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 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 2

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

Photo by Getty.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

Seriously Janko, Momochromatic Maroon?

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

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

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

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

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

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 ;)

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/

Money, Money, Money, Money...Money

For the seventh year, Sport Illustrated has come out with a list of the top 50 earning American athletes. Tiger Woods topped the list again this year despite everything that has happened. Although his earning are down about 9 million dollars, but I’m not sure that matters very much when you’re earning more than 90 million dollars per year. The complete list included 15 NFL stars, 16 NBA players, 13 baseball players, 3 NASCAR drivers, two golf titans, and a boxer. I’m guessing you probably noticed the absence of any tennis players on this list. It makes sense. Americans just aren’t that interest in tennis, but I don’t have to like it. Andy Roddick is the highest earning American player on the men’s side and as much as I love him, he’s not winning the big tournaments that come with the big money and the big endorsements. Even if he was, the A-Rod of the tennis world would have to win prize money equivalent to 22 grand slams in a year to equal the yearly salary of baseball’s A-Rod. Clearly that isn’t going to happen. That’s why tennis players have to make up for the lack of prize money with endorsements.

Serena Williams may be the superstar of the WTA tour, but even more so than other industries, female athletes only make a fraction of what their male equivalents take home. Tennis is actually one of the most equal sports in terms of pay between men and women, but even if the prize money is the same, the endorsements will never be. Williams isn’t even the highest earner on the women’s tour. That honor goes to Maria Sharapova, who earned nearly 20 million dollars in the last year. Not only is Sharapova the highest earning female athlete, she made it to number 20 on the list of the Top 20 Highest Earning International Athletes, one of 3 tennis players on this year’s list. Attractiveness will get you everywhere. Maria hasn’t made it past the quarters at any major since she won the 2008 Australian Open. I’m not knocking her play. She was out for a long time with a shoulder injury and has been working her way back to top form. But this just goes to show how little prize money means and how much the “cute” factor matters for endorsements. I mean, Anna Kournikova never really won anything on the singles tour and she still makes money on her tennis career because people think she’s hot. Serena Williams may be incredibly talented, but she’s also slightly terrifying. Maria Sharapova and her Chihuahua make for a pretty cute commercial, but Serena doesn’t exactly scream cute.

Anyway, I got a little off topic. Three tennis players made the list of the Top 20 International Earners. Roger Federer came in at number 1, earning over 60 million dollars between prize money and endorsements. Federer’s got it all, mind blowing talent, good looks, and ridiculous sums of money. Mirka is a lucky lady. He was number 9 on last years list, so even though he didn’t defend his title at the French Open or Wimbledon this year, he’ll be pleased to know that he earned more than twice as much as the next highest earning tennis player, world number 1, Rafael Nadal. Nadal appeared at number 9 on the list, earning 27 million dollars. In case you’re wondering what would happen if SI put together a global list. Federer would be the 2^nd highest paid athlete in the world, right behind his good friend Tiger and right above pro golfer, Phil Mickelson.

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

Half Way There

We’re halfway through Wimbledon now and I’ve been terrible about updating. Believe me, I’ve had plenty of opinions this week, so I’m going to fill you in on some of what I think were this week’s most important tennis moments.

Have any of you noticed an abundance of five set matches? The Isner/Mahut match clearly comes to mind as it dominated the news from Wimbledon’s first week, but there have been several other five set matches this week, even if they weren’t quite so epic. I think it’s been a while since we’ve seen Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal tested so heavily in the first week of a Grand Slam. Federer started off his title defense with a five set match in both the first round and a four set match against a qualifier in the second round. In the first round, Federer somehow lost the first two sets of his match against Alejandro Falla (someone he’s beaten twice in the last month) and fought back to keep himself in the tournament. News outlets around the world seemed to be preparing articles about the impact of Federer’s first round loss, but he isn’t the Greatest of All Time for nothing. The true greats are the players that can fight their way back from a two set hole and win the match. Federer would live to fight another die, and I mean it when I say fight. It wasn’t quite the battle from the first round, but Federer did drop a set to Serbian qualifier Ilia Bozoljac. However, not to worry, Federer looked in top form during his third round match against Arnaud Clement. Nadal has been equally off balance, just squeaking by in his second and third round matches. In the second round Nadal faced off against Robin Haase of the Netherlands and was forced into five sets again in the third round against Philipp Petzschner of Germany. The lack of dominance of the top two seeds should make some others very hopeful. Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, and Robin Soderling have all had very strong starts in this tournament and it looks like any of them have as solid a chance at the title as Roger or Rafa do.

There’s been plenty of media attention, but I can’t skip the Queen’s visit. On Thursday, the Queen attended Wimbledon for the first time in over 30 years to watch Andy Murray play his second round match against Jarkko Nieminen. Murray won in straight sets. There was a lot of media speculation over who would get to play on Centre Court during the Queen’s visit (not that it mattered, as the Queen left directly after Murray’s match.) Once the official schedule was released, the talk of the day turned to who was jilted out of a chance to play for the Queen. First of all, the Queen met many players including the Williams sisters, Andy Roddick, and Roger Federer early in the day before taking in Murray’s match. Serena Williams did have a match on Thursday, and as the number one seed, probably should have been on Centre Court instead of Court 1. However, Roger Federer is the number one seed and has played some of his matches on Court 1 as well. Granted the Queen’s attendance wasn’t a question when it came to Federer, but I don’t believe that the Wimbledon coordinators were intentionally trying to jilt Serena. If anything, I would say that Serena’s outburst at the US Open is probably what kept her off Centre Court on Thursday, not her race or her attractiveness.

Speaking of outbursts, Victor Hanescu, the usually emotionless Romanian, was fined $7,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct and $7,500 for lack of effort in his third round match against Daniel Brands. The $7,500 fine for unsportsmanlike was well deserved. He spit at the crowd. I was very surprised to here this considering how steady he usually is on the court. Apparently everyone has a breaking point and the crowd found Hanescu’s. I tend to disagree with the lack of effort fine. I think this is kind of a silly rule anyway. Why would a player intentionally not try when they could just retire from the match? Hanescu’s match went to five sets before he retired, clearly the guy was trying. He won two sets. I know foot faults are uncommon and generally a player shouldn’t have that many double faults, but it’s possible that he really was injured or more likely that he was a little angry after the spitting incident and wasn’t playing at his best level.

Let’s check in with the women’s side for a moment. We saw early round exits from both French Open finalists Francesca Schiavone and Samantha Stosur. However, all of the major contenders for the title are still playing their best tennis. Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin look to be in pretty good shape. It’s a shame that one of them will be out after the fourth round, but that match up should be pretty exciting. Maria Sharapova, a former Wimbledon champ, is playing very well considering her recent form. I would consider her a possible second time champion, if she wasn’t playing Serena Williams tomorrow. Number three seed Caroline Wozniacki is also playing some great tennis and could give Serena some trouble down the line. Serena and Venus both look to be in tip top shape this year. I’m definitely predicting another all-Williams final.

I’m sure I could go on and on about the first week, but I think I’ll leave it at this. We’ve got another full week of tennis ahead and I think things are about to get very exciting.

Wimbledon 2010 Preview

In just a few hours, my favorite two weeks of the tennis year are set to begin: Wimbledon. Unfortunately, I had to return back to the US after my trip to Paris and won’t be in London for this year’s Championships. In January, I had the opportunity to visit the grounds of the All England Club. I’ll be the first to admit that the tour and museum will only interest true die-hard fans, but considering this is my favorite tournament, I loved every rainy, cold moment. Luckily, I’m free for the next two weeks and will be able to watch every minute of action this year, except maybe the ones that occur at 6:30 in the morning. I might watch those on my DVR.

Anyway, the draw was released on Friday and I’ve taken some time to mull it over. First off, let’s take a look at Grand Slam champions in the men’s field…

Grand Slam Champs:

Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal

Novak Djokovic

Andy Roddick

Lleyton Hewitt

Juan Carlos Ferrero

Wimbledon Champs:

Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal

Lleyton Hewitt

Clearly, Federer and Nadal are the favorites for the men’s title. Nadal wasn’t able to defend his title and Wimbledon last year and is back to top form as we saw a few weeks ago at the French Open and as we’ve seen throughout the clay court season. I don’t think anyone would count out Roger Federer for a title at Wimbledon. Federer may have lost in the quarters at the French Open, something he hasn’t done in the 23 majors prior to that, but Wimbledon is a whole different ball game from the French. Until last year, Federer the French Open had eluded Federer as one of the last holes in his trophy collection. This year he wasn’t feeling nearly the same amount of pressure. He’s silenced the critics by beating all the records and continuing to play at a phenomenal level. I think Roger Federer will amp up his game for Wimbledon. Wimbledon was Roger’s first Grand Slam title and he was clearly devastated to lose the crown in 2008. I don’t think he’s going to want to part with the trophy this year after he fought so hard to get it back. So, let’s break down the draw a little bit more…

First Quarter:

The highest seeds in this quarter are Roger Federer (1) and Nikolay Davydenko (7.) Under normal circumstances, I would say Davydenko could be a threat, but he’s never played his best tennis at Wimbledon and this is his first major tournament back in action since breaking his wrist. In any case, Federer should really face any resistance until the quarter finals, where countryman Stanislas Wawrinka or Tomas Berdych.

Semi Finalist: Roger Federer

Second Quarter:

Now we’re looking at a slightly trickier section of the draw. There are a lot of possible contenders in this quarter, namely Novak Djokovic, Lleyton Hewitt, and Andy Roddick. Djokovic is always kind of iffy at Wimbledon and Hewitt is looking in top form at the moment. He recently ended a 15 match losing streak against Roger Federer to win the title at Halle. On the other side, Roddick shouldn’t have too much trouble making it to at least the quarters. My guess, Roddick d. Hewitt in the quarters, which means we’re in for a real treat in the form of a rematch between the two players who gave us such an epic final last year.

Semi Finalist: Andy Roddick

Semi Final Prediction: Roger Federer d. Andy Roddick

Third Quarter:

Andy Murray should have this in the bag. He’s made it to the semis before and I think he’s looking to avenge last year’s defeat. The next highest seed in this quarter is Fernando Verdasco (8.) Andy’s biggest threat could come in the form of Sam Querrey (18) in the fourth round, who won Queen’s last week. Murray should get an extra boost on Thursday, when he may get the opportunity to play in front of Queen Elizabeth II.

Semi Finalist: Andy Murray

Fourth Quarter:

Here’s where things get interesting. This is Nadal’s section of the draw and it holds a lot of hazardous players. Originally, I thought Nadal’s first test would come very early on, in the form of Ernests Gulbis, who’s been playing very well this year. However, he has withdrawn from the tournament. This means Nadal should have no trouble until the fourth round, where he is set to meet either Mikhail Youzhny or John Isner. Either of these guys could be tricky. Youzhny has his ups and downs, but overall he’s had a pretty good year and could put up some resistance. Nadal has played John Isner twice, both this year, and has won both of these confrontations. However, they haven’t played on grass before. If they end up meeting, I think Nadal will make it through, but Isner will put up a fight. The next problem, and a slightly bigger one (not physically, Isner is 6’9”) will most likely be Robin Soderling. Nadal had no real issue dispatching this guy in the final of the French Open, but Soderling has been Nadal twice in the past and is increasingly hungry to win his first Slam.

Semi Finalist: Rafael Nadal

Semi Final Prediction: Rafael Nadal d. Andy Murray

Final Prediction: Roger Federer d. Rafael Nadal

Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve got some time on my hands, so hopefully I’ll be blogging very often over the fortnight.

I very nearly forgot to mention the ladies side. I won't go into detail, but I believe we'll be seeing another all-Williams final, but this time Venus will prevail. I'll go into more detail on the women's side in my next post.