Cross Court

The Impossible Year

2011-09-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

Every year, the slate wipes clean and the tennis community - spectators, analysts and players alike - wait to be impressed. 2011 was clearly paved by the current world #1, Novak Djokovic. In addition to holding the greatest YTD record of 64-2 and becoming only the 6th player in the open era to win 3 Grand Slam titles in a calendar year, Djokovic has claimed the title of the youngest man in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Major events, both separately and consecutively. That said, are we impressed?

Each of us seems to have a different definition of what is impressive. Some are impressed by folks who can accomplish something they never will. Some will not deem a person impressive until total events are actualized. And others find nothing impressive about anyone who simply is not the best.

While Nole won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, do we so easily forget that Roger Federer accomplished this same feet in 2004? And 2006? And 2007? On top of that, he was by far the second best clay-courter, losing only to the best in the finals four times. That said, can we leave Rafael Nadal away from the discussion of impressive? The man began competing in in the French Open in 2005 and did not lose a match there for four straight years. And he hasn't lost at the French since his one outing in 2009.

Both of these men have won all four Grand Slams and have been the indisputable pioneers of the game over the last decade. This year, Djokovic beat them both. He achieved the impossible year. Will the record ever be repeated? No. Can Nole make a similar run in 2012? Unlikely. Regardless, we all probably agree to see Roger and Rafa deep in tournaments next year. Each of us can decide who, if any, is impressive...

The Lost Round

2011-09-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

Rolling into the second week of the year's final Grand Slam tournament, the lack of play over the first 7 days has seemingly taken center stage over the displays of brilliance around the National Tennis Center.

Commencing with Robin Soderling before play even started, 17 additional pros have retired from a 2011 U.S. Open match before the end of the 3rd round. Many players in the past have talked about the unique challenges of the U.S. Open, from noisy fans, to the choking traffic delaying their commutes, to the distractions of New York City. But none of those complaints can explain any of the fallen. While none of us can or should assume the severity of any of the retirement-causing injuries including muscle pulls, cramping and food poisoning, it is rather telling that each concession came while the player was already behind in the match.

Roger Federer, who has conceded merely one match in 973 over his illustrious career, has been forthcoming in his skepticism, questioning, "Could some guys finish the matches? I'm sure, but they didn't decide to. It's shocking to see so many retirements. For me it doesn't matter how bad I'm feeling, I will be out there and giving it a try, because you never know what's going to happen."

Not only do the retirements make us wonder what could have been for those players defeated in a prior round, but also begs questions upon both the negative and positive impacts on the coming week. For instance, former world #1, Juan Carlos Ferrero, triumphed through two grueling 5-setters only to be handed a third round victory over Marcel Granollers. Granted, the short time on court was certainly appreciated, JCF's abilities are not to be questioned and, as such, a true victory may appear more valid.

Aside from Ferrero, both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have been handed wins before their third round matches. Is that even fair? The two most highly favored to take the crown need not receive a free point from a double fault, let alone a complete walkover.

Even though the need to string together a series of 7 consecutive wins makes a fluke victor unlikely, it is still difficult to accept so many retirements. As the Round of 16 begins, we've already lost more than a round's worth at 18.

Formality

2011-08-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight our champion, Rafael Nadal, began he quest to defend the U.S. Open crown. On the other side of the net stood Andrey Golubev, one of Italy's young hopefuls. The match was expected to be one of cliches, much like Roger Federer's the night before.

While being broken once, Nadal still handily accepted the first set in 41 minutes. And then the fun began. Andrey opened the second set with any early break going up quickly to 3-0. The young Italian was open, taking full advantage of every ball Rafa left slightly short on the court. Regardless, a few loose points helped Rafa break back to 2-3 -- things were back on track for the greatest front-runner to roll right along.

Well, maybe not. Golubev immediately broke Nadal at love! And that game began every bit of drama Nadal was surely hoping to avoid in an opening round match at a Grand Slam. Golubev somehow dug himself into a 15-40 hole. He followed it up with a couple unimaginable volleys to level the game at deuce. Let's add in an ace to get to an advantage and then a simple smack of a short ball behind Nadal to pull out the hold. 5-3. Nadal easy holds and forces the Italian to serve for the set.

Upon the side change, Rafa oddly changed rackets even though he had just served with new balls. Golubev seems unphased, racing to an easy an 40-0 but then throws in his 5th double fault. Ah well, with 2 more points for the set, that's when you do it I guess. The next point was easily Rafa's though, with Andrey hesitating on his movement in to the net. 2 set points wasted and then nets his third. Deuce.

Tightening up as the game continues, Golubev seems to be in trouble. But promptly dismisses any nerves with an ace (though challenged by Nadal)! Advantage G. Urg, but then he goes for broke on a wiry forehand and misses. Deuce. Largely clear that the kid just does not seem to know what to do on the big points. Finally Andrey hits a winner and it's immediately followed by a beauty by Nadal right up the line. Back to deuce! Such drama continues and, eventually, Nadal breaks back. No exaggeration of a lost opportunity here. We have to imagine the match is all but over with the looming tiebreaker and third set merely played as a formality.

The match continues with much of the same exasperation. Though Nadal is not necessarily one to be beaten, especially by a man who held a 17-game losing streak earlier in the year, Golubev certainly had his chances to dethrone Rafa while being up a break in the first set, holding 7 set points in the second and somehow capturing 2 breaks and an opportunity to serve for the third set. Even with the impressive display, the board still chalked up a straight set victory for Nadal.

An Open Too Open?

2011-08-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

This year's United States Open stands to overcome a number of challenges. Aside from the possibility of sever delay as a result of the looming doom from Hurricane Irene, the 2011 U.S. Open may prove to be the first major disappointment in the last 10 years of phenomenal talent.

Since 2008, the top four male players have been the same: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Federer has likely left his superb peak, but a moderate year for him is one for which most would salivate. Nadal is going nowhere. Even though he has not been able to conquer Djokovic this year, Rafa have dominated the rest of the pack all year. Murray may very well surprise us as he did earlier this year in Melbourne, reaching the Australian Open final. However, Andy has the toughest draw of the top 4 and may, easily, be taken out by Stan "the Man" Wawrinka in the third round.

In fact, it was this past AU Open which gave us all a small glimpse into the future -- and boy it is bleak. Simply put, a field led by Novak Djokovic is just not as exciting as one led by Roger or Rafa. While Nole has garnered the best YTD season (57-2) ever, he is not yet the #1 who enters a tournament as either a fan favorite or the public's winning pick. Not the case with either Federer or Nadal. Essentially, this year's draw seems promising enough for any entrant -- quite a bit like each of the women's tournaments over the last few years. Who would be surprised if the fiery Fernando Gonzalez, calm Ernests Gulbis or lone American hope Mardy Fish took the title?

Even still, either of our regularly scheduled champions always has a perceived chance to win any slam. In fact, that's my pick, inspired by the law of averages: Roger-Rafa final with Fed coming out on top. It's been long enough.

Federer Grows His Record Collection

2009-07-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

SW19 has been home to a slew of magnificent moments over the last few weeks and in no disappointment culminated to the most wondrous 4 hours of 2009's Wimbledon during the gentlemen's championship match. Despite the mounds of youngsters on tour, a few old timers starred on Sunday: Roger Federer, who has dazzled, if not spoiled, us over the fortnight, and Andy Roddick, the sole American man to grace the Wimbledon final since legendary Pete Sampras.

Roger, with classy wins over Robin Soderling, Ivo Karlovic and Tommy Haas, was in perfect form to take on the hard-hitting, big-serving Statesman. From the onset, neither was showing much venerability but it was only a matter of time before Federer would break the Roddick serve and rush off with the trophy. Little did we know that Andy really didn't have anything else to do or anywhere else to go and was ready to stay a while. Holding his own service games like the pro that he is, Andy was able to claw out a break of his own to grab the first set 7-5.

Still, no worries. Roddick took the first set from Fed in their 2004 meeting but was still unable to capture the title. The second set, though, turned out to be just as close as the first, both taking care their serves with ease and turning to a tiebreak to move on. Immediately, Andy found Fed flat footed and with unreturnable body serves & his faithful backhand flew off to a 6-2 lead. The end seemed all too near for Federer. He did get one break back with his signature backhand flick crosscourt to the open lawn to approach his own service points with resurgent energy. A couple of aces drew Roddick to again claim the set for himself but Roger was able to get his own racket on the bullets to create a complete reversal. Federer drew an error to level the match.

Roddick dusted himself down as the third set was almost a duplicate of the second with another tiebreak looming. This time, it was Federer who ran off to a 5-2 lead and unlike his opponent, did not let the opportunity drift, closing it out 7-5. The Swiss maestro was just one set away from re-writing the history books.

Andy was long was finished though and broke for a 3-1 lead in the fourth set. He recovered from love-30 when serving for the set at 5-3 to continue a three-year stretch of 5-set final matches. And it was a marathon. The 5th set was the longest in men's Grand Slam final history with the American forever trailing. While both faced some tension, each was able to up his ace count in the route of erasing danger -- almost a tribute to Pistol Pete who had traveled half the globe to witness such a spectacle.

At 7-all in the 5th, we were reminded of last year's match at which point Roger was finally broken. He held this time, as did Andy. 8-all, we play on. A few love and 15 games later, 11-all... we play on. Finally in the 30th game of the set, 14-15, Roddick faced the first break point which was also a championship point. With this point Federer was on the verge of sitting alone atop of the sport of tennis with 15 Grand Slam titles while regaining his world #1 ranking. Merely two shots after the serve, it was all over. Roger Federer, with this lone break of Andy Roddick's serve, had made history exactly where history was meant to be made. On Centre Court. Wimbledon.

Anything you can do...

2009-06-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

If all you were looking for was a match of stats, 22rd seed Ivo Karlovic and 9th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put on quite the pleasing show, particulary in the serving department. This was the type of match, frustratingly to both opponents, where 15-30 served as an opening, a look at a second serve was precious and a successful winner came off a 3-shot rally.

The first set was comprised of bullets fired from both service lines. It wasn't until 5-all with Karlovic serving that Tsonga saw an elusive love-30 opportunity. Though, in classic Ivo-style, the Croat threw in 4 consectuve aces, numbers 11-14, to hold. Tsonga held easily, serving up a few aces of his own, to push a first set tiebreak where the two traded aces and unreturnable serves before Karlovic earned a minibreak, drawing Tsonga to hit a forehand just milimeters out. They stayed on serve for a 7-5 win to Ivo.

JW, clearly disheartened, was able to protect his serve again through the second set and this time come out the victor in another 7-5 tiebreak. On to the third, not much changed until the latest game. Tsonga serving at 5-6 faced a break point and with a second serve Karlovic was able to volley his was to a two sets to one lead.

The fourth set seemed to just fly by as the Frenchman lost only one point on his serve while Ivo just better him. They might as well have met in the centre and agreed to advance straight to the tiebreak, which saw 3 total minibreaks... one more for the Croat who will meet Fernando Verdasco in the round of 16. Undoubtedly Karlovic will look to let his service coast through the match and cement his title as the King of Aces.

Fire Power

2009-06-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

This year's Champions at Wimbledon have not been without drama and excitement but the first week's most enticing match came from a few very unusual suspects. Both at 29, born and raised on clay, 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez and former world #1 Juan Carlos Ferrero fought for a spot in the final 16 this Saturday. Gonzo, with his almost frightful forehand, has just recently come onto the radar as a true contender at the majors and was concerned the favourite over Ferrero who many concern to have peaked six years ago when he won Roland Garros.

The level at which these two were playing was fantastically high from the onset with many beautiful serves (though especially lovely from JCF's super smooth motion), 20+ shot rallies and quintessential one-two punches. Gonzo, as expected, captured an early break and though he did allow Ferrero into his own service games the Chilean held his own and was able to take the first set 6-4.

JCF, who had played superb lawn tennis to enter the third round, relied on his years of experience to overcome any discouragement. He kept the second set supremely tight by running Gonzo to every corner of Court 1. Finally, at 5-6, Ferrero was granted a break point and somehow got his racquet on a remarkable serve, continued to construct the point to Gonzo's backhand before charging the net for a winner and the second set. The third set seemed to find Juan Carlos very much at ease, holding with little trouble while Fernando was a bit more sluggish but still took care of his serve. As almost a repeat of the last set, Ferrero found an opportunity at 4-5 to break and to up a two to one set lead.

Gonzo, clearly frustrated, took JCF's first game of the fourth set to numerous deuces before snatching it away from the Spaniard. He went on the grab the fourth set, 6-4, despite an unruly public announcement which alluded to the completion of this match on Centre Court. Both players were put off by the rude interruption though, luckily, did not end up exchanging courts for their fifth set.

Ferrero apparently enjoyed the way he closed out his prior two sets and instead of securing an early break, he waiting until Gonzo was serving at 4-5. Sadly, the Chilean double faulted to hand over the game, set and match but otherwise put on an extraordinary three-hour match with his fellow, charming, Spanish-speaking opponent.

Rollin' into and out of Wimbledon

2009-06-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

As most desperately office-ridden tennis fans, Friday morning was spent hopelessly refreshing my Google search on world #1 Rafael Nadal: is he going to play Wimbledon? Speculation and rumours flew about until the statement was finally given: No. The answer is shockingly 'No.' The champion will not return, this year, to the green grass grounds and defend his title after an uncharacteristic loss on the French clay. Citing painful tendonitis in his knees, Nadal is simply not at 100% and has too much respect for the game and its premier tournament to play when he cannot set forth his best effort.

Nadal's absence seemingly leaves the fortnight wide open for Roger Federer to not only snatch back his Wimbledon crown but also regain the coveted #1 ranking that he held for a record four years. The Swiss star, who recently set foot into an elite group by winning the French Open, will be facing a new type of pressure. Even though he indisputably reigned on Centre Court for five straight years, he was always thought of as the favourite. This year everyone is already saying that in 15 days Roger will have his 15th Grand Slam winner's trophy. He is not merely expected win; he will win.

Oddly enough, the only tangible impact Nadal's withdrawal can have on Federer shows itself if he appears in the final. If the past five years tell us anything we should be able to neatly write, in pen, Roger's name on the final Sunday's roster, but his path to victory in Paris was anything but smooth. Many of this year's entrants will be taking a note from Robin Soderling's performance just weeks ago and will probably walk onto Wimbledon's lawns without anything to lose, giving the usual contenders new worlds of trouble. Regardless, I expect to see a lean and improved Andy Roddick resurrect and an aged rivalry will old buddy (and fellow married man) Fed.

Superb on Sundays

2009-06-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

Minus the triumphs of finally completing the career Slam and tying Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slams, the 2009 Rolland Garros final was merely another day at the office for Mr. Federer. He did what he usually does on final Sundays and it was none the easier this time around.

As he so often does, and as we are all so used to seeing, Roger dismissed his opponent by merely cloaking Soderling with fear and doubt. Similar to last year's US Open where Andy Murray was featured in his first Grand Slam final, the breakthrough Swede could not find the level of play he exhibited the rest of the tournament, allowing Federer to draw out errors and comfortably capture his first Coupe des Mousquetaires.

Perhaps the Swiss did get somewhat lucky for the first time in four years to not face the still undisputed clay court master, Rafael Nadal, across the net. Even though both are gracious, worthy champions, Federer continues to shows his dominance -- most notably by reaching 20 straight Grand Slam semis.

Many may try to peg this victory as a chance win, but history will surely prove to show more class. It does not matter who he ultimately defeated, Federer is indisputably the greatest tennis player of this generation.

Pressure Enough

2009-06-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

Roger Federer has enough self-inflicted pressure from a personal pursuit of history without the onlooking world adding its own. Arguably, Roger fell victim to stress when he struggled during his matches against Tommy Haas and Juan Martin Del Potro, the latter of whom had never even taken a set away the Swiss superstar until yesterday when he got a hold of two.

Sunday will mark Federer's fourth consecutive attempt to capture the Roland Garros title, when a successful victory will finally complete the career Grand Slam and silence the critics. The former world #1 clearly has lots to worry about, not even considering a child on the way, and deserves no more from anyone else.

Sure we love Roger and it's doubtful that even Magnus Norman will full-heartedly be pulling for Robin Soderling, but he need not worry. Roger Federer will forever be the beloved tennis idol, with or without a dirty French trophy.

Not Even Close

2009-06-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

While the 5-set, apparently tight 6-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 score of Roger Federer's round of 16 battle against Tommy Haas suggests that an epic clash of wilful opponents had occurred, it was perhaps one of the most listless, uninspired matches of this year's French Open.

Rarely is a player up two sets to love and not considered in control of the match. Haas was in that exact position with all but the taste of victory over the former world #1. Federer, though uncharacteristically dull, did not lose a point on his serve the entire first set until the tiebreak and even at that point didn't seem to make an effort to level the match. Instead, as done in the past, he dug himself a nice big hole - almost to give more reason to put on a show of droppers, aces and backhand winners up the line. Certainly the German played a large role by self-destructing right in front of the largest beast willing to take open prey, but there was never any substantive thought given to Fed's potential loss.

In fact, when Nadal was down two sets to one, commentary turned to Federer winning Roland Garros. When Roger was down two to love, talk moved to the looming 5 sets (which ended up lasting merely 3 hours). This only goes to show the absurdity of the general will to want Federer to win the career grand slam. Just remember though, Rafa lost by some amazing fluke that possessed Soderling. Roger won by one... this time.

Drop Shot Much?

2009-05-28T04:24:00.000-07:00

As mind-numbingly nerving as Roger Federer's second round match against experienced Jose Acasuso was, there was a refreshing intelligence of play that was exhibited by both players. Neither started with a particularly famous game plan but humility and the brinks of defeat worked wonders for the creative development of the latter stages of this match.

Acasuso came out blazing, proving that he can hang right in there with the Fed by forcing Roger's second service game to 8 deuces, though failing to convert 5 break point chances. To hold, Federer was forced to hit an amazing service out wide, setting up and beautifully disguised drop volley. However, the lost opportunities did not phase the Argentine, who went on to hold and then go up a break by coming to the net himself. As expected, though, the former world #1 immediately lifted his game as needed and broke back with an utterly gorgeous backhand down the line, hit at full stretch. The set was destined for a tiebreak and the first two points went to the returner. Then something odd happened. Acasuso, mildly possessed, flew off to a 6-3 lead. Roger threw in two aces to erase the set points on his racquet, forcing Jose to serve out the set. The two ended up in a long rally of 20 shots before Fed decided to take all the pace off a backhand, drawing a waywardly hit ball from Acasuso: 6-all. Federer went on to take it 10-8.

The second set wasn't nearly as exciting as after a trade of breaks, each held serve fairly comfortably until Acasuso was able to finagle a deuce game on Roger's service at 5-5. He went on to break and hold to take the second set 7-5. At the 2-hour mark, we began the best of three.

Federer was certainly at odds, unable to gather proper footing, stunningly missing routine forehands and simply panicking. Acasuso took the golden opportunity and ran up to a 4-love lead before Roger could get an grasp of the set. It was looking rather grim for Swiss fans, already imaging a fifth set or, at worst, an embarrassing first week loss for the heart-favourite. No worries though, as Federer quickly found his game: serving easy aces, drawing errors, charging the net and invoking his world-class talent as intimidation. He broke back and went on to steamroll the tiebreak 7-2.

The fourth set was what we would have expected from him during such an early round obstacle, though Federer did seem to use this as a practice session for a potential Nadal final. Roger repeatedly hit the forehand drop shot, the backhand slice drop shot, the half-volley drop shot, the return of serve drop shot... and all with great success. Surely a swift Rafa will connect with more than a big fellow like Acasuso, but Roger, having passed this one, will surely be up to the test.

Heavy, Heavy Hitting

2009-05-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

Evidently the soft-touch, graceful game is on its way out of the Open we consider French. If you were lucky enough to catch any of yesterday's matches you must have noticed a theme that consisting of wailing the racquet hard enough to potentially decapitated an unprepared opponent with the oncoming yellow bullet. Oddly enough, this style of tennis was most entertaining on the red dirt.

Nadal, Murray, Hewitt, Safin, even the gentle Italian Starace were drawn into forceful play. Obviously the slow, heavy conditions of the day facilitated fewer errors (forced or unforced), longer rallies and stronger serves. Almost every shot struck yesterday could have been considered a winner had the players not been so incredibly quick. Perhaps most impressive was French wildcard Josselin Ouanna. The 23-year old whacked away from every inch of Roland Garros' Centre Court to outlast retirement-bound Marat Safin and will advance to a third round match up against Gonzo. Ouanna was somehow able to flatten most of Marat's balls and beautifully redirect the fuzz while adding even more pace than provided by the Russian. Needless to say, the returning shot was impossible to track down. After 4 and a half hours of seemingly tiresome play, Ouanna prevailed, blazing his shots as easily as in the start.

However, to taste ultimate success in Paris, I suspect most will try to finish points more quickly and shorten the court as much as possible. The truly arduous matches will start now with Murray seeing the intellect of Janko Tipsarevic, Verdasco meeting crafty Nicolas Almagro and Rafa trying to grind down scrappy Hewitt. None of these is a gimme win, but it's hard to bet against the seeds here. Well, maybe not Murray...

En Route

2009-05-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

Round 1 of Roland Garros is well underway, already harbouring defiant battles and highlighting spots of rust on our not-so-well-oiled machines... err world-class tennis players. The warranted heartbreaks thus far certainly go to Ivo Karlovic who aced Lleyton Hewitt 55 times over a grueling 5-set match but was still unable to taste victory and the country of France which has seen 16 casualties despite a homecourt advantage.

Regardless, play continued through Day 2 and the spectators in Philippe-Chatrier were treated to a schedule of Safina, Nadal and Federer! As the crowd was still rolling in Safina ran through two bagel sets to advance into the second round. Rafa was up to begin defending the crown he's worn for 4 straight years. His opponent: Brasilian qualifier Marcos Daniel who seems to be his country's sole hopeful talent since Guga's retirement in 2001. After this performance, Brasil should be proud. While he could not knock out the heart favourite in Paris, Daniel surely pushed Nadal to close his first round match 7-5, 6-4, 6-3. He charged the net, took away Nadal's passing shots, patiently drew out errors during long rallies, broke Rafa three times and, most impressively, never allowed the champion to comfortably settle into the match. Unfortunately, at 30, it is unlikely that Marcos will make too far of a run at the majors but he will certainly be helpful in the future to players who do not appear in his half of the draw.

In fact, Nadal's most worthy competitor was probably quite pleased with Daniel forcing an expenditure of 2.5 hours early on while he finished off veteran Alberto Martin in about 90 minutes. Though the expected RG finalist got off to a mildly slow 0-2 start, he quickly broke back and went on a power cruise-control without looking back. Federer put on a very impressive show, playing the clay more like a hardcourt & even grass at times. Assuming he can keeping his repertoire of shots as varied as he did yesterday, Federer will have no worries floating past the rest of the herd.

Avenging the One that Got Away

2009-02-01T00:49:00.000-08:00

As Paris prepares for its premier sporting event, Roland Garros, spectators around the world are only reminded of Melbourne and the tragedy that was the Australian Open Men's Final. Though they had never met in the final of a hardcourt major, the former and current world #1s began the match by simply picking up from 8-all in the fifth set from Wimbledon 7 months earlier. Breaks were traded, serves were smashed and ultimately dreams were broken. While Nadal prevailed as the eventual victor of the epic battle, Federer's humanly tears blurred his vision of the entire world crying along his side.

Rafa had clearly mastered the art of hardcourt play, most notably against countryman Fernando Verdasco in the semis, and earned the first Grand Slam of the year as his first major hardcourt conquest; but not even his most peripheral fans were satisfied. This was Roger's major to win and it slipped out of his hands. Never will the 2009 Aussie Open be considered the one Nadal won... but always as the one Federer lost.

Now we enter Rafa's house. The Spaniard has never fallen in front of the illustrious French crowd and looks poised to continue his run. However, with his recent clay win Roger is pumped to tie Pistol Pete's record and finally grab the elusive career Grand Slam. His Madrid success, though, is reminiscent of Federer's victory over Nadal in Hamburg in 2007 which proved to predict nothing substantive in Paris. This time, Murray & Djokovic may be of some added trouble to both highest seeds, but, as per usual, expect to see these top two on the final Sunday.

A Time Capsule of Shot-making

2009-01-29T00:50:00.000-08:00

An old rivalry was resuscitated on Rod Laver Arena a few nights back. This was the hottest ticket in town as the stage's namesake didn't even get a front row seat and had to watch the magic unfold from 15 rows back. Roger Federer, in pursuit of his 4th title down under, faced a semifinal match up against American Andy Roddick.

Even though Federer had a 15-2 record against Roddick, Andy did win their last meeting was playing smashing tennis throughout the tournament. But this was going to be a different night for him.

Roger knows Andy's game better than anybody and started off by enticing him into the net. Federer sliced every ball short, setting up perfect passing shots. Not one return was put into Roddick's strike zone; balls were either sliced and stayed low or hit so flat that they kicked up around Andy's shoulders. Even on his own service games the American was put on the defensive and Federer was able to unload every shot in the book, and a few that he, solely, owns: backhand slice winners up the line, crosscourt flicks, angles so steep they might as well have been parallel to the net and many more. He even out-aced Roddick! Clearly Andy had no chance in this match but did go down fighting.

Roddick made one obvious change this time around. He tried to play Fed's game, most noticeably with the slice backhand (which worked beautifully for him against Djokovic). However, the inventor of the shot could obviously handle it with ease. As much as he tried, Roddick was not about to out-finesse Mr. Federer.

Roger, with easy wins over Del Potro and Roddick coasts into the final and awaits world #1, Rafa Nadal. The dream final is upon us but everyone is expecting Federer to come out the victor. Nadal survived a grueling 5 set match against countryman Fernando Verdasco which outlasted any other Australian Open match in the tournament's history. Rafa is coming into the final physically and emotionally drained with only a day to recover. The perfect Swiss should have little trouble dismantling the only other true champion on tour.

Feelin' the Heat

2009-01-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

Can anyone forget the horror that was the US Open quarterfinal: Djokovic versus Roddick. Before the match even began both were skeptical of his opponent's skills and motives. Andy jokingly mentioned Djokovic's countless injuries and illnesses and Novak upset the New York crowd by attacking Roddick's comments. Well, yesterday's match should have made for a different story as Australia is oceans away from the States, but things were oddly similar. Both men picked up right where they left off in New York, each thrashing the ball in place of actually taking direct jabs at the other. Neither had an opportunity to break but Djokovic was able to pull ahead during the tiebreak to clinch the first set. And then the match really started... or at least started to end.

The temperature on Rod Laver Arena soared to a staggering 120° Fahrenheit and both Andy and Novak were drenched in their own sweat. Officials chose not to close the roof and the men played on. Actually, Roddick played on -- as if this were routine. The lad on the other side of the net was in far worse shape. After the first game of the second set Djokovic appeared exceedingly weary. He took every possible moment between serves to capture a few extra seconds of heaven in the shade, tried to finish off points after the second shot and even attempted to own the net. He was promptly broken and no sooner called for some medical attention.

The trainers took about 6 minutes to give Nole, what seemed to be, a very nice rub down after which he walked out as sluggish as if he had played for hours in a tight deadlock of a match. Though the interruption seemed to have affected Andy too as he threw in three straight double faults in the immediately following game. Regardless, it was all over from there. Roddick had the choice to finish off points quickly and put Djokovic out of his misery or to dance with the one who brought him. He danced. Andy took the next two sets handily since Novak wasn't going to attempt to run down balls that were not within a four-foot striking zone. The inevitable came early in the fourth set when Djokovic retired and Roddick gained a date with his old rival Roger (a match not to be missed!).

Even though Djokovic will speak to comments about this match in reference to his ailment(s) and the tournament schedule, this was Andy's match. A perfectly fit Novak would never have been able to keep up with the bullet-like serves and surprisingly gorgeous backhand slice that Roddick was using. This was his night to lose; certainly not the defending champ's to win.

Perfection

2009-01-23T07:36:00.001-08:00

If Roger Federer plays even half as well as he did against crafty Marat Safin he will have no trouble duplicating his incredible run of 2007 where he captured the Aussie Open title without dropping a single set.

Swiss precision was alive from the very beginning with Roger holding his first 3 services games at love and then promptly broke Safin at love to go up 5-3 with a perfect backhand slice to set up a forehand winner. Federer went on to hold with four strong serves to capture the first set. Marat, clearly irritated, held back the need to slam a few racquets and flaunt his usual range of emotions - though he struggled to find any ground on the court. Federer, astutely sensing Safin' trouble gaining rhythm, floated balls into his opponent's court; spinning, slicing and slowing the pace for every potential rally.

The second set started similarly with Safin hitting hard but erratic and Federer directing shots on his own terms. He broke the big Russian at 2-all after bringing Safin into the net and passing him with a terrific cross court winner. For security Roger was able to break again at 5-2 and had a commanding 2 sets to love lead in one hour flat.

Safin finally found his game thereafter and both served beautifully with neither even facing a break point. The tiebreak arrived and though each man was able to string together consecutive points and mini-breaks, it was Roger who took the last serve to claim the 4th round spot.

Every one of Federer's shots was executed to perfection and it seems unlikely that, in this form, any fellow deserves to even step on the court with him. Andy Murray will have to put on a tremendous display against Austrian veteran Jurgen Melzer to remain the bookies' favourite.

Super Mario

2009-01-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

Serve versus serve, volley versus volley, Croat versus Croat. Yesterday, Mario Ancic took on Ivo Karlovic in the second round of the Aussie Open. Though Mario has arguably enjoyed a more fruitful career than him compatriot, coming to at least the quarters in both Paris and London, it was 25th seed Karlovic who was expected to walk into a 3rd round match against Simon.

The match began just as expected with monstrous serves, short points and both men charging the net. It wasn't until the middle of the first set until either won even a point on the opponent's serve, let alone had a chance to break. Ancic was the first to capitalise on a few of Karlovic's second serves, breaking at 4-3 to gain the first lead, but was unable to hold on and let Ivo break back twice to take the opening set 7-5. The second set was almost a duplicate of the first, with Mario finally able to break away -- this time he did not succumb to the nerves that prevented him from converting his first-set-points and won the second 7-5.

Karlovic found his setting again during the third set and barely gave away points on his serve the entire set and won it 6-4. Ancic returned the favour in the fourth and sent the match into the decider where he regularly found himself in the Karlovic-game and would earn a break to go up 4-3 and then once again, with a powerful return, to win the match.

Ancic, who was plagued by a severe case of mono for almost a year that halted his success, has arrived in Melbourne with the spirit and grace to rival any man. While I'm sure the rest of the draw is happy to have Ivo out, none should be too excited about battling this Croat instead.

Business as Usual

2009-01-20T16:26:00.000-08:00

Round 1 of the Australian Open is over with little surprise, but lots of glory.

Roger Federer began his quest by defeating Italian Andreas Seppi, an opponent he had not surrender a set to over three past meetings, in another straight set victory that was actually much too close for many to stomach. While Federer got the job done and moved beautifully around the court, he did not display his usual variety of magnificent shots and instead let forehands sail long and backhands dump into the net -- most notably on set point in the second, Federer miscalculated the easiest of forehands to an open court and the ball bounced inches outside the baseline when he could have hit it feet inside the court. However, the strain was also brought by Seppi as the Italian clearly came out with nothing to lose. He had already lost to Federer a number of times and so went for it all in every ball, coming up with miraculous shots that stunned Federer as well as the crowd. He made it difficult for the Swiss champion, but not impossible.

His second round match against the surprise victor Evgeny Korolev who took out former World #1 Carlos Moya was a different story. Roger brought out every one of his tricks and just let the inexperienced Russian self destruct. The endearing and somewhat dangerous game of Korolev is one that does not know the meaning of the word defense. This child took an extravagant whack at anything that came his way, sending many balls metres away from the court. At times he came up with brilliant drop shots and volleys (which admittedly seem to catch Federer napping a bit), but those were few and far between and certainly not enough to challenge an on-point Federer who picked up any playable ball with ease. During Korolev's second service game in the third set, Roger hit a shot he had invented at last year's US Open: a scissor-kicking, leaping swing to a high ball from behind the baseline which carved the ball back into the court while spinning away from the opponent -- and sending the crowd into a frenzy. With that shot, we knew the master had shown up in Melbourne.

Nadal, conversely, had no trouble dismantling his first round opponent in just over 1.5 hours. Rafa arrived, guns blazing -- though a change of the familiar wardrobe left us without a clear view of those biceps we've come to know so well. Rochus gained only four games during the entire match, leaving the message that Nadal may be ready to win a major on the hard court.

One thing that did seem off though, was the court itself. Everybody - Roger, Rafa, Roddick, Nole, Muller, Gonzo, Hewitt etc - seemed rushed. It looked as if nobody had a moment to plan out and properly time his shots. Perhaps it was just the first round jitters as Federer did seem to somewhat clear this up during his second round match. Perhaps the court really is playing faster than people believe. Regardless, these men need to figure it out sooner than later if they plan to be around next week.

A New Year

2009-01-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

And so it begins...

2008 proved to be a roller coaster for tennis fans as Rafael Nadal worked his magic, Roger Federer showed his humanity and youngsters from around the world started to play at a level to combat these two powerhouses. 2009 comes with fierce anticipation and many questions that need answers. Granted only time will show us how the events unfold for the year, but there's no harm in making a few guesses on our own.

Can Nadal ride his success from last year through 2009?

It would be foolish to say that Rafa is lacking form or vigor to take away at least one grand slam this year. Though his powerful game is very taxing on the body (which is starting to wear) the Spaniard is only 22 and cannot yet be plagued with injuries. If I had to guess, I bank success on his ever-fruitful clay in Paris but will not give him Wimbledon again. With the likes of potentially historic years for both Federer and Murray ahead, it is unlikely that Nadal will be able to reproduce his 2008 Olympic performance in 2009; but expect him to put up a respectable fight in both the Aussie and US Opens.

Is 2009 Murray's Year?

Doubtful. While the bookies are having a ball keeping Murray the favourite to win in Melbourne, it's hard for any spectator to believe it until he actually comes through to win a slam. Sure, the lone Brit has been able to easily beat Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and others in Masters tournaments, but the kid still has some maturing to do to win a major and keep himself as a consistent final-Sunday contender.

Will Roger break Pete's record?

We all expected Federer to smash Sampras' grand slam record last year but fans were deeply disappointed when a bout of mono kicked off a rough year for the Swiss, culminating in a recovery to win the US Open after losing his Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns along with his world #1 ranking. Many may think 2008 marked the beginning of the end for Federer, but I firmly believe that he will break at least one more record before letting go of his stature at the top. Expect Roger to make a beautiful run, starting tomorrow, in Australia, combat Nadal in yet another Roland Garros final, reclaim Wimbledon and continue his stranglehold in New York. The Federer Era is far from over and this year he will prove to be the greatest to ever pick up a racquet.

Andy Murray Captures ATP Madrid Title

2008-10-19T17:26:00.001-07:00

Sunday's final in Madrid marked the close of the eighth ATP Masters Tournament of 2008. The official end of the tennis season will be come with the Paris Tournament and the Masters Cup in Shanghai. This entire year has been a roundabout of the two top players who have traded grand slams and been favourites to battle one another in finals of every Masters. Yesterday, Nadal and Federer were well on that track when they both reached the Madrid semifinals. Nadal saw the French sensation, Gilles Simon, and Federer was caught in a rematch of the US Open final against Andy Murray.

The Scot had only played two matches since the Open and evidently this break was just the burst that he needed. Murray played a beautiful tournament to meet Federer in the semis but was obviously seen as the stark underdog to the World #2, especially after the handy beating he took from the Swiss just a month ago. The two traded 6-3 sets before reaching the deciding third and brought out a side of Murray he probably wished to have seen in Flushing Meadows. He out-served Federer by leaps and bounds and was able to win 11 straight points on his own services games and pulled out every shot in the book, even a few Federer-like swings, and was able to create match point on a lovely inside-out forehand winner and quickly converted when Roger dumped his perfect backhand into the net. And so Murray sought his revenge, and was probably expecting to see Nadal seek his own (remember, it was Murray who knocked out Nadal in the US Open semi).

Later on Saturday, Nadal was in his own backyard... literally. The Spanish crowd would have loved nothing more than another Nadal-Federer clash, but would settle for a win over Murray. Gilles Simon had other intentions. The Frenchman, who made a name for himself during the US Open Series, had survived by playing 4 three-set matches and fending off six match points over the course of the week. Nadal, as predicted, took the first set easily but could not keep the momentum going. Simon took the second set 7-5 and then found himself at his fourth third-set tiebreak of the tournament. The two stayed one serve until the bitter end, where Simon had a match point on his own serve. He as usual charged the net, pressuring Nadal, who hit a passing shot a bit too hard. The ball was called in but Simon, who intentionally let the ball fly by him, challenged the call and was correct, claiming a spot in the championship match against Murray. The final itself flew by as Murray quickly dismissed the exhausted Simon in a 6-4, 7-6 victory to become the first Briton to win four ATP titles in a single season. Murray was quick to humble himself, apologising to the crowd for not being Federer and Nadal, though it's hard to feel badly for them as Federer broke Sampras' all-time prize winnings total and Nadal secured the year-end number #1 ranking during the week in Madrid.

This tournament saw lots of hard hitting and intelligent play but the driving forces were, and will continue to be the top two. Madrid, though, is reminiscent of Melbourne, where both lost in the semis as well -- perhaps the rest of the players on the tour are starting to realise that they have no chance of winning against these two without sophisticating their games. Or maybe, when they get to the semis, rankings just don't matter anymore. Regardless, it's getting harder and harder to name the best, but in our hearts there will always be Roger and Rafa.

A Look Back

2008-09-24T21:49:00.001-07:00

As many tennis fans will likely agree, the last few weeks have been dragging. The US Open marked the end of an invigorating tennis season (minus the Davis Cup and a few minor tournaments still to come). While the Aussie Open commences January 19^th I suppose, at best, we can look back on a year of brilliant tennis and decide for ourselves what we loved and what we loathed. I've been doing some reflecting in light of this year's roller coaster of an Open and came up with my most beloved and significant moments in recent United States Open history.

#5 – First Match, First Tantrum
In 1977 John McEnroe played his first ever first round match at the US Open. The match itself was not spectacular (in fact, I cannot even recall the opponent). However, during this contest, McEnroe received his first US Open conduct violation: a custom he used to tarnish his entire graceful career.

#4 – The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back (err, the Tennis Player's Back)
1981, just as the few years prior, was a splendid one for Björn Borg. He was beautifully winning Roland Garros but was coming to the '81 Open final with a thirst for the crown. Just months before, Borg had been defeated by young nemesis John McEnroe to lose his Wimbledon crown; halting the quest for an unseen sixth consecutive championship trophy. Borg again met McEnroe in the final in New York and, as in London, took the first set 6-4. McEnroe, though, went on to rally back and defend his title. This marked only the beginning for the affectionately deemed "Spoiled Brat" as he would go on to win tournaments through 1992. The 1981 loss broke the Ice-Borg and Björn would never play another Grand Slam tournament again.

#3 – Bowing Out in Style
After 33 tournaments without a title, a ranking drop to 17 and straight sets loses in the past two years' Open finals, the 31-year-old Pete Sampras knew his time might be coming to an end in 2002. He again reached the final, but this time saw a familiar face across the court: none other than long time rival Andre Agassi. Two veterans took the stage with Pistol Pete coming out on top of the four set novelty. Though not formally announced until 12 months thereafter, Sampras ended his career with this 14^th Grand Slam victory.

#2 – Back and Makin' History
Perhaps it is premature to lump in an instance from this past event, but we cannot overlook Roger Federer's superb fortnight show to win his sole major title of 2008 and become the only man to win two different Grand Slams, each five consecutive times. After an un-Federer-like year, Roger was able to quiet the critics and play at a level, especially in the final, that would have handily beaten anybody. Not as if he hadn't already, but the Swiss proved his name to be worthy of the history books.

#1 – Americans at the Open
No commemorative match list is complete without a mention of the epic Sampras-Agassi 2001 quarterfinal that lasted 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 without even one break of serve. This was a moment where the two most lovely Americans became ignited at the US Open. By the end, both were drenched in sweat and physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. The largest court in the world witnessed possibly the largest display of will that has yet to be recreated by any contender.

King, not Prince

2008-09-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

Roger Federer entered this year's US Open as a public underdog. His less than perfect year had the press asking if he could win this again. The Swiss owned the US Open four years in a row and you're asking if he can do it again?! Nonsense. Of course he can! Why would you ever consider the #2 player in the world out of contention? This season, Roger has merely shown himself to be human like the rest of us. How dare we assume his unprecedented dominance to be over just because he didn't win Wimbledon or Rolland Garros?

Well, Federer nicely shut the critics up with his 111-minute dismissal of young Andy Murray to win his fifth consecutive US Open title and made history by doing so. Only Roger has been able to dominate two separate major tournaments for five straight years. He has shown that many were much too quick to write him off. Even US Open match analyst Matt Cronin had predicted the inexperienced Murray to push Federer to five sets and that Federer would have as hard of a time as he's had against Nadal. Some prediction...

There isn't much to say about the match itself. Murray didn't play as well as he did to get there, but it wouldn't have made a bit of difference anyway. Federer's legendary forehand did not disappoint him and thrashed every short ball Murray threw in. The Swiss, who served at an astounding 79%, played a close to perfect match and, in Murray's own words "set the record straight."

Federer may still end the year at #2, but things are certainly getting back to normal.

Final Four

2008-09-07T22:17:00.002-07:00

Nadal, Murray, Djokovic and Federer: the four most favoured men to reach the semifinals of the US Open did indeed live up to that expectation and met on Saturday to battle for the coveted spots in the final. Even though Nadal and Murray played their quarterfinal matches on Wednesday, they were scheduled to play the late session after Federer an Djokovic woke the stage. Federer, looking to defend his title, came out to dismiss Nole as he did so handily last year. Lucky for Roger, the Serb didn't seem come out with a vengeance to win. Djokovic, who had turned the New York audience against him just days ago, played a somewhat sloppy first set, giving the sharp Swiss every opportunity to take his shots (which he did to quickly take the set 6-3). Novak realised, then, what he was playing for and blew his way to a 4-2 lead in the second before Federer could break back to even it at 5 all. Federer could not gain ground though and lost the set 5-7.

The play of the match, by far, came in the third set. Djokovic, who was serving, had hit a powerful overhead that appeared to be just out of Federer's reach. He was 7 feet behind the baseline, on the run and saw Novak coming to net -- if Roger were even going to get to the ball, an error would have been expected. Instead, he jumped up (scissor-kicking!) and carved the ball over Djokovic's head, landing just inside the baseline: a shot the Swiss champion had invented days ago against Andreev. Such beauty, such perfection. Thereon, Federer was on cruise control and easily went on defeat the 3rd seed and enter himself into a match for the title.

The other side of the draw saw Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Neither was a strong favourite against or over the other but the crowd immediately got behind Rafa as tennis fans were longing for another Federer-Nadal, epic, final. Despite that, Murray showed that he came to play. He had nothing to lose; this was his first grand slam semi and he was fighting for his first grand slam final. Andy had already topped his career performances and so now everything became icing on the already scrumptious cake.

The nerves may have plagued the Spaniard though, as he had never gotten past the quarters in New York, and could not play to the level we were used to seeing. Instead of stepping in to jump on Murray's serves he stood far away and just blocked every ball back, allowing the Scot to move forward and direct a winner wherever he'd like. Murray took every one of these opportunities, charging the net and powerfully flicked balls to the empty court. Andy, interestingly, received Nadal's serves from well behind the baseline and moved inside it after taking a full swing. Andy ran Rafa all over the court, fully exhausting him and was victorious in four sets, stretched over two days.

And so it's set: Federer vs. Murray. Though Murray comes in with a winning record over Federer (2-1), Roger was the obvious bet. He has made it to 18 consecutive semifinal grand slams and was playing the type of tennis which had given him his invincibility status. In fact, if Federer were to win this US Open, he will be the only player, ever, to have a winning streak of 5 years in a row for two different grand slam tournaments.

However, we are reminded of the 2000 Open final when the heart favourite, Pete Sampras met the Russian, Marat Safin. Safin, like the current Murray, had never appeared in a major final but went on to beat the American son. On an odd Monday night final, will Federer make history? Or will the pang of the past repeat itself?

Harrowing

2008-09-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

No matter if you love Federer, hate him with a passion or really couldn't care less to see his smooth strokes, you were nervous during his 4th round match against 23rd seed Igor Andreev. I didn't even watch the battle and my heart was racing! When I saw the numbers change on my double-paneled computer screen to put the Russian up 3-0 in the first set (Federer being broken in less than a minute on his first service game) all I could think was: who are you and why are you beating my buddy Roger? Of course, he's not really my buddy, but that's always the thought when he plays: he's a friend and we're rooting for him, or at least expecting him to have an easy time winning. It's very different with Nadal who is obviously, constantly, working for every point; putting forth so much energy to run down a ball when he's up 40-0. Federer coasts along and if need be throws in an ace to erase break point. It's a difference of style and it's a difference of personality. It's why each of us loves either Roger or Rafa. Not both.

Anyway, initial worries were alleviated when Federer broke back to force a first set tiebreak, but was not able to stop Igor from taking it 7-5. That's okay: losing a set in a tiebreak is respectable, and it's even somewhat dictated by luck. He'll just step up his game and win the next three straight. No fuss.

Wrong! Neither player could break and found himself at yet another tiebreak. This time Federer came out on top and made this match a best of 3. The third set was what we all were waiting (and hoping) for. The Roger we knew and loved was back, going up an easy 5-2 and then held to win the set 6-3 in just 29 minutes. It was all but over. The perfect Swiss could just ride this momentum into the fourth set to send Andreev packing. Little did he, or we, know the Russian was ready to fight. He broke Federer to go up 4-1 and then took the fourth set 6-3, to even out the score, exactly.

A fifth set. Expected from Djokovic, Murray, even Nadal - but not our Federer. Regardless, he played it perfectly, getting the early break and keeping it to win, 6-3. In retrospect, Roger claimed to enjoy being part of the "dog fight" but I suspect he just enjoyed the outcome.

Second serve? I'll take an ace, please

2008-08-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

After sitting through a mind-numbingly boring ladies match interrupted by rain delays, all of which ended around 7:30pm, I was ready to call it a night. Exhausted from the day, I had little energy to sit through any more. I then remembered, I'm on the west coast! If a couple of guys can walk onto a court to play their 2nd round US Open match at 10:30 after a long wait, I can certainly watch. Besides, it was Roddick and Gulbis. A contest of strength was about to commence and should be over very soon: Roddick with much more experience as the obvious victor (though not at all a personal favourite). Such a game has no appeal as the idea of thrashing a ball around the tennis court is impish at best, so I wouldn't even feel guilty falling asleep in front of it. Boy, was I in for a rude awakening.

As predicted, these boys came to hit. But it was not as tiresome as I had expected. Gulbis got off to a famous start, breaking Andy in the second game and went up quickly to 3-0. The young Latvian, who apparently has learned to take fewer risks, was routinely throwing in second services aces and generating a 120-miles per hour pace off his groundstrokes. I'd love to see a match where he leaves all inhibitions behind; his opponent would never see the ball pass him by. He held the rest of the set to win it 6-3 in just 29 minutes.

Ernests continued this grand display and broke Roddick to go up 4-3 in the second set with a beautiful forehand fired cross-court. Roddick was clearly irritated as he had yet to find his game. Immediately after being broken, Andy let his own forehand sail wide and promptly punished his racquet, breaking its frame on the concrete.

While the flashy moments were not over for Gulbis, he could not prevent the starving American from turning his frustration into gold. Roddick finally broke Gulbis in the 10th game of the second set and went on to break him again to win 7-5. Andy was then on a roll, throwing in his own slew of second service aces and finding lines and corners for winners. He gained early and late breaks to win the third set 6-2. Gulbis, who had very effectively used drop shots and volleys all night, pulled out these weapons even more aggressively, but alas it was not enough and finally lost his serve to lose the fourth, and final, set 5-7.

What made this night bittersweet though was that both men shared a birthday. August 30th. When the clock struck midnight, both grew one year older (Roddick 26 and Gulbis 20) and they were within the exact middle of their match. This is the stupidity of the Open - it is completely dictated by the broadcasting networks. They try to cover it up by saying that a different energy is brought when playing under the lights, but they really just care about higher viewer numbers. No respect is shown for the players as well as, arguably, unfair advantages given to those who go out earlier in the day and so have a longer time to rest and recoup for the next match. Regardless, Andy Roddick was pleased that when they went into the next day he started "playing like a 26-year-old." Next, Andy will face Italian Andreas Seppi during a normal day-match on Sunday. Hopefully he won't be blinded by the sight of natural sunlight.

Ryler full of grace

2008-08-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

An American lefty who has a Sampras-like touch at the net, a Federer-like backhand and an energy that feeds Arthur Ashe Stadium is a dream hard to fathom amidst the sea of power players we have today, but 24-year-old Ryler DeHeart is just that. This kid may have been taken down by the Spanish lefty, Nadal, but he showed a promise that gives hope for the future of tennis. DeHeart walked onto the biggest court he had ever seen and set up camp right behind the net. He did not choose to strike the rubber out of the tennis ball but instead, Ryler resuscitated a lovely finesse that died long ago when Edberg, McEnroe, Borg, Lendl and Sampras ended their careers. Federer was starting to bring back the soft, intelligent game and DeHeart is following suit.

Even when he was down a set, the recent college grad pushed forward and displayed moments of brilliance, bending down for beautiful half-volleys that would cross the net angled and spinning away from Rafa. He uses a smooth, one-handed backhand, accelerating his stroke just as he makes contact with the ball -- in one word: perfection.

DeHeart brings a refreshing air to the game without succumbing to the pressures to kill the ball or hover behind the baseline. For years, the court has been deprived of players running within its bounds. Finally, we're taking a few steps in.

And so it begins

2008-08-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

While on vacation from his top ranking, Roger Federer began a quest to defend the US Open title as if it were a simple routine. Playing 118th-ranked Maximo Gonzalez, Federer quickly got things done with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 victory lasting merely 82 minutes. Maximo is a 25-year-old Argentine and prior to this match had a hard court record of 0-0. What a blow it must have been to see that his first, ever, hard court match would be against the man who can call Arthur Ashe Stadium a second home (his first being Centre Court, of course).

Federer was initially stalled as the Argentine showed that he was deserving of the regal stage - coming up with beautiful passing shots and aiming to paint lines. However, Gonzalez could not ride his best game to fortune and handed Federer a break to 3-5 in the first set with a dreaded double fault. From then onward Federer kicked it into the gear we are all used to seeing and dominated his opponent, winning 9 straight games. The next 26 minutes flew by and the champ was up two sets to love.

Federer then went up an early break in the third, but this served as a clear wake-up call to Max. He suddenly broke back (a feat in its own right against the master) and held his service twice. He found the skill he had exhibited in the opening of the match, but sadly it was not enough to challenge Federer, who won the match when Gonzalez sent a forehand long. After displaying brilliance, Federer is, without question, ready to hoist his trophy again.

Nadal also passed his first round test yesterday, but he did not experience the ease that Federer enjoyed. Even though he finished off qualifier Bjorn Phau in straight sets, Nadal ran about the court for three hours and was pushed to two tiebreaks. Phau proved that the fear of Nadal is not so pressing as that of Federer might be, which is a decidingly clear advantage to the Swiss, over Rafa, on their separate tracks to the final; and perhaps to one another.

Up for Grabs

2008-08-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

With the US Open lurking just a day away, tennis fans cannot help but wonder about the final already: Will it again be a Federer-Nadal classic in the making? Will Djokovic have another, much needed, break through Slam? Can Murray make a name for himself and strike on land that is not covered with the green grass? Who knows, but this year's Open is proving to be the most unpredictable and exciting we've seen in years.

For the first time in his youthful yet illustrious career, Nadal enters a Grand Slam as the #1 seed. He has the disadvantage of never having shone at the Open, at best coming to the quarters. But he must be considered among the favourties to win. Arthur Ashe Stadium is far from Rafa's golden court, but after clinching top points of the Olympus US Open Series, a $2.6 million payout will have the 22-year-old striving for the title.

Andy Murray has all the support in the world... in the UK... during Wimbledon. However, he has had some great success on hard courts this season in the US, most notably when he defeated Nole in Cincinnati to win his first Masters Series title. The young Scot even tied for the most points of the Open Series, but was granted second place as a tiebreak record put Nadal ahead. Murray is young, powerful and hungry -- he's certainly one to watch.

The two most well-versed hard court players by far, though, are Novak Djokovic and defending champion Roger Federer. While the Serb has not been able to live up to his Australian Open performance, no player wants to see Novak on his side of the draw. Federer as well has not had his normal pristine season but is always a strong favourite to win any tournament he decides to enter, and this US Open is far from exception. Federer can still play as beautifully as ever and, probably more than any player out there, wants (and needs) this crown. It will be a shock if he does not make it to the final, after thrashing Djokovic in a semifinal rematch of last year's final. Just remember that Federer will be at the bottom of the draw so don't think he's been defeated when his is not the first name you see!

What about the Americans?! This is the US Open after all: will there be any excitement produced from the grand slew of fellows contesting on home soil? There are Andy and Blake leading the way (seeded 8 and 9, respectively) along with young sensations Isner, Kendrick, Querrey and Young, to name a few. It's hard, though, to think that any of them has even the potential to make a significant dent in the draw. Blake has been playing well and Andy did win this back in '03, but can they really pose a serious threat to the top 3 (& Murray)? Doubtful.

#2

2008-08-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

Of course the day had to come, but it will forever be a shock to see a '2' next to Roger Federer's name. With his stranglehold on the #1 ranking for 237 consecutive weeks stripped, it is hard to notice any other drastic changes that came up below the #2 spot. However, a close look will show some shake-ups: Gonzo rose up 4 spots to #5 with his Olympic medal performance, Monfils sored up to #33 and Moya, as unpredictable as ever, fell to #41. Now, back to the juicy stuff.

Roger Federer came to the semis of the Australian Open (while suffering from mono), the finals of both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the quarterfinals of the Olympics and took home the gold with countryman Wawrinka in doubles. And it's been a bad year. Unfortunate for Federer, he has been unable to live up to the surreal standard he, himself, has set.

The Swiss master impressed upon the world a greatness that left his admirers and opponents in sheer awe for the last 4.5 years. He has the ability, like the great Pete Sampras, to ignore the fear of double faults while tossing up a second serve, to hit a backhand passing shot with his eyes closed and to paint any baseline with ease and intent. Federer, single-handedly, challenged the rest of the pack to raise its game -- an undertaking many players have attempted, but one only a sole lad has been able to achieve. Rafael Nadal has had an unbelievable year that has culminated to sitting on top of the game as of August 18h.

While Federer came to the finals in Paris, Nadal lifted the trophy for the fourth straight year. While Federer dropped his head on his favourite court, Nadal took over the Wimbledon crown. While Federer was on a flight back home, Nadal was adorned with gold. The young Spaniard's accomplishments are in themselves remarkable, but we are raising them to a new level because of who he is facing on the other side of the net: Roger.

Beating Federer on a chance meeting is something that any player, on his best day (with a bit of luck), can achieve. Instilling in the Swiss a fear that he usually cloaks his opponents with is downright chilling. Nadal has proved himself by beating, disputably, the greatest man to pick up a racquet along with everybody else and so is deserving of the current #1 ranking. However, don't discount Federer's ability, class or will to regain the titles he lost in 2008.

Certainly this is the end of an unprecedented streak, but let's hope it is not the end of an era.