Surgery count: Six

Posted by Bess: Make that six surgeries for Brian Baker. Torn lateral meniscus, it seems.  Out for about four months. You could say, "So. Not. Fair!" Or you could say, "Better plotline for the eventual biopic."

Key question: Is your glass half empty or is it rose-colored?

In other news, Ferrer and Baghdatis are through. And Tipsarevic won a tight five-setter in the wee hours of the morning.

And my new favorite is 17-year-old American Madison Keys. Not only is she from the Quad Cities (rock on, east coast of Iowa), but she's talented, fun to watch and gives an effortless interview. Oh, and she's heating up the courts with her impressive play. All while being a teenager. Good heavens. 

I can't wait to see her play again. And I'll have to look back at my bracket to see how far I took her. I hope I had faith.

I'm also predisposed to liking this Jerzy Janowicz character. If only because his name looks like it should be pronounced Jersey. (Sadly, it's not.) And without Jersey Girl Christina McHale to cheer on or Jersey Girl-by-marriage Kim Clijsters, I need someone to root for who makes me feel closer to my roots!  So, Jerzy it is. 

Although, he might be a tad, uh, argumentative for my taste. Evidently his outburst from last night is going viral.

One final note from last night's action: Brad Gilbert was completely right. Is Big Bird the presenting sponsor this year? Why all the yellow? Do the sportswear companies only have three bolts of fabric to choose from between them? I find it odd that they all manufacture the same color at the same time and so many players choose to wear it at once.

Do they not have back-ups?

It's beyond me.

I'm looking ahead to Week 2, too

As some of you may know, Wimbledon is unique in that there are no matches played on the middle Sunday. So today is a quiet day.

Frankly, I'm happy for the reprieve. Gives us time to rest and regroup a bit before the so-called Best Day in Tennis ^{(R) (TM) (SM) (C)}! It's earned that moniker because after a day off on Sunday, all 16 players left in the men's and women's draws will play on the same day. Tremendous!

Here's who I'm especially interested in seeing:

• Nadal v. Del Potro - Delpo's on his way back after a long-healing injury. But aside from Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, he's the only male player to win a major since early 2005(!). In other words, he's no slouch. So it should be a good match.

• Fish v. Berdych - I picked Berdych to win this one, because I think he may overpower Fish, but Mardy's been playing some pretty impressive tennis, so we. shall. see. I wouldn't mind Fish proving me wrong.

• Ferrer v. Tsonga - Ferrer has been playing great, and Jo-Wili is a little unpredictable, but he's an entertaining player with great heart. He showed off his sportsmanship this week (here and here), as well, so I'm all in with Tsonga. (Even though I picked Ferrer to beat him.)

• Tomic v. Malisse - I picked Soderling to beat Tomic in the previous round, so I've got nothing riding on this one, but Tomic is a true up-and-comer, as Dave said. I'm interested in seeing how deep a run he can make. On an unrelated and unimportant note, I wish his first name began with an A, so I could refer to him as Atomic. What were his parents thinking?

And as for the women:

• Sharapova v. Peng - I've taken Sharapova all the way to the title so I'm interested in every match she plays! She should get through this one, but Peng, who I know nothing about, is seeded 20th, so it's not like it's a walk in the park.

• Lisicki v. Cetkovska - If the hard-hitting and impressive, yet somehow never-before-noticed-by-me, Lisicki wins this, she'll most likely take on Serena in the quarterfinals. And as successful as Serena has been so far, it would be good to see her up against another power server.

• Azarenka v. Petrova - I've got Azarenka through to the final, so I'm hoping she beats Petrova. Not sure what Petrova's been up to lately (I didn't pick her past the second round) so I'm unsure what to expect.

• Venus v. Pironkova - Not only did Pironkova take Venus out at last year's Wimbledon, she also took her out of the 2006 Australian Open. So Venus is likely going to come out guns blazing, in her own Venus-like way, which may mean she seems lethargic at first and then turns the power up when it really matters. This is as far as I've taken Venus in the draw, because I thought she'd be playing Zvonareva (who lost last round after hurting her ankle). So... while my heart roots for Venus to get some redemption, my bracket roots for Venus to lose.

Oh! And before we go - here are the bracket standings after the third round:

Bess
Men: 84/112
Women: 68/112
Total: 152/224

Dave
Men: 70/112
Women: 65/112
Total: 135/224

The pressure's definitely on as far as the women are concerned.