A Change of Ends

Time to Move

2011-01-01T13:54:00.000-06:00

Hi Guys. I want to thank you all for your support of my tiny tennis blog. We've grown by leaps and bounds since March. So to keep up with our expanding size, I've decided to move to a new site for the new year. I will no longer be posting updates to this particular webpage, but A Change of Ends will be updated quite frequently at our new home: www.achangeofends.com!! Please be sure to bookmark our new address because we've got some great live tennis coverage planned for 2011.

So you want to check out my May 2010 coverage of the French Open or my July coverage of Legg Mason? No worries, just navigate over to the new site. All of our old posts have migrated too!

Serbia Wins 2010 Davis Cup

2010-12-07T01:57:00.004-06:00

I'm really happy for Serbia, I am. But at the same time, I'm absolutely devastated for France. It's really tough to choose a favorite when both sides have so much heart, and to watch it come down to the fifth rubber, whoever lost would have been heartbroken. Serbia really does deserve this. It's been the same four guys all year (Novak Djokovic, Janko Tipsarevic, Viktor Troicki, Nenad Zimonjic) and, while they wouldn't have had a chance without Djokovic, their wins weren't completely dependent on him. France doesn't have one superstar like Nole, but an amazing all star team that revolves around Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Michael Llodra, Gael Simon, Julien Benneteau, and Arnaud Clement. Each and every one of these guys can be a threat on any given day and three of them are perfect for Davis Cup because they can transition between singles and doubles, unlike Zimonjic who is strictly a doubles guy.

Novak Djokovic did exactly what his team needed him to this weekend. He tied things up on Friday, taking some of the pressure off the key doubles match on Saturday, and more importantly he kept his team alive at 2-1 on Sunday morning by beating Gael Monfils. However, the hard work would lay on the shoulders of the men chosen to play the fifth and final rubber. While I mentioned that personally I would have chosen Janko Tipsarevic to face off against Michael Llodra, clearly Victor Troicki was the right choice. He didn't let the expectations of an entire nation bother him and he was in control from the very beginning of Sunday's match. In France's defense, I truly believe Michael Llodra was the right choice. He was clutch in doubles and has carried his team through several ties this season. Plus, as much as I love Gilles Simon, he is not a pressure player and I doubt the outcome would have been different if Forget had played Simon instead of Llodra.

I've watched this video so many times and every single time, I feel the jubilation of Serbian team and I want to cry after watching the footage of the French team. While Nole and Co. celebrated, an inconsolable Llodra calmly walked off court hanging his head and proceeded to weep into a towel. It was possibly one of the most heartbreaking scenes in tennis. That's the trouble with playing the final rubber. Llodra was not to blame for the French to defeat, and even if you believe he was, Monfils was just as much at fault. Although, I have to say that Julien Benneteau trying to console his friends was quite adorable. The other guys just stood around awkwardly while Guy Forget patted Llodra on the back.

All in all, this was one of the most exciting Davis Cup ties in recent memory and Serbia truly deserved to win. It's obvious that it not only meant a lot to the Davis Cup team but to the nation as a whole. For a country like the US, a Davis Cup win would go unnoticed, but I believe they're still partying in Belgrade and that level of commitment to tennis is very exciting to see. But don't even get me started on the head shaving thing. That deserves its own post.

I've Got a Feeling: France's Road to the Davis Cup Final

2010-12-05T03:14:00.004-06:00

Here is a series of three videos documenting France's journey to the 2010 Davis Cup final. As it stands, the French lead the tie 2-1 after some pretty heroic play by Clement/Llodra to come back from two sets to love down against Troicki/Zimonjic. Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils will face off in the morning to see if the tie will go to a decisive fifth rubber. If the fifth is live, I'd play Tipsarevic and Llodra, but there are plenty who disagree. Anyway, this weekend's final has nothing to do with the videos below. First, I would like to note that I do not speak French, at all. So, these clips may make perfect sense if you can understand what they're saying, but I think they were only made more amusing by the fact that I couldn't understand. Feel free to watch for yourself (although I warn you they're long,) but I've also included a few of the questions that really puzzled me. If you want to cut down on watching time, I suggest watching Part 2.

I like the music during the player introductions. I feel like I'm about to watch some kooky 'band of superheroes' movie. Why are they eating a formal dinner in a locker room and why is Richard cutting Gael's meat? Gilles and Richard have to carry Bennedra's bags as the non-participating members, lol. At 9:16, please note this is the first appearance of I've Got a Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas, but by no means the last.

We kick things off again with I've Got a Feeling. Also, if you're going to watch anything from these three videos, watch the very beginning of Part 2. I want to party with the French Davis Cup team, and by that I mostly mean I want to hang with Michael Llodra because he is both crazy and awesome. Add in Gael's rockin' dance moves and Jo's flare for karaoke and we're good. I'm so tempted to make a Gasquet joke here, but I almost feel like it's in bad taste. 4:35-a) this is hilarious and b) Guy Forget can't do push ups correctly. Why do they sing so much? At 5:22, I would really like to know what possible situation occurred where Gilles had to go downstairs in jeans and no shirt. I'm not complaining, but I'm really curious. I really really wish I understood what went along with the hand motions at 6:25. Please note that I've Got a Feeling resumes at 8:15. Why isn't Feli wearing a shirt? Again, not complaining, just an observation.

Does Forget ever shut up? I know he's the captain, but I don't think anyone else has spoken for the entire 30 minutes. Also, I made up an entire monologue for this part since I don't understand it, but I somehow doubt my version is really how it went down. I'm guessing this conversation may have been Forget justifying his player choices for the semis. But I could be totally off the mark. I love the head bobbing at 6:20. It's so perfectly in sync. I also love the fact that they are playing scrabble. By now you should notice that I've Got a Feeling reemerges at 9:05. Finally, I've got nothing to describe what's going on at 9:42, but I thought I should point it out.

I promise a real post on Monday to recap all the Davis Cup action, or even tomorrow night if I get around to it. But for now, this late night rambling will have to do. If you happen to speak French and watch these videos, feel free to clue me in on anything I may have missed.

WTF Final Thoughts, Almost

2010-11-30T01:17:00.003-06:00

What did I learn from the 2010 WTF? You can't manufacture drama. Matches between the two best players in the world always have a certain dramatic flair, particularly when the two best players have one of the most famous tennis rivalries of all time, but the media hype around this match was astounding, not to mention the fog, blaring music, and light effects provided by the O2. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the match, it was great tennis, but there was no possibility of it rivaling the tension of Wimbledon 2008 or Australia 2009. I just don't think a best of 3 sets match could top a best of 5. In my book, more tennis is better, particularly when it comes to these two.

What I hated most about all the media attention was the general consensus that this was do or die for Roger Federer. I read numberous stories telling me a loss would make Roger totally irrelevant in the Fedal rivalry, and most likely in future Grand Slams, like this WTF match was his last chance to beat Nadal. That's absurd. On any given day one tennis player can beat another, and when that player is Roger Federer, the odds are never bad. He may not always be the favorite, but he is always a favorite.

Federer was in control of this match and yet nothing seemed to silence the critics. He went for too much, or he didn't go for enough, or Nadal gave up the match because he was fatigued from his 3 hour semifinal. Do you know how ridiculous that is? Nadal is easily the fittest guy on tour. He's played 5+ hour matches and come back to win a match the next day. Nadal didn't make any excuses for his loss, so I don't see why fans or journalists should. Roger played better and he deserved to win. I'm sure Rafa will repay the favor sometime in the future.

Now let's look ahead a little. Does this give Roger momentum heading into the Australian? Absolutely. Does that mean he will win? Not necessarily. Will Rafa ever win the WTF? Yes. He's only 24 and has plenty more chances. Plus, he made a lot of headway this year just by making it to the final.

I have one more WTF post up my sleeve, which should go up tomorrow. It's a fun one.

Image by AP.

Hilarity Ensues

2010-11-29T23:17:00.004-06:00

So, I saw that someone posted this gem on twitter earlier this week and couldn't help but share.

What have we learned? Before we go any further, I should note that the most advanced photo editing software I own is Paint. You've been warned, so proceed with caution.

In a movie about his life, Novak Djokovic would like to be portrayed by Robert De Niro. For this to work, Robert De Niro will have to stay the same age for another like 40 years and the movie will have to be about old man Novak. Funfact: De Niro sat in Nole's box during the 2007 US Open Final, giving us a possible rationale for this joke.

Soderling would prefer Russel Crow. Yeah, I honestly can't figure out where that came from, but here's what it would look like.

ARod would of course be portrayed by Seann William Scott because they are basically identical. Ignoring the crude crop job, tell me this isn't just a regular photo of Andy Roddick.

Later, the interviewer moved on to fears. I really didn't know that many people were afraid of snakes, at least not as the first fear they could think of. Roddick, Ferrer, and Djokovic all mentioned snakes as their fear. Rafa's afraid of the dark and Andy Murray, being the upbeat guy that he is, is afraid of death. Way to be a downer Andy.

First kiss? David sounds a little nostalgic for Catalina. Rafa doesn't even have to answer questions with the goofy smile and nervous laughter. And what does comedic genius Andy Murray have to say? John.

Well, you don't really need my commentary, just watch the video. Plus, the Andy Roddick photo's starting to creep me out. So, this wraps up my coverage of the 2010 World Tour Finals, if only a few days late.

Watch out for Davis Cup this weekend.

WTF Finals

2010-11-28T09:46:00.004-06:00

So I've managed to borrow a computer to write this and have planted myself firmly in front of the TV for today. At the moment I'm watching a repeat of yesterday's semifinals, which means some pretty great tennis. As I expected, Nadal and Federer emerged as victors and will play each other in today's final. In my last post, I mistakenly said this would be the first meeting for the two in 2010. Today's match will actually be the second meeting between Roger and Rafa this year as they played in the Madrid final. Before I get too wrapped up in the match we're about to see, I want to talk about the semifinals, or at the very least, the Murray/Nadal match. This was great tennis. For some reason Murray and Nadal always play entertaining matches against each other. I think Rafa sometimes raises Andy's game. I didn't give Murray much of a chance going into this match because of the way he played against Federer in the round robin stage. However, even after losing the first set in a tiebreak, Murray came back and broke Rafa twice to take the second set. After being broken early in the third, Murray managed to break back when Rafa was serving for the match at 5-4 to even things out, eventually forcing a tiebreak. However, we all now how it ended, as it often does, Rafa found a way to win and will face Roger Federer in the today's final. Roger Federer had a much easier road to the final yesterday, beating Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-4.

So, there are already hundreds of previews out there for this match, and every other Fedal match that has occurred. We all know the stats. Nadal leads their head to head 14-7. But, if you exclude clay and grass, they are 3-3 on hard courts. I think this is meaningless. It's not so lopsided that either player can feel completely confident that they will steamroll the other. They've played each other 21 times so I'm sure this match has become routine for them, but for us as fans, this is what we have waited for. This is a completely fitting way to end a year of great tennis.

Rafael Nadal has had a spectacular year, winning three of the four major tournaments, including his first US Open to round out a career Grand Slam. 2010 has been a different story for Roger Federer. He has had a year that any other player would be proud of, winning one Slam, making the semifinals of another, and two quarterfinals. But for Roger Federer, critics consider this the end. He loss in the quartfinals at the French Open meant an end to his amazing streak of semifinal appearances and his loss in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon was nothing less then gut wrenching. This isn't the end though. Federer is not washed up and he looks hungry. Both men would gain from a victory today. This is the lone title that eludes Rafael Nadal now that he has the career Grand Slam as well as the Olypmic gold medal, but he has never advanced past the semifinal stage at the World Tour Finals. On the other side, Federer is quite familiar with the WTF final. He will be competing for his fifth title at the WTF, which would tie the record of five WTF wins.

I'm not going to make a final prediction because I really have no idea what's going to happen. Both guys come into this match with a perfect record at this year's WTF, although Rafa has dropped two sets along the way. What I do know is that whoever wins, both guys will fight and one will win gracefully and the other will lose gracefully, because that's what they do. There is no classier rivalry in tennis. I just wish their fans treated each other with the respect that the players do.

WTF Day 6 & 7

2010-11-26T23:19:00.004-06:00

I'm visiting home for Thanksgiving and for some reason, my computer and my parents' wifi don't get along. All week, I've had a couple of brief windows to use the internet, which has hampered both my ability to write about tennis and find spectacular shopping deals. Anyway, I wasn't able to write a preview for Day 6 at the WTF, so I'll have to do a recap instead. I don't think anyone was surprised by Friday's results. Rafael Nadal made a pretty strong case for winning this year's WTF by beating Tomas Berdych 7-6(3) 6-1 and going 3-0 in his round robin matches. However, Roger Federer topped group B, also going 3-0 in the round robin stage. In the second match of the day, Novak Djokovic sailed into the semifinals after beating Andy Roddick 6-2 6-3. Roddick worked so hard at the end of the season just to make it back to the World Tour Finals, so it's kind of a shame to see him go out without winning a single match. The same could be said for David Ferrer.

In case you are unfamiliar with the WTF format, the top two men from each group advance to the semifinals where the winner of Group A will meet the runner up of Group B and visa versa. Both undefeated thus far, Rafael Nadal won Group A and Roger Federer emerged as the winner of Group B. Nadal will face Andy Murray and Federer will play Novak Djokovic in tomorrow's semifinal matches. These are the right matches. While Andy Murray may no longer be number four, these are undeniably the best four tennis players in the world right now. Nadal and Federer are the two best players, and each won their group quite convincingly.

Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Murray - Not Before 2pm GMT

The top guys play each other a lot, over the last three years, Nadal and Murray have met 12 times. Rafa leads the head to head 8-4, but any time you hear him talk about Murray, you would think Andy had the winning record. Rafa has great respect for the danger in Andy's game, possibly too much. Murray's four wins came at the '08 US Open (we all know Rafa wasn't at his best in Sept. '08,) Rotterdam in '09, the 2010 Australian Open (Nadal retired,) and the 2010 Toronto Masters. Clearly Andy poses a threat, but Nadal's track record makes him a strong favorite going into tomorrow's match, even if he doesn't think so. Andy played great tennis against Ferrer and Soderling in the round robin matches, but had no answers when playing Roger Federer. If he had trouble with Roger, I'm going to venture a guess he'll have trouble with Rafa. Nadal in two.

Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic - Not Before 8pm GMT

Roger Federer has yet to drop a set in this year's World Tour Finals. He is in a quest to tie the record for the most World Tour Finals won (5) and so far his case looks just as convincing if not more than Rafael Nadal. Federer and Djokovic have played each other eighteen times over the last four years, and like Rafa/Murray, Fed has won twice the number of matches Nole has (12-6.) Most recently they played in the Basel final, which is also an indoor hard court event, where Roger Federer came out on top in three sets. Fed also won their semifinal in Shanghai this year, another indoor hard court tournament. However, who could forget their US Open battle in this year's semifinals, where Djokovic dethroned the six time finalist? I honestly think that the crowds are going to get what they want this time. Everyone was hoping for a Federer/Nadal final at the US Open and Djokovic deprived us of that, but I don't think it'll happen this time. We haven't seen a Fedal meeting all year and it's only fitting that we get one in the last tournament of the year. Federer in three.

Pic by Getty.

WTF Day 5

2010-11-25T01:47:00.003-06:00

It's nearly 3am and I'm pretty exhausted so I'm planning on keeping tonight's entry short. Today or Yesterday, I'm not really sure anymore, Day 4, one thing I expected happened and one thing I definitely didn't expect happened. First, Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic, winning both of his round robin matches so far. I honestly thought the match would be closer, but after getting off to a rough start in his first match against Andy Roddick, Rafa has clearly found his form and is a definite contender for the London title. Now the thing I didn't expect, Andy Roddick lost...to Tomas Berdych. Don't get me wrong, Tomas Berdych is amazing, but he hasn't really been amazing since the summer, so I wasn't expecting much. This was a great win for Berdych as it keeps him in the mix for a semi final spot, and rather devastating for Roddick who has yet to win a match at this year's WTF. Day 5 brings us two more interesting match ups.

Roger Federer vs. Robin Soderling - Not Before 2pm GMT

So we've seen this match before, 15 times to be exact. Only one of those times has Robin managed to beat Roger Federer. That's a pretty comfortable head to head. Plus, Roger has won both of his round robin matches so far without dropping a set, while Robin has won one match and lost the other. Even though Soderling has recently reached a career high and won his first Masters 1000 event, I have to go with Federer in this one. He seems at home in London, on a quest for a fifth World Tour Finals title. Better yet, I think he'll make it to the semis without dropping a set. Federer in two.

Andy Murray vs. David Ferrer - Not Before 8pm GMT

The hometown boy has been given the night match. He had a tough loss against Roger Federer on Tuesday and just looked all around flat, so hopefully a big crowd will help pump him up a bit tonight. Another point in Andy's favor is that his opponent is not Roger Federer, it's David Ferrer, who hasn't won a match yet at this year's tournament. Interestingly, David leads their head to head 3-1. However, David's three wins all came on clay, while Andy's lone victory was on a hard court. Even given Tuesday's performance, I think Andy has the edge in this match. Murray in two.

In other news, Serena Williams has officially pulled out of the 2011 Australian Open and I watched a very funny WTF video today. I will report back on both of these things tomorrow, once I've gotten some sleep.

WTF Day 4

2010-11-23T23:46:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it's already Day 4. Time flies. Anyway, it's Day 2 for Group A and hopefully we have two awesome matches coming our way. But before we check out Wednesdays action, let's do a quick recap of what went down today. Fed beat Andy M, convincingly (6-4 6-2.) What happened to the Andy that played Ferrer on Sunday? That guy was on fire, and this guy, well, wasn't. No worries if you're a Murray fan, he still has a chance to advance to the semifinals with a win over Ferrer on Thursday. In the evening match, Robin Soderling beat David Ferrer 7-5 7-5. I still feel bad for Ferrer. He fights so hard and comes so close to winning, but never really does. However, this was a much needed win for Sod. Although, something stands in his way of making the semifinals, and that something is Roger Federer. Soderling is 1-14 against Roger Federer. I'll be back with an in depth preview of these two matches tomorrow. On to Wednesday's action...

Tomas Berdych vs. Andy Roddick - Not Before 2pm GMT

I'm still a little torn up over Andy's almost win over Nadal on Monday, but Tomas Berdych is no Rafael Nadal. We saw that at this year's Wimbledon. Even better for Andy, he's playing way better than he was this June and Tomas is playing way worse. Honestly, the way Berdych as been playing the last few months, I'd be surprised if he wins any of his three round robin matches, which is sad because he put in a lot of hard work to get here. I'd love to see Roddick advance to the semis and a win here would keep him in contention. Better yet, Andy's 6 and 2 against Berdych. Roddick in two.

Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic - Not Before 8pm GMT

As expected, this match will be played in front of a packed house tomorrow night. When players of this caliber meet, the match can go either way. Rafa may lead the head to head 15-7, but that still means that Nole has won 7 of there meetings, why can't this be number 8? Both guys won their opening matches on Monday, which puts them out in front in the race for the semis, but a win tomorrow will make one of them almost a lock. While Rafa struggled in his match against Andy Roddick and Djokovic breezed past Berdych, Rafa had the tougher opponent on Monday. I think his match against Roddick may have been a wake up call. Rafa in three.

WTF Day 3

2010-11-22T19:41:00.004-06:00

Unfortunately I spent most of my day at the airport (thank you AirTran,) which meant I did not get the opportunity to watch any of the WTF matches, but I did follow my twitter very closely. I honestly thought I would be reporting some very surprising news tonight, as Andy Roddick was up a set and a break against Rafael Nadal, but like a good #1, Nadal fought his way back into the match and took the third set 6-4. While I would have preferred a win for Andy in his first round robin match, the fact that he almost won at least means he's playing well. He certainly has a chance against Berdych on Wednesday and a win could boost his confidence going into the Djokovic match. I almost forgot to mention the other match today, another blowout. Djokovic made short work of Tomas Berdych, winning 6-3 6-3. Anyway, let's check out the matches that are set for Tuesday.

Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray - Not before 2pm GMT

Both of these guys are playing great tennis. Somehow Murray actually leads their head to head, including their last two encounters. Although, Andy never seems to win the ones that count, i.e. Grand Slams. These two played in the round robin stage of last year's WTF and Fed won in three sets. While Murray's display against Soderling was impressive, I'm going with Federer this time. He creamed David and somehow he's favored to win this whole thing, even though Nadal's won basically everything this year, go figure. But, I've revised my predictions a bit and I believe Andy and Fed will both be moving on to the semis. Fed in three.

Robin Soderling vs. David Ferrer - Not before 8pm GMT

This should be an interesting match up. All in, Robin leads their head to head 8-4, but they've played five times this year alone and the head to head falls to 3-2. If you narrow things down even more and look at their head to head on hard courts in 2010, David actually leads Robin 2-1 and all three of those matches were post-US Open. Both guys came out looking kind of flat in their first matches. I think that expectations may be starting to weigh on Soderling. He's the new world #4 and people expect him to play that way. BTW, this has huge implications for the Australian Open if Murray doesn't win back the #4 spot this week. I digress. David's a fighter and I think he might actually be able to pull this off. Plus, he's all tiny and wears grey suits. I don't know what that has to do with anything, but it's adorable. David in three.

I would add a photo to this, but only my netbook is working and I'm tired, so I'll have to edit tomorrow. Night guys.

WTF Day 2

2010-11-22T02:17:00.004-06:00

So I'm 1/2 on predictions, but I'll take it. Andy Murray easily took down Robin Soderling 6-2 6-4. It looks like the home town advantage and the extra rest did Andy some good. Federer also scored a routine win over David Ferrer 6-1 6-4. That makes for David 0-11 against Roger and most likely was not the way he wanted to start his quest for the title. I may just have to change my Group B predictions with Andy Murray playing this way. Anyway, it's already day 2, so let's take a look at what's going on today.

Photo by Getty.

Novak Djokovic vs. Tomas Berdych - Stars 12:15pm GMT

In July, I totally would've taken Berdych. He played amazing tennis throughout the summer and then the US Open came. After losing in Round 1 to Michael Llodra, Berdych has barely even won a match. Djokovic, on the other hand, made it all the way to the US Open final and even took a set off Rafael Nadal. However, Nole has admitted that the Davis Cup is weighing heavy on his mind. In a little over a week, Serbia will take on France looking to win its very first Davis Cup title and Djokovic will be the team's headline player. Even though he's a bit preoccupied, I think Djokovic has the upper hand in this match.

Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Roddick - Starts 6:15pm GMT

I'm pretty sure that Rafa's the favorite regardless of who he's playing. He's clearly the safe choice here. Andy Roddick rallied at the end of the season to win the last spot at the WTF. This is the eighth time he's competed in the World Tour Finals and his results here have never been great. The only good news for Andy is that he's not in Roger's group. But, I really don't see him beating Nadal right now. However, lucky for him, two guys come out of Group A, but he'll have to beat Djokovic and Berdych to capture that spot.

WTF Day 1

2010-11-21T02:25:00.005-06:00

Tomorrow marks the start of the 2010 World Tour Finals in at the O2. The only time I've missed living in London more than now was during Wimbledon. Somehow I chose the six months that did not include two of the best tennis tournaments in the world. Anyway, Group B is in action, which means Soderling, Murray, Ferrer, and Federer.

Andy Murray vs. Robin Soderling - Starts 12:15pm GMT

This one's a tough call. Murray is well rested, but Soderling has the momentum coming in after winning his first Masters 1000 event in Paris. It's pretty incredible to think that Soderling has now surpassed Murray in the rankings, but he's only won one Masters event. Both guys have appeared in two Grand Slam finals. The guys are 2-2 in the head to head, but the only match after 2006, occurred at this year's Indian Wells Masters event, which Robin Soderling won. Don't hold me to it, but I'm taking Soderling in this one. Plus, if you've seen the pics from WTF photo day, Sod looks like he's got some kind of evil plan stirring around in his head. I mean really, he looks kind of like the joker here.

Roger Federer vs. David Ferrer - Starts 6:15pm GMT

I already explained poor David's situation. He did an awesome job making it to the WTF, but I think Federer is just too tall an order. Federer had his best appearance ever at Bercy, making the semifinals (sidenote, it's very weird to think that there's a tournament Federer hasn't made the finals of, or won for that matter.) Also, apparently Federer's the favorite to win the WTF title. I'm not quite sure when this happened, since the media seems to think he's all washed up, but that's why you've got to keep on top of the tennis news.

Also, can someone please be in charge of telling David Ferrer what everyone else is wearing? First he shows up to the Prime Minister's house in a light grey suit and now all he's got is a sport coat and some grey pants. Maybe Rafa could give him a heads up next time. Come on man, even Andy Roddick put on a suit.

For those of you who are lucky enough to be in London right now, apparently there are plenty of tickets left for this year's World Tour Finals. This is an amazing opportunity and I urge you all to take advantage. These are the top eight players in the world. The level of tennis will be awesome. Seriously, please go, and if you do, take pictures for me.

Images by Getty.

Final Thoughts from Champaign

2010-11-21T00:48:00.005-06:00

I'm going to try to keep this one short. I've got a lot of tennis writing to do tonight and I'd like to turn in before dawn, plus I didn't take very many notes today. I arrived at Atkins a little before noon for the start of the doubles final featuring Raven Klaasen/Izak van der Merwe and Ryler Deheart/Pierre-Ludovic Duclos. Now, I had some trouble deciding who to support, because both teams featured one member with a decidedly awesome name (i.e. Izak van der Merwe and Pierre-Ludovic Duclos.) Izak and Raven were kind of the underdogs, but Ryler and Pierre were a crowd favorite since Ryler's an Illini. Tough call, but I think I was leaning towards Deheart/Duclos.

Before the match, I caught Izak chatting with some friends. Apparently he planned to drive 14 hours directly after the match so he could catch his flight back to South Africa. When asked why he booked a flight so close to the final, he told them that he didn't think they would make it that far. Isn't that always how things work out? Both teams elected for black shirts and white shorts. Klaasen/van der Merwe won the toss and elected to serve. I was quite impressed with Izak van der Merwe. He started off serving really well and even when he was pressured, he was often able to dig himself out of a hole. Plus, he took advantage of a lot of opportunities when they presented themselves. After facing match points in the second set, Klaasen/van der Merwe came back to win both the second set and the third set doubles tie-break. That was pretty much all my notes from doubles. Ryler Deheart gave a very nice speech about playing at his alma mater and jokingly apologized to Pierre. All four guys appeared at various points of the singles match to watch a few games. Ryler and Pierre stuck around for a long time talking to various Illinois staff.

I opted not to do a commentary like yesterday's for the singles final between Amer Delic and Alex Bogomolov Jr, who is apparently called Bogey for short. I think the exhaustion was starting to set in. The match was basically a series of long baseline rallies. Both guys were hitting the ball big and serving well. One of the interesting differences between the two was the way they dealt with set backs. After a bad call or a poorly hit shot, Bogey was visibly frustrated, but Amer seemed to simmer quietly until a bad call in the second set set him off a bit. In a short argument with the chair umpire, Delic yelled out, "Who do you think you are? Are you hawkeye?" which I found fairly amusing. Each player was given a warning for ball abuse at some point in the match. I honestly didn't even know that was a thing, players usually get warned for racket abuse or language when angry. Delic had several chances in the second set tie-break, including a match point. However, Bogomolov recaptured the lead, the second set, and a lot of momentum going into the third. Delic lost his serve early in the third and things wrapped up 5-7 7-6(6) 6-3 in Bogomolov's favor. It was his first title since 2006, so you've got to admit the guy deserved it. He had very kind words for Amer in his speech. Delic also gave a short speech and stuck around for quite a while after the match. I'm fairly certain his sister and baby nephew were in attendance and he sat down on court to play with the baby. It was pretty adorable.

Since both matches went all the way, I was a little behind schedule and wanted to hit the road as soon as possible. After 3 long hours of driving, a pit stop at McDonald's and the gas station, and a phone call from my favorite rockstar (yes, this seriously happened!) I was finally back in St. Louis.

Fun Facts for the Day:

To save some cash, many of the challenger players stay with host families, including both of today's doubles teams as well as Amer Delic and his own doubles partner Bobby Reynolds.

Amer Delic warmed up for his match with a guy wearing jeans and loafers, an odd choice for playing tennis.

Bleacher seats are terribly uncomfortable.

Amer Delic looks bears a serious resemblance to Roger Federer.

I think Amer Delic gave his creepy mustache to Alex Bogomolov Jr.

I don't think I will ever get the hang of pumping gas. Just in case you think I'm an idiot, I'm not, I'm just from New Jersey and we don't do that. And yes, I know I'm opening myself up for a lot of jokes here.

Champaign Semifinals

2010-11-19T22:51:00.006-06:00

After an unfortunate alarm clock incident, and a very late start, and a 3 hour drive through monotonous farmland, I finally arrived in Champaign, Illinois for the JSM Challenger event. I found my way to the Atkins Tennis Center and sorted out my media credentials, which essentially saved my the $3 admission fee. Still cool and the tournament staff were very friendly. I headed inside to catch the second set of the first doubles semifinal between Klaasen/van der Merwe and Hamui/Singh. It was actually a pretty good match, even though I've never heard of any of these guys before. Me and the 10 other people enjoyed it thoroughly. I guess challengers are as underappreciated as they seem. Klaasen/van der Merwe won and I'm still not sure how to pronounce Izak Van Der Merwe's name. I'll listen closely at tomorrow's final.

I was only there for a half an hour before the afternoon session ended, but that worked out well for me. In my rush to leave the house this morning, I decided to skip breakfast and lunch. I wouldn't have made it through another match without food. I headed off to check in to the hotel, the Hawthorne Suites, and grabbed an early dinner before the evening session.

I arrived back at Atkins around 5:50, where I learned that the Illinois players are il-line-aye, not il-ini, as I had previously thought. This shows you how much I know about sports that aren't tennis. Amer Delic and Jesse Witten were ready to go after some photo-op for the tourney sponsors. The turn out was a little better for the evening session, there were probably 30 people in the stands and another 30ish in the upper deck which is reserved for tournament guests (players guests, sponsors, patrons, etc.)

Funfact: The 1999 All-American was named Oliver Freelove. Do you think his parents were hippies?

The match started off with a double fault from Witten, who's serve looked a bit off throughout the warm up. A decent point and then another double, not the best start in the world. Luckily, the serves that went in were good ones and Witten was able to hold. Delic holds at love and Witten double faults some more, obviously frustrated and the racket tossing begins. The upper deck was quite loud throughout the first match and the umpire had to continuously shush them, which was pretty amusing. Unfortunately, the older gentlemen sitting behind me decided they needed to commentate the match. Like every single shot. It's great if you want to comment on a really great shot or a crazy miss to your friend, but really every point? At this point, I was surprised Witten managed to hold twice with the amount of double faults he kept hitting, but the rest of his game looked good. Jesse's a little on the short side for a tennis player and I swear he jumped like 2 feet in the air to hit an overhead.

I have no idea how it happened, but Witten managed to get the first break of the match to go up 4-2. After a few deuces and plenty of doubles, Witten consolidated his break and goes up 5-2. Delic holds and Witten will serve for the set, which he wins 6-3. I would also like to note that Amer Delic has gotten rid of the super creepy mustache, so good on him for that.

Unfortunately, Witten continues to serve with absolutely no consistency and Delic goes up a break in the second, 3-1. He squeaks through his own service game to consolidate his lead, 4-1.

I stop to check out the photos hanging above the court. The largest of which is a picture of the 2003 NCAA Champion Team, including Amer Delic and Ryler Deheart (who would play in doubles following this match.) Back to the match, Delic stops play at 40-love on Witten's serve, but the ball is called in. He will serve for the set at 5-3. Love-30, 30 all, 40-30, and Delic takes the second set 6-3.

At 30 all in the third game of the third set, Jesse double faults and fires his racket at the back curtain, earning himself a warning from the chair ump for using obscenities. The Illini are pleased when Amer goes up a break 3-2 in the decider. However, an extremely unlucky net cord gives Witten a break chance, which he takes to even the set at 3 all. At 4 all, 15 all, Delic seems to look at the scoreboard in disgust, but he follows that with a break to go up 5-4 with the chance to serve for the match.

Love-15, 15 all (questionable call sets Witten off again,) 30-15. Witten pauses to have a discussion with the lineswoman he dislikes, loudly exclaiming, "Why do you still have a job?" Two match points and Delic takes the win, 3-6 6-3 6-4. Witten continued his argument with the chair umpire after the match.

I was looking forward to a break, but Amer changed his shirt (to match partner Bobby Reynolds) and started stretching for his next match. They were going to play straight through. Delic/Reynolds vs. Deheart/Duclos. I was pleasantly surprised by Pierre-Ludovic Duclos, as I didn't really know anything about him before today.

Throughout doubles, Delic's knee seemed to be an issue. He played well, but he kept grabbing at it. At one point Amer requested something from the chair, but it was not apparent what is was. Later someone delivered what appeared to be jelly beans and potato chips. He was also drinking a coke on the changeovers instead of water or gatorade. I'm guessing he needed sugar, but I can't imagine that coke is the best sports drink.

Anyway, the match was pretty close, ending 6-3 6(5)-7 10-8 in favor of Ryler Deheart and Pierre-Ludovic Duclos, who will face Raven Klaasen and Izak van der Merwe in the final tomorrow at noon. The singles final between Alex Bogomolov Jr and Amer Delic will follow.

I'll be in Champaign again tomorrow for both finals, so look for a recap tomorrow night. I've also got a World Tour Finals preview in the works and a couple of fun articles, so keep checking back for updates.

JSM Challenger - Champaign Illinois

2010-11-18T21:09:00.002-06:00

Originally I had planned on driving out to Champaign after class today. It's about 3 hours from St. Louis. However, I decided to stay in town for the night since I would've only had time to see one match today. So, I will be driving up bright and early tomorrow morning, which should be interesting considering I'm going to the midnight showing of Harry Potter tonight. That's alright, I'll find time for sleep eventually. In preparation for my trip, here's a look at tomorrow's order of play. Please keep up with me on twitter @achangeofends as I will be live tweeting from the site. Depending on my access to internet, I will also be posting here throughout the day, or at the very least nightly.

Friday, November 19th Order of Play

Starting at 12pm

Singles Semifinal 1: Alex BOGOMOLOV JR (USA) vs. Bobby REYNOLDS (USA)

Followed by

Doubles Semifinal 1: Raven KLAASEN (RSA)/Izak VAN DER MERWE (RSA) vs. Johnny HAMUI (USA)/Karunuday SINGH (IND)

Not before 6pm

Singles Semifinal 2: Amer DELIC (BIH) vs. Jesse WITTEN (USA)

After suitable rest

Doubles Semifinal 2: Ryler DEHEART (USA)/Pierre-Ludovic DUCLOS (CAN) vs. Amer DELIC (BIH)/Bobby REYNOLDS (USA)

The Calm Before the Final Storm

2010-11-18T01:17:00.003-06:00

Hi guys. So, I haven't completely fallen off the face of the earth, but close to it. Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching and apparently that means tons of exams for this college senior. Luckily, this ridiculous workload coincides with some downtime in the tennis world. Anyway, things are heating up again next week and I'll be home for break, which means plenty of time to catch up on my tennis. It also seems that the fates are against me here, as I've written this article twice and it's accidentally been deleted.

I'll come up with something a little more in depth, but my initial thoughts on the WTF are as follows...

Group A: Rafa and Nole are clear favorites here. I hate to count him out, but Tomas Berdych has had some pretty lackluster results post-Wimbledon, and that's putting it lightly. I don't see him beating Rafa in the round robin or and Nole's going to be a tall order. I'm on the fence about Andy Roddick. On one hand, he hasn't had the best year and barely made it to London. On the other hand, Roddick fought hard for that last spot in London and has been doing quite well. Plus, the guy's been in eight consecutive world tour finals, although he's never made it past the semifinals. I've got to go with the crowd and pick Rafa and Nole to come out of Group A.

Group B: Poor David Ferrer is super underrated. He manages to push the best players right to the brink, but always seems to falter at the end. No one's really giving him a chance next week. When you're talking about the Top 8 players in the world, everyone has a chance, but it's true, Roger Federer's chances are a little better than David Ferrer's. Robin Soderling had a great run last week, winning his first Masters 1000 title in Paris. Hopefully, a week is enough recovery time and he'll arrive at the O2 refreshed and well rested. With his Paris win, Soderling supplanted Murray as the world number four, so Murray may be hungry to gain some extra points on his homecourt. Last up, Roger Federer. Enough said. Clearly he has a chance at the title. I have no real rationale for this, but I'm going to say that Federer and Soderling come out of Group B. Don't hold me to it.

In other news, I will be covering the semifinals and finals of the Champaign Challenger in Illinois this Friday and Saturday. Check back for updates.

Finally, remember to keep looking for my articles over at TennisGrandstand. It's a great source of tennis news from different view points since there are several writers.

I Spoke Too Soon: Elena Retires

2010-10-30T02:50:00.002-05:00

All was well in the tennis world when I went to sleep last night. The Doha semifinalists were set, so I didn’t anticipate any exciting news to come from today’s meaningless matches. Then I woke up and checked my twitter, only to find hundreds of tweets about Elena Demetieva’s retirement in Doha. In my sleepy haze, I first assumed this meant Elena had retired from her match against Francesca Schiavone, but as I read on, it became clear that this was much bigger news. Elena Dementieva had lost her final match at the Year End Championships in Doha and had announced her retirement from tennis. I was floored. I mean, I know Dementieva hasn’t had her best year. She lost in the second round of the Australian Open and was unable to play Wimbledon due to an injury. However, she made the fourth round of the US Open and was a semifinalist at the French, where she was forced to retire due to injury. For someone who seemed to be injured all year, she was still doing pretty well. She is currently ranked 9^th in the world and has performed noticeably better than several uninjured former top 10 stars. Image from Getty.

After the news settled in a bit and about a thousand articles appeared on the subject, I decided to watch the on court ceremony from after her match against Fran. There wasn’t a dry eye in the stadium, or in my living room. All of the other Doha ladies showed up to support Elena and even stoic Sam shed a tear. Elena is incredibly poised and I honestly don’t think anyone on tour has a more adorable mom. Elena is never the center of controversy and has always been an incredible ambassador for the sport. For the women’s tennis, that’s actually saying something.

I have to say I like her style. She managed to keep a huge secret all year and avoid the “How do you feel about playing your last (insert tournament here)?” question that accompanies announcing your retirement at the beginning of the season. Her announcement also wasn’t overly showy, it fit her perfectly.

I know Elena is generally referred to as the best player never to win a Grand Slam, but instead of looking at what could have been, let’s recap some of her accomplishments.

2008 Olympic Gold Medalist
2000 Olympic Silver Medalist
2 time Grand Slam Finalist
3 time Grand Slam Semifinalist
2 time Tour Championships Semifinalist
Former World #3

Not too shabby, is it?

I wish Elena the best of luck for her life after tennis.

Not to be upstaged, Kim Clijsters had an announcement of her own today. She plans to call it quits (again) after the 2012 Olympics in London so she and husband, Brian, can have a second child.

Stuff Happened This Week, Kind Of

2010-10-29T01:13:00.005-05:00

I haven’t had all that much to write about lately. I know the women’s Year End Championships are going on this week in Doha and I am keeping tabs on it, but still, things haven’t exactly been exciting. If you’ve got any questions about Doha, check out my Decoding Doha article at TennisGrandstand.

Doha Semifinals

So our semifinalists are all set, but the match ups are still up in the air. Sam Stosur has come out on top of the maroon group, while world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, came in second. Tomorrow’s white group match between Vera Zvonareva and Kim Clijsters will determine the winner and runner up of that group. The winner will take on Caro in the semis and the loser will take on Sam. I’ll check in with a finals preview over the weekend.

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova Vujacic

That’s not a mouthful at all. Maria Sharapova and boyfriend of one year, LA Laker, Sasha Vujacic have gotten engaged. Based on the photos, it looks like Sasha invested in a pretty hefty ring. Honestly, these two are adorable together. Maria actually managed to find a man who’s taller than she is. She’s 6’2”, so basketball player was really her only option other than a fellow tennis player. Plus, I have a feeling this wedding is going to be awesome. Can we get some kind of petition going to have Maria on Say Yes to the Dress? Photo by Getty Images.

In Other Wedding News…

Andy Murray’s older brother, Jamie, got married this week. As expected Andy and Jamie wore traditional Scottish attire, i.e. kilts. I know they’re a cultural tradition, but they are also pretty damn funny. Jamie met his wife, Alejandra while she was studying in London. P.S. why didn’t I meet a tennis player when I was studying in London? Some girls have all the luck.

In Other Andy Murray News…

Andy hurt his hand. Andy hurt his hand, while playing playstation. Yes, you read that correctly. Um, Andy, remember when Kim broke up with you? Do you remember why? Yeah, the playstation. Put it away before it ruins your personal life and your tennis career.

You’re Old, Get Over It

Thomas Muster’s back, after 11 years of retirement. Oh, yeah, and he’s 43. I mean, I applaud the effort, but does he really think he’s going to win anything? So far, he hasn’t even won a match. I don’t know if this is some sort of weird midlife crisis or Muster’s run out of money, but this is a kind of odd turn of events for a former number 1. I’m pretty sure we won’t be seeing Roger Federer on tour 14 years from now, and no I’m not comparing Muster to Federer. Although, I would not mind seeing Marat Safin return to the tour, at any age.

Eh, Why Not?

So apparently this comeback thing is here to stay. After winning two Champion Tour events, Mark Philippoussis has announced he would also like to come back to the ATP tour. Mark’s only 33 so I guess he has a chance. Although, I can’t help but think this is the start of a bad reality TV show. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen Philippoussis make that mistake.

In Other News

Jim Courier was chosen to replace Patrick McEnroe as the US Davis Cup captain. Pat Rafter will be taking the lead for the Australians.

There are tournaments happening in St. Petersburg, Vienna, and somewhere in France, but no one really seems to care.

Robin Soderling qualified for the World Tour Finals, leaving just 3 spots up for grabs.

It’s already 2:30am here and I would like to go to bed so you’ll have to wait for the rest of your news.

Last Week, In Photos

2010-10-20T21:16:00.011-05:00

So, Roger Federer played his first tournament since the US Open in Shanghai, and didn't look a bit rusty. He made the final. Oh yeah, and they gave him a pretty spectacular entrance. Check out this photo, fog and all. The only way this could've been better is if they lowered him onto Center Court amidst fireworks and some cheesy rock anthem like The Boys are Back in Town. Think about that one for next year, Shanghai. You know I'm right.

Roger played Robin in the quarterfinals. I believe this has become a pretty familiar face from Soderling. I like to call it the 'Seriously, Federer again? WTF, am I never going to catch a break?' look. The match ended in a 6-1, 6-1 beatdown. I'm telling you, Sod's luck is almost as bad as Roddick's when it comes to drawing Fed, and his head-to-head is just about as bad.

So, Andy played Roger in the final. I would like you to remember this awesome look a little later. Action shots are always pretty bad, but Andy Murray is just not photogenic. Also, my mom is convinced that he physically cannot close his mouth. Honestly, the photographic evidence kind of backs up that claim.

I mean really, he looks like a crazy homeless man. If I saw him on the street, I would cross it.

Fed stopped mid-match to show us some pilates before hitting the ball back. Nice form, Roger.

So you know how I said to remember that photo of Andy later? Yeah, let's compare to basically the same photo of Roger. Unlike Andy, Roger is extremely photogenic, just one more thing he is awesome at.

As much as the camera loves him, the fates weren't in Roger's favor on Sunday. Andy won in straights. Although, if he weren't holding the trophy, you probably couldn't tell. Gloomy much? It's cool Andy. We love you even if you are a sourpuss.

Oh wait, it's happy Andy, kind of. Can we go back to gloomy Andy?

Jurgen and Leander took home the doubles trophy, plus what looks like some kind of creepy smurf or toothpaste blob or something. What is up with the Asian tournaments and the weird stuffed animals? They are so creepy.

On the WTA tour, we were lucky enough to get this. First, Ana Ivanovic won her first tournament in two years. Awesome. Hopefully she can keep the momentum rolling through to next season. Even better, the trophy presentation included several of the Von Trapp children. How often do we see that?

Too Adorable

2010-10-18T23:10:00.011-05:00

I'm a sucker for a cute dog. Turns out tennis players love their dogs just as much as everyone else and lots of players even tweet photos of their pups. Andy Murray has taken things to a whole new level, creating a whole new twitter account just for his dog Maggie. It kills me to be away from my own dog for so much of the year so I can't even imagine how the players feel since they're rarely ever home.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at the players and the dogs they own because a dog says a lot about the owner.

I'm usually not a big fan of the Williams sisters, but they like dogs, so they can't be all that bad. This photo of Venus and her dog Harold is actually her twitter icon. I wonder if she brings Harold to tournaments. If I had to assign the Williams' a dog breed, it would certainly be something larger than Harold, so I'm a little surprised that both sisters have purse pooches. Although, I guess that means you can't take them on the road. No way you can travel with a Golden Retriever.

This next one is probably my second favorite on the list. Well, we know Sabine Lisicki likes to bring her dog Happy to tournaments. He even got his own guest badge at this year's US Open. Was security expecting an impostor? I highly doubt Happy was walking around by himself. Someone had to carry that badge. He is awfully cute though.

Next up is Andy Roddick. I really see Roddick as the all American guy, so every time he talked about his dog, I always imagined something like a Labrador, although I guess this little girl works too. Brooklyn and Andy both seem to love little Billie Jean (adorable name) tons. Plus, she looks like a great TV companion and seems to enjoy a good nap and tummy rub, much like my own puppy.

I think we all know this next dog. Who could forget Dulce upstaging Maria in those camera commercials?

Alright, this one is 100% my favorite. I nearly melted right into the floor when I saw this photo. Here's John Isner, shirtless, playing with his dog Magill. Does it really get better than that? I think not. John looks adorable. Magill looks super adorable. Everything about this picture is just right.

Do you recognize this cutie? This giant named Davis belongs to Fernando Verdasco. I'm a little surprised we don't have a photo of a shirtless Fernando with Davis. Fer rarely bothers to wear a shirt anyway. Why no cute puppy photo?

I don't think there's any player on tour who's quite so attached to their dog as Andy Murray. If I had to come up with a list of players who would be all gushy about their dogs, Andy would not have been on it. I didn't think Andy gushed about anything. However, he actually got little Maggie her very own twitter (which I assume is run by Kim) and often tweets about missing her. Today Andy told us that Maggie came to pick him up at the airport and provided us with this photo.

This last photo came from Devin Britton's twitter. He and his dog Caroline were taking a nice walk in the park.

A Change of Ends Update

2010-10-18T22:12:00.003-05:00

Hi guys. Recently I feel like I've been starting every post with an apology, if I've been posting at all. There have been a few reasons that updates have been so sparse. First, the Asia swing at the end of the tennis season is crazy hard to watch. I don't get the Tennis Channel and even if I did, the matches are on around 3am. I'm a die hard fan, but I reserve my middle of the night tennis watching for the Australian Open. In the case of women's tennis, none of the good players bother to show up at tournaments anymore so why should I spend the day falling asleep in class because I was up late watching Tamarine Tanasugarn beat Kimiko Date Krumm to win the Japan Open? I don't care.

Second, I'm finally in my last year of university and regardless of how lazy I would like to be, I'm working harder than ever. No worries though, in terms of priorities, my blog comes right after looking for a job and right before class work. I don't feel so bad though because there's been a noticeable decrease in blogging lately so I don't think I'm the only one who's found it difficult to multitask. Anyway, if you don't find anything new on A Change of Ends, check out my weekly pieces for TennisGrandstand. They're generally available on Thursdays or Fridays each week.

Third, the US Open was my last live event of the year and I love blogging live from tournaments. I've definitely been planning some great trips for next year and I'm hoping to kick things off in Memphis in February.

In an effort to update more regularly, I'm going to try to write shorter pieces more frequently. No guarantees. I pretty much always have the intention of writing something short and then it turns into several pages.

As always, if you want to here my up to the minute ramblings, follow me on Twitter @achangeofends. I know it's shameless but I have no problem begging for followers, at least not on my blog.

Also, I think I'm going to open up the comment forums on A Change of Ends so feel free to start responding to posts. I love hearing from you guys.

Maria Sharapova: Four Times a Champion?

2010-10-18T21:57:00.004-05:00

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article for TennisGrandstand about which current players I believe will win more Grand Slams. Maria Sharapova is a three time Grand Slam winner, having won Wimbledon in 2004, the US Open in 2006, and the Australian Open in 2008. Plus, she's only 23. She's for sure going to win again, right? You may be surprised that I said she won't win another major. Frankly, even I was a little surprised at my choice. A month ago, I was convinced that Maria was going to be the 2010 US Open champ. What went so wrong in a month that caused this crazy change in opinion? (Photo by Reuters)

Well, she lost and then she kept losing. That's what happened. 2010 was supposed to be her big year back and yet it's been one disappointment after another. Rationally, I know Maria has plenty of time to win another major considering how young she is. 2008 wasn't that long ago and she didn't suffer from an unexplainable fall from grace like Ana Ivanovic, but was forced not to play due to a shoulder injury. However, she's neither as confident nor as healthy as she was in her winning years. Her shoulder is a continuing concern and has wreaked havoc on her serve. More importantly, she's not beating top players, players she almost certainly would've beaten two or three years ago. Confidence is a huge part of tennis and the longer Maria goes on losing, the worse she's going to feel. She's already out for the rest of the season with no real explanation.

To be clear, I don't think Maria is any less talented than she was in 2008, which means she has the technical abilities to win another Slam, provided her shoulder stays healthy. At the moment, her serve is still more of a liability than a weapon and the rest of her game isn't spectacular enough to make up for that shortcoming. So, she fixes her serve and goes back to winning, right? Wrong. I think the psychological effects of the last two years have really taken their toll. The reason I don't think Maria will win another Grand Slam is her mental game. I'm afraid she can't keep it together through the important matches anymore, and that's a lot harder to fix than a faulty serve.

Race to the Finish

2010-10-07T14:47:00.003-05:00

If you read A Change of Ends, even occasionally, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been a little absent lately. There are a lot of reasons that I haven’t been writing as much lately. First, and mostly importantly, it turns out college seniors have a lot of work to do. Second, looking for a job takes almost as much time as actually having one. Third, my whirlwind tour of tennis tournaments has officially ended for the year. Finally, the tail end of the tennis season is surprisingly boring, and incredibly difficult to watch considering the time difference.

However, I anticipate things heating up in the next few weeks. So far, only two men have qualified for the World Tour Finals in London. That leaves six hotly contested spots at the O2. As it stands now, Djokovic, Murray, Soderling, Berdych, Roddick, and Verdasco round out the top 8. However, we still have some big tournaments to play, including the Shanghai Masters event. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that Djokovic, Murray, and Soderling will qualify. Something absolutely disastrous would have to happen for them to fall out of the race for top 8. That leaves 3 spots up for grabs.

The ATP website lists the top 16 men in the race, but 12-16 would basically need to win everything from here on out to qualify. This means that the remaining spots are likely going to be filled by three of the following: Tomas Berdych, Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer, Mikhail Youzhny, and Jurgen Melzer. Verdasco fell in the first round of the Beijing tournament this week, as did Mikahil Youzhny. Ferrer, an incredibly talented played who tends to fly under the radar, is through to the quarters, where he will face Robin Soderling. Jurgen Melzer is by all means the dark horse in the race for the World Tour Finals, for singles at least. He has already qualified for the doubles WTF. He’s at his highest ranking ever and less than 1000 points behind Verdasco in the race. It would be awesome to see some new faces in the top 8. I think we’ll almost certainly see Tomas Berdych in London for the first time this year and it would be great to see him joined by Jurgen. However, I think Ferrer may swoop in and take the last spot. Andy Roddick has made the World Tour Finals for seven consecutive years, and I fully expect him to make it to an eighth. This week, Roddick is in the quarterfinals at the Rakuten Japan Open, where he will face Gael Monfils. The winner goes on to a semifinal matchup with either Radek Stepanek or Jarko Nieminen. This week is a great opportunity for Andy to grab some more points.

Andrea’s Top 8 Picks

Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic

Andy Murray

Robin Soderling

Tomas Berdych

Andy Roddick

David Ferrer

As for the ladies, in their race for the Doha finals is almost finished. They’ve locked in six of the eight finalists already. However, it looks like injury could be a major factor in how things play out. So far, Caroline Wozniacki, Vera Zvonareva, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Sam Stosur, and Francesca Schiavone have all qualified for the WTA Championships. Competing for those final two spots are Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva, Victoria Azarenka, and Justine Henin. This top 10 has been riddled with injury this year, even amongst the players who have already qualified. Serena hasn’t played since Wimbledon. Kim’s currently out with something. Sam was having some issues in August. More importantly, injuries are plaguing the four ladies still looking to qualify.

We all remember that Victoria Azarenka collapsed in her second round US Open match and had to be taken to the hospital. Vika had an amazing summer, but since the USO, she’s seemed to have some serious issues. In her last two tournaments, she’s been forced to retire from her matches. I’m not sure she’s going to be able to consistently play well enough to clinch one of those last two spots. Justine Henin, like Serena, hasn’t played since Wimbledon. She even went so far as to declare her 2010 season over. We’ll see if she sticks to that. If not, she actually has a reasonably good chance of clinching that eighth spot. Jankovic may not be injured, but you wouldn’t know that the way she’s played this year. The former world number one has been incredibly inconsistent with some very lackluster results this year. I do think Elena Dementieva will manage to take one of the last two slots. She’s been playing quite well in the last few weeks. I don’t think she’ll necessarily win the upcoming tournaments, but she’ll gather enough points to qualify for Doha.

Andrea’s Top 8 Picks

Caroline Wozniacki

Vera Zvonareva

Serena Williams

Kim Clijsters

Sam Stosur

Francesca Schiavone

Jelena Jankovic

Elena Dementieva

Also, check out my latest post, “Will They Ever Win…Again?” at Tennis Grandstand.

Whoops

2010-10-01T20:02:00.003-05:00

Alright, so it's been like 10 days since my last post. Sorry about that. Apparently I've been letting schoolwork and job searching get in the way of my tennis blogging. No more. I've got to get my priorities straight. Well, I'll try.

If you've missed my insanity, I've got some great story ideas coming up, so check back frequently. I rarely turn off twitter so feel free to follow me @achangeofends. If you're looking for something a little longer, I've recently started guest blogging for TennisGrandstand. Just click the link to check out my article on age in the ATP.

The tennis season may be slowing down, but I'll try to keep you guys updated as much as possible. This week we've got the end of tournaments in Thailand and Malaysia. Next week, stay tuned for Tokyo.

Davis Cup Roundup

2010-09-21T00:44:00.005-05:00

So, I haven’t written in a few days. It’s tough to write about tennis when the season starts to slow down. This week, there are tournaments in Metz and Bucharest and a few even smaller tournaments in all kinds of places. However, there has been some exciting tennis since the end of the US Open. It’s come to us in the form of Davis Cup.

There’s been a lot of debate recently about the Davis Cup format. Personally, I love the idea of having a national tournament for tennis. But, I also think it’s kind of silly to interrupt the regular tennis season four times a year for just a weekend and ship everyone off to countries around the world. The reason I like the national approach is because it brings a team aspect to our individual sport. We so often watch the triumphs of a few select players. In the case of Davis Cup, we actually get to see players supporting each other instead of competing against each other (within the teams at least.) It’s also great to see the pride that players take in playing for their country.

In 2007, DC stalwarts Andy Roddick, James Blake, and the Bryan Brothers led the US team to victory on home turf for the first time since 1995. This year, my team wasn’t playing for the title, but for the chance to try again next year. The US was in real danger of losing its place in the World Group this weekend. The 2010 squad included only one member of the victorious 2007 team, Mardy Fish, who didn’t even get to play that year. This weekend was all about Fish, who almost single handedly helped us keep our spot in the world group, winning two five set singles matches as well as a doubles match with John Isner. The guy practically won the whole tie for us, considering he won 3 of the 4 rubbers they actually played and Colombia won the other won. Due to rain, the organizers opted to skip the 5^th, dead rubber. So we know Fishy saved the day, he was briefly helped out by John Isner, poor Sam Querrey lost his only rubber, but who got left out of our four man team? 18 year old Ryan Harrison, who was making his Davis Cup debut. Had the dead rubber been played, I’m fairly certain Patrick McEnroe would’ve given Harrison the chance to play because there would’ve been no consequences. I can’t predict the future, but hopefully Harrison gets his shot at DC glory one day. While the squad may no longer consist of the successful DC players we’re used to, the US team looks strong (and really really tall.) I can’t wait for next year’s draw.

I have to talk about the US at least a little, but let’s move on to the teams that actually matter, the semifinalists. Argentina met France (in France) and the Czech Republic faced Serbia (in Serbia.) In the case of the French, it seemed like they could do no wrong and the Argentines could do nothing right. Even missing their main man, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, the squad, consisting of Gael Monfils, Michael Llodra, Gilles Simon, and Arnaud Clement, crushed Argentina, winning all five rubbers. The US had Mardy Fish, well France had Michael Llodra, a generally unsung hero. Llodra won the first singles match to give the French a 1-0 lead as well as the decisive third rubber doubles with Arnaud Clement. Monfils somehow managed to reign in the theatrics (at least a little) and defeat David Nalbandian. Simon and Clement continued the rout by winning both dead rubbers. France’s team looks incredibly strong and has an excellent chance of taking home the trophy for the first time since 2001. Poor Argentina has never won Davis Cup and they’ll have to wait until next year for their next chance.

On the other side of Europe, Serbia was hosting the Czech Republic in their Davis Cup semifinal tie. Novak Djokovic, the number 2 player in the world, is clearly a huge asset to the Serbian team. However, because of the rain in New York, Djokovic had to stay in NYC to play the US Open final on Monday, which meant he returned to Serbia just in time to play in this crucial tie. Djokovic was sick on the first day of Davis Cup play and the captain opted to substitute Troicki against Stepanek. Troicki lost in four sets, putting the Serbs one rubber behind the Czechs. Every tie had its hero this week and Serbia’s was surprisingly not Novak Djokovic. It was Janko Tipsarevic, who often surprises me with his brilliance. Tisparevic evened the tie on the first day by taking out Tomas Berdych, pretty impressive. You would think having the number 1 doubles player in the world and the number 2 singles player in the world team up for a doubles match would yield impressive results. It failed almost as miserably as the world 1 and 2 singles players teaming up in Toronto. Djokovic and Zimonjic lost pretty convincingly in four sets. Now Serbia was down 2-1. They would have to win both of Sundays singles matches to salvage the tie. First up, Djokovic managed to take down Tomas Berdych in four sets, tying everything up at 2-2. It all came down to Tipsarevic to beat Radek Stepanek in the final rubber. Tipsarevic came through with flying colors, winning in three sets and bageling Stepanek in the first. The Serbs went wild after making it to their very first Davis Cup final.

I’ll probably write an extensive preview in December before the final, but I’m tipping the French to win.

In the World Group playoffs, Austria edged out Israel, Germany demolished South Africa, Sweden won over Italy, India came back to defeat Brazil (really impressive play by the Indians,) Belgium beat Australia (which was missing Lleyton Hewitt after he injured his wrist in doubles,) Kazakhstan won 5-0 over a Federerless Switzerland (still confused,) and Romania beat Ecuador.

Andrea’s Top Five…of the 2010 US Open

2010-09-15T23:22:00.017-05:00

Best Matches

5. Kim Clijsters d. Venus Williams – These two have some serious history at the US Open, but Kim’s got a pretty tight hold over Venus. In 2005, Kim won a three set quarterfinal against Venus before storming on to win her first major title. Last year, these two played what I consider to be the weirdest match of the 2009 US Open in the round of 16, each winning a 6-0 set before Kim won the decided 6-4. Again, Kim went on to win the title. This year, these two met in the semifinals. Venus had pretty much stormed through the draw up to this point, while Kim showed some vulnerability against Sam Stosur in the quarterfinals so it looked like Venus might have a shot at a third US Open title. It looked even more like that after she won the first set. However, Kim won a tiebreak in the second and it was easy sailing from there all the way to the championship title. If only the championship match was as exciting.

4. Mikhail Youzhny d. Stanislas Wawrinka – I’m guessing the television execs weren’t so pleased with this match up, which was supposed to feature Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych, instead they got Mikhail Youzhny and Stanislas Wawrinka. The casual tennis fan wouldn’t even recognize these names. For those of us who do, these guys competed hard. Wawrinka took out Murray in four, Querrey in five, and went on to play five great sets against Youzhny. He had never previously made it past the fourth round in a major and was battling an injured leg. Youzhny is a previous US Open semifinalist, but has had mixed results in the last year. This was a great match for both guys. Too bad one of them had to go on to play Nadal.

3. Sam Stosur d. Elena Dementieva – This was another match that didn’t get the attention it deserved. Honestly, I only saw highlights because it was never shown in its entirety, but from what I hear, it was the best women’s match of the event. These two played well into the early hours of the morning, the latest end to a women’s match in US Open history. Elena Dementieva is often touted as the best female player never to win a Grand Slam. Sam Stosur had never made it past the second round at Flushing Meadows. After three grueling sets and the late finish, Stosur came back and gave Kim Clijsters a run for her money in the quarterfinals. Awesome performance from Sam.

2. Fernando Verdasco d. David Ferrer – This match was awesome. I can’t remember which match/matches were being played simultaneously, but it didn’t get the TV coverage these guys deserved. The two Spaniards started playing in the afternoon and battled late into the evening, neither giving anything up. Fernando looked like the eventual loser when he went down a break in the fifth, but fought his way back on serve and hit the best match point of the tournament. It’s matches like these that make me sad there’s a loser.

1. Novak Djokovic d. Roger Federer – The match of the tournament. Roger Federer has been the King of Tennis for a long time now. It’s tough for the King to give up his throne, but Federer is 29 and there are a lot of talented younger players out there. In the past couple years, Djokovic has been able to give Roger a run for his money, but for three years running, Novak’s US Open goal has been halted by Roger Federer. Not this year. While most of us believed Roger had things firmly under control, Novak came out fighting and played an incredible match to make it to his second US Open final. Photo by Emmanuel Dunand at Getty Images.

Surprising Moments

5. Foot Fault Déjà Vu – At least Andy Roddick didn’t threaten to kill the lineswoman. He just called her stupid. Come on, we all know Andy’s not the biggest fan of umpires. Remember when he told kids to stay in school so they wouldn’t become umpires at the Australian Open? I don’t think Andy’s reaction was all that surprising, even when he was still carrying on about it three or four games later. He likes to gripe and it works for him. The actual surprise here is how popular calling foot faults has become since the Serena incident. Watching the replay, Andy definitely did the first time, but he was called on it a couple of times, a real rarity in a professional match. It wasn’t just Roddick either. Several stars were called out for foot faults during the fortnight. It’s like the new umpire fad.

4. Donald Trump shows up in Wozniacki’s box – This is just weird, but I don’t have a category for that. What the hell does Donald Trump have to do with Caroline Wozniacki? He appeared in her box for the quarterfinals and semifinals. When asked about her strange new friend, Caroline responded that Trump’s agent had called Caro’s to get the seats. Was he just too cheap to buy good seats in Ashe?

3. Women’s Final Doesn’t Even Touch the 1 Hour Mark – This was really hard to watch. I like Vera Zvonareva and she’s come such a long way, but Kim stormed through this match. After the great Federer/Djokovic match from the day session, the women’s final was a real disappointment. Vera had played so well over the last two weeks, we all had high hopes she could take the final to three sets. It’s no surprise Kim won, but the way she won was pretty shocking.

2. Novak Djokovic wins a 5 set semifinal against Roger Federer – If you watch the playback of the end of this match, no one was more surprised about Novak Djokovic’s win than Novak Djokovic. The guy stood there in shock for an unsettling amount of time. Going into this semifinal, everyone was pretty certain Roger would come out on top. Don’t lie, you thought Roger would win. This surprising win also gave Djokovic back the number 2 spot in the rankings.

1. Victoria Azarenka faints during her match – Brad Gilbert was adamant that Victoria Azarenka would storm her way through the draw and win the whole thing. Bad luck, Brad. Vika gave us the most shocking moment of the tournament by fainting in her second round match. The secrecy that followed the event made it even more mysterious and enthralling. Finally, Vika explained she had fallen in the gym the day before and was suffering from a minor concussion. Talk about bad luck. Photo by Al Bello at Getty Images.

Upsets

5. Beatrice Capra d. Aravane Rezai – Beatrice Capra isn’t even a professional tennis player. Let me say that again, Trice is not a professional. I wasn’t aware that non-professionals could even enter the US Open. However, this 18 year old certainly proved she deserved the spot, beating 18th seed Aravane Rezai en route to the third round. If she had beaten Maria Sharapova, she probably could have been the next Melanie Oudin. But, isn’t it better this way? Look where Melanie ended up.

4. Vera Zvonareva d. Caroline Wozniacki – Vera Zvonareva was this year’s Wimbledon finalist and the number 7 seed, so it’s not a stretch that she made it to the final. However, Caroline Wozniacki came into this tournament as the number 1 seed and US Open Series Champion. As Serena was absent from the draw, this seemed like Caroline’s best shot at winning the US Open title, or at least the easiest chance she would get. Plus, Caroline had had little trouble getting to the semifinals, easily beating former champion Maria Sharapova in the 4th round. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the 20 year old Dane. She’s got a lot of career left and her return abilities rival that of a backboard.

3. Janko Tipsarevic d. Andy Roddick – Wishful thinking may have driven me to predict another semifinal appearance from Andy Roddick. He’s had a rough summer. He crashed out of DC and missed Toronto sighting a mild case of mono. I honestly don’t think Andy’s been the same since losing Wimbledon last year. I think that was his last great push at winning a major and like always, Roger Federer was standing in his way. Roddick was the 2003 US Open champion, but hasn’t been able to garner another Grand Slam since. For those of us who love him, it’s rough to see him fall in the second round at anything, no less the US Open. If you’re like me and you’re nostalgic for the days when Roddick was on top, check out this article from the Sports Illustrated vault (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1029811/1/index.htm). Thanks @linzsports for posting this link on twitter. Man, hindsight really is 20/20.

2. Michael Llodra d. Tomas Berdych – Tomas Berdych was always considering a tour underachiever, until he made the semifinals of the French Open and did the near impossible, taking out Roger Federer at Wimbledon, en route to his first major final. He’s had an amazing year. The problem is, once you “breakout,” people expect you to keep up that level of play. Everyone, including me, had already set up the Andy Murray/Tomas Berdych quarterfinal when the draw came out. Turns out neither of them made it there. Michael Llodra may have turned 30 this year, but he’s never played better. I guess he odd serve and volley game confused Tomas because this first round loss confused all of us. Photo by Al Bello at Getty Images.

1. Stanislas Wawrinka d. Andy Murray – I’m kind of glad I didn’t buy Sunday tickets to the US Open because this match would’ve made me miss my flight. I was shocked when I checked twitter and saw Murray was losing to Wawrinka. I was waiting for my plane in JFK and booked it over to the sports bar. Just as things were getting good, some jerky bartender changed over to the Mets game. Really, the Mets game? I just got up and walked out. Don’t worry, I hadn’t even ordered yet. Luckily I found somewhere to watch this match. Murray’s likely in the best form of his life and certainly the most talented player currently on tour who’s never won a Grand Slam. The guy can’t seem to catch a break. He’s made a couple major finals, but Roger Federer has always been there to stop him. Now that Federer isn’t the dominant force he used to be, it looked like Andy might have a chance. He WAS a better hardcourt player than Rafael Nadal. I certainly saw him making it to the semis, but Stan Wawrinka pulled off the shock win.

Fashion Dos

Maria Sharapova – I wasn’t sold on the Donna Reed outfit when Nike released pictures of their players’ kits. However, I did a complete 180 when Masha walked on court. The girl could wear a trash bag and she’d still look like a supermodel, but the retro turquoise number actually looked super cute. I liked her purple night dress even better. It’s just a shame she didn’t stick around to wear it more often. That being said, do not purchase either of these dresses from Nike. She’s an international tennis superstar and 6’2” blond with a modelesque physique. If you are a housewife who plays local league tennis and has some cash to burn, you will look like an idiot. Don’t worry, I would look just as silly. If you want to get some of Masha’s look, try her USO practice skirt. It’s got the same button details as the Donna Reed dress and it’s slate grey with turquoise accents. You’ll get a similar, but more subtle look. Photo by Matthew Stockman of Getty Images.

Ana Ivanovic/Daniela Hantuchova – I feel like these two should’ve been in an issue of People magazine’s “Who Wore it Better?” section. They both wore a pink/purple Adidas dress. It was very simple and fit them both great. These two are arguably some of the most attractive women on tour so I’m sure whatever they chose would’ve been a hit. Anyway, no one wins. I think they both wore it the best. In this case, you might be able to get away with purchasing this one, but it’s still iffy.

Sam Stosur and the Lacoste Ladies – I pretty much always love the way Lacoste dresses their lady tennis players. Sam Stosur’s outfit at the 2010 French Open is one of my favorite tennis dresses. It was simply and timeless. Sam wore both purple and white versions of the US Open dress, as did the rest of the Lacoste women. Again, it was a simple, practical tennis dress with some cute details. Best of all, normal people actually could wear this and I’m sure Lacoste sold a ton of them in their shop on site.

Roger Federer (the nighttime edition) – Roger Federer usually looks pretty good. I mean he is besties with Anna Wintour, that’s got to come with some kind of fashion sense. When he unveiled the all black look at the US Open a few years ago I was thrilled. In terms of men’s tennis fashion, I’ve never loved a match more than the Roger Federer/Andy Roddick match at the 2007 US Open. Both guys looked super classy in all black. Anyway, I can’t say I was thrilled with Fed’s daytime choice this year, but I’m a big fan of the night kit. Instead of an all black kit, like he’s worn for the last couple of years, he went for an all navy look. I recently expanded to wearing navy from all black so I’m a big fan of the look. It’s a twist on a classic. Plus his clothes always fit immaculately.

Rafa Nadal (also the nighttime edition) – I don’t think I’ve ever praised Nadal’s fashion before. Honestly, I took an early dislike to the guy because he wore Capri pants and tank tops. In case you’re wondering, men should never, I repeat never, wear Capri pants. However, he’s gotten way better in the last couple of years. I can’t say I was crazy about the neon green daytime outfit, but the all black looked great for night matches, definitely a fitting look for his first US Open title.

Fashion Don’ts

Nadia Petrova – Wow. Just wow. I don’t even have words to describe what I think about this dress. Was it some weird attempt to distract her opponent? Did a rainbow fall on her? Was she wearing white when someone threw up a jumbo bag of skittles? Someone, somewhere should have stopped this. Photo by John G. Mabanglo at Landov.

Janko Tipsarevic/Marin Cilic – I realize there were significantly worse monstrosities than this all maroon look. However, I really didn’t like it. Either the shirt or shorts could’ve been maroon, no problem there, but for some reason, both made the look overwhelming.

Venus Williams – Again, what can I say? She had a different outfit for every match and every one was just as bad if not worse than the last. I got to see the black fireworks number in person. It’s kind of see through, has almost no back, and you can see the sparkle from hundreds of feet in the air. Lucky for us, it came in lots of colors, not. Photo by Timothy A. Clary at Getty Images.

Novak Djokovic – The actual outfit was fine, but what was going on with the designs. It looked like Ed Hardy started his own tennis line.

Mama and Papa Djokovic – If Novak’s outfit looked Ed Hardy-esque, I don’t even know who designed these t-shirts. I’m sure you’ve heard, because they got an awful lot of press, but Nole’s parents donned t-shirts prominently featuring his face. I’m glad this happened though. It gave me the opportunity to remind my own parents that regardless of my accomplishments, my face should never appear on a t-shirt.

Players Who Reminded Me Why I Love Them

Tommy Robredo – The forgotten member of the Spanish armada, Tommy made it to the 4th round of singles as well as the semifinals in men’s doubles. He’s a cutie pie and seems like an all around nice guy. He may not be number 5 in the world anymore, but he’s too often forgotten amongst other Spanish players like Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco.

Vera Zvonareva – I don’t care that she lost embarrassingly in the final. She showed heart and kept her cool. She made two major finals this year. Even though the commentators couldn’t let her forget last year’s massive breakdown, she proved them all wrong. Would it have been even better if she won? Yes. But, she’s a career high number 4 and donated her winnings to charity. She’s also got one of the hottest coaches around. Who wouldn’t love her? My favorite thing about Bepa is how relatable she is. She shows the emotions everyone else is feeling. If I were in her place, I’m pretty sure I’d be the same way. Photo by EPA.

Novak Djokovic – Dude fought hard. And, for me to like anyone who beat Roger, well that’s big news. He was also basically the classiest loser I’ve seen in a long time. In addition to all this, he gave us some of the best sound bites of the whole tournament. I don’t have a bad thing to say about the guy.

Caroline Wozniacki – She’s adorable. The idea that this girl is six months younger than me still blows my mind. She did an awesome job of dealing with the pressure of being the number 1 seed. I was pretty sure she was going to win the tournament after watching her beat Maria Sharapova, but she played respectably all the way into the semis. Frankly, I’m happy to see someone on top who’s not Serena Williams. Wozniacki isn’t jaded yet and still seems to revel in each win. Plus, her ability to return pretty much anything astounds me.

Sam Querrey – He was the last American standing in the men’s draw. I think he really is the future of American tennis. I got to see Sam practice on one of the outer courts over Labor Day weekend. His behavior is really the reason he ended up on my list. I don’t think I’ve seen a player who was better with fans. He stuck around for a really long time to take pictures with everyone who asked. I’ve seen players spend extra time before, but they usually look like they can’t wait to get out of there. Sam was super relaxed. For some reason, I find the fact that he still says “you’re welcome” to be incredibly endearing. Plus, he played an awesome five setter against Wawrinka. No worries Sam, you’ll make the quarterfinals soon.

Players Who Reminded Me Why I Don’t

Gael Monfils – I don’t think I even have to explain this. What the hell was he thinking? This kind of reminded me of that time that the Olympic snowboarder was going to win the gold medal and then did a trick because she was so far ahead, ended up falling and taking home a silver medal instead. Not quite the same, Monfils had no real shot at the title, but he was actually up a break on Novak Djokovic early in the first set. Gael, you really shouldn’t showboat unless you’re up two sets to love and a couple of breaks. He let the match get away from him fast. What’s really sad about this is that Monfils is actually really talented. I’m not sure he’ll ever really live up to his potential. Photo by Emmanuel Dunand at Getty Images.

Melanie Oudin – The media hyped her up way too much. I have no issue with the fact that she lost in the second round. Making the quarters last year was pretty extraordinary and I thought she was really cute. However, this year, all she’s done is complain about the expectations put on her.

Venus Williams – I find her incredibly pretentious and annoying, things I often think about Serena as well. Did she really need a new outfit for every match?

Teymuraz Gabashvili – Maybe he’s a great guy. I don’t know. I’m too distracted by the fact that his head is shaped like a lightbulb. This wouldn’t normally bother me because I just don’t watch him, but he played Nadal in round one which meant it was televised.

You Decide – Send me a suggestion. Which player bothers you the most and why? I’ll post the best response, which pretty much means one that I find amusing. Email me at achangeofends@gmail.com.

“Newbies” I Adore

Mandy Minella – I saw Venus beat her soundly, but she still stuck around after the match to sign autographs. Even in defeat, she was smiling.

Beatrice Capra – The media loved her. Like I mentioned earlier, she’s not even a professional. She may have gotten bageled by Maria Sharapova, but she definitely made an impression.

Peter Polansky – I love Canadians. He’s young. He’s cute. He almost beat James Blake. All great things in my book.

Ryan Harrison – The media jumped on this. He beat Ivan Ljubicic in the first round, which honestly didn’t surprise me that much. He’s 18, good looking, and well spoken, a real media dream. Too bad he didn’t make it further in the tournament. He did book himself a spot in this week’s Davis Cup tie though.

Andrea Petkovic – She’s not exactly new, but she’s only become recently popular. Petko’s personality is awesome. She’s funny in that great sarcastic, self-deprecating way, which is pretty much my favorite. She dances when she wins! The second I saw the Petko dance I was done for. She also makes YouTube videos, which are kind of weird, but I like the intentions. Plus, she’s got an awesome first name. :) Photo by AP.

Twitter Storylines

John Isner and Caroline Wozniacki’s shameless flirting

Feliciano Lopez complains about the ex

Fernando Verdasco loves taking pictures

Dmitry Tursunov mocks his tweeps, albeit subtly

Brad Gilbert shares outrageous opinions on the GOAT

Alright, Not So Super Saturday

2010-09-12T01:54:00.008-05:00

So today started out quite predictably. Mikhail Youzhny was just overmatched in his encounter with Rafael Nadal. I didn’t envy the player who stood between Rafa and his first US Open semifinal. Nadal has played his best tennis this week in New York. Whatever he did to his serve is working wonders and he’s yet to drop a set in the tournament. Nadal was on fire this morning, storming past Misha in three sets. This was still a great run for the Russian, who will jump back into the top 10 on Monday. This was also a great step forward for Nadal, who will compete for his first US Open title tomorrow afternoon, seeking the career Grand Slam.

While the first semifinal of the day took just over two hours, the second was set to be a little more competitive. The number two and three seeds were set to do battle for the last spot in Sunday’s final. Roger Federer has won five US Open titles, appeared in the last six US Open finals, and has sixteen Grand Slam titles to his name. This kind of makes him the perennial favorite. The media had already written off 3rd seed Novak Djokovic, in some cases quite literally. I saw several Fedal previews before the match even ended. In some ways I understood this. Roger Federer is the greatest player of all time so it’s odd for him to lose, but Novak Djokovic is no slouch. Djokovic took out Federer in the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2008, ending Federer’s longtime finals streak, and later earning his first Grand Slam title. Honestly, I expected Roger to take this in four. He’s been playing great all week and kind of owns the US Open. However, Djokovic was once again ready to take the wind out of Fed’s sails. Federer won the first set and the match seemed like a forgone conclusion. But then I’m not really sure what happened. Roger gave up two breaks and dropped the second set in a rare fashion, 6-1. The rest of the match was just as crazy as the beginning. Roger broke to win the third set and I was positive he would cruise to the finish line. No go. He lost serve in the first game of the fourth and Djokovic leveled the match at two sets all after winning the fourth 6-2. The fifth set was about as dramatic as we could’ve hoped for. The commentators and fans alike were still sure Roger would pull it out. He even held three match points on Nole’s serve. Djokovic did an amazing job of holding it together and finally got the break so he could serve for the match. Try as he might, Roger Federer could not stave off Novak Djokovic and succumbed 7-5 in the fifth set. As bad as I feel for Federer, Djokovic definitely deserved this. Bad news, we’ll be seeing more of those horrible shirts that Nole’s parents wear.

After this dramatic affair, what would the women give us? Vera Zvonareva looked nothing less than inspired against Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals. ‘Bepa’ was all set to compete in her second consecutive Grand Slam final. Not bad for a girl who cried in the middle of her match last year. She’s come a long way mentally and has proven she has the game to beat top players. Bepa was set to face defending champion Kim Clijsters. Kim came into the final on a 20 match winning streak at Flushing Meadows. All the facts indicated that this should be an interesting match. Kim lead the head to head 5-2, but Vera came out on top in their last two meetings, both this summer.

If any of you actually watched this, you know where this story’s headed. Bepa lost. Alright, she didn’t just lose, she lost spectacularly. The match lasted a whopping 59 minutes, the shortest since 1980. Vera stuck with it, but Kim outplayed her, seemingly unable to miss a ball. Clijsters’ ability to return almost anything is just astounding. Kim finally put Bepa out of her misery and ended things at 6-1, 6-2. Vera did good. She held it together for the whole award ceremony. This was an unfortunate display for women’s tennis, which is generally less popular than men’s tennis. The fans seemed almost confused. Do you cheer against someone simply because they’re winning too quickly? Even Kim seemed embarrassed to celebrate such a crushing victory. All in all, this clearly wasn’t the best match of the tournament by any means, but congratulations to Kim Clijsters all the same.

On a totally unrelated note, I've included a pic of Sergey from Bepa's practice last Saturday, because really, who doesn't want a gratuitous picture of Sergey?

It’s too late for me to do an in depth finals preview for Nole/Rafa, so I’m going to get straight to the point here. Rafa’s playing incredible tennis. Nole played a five set match against the best player of all time less than 24 hours before he has to best the current best player in the world. The odds are kind of stacked in Nadal’s favor here. I think Djokovic will put up at least some resistance. Don’t worry, we’re not going to see another Kim/Vera. However, I think Rafa will keep on rolling and win his first US Open title without dropping a set. I’ll check back in tomorrow for my post match summary. Good night all!

Super Saturday

2010-09-11T01:39:00.003-05:00

It’s Super Saturday at the US Open and that means two men’s semifinals and the women’s final. I’ve put together a few quick predictions. I was super tempted to do a write up like Nick Bollettieri, who said both women’s semifinals could go either way, but I mustered up some courage and decided to be decisive. I may be wrong, but I figured that’s half the fun.

First up, Rafael Nadal and Mikhail Youzhny will fight for a spot in their first US Open final. It’s pretty shocking that Rafael Nadal hasn’t been able to make the final at Flushing Meadows before. He has 8 Grand Slam titles, including one on hard courts at the Australian Open. I don’t agree with the chatter that he could be the GOAT. I’m going to need him to win another 8 Slams before I consider that, but he definitely has what it takes to win the US Open. Youzhny has equaled his best Grand Slam performance by making this semifinal, which will put him back in the top 10. Going into the competition, I believed Nadal would be troubled by Andy Murray and lose in the semifinals. Not only did Andy Murray lose in the 3^rd round, but Nadal has showcased a new service motion that makes him appear unbeatable. Youzhny scraped through his quarterfinal against Wawrinka on Thursday in five sets and played a four setter against Tommy Robredo in the 4^th round. Nadal, on the other hand, has only dropped serve once during the whole tournament and has yet to lose a set. I think you can all see where this is going. This has been a great showing for Mikhail Youzhny, but Nadal will book a spot in his first US Open final by defeating Youzhny in straight sets.

Next up, five time champion Roger Federer will take on Novak Djokovic. It’s tough to bet against a guy who’s won five of the last six US Opens and came in runner up last year. In my original preview, I thought Mardy Fish might be able to give Novak a run for his money in the 4^th round, but no such luck for Mardy. After a five set scare by countryman Viktor Troicki in the first round, Djokovic has cruised into the semifinals without losing another set. I attended his 3^rd round match against James Blake and Nole looked to be in great form. It’s windy and by windy I mean Arthur Ashe seems to be acting like the home to a mini tornado. I would argue that no player has dealt better with the wind the past two weeks than Roger Federer. In his quarterfinal against Robin Soderling, Federer seemed to be playing in completely normal conditions while Soderling looked like he was fighting a wind tunnel. I’m a big Federer fan, but frankly there’s something magic about this guy. Plus, he’s given us tennis’ new trend, the tweener, which he first showcased in last year’s semifinal against Novak. Djokovic may be playing very well, but I think Federer will edge his way into a seventh consecutive US Open final. I’m going to go out on a limb and say Novak will take a set off Federer, but even that’s hopeful. I think we’re in store for the very first Fedal final in Flushing Meadows.

I’ll do a more in depth final preview once we’re sure it’s going to be those two.

Finally, Vera Zvonareva and defending champion Kim Clijsters will take the court to compete for the women’s singles title. Initially, I chose Maria Sharapova as 2010 champion, but the wind proved too much for her in her battle against Caroline Wozniacki. I’m not taking anything away from Caroline. I had paid little attention to Wozniacki before, but was truly amazed by her court coverage and her returning ability in the last week and a half. As soon as Masha went down, I changed my mind and was absolutely certain that Caro would be the eventual champion. I’m clearly not very good at this bracket making thing. The number one seed lost yesterday’s semifinal to Vera Zvonareva, Wimbledon finalist. Zvonareva has had an incredible year, making two Grand Slam finals, something she had never done prior to Wimbledon. She’s well known in New York for her 4^th round meltdown in 2009. She held six match points but ended up losing the match after being bageled in the third set against Flavia Pennetta. Vera’s come a long way from USO 2009. She’s calm and collected. Well at least as calm as Bepa can be. I like emotional players. I think it makes them seem more human. She’s endearing and I would love to see her win her first Grand Slam title. Her opponent will be Kim Clijsters, who has now won 20 consecutive matches at the US Open. She was the 2005 champion and returned from retirement in 2009 to win the entire tournament. Kim bypassed Venus Williams yesterday to make it to her third consecutive final at Flushing Meadows. She certainly goes in as the favorite. Both of these players are known for losing it a little on court. Bepa tends to cry while Kim just tends to disappear for a few games at a time. The final outcome will depend on who can hold it together mentally. Both players have showed they have the skills to win, but with the windy conditions and the added pressure of a Grand Slam title at stake, one of them will fold. I think Kim’s experience will help pull her through to her third US Open title in three sets.

I’m sure at least one of these predictions will go awry, so I’ll check back tomorrow with a women’s wrap up and a men’s finals preview. For now, I'm going to call it a night.

Is it a Bird, Is it a Plane...No, It's a Napkin

2010-09-07T19:51:00.005-05:00

I’m going to try to keep this one short and sweet, but knowing me that’s not possible. I wish I could write nice short posts for you guys, but I have a lot to say and no tennis loving friends. Plus, if you’re still reading A Change of Ends, you probably don’t mind my rambling. If you want the short version, you can always follow me on twitter (@achangeofends.)

So I attended my second Ashe night session on Saturday. The order of play included James Blake vs. Novak Djokovic and Sventlana Kuznetsova vs. Maria Kirilenko. Frankly, I was pretty bummed when I saw the line up. I shelled out quite a bit for reasonable good seats in hopes of seeing Roger Federer or Andy Roddick (both of whom I have the unfortunate habit of missing) or Maria Sharapova. James Blake is a hometown hero so I understand why they put him on the night session, but I really didn’t see how Sveta and Makiri made it into the lineup.

Regardless of what I was watching, I was glad to hunker down in my seat and stay put. It was a long day wandering the grounds in heels and I was ready to sit for a while. At first I was all alone in the six seat box, which was nice. Djokovic/Blake was underway and the first set was a total blow out. James didn’t even win a game until the very end, finally succumbing 6-1. At that point it looked like I would be able to catch an early train home.

The big story of the night was the weather. Saturday was the first really windy day, and when I say windy, I mean stuff was flying everywhere. The ball kids were busy snatching napkins and scraps of paper off the court so they wouldn’t distract the players. It was certainly one of the windiest matches I’ve attended, only superceded by a match I watched in Monte Carlo this April. That match was so uncomfortably windy and cold that I was eventually forced to leave. Plus, wind and clay tend to create a sandstorm effect which is way more uncomfortable than either the wind or the cold. I don’t envy the players in these situations. Not only was Saturday night windy, it was shockingly cold and no one was really prepared. The weather during the day session had been absolutely perfect for watching tennis, so most fans were in short and t-shirts. I’m sure the USO sold a boat load of sweatshirts that night. After the Monte Carlo fiasco, I always carry a sweater, so I was nice and comfy.

James seemed to wake up a bit in the second set. The crowd went wild every time he managed to hit the ball past Nole, both because they love Blake and because they wanted to see more tennis. At some point in the second set, a bunch of drunk 20-something guys came and sat in my box as well as a middle aged man and a woman who works for the USTA. I had a nice chat with the USTA woman, hoping that I could befriend her and give her my card. I am looking for a job after all. The 20-somethings couldn’t have been more obnoxious. They had moved down from the upper section and were talking through the entire set, loudly. One guy even started yelling at his friend who was a couple of sections over. Just when I thought I would have to turn around and do something about the guys sitting behind me, one of the ushers came up and asked to see their tickets. The guys tried to bargain their way out, but the usher sent them back up to the sky seats. Thank god. Now I could watch in peace.

Blake managed to take the set all the way to a tie break. I would’ve thought that the New York crowd would have been even more firmly behind Blake, considering he is American and the underdog, but there were a lot of Djokovic supporters out there. Nole is quite popular at the US Open after really playing it up for the crowd the last few years. When Blake blew the tiebreak, I knew it was all over for him. There was no way he was coming back from two sets to love.

The third set was pretty run of the mill. I wish I could report something more exciting, but this was a very tame night session. I think the cold was keeping everyone comatose. Finally James lost the last set 6-3 and walked off court. If you ask me, this was probably his last US Open. Blake is 30 and has battled a ton of injuries over the years, mostly recently his knees. His ranking has fallen out of the top 100. I’m not sure how much longer he can keep this up. Surprisingly, he didn’t look like a 100+ player out there. He can still move fairly well, but there’s just no way he can keep up with the bigger, more powerful guys anymore.

At this point, it was about 9:30pm, not at all late for a night session match to start. I don’t think the USO had the best idea putting the ladies on second on Saturday, particularly with two lesser known names. I know Kuznetsova was the 2004 champion, but no one cares. Plus, as much as I hate to say it, cuteness counts on the women’s tour, and no one’s watching Sveta for her looks. I would say approximately 50% of the stadium left outright after Djokovic/Blake and probably 20% more left at some point during the women’s match. I attribute this mass exodus to the fact that it was women’s tennis, the fact that it was Sveta and Makiri, as well as the weather. Nothing was in their favor.

Anyway, I certainly planned on sticking it out and was pretty pleased that the match was starting at a decent hour. Like the Blake/Djokovic match, there wasn’t much exciting about the tennis. Kirilenko sometimes plays good, sometimes not so good. She’s more well known for her looks than her tennis. I was actually a little surprised she made it this far. Sveta looked to be in pretty good form, but crashed out in a surprise loss to Cibulkova. I’m honestly not sure how Kuznetsova has won two grand slams. Her game just doesn’t seem that big in comparison to so many of the other women on tour. It just goes to show you the inconsistency on the women’s tour. As much as Serena has been a leader and favorite at Slams, she’s no Federer/Nadal. I think we’ve all gotten used to the incredible consistency of the men’s tour where Rafa or Roger pretty much win everything, so the women’s tour looks super unpredictable by comparison.

I was definitely sad to leave Saturday night because my weekend at the US Open was over. Luckily my DVR and I are good friends and I can watch the rest from the comfort of my couch.

A Saturday at the US Open

2010-09-07T18:32:00.008-05:00

Even though Nadal was able to take care of Istomin in 3 sets, it was still about 1am when I finally got back to my hotel. I knew Saturday was going to be a very long day of tennis viewing so I decided to head to bed…oh wiat, that’s what I should’ve done. What I actually did was take my netbook down to the ultramodern, very dark hotel lobby to use the free wifi so I could post some new material to the blog. See, I love you guys more than sleep. Plus, I’d already written everything out long hand so I just had to type it all up. Finally I was all done and went back to room and passed out on the very comfy bed.

I planned to get an early start on Saturday, but I realized that I could sacrifice an hour of tennis for an hour of sleep considering I’d be there all day. I arrived on site around noon and took another walk around. They charge you $4 for a schedule of play, so I wrote it all down before hand and brought it with me. This way, I wouldn’t miss any of the action on the outer courts. The grounds are quite spread out so there could be great matches happening without your knowledge.

While on my way around the grounds, I happened upon Feliciano Lopez and Gilles Simon in the middle of practicing on an outer court, not the fenced off practice courts. This meant it had bleachers and the fence was only about 3 feet tall, providing an unobstructed view. I’ve seen them both before, but it’s always a treat, so I stuck around to watch. Eventually Michael Llodra showed up with his practice partner and the four of them shared the court. These three are all great to watch, so I decided actual match play could wait. I had a real front row seat as I was standing at the gate. The gate was open and at some point a ball rolled right to my feet. It came right to me, so I’m pretty sure that means I get to keep it right? It may have been a grey area, but I discreetly bent down and pocketed the ball. Later, Llodra wiffed a ball over the short fence and a man tossed it back for him. Mikey responded with a heavily accented, “Thank you BRO.” Yes, Michael Llodra said bro. It made my day. At some point, Simon’s coach stopped to close the gate I was standing at, explaining that he hoped the wind would die down. I’m not sure how that’s an explanation for closing the gate or why he felt the need to explain anything to me, but he was very nice. Maybe he’s starting to recognize me or he was confused by the fact that I spent an hour standing at the side of the court, playing with my blackberry (I was a little twitter happy this weekend.) FYI, I really don’t try to follow any specific players, I just happen to see some players way more often than others.

Anyway, Llodra finished up practicing first and walked off court completely unbothered by any of the fans. I can’t stress enough that you should be watching this guy. He’s incredibly entertaining and has a great old school serve and volley game. Plus, he’s an absolute sweetheart with fans. Gilles and Feli finished up a little bit later and I got Feli to sign my stolen ball. Thierry Tulasne, Gilles’ coach, passed out all of the practice balls to kids watching from the opposite side of the court. I love when players/coaches think to do something like that. It means absolutely nothing to the player, but is a nice treat for the fans.

Next up, I stopped in to check out the real practice courts. There’s only one side that has a fence you can see through, which means that anytime there’s someone remotely famous practicing, it’s impossible to see. It turns out the large crowd had gathered to watch Rafa/Fernando practice on the nearest court. I took a couple photos when I got reasonably close, but I’m not a big enough Rafa fan to brave that mess for very long. Vera Zvonareva and coach Sergey Demekhine were also out practicing, as was David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro. Bethanie Mattek Sands had taken up the court vacated by Gilles and Feli. I had no interest in that so I decided to grab some lunch before the match I was waiting for: Robredo/Granollers vs. Reynolds/Ram.

I had a quick lunch and headed over to Court 4. The match hadn’t started yet, so I hang around to watch a little Sam Querrey practice on the court next door. He was practicing with a kid, possibly someone from the junior circuit. I arrived just as things were wrapping up. Sam walked off court and a kid asked him for his hat, which Sam happily handed over and signed. Sam hung around for a good 10 or 15 minutes extra signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. He didn’t act like he was in a rush and he’s super polite. I took a picture for some siblings and was rewarded with one of my own. I’m 5’7” and was wearing 3” or 4” heels. Sam is still about a head taller. The guy is a giant. Anyway, now I’ve seen Sam practice twice and I have to say I love the way he interacts with fans. It’s a real shame he’s out after a heartbreaking five setter with Stanislas Wawrinka. I wish him all the best. Also, Sam, if you ever happen to read this, and you are looking for a new intern, I am available. I am looking for a job and believe I would be quite capable. No joke.

So back to Court 4 for Tommy. It’s a small outer court and most people aren’t very interested in doubles so there was plenty of space. Reynolds/Ram are both American so there were probably more people watching than had Tommy and Marcel been playing some other team. So remember when I said that I don’t specifically follow anyone, I guess this was a small deviation from that. I’m a big fan of Tommy Robredo. He’s my favorite of all the Spanish players, including Rafa. It’s definitely a non-majority opinion, but I just find something really adorable about him. So, I embedded myself deep in the Spanish camp, right behind Tommy’s coach, Milene Rigue, and next to Marcos Rollan. Marcos appears to be the stats guy. He spent the whole match pouring over a draw sheet and listening to his radio, filling in all the scores, etc. He also seemed to be keeping track of how many players each country had remaining and a few other odds and ends. I can neither confirm nor deny whether Milene is Tommy’s girlfriend. Her badge said Player Guest: Tommy Robredo. I’ve since done some digging in an effort to bring you guys the most accurate information I can. It appears Milene is a Brazilian model. I couldn’t find anything to connect her to Tommy. I’ve given you the name, so you guys can do the extra stalking if you wish.

Anyway, it was a good idea for me to chill out with the Spaniards because I was definitely the only other person in the stands cheering for Tommy and Marcel. It was a very pro-American crowd. However, Robredo/Granollers won comfortably in two. A lot of people were confused, forgetting that the doubles is best of three with the super breaker instead of best of five.

So I had successfully cheered Tommy to the win and walked off towards the Grandstand in hopes of getting a seat before Melzer/Ferrero. I walked past Melanie Oudin practicing for her mixed doubles match. I took a few photos so I had some, but then kept going.

So, while I was in my happy Tommy bubble, Mardy Fish was battling it out on Louis Armstrong with Arnaud Clement, in what would be a five set match. Armstrong was actually full to capacity and they stopped letting people in so the Grandstand was extra busy. I waited in line for about 20 minutes and was hoping for a good seat. I couldn’t find anything in the first couple of rows, so I decided to be a little crafty. For those of you who don’t know, the Grandstand and Louis Armstrong Stadium are connected. Just walk around the left side of the Grandstand and you’re in Armstrong. The very bottom section of Armstrong is reserved for ticket holders, but the rest is first come first serve for grounds pass admission. I got extremely lucky and found a single seat in the front row of the non-reserved section for the fifth set of Fish/Clement. Fifth sets are always exciting and an American in a fifth set always provides some great crowd involvement. Fish finally put it away. In his on court interview, Mary Jo asked him about that night’s match between Djokovic and Blake. Fish responded that while Novak was a “friend,” James was a “best friend” and he would be cheering a little harder for James to win, providing us with a sickeningly sweet ending to the match. Unfortunately, Nole would go on to decimate poor James and proceed to take out Fish in the 4^th round. I took over 300 photos this weekend and have no idea how I ended up with so many pics of Mardy Fish. If you check out photobucket, I look like a total stalker, but have no explanation. I think I was just so excited to score such a good seat.

By the time Armstrong was emptying out, it was already about 6:15pm and the Grandstand was pretty much full. I decided to take some more shopping time to see if I couldn’t reach the $150 mark before the night session started. I honestly believe half of the reason I was drawn to tennis was the adorable outfits, so I headed over to the Nike store and bought myself one of Masha’s practice skirts. I would’ve splurged on a dress, but I would look absolutely ridiculous playing tennis as poorly as I do in Masha’s purple night outfit. As not to completely monopolize your time, I am going to split this up and post my night time experience separately.

Overall, a very positive experience on Saturday of Labor Day weekend. The site was busy, but not unbearable. I got to see a lot of tennis and some practices up close and personal which is pretty much what I love about smaller tournaments, so getting to do it at the US Open was even better. For anyone considering a trip to the USO next year, I would recommend attending during the first week and buying grounds passes. They don’t kick you out at 6pm so you can continue to watch any of the matches that are running late on the outer courts and if you want you can watch the Ashe matches on the big screen. The grounds passes are cheaper and a much better value than any of the seats in Ashe. However, if you’ve never gone to a night session, I would suggest doing it once just for the atmosphere. If you can, splurge a little and get a reasonably good seat. Sitting in the rafters just isn’t worth it unless you get them for free, or $25 like I did.

Finally, if you'd like to see all 300 of my pictures from this weekend, they are available at http://s966.photobucket.com/albums/ae146/lubinskya/US%20Open%202010/

Friday Night Lights

2010-09-07T00:23:00.005-05:00

Alright, so I’ve been horrible about updating you guys on my trip to the US Open. I tried my best to update my twitter regularly all weekend, so if you want some of my most candid thoughts, please check out @achangeofends. Since the procrastinator in me took so long to post this, I’m think you’ve already read the results and post match commentary from this weekend so I think I’ll stay away from hardcore analysis and give you some of my observations from the weekend.

My trip was last minute as I have zero impulse control, but I chose to only purchase tickets for the Saturday day session and the Saturday night session. I was due to arrive in New York early Friday afternoon, but due to the media hype around Hurricane Earl, I was concerned that my flight might get delayed or play might be stopped. As luck would have it, I was seated behind a tour group on their way to the US Open on the plane. As it turned out, they had some no shows and five extra tickets for Friday night. The hurricane seemed to have come up lame, so I jumped at the chance and purchased a ticket for $25 (a good deal considering the face was $58.)

I’ve never been to a night match on Arthur Ashe and I was pretty damn excited for my first nighttime tennis experience. I arrived on site at around 7:30 on Friday night. I was running a wee bit late, but Venus/Minella was up first on Ashe and you all know I’m not nearly as big a fan of women’s tennis as I am men’s. Plus, it was clearly going to be a blowout. Poor Mandy Minella never had a chance. So, I decided to take a few minutes and acclimate myself with the site. Hey, there could be valuable day session matches still going on. I stopped by one of the outer courts and caught a few games of a great five setter between Gilles Simon and Phillip Kohlschreiber, which Gilles surprisingly won. Finally, I decided it was time to check out my seat on the main stage. So I started my trek up Ashe Stadium (and up and up and up.) The view from my seat was most likely the same as from the international space station, but I still got a good deal ($25) and got to see Rafael Nadal for the first time.

As I predicted, Mandy Minella was no match for Venus Williams. However, I believe Venus was using unfair tactics against poor Mandy. Did you see this dress? I could even see it from where I was sitting. If I were Mandy, I would’ve been pretty distracted by the sparkling going on across the net. The crowd was strongly behind Venus, but they were very receptive of the young Canadian. Mandy was very gracious in defeat and stayed on court for quite a while after her loss to sign autographs for fans. She was still all smiles.

Next up was Rafael Nadal vs. Denis Istomin. I didn’t have high hopes for poor Denis. There aren’t very many players who can threaten Nadal, even on hard courts. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how well Istomin played. At some point during this match, I discovered the nifty voice notes feature on my blackberry and recorded a few key observations. However, I didn’t contextualize very well so when I listened to them later, they didn’t make as much sense as I would’ve hope. Plus, my blackberry died at some point early in the third set.

Some things that I do remember from the match? Istomin squandered his small window of hope when he was up 5-1 in the second set tiebreaker. To go up 5-1, Denis made some incredible shots, including one that ended in a split, leaving skid marks on the court. There was some real celebration after that one, even from the crowd. However, the euphoria didn’t last long, when Rafa hammered out six straight points to win the breaker. After that, Istomin called out the trainer and had some heavy wrappings placed on his thigh. I was pretty sure the squandered tiebreak and whatever thigh injury was ailing Denis would cause a complete meltdown in the third set, but he hung in there. Eventually Istomin fell 6-2, 7-6, 7-5. I’m not going to lie, I ducked out towards the end of the third set to make sure I caught the LIRR back to the city (they only come once an hour.) I also made a pit stop at the Nike store to pick up a “Roger That” shirt and hit the Lacoste store for a nice tee. Because of the late hour, there were no lines and I was sure everything would be mobbed by the time I got back in the morning. Little did I know that this was only the beginning of my weekend purchases.

In case you plan on visiting, there’s a special deal. If you spend $150 at the site on your AMEX, you get a $50 Ralph Lauren gift card, up to 3 per day. I definitely fell for their ploy and ended up coming home with two t-shirts, a hat, a mug, a rubber duck, a Masha tennis skirt, and a headband. Also to be noted, if you have an American Express card, you are entitled to a free radio so you can listen to commentary during matches. They’re great for keeping up with the matches on Ashe if you’re sitting on an outer court.

Overall, I agree, there is something compelling about Ashe night matches. The New York crowd is louder and rowdier than any other crowd of tennis fans I’ve ever seen. It’s also a pretty big society event in New York, so during popular night matches you’ll find a lot of non-tennis fans there as well. Just above the first tier of seats, there are two tiers of luxury suites. They include a few rows of seats as well as an interior section where the owners can set up food and drinks. These suites are mostly purchased by companies looking to entertain clients and generally the seats go unused for most of the match. There are also a heavy celebrity presence on Ashe at night with stars from other sports, music and television making frequent appearances. I would certainly recommend trying out the night session once, but you get the most bang for your buck by buying grounds admission for the day session.

Seriously Janko, Momochromatic Maroon?

2010-09-04T01:00:00.002-05:00

I love Andy Roddick and I don't care if you think he's a tool. I don't generallys ay I have a favorite tennis player. There are some players I don't care for, for one reason or another and some I like mroe than lothers. I love great tennis and great personalities so an incredible match or a chance meeting can sway my opinion from one day to the next. For what it's worth, I own a Roger Federer hat, an Andy Roddick poster, and one fo Andy Murray's shirts (authenticated by Judy), but I wouldn't necessarily call them my 'favorities.' I love Roger Federer for making tennis look effortless, for doing things that seemed impossible, and for being an incredible gentleman about it all. I love Andy Roddick for nearly opposite reasons. He has a crazy fast serve, biting wit, a volatile personality, and fights harder than nearly anyone else on tour. So, if I was forced to pick, I guess I would call these two my 'favorites.'

On Wednesday night I sat down to watch Andy Roddick play his second round match against Janko Tipsarevic. I wasn't thrilled when I saw the match up on the draw. Janko's a dangerous player. I've been a fan since his awesome five setter against Roger Federer at the Australian Open a couple of year's ago. But, on Wednesday I was no fan of Janko. It was all about Andy. Things started out alright, but quickly the tables turned and Janko had taken control of the match. There were a couple of things perturbing me about Tipsy. First, his weird monochromatic maroon kit (also worn by Marin Cilic). This outfit is terrible! Second, he's proven to be incredibly whiny on Twitter. Seriously, if you don't already follow him, add him and you'll see what I'm talking about. The majority of his complaints center around the US Open's treamtement of unseeded players. Get over it Janko, they treat Roger Federer better than you because he makes them for money, lots more. Finally, he was beating my beloved Andy Roddick.

I'm lucky I live alone because I was cheering harder than any self respecting person should in front of their television. there have been several articles addressing the 'second' foot fault controversy already. I won't repeat much of what others have said. If you want more information, google it. So, in short, Andy was called for a foot fault, which he did commit. However, the linesjudge mispoke while explaining the call and said the fault ocurred on the right foot instead of the left. Roddick maligned the judge for her mistake and continued the argument with the chair umpire for several games. Was he right? Probably not. Did his game improve? You betcha. Andy seems to thrive on this kind of stuff. He gets mad, he hits harder and serves more aces. Some have gone so far as to compare this to Serena's infamous tirade in last year's semifinal. That is wrong Andy wasn't physically threatening anyone and mockery isn't a crime. I had no sympathy for what Serena did, but I can understand where Roddick was coming from.

In the end, Andy couldn't pull it off, which is frankly no surprise considering his recent bout of mono. However, like Andy, I must give all the credit to Tipsarevic on this one. He played an excellent match at night, on Arthur Ashe, against one fo the fan favorites at the USO. And frankly he couldn't have come up with a better way to get back at the US Open than beating their American star in the second round.

Now Janko, will you please stop complaining on twitter. Things are going pretty well. Also, for the love of God, put on a different color shirt.

Everyone Loves a Cinderella Story

2010-09-04T00:26:00.004-05:00

Last year we had Melanie Oudin. She was 17, kind of green and beating some of the best players on tour to make it to the quarterfinals of the US Open. America fell in love. This year, she crashed out in the second round and is now ranked below Bethanie Mattek Sands, not exactly what we were all hoping for.

When the Williams sisters retire, there will be a huge void of American women in tennis. We're all waiting for some fresh faced junior to be the next Serena, just as we've been waiting for the new Andy Roddick for quite some time. For Americans, there's no better time to peek then at the US Open, and this year we've already had a couple could-be Cinderella stories.

It's the women's third round and the only American women left in the draw are Venus Williams and Beatrice 'Trice' Capra. I'm guessing pre-USO you hadn't ever heard the name Beatrice Capra. Don't worry, neither had I, but sure enough she's through to the third round. Will she be this year's Melanie Oudin (I hate that everyone's comparing them, btw)? Oudin beat Maria Sharapova in her dream run last year, and that's exactly what Trice will have to do to continue on to round number 4. Do I think she can do it? short answer, no. I don't know much about Trice, but I do know that Maria Sharapova is not the same player she was this time last year. Last year, Maria could barely get a first serve in to save her life (or career as it were.) This year, she's one of, if not the favorite to win the title. Oh, how times change. I watched Maria's match on TV on Thursday night and she looked great (and I don't just mean the dress.) If you've read my USO preview, you know Maria is my pick to go all the way. Take that for what you will, I also said Andy Roddick would make it to the semifinals, but maybe that was just my wishful thinking. Look for Capra to make a statement sometime next year. For now, she'll fall to Sharapova in two and fade back into oblivion.

18 year old Ryan Harrison beat Ivan Ljubicic in the first round. The media had a field day. Could he be America's great hope for the future of men's tennis? What about Sam Querrey? John Isner? Mardy Fish even? Not to mention that we still have a top 10 player named Andy Roddick. Nope, America's big thing is the 200 something ranked Ryan Harrison (who has only won one match in a Grand Slam, this one) instead of the rest of these players floating around the top 20. Did ESPN really think Ryan had a better shot than the rest of these guys? Come on. I actually wrote this post before his match, so here was how the rest went...

The kid's cute, I'll give him that, but I'm going to need to see some more results before I stick him on my list of future contenders. He plays his second round match against Sergiy Stakhovsky, who's fresh off his Pilot Pen title. I'm going to have to take Sergiy in this one, sorry Ryan.

Alright, so I was right, Sergiy won. What I did not predict was some awesome fight from Ryan Harrison, playing a tie-breaker in the fifth. For a guy who's only won one Grand Slam match in his life, that's pretty good. Maybe he is the next big thing. Who knows.

If you're looking for American men with a shot of making it to week 2, keep an eye on Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish, and surprisingly John Isner. Sam hasn't been able to do much at the Masters and Slams, but the guy's a beast at the smaller events. He's got a killer forehand and is due to make a run sometime soon. Unfortunately, he'll face Murray in the fourth round, a repeat of this year's Wimbledon. There's always next year, Sam.

So, let's talk Mardy Fish for a sec. We all know he's lost weight. Was it 30 lbs? Seriously, the tennis media can't get enough of this story and I kind of don't blame them. Talk about a Cinderella story. This aging underachiever does a 180 when he realizes he's running out of time and becomes a real threat. I think this is a much better story than the youngsters. Everyone wants to believe it's never too late to live your dream. Mardy's been dealt a dream draw, and if he can make if past an ailing Djokovic (let's hope they get a steamy day match), I like his chances of making the semifinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time. He would probably get Federer in the semis. You'll remember that these guys played a tight final in Cincinnati just a couple of weeks ago. Could Mardy Fish actually make the final of a Grand Slam? Could he win? Far fetched, but nothing's impossible. Yes, I know I'm getting way ahead of myself here, but I'm a tennis writer. It's what we do.

Finally, John Isner rounds out this talented trio. Everyone was convinced Isner would pull out of the draw due to the serious ankle injury he suffered in Cincinnati. Apparently we all forgot that this is the marathon man. He is not a mere human. Somehow he rehabbed the ankle in time to play his first round on Wednesday. I expected him to come up lame, but he actually looks really good. Best of luck to John this week. I just hope he doesn't push it too hard and end up with a more severe injury.

So Let's Recap (Most of) What Happened

2010-09-01T00:30:00.001-05:00

I know. I know. I’ve been bad. I promised you a Day 1 Recap. Well, today you’re getting two for the price of one as I discuss some of my favorite (and least favorite) moments of Days 1 and 2. You’ll have to forgive me for being a bit of a mess. I just moved into a new apartment, my family’s moving half way across the country this week, and I started my senior year of college today, which means recruiting time is upon us and I need a really good job to keep up my tennis habit. But, you shouldn’t care about any of this. You should be preoccupied by the awesome tennis that has already been displayed in the first two days of the US Open, the most glamorous of the Slams.

I often complain about ESPN’s coverage of tennis (i.e. cutting out in the middle of Isner/Mahut Wimbledon madness to air a meaningless World Cup match), but I have to say that their coverage of the US Open Series and the US Open has been great. They’ve even continued coverage of matches that over run their allotted timeslot. Clearly they air more of the US Open than any other major because it’s in New York and for some reason a lot of Americans only appreciate American athletes and American events. However, was it really necessary for ESPN to air a commercial completely knocking the other 3 Slams and touting the USO as the best?

Personally, I think there’s something special about all the Slams. I hail from the lovely state of New Jersey (don’t judge me, I know you’re judging me), so the USO takes place in my back yard. No, really, I’m from the part of New Jersey you can actually see Manhattan from. For this reason, and many others, I love the US Open. New York is like no other city in the world. There’s something kind of magical, yet raw about the city and that energy extends to the US Open. The night matches provide some of the most exciting tennis of the entire year and I don’t think fashion ever plays a bigger role in a Slam. But, I would never go so far as to say it’s the best.

I visited the French Open for the first time this year. It’s usually my least favorite Slam to watch on TV, but once I was there, it was a totally different experience. I think Paris is one of the best cities on Earth and the French takes on that Parisian feel. There are so many hard core tennis fans in France and I met people from all over the world that were using their vacation time to come to the French Open. I’ve never been to Wimbledon, but it’s pretty much the gold standard of tennis and I don’t look forward to any two weeks of the tennis year more than I do Wimbledon. Wimbledon is classy and historic, much like London. Finally, there’s Australia. Honestly it’s the most often forgotten Slam, but apparently a player favorite. They do call it the ‘happy’ Slam and many players have made a run there where they haven’t had much success at the others.

Like I said, I get national pride, ESPN, but that’s no reason to malign the other Slams.

Alright, I believe I promised you some of my observations from the last two days.

So, much like the first few days of Wimbledon this year, we’ve already seen a great deal of five set matches on the men’s side and several top seeds have been tested. Djokovic gave everyone quite a scare today, down two sets to one against countryman Viktor Troicki. I think this was an extremely telling match for Djokovic. He’s been as high as 2 in the world this summer and comes into the USO as the number 3 player. Based on rankings, the guy should always be a contender for the title, not a guy who could lose in the first round. There’s been a lot of talk about Roger, Rafa and Murray, but almost none about Djokovic taking home the title, even though he has one Grand Slam title and has made it to the final of the USO before. Why? Because he looks like he’s about to keel over when it’s hot. I wasn’t there today, but apparently it was hot, really hot. That wasn’t good news for Djokovic. But, he pulled out a five set victory in crushing heat, and even though he wheezed his way through the on-court interview, it should bring out some confidence.

Who else needed five sets in their first match? Gael Monfils played a hotly contested match against Robert Kendrick. Kendrick overshot the baseline on what would have been a break point in the fifth set. No big deal, he doesn’t get the break. However, Monfils went to bat the ball out of the way. It was unclear whether Monfils’ racket actually hit the ball before or after the ball hit the ground. Big difference. The chair umpire ruled that Monfils hit the ball after. When Monfils was asked about it after the match, he said he was unsure of the timing and thus stuck with the umpire’s call. If you go back into the tennis vault, you’ll recall a similar incident at the 2008 Olympics where James Blake believed opponent Fernando Gonzalez did not admit that the ball hit his racket. They did a replay of Monfils’ shot several times and it was really difficult to tell when the ball hit the ground versus when it hit the racket, so I’m giving Gael the benefit of the doubt and backing up his assertion that he was unsure.

Arnaud Clement, a tour veteran who hasn’t had great results lately, took out Marcos Baghdatis in five today. Baghdatis is coming off great results from the summer hard court season, so it was a bit of a shock to see him go out so early at the US Open. I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. Baghdatis is so up and down that there are no guarantees with his game. I think he peeked a bit early this summer and may have played a little more tennis than he’s used to. That’s the problem with winning, you have to keep playing more matches.

David Nalbandian has also had a great hard court summer after returning from injury. But did he peek too early? It took him five sets to defeat Rik de Voest, a 30 year old qualifier. Based on his draw, I gave him a good shot of getting to the quarters. Hopefully he got all the bugs out of his game with this match and will be all set to face Serra in the second round.

Spaniard Fernando Verdasco also went to five sets in his first round match against Fabio Fognini. Fognini actually ousted Verdasco in the first round of Wimbledon this year, so I was happy to see Fernando get his revenge, but it really shouldn’t have been this difficult. Verdasco is a very talented guy and should be blasting players like Fognini right off the court. If Fernando wants to stay in the top 10, he’s going to have to bring the heat.

America’s favorite diet story, Mardy Fish, also took five sets to defeat Jan Hajek, but it was a very weird five setter. The sets he won, he won 6-0, 6-0, and 6-1 and yet somehow he lost two sets. Fish is having the best year of his tennis career and I would love to see him make it to the second week after putting in so much hard work. Plus, I’d really like to see him play Andy Roddick again, but I think it’s Andy’s turn to win.

Perhaps the biggest surprise first round battle occurred between world number 5, Robin Soderling, and qualifier, Andreas Haider-Maurer. I watch a ton of tennis and I have never heard of Andreas Haider-Maurer, so I figured it would be a pretty routine day for Soderling. Over the last year, Robin has transformed himself into a player that can really contend for any title. He’s consistently talked about with the top players and has a real chance of winning a Grand Slam in the next couple of years. I watched some of the match, but still can’t really explain it. Robin wasn’t playing poorly, but Haider-Maurer definitely upped his game. I think the five setters really come down to experience. When the qualifier finally realizes they have a chance at beating a top player, they tend to fall apart. I’ll definitely be watching for more from this guy.

Dmitry Tursunov came super close to beating 15^th seed Jurgen Melzer. Tursunov is recently back on tour after being injured. He’s fighting his way back up the rankings and it’s slow going. Luckily he had a protected ranking which gave him entry in the USO. Dima used to be a top 20 player so hopefully he can fight his way back. Taking the 15^th seed to five sets after being two sets to love down, well, it’s a good start.

Perhaps the biggest five set victory was Paul-Henri Mathieu over Lleyton Hewitt, a former US Open champion. Poor Lleyton’s been plagued by hip issues for the past several years. He’s a real crowd favorite and always a pleasure to watch. Props to Paul-Henri. He’s also on the comeback trail and has some choking issues at big moments, so an impressive win for PHM.

Ok, I promise a women’s update is on its way, but I have class tomorrow so I’m going to have to cut this post short. On second thought, this post is really long enough so you’re lucky I’m tired. We’ll talk women tomorrow. Goodnight all!

US Open Preview: The Men

2010-08-27T23:12:00.002-05:00

On to the men. Let’s jump right in.

First Quarter:

Seeded Players: Rafael Nadal (1), Philipp Kohlschreiber (29), Feliciano Lopez (23), Ivan Ljubicic (15), David Ferrer (10), Ernests Gulbis (24), David Nalbandian (31), Fernando Verdasco (8)

The biggest question going into the US Open is whether Rafael Nadal can complete his career slam at just 24 years old. Nadal’s definitely capable. He’s won the French and Wimbledon this year and won his first hard court slam in Australia in 2009. He’s proved he can do it, but I don’t think this is the year. Nadal generally burns out by the end of the season which means an early (for him) exit in New York. Nadal’s managed his schedule a little better this year, but based on his hard court season, I just don’t see him winning the USO this year. While I don’t think Rafa will win the USO, he will make the semi finals. He’s still 3,000 points ahead of Roger in the rankings and a semi final finish will maintain his points from last year which means he will end the year as number 1. The majority of the Armada is in Nadal’s quarter so he should know his opponents well. He could see countryman Feli Lopez in the 4^th round and possibly Verdasco in the quarters. Ferrer is also floating in there somewhere. One of the best stories coming in to the Open is the resurgence of David Nalbandian. He sneaks in as the last seeded player, but has had a smoking hot summer after returning from injury. My guess is he will make it past Verdasco and Gulbis and into the quarters before losing to Rafa.

Semi Finalist: Rafael Nadal

Possible Sleeper: Alexandr Dolgopolov

Best First Round Match: Ernests Gulbis vs. Jeremy Chardy

Second Quarter:

Seeded Players: Andy Murray (4), Stanislas Wawrinka (25), Sam Querrey (20), Nicolas Almagro (14), Mikhail Youzhny (12), John Isner (18), Radek Stepanek (28), Tomas Berdych (7)

This is an interesting quarter. None of these guys have ever won a Slam, but several of them look well on their way to hoisting a trophy one day. Leading the charge is Andy Murray. Players, commentators, and journalists have all touted Murray as the best player not to win a Slam and often say with certainty that he will win whatever event they’re covering. Murray has previously made the final in New York and this year he made the final of the Australian Open. Both times his quest for the title was easily stripped by Roger Federer. Murray actually has a winning record against Roger Federer, a real oddity on the tour, but can’t seem to get it together in finals. However, he did win Rogers Cup in Toronto this August, defeating Roger Federer for the first time in a tournament final. I expect Andy to get to the semi finals, but he’s got some serious competition on the way. A month ago, I would’ve said that John Isner could have had a real break out at the US Open this year, but he injured his ankle in Cincinnati and it looks very likely that he’ll pull out of the USO draw before the event begins. Tomas Berdych is the biggest threat in the draw. He beat Andy Murray convincingly at the French Open this year en route to the semi finals and made it to the Wimbledon final for the first time. This has been an amazing year for Tomas Berdych and the confidence he’s gained from these Slam results has done wonders. He’ll meet Murray in the quarters and that will be quite a match to watch.

Semi Finalist: Andy Murray

Possible Sleeper: Andrey Golubev

Best First Round Match: Michael Llodra vs. Tomas Berdych

Semi Final: Andy Murray d. Rafael Nadal

Third Quarter:

Seeded Players: Nikolay Davydenko (6), Thomaz Bellucci (26), Gael Monfils (17), Andy Roddick (9), Marcos Baghdatis (16), Mardy Fish (19), Juan Monaco (30), Novak Djokovic (3)

The universe was smiling on Andy Roddick when this draw came out. He’s seeded ninth, which means he could’ve ended up with a much less favorable opponent in the 4^th round and the quarter finals. According to the seeding, his 4^th round opponent should be Nikolay Davydenko, who he has a fairly solid winning record against. In the quarters, he is slotted to play Novak Djokovic, but I’m suggesting our first bracket buster here and I’m going to say that Mardy Fish will take out Novak Djokovic in the 4^th round. Bold move, considering Fish has never played well with expectations, but I’m working off the assumption that he’s a new man and will be able to deal with the pressure. Djokovic is easily the weakest of the top 4 players right now. He’s dealing with some health issues concerning the heat, and the first week of the US Open is likely to be hot. I think Nole’s schedule (night matches vs day) will play a big role in how far he makes it in the tournament. Mardy Fish has had an awesome summer, winning two back to back titles, and making the finals in Cincinnati. I would love to see him do well in front of the US crowd. Baghdatis also deserves a mention in this quarter. He’s had a great summer and could do some damage, but he’s played a lot of tennis and might be a bit tired. All that said, I think Andy Roddick is do some love and will make the semi finals. Unfortunately, he’s set to meet Roger Federer there. If the tennis world was a movie and Andy Roddick was the hero, Federer would be his nemesis. Without Federer, Roddick would be a 5 time Grand Slam champion instead of just one. I hate to say it, but I think Federer will stymie Roddick’s quest once again.

Semi Finalist: Andy Roddick

Possible Sleeper: Thomaz Bellucci

Best First Round Match: Janko Tipsarevic vs. Olivier Rochus

Fourth Quarter:

Seeded Players: Robin Soderling (5), Fernando Gonzalez (27), Albert Montanes (21), Marin Cilic (11), Jurgen Melzer (13), Juan Carlos Ferrero (22), Lleyton Hewitt (32), Roger Federer (2)

The final quarter includes the GOAT, Roger Federer. I don’t care if he comes in as number 1 or number 2 or even number 3. Federer should never be underestimated in a Grand Slam tournament. He has won more of them than any other player and is the owner of 5 US Open trophies. He was a finalist last year and lost an extremely close match to Juan Martin del Potro. The articles saying that Fed’s all washed up are just ridiculous. He may be 29, but he’s definitely got Slam potential left. Roger’s even put a number on it. He would like to retire with 20 Grand Slam titles. This number may sound out of reach for a normal human, but not Roger Federer. He already has 16 titles. What’s 4 more? Plus, by my calculations, he’ll be on trophy closer to his goal in a little over 2 weeks. It’s a shame that Lleyton Hewitt will face Federer in just the 3^rd round. They always put on a great match and it really should’ve been further down the line. Lleyton may have taken their last meeting at Halle, but I think Roger will certainly take this one. The biggest threat to Roger is Robin Soderling in the quarter finals. Soderling beat Federer for the first time this year at the French Open, but Roger still has a steep lead in their head to head.

Semi Finalist: Roger Federer

Possible Sleeper: Dmitry Tursunov

Best First Round Match: Dmitry Tursunov vs. Jurgen Melzer

Semi Final: Roger Federer d. Andy Roddick

Final: Roger Federer d. Andy Murray

US Open Preview: The Women

2010-08-27T21:15:00.004-05:00

Alright, so after spending an hour or two fighting with my new printer and watching several hours of ESPN2’s coverage of the Pilot Pen tournament, I have finally come up with my draw for both the men and the women at the US Open. I know, I’m previewing the women’s draw. I’m sure you’re all shocked. What did I learned from scouring the draw? There are an awful lot of names that I neither recognize nor am able to pronounce. However, I am working on this. Currently, I’m watching the Wozniacki/Dementieva semifinal from New Haven on TV. Don’t worry, I can actually recognize both of these ladies. On a side note, I have to say that Caroline worries me a bit. I’m not sure she should have played New Haven this week. It gives her very little time to prep for the USO and she’s had a lot of medical treatment for her back. She may have clinched the US Open Series, but was that worth sacrificing the title in New York?

You’re probably not wondering about my method, but I’m going to tell you anyway. I sat down with a paper copy of both the men’s and women’s draw (sans qualifiers!) and filled in every single slot. Some of my picks are based on obvious gaps in talent, some are hunches, and some are pure wishing. I got a little help from the head to head feature on the WTA website, but that can only tell you so much. If you were dedicated enough to read this far, here is your reward: my picks for the 2010 US Open (women’s side.)

First Quarter:

Seeded Players: Caroline Wozniacki (1), Lucie Safarova (26), Aravane Rezai (18), Maria Sharapova (14), Svetlana Kuznetsova (11), Maria Kirilenko (23), Yaroslava Shvedova (30), and Li Na (8).

Poor Caroline Wozniacki has gotten a lot of flack for being the number 1 seed at this year’s US Open. It’s not her fault that Serena withdrew and it’s not her fault that she’s number 2 in the world. The points don’t lie. She’s won enough matches to be number 2 in the world, plus she’s only 20. She won her first Masters Series title in Montreal last week and has won this year’s US Open Series. She also comes in to the Open as last year’s runner up. To put it lightly, she’s no slouch. However, she did end up with a fairly unfortunate draw. Should they both make it, Caroline will face Maria Sharapova (a former USO champ) in the round of 16. Like I mentioned, I think she’s played a lot of tennis and may have tired herself out. By the time she makes it to Sharapova, she’ll likely be exhausted. Sharapova has been in good form recently and should prevail. I believe she’ll most likely face Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. Both Sharapova and Kuznetsova have won the US Open before and Kuznetsova won a title this summer, which Sharapova did not. However, Sharapova is a USO favorite and thrives under the lights. Her serve is way more consistent than last year when she lost to Melanie Oudin. Plus, she’ll want as many opportunities as possible to show off her new dresses.

Semi Finalist: Maria Sharapova

Possible Sleeper: Anna Chakvetadze

Best First Round Match: Maria Sharapova vs. Jarmila Groth

Second Quarter:

Seeded Players: Jelena Jankovic (4), Kaia Kanepi (31), Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (22), Yanina Wickmayer (15), Agnieszka Radwanska (9), Nadia Petrova (17), Alexandra Dulgheru (25), Vera Zvonareva (7)

The second quarter doesn’t quite have a stand out for me. Jelena Jankovic generally puts on a good show and makes it deep into the second week (my guess is she’ll bow out in the quarters,) but for someone who has been world number 1 (she’s currently 5,) she can never seem to convert. If there were any year to have a break through performance, it would be this one. Serena Williams is out of the US Open! She’s far and away the best female tennis player in the world, so her absence opens up the field quite nicely. Jelena hasn’t got a particularly difficult section of the draw. I think Kaia Kanepi had her run at Wimbledon and it’s now over. Yanina Wickmayer made the US Open semi finals last year, but I don’t think she’ll be able to repeat. I’m not entirely sure who Alexandra Dulgheru is. I’m mildly kidding here, but really who is she? The only real threat to Jelena Jankovic in this section is Vera Zvonareva. Vera has mostly been known as a bit of a head case in her time in tennis, but at the moment, she’s doing something right. She made it to the Wimbledon final in both singles and doubles. She may have lost both, but in my book losing to Serena (in the singles) is no big deal. It happens to everyone. This time Serena isn’t there to impede her progress. I think Vera’s got enough game to take out Jelena in the quarter finals and I peg her as this year’s semi finalist.

Semi Finalist: Vera Zvonareva

Possible Sleeper: Andrea Petkovic

Best First Round Match: Nadia Petrova vs. Andrea Petkovic

Semi Final: Maria Sharapova d. Vera Zvonareva

Third Quarter:

Seeded Players: Francesca Schiavone (6), Alona Bondarenko (29), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (20), Victoria Azarenka (10), Shahar Peer (16), Flavia Pennetta (19), Tsvetana Pironkova (32), Venus Williams (3)

So there’s a Williams sister in this section. That means she should be the semi finalist, right? Wrong. Venus is now 30 years old. She hasn’t won a Slam in 2 years and she is coming into the US Open with some knee injury that kept her from playing the entire summer. If she has a chance at another Slam before retirement, it’s Wimbledon. I think her US Open days are over. Interestingly, she’ll get her chance to avenge her weird loss at Wimbledon 2010. If all goes accordingly, Venus will play Tsvetana Pironkova in the 3^rd round. I don’t think Williams will let Pironkova shock her again. Francesca Schiavone is the next highest seed in this section. I’m not even sure why people are talking about her as a contender. I know she won the French Open and that was a lovely story. But she’s 29 years old and until May has never proven to be all that good. I think she’ll lose early on and eventually we’ll stop talking about her again. So I don’t think Williams or Schiavone is in contention. My pick for section number 3 is Victoria Azarenka. She has had a wonderful summer and proven herself to be a consistent player with a big game. Several experts have chosen Vika as the champion, but I think they’re getting a bit ahead of themselves. She will make the semis though.

Semi Finalist: Victoria Azarenka

Possible Sleeper: Agnes Szavay

Best First Round Match: Alona Bondarenko vs. Vera Dushevina

Fourth Quarter:

Seeded Players: Samantha Stosur (5), Alisa Kleybanova (28), Daniela Hantuchova (24), Elena Dementieva (12), Marion Bartoli (13), Zheng Jie (21), Petra Kvitova (27), Kim Clijsters (2)

Alright, Kim Clijsters is the reigning US Open champion. She defeated Serena Williams in the semi finals last year, a match that included the infamous battle between Serena and the linesman. Kim’s comeback has been pretty impressive and her best performance has always come at the US Open. At the moment, she’s dealing with a slight hip injury. We’re not sure how serious it is because she hasn’t gotten a scan yet. Kim said regardless of what was going on with her hip, there was no way she would miss the USO so it didn’t matter. The fact that she thinks she’s got a shot at defending her title makes me believe that the injury isn’t that serious. She’s also got a pretty good section of the draw. I think she’ll probably get Marion Bartoli in the 4^th round. I’m not sure why, but I really like Marion Bartoli and would love to see her make a play here, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Samantha Stosur would normally be a big factor, but her game is much better suited to slow courts and she’s dealing with an ongoing arm injury. I think Kleybanova may end Sam’s USO dreams in the 3^rd round. Dementieva’s always dangerous and she’s a former USO finalist, but she’s not a great closer. We saw that in tonight’s New Have semi final. I’m going out on a limb here and saying Kleybanova will make the quarters. It’s a hunch, but you never know. Clijsters will be the semi finalist. Also of note, this quarter includes former world number 1 and 2008 Roland Garros champion Ana Ivanovic. It’s been a long road from number 1 for Ivanovic. Something completely inexplicable happened after her Grand Slam win and her ranking seems to drop further every week. However, there have been some signs of hope for Ana this summer and I would love love love to see her put in a good performance here, but the foot injury she suffered in Cincinnati scares me a little. We’ll see.

Semi Finalist: Kim Clijsters

Possible Sleeper: Ana Ivanovic

Best First Round Match: Daniela Hantuchova vs. Dinara Safina

Semi Final: Kim Clijsters d. Victoria Azarenka

Final: Maria Sharapova d. Kim Clijsters

So Close, Yet So Very Very Far

2010-08-19T21:31:00.003-05:00

Good evening everyone. I apologize for my lack of posting recently. I have finally arrived in St. Louis after 17 hours on the road. I spent a couple of hours yesterday desperately seeking a way to spend the night in Cincinnati and thus give myself the opportunity of visiting the Masters tournament that is currently underway. No dice. I wouldn't have arrived in Cincy until 11pm and would've had to hit the road around 11am.

So, I may not have been able to make it in person, but I've been keeping a pretty close eye on the Western Southern Financial Masters event this week. Let's talk Roger Federer. He's into the quarterfinals of Cincy after a finals showing last week in Toronto. I guess this is a little misleading. Roger has played a total of 7 games all week. He had a bye in the first round, Istomin retired, and Philipp Kohlschreiber pulled out of their match before it even started. Pretty good week in my book, but not great practice. He'll be up against Davydenko next, who hasn't had the best results lately and Roger has a very heavy winning percentage against Kolya, but it could be tricky. I still think Fed will come through.

Andy Murray is fresh off a Masters 1000 win in Toronto, but faces tough competition in his QF. Murray has also played a lot of tennis lately and in some pretty exhausting conditions, the poor guy has drawn mostly day matches. Anyway, Mardy Fish is ridiculously in form and has a great shot here. Murray's likely to be tired and Fish is on a roll. I'm looking for the upset here. Also, Andy played a three set match today against Ernests Gulbis and is looking a little vulnerable.

If Andy Roddick is feeling better, and that's a big if, he should be able to power past Novak Djokovic. Nole seems to have been having some serious issues with the heat lately. I haven't seen the order of play yet but my money's on Andy in a day match.

Poor Julien Benneteau had all the chances in the world today against Rafael Nadal, including match point, but couldn't convert. Nadal eeked out the win, but he's going to have to do a lot better if he plans on winning the US Open for the first time this year.

On a side note, John Isner was forced to retire from his match against David Nalbandian yesterday, after rolling his ankle. All signs were good last night when John posted on his twitter that his ankle should be fine with some rest and ice. However, Patrick McEnroe tweeted this evening that Johnny is now in doubt for US Open. This would be a big loss for the Americans. I'm not sure he was on his way to winning the title this year, but I was expecting an impressive performance and a run into the second week. My warmest recovery wishes are going out to John this week. Clearly this should do the trick.

I'm very excited for this year's US Open. No one looks invincible and it could be anyone's title. I'm doing my best to make travel reservations for Labor Day weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to give you guys some live insight.

My apologies if you find mistakes in this mess. I think I'm still delirious from the drive ;)

Rain Can't Keep Andy Murray Down

2010-08-15T21:12:00.002-05:00

During the second rain delay in today’s Toronto final, both Federer and Murray seemed to be ready to play through the miniscule amount of precipitation. The chair umpire was adamant that the lines were to slick and play would be suspended until they could be dried. On the ESPN2 coverage, the camera zoomed in on Murray pointing to the sky and explaining to the chair umpire that what was occurring in Toronto was not rain. It’s true, Murray lives in London (where I spent 6 months earlier this year) and they definitely know rain. If he says it’s not rain, I believe him.

It doesn’t really look like rain played a huge role in today’s match. Sometimes rain delays can make or break a match. If you’ve ever seen the movie Wimbledon (don’t judge me, it’s heartwarming,) you know what I’m talking about. Yes, it’s a movie, and an exaggeration, but things like this do happen. That was not the case today. Andy Murray was in control from the very beginning of the match to the very end of the match and that is an excellent omen for his chances at the US Open.

Yesterday, Andy Murray came out guns blazing and completely blitzed Rafael Nadal in his Rogers Cup semifinal. Nadal’s no slouch (a possible understatement?,) he’s number 1 in the world, he won the French Open, he won Wimbledon and right now the odds makers have him as the front runner to win the US Open. On Friday, Murray absolutely demolished Legg Mason winner, David Nalbandian. Murray has had a spectacular week and managed to top it off with a straight sets win over Roger Federer, the greatest of all time. Yes, I said it. Federer is the greatest of all time and Murray just beat him for the first time in a final.

Murray actually has a winning record against Federer, but has never beaten him in a tournament final, including two Grand Slam finals. This is a great step forward for Andy if he plans on winning the US Open, as Roger has been his biggest obstacle on the quest for a slam. Murray lost to Federer in straight sets in the final of the Australian Open in January. Since then, Murray’s results have been lackluster in the smaller tournaments and mediocre (for him) at the Grand Slams. I witnessed his loss in the 4^th round of the French Open and his season still wasn’t looking so good. Wimbledon is always tricky for Andy because of the overwhelming pressure the UK dumps on him each year. He’s their only real chance at ending the British dry-spell (and it’s been a really long dry spell,) but the added pressure certainly doesn’t help his chances. This year, Murray equaled his best Wimbledon performance by reaching the semifinals before falling to eventual champion, Rafael Nadal.

Murray’s only 23 years old, so he has plenty of time left to win a Grand Slam, but he is clearly the best player on tour who hasn’t been able to make that final breakthrough and bring home a Slam trophy. The recently coachless Murray seems well on his way to realizing that dream if he can continue to perform like he has in his last three matches.

While I can’t give Murray enough praise for his performance in Toronto, I do have to address Federer’s side of the match. Roger came out flat today from the very beginning. All week, I feel like he’s been constantly trying to dig himself out of a hole. Today that hole was just too great. On Thursday, against Llodra, he fell down 4-1 in the first set. He is still Roger Federer and somehow managed to fight back to 6 all and win the tie-break, but it was a real nail biter. On Friday, we saw Fed win a re-match of his Wimbledon quarterfinal against Tomas Berdych. Both matches had everyone on the edge of their seats, but this time, Roger prevailed. Yesterday, I was confident that Federer would have no issues closing out a rattled Novak Djokovic after watching him run to a 6-1 first set. I’m not sure what happened after that, but the second set just slipped away from him. He started missing shots that no one would ever expect Roger Federer to miss. It was that second set version of Roger Federer that we saw today. He was netting easy forehand returns and looked miffed by the continued weather disturbances.

Federer may not have won the title, but he fought through two very difficult matches and regained his rightful position as world number 2 in the process. I’ll leave you with this. I don’t think it matters that Federer lost the title. He doesn’t need another Masters event. He’s in the hunt for more Grand Slams as he battles time and some excellent opponents. After his shock loss at Wimbledon, I think eeking out wins over Novak Djokovic, and particularly Tomas Berdych will do wonders for his confidence.

It's Friday

2010-08-13T10:27:00.005-05:00

You know what that means, it's quarter finals day in Toronto. I feel like I just left the lovely city and all the big names were still confined to the practice courts instead of the stadiums, but that was already a week ago. A number of favorites have passed us by and we're into the meaty part of the tournament. I would argue that quarter finals day at any tournament is the biggest bang for your buck. Today is particularly good as all of the top 4 are still in action.

The day will start with what I believe to be the most interesting match-up: Andy Murray vs. David Nalbandian. Nalbandian is fresh off a title in Washington DC after returning from injury. He has played on and off all year, but has not participated in a Grand Slam even since the 2009 Australian Open. People tend to underestimate Nalbandian's abilities, but he has been to the semi finals at all four majors, including a Wimbledon final. He was also ranked a career best of number 3 in the world. His current ranking stands at 45, but is likely to rise again on Monday. Murray is 4th in the world and took home the Rogers Cup trophy just last year, so he's got lots of points to defend. While players like Nadal and Djokovic have ended up with slightly less challenging opponents in the quarter finals, Murray is in for a test. Nalbandian is absolutely on fire at the moment. To reach the quarterfinals, he took out David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, and world number 5, Robin Soderling. Murray on the other hand, got a bye, Xavier Malisse, and Gael Monfils, who bageled him in the second set. Clearly he's not exactly in top form yet. Nalbandian already beat number 5, who's to say he can't take care of 4 too. I think Nalbandian will prevail in three.

Next up is Rafael Nadal vs. Philipp Kohschreiber. In the first round, Kohlschreiber played just four games before Janko Tipsarevic was forced to retire due to an ankle injury suffered during the match. Next, Kohlschreiber faced Viktor Troicki and Yen Hsun Lu, not exactly a draw full of superstars. So far Rafa's biggest test has been the first set tie-break against Stanislas Wawrinka, which he won 14-12. Since then it's been smooth sailing. He shouldn't have much trouble today either. My guess is Rafa in two.

The evening session will be headlined by the match we've all been waiting for, a re-match of the Wimbledon quarter final that shocked the world. Yes, we're talking Roger Federer vs. Tomas Berdych. Berdych's road to the quarters has been comprised of two bracket busters, Sergiy Stakhovsky, who took out Richard Gasquet in the first round, and Alexandr Dolgopolov, who beat Philipp Petzschner and Mikhail Youzhny. Berdych hasn't really had an issue disposing of these guys, although Dolgopolov did take him to three sets, but he also doesn't look quite as good as he did on his dream run to the Wimbledon final. So far, Federer has faced Juan Ignacio Chela and Michael Llodra. Roger gave me quite a scare yesterday against Llodra. I wasn't real pleased to see him down 4-1 in the first set, but in typical Roger fashion, he managed to fight his way back and win the first in a tie break, going on to dominate the match. It looked like Llodra must've expended most of his magic in those first few games, because the second was a bit of a walk for Fed. Although, at one point int he second set, Llodra threw in an underhand serve. This is something he, like most pros, had never done before in a tour level match. Somehow, this actually stumped Federer, who's return went wide. Apparently they both laughed at that one. Finally all was said and one and they shook hands at the net. A few minutes later, Llodra returned to the net, shirt in hand (I'm starting to think he just doesn't like wearing one) and asked Roger for an exchange. Roger complied, tugging his baby pink polo over his head and handing it over. He quickly returned to his racket bag and donned a replica. Llodra later said that Roger is a legend and the shirt would be a great gift for his kids. See, ever the other players what mementos from Federer. The guy truly stands in a league of his own. Anyway, I digress, I can't say for sure, but I think Roger will come out on top of Tomas under the lights tonight. I'm not completely sure if this prediction comes from my utter admiration for Federer or a true belief that he will win, but I said it, and I'm sticking to it.

The final match of the night is Jeremy Chardy vs. Novak Djokovic. Chardy has managed to take out some hard hitters so far, but I don't think he'll be able to get it done tonight. I know Djokovic's health was a concern in his last match, but that was a day match, in the heat. Heat is really Djokovic's big problem and that shouldn't be an obstacle tonight since his match will likely start around 9pm. I'm going with Djokovic in straights.

So, there you go, all of my predictions for the day. I'll check back tonight or tomorrow with some thoughts on the day's action and our semi finals preview. I've DVR'd today's coverage, so I might actually have some comments on the tennis this time. Look forward to it.

I Guess I Can Still Write About Toronto...

2010-08-11T21:50:00.004-05:00

Even though I can’t be there, I’m still following the happenings at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. It’s actually been a fairly eventful couple of days. Don’t worry, all your top seeds are still in the game. The highest seeded player we’ve seen make an early exit is Fernando Verdasco (9.) All of the top 5 players in the world are still working their way towards the final. The boys in pink, Nadal and Federer, seem to be doing alright, as is Murray. Djokovic is having some of his infamous issues with his breathing in the heat. I’m not really sure what he can do to alleviate this. It doesn’t seem to be an injury or even an issue with fitness. If it was either of those, I think he would have fixed it by now. It really seems like his body just can handle being in such hot conditions and playing for a long time. That’s far worse than an injury that just needs some time to heal. Interestingly, Djokovic’s only major title was at the Australian Open, which is the hottest of all the Grand Slams. Oh well, he made it through his match today and hopefully Toronto will cool off a bit for his sake.

Soderling rounds out your top 5. He also made it through to the third round, but not without a fight. Ernests Gulbis, the young Latvian, kept up with Soderling well into the third set. Steve Tignor, one of my very favorite tennis journalists, interviewed Gulbis after his defeat and wrote an excellent piece that can be found at http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/2010/08/whatever-happens.html. Honestly, I’ve never paid that much attention to Ernests Gulbis. Every once in a while, he pops up on my radar and then disappears for a while. Apparently he’s the second coming of Marat Safin, and it’s probably not clear from my blog, but I really miss Marat. He was one of my favorite players to watch, sometimes because he was unbelievably talented, and sometimes because he was wildly unpredictable. Everyone loves a bad boy, and Marat was the quintessential tennis bad boy. He partied too much; he got in fights, and broke more rackets than anyone could count. What other player has shown up to a tournament with a black eye from a bar fight? It’s true, after watching several interviews with Ernests and seeing him in person, he does share several qualities with Safin. There are far worse players he could be compared to. People are quick to criticize, but Safin won two Grand Slams. You may say he was capable of more, but who cares? Most players would kill for what he achieved, and he managed to have a good time doing it. Who are we to scold him for it? Back to Ernests, the first thing that struck me from the interviews was that he sounds exactly like Safin. Gulbis is from Latvia and Safin is from Russia, two bordering countries, so it stands to reason that they would speak English with a similar accent. If you believe the news, Gulbis also shares Safin’s penchant for women. He was arrested in Sweden for picking up a prostitute last year. He’s only 21 years old and already an international sports star, I think we should probably cut him some slack. The other major similarity comes in the form of Ernests nonchalance. Win or lose, the guy doesn’t really seem to care. When Tignor interviewed Gulbis, he had just lost a match he really should have won. He had a ton of break points in the second set, and as Tignor says in his article, Soderling won the match because he wanted it more. He also has the same love/hate relationship with tennis that Safin so often portrayed.

I like Ernests Gulbis. He has an interesting game when he can get it to work and his casual personality makes him seem like the guy next door. If I had to choose a tennis player to hang out with, this guy would definitely be on my short list. He manages to be funny even in English, which is very difficult for the players who speak it as a second language and he doesn’t care what other people think (the pervasive opinion is that he is merely lazy.) You almost wouldn’t know he was a tennis player. At an ATP tournament, even someone who’s never watched tennis can pick out most of the players. Hint: they’re the tall, fit ones, traveling with an entourage and carrying giant racket bags. I saw Ernests on Sunday morning in Toronto and barely noticed him at all. He was sitting alone, in a chair in the hotel lobby, with a hoodie pulled all the way up and listening to his ipod. He looked exactly like any other 21 year old guy. I can’t say I’m really sure why he plays tennis at all, considering he’s from one of the wealthiest families in Latvia and doesn’t seem to like it all that much, but I’m glad he does. Maybe he’ll be discussing it with me one day.

I didn’t mean to dedicate this whole article to one player, but this guy’s been getting a lot of attention again, and I’m intrigued. In other news, the Rogers Cup has lost some fan favorites already. David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Simon, Janko Tipsarevic, and Sam Querrey are all out. It's worth noting that Janko Tipsarevic, who's had a pretty good few weeks, hurt his ankle and has since pulled out of Cincinnati. Hopefully he'll be alright for the US Open. I don’t think it makes much of a difference though because everyone wants to see what happens with our top 4. They’re what matters. They do have some threats though, like an in form David Nalbandian, who’s been on an absolute tear lately.

As a parting thought, I just have to mention how confused I am every time I look at the Toronto draw. Roger Federer’s name is not at the top of either half. It sits cozily in the middle of the right half. In all the time I’ve been watching tennis, Roger has occupied one of the coveted end spots. It’s completely foreign for me to have to search for it. I believe Roger will sit firmly atop one of those columns at some point in the near future, particularly with growing concerns over Djokovic’s game.

In completely unrelated news, Dmitry Tursunov, pictured above with Gulbis, was awarded a wild card entry into the Binghampton challenger event this week, but was disqualified when he arrived late for his first match. If he's looking to get back to the top 20, he's going to have to remember to actually show up for his matches. Dmitry is another guy who is quite funny to listen to and he has an excellent twitter account. He often responds directly to fans with questions or comments. You can follow him on twitter @TursunovTales.

Lost in Transit

2010-08-10T10:18:00.003-05:00

Hi guys. This morning, while doing my usual perusal of the tennis news, I saw that Rafa and Nole lost their first match in Toronto last night as a doubles team. I guess it was exciting while it lasted. Anyway, I vaguely remembered writing something about Nadal/Djokovic doubles so I did a little rifling through my purse and found my notebook. I write all of my posts long hand so sometimes I forget about one or two and they end up slipping through the cracks. It turns out that I wrote a post about the dynamic duo while I was en route to Toronto on Friday. It may be a little outdated, considering they've already lost, but I wanted to share it with you. I've changed absolutely nothing since the plane ride. Here goes...

I've mentioned this before, but I see doubles as a truly underappreciated facet of the tennis world. Doubles matches often include incredibly talented players and entertaining, fast paced rallies. More and more often now, we're seeing prominent singles players teaming up to play doubles. It may not be their main purpose, but they can be pretty damn good. The Olympic gold for singles has always eluded Roger Federer, but he and Stanislas Wawrinka teamed up tow in a gold medal for Switzerland at Beijing in 2008, proving Roger could share the glory. My point...doubles can be just as interesting as singles...and this week things just got a lot for interesting.

Last week we saw the Bryan brothers claim their 62nd title as a team (which is the new record,) but this week, we will see world number 1, Rafael Nadal, and world number 2, Novak Djokovic, attempt to take home their first title. No, I don't expect this partnership to last past Tornot, but it should be pretty entertaining while it does last. the only team I thinhk fans would be more interested to see would be Federer/Nadal, but I don't see that ever happening outside of an exhibition or charity match. As it is, I am extremely curious to know what brought Novak Djokovic to this idea. Neither Rafa or Nole needs the money, neither needs points in the doubles rankings, and neither really needs the publicity. However, that's what it will be, excellent publicity. Somehow I think agents and tournament directors played a key role in developing this partnership. I'm sure the idea didn't just come to Nole in a dream. This is a huge coup for doubles. I would love to see two of the best players int he world team up to beat down some unsuspecting doubles specialists. Although I'm not too sure this will be the case. Some extraordinary singles players transission effortlessly to doubles, like Fed at the Olympic or the Williams sisters pretty much everywhere. We also saw singles players Philipp Petzschner and Jurgen Melzer team up this year to beat some very serious doubles teams and take the Wimbledon title. However, some singles players find it hard to share, and they fail miserably when it comes down to the teamwork. Honestly, I'm not seeing either of these scenarios being the case for Djokovic/Nadal. Both guys have successfully played doubles in the past, but at a Master event singles will be the top priority. thse guys might win a match or two, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of them pulled out to protect his chances in the singles. The weeks leading up to the US Open are packed with important tournaments and it's not a time to take risks. Like I said, look for a couple of victories before going out to a mroe seasoned doubles team or having Rafa or Nole pull the plug. I would be shocked if these guys won the whole thing. On the singles side, the prospects are looking good for either of them to take home the trophy.

Ahh, the ramblings of someone who's been sitting in the airport for several hours. Anyway, clearly I was a bit off about the whole winning part. I'm generally not much of a conspiracy theorist, but I'm calling this one a simple publicity stunt. The fact that they were playing a rookie Canadian team in Toronto and lost, was way too lucky for the tournament.

A Weekend of Tweets

2010-08-09T15:32:00.006-05:00

I know a lot of people still don't like to use twitter. I was very reluctant to join, but it's become an excellent source of information about tennis players. I've got some followers now, but not nearly as many as read A Change of Ends. I think some of my observations from this weekend are amusing, so the following post is simply an exact recap of what I posted on twitter this weekend, so please don't pay attention to some of the misspellings, etc. Twitter isn't exactly conducive to proper grammar.

Is anyone watching Rafa do the draw? He is so fidgety! 5:27 PM Aug 6th via web
Very limited internet. Here are some fun facts from today. 6:50 PM Aug 7th via web

Rafa and Nole did practice together this morning. It was a mob scene. Sadly, I deided to stay away from the madness. 6:50 PM Aug 7th via web

Fed practiced on a court that is very difficult for spectators to see. It was still mobbed. He snuck out the back entrance at the end. 1,281,217,899,000.00 via web

FYI, Federer practiced with Robin Soderling. 1,281,217,916,000.00 via web

Spent a full hour watching sam Querrey practiced. He seems like a really nice guy. Fun fact: he hit the gym this morning with his trainer at around 10:30. 1,281,217,981,000.00 via web

I'm in love with Tommy Robredo. He's adorable. 1,281,217,997,000.00 via web

Just saw Gulbis and Davydenko chatting in the lobby before going their separate ways. 1,281,218,027,000.00 via web

I consistently end up in the evelator alone with Julien Benneteau and never actually say anything to him. I wonder if he'll start to notice. 1,281,218,067,000.00 via web

just saw Stan and Peter Lundgren jovially walking through the lobby. Those guys look happy! 1,281,219,141,000.00 via web

Stan and I are now work out buddies. He just doesn't know it. Looks like he and Peter are getting along great. Lots of laughing. 1,281,228,582,000.00 via web

Michael Llodra cleans up nice. Just saw him on his way to dinner. 1,281,228,598,000.00 via web

Feliciano Lopez is here, just saw him checking into the hotel. Had an urge to follow the bellhop up to his room, but resisted. 1,281,228,647,000.00 via web

Monfils is out with his crew. Looks like he could take some fashion advice from Llodra. 1,281,229,201,000.00 via web

Tomorrow's Legg Mason final will feature Baghdatis and Nalbandian. My money's on Nalbanian. He's been on fire this week. 1,281,229,399,000.00 via web

Robin Soderling just looked at me funny. Weird, cause I wasn't even staring at him or anything. 1,281,229,785,000.00 via web

Soderling is in the lobby with finace, Jenni, and Robert Lindstedt, the Swedish doubles player. 1,281,229,837,000.00 via web

Victor Hanescu looks kind of surly, but quite tall in person. 1,281,230,343,000.00 via web

Davydenko just walked by with a woman I assume is his wife. She was wearing a very sparkly shirt with Bugs Bunny on it. 1,281,230,503,000.00 via web

Richard Gasquet and coach just came back. I shared an elevator with them earlier today. 1,281,230,604,000.00 via web

Alright, I've got to go get some dinner myself, but I'll try get some juicy updates later. 1,281,230,745,000.00 via web

@MTFadout I'll do my best to find Ernie tomrorow. So far, I've only seen him off site, I'll try to hit up a practice tomorrow. 1,281,239,321,000.00 via web in reply to MTFadout

some incredibly androdgenous tennis player i don't recognize with the skinniest gf i've ever seen just walked in. No idea who it could be. 1,281,240,749,000.00 via web

Breakfast time in toronto! 1,281,278,047,000.00 via web

Saw Ernie sitting alone in the lobby waiting for transport. Didn't stop to bother him though.. It looked like he had a rough night. 1,281,278,082,000.00 via web

Mr androgenous was at breakfast this morning with twiggy, but I still have no idea who he is. 1,281,278,114,000.00 via web

Almost didn't notice Gilles. He seems to be breakfasting with mom and dad. How cute! Coach and son are also here. Man, that kid is lucky! 1,281,278,157,000.00 via web

Gael and Gilles had a nice catch up when they saw each other. 1,281,278,185,000.00 via web

Feli was eating alone for a while, but was eventually joined by some guy. Where was Ferenando? I thought they were inseperable. 1,281,278,244,000.00 via web

Fun Fact: Feli wears a Yankee's baseball cap with his initials embroidered in the side. 1,281,278,291,000.00 via web

Mrs Davydenko was wearing the same flashy Bugs Bunny shirt to breakfast, but no sighting of hubby. 1,281,278,355,000.00 via web

I think I used to underestimate the attractiveness of Gilles Simon. He is adorable. I love that he's here with his parents. 1,281,278,405,000.00 via web

Almost forgot, saw Robin Soderling in the gym this morning cycling. 1,281,278,477,000.00 via web

I think something about me creeps Sod out. I was just walking by the door and all of the sudden he turned around and looked at me. 1,281,278,526,000.00 via web

It's a little rainy today, so hopefully we can get in some tennis. I've got to check out fo the hotel at 12 and my flight's not til 9. 1,281,278,570,000.00 via web

Also, it is Mr. Federer's 29th birthday. So birthday wishes for Roger this morning. 1,281,279,016,000.00 via web

just got a photo with Gilles, taken by the lovely gf of Julien Benneteau. 1,281,281,713,000.00 via web

someone's coach just said hello to me in French. I wonder who it is. 1,281,281,852,000.00 via web

Mystery solved. It was one of Monfils' team. 1,281,282,264,000.00 via web

still trying to figure out who mr. androgenous is. 1,281,282,280,000.00 via web

Also, Julien Benneteau's gf was sitting next to me waiting for her car and he is super pretty. 1,281,282,384,000.00 via web

You know you go to too many of these things when you start to recognize the coaches. 1,281,282,474,000.00 via web

Unfortunately the rain cut my day at the tennis short, as in I didn't see any before I had to leave the site. Oh well, sitting in the lobby. 1,281,299,748,000.00 via web

Nikolay is right in front of me with his ipad about 24 hours ago via web

what's up with WAGS and Bugs Bunny? Andrey Golubev's gf was only wearing a Bugs Bunny t-shirt, allbeit less flashy. about 24 hours ago via web

*** This should have read "Andrey Golubev's gf was ALSO wearing a Bugs Bunny t-shirt." Let me be clear, she was also wearing pants.

@RagingBitch You solved my mystery. It was indeed Dolgopolov. about 24 hours ago via web in reply to RagingBitch

Querrey's coach is all over the place. Looks like he's on his way to the gym. about 23 hours ago via web

hoping for some fun sightings before I have to leave for the airport. about 23 hours ago via web

Forgot to mention earlier. A player was actually squeegeeing his own court. Just as it was looking pretty good, it rained again. about 23 hours ago via web

If they let me watch up close, I would've helped squeegee. about 23 hours ago via web

Gonzo is in the house. Very blue tape of his calf. about 23 hours ago via web

now it's super sunny. I hate you toronto. Why couldn't you have been sunny this morning? about 23 hours ago via web

the WAGS are almost as easy to spot as the players. They're all tall, thin, and gorgeous. Well, not all, but most. about 23 hours ago via web

The lobby in the hotel is very dark. It both hurts my eyes and makes me feel creepier than usual. about 23 hours ago via web