Your Call, August 5th

Hi everyone.  Pete is currently on vacation until the 14th, so I'll be commanding this ship in the meantime. 

I had a feeling that my letter to Federer might elicit some response, and I wasn't disappointed.  Thanks for all your comments.  After two bare-bones MNPs (sorry about that), it felt good to get back into the normal Monday routine.  Check back next week to see if Roger e-mails me a response from Beijing.

Buried in the comments were FYIs from Arun and Or indicating that the draw for the Olympic Games will come out on Thursday.  That will probably be the highlight of the week in the world of tennis, and I'll post it on either Thursday or Friday's Your Call.

While thinking about the Olympics, a tantalizing early-round scenario dawned upon me.  Only 16 players are seeded in the 64-player draw, so I believe that Tomas Berdych - currently ranked No. 21 in the ATP rankings - will be unseeded.  (After factoring out the players who didn't enter, or are injured.)  Federer/Berdych II in the first round?  Make it happen.

Speaking of the world rankings, did you notice who is currently ranked No. 9?  Although Roddick looks like a safe bet to stay in the Top 10 because of his points cushion, I was surprised simply because he's been firmly entrenched near the top for so long.  Aside from a brief stint in the summer of 2006, Andy hasn't been outside the Top 10 since **October of 2002.  I'm still not sure what to make of his 2008 season - what do you think?  Do the numbers lie in this case?

Roddick is one of the few big names playing this week in Los Angeles, but he's not on court today.  Still, today's order of play should make up for yesterday's lackluster matches.

-- Ed McGrogan

Note: As always, "Your Call" is the daily thread specifically for the purpose of getting together on the cyber-sofa to discuss or call ongoing matches, or hot tennis topics of the day; it's the "Crisis Center" thread for those weeks when there are no Grand Slams, Masters, or Fed or Davis Cup in progress. You can go off-topic here if you like as well. This makes it easier for you to stay on-topic at "premium" posts. For going off-topic, you also have Monday Net Posts and Deuce Club on a regular basis.