Hilarity Ensues

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

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

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

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

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

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 1

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.

The Calm Before the Final Storm

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.

Stuff Happened This Week, Kind Of

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

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

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.

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

So Close, Yet So Very Very Far

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

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.