Alright, Not So Super Saturday

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

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.

US Open Preview: The Women

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

Is Court 2 Really the Graveyard?

It was for Andy Roddick on Monday, but I think if you asked Yen-Hsun Lu, he would tell you the exact opposite. The folklore says that Court 2 is the Graveyard of Champions. Former champions like Serena and Venus Williams, Pete Sampras, and Andre Agassi have all gone out to lesser known opponents on this outside show court. However, I wouldn’t necessarily say that the court had anything to do with the unlucky outcome of the match. I was certainly shocked to see Andy Roddick exit the tournament on Monday but Tuesday offered significantly more shocking defeats on the women’s side, none of which occurred on Court 2. Let’s take a look at what happened in today’s women’s quarter final action.

Vera Zvonareva def. Kim Clijsters: Kim Clijsters kicked off her comeback with a bang winning the 2009 US Open. Since then, she’s posted reasonable performances, but I was pretty shocked by her exit to Zvonareva. Clijsters looked in charge at the beginning of this match, winning the first set 6-3. I should note, that in February of last year, Vera Zvonareva was ranked 5^th in the world and Kim Clijsters wasn’t even playing tennis, so this isn’t really as shocking a victory as we all might think it is. Zvonareva may be ranked 21 now, but that is mostly due an ankle injury that plagued her for most of 2009. I’m guessing she’s recovered at this point and I give her excellent chances against Tsvetana Pironkova. I’m not 100% convinced though, because we all know what Pironkova is capable of…

Tsvetana Pironkova def. Venus Williams: Venus Williams has won Wimbledon 5 times as well as 2 US Open titles. Tsvetana Pironkova comes from Bulgaria, a country that doesn’t even have grass courts. She has never made it past the second round of any Grand Slam tournament and hasn’t won a single WTA title. Clearly you all pegged Pironkova to win this right? I can’t even imagine what the odds were on this one. To make matters even worse, Venus barely put up a fight, losing 6-2 6-3. Maybe there’s something about players ranked 82, as both Pironkova and Lu, the man that took out Roddick, are ranked 82 in the world. Who knows? Or, maybe Williams was having the odd off-day at Wimbledon, but this upset will most likely be the most surprising of the tournament.

Finalist: Vera Zvonareva – I have some doubts that Pironkova will be able to keep this momentum going. Generally an upset this incredible is followed by a let down.

Petra Kvitova def. Kaia Kanepi: Honestly, I’d never heard either of these names before this tournament and was shocked to find out that Kanepi was a Top 20 player as late as last year. I watched as Kanepi held match point after match point and self destructed. However, props to Kvitova for capitalizing on the opportunity. She was just as likely to choke as Kanepi but had no problem closing out the match when it came down to it. What’s Kvitova’s prize for fighting back to valiantly: a semi-final match against 12 time Grand Slam winner, Serena Williams. Fate’s funny that way. Sorry Kvitova.

Serena Williams def. Na Li: No surprises here. Serena managed to bring some order back to the day. She looks in fine form and, like I said, I would not want to be Petra Kvitova.

Finalist: Serena Williams

Champion: Serena Williams

Top Ten Surprises of the 2009 US Open

***REPOSTED FROM MY PREVIOUS BLOG "LIVE AND LET DIGRESS***

ORIGINALLY DATED September 13, 2009

10. Marat Safin loses in the first round of his last Grand Slam event.

*This wasn't actually a surprise considering how he's been playing this year, but I couldn't let his retirement go by without saying something. People tend to forget that he is a two time major winner ('00 US Open and '05 Australian) and as late as last year made a run to the semis at Wimbledon. He has provided us many years of incredibly entertaining and dramatic play as well as entertaining and dramatic press conferences.

9. Roger Federer's between the legs shot on the penultimate point of his semi-final match against Djokovic.

*No one but Federer would have been able to pull this off, if you missed this shot, please check out this video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVQhIEPbM0g

8. Dinara Safina maintains number 1 ranking regardless of her miserable play during the Open.

7. Kim Clijsters captures women's title after several years of retirement. The last US Open she played was 2005, which she also won.

6. Andy Murray loses to Marin Cilic in the fourth round.

*I had him going all the way to the final again this year.

5. The majority of the seeded women are defeated early in the tournament. Almost every early round match seemed like a huge upset. Only half of the quarterfinalists were seeded, only 1 in the top 5.

4. Serena Williams threatens to kill a linesperson over a foot-fault call in her semi-final, resulting in a point penalty on match point.

*We all knew she was terrifying, but never expected this. A $10,000 fine is not enough, and she should not have been allowed to play in the doubles' final. The WTA should really consider suspending her form the Australian Open. This unsportsmanly behavior reflects poorly on the whole sport.

3. Andy Roddick loses in the third round to 6'9" American John Isner, who precedes to lose to Fernando Verdasco, resulting in the first time an American man has not made it to the quarter finals at the US Open.

*Seriously Andy Roddick, every time I start to believe you can win another major, something like this happens. I'm expecting great results at the Australian.

2. Unseeded American Melanie Oudin, only 17 years old, beats Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova en route to her first major quarterfinal.

1. Juan Martin del Potro defeats Roger Federer in the first five set final since 1999.