Pick 'em - player nicknames

[steven]

If you have been playing pick 'em for a while (and maybe even if you haven't), you'll be au fait with the nicknames we use for some of the players. Most of them are their real nicknames, some of them are pick 'em specific. Anyway, this is a quick reference for those who may be a bit confused!

N.B. Don't worry, these nicknames are only used in pick 'em banter threads and sometimes in the 'winner pick' column on the results pages, the players' real names are shown on the entry forms!

(Partial copy from the old forum, in year-end 2007 ranking order)

INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS

Fed = Federer

Riff-Raff, Rafa = Nadal

Nole = Djokovic

Undertaker, Kolya, Donkey = Davydenko (Undertaker because in a pic that I can no longer find, he really, really looked like one!)

Pics = Ferrer (see below)

Duckboy = Roddick (because he looks and walks like one - they even had Andy Rod-ducks for sale on his site - hence the virtually all-female AR.com team being known as the Ducklings, much to their annoyance)

Gonzo = Gonzalez (it's no coincidence that he used to be on the Muppet Show!)

Dammit = Gasquet (see below - hence the RG.com team being known as the Dammitaires)

Numpty = Nalbandian (because he just is! - his countrymen seem to call him Daveeeeeeeeeeeeed though )

Rock On = Robredo (I refuse to explain this one!)

Muzza = Murray

Bunny = Haas (new for this year, his German nick is Hasi, which is usually translated as this, even though it means hare ...)

Flake = Blake ("only the crumbliest, flakiest choker") - with thanks to SuperBrat from the Centre Court team!

Berdbrain = Berdych (apparently his real nickname is Pertikos!)

Slick Willy = Canas

Baggy = Baghdatis

Cmawwwn, Rusty = Hewitt (Rusty is his real nickname, as printed on the back of his shoes ... he has plenty of other nicknames too, but this is a family site )

Count Duckula, the Count = Stepanek (his main nickname now seems to be 'sexy' after his liaisons with Hingis and Vaidisova, but I prefer my Count Duckula one!)

Tipsy = Tipsarevic

Madman, Dinara's lower-ranked brother = Safin

Potty = del Potro

Kohli, Cabbage-Writer, the German Gasquet = Kohlschreiber

For country-specific nicknames, etc, please see post 21.

[AnnuverScotinExile]

I guess you should add:

Ali - Tsonga (facial likeness)

[steven]

Why is Ferrer called Pics?

His official nickname is Ferru (boring), but Pics has become his nickname on MTF, thanks to a thread started by someone from Abu Dhabi with just three words: "David Pics Ferrer?" Most people think the poster wanted pictures of David, though others think maybe he was talking about (David) Nalbandian getting Ferrer in a draw for a tournament that was going on at the time. Either way, it has become a legendary thread and the Pics nickname now appears all over the place.

Why is Gasquet called Dammit?

Dammit is definitely a nickname that started here in a pick 'em thread, on 17 April 2007 during Monte Carlo - sometimes you have to be thankful that the punctuation skills of some AM.com members are not that hot :

vimto: Dammit Gasquet lost the set

ASE: I see that the agony continues for Gasquet fans.

Steven: > Dammit Gasquet lost the set
I thought he was called Richard? Your name suits him a lot better today though!

Steven: Gasquet's serving for the match, so it's 0-30, we all saw that coming!

ASE: Presumably there is a tie break in the third? If not verdasco/gasquet could carry on saying 'after you' 'no, after you' for the rest of the day.

Steven: I have to remember, never pick a French player to win, they always put you through hell!

ASE: 3 MP Gasquet. can he manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory again? GSM Gasquet. never in any doubt !

Steven: Can't believe Dammit Gasquet actually won in the end.

Baiaine: Dammit Gasquet and Massu are my only winners today so I'm pretty please Volandri choked. The way things are going for me Federer is going to lose to Seppi.

Once Bethan joined in too, the nickname wasn't going to get forgotten in a hurry.

The reason why it is such a perfect nickname for him is that you can pick him for tournament after tournament only to be left saying "Dammit, why did I pick him AGAIN?" when he chucks another match away, and worse still, when you finally give up on him (e.g. just before Wimby), he goes and does something brilliant, making you say "Dammit, why didn't I keep faith in him for one more tournament?" ... and then the cycle starts all over again!

Even some of the Dammitaires seem to find this nickname entirely appropriate.

[Samuel]

Steven,
Your explananations and related entries of "Dammit" are very amusing... Thanks!

[Speedy Hawk]

Dammit explaination is great!!! Good times those was!

[Shaun7879]

I love the Muzza! Haha. What a name.

[Imoen]

I'm not sure I should be given so much of the credit/blame for the Dammit nickname, though I do agree it is entirely appropriate. Gasquet is one of the players I find hardest to pick, there are very few players that he will definitely beat or lose to!

[Sallydaisy]

Hi Bethan....... bet it's a while since you played Swingball....

[Imoen]

lol, I'm not convinced i ever played swingball, far too much like exercise for me. Also, who wants to hit a ball on a string when all it's going to do it hit you with as much force as you just hit it?!

[Sallydaisy]

Originally Posted by Imoen

lol, I'm not convinced i ever played swingball, far too much like exercise for me. Also, who wants to hit a ball on a string when all it's going to do it hit you with as much force as you just hit it?!

Might explain why Andy is such a brilliant returner of serve??