I'm fairly sure I've seen Boris Becker every day since I've been in London.

Perhaps it's because he is always being interviewed by someone in the media, but it seems as if he has taken permanent residence in the somewhat-fancy media lounge. For those not in the know, that's the same lounge that has not one, but two Union Jack upholstered couches I mentioned a few days ago.

Even though he's on crutches because he broke his ankle, Boris is still carries an impressive physical presence. He's tall and well build, and his orange-colored hair certainly makes him stand out from the crowd.

He also seems to be a genuinely nice guy. Of course, I don't have much to base that on at the moment except for when I've seen him always say hello to the security guards at the various checkpoints around the media center.

Unfortunately, I had a somewhat awkward run in with the big German.

I was heading off to the media dining room to grab some dinner and he was on his way back to what I assume was one of the broadcasting booths.

Of course our paths bottle necked,and out of respect for the fact that he is on crutches (and bigger than me) I allowed him to go. But as he walked by, he looked at me and I looked at him, and it turned into some sort of staring contest. To make it less awkward, I nodded at him and went about my business.

That was the second time I saw him today. Earlier on, I had a sit down interview with Garry Cahill, Ireland's Davis Cup captain who is the coach of Conor Niland and Sam Barry, one of the practice partners here.

We shot it in the media lounge because, with it's ambiance, is a great place to shoot interviews. But while I was setting up the camera, another crew was doing the same about 15 feet away. Of course, it was for an interview with Boris, which went on at the same time mine did.

The chat with Cahill was great. I asked him about how professional players prepare for tournament matches and how that preparation differs from when the player isn't competing, and he also told me about some of the unglamorous realities of playing on the futures and challengers circuit.

You can see it below:


The tournament itself has the feeling of winding down a bit now that some players have been eliminated. Mardy Fish played two pretty good matches against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, but he wasn't able to sustain his quality of play until the end.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray's withdrawal has taken more steam out of the event, and there's still quite a bit of uncertainty about Novak Djokovic.

On that note, I'll leave you with another tidbit about Federer.

In his press conference today, another reporter asked him about whether tennis should adopt golf's two-year ranking system, which would make it easier for the top players to stay on top because they wouldn't be penalized (as much) for a poor run of results.

Federer has been on the top of the game for years now, and he said if the ATP were to adopt that kind of system he would certainly benefit.

“I know it could be a good thing for me or for Rafa or for other good players because we would stay at the top for a very long time. For us to move down in the rankings would take something extraordinary,” he said.

“But for the lower-ranked players, I don't think it's a good thing and that's why I can't support it.”

That's a pretty revealing comment from Federer, as it indicates he takes his role as president of the Player Council seriously enough to think about the bigger picture than just what would be best for him.

Maybe that's part of why he's so well received wherever he goes.