Davis Cup Roundup

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.

A Saturday at the US Open

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/

Everyone Loves a Cinderella Story

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

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

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

An Unlucky Night for Americans in the Capital City

At the beginning of last night, there were sixteen men still in contention for the DC title. Four of them were American. Three of our guys had excellent chances of not only winning their matches, but going all the way at the tournament. Andy Roddick was the second seed and has wont he tournament 3 times before. John Isner recently made the final of the Atlanta tournament and was vaulted into stardom after winning the longest match in history at Wimbledon earlier this year. He lost the Atlanta final to man-of-the-moment, Mardy Fish, who was on an 11 match winning streak after taking home the title at both Newport and Atlanta and beating Viktor Troicki in his first match at Legg Mason. I think you all know where this is going. Today there are eight guys left and not a single one is American. Roddick lost to Gilles Simon, John Isner to Xavier Malisse, Mardy Fish to Marin Cilic, and qualifier Ryan Sweeting lost to Fernando Verdasco. This was all compounded by the second round loss of LA champion, Sam Querrey, who fell to Janko Tipsarevic.

Isner lost to Malisse in a third set tie breaker. This result was surprising considering Isner's consistency with breakers. Although it seems John may be facing some concerns over a shoulder injury, which caused him to pull out of doubles with Sam Querrey. Sweeting's defeat was no surprise. In terms of Mardy Fish, there's been a lot of hype lately. I saw him win the title in Newport a few weeks ago and the guy is clearly in the best shape of his life. He may have been ousted by Marin Cilic last night, but no matter, he's already won two title this summer alone. He deserves a little break anyway.

The big surprise of the night was Any Roddick's loss to Gilles Simon. I think Andy Roddick's always a bit of a favorite at Legg Mason. He's won the tournament 3 times and made the final last year before losing to Juan Martin del Potro, the eventual US Open champ. So, it's surprising that he lost, period, particularly in just his second match. The even bigger surprise was the winner, Gilles Simon, who has recently returned to the tour after battling a knee injury that kept him out for most of the clay season. Had this been early 2009, this defeat would not have been all that shocking. Gilles Simon was ranked 6th in the world and Andy Roddick hadn't yet reached the most heartbreaking Wimbledon final I've seen. For Gilles, I think a solid performane in Washington would help bring some of the old confidence back into his game. He's only 25, so he could clearly get back up there with the top players. I'm thinking probably the top 20. He's not a huge guy, only 5'11", so I'm not sure I'm convinced we'll be seeing him back in the top 10 real soon. Tennis has a whole has recently shifted to a new species of giants and I think it's going to keep getting more difficult for the normal sized players to compete at the highest level. I really like Gilles so hopefully his comeback goes as planned and we'll see some good results at the US Open.

My big concern out of this mass exodus of Americans is for Andy Roddick. According to Brad Gilbert's twitter, Andy will fall out of the top 10 after this loss. this will be a big blow to Andy's confidence going into the rest of the hardcourt warm ups for the US Open. Roddick will be 28 in a few weeks and is fast approaching a time where he will need a miracle to win another Grand Slam. If you've read the archives, you'll know that this is not a critique of Roddick. I am a huge fan of Andy and want nothing more than to see him win one of the big four. Andy did win the Miami Masters this year and made the final at Indian Wells so hopefully the rest of the return to hardcourts will go well for him, starting this week in Toronto.

Speaking of Andy Roddick, whoever is sending him nasty tweets needs to stop. I'm tired of hearing players are quitting twitter because people are being mean to them. I understand not everyone is a fan, but it is just stupid to tell a celebrity you don't like them. No one cares. Again, you can follow me on twitter by clicking the "Follow Me" button on the right hand side of the page. I'll try to keep it updated this weekend while watching the quallies in Toronto, but no guarantees as roaming charges on my blackberry may be a bit pricey from Canada.

In Other News...

So, by now you all know that I spent the weekend in Washington DC checking out the quallies and a lot of practice sessions at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. There were a few players I didn't get to see this weekend because they were in the finals and semi-finals of other tournaments.

Sam Querrey successfully defended his title in LA in a final against Andy Murray that I was fairly sure he was going to lose. This gives Querrey some excellent momentum going into Washington and the rest of the US Open Series. Sam hasn't posted stellar results at majors so far, but he is pretty amazing at the smaller tournaments. Like I said, Sam is scheduled to play in Washington this week and should post a decent result. I don't see him winning it though. I'll discuss the draw a little later. Quisner (Sam and John) are also scheduled to play doubles this week in search of their second title. They're still a long way off the Bryan brothers' record breaking 62nd title this weekend at the Farmer's Classic in LA. Bob and Mike may have broken the Woodies title record, but they still have to win four more slams to become the all-time men's doubles Slam title holders. All in, LA proved to be a great weekend for Americans. The Bryans are also in action this week at the Legg Mason Classic and will be looking to pick up title number 63.

Speaking of Americans, Andy Roddick is seed number 2 in Washington this year. He was won this tournament several times and was denied the title last year by Juan Martin del Potro. Andy needs some wins this summer if he has any hope at the US Open. He arrived in DC yesterday and took in some early morning practice. I was pretty devastated that I missed him. If you've read the rest of my posts, you probably know that I'm a big Roddick fan, so I say this in the nicest possible way. Andy isn't getting any younger, and the competition isn't getting any easier. If he plans on winning another Grand Slam, it's going to have to happen soon. Other Americans in the DC field include Kevin Kim, Ryan Sweeting, Mardy Fish, James Blake, and Rajeev Ram.

In terms of the draw, things shouldn't get interesting until around Wednesday when most of the seeded players will be on display. The top 16 players at the DC tournament are given byes through the first round. In Quarter number 1, it looks like we'll be seeing Tomas Berdych and John Isner. A possible upset could come from Richard Gasquet, who's coming off a final in Umag. However, I would take Berdych and Isner in this quarter.

In Quarter number 2, we've got Fernando Verdasco and Marcos Baghdatis. I don't have a lot of confidence in Baghdatis and this Ernests Gulbis could pose a serious threat. That kid can work some magic. Michael Llodra is in Verdasco's half of the quarter and he's had a pretty good year as well. I would say Verdasco/Gulbis for the quarters.

In Quarter number 3, the draw shows Sam Querrey and Marin Cilic. I've discussed Cilic before and I think he's in a bit of a slump. He's so young and has so much talent. I wish he'd just believe a little more. Mardy Fish is in Cilic's piece of the draw and he's had a pretty spectacular summer to date. He could be tired out, or he could be just getting started, but I've got to say that Fish looks to be in great shape so I like his chances. Querrey will have to deal with Lleyton Hewitt, but I this Querrey should make it through.

Finally, Quarter number 4 includes Andy Roddick and Stan Wawrinka. David Nalbandian would face Wawrinka in the second round assuming he makes it through Rajeev Ram in the first round. Nalbandian hasn't played a Grand Slam since the 2009 Australian Open, but posted some awesome results in Davis Cup this year. Andy Roddick should make it through Gilles Simon, who hasn't been really good for a while now. Coming back from injury has not been easy for Gilles and from what I saw at two of his practice sessions, his confidence just isn't there. He's missing the easy shots and it's making him angry. Radek Stepanek is the other seed in this quarter, but this is one of his first tournaments back from injury and getting married. I doubt practice has been at the top of his to-do list, so I think it will take him a while to get back into the tour groove.

Update: If you'd like to see my photos from the event, please follow the link below.

http://s966.photobucket.com/albums/ae146/lubinskya/Legg%20Mason%20Tennis%20Classic/