Perhaps, though, this is similar to a sculptor working her way through the marble to find the shape present in the stone. This is the business end of the tournament - and the remaining matches offer you, the match picker, your own opportunity to go with the flow or strike out in a different direction.
In R16, the Tribe went a startling 15/1, missing out only on Chakvetadze over Safarova. We had some outstanding individual pickers:
16/0: Macca, Tyler, Kay and Kelsey
15/1: HR, Joey Z, temes, lilly potter
14/2: french open fanatic, ginger, Christopher, fleaman, Ali C, Matt Zemek, Ray Stonada, Andrew and The Original French(ie).
As well as our 16/0s, these pickers went 100% for the round:
Sahadev and baxter (12/0), patrick and .com (11/0), Codge (8/0) and Robert_E (4/0).
Now to our leaderboard.
On overall picks, two names stand out: Sahadev is 32/0, and patrick is 26/0. Very close behind these two is Macca, who is 32/1 (missed Verdasco/Ferrer, a 12% shot according to the Tribe).
These pickers have employed what we might describe as a targeted strategy, concentrating on a half to two thirds of the available matches. Then there are the braver (or more reckless) souls who have hit for the lines, making picks on nearly all the matches. Our leaders in overall wins to date are
40: Ali C
39: Luke
38: ginger, lilly potter and the Tribe(!)
37: mmmm8, fleaman, gerrynjapan, Ray Stonada, Andrew and The Original French(ie)
This game has been much more successful than Pete and I anticipated at its conception (thanks are also due to Rosangel for suggestions). We've had long time posters and first timers, together with habitual lurkers. If you're new to the site, please treat your picks contributions as a way of getting you used to posting here - the more passionate, knowledgeable, opinionated people join in the conversation, the happier we are. Check out the TW Site Rules (if you haven't done so already).
Then dive right in. A quick reminder of the Picks Game rules is here. Please be careful to post your picks before matches start. New players are welcome, but if you haven't posted in the R32 or R16 we'll count your picks towards the Tribe stats, but not the overall tournament. Questions or issues can be handled by an eMail to Andrew.
So there you have it. Much has been done, but there is much to play for. Are Sahadev and patrick the modern day incarnations of the Delphic Oracle? Is Maria Sharapova really the Second Coming of Mother Theresa? Is Roger Federer likely to go down in history as a footnote in the Age of the Rear Admirables? Are they all bit players in the epic story of Mohamed Lahyani?
