (6-2, 7-5, 6-2)
Women's Singles:Serena Williams beats Jelena Jankovic (6-4, 7-5)

US Open 2008: The Final Weekend

The final slam of the year in tennis, the Us Open, ends this weekend. At the start of the tourney three weeks ago, I made a prediction on who would be the last 4 men and women standing. I'm proud to say (or write) that I was spot-on in predicting the last four women (Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, and Elene Dementieva). I'm going to go further and predict who would meet in the finals, win the title, and become world number one by Monday (whoever wins the women's singles title will be crowned World Number 1). My predictions are:

Semifinals:
Serena Williams beats Dinara Safina
Jelena Jankovic beats Elene Dementieva

Finals:
Serena Williams beats Jelena Jankovic

In the men's game, I was only 3 of four predicting Richard Gasquet to reach the sf (my other predictions were Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray). Gasquet lost in the 1st round to Tommy Haas in 5 sets. If only I tweaked the rules a bit and allowed myself to predict more than 2 players in the top 5 I would have chosen Roger Federer instead of the inconsistent Gasquet. The great thing about the men's game is that all four semifinalists will own the top 4 rankings on Monday. Nadal will still be number 1. If Federer loses to Djokovic and Djokovic wins the men's singles title, he will rise to second in the rankings. Federer will be third and Murray rises 2 spots to 4th place. My predictions are:

Semifinals:
Rafael Nadal beats Andy Murray
Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer

Finals:
Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal

US Open 2008: Betting on the Final 4

I had a chat with a friend this afternoon about the final slam of the tennis calendar year began yesterday at Flushing Meadows, New York. He and a few of his officemates were putting on a bet on who among the players would reach the semifinals at the US Open. They would have to choose one player from each quadrant and could only choose two players from the top 5 (seeds). As you can see, both of us did not choose Federer since neither is a big fan. Hehe. Methinks Federer will reach the semifinals and hopefully will be beaten to oblivion by Djokovic.

Here are my friend's bets:

Men's.
Rafael Nadal vs Andy Murray
Novak Djokovic vs Janko Tipsarevic

Women's.
Jelena Jankovic vs Elena Dementieva
Dinara Safina/Amelie Mauresmo (both of these players are on the same quadrant. will likely change.)

Sali na rin ako, unofficially. Here are my bets:

Men's:
Rafael Nadal vs Andy Murray
Novak Djokovic vs Richard Gasquet

Women's:
Dinara Safina vs Serena Williams
Jelena Jankovic vs Elena Dementieva

Feel free to place your bets. No money involved. Bragging rights lang.

Vamos Rafa!

Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 in this year's Wimbledon Men's Final. It was a fascinating match even if I didn't get to finish its conclusion after the play was suspended at 3am local time 2-2 in the fifth set. I was too tired watching the match for 6 hours straight. Since I was rooting for Rafa to win the damn thing it was also excruciating to watch. I thought going into the 5th set that he was going to throw in the towel after wasting 3 break points in the middle of the 3rd set on Federer's serve and 2 match points in the fourth tiebreaker but he didn't. Bravo!

Marat Safin also had a great run in this year's Championships winning against 4 seeds (Djokovic (R2), Seppi (R3), Wawrinka (R4), Lopez (QF)) before losing to Roger Federer in the semis in straight sets.

Venus Williams also won her 5th Wimbledon trophy against sister Serena after losing to her in the 2002 and 2003 Wimbledon Finals. The Williams sisters has dominated the women's field in the Championships since Venus won her first title in 2000. Here's why:

2000 - Venus Williams defeats Lindsay Davenport

2001 - Venus Williams defeats Justine Henin

2002 - Serena Williams defeats Venus Williams

2003 - Serena Williams defeats Venus Williams

2004 - Serena Williams loses to Maria Sharapova

2005 - Venus Williams defeats Lindsay Davenport

2006 - No Williams sister in the Finals

2007 - Venus Williams defeats Marion Bartoli

2008 - Venus Williams defeats against Serena Williams

Angsty

I turned a year older yesterday and I wasn't happy. Almost verging on depression. I seriously thought it over why I was feeling that way but I couldn't find the answers. I thought maybe it was my parents, who again, opted to greet me via text message than giving me a call. But I'm used to them not calling me on my birthday. I guess 7 pesos matter more to then.

Was I feeling that way because I just recently lost my aunt and a day after we buried her I learned that her youngest child is 3 months pregnant? Was it because I have not been doing so well at work lately? Disappointing my leads for the nth time? Was it because my finances are slowly dwindling? Or IS it because I'm lonely and alone?

I did had some fun yesterday. I watched Kung Fu Panda and it was hilarious. You should go see it. Then Rafael Nadal embarassed Roger Federer in the Men's Final at the French Open 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. That was a great birthday gift from Rafa. :-)

But then again those joyous moments are just fleeting. I want something else. I just don't know what that is. Yet.