TENNIS THREAD -Sliding in the clay, on the journey to Roland Garros !

[Raahh]

Just had a slight panic when I saw the thread was nearly full.

I am now off to check the schedule properly- to see what I'll miss today

And yy, poor Cilic. He's not had a good year, really.

The commentators were saying today Ferrer s last tournament will be Madrid. Sweet interview from rafa about him at the end of the match and he looked quite emotional when the crowd chanted his name.

I didn't see cilic lost again, quite a few payers seem in a real slump at the moment.

Cilic was playing in the Hungarian Open mama - it looked like a close match.

Yes - I didn't see the Cilic match - not sure if Amazon is showing it - just saw some posts about it on twitter.

It's true when you think less than a year ago he was second seed at Wimbledon and being picked for the title, whereas now.. well... it's a funny old game.

Completely missed Rafa today but saw a clip of match point, absolutely brilliant!

I'm watching Thiem v Pella now, it's only just started though. Thiem doing a bit of volleying

I saw the scores for the Rafa match- when he was 4-1 up the first set. Next time I looked, it was 5-all. So, I'm relieved it all ended in his favour.

A close scoreline anyway!

Pella has had a fairly severe haircut btw - he used to have cute, Ferrer-esque hair, and now he's gotta v short sort of Isner type cut.

Anyway. Thiem has just broken serve - first set.

Rafa v Thiem in the semis - I like both but would prefer Rafa to get to the final.

It’s Keith v Medvedev in the other semi.

I think both semis are evenly matched really - but obviously I won't be making any predictions! Thiem played well earlier though.. but it sounds like Rafa was more up for it today as well.

I'm glad Domi is doing well. Pity he's up against Rafa.

Keith just won the second set to make it one set all against medvedev.

Looking forward to Rafa against Thiem later on - it is a pity that they’re playing against each other I n the semis.

The weather looks a lot better in Barcelona than it is here - it’s cold, windy and rainy - yuk.

I’m not really convinced about music being played at tennis matches - it’s simething that seems to be happening more frequently. They were playing Barry White earlier . I wonder if players get a choice about what music is played.

Barry White

I've just seen that Medvedev has won.

So Rafa should be on soon, then. I hope he wins- losing in the semi final for the second week running would not be good.

I see Medvedev has won. I'll be keeping an eye on the score. Fingers crossed for Rafa.

It's still windy here. I barely slept last night with the noise although we got off lightly compared to some parts of the country. Luckily I had MN to keep me company!

I still have this horrible cold which is getting on my nerves at this stage.

Poor Bianca on Soccer Saturday is getting her hair blown all over the place

Rafa should be coming on soon - I need to go out in a bit so hoping it will be a quick match but don’t think it will be. Fingers crossed for a Rafa win.

Hope you feel better soon Jane and you’re not too affected by the storm.

Rafa already looking more energetic and jumping about. I hope they don’t play Shakira!

I think Gilles Müller is helping with the commentating - he’s got a nice voice and seems to be talking sense which is unusual!

It's really windy here as well. We just had to go out for a bit and it was like being in an autumn gale!! Still at least it wasn't like this last weekend.

Looking forward to watching Rafa. I'm also a fan of Gilles' commentary. He was commentating yesterday as well, but they didn't say for ages who it was, it was driving me nuts.

Anyway yes, he definitely speaks sense - I like it when they have recent/current players on as they usually know what they're talking about!

Lol at Barry White

Hope your cold is gone soon Jane

I'm only score watching- but this current game seems to be going on for ages, and Rafa can't afford to lose it.

Rafa has never lost in a semifinal in Barcelona so I'm hoping he doesn't start now! Vamos!

Vamos!!

He did well to get out of that game - saved 3/4 break points.

Is it just me or are Rafa shorts getting shorter?!

Phew. Score watching is more stressful than actually watching the match!

It went to about a million deuces Raahh - an important hold for Rafa but Thiem is playing well.

I was admiring Rafa’s bottom earlier Private - I think his shorts might be getting a bit shorter and tighter

I thought Private meant his shots until I read your post Fizzy