Gael Monfils, Juan Martin Del Potro, Lleyton Hewitt and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga cracked some sake barrels at the Japan Open’s welcome reception on Tuesday. It was a konnichiwa/sayonara moment del Potro, who was booted out of the tournament in the first round.

What is Tsonga so giddy about? And where are Lleyton Hewitt’s arms?

Hair twins! Just like Rafa and Roger:

Please clue me in on Monfils’s tee:

I prefer Tsonga’s white jeans and wrinkly shirt look to Hewitt’s tired Ed Hardy tee.

Lleyton’s angling for a lucrative sake campaign:

Awww. . .big man, little cup! Love it.

This is Juan Martin’s: “Whatever, I just won the US Open” face:

Good times:

Click here to visit the very uninformative (at least in English) Rakuten Japan Open website.

And since we’re already playing fashion police, what do you think of Rafael Nadal’s China Open outfit? (He beat Marcos Baghdatis in the second round on Tuesday: 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.)

It took me a few minutes, but I think I like it:

Click here for Rafa’s post match presser from Beijing.

I missed the Roddick vs. Hewitt thiller! Why? Because NBC’s “protected” tape-delayed coverage messes up everything here in the Western time zone, and it makes hunting for tennis on t.v. akin to wandering the Sahara without a map. NBC’s live streaming option may be too little, too late, but it beats drinking my own pee. Click here to check it out.

Okay, moving on to the wrap.

Andy Roddick summed it up best on Twitter: “124 home….. 4 left”

And he’s one of those four remaining after beating Lleyton Hewitt today in the aforementioned classic. You know it was an exciting match when you see this:

(That’s Hewitt’s coach, Tony “Dozy” Roche cheering in the stands.)

Roddick will be the underdog in his semi against Andy Murray, who beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in three straight-forward sets (though JCF was up a break in the second.)

P-Andy-monium is my new favorite expression for the whirlwind of excitement, expectation and exhortation that’s swirling around the Scot right now. The Scottish Daily reported that people began queuing up on Monday morning to score a ticket for today’s semi final – that was 17 hours before Murray beat Stan Wawrinka in the Round of 16. Over 12 million people tuned into the BBC to watch that match at home. The Scot’s even being credited for reviving Britain’s failing economy – or at least helping his country-folk forget about it.

Here’s a summary:

If, like the freaky butcher in the video, you are among the few who’d prefer the “other Andy” to get to the final, you’ll like today’s ominous quote from Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Q. Do you think you might have lost to the eventual winner?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO:  Of course, he’s playing very well. He’s moving well in this court. He’s serving very well. So of course he has a lot of chances to win. But he has two matches left. He will suffer, for sure.

I like Andy Roddick’s strategy: “I’m just going to pretend when they say “C’Mon Andy” that they mean me.”

Federer Fans will love this quote from Ivo Karlovic, who lost to Roger today in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6:

Q. Can you explain what Roger does differently than other players with your serve? Does he hit it back sooner, or is it clear to you why he can handle it a little bit better than others?

IVO KARLOVIC: Oh, it is only because he is better than everybody else. That’s it.

Roger broke Dr. Ivo’s serve twice in their quarterfinal match – the first time(s) the Croatian’s been broken all tournament. But an alert Fedophile never rests easy – here are a couple press conference quotes that set us on edge:

ROGER FEDERER: We’re just gonna try to, you know, push through this weekend, you know, and then after that (Mirka) can completely relax, even though she is already. There’s still obviously the pressure with all the big matches, and especially towards the final weekend.

Doesn’t Roger realize that using the word “pushing” when his wife is ready to pop sends BabyFed Watch into the red zone? Even more nerve-wracking was Roger’s talk of five set matches and Tommy Haas:

ROGER FEDERER: It’s fun, you know, playing the biggest matches. Especially I like playing best‑of‑five‑set matches. And maybe this is where, you know, I’m best at, you know, because everything comes out. Not only your mental strengths, but physical, tactical skills. Tactical skills, you know there needs a lot happening, you know, that I lose a match over best‑of‑five sets, you know.

No, it’s not fun, Roger! (Please excuse me while I wipe off my sweaty palms. . .I think I have mild PTSD from the French Open.)

Tommy Haas will have another chance to push Roger to the limit on Friday, when the two meet in the semifinals. He took out a hang dog Novak Djokovic in four nervy sets – continuing his win streak on grass and his cunning evasion of the Tennis Gods’ caprices.

TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, well, I mean, basically I think if you just look through the past, I don’t know, maybe 13, 14 years of me playing Wimbledon, you know, there’s a lot of bad luck involved.

Even the matches that I have lost in the third round to maybe get a little further, you know, I’ve lost a lot of tight ones. I always felt like deep down Wimbledon will maybe still have something left for me. It better come up soon, because I’m not getting any younger.

And the Tennis Gods aren’t getting any kinder, either. At this point I don’t know if they’re waiting to take him out with a wasp sting when he’s, say, 5-0 up in the fifth set against Federer,

or if Tommy’s endured such a flood of bad luck that it’s finally overflowed into the good karma bucket. We will see.

Novak Djokovic isn’t suffering from bad luck as much as bad attitude. The No. 4 seed was just becoming the talked-about “guy who nobody’s talking about” at Wimbledon, easing into the quarterfinals losing only one set. And now everyone will be talking about him – because of today’s lackluster loss to Haas.

“Today was a real disaster.” Novak said after the match, blaming nerves and pressure.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I just think that the difference, you know, is a little unpatience (sic) in that important moments. I think I get nervous a little bit more than I used to. And I guess that’s probably pressure that I feel. But I shouldn’t.

Sports psychologists all over Serbia are plumping the sofa cushions and putting out the Nole Bars and Aqua Novak in anticipation of a new client. Maybe some Orbit gum, too.

“New Yorkers love it when you spill your guts out there. You spill your guts out at Wimbledon, and they make you stop and clean it up.” – Jimmy Connors.

It’s gut-check time for Roger Federer and the rest of Wimbledon’s “Gentlemen” as they battle it out in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Who’s bringing their mop and bucket to the court? Here’s the schedule:

WIMBLEDON: MEN’S QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE
times BST (seedings in brackets)

Centre Court – 1:00 p.m.
Ivo Karlovic (22) vs. Roger Federer (2)
Andy Murray (3) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero

No. 1 Court – 1:00 p.m.
Tommy Haas (24) vs. Novak Djokovic (4)
Lleyton Hewitt vs. Andy Roddick (6)

Karlovic vs. Federer: The head to head is 8-1, Federer, with Roger’s sole loss coming in Cincinnati in 2008. Roger’s beaten Ivo twice this year – in Indian Wells and Rome. They’ve met once on grass – at Wimbledon, 2004, with Roger winning in straights (two tiebreaks.) This is the Croatian’s first Major quarterfinals appearance. But before Fed Fans get too comfortable, consider the fact that the big serving Croat has not been broken this tournament (Roger’s been broken three times) and has served 137 aces (Roger’s served 59.)

Dr. Ivo also has a new mojo-rific, “spank that ace” victory dance. Horrifying:
Winner: I’m WAY too superstitious. The one time I picked Fed to win at GTT, he lost to Djokovic (Roger’s Cup, 2007). But if I see Dr. Ivo dancing like this on court tomorrow, I’ll need my own mop and bucket.

Murray vs. Ferrero. Head-to-head is 1-0, Murray, with their single meeting coming on grass a couple weeks ago in the Queen’s Club semis. Murray steamrolled the Spaniard 6-2, 6-4. Will Ferrero – an elderly (29 year-old) wildcard ranked 70 in the world – be Wimbledon’s answer to Robin Soderling? Or this year’s version of Goran Ivanisevic (the wildcard who broke British hearts by beating Tim Henman in the 2001 Wimbledon semis?) Um. . .only if Andy got a bad sunburn in training today:

Winner: AHN-day Murrr-AY! (I love saying it that way!)

Haas vs. Djokovic. Ooh! This is an attractive proposition! The head-to-head is 2-1 in Nole’s favor, but Haas just beat him in the finals of Halle, a grass court tune-up. Tommy is the oldest guy still left in the draw (31), played this year’s longest match at Wimbledon (4.5 hours against Cilic), and will probably catch the Swine Flu before the match (no joke – click here.). Then again, Novak could retire with ear cramps if the weather stays hot. So let’s just pop some popcorn, hope they’re both healthy and enjoy the drama! Winner: Djokovic

Lleyton Hewitt vs. Andy Roddick: Flashback to the early 2000s! This will be the 12th meeting of these former No. 1s, in a history that’s spanned from the 2001 Miami Masters to a couple weeks ago in the quarterfinals at Queen’s Club (which Andy won.) Hewitt holds the slight edge in their 6-5 head-to-head, but I defy even the most sadistic of Tennis Gods to squelch the much-anticipated Andy vs. Andy semifinal. Winner: AN-deee RAH-dick (nope, American just ain’t as fun as Scottish.)

How about you, seeing any bumps (or fevers, or obscene dancing) ahead?

Andy Roddick got through to the third round today, beating Igor Kunitsyn in his second four setter of the fortnight. Here’s Andy on being the “standard bearer” of American tennis:

Q. Do you feel a burden? It’s an individual sport, but do you feel any sort of burden in sort of carrying the weight?

ANDY RODDICK: Not any more than I have for the rest of my career (laughter). I mean, it’s not exactly a new position for me. You know, obviously you’d like it to be different, but that’s not the way it is.

You know, this ain’t Candy Land. We can’t really make fantasy worlds up. You just kind of deal with it and move on.

But it’s looking pretty sweet for the Americans so far at Wimby – besides Roddick there are five other Yanks still in the draw: Venus and Serena Williams, the young Melanie Oudin, and Roddick’s schoolmates from Boca Prep – Mardy Fish and Jesse Levine.

If it’s not Candy Land, it’s definitely Andy (Murray) Land at Wimbledon. The Scot romped through his hyped-up match against Ernests Gulbis today – hitting all sorts of slice lob, service and running forehand winners: 6-2, 7-5, 6-3. I miss Robbie Kendrick. . .

Lleyton Hewitt scored the big upset today against the big Argentine, Juan Martin del Potro. Lleyton was beaming afterwards, admitting it was a “big win” for him. He hadn’t beaten a top 10 opponent in a Major since the 2005 Australian Open. Here’s Happy Hewitt in his press conference:

Stan Wawrinka beat Martin Vassallo Arguello today. Every single question in his presser was along the lines of “Who’s better, Roger Federer or Andy Murray?” Poor Stan, it’s not enough he’s bothered all the time about Federer, now it’s Murray, too.

Veteran Juan Carlos Ferrero got the best of his elder, beating Fabrice Santoro in four sets. Santoro’s post-retirement plans include opening his own museum in his home town of Geneva, Switzerland to showcase his collection of tennis memorabilia. I’m so there.

In other men’s results, Gilles Simon, Fernando Gonzalez, Tomas Berdych, and the (now Vaidisova-free) Radek Stepanek are into the third round. Click here for more men’s results.

On the ladies side, Venus Williams was a double-winner today – in singles over Kateryna Bondarenko and in doubles with Serena over Razzano/Rezai. The big news was the mummy-like wrapping she had around her knee, but enigmatic Venus refused to give anything away in her press conference:

Q. Can you tell us about the knee strapping? Preventive? Something bothering you?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I felt really comfortable in the strap, and it was really nice.

Q. What’s the problem?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, just for support.

Q. There’s nothing you aggravated, was there, the other day?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. You know, just for support. That’s all.

Q. You said that the strap was just for support. What caused you to use it, and how did your condition change so that you did use it this time and you haven’t before?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Hmm, good question.

Well, what happened was that I needed some support, and then I went and got the support, and then I wore it in the match. I’ll be wearing it in doubles, too. So it’s working out.

I mean, I think all the players might start wearing it because it’s so supportive.

Q. Why did you need the support when you haven’t in the past?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I really hate tape ‑ like hate. But I just needed it this time. I accepted that and I realize that this is Wimbledon. So since it was Wimbledon, I taped.

Q. What sort of pain were you feeling?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Ah, teamwork. Yeah, you know, that’s all you need to say, is I needed support and it worked well.

Q. It’s nothing serious?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, the match worked all right. So, yeah, it helped.

Here’s Pam Shriver’s take: “We tall girls often have one leg longer than the other.” Really?

Sveta Kuznetsova’s press conferences are much better than Venus’s:

Q. What have you been up to since Paris?

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: You know, party every day until 6:00 in the morning and then sleep during the day, and now I play these two days (laughter).

Kuzy won today in straights over Pauline Parmentier.

Today was a good day for the Serbs with Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic both winning in two. Ana should thank Wimbledon for marooning her on Court 18 – she obviously prefers it when she’s treated like a laywoman instead of a star. She’ll need all the help she can get when she faces another Thursday winner, Sam Stosur, in the 3rd round.

In other ladies’ results: The No. 1 seed, Dinara Safina, beat Rossana de Los Rios in straights. One-hander faves, Suarez Navarro and Mauresmo also won today, along with Wozniacki (over Kirilenko), Lisicki, Li Na, and Agnieszka Radwanska. For full results click here.

The action heats up tomorrow as we enter the third round. I’m looking forward to Kohlschreiber vs. Federer, Azarenka vs. Cirstea, Fish vs. Djokovic, and Karlovic vs. Tsonga. I’d say Schiavone vs. Bartoli, too, but I know that’s not making it onto the television.

Andy Roddick flies through the air without the greatest of ease: photo via Life.com – click here to visit the Life.com Day 4 photo gallery.

In a day of upsets at the French Open, the biggest by far was Venus Williams’s loss to Agnes Szavay in an unbelievable scoreline: 0-6, 4-6.

Venus couldn’t believe it, either: “You know, I’m used to beating people 6‑0. I’m not used to my shot not going in and losing a set 6‑0. So it completely was foreign ground for me.”

At least she got some revenge later in the day, when she and Serena took out Szavay and Gisela Dulko in the doubles.

What’s bigger news? That Maria Sharapova is into the fourth round of Roland Garros after yet another tough three setter or that the French crowd actually cheered for her? Maria’s take: “You’re ranked outside the top 100, so people like you.” Enjoy it while you can, Maria.

Grunting is really too soft a term for the sounds Michelle Larcher de Brito was emitting before, during and after every stroke in her match against French woman Aravane Rezai. More accurate descriptions include screeching, screaming and wailing like a banshee. The Telegraph, U.K. called the match “the loudest performance in the history of tennis” and ESPN quoted her coach, Nick Bollettieri, as saying Sharapova’s grunt is “no contest” for Larcher de Brito’s.

When Rezai complained to the umpire about the auditory racket, the sixteen-year-old defended herself: “Do you ask Sharapova to keep quiet?”

Here’s a sample of the noise (from last year’s Montreal event):

Rezai, who emerged the victor in two sets, had this to say afterward about Sharapova’s new rival:

ARAVANE REZAI: It’s different (than Sharapova’s grunt). She (Larcher de Brito) really shouts loud. Maybe it’s the way she tries to impress the opponent, but it really did upset me because it was really unpleasant. I did try to talk to the umpire about this. She kept shouting.

I think the umpire did not really do his job, and so I told the referee. You know, it’s a pity, because she really plays well. She’s talented. She fights, but she still has a lot to learn. She’s very young, and I think she’s just going through a phase.

Rezai’s complaints led to increased tension on both sides of the net – with glaring and cheering for the opponents’ misses. Since the tennis improved along with the cattiness, it made for some great entertainment. The final handshake was icy, and Larcher de Brito was reportedly booed and catcalled on her way off court.

“It wasn’t too much of a great feeling,” Larcher de Brito said after the match. Good, because my ears still hurt.

Speaking of drama, the Battle of the “Real No. 1s” rages on:

I found this amusing line in an “article” on Serena Williams’s website,  summarizing her three-set win over Zakopalova in the first round: “Eventually, the champion at the last two Grand Slam championships and the player so many, many people believe is the real world number one, stood her ground and closed it out 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 in almost two and a half hours.”

Since Serena started it, I’ll add fuel to the fire: Dinara Safina has lost a total of 4 games in her first 3 matches of the tournament. Serena’s lost 14 games in just 2 matches.

We now interrupt this Day 6 Wrap for a photo of Roger Federer:

(Rog plays Paul Henri Mathieu tomorrow in his 3rd round match)

Speaking of Roger, nice props from oldster Lleyton Hewitt in his post match presser (after being demolished today by Rafael Nadal):

Q. If you look to this tournament you see some former No. 1 players like Safin, Ferrero, you. You’re not still in the 30s, but it seems like your generation cannot pick on anymore. How do you see that?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Roger is doing all right for our generation. We’ll just hang on to him at the moment.

After Rafael Nadal destroyed one buddy on the court, he defended another buddy off of it (via ESPN):

RAFAEL NADAL: “(Richard Gasquet) is most certainly not taking cocaine. You know what the world is like today. You know, when you go to a party, anything can happen these days. If you kiss a girl who’s taken cocaine, anything can happen, and that’s the truth. That’s reality, and this can destroy your life or your career, rather, and this is most unfair.”

As Rafa said, anything can happen these days. . .

We have a new contender for Dumbest Press Conference Question, this time asked to Ana Ivanovic after she beat Benesova in straights:

Q. Getting older and older, and I don’t remember where I read everything, but I think I read something about you, that you were playing or were offered a wildcard on a badminton tournament. Is that true, or have you ever been playing badminton?

ANA IVANOVIC: No, never.

In other results, Andy Murray is through to the 4th round for the first time in his career after his opponent, Janko Tipsarevic, retired with a leg injury. Robin Soderling upset David Ferrer,  Hanescu upset Simon, and Davydenko bested Stan Wawrinka in four. Verdasco (over Almagro), Gonzalez (over Ouanna), Djokovic, Cilic and Kohlschreiber (over Ferrero) are also through on the men’s side.

On the women’s side, Cibulkova beat Dulko and Na Li beat Govortsova. We have to wait to see who wins Azarenka vs. Suarez Navarro, which was suspended for darkness tied at two sets all. Go Carla!

My biggest question for the weekend? How badly will NBC fu*k up the tennis? Will an epic five-setter be cut short to fit the network’s three hour broadcast window? Click here for our French Open TV schedule.

Venus looking for her game: photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images via Daylife

Breaking news! Roger’s initials are RF:  photo by REUTERS/Regis Duvignau (FRANCE SPORT TENNIS) via Daylife