Faulkner

Indeed.

He was wonderful. Hilarious and also a bit heartbreaking. He’s a sexy furry little thang too lol.

Totally cool. Definitely not trying to be some Novak evangelist, but I’ve not shied away from explaining why I like him. We all have our favorites for whatever reasons, and he’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I will say he seems to get along decently with other players in spite of his “villain” persona, even if he sometimes drives his opponents batty (like today with Nishikori, who was more visibly annoyed than I’ve ever seen him with Novak’s endless ball bouncing before serves).

Y’all know where my sympathies lie. But I think we should mentally prepare ourselves for John Isner, Wimbledon champion, the first American man to win it since Sampras. And we should brace ourselves for all the gloating and smug grinning from Gimelstob. Both Nadal and Djokovic have great records against him (Rafa has a 7-0 h2h, Novak is 8-2), but neither guy has played him on grass. Not saying it’s a definite, and KAndo could totally redline in their semi (he has beaten Isner three times) or simply push him enough to wear him down, but it wouldn’t *stun* me. As obnoxious and unlikable as he is, Isner does have a brilliant serve. He’s top 10 now. If he had, say, Denis Shapovalov’s serve (an ok weapon when on but nowhere near as solid as Isner’s), he probably might be in the lower reaches of the top 50 at most. It’s just such an advantage to have that serve.

I like Patrick as an analyst aside from that. He always has great insights and doesn’t always play favorites like the McEnroes or Brad Gilbert or, the worst, Gimelstob. Cilic is probably kicking himself for letting that Pella match slip away. This may have been his best shot at grabbing that second Slam title without Federer in the way. Meanwhile, everyone else is gaining confidence.

This is probably a good thing. Patrick talks too much.

I watched that 4-3 game. Wow, the twists and turns, with both players putting their bodies on the line. Nadal looks to be in great form, but a VERY physical, nearly five-hour match has to take its toll compared to the relatively light match Djokovic played. I’m aghast at the possibility of an Isner final or TITLE. Isner has an 8-3 h2h against Anderson. Not that records have mattered that much here, with Anderson overcoming a 0-4 deficit against Federer to beat him. Still, Isner is serving and moving better than usual.

Anderson has been so mentally fragile so that’s HUGE for him. Dude had never even won a set off Federer or even pushed him to a TB before today. To come back from two sets down and saving match points is amazing composure and endurance. But... one of the servebots (Anderson, Isner, or Raonic) will make the final. Can you imagine if Isner gets through? Still, Anderson’s performance is inspiring. I’ve never been a huge fan (even though he seems like a nice guy), but the fact he didn’t break himself shows so much growth.

ANDERSON TAKES OUT FEDERER!

He really is, Jim Parsons. He goes for the nastiness, but you can really see the toxicity and self-hate peeking out behind it. And he’s funny as hell. You see Bomer in tighty-whiteys from basically the jump. Impressive body, of course, as that’s what he’s paid for. He’s just... ok, but I feel like that part is a bit underwritten anyway. To his credit, he lands a couple of really funny lines. I will say that, even with Matt Bomer parading around in his undies in the first scene, you can’t take your eyes off Jim Parsons. He’s just magnetic, and he can make wrapping gifts compelling. The guy I saw the play with REALLY hated Quinto. I thought he was funny, and the crowd absolutely erupted at almost all of his quips. But if you saw Leonard Frey’s performance in the original, Quinto’s version is a disappointing facsimile.

Just saw “The Boys in the Band” on Broadway. Our soap alums Tuc Watkins and Matt Bomer were fine (as well as great eye candy) and got off some funny lines, but the star was naturally Jim Parsons, who goes much darker and deeper than I anticipated in the very mean-spirited lead role. (I’d seen the movie years ago. Zachary Quinto is basically doing Leonard Frey pantomime as the venomous Harold, but his comic timing is spot-on) Overall, much better than its initial reviews and still very relevant in 2018.

After all that early bloodletting, the final four on the women’s side are all seeds, three of them GS champions.

Wimbledon sucks as a tournament. Shameful. Bad scheduling for anyone not named Roger or Rafa. The obvious manipulation to engineer another Roger/Rafa final 10 years after “The Greatest Match.” And the ESPN coverage has been awful to force people to buy their digital subscription.

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This is fun. Makes me wish we had the BBC feeds here.

Women’s quarterfinals set: Cibulkova vs Ostapenko Kasatkina vs Kerber Bertens vs Goerges Serena vs Giorgi

Pliskova out to Bertens. No top 10 seeds left on the women’s side. Camila Giorgi beat Makarova and would be Serena’s next opponent if Serena beats Rodina (which seems a foregone conclusion, but you never know).

I’m sure a lot of people did. They are also wrong. 😂