Guys, we are going to get 200 hours of pure unadulterated tennis from Tennis Channel/ ESPN/ and CBS.  I'd like to hear your comments on what you think of the following things:

1.  Will you miss USA, and particularly Ted Robinson?

2.  Do you think that McEnroe and his brother P-mac will be a good team?

3.  What about Connors and Navratilova on Tennis Channel?  

4.  Who are your favorite tennis broadcasters, and who are your least favorite?  

Albert Camus once said "Beauty is unbearable. It drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time."

I don't think he was thinking of Roger Federer's overhead smash when he said it, but there is no doubt about the fact that Federer's smash, and the other four shots that will be featured here, do provide tennis fans with a glimpse of an eternity that we'd like to prolong.

While style points don't count on the scoreboard, they do play on the heart strings. Tennis is a brutally competitive sport, and the mental aspects of it can be nothing short of grueling. Yet at the sports very essence there is always a prevailing grace. It is what draws us to the sport, and it is what we marvel at when we watch on television or in person.

They are inexplicably divine. They are poetic and sublime. They are the 5 most beautiful shots in men's tennis.

1. Roger Federer's half-volleys - Is there anything cooler than the world's best player casually flicking away a 100 mph laser as his opponents stands on the other side of the net looking more like a statue or robot than a tennis player? Man, Federer can make the greatest players of his generation look like buffoons, can't he? 2. Rafael Nadal's inside-out forehand - This shot is a revolution. The way that Nadal has made the forehand a total body experience, putting every ounce of his energy into the shot, is just unbelievable. With the vicious spin that Nadal manages to put on the ball, he is able to clear the net easily and also bring the ball down before it gets to the baseline, enabling him to create and employ near impossible angles that can create a track meet environment for an unenthused opponent. 3. Andy Murray's serve - There are many elements to a good tennis serve, and Murray has them all. His rhythm and tempo are musical, and his body is synced up so perfectly to his toss, with his back leg sliding toward the front just in time to join it in a powerful thrust up and over the ball and into the court. His knee bend and back arch are pronounced, and the circle and snap of his racquet arm and wrist put the finishing touches on what is becoming one of the most lethal serves in all of tennis. 4. The Roger Federer Overhead Smash - Ah, yes, there is nothing more beautiful than pure genius summoned instinctively from the soul. Federer hits this shot so beautifully, and so accurately — he doesn't just blast away like most guys, instead he picks his spot and hits with side spin to make it even more effective — that it belongs in a museum rather than on a tennis court. 5. Roger Federer's one-handed backhand - I feel bad for the rest of the players, but when it comes to beauty and elegance on the tennis court, nobody can compete with the Swiss maestro. This shot has been questioned by many who feel it is inadequate when it comes to dealing with the high bounce that comes from his nemesis Rafa Nadal's ground strokes. This may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that Federer's backhand is head and shoulders above the rest in the field. The way he whips his wrist as he comes over the ball with tremendous speed and lift, and the gorgeous pose that he ends up in after the follow through are pure poetry. When it comes to beauty, I do realize that it's in the eye of the beholder. No two shots are alike and they are all pretty amazing. Drop me a line and tell me what your top 5 are.

American tennis, always a hot topic of discussion by those who long for the days of Sampras and Agassi, of Connors and Mac, is enjoying the U.S. Open series very much this year. 

As sad as it seems that Andy Roddick is the only American currently in the top-10 (and it's been that way for a while), help could be on the way.  I know, we've all heard that one before, but with Sam Querrey and John Isner looking like their appetites for victories are as big as there hulking bodies in the first three weeks of the hard court season, at least an American tennis fan can dream. 

24-year-old John Isner is this weeks biggest surprise. The No. 77 ranked power server appears to be hitting his stride this summer.  As Ben pointed out in this post, Isner has taken two matches off of top-20 opponents this week, and that's as many as he'd had in his career up until now.  Needless to say, this has been a great week for the North Carolina native and University of Georgia Alumni.  Maybe Isner can shore up his return game percentage (a paltry 13% heading into this week) and make a significant move in the rankings?  He certainly has a lot of room for improvement in that category (as do all the American players). 

But his run may meet and abrupt ending, because Andy Roddick, playing his first tennis since the Wimbledon final, has not seemed to be affected at all by the hip flexor that kept him on the sidelines for Davis Cup and the first two weeks of the U.S. Open series. 

Roddick looks as though he is in even better shape than he was before the injury, and he's always dangerous on the hard courts.  A win over red-hot Sam Querrey was nice, but his quarterfinal match against Ivo Karlovic, in which he fought back from a break down in each set to win a tie breaker, was even more impressive. 

Juan Martin Del Potro and Fernando Gonzalez will play the days first semifinal, and Roddick and Isner will play under the lights at 7 P.M. Eastern time. 

Today's Legg Mason Order of Play

Andy Roddick will try to become the fourth active player to reach the 500 win mark tonight when he takes on red-hot American Sam Querrey on the stadium court at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.  

The highly anticipated match between Roddick, playing his first tennis since his epic Wimbledon final against the Federer Express, and Querrey, climbing up the rankings to No. 26 after three straight ATP finals (including last weeks win over Carsten Ball in the L.A. final), is their third career meeting.  Roddick has won the previous two. 

Following that match will be John Isner, who pulled a major shocker over No. 7 ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga last night, against Sebastien De Chaunac from France.  

Click here for todays order of play.

Click here to read more:  http://thefanchild.blogspot.com/

Roddick and Querrey are slated to meet in the third round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C.  This will be a highly anticipated match for two reasons:  1) Roddick has yet to compete since his epic loss to Federer in Wimbledon and 2) Querrey is competing in his third consecutive final today, so he is definitely the player to watch when it comes to U.S. tennis hopefuls. 

Elsewhere in the draw are Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Gonzalez, Robin Soderling, Ivo karlovic, Mardy Fish and others. 

It's nice to be finally getting some of the top-10 back on the court.  The U.S. Open hard court swing is officially in full force. 

Click here http://www.leggmasontennisclassic.com/?wherefrom=networknav for the skinny on the Legg Mason. 

American's Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey will take to the hard courts today in an attempt to lock up quarterfinal berths at the L.A. Tennis Open. 

Querrey will play fellow American Ryan Sweeting in the 2nd match of the day, and if he can get the win, it will be Querrey's 3rd straight ATP quarterfinal.  Querrey is at his career-high ranking of 32, and has made the finals at Newport (lost to Ram) and Indy (lost to Ginepri).  He has yet to play Sweeting on tour, but he should have the advantage against the 6'5" Florida resident who had lost 6 of his last 8 on the challenger circuit and in various qualifiers before coming to L.A. 

For an up and comer like Querrey, with designs on a run to the top-20 and perhaps beyond, this is a must win affair. 

Mardy Fish will play Aussie Chris "The Gooch" Guccione in the first match of the evening session.  Fish was a semi-finalist at L.A. last year, losing to eventual champ Juan Martin Del Potro. 

Fish is 2-0 against the Gooch in his career, but both matches have gone the distance. 

Elsewhere, American Robert Kendrick will face Dudi Sela, and Russian Igor Kunitsyn will duel Argentine Leonardo Mayer. 

Click http://www.latennisopen.com/ for the full scoop. 

Last weeks champ in Indianapolis, Robby Ginepri, was upended by "the magical misery tour" aka Marat Safin in 3 sets last night.  It was only Safin's 8th win of the season, and he'll take to the court today against Latvian Ernests Gulbis in a 2nd round tilt.  Gulbis has had a trying 2009 as well, so it will be nice to see one of these players get through to the quarterfinal round. 

John Isner and Jesse Levine will also be in action today for the U.S. , as the U.S. Open hard court series picks up speed in its second week. 

Levine, coming off a great run at Wimbledon (3rd round loss to Wawrinka), will face top seed Tommy Haas, who appears to be undergoing a revival of his own (semi-final loss to Federer at Wimbledon). 

The  6'9" John Isner, who took out the 7th seed, Benjamin Becker yesterday, will face Marcos Baghdatis. 

Here is today's order of play:  http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2009/423/op.pdf

Here are the Draws:  http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2009/423/mds.pdf

No. 12 ranked Nikolay Davydenko has defeated Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the finals at Hamburg today, 6-4, 6-2.  It is the 15th career title for the 5'10" Russian, and his 1st of 2009.  

Davydenko, who is 4th in the ATP in return of serve percentage (behind only Nadal, Murray, and Monaco), was able to convert on 5 of 13 break point opportunities to tilt the match in his favor.  

Davydenko was in-form throughout, delivering a punishing array of ground strokes that kept the Frenchman off balance for much of the 1 hour and 28 minute affair.  

6'6" Sam Querrey will play Robby Ginepri in an all-American final at Indianapolis today.  It is Querrey's 2nd final in 2 weeks.  Although Ginepri won this tournament in 2005, Querrey, the Santa Monica resident who is third in the ATP in aces and 6th in the ATP in service game winning percentage will be hard to stop.  

The U.S. Open Series, played on hard courts, should provide the powerful Querrey a chance to hurdle his previous high in the rankings, which was 33 in January.  

Perhaps a long awaited trip to the top-20 is in the works for Querrey?