Roger loses to Rafa at Monte Carlo...Episode 4

What the heck is going on?

Roger beat Djokovic in the semi-final when Novak retired due to illness. PLEASE! Could Roger win one important match of his clay season legitimately? He was leading 6-3, 3-2.

Novak said he felt dizzy and he'd been sick for a few days but he hadn't thought it was anything major.

Now Roger will face Rafa in the final. Come on, Roger!

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Sorry, missed a couple matches...

Roger beat Monfils in what people are calling the best match of the tournament 6-3, 6-4 in the third round and then went on to avenge his Masters loss to Nalbandian, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. Woohoo!

More info on those matches.

Mirka is the boss

Fans have been wearing "Mirka is the boss" t-shirts to Monte Carlo. I want one!

Roger was miraculous today!

He was down 5-1 in the third set to 137th ranked ATP player Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo. Only two points away from losing the match and he rallied to win it! 6-1, 3-6, 7-6!

See what Roger had to say about it.

Good thing he thing he turned it around. The ATP then gave him three awards for the best player of 2007, the best sportsman and the fans' favourite.

Roger has his first helicopter ride over Monte Carlo

This tournament in sponsored by Rolex so I'm sure Roger's going to be well taken care of.

Here's the draw for the tournament.

Roger wins his first title of 2008!

He beat the no-name in the Semis on Saturday and then beat Davydenko 7-6 (5), 1-2 because he retired with a leg injury. Whatever. It's a win--in windy conditions on clay!

Roger said it's the first time someone gave up against him in a Final. Here's Roger:

"It's great to win a title again, and to straightaway win my first clay-court tournament of the season gives me great confidence going into Monte Carlo," the 26-year-old Swiss star said. "I guess now, if you get better conditions, (I'll) play so much better.

Get the whole story, including Davydenko's reactions, here. Now I understand his decision on hiring Coach Jose better. He's a clay-court specialist. That shouldn't hurt Roger's chances for the French.

On to the Semis!

Roger won again! He beat Frederico Gil 6-4, 6-1 in his home country. There were some rain delays.

I wish he was playing someone whose name I recognized so I could get jazzed that he won. If he lost to a no name I'd be inconsolable. But that guy Tipsaveric from the Aussie Open...he made a name for himself against Roger. I was excited Roger won that one.

Davydenko advanced as well. I hope Roger if they meet in this tournament Roger won't be as nice to him on the court as he was about the gambling allegations...

Roger confirms he'll do the Davis Cup again...did we have any doubts?

Roger explains in a note to his fans.

Roger wins again!

He's through Round 2. And it was supposedly a breeze. I don't know for sure because I have hardly seen Roger play this year, save for the Australian Open. Grr...

Anyway, Roger beat Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-2 today and is in the quarters. Easy. Now let's not get ahead of ourselves and make any predictions. One match at a time.

Roger takes Round 1 in Portugal

Roger beat Olivier Rochus of Belgium 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 today. Bad news? He wasn't great in the first set. Good news? He battled back with that usual Roger goodness that we've sort of been missing. Here's hoping it's so very back from here on out...especially with the French Open coming up.

But let's be clear. As long as Roger is a gracious and good human being we're fans of him no matter what his performance on the court is.

Roger got a coach

Jose Higueras. That's not as fun to say as Tony Roche. We'll see how it pans out.

Hear about the decision from Roger himself.

This guy says it all

I am so sick of all the doomsday paraders about how Roger's reign is coming to a grinding halt. So the semi-finals aren't good enough when you're bouncing back from mono? Relax, people.

Check out this guy's stance on the matter. Enough said.

Roddick beats Federer, world implodes

I don't even know what to say. I already had my boundaries on reality stretched today when I found out that a man is pregnant. I can't handle this on top of it. Roger lost 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-3 in the Quarters. Ugh.

Still, I love Roger's reaction. Basically, I lost. So what am I going to do about it? You move on! I miss the usual Roddick press conference, though.

Youzhny reacts badly to losing point

Couldn't help posting this even though it had nothing to do with Roger. That kind of behavior might get you kicked out of the tennis club quicker than shrieking like Sharapova would.

Roger got an easy win--seriously, the guy dropped out

Roger beat that Swedish guy because he bowed out due to illness. On to the next match!

Sometimes I think it's really hard to be a tennis fan

Man, tennis is tough. The scheduling is so hard to follow for tournaments and then there's the whole time zone question and then there's finding out what station you're going to be able to watch it on, if any. I mean, it's almost like I shouldn't be following just Roger. I should be happy for whatever tennis lands in my lap. But I say no. I say I have my favorites and it should be easier to watch them play. Come on ATP! I haven't even seen Roger in this tournament yet! And must you schedule big stuff during March Madness? That is just mean.