I have a lot of respect for Blake, and if you have read his biography, you'd agree with me too - the man is fighter. He has faced tough odds and lost his dad to cancer, a man who shaped him and his career and inspired him to achieve these lofty heights. In fact, he mentioned his dad in the post-game conference, too, though I wish he had used his father's reference in a better context.

Blake just came out as a bitter man, venting his frustration at losing in a crucial match which could have gotten him to a golden final.

What is surprising to me is the fact that if you look at the TV footage, you can see that Gonzales genuinely didn't seem to have felt the brush of the few fibers of the ball on the BACK of his racket.

Sure, Blake was close to the action, and even if we presume for a moment that Gonzales knew for sure that ball had hit his racket but didn't acknowledge it, would you blame him?

I mean, it's a match - and a crucial one at that. I've seen many a top player simply look at the umpire and wait for the chair to call a point and not concede a point on their own, EVEN when they know that the point belonged to their opponent.

By crying out like he did, Blake has come out as a cry baby and not someone who can take a rough day stoically.

Oh, Nadal! Man is Rafa good and lucky, or what?! If you watched the match you know what I mean! Poor Novak - he blazed through Nadal in the second set only to get a little tight and then smash himself out of the match. And as for chasing the gold, I don't blame him for being emotional at the end; he was so close.

Novak, my man, it's not you! Nadal is on an unbelievable run and apparently supported by the gods of tennis.

Now to my favorite, Federer - he just doesn't have the confidence, does he? I was already thinking that he's not gonna go far when I read the news that he had decided not to stay in the Olympic village and was lodged in a hotel.

"It's not possible for me to stay there," he said. "There are so many athletes who want their pictures taken with me. I don't mind it, but every day? I can't escape it. It's not the ideal preparation for winning Olympic gold."

Doesn't it sound like he's almost afraid? Some would say it's arrogance but I don't take his statement as a display of arrogance. I've always thought that this man speaks the truth. Always, though at times it can appear that he has airs.

I just think the Fedex is suddenly hugely unsure of his game and what seems to be worse is that NO-ONE in his entourage has the guts to tell him that by tweaking everything except his confidence he's losing a chance to make a forceful comeback.

I always thought that a key legacy of Federer will be his humbleness, his graciousness, his style and the fact that he's a perfect gentleman. Looks like he may lose a bit of the gloss on his legacy by acts like staying away from Olympic village.

Even more intriguing was his comment after winning the doubles matches against the Bryan brothers: “I’m very excited,” Federer said. “Having beaten the best in the world and going for gold, it’s an incredible scenario. This is a big moment in my career.”

So should we think that he's reconciled to the fact that he's no longer a force in the singles and is resigned to being a good doubles player. I knew it had to happen some day - but so soon? Big moment in the career! Get out of here!

McEnroe tirade: You have likely already read the news - "John McEnroe got tossed from his opening-round match at the Hall of Fame Champions Cup on Thursday for cursing, arguing with the chair umpire and making an obscene gesture at fans."

Some things will never change! I recall that a couple of years back I took my kids to the US Open on Arthur Ashe Day - a day meant for kids to get involved in and indulge in tennis. As we were going around, we saw that McEnroe was on one of the tennis courts playing with someone (I think the guy was a ski athlete and good one at that). So my kids pleaded that they would like to watch and wait to get his autograph at the end of the friendly game.

We all waited patiently in the hot sun for McEnroe to come out of the gate and get his autograph once the game was over. Imagine our shock when he walked off the court and in a high voice went on to say someting to the effect that: "I'm late for an appearance at another court so I can't scribble on your booklets".

I felt so bad for my kids and others who had braved the sun for more than an hour for this man to just move two fingers - and here he was, almost yelling to the people, kids really, who were his fans. I silently said, shame on you McEnroe - this day is meant for kids and you choose to insult them! I really thought that he was the pits as a man.

Later, as the days went by and I watched him on TV speaking so well as a commentator and oh, so gently about all the players, coupled with last year's American Express dispute-resolution commercial in which he travels to meet an umpire from the 1985 US Open to mend fences with a man he had called "evil" for an 'out' call.

The magic of TV make-believe led me to presume that this McEnroe was a changed man, a mellowed man. Boy, was I wrong! The man is a raging lunatic and will remain so.

Now, for the the last word, everyone talks about how China and India are going to be superpowers. Just going by Olympics medals, it looks like there is a great disparity between China and India.

India shining: Well, not in sport at least. With its growing middle-class I would like to see a growing medal class!