US Open Day 15: Let the New Debate Begin

Curtain Call

Player: Novak Djokovic
Nation: Serbia
Age: 23
Current Ranking: 2
Notable Conquest: Roger Federer (2nd seed, Switzerland)
Tour Page
Player Website
Today's Result: loss to Rafael Nadal (1st, Spain) in four sets

Photo from The Age

Before we move on to the obvious, let's give Novak his due. The win over Federer was huge. It's been easy to forget about the Djoker over the past few years with the rise of Murray and del Potro. With the Fed win, he puts himself firmly back in the conversation. I know it's four months away but why not? I say Djokovic takes Aussie in 2011.

Well, the greatest of all time debate just got a lot more interesting. Rafa now has 9 majors in total, the career Golden Slam (including an Olympic gold medal), a great career in Davis Cup and he's all of 24. He's three titles ahead of Federer's pace. He has strong career records against his best contemporaries. Yes, he's still seven behind Federer's slam total and one does still worry about long-term wear and tear but who, exactly, is going to slow him down at this point? His match tonight was a masterpiece. Who's even in the same league right now?

A colleague stopped by my classroom this morning and asked if I thought Federer is washed up. I still say no. I say he plays two more years and as long as he keeps entering tournaments, he'll be a threat to win them. His days as top dog are over, though. Nadal left no doubt of that tonight.


My Tennis Fantasy

My men's bracket was just awful. I finished in the top 95% in the Tennis Channel Racquet Bracket, aka the bottom 5%. Maybe I'll just go with the dartboard method next time.

US Open Day 14: Score One for Melbourne

Curtain Call

Player: Yulia Putintseva
Nation: Russia
Age: 15
Current Ranking: 795
Notable Conquests: Timea Babos (junior 2nd seed, Hungary) and Monica Puig (5th, Puerto Rico)
Tour Page
Today's Result: loss to Daria Gavrilova (1st, Russia) in straight sets

Three matches did finish today before the rains washed out the rest: both junior singles finals and the women's wheelchair singles final. Young Putintseva is definitely making her mark. She made the semis of the juniors draw at Wimbledon this summer.

So, for the second year in a row, the US Open men's final is delayed until Monday due to rain. You know, I've been thinking all year about which of the four tennis majors is my favorite. Wimbledon has the tradition and the England summer coincides nicely with my teacher's work calendar. But I'm not a big fan of everyone wearing white. The French is fun, too, and certainly more colorful than Wimbledon in many ways. But the Australian and US Opens have two huge advantages over the other two: they are played on the more democratic hard courts and they have lights for night tennis.

So, which is better? Aussie is at the beginning of the season and everyone's in pretty good shape. Everyone's pretty worn down by the time they get to Flushing but New York is where all of the season narratives reach conclusion. But today clinches it for me. The greatest of the four tennis slams is...

The Australian Open. Why? It has not just one but two stadiums with retractable roofs. As such, play shall always go on, no matter the weather. Bad time zone and inconvenient time of year for me? Well, that's really my problem, isn't it? The fact of the matter is, of the four majors, the Australian is best prepared for the 21st century. Good on ya, mates!

US Open Day 13: Twice the Bridesmaid

Curtain Call

Player: Vera Zvonareva
Nation: Russia
Age: 25
Current Ranking: 8
Notable Conquest: Caroline Wozniacki (1st seed, Denmark)
Tour Page
Player Website
Today's Result: loss to Kim Clijsters (2nd, Belgium) in straight sets

Photo via Telegraph

No doubt, Zvonareva is pretty disappointed today. 6-2, 6-1 has got to be hard to take. But major kudos for showing that Wimbledon was no fluke. Reaching two consecutive slam finals is no small accomplishment. Maybe she can get over the hump in Melbourne. And now, for the second time this tournament, I have a player repeating in this space.


My Tennis Fantasy

Clijsters was my pick to win so I can't complain too much. I can't deny, however, that a Vera versus Venus final would have been great for the alliteration alone. For Tennis Channel's Racquet Bracket, I finished in the top 50%.

My men's bracket is now kaput with Fed going down in the semis. Is Nadal-Djokovic the next best thing to Nadal-Federer? I don't know. It won't inspire the same simultaneously-rooting-for-both-players mentality for me. For some reason, I find it unusually satisfying to watch Nadal beat up on Djokovic and Murray. He is everything they are not and they both need reminding (I have come to find Murray a bit more sympathetic over the past year).

US Open Day 12: Venus

Curtain Call

Player: Venus Williams
Nation: USA
Age: 30
Current Ranking: 4
Tour Page
Player Website
Today's Result: loss to Kim Clijsters (2nd seed, Belgium) in three sets

Miss Williams, of course, requires no introduction. If she's not the most famous female athlete in the world, she's a close second to her younger sister. Venus has won the US Open twice but it's been nine years since her last title. In fact, this represents her best slam result away from Wimbledon in three years. Unfortunately, with Serena out with an injury, the sisters were unable to defend their doubles title together. Venus played only singles this year.

Photo via bestweekever.tv

US Open Day 11: Wawrinka

Curtain Call

Player: Stanislas Wawrinka
Nation: Switzerland
Age: 25
Current Ranking: 27
Notable Conquests: Andy Murray (4th seed, UK) and Sam Querrey (20th, USA)
Tour Page
Player Website
Today's Result: loss to Mikhail Youzhny (12th, Russia) in five sets

Photo: Guardian

Prior to this tournament, casual fans might only have known Wawrinka as Roger Federer's gold medal-winning doubles partner at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In truth, he's a very solid, if unspectacular, pro. His backhand is one of the very best in the sport. He even has one career singles victory over Fed...against five losses.

But in the US Open, he has been the giant killer in taking out Murray (apparently a personal friend) and Querrey. It was disappointing to see him run out of steam against Youzhny tonight. Nonetheless, his quarterfinal run is his career best for a slam.

US Open Day 10: Kanepi, Again

Curtain Call

Player: Kaia Kanepi

Nation: Estonia

Age: 25

Current Ranking: 32

Notable Conquests: Jelena Jankovic (4th seed, Serbia) and Yanina Wickmayer (15th, Belgium)

Tour Page
Player Website

Today's Result: loss to Vera Zvonareva (7th, Russia) in straight sets

This represents a first for me. This is my first time featuring a player in this space in two consecutive slams. Both times, it was an easy choice. It's been another marvelous event for this Estonian on the rise. Her win against Wickmayer was particularly impressive. She lost the first set 6-0, then came back to win. That takes some gumption. Well done. The ranking will get another hefty boost.

US Open Day 9: Stosur

Curtain Call

Player: Samantha Stosur

Nation: Australia

Age: 26

Current Ranking: 6

Tour Page

Player Website

Today's Result: loss to Kim Clijsters (2nd seed, Belgium) in three sets

Photo from Telegraph

It's been a tumultuous summer for Stosur, to be sure. She had a stupendous Roland Garros, only to lose to Italian Francesca Schiavone, aka Cinderella Story of the Year, in the final. Then she crashes out of Wimbledon in the first round. Her showing in the US Open has been outstanding. She played up to her seed and lost to the defending champion. Previously, she'd never made it past the 2nd round in Flushing. One hopes that for her, and for her country, she can make another deep run in Melbourne come January.

Stosur is also one of the world's best doubles players. She is a two-time slam champion in women's doubles and also a two-time champ in mixed doubles. Interestingly, she did not enter either doubles draw in New York, presumably to help her chances in singles.

All Part of My Fantasy

Speaking of the glass-slippered one, Francesca Schiavone matched her career-best finish at the US Open by also reaching the quarters. Alas, she has fallen to Venus Williams and as a result, my women's bracket is on its last legs. The only player left who can help me is Clijsters. She is my champion pick but, as the second seed and defending champion, it seems likely to assume that loads of other people have picked her, too.

US Open Day 8: Gasquet

Curtain Call

Player: Richard Gasquet
Nation: France
Age: 24
Current Rank: 38
Notable Conquest: Nikolay Davydenko (6th seed, Russia)
Tour Page
Player Website
Today's Result: loss to Gael Monfils (17th, France) in straight sets

Gasquet is, without a doubt, one of the most puzzling players on the ATP tour. He is 15 days younger than Nadal and when Rafa was first starting to make a splash, expectations for Gasquet were pretty high as well. His talent is immense and he was seen as the leader of a star-studded French generation.

Obviously, things haven't worked out according to plan. Gasquet still has plenty of game but has developed a reputation as a temperamental player, thoroughly capable of beating himself in a given match. There have also been injury problems and an unfortunate, and eventually lifted, drug suspension.

Nonetheless, there have been patches of brilliance and he has certainly established himself as a dangerous opponent on any surface. One gets the sense that if he were to get hot for two weeks, winning a major is not beyond the realm of possibility. But not this year.


Catching Up with Old Friends

Jurgen Melzer (Curtain Call, Roland Garros Day 13) - Without question, it's been a great summer for Melzer. For the third major in a row, he has turned in a career best finish, this time the fourth round. Once again, it's Fed who takes him out. Melzer is 29. There's likely a lot more of his career behind him than in front of him. One hopes he'll look back on his season with pride.


My Tennis Fantasy

With Kuznetsova going down, I've lost one of my finalists. In fact, now both of my semifinalists in the top half of the women's draw are done. I now have all hopes riding on Clijsters and Schiavone.

Like I said yesterday, my men's bracket is pretty well shot but Federer at least held up his end today. Perhaps he'll help me salvage a little pride.

US Open Day 7: More Than Just a Super Model

Curtain Call

Player: Ana Ivanovic
Nation: Serbia
Age: 22
Current Ranking: 40
Notable Conquest: Jie Zheng (21st seed, China)
Tour Page
Player Website
Today's Result: loss to Kim Clijsters (2nd, Belgium) in straight sets

Ivanovic had a great tournament. The fourth round is her best slam finish in over a year. There has, of course, long been concern that her highly lucrative career beyond the tennis court has been a distraction from her game. Ivanovic, however, is no empty shell. Unlike Anna Kournikova, she has, in fact, won a few singles titles in her career. She's still young enough that winning a slam someday is not such a crazy idea. But, alas, she was no match for Clijsters today.

Naturally, New York Times coverage of the US Open is extensive. Be sure to check out their tennis blog for the event: Straight Sets. In particular, I must credit My Wife for bringing a piece on doubles to my attention: Open House, Day 7: Why Don't Doubles-Loving Fans Watch Live Doubles?


My Tennis Fantasy

Alas, Sam Stosur has brought my suicide pool run to a screeching halt. I had Elena Dementieva for the day and it wasn't to be. I'm still proud of my showing, having made it to the last 40 out of 300+ entrants.

So, it's time to check in with my brackets. I took a bludgeoning blow on the men's side yesterday: Nalbandian, my champion, is done. I can't be too broken up. I knew that he was a long shot going into it. Federer, my other finalist remains. Unfortunately, he's also my last remaining semifinalist with both Andys out. Better luck next time, Squid.

With the women, I'm doing much better. Of my semifinalists, only Martinez Sanchez is done and both finalists are still alive.

US Open Day 6: Dominguez Lino

Curtain Call

Player: Lourdes Dominguez Lino
Nation: Spain
Age: 29
Current Ranking: 148
Notable Conquest: Yaroslava Shvedova (30th seed, Kazakhstan)
Tour Page
Today's Result: loss to Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) in straight sets

She got tuned today 6-1, 6-0 (bacon and egg) but in reaching the third round, this veteran qualifier has attained her best ever US Open result. Her career-high ranking is #40.







My Tennis Fantasy

Amazingly, the suicide pool train is still rolling. I picked Caroline Wozniacki today and she took care of business, doing her own bacon-and-egg job on Yung-Jan Chan. I've definitely taken some long-term risks in that I've already picked the #1 and #3 seeds. I'll be completely sunk by a Wozniacki-Williams final. But I'd still consider myself lucky to get to that point.

US Open Day 5: Minella

Curtain Call

Player: Mandy Minella
Nation: Luxembourg
Age: 24
Current Ranking: 185
Notable Conquest: Tsvetana Pironkova (32nd seed, Bulgaria)
Tour Page
Today's Result: loss to Venus Williams (3rd, USA) in straight sets

Minella was dazzled into submission by Venus and her far too sparkly dress this evening. But to go through qualifying to reach your first slam main draw at 24 is a very big deal. Add to that beating Pironkova, a semifinalist at Wimbledon but a few weeks ago and playing a living legend under the lights on Arthur Ashe, and Minella's got an awfully good story to tell the grandchildren.


My Tennis Fantasy

Ana Ivanovic carried my banner successfully today in the suicide pool, taking out Virginie Razzano in straight sets. I could go back and check but I'm pretty sure this is my first time making it to the weekend in one of these. I'm starting to get a little nervous!

US Open Day 4: Paszek

Curtain Call

Player: Tamira Paszek

Nation: Austria

Age: 19

Current Ranking: 196

Notable Conquest: Lucie Safarova (26th seed, Czech Republic)

Tour Page

Today's Result: loss to Yung-Jan Chan (Chinese Taipei) in straight sets

Paszek is another 19-year-old qualifier. She did not make it to the main draw last year so the second round certainly counts as an improvement. However, she has experienced slam success before. At 16, she made it to the fourth round at both Wimbledon and the US Open. Though Austrian-born, Paszek claims family lineage from Chile, India and Tanzania.

My Tennis Fantasy

Yanina Wickmayer was my suicide pool pick for the day and she came through with a straight-set victory over Julia Goerges.

US Open Day 3: Marino

Curtain Call

Player: Rebecca Marino
Nation: Canada
Age: 19
Current Ranking: 179
Tour Page
Today's Result: loss to Venus Williams (3rd seed, USA) in straight sets

Marino went through qualifying to reach her first slam main draw. There is certainly no shame in losing to a two-time champion. She is young. The future is bright.




Catching Up with Old Friends

Tobias Kamke (Curtain Call, Roland Garros Day 4) - This is Kamke's first appearance in the US Open main draw and he was able to skip qualifying altogether. Hopefully, his ranking will continue its upward trend through the fall.


My Tennis Fantasy

Venus Williams was my suicide pool pick for the day. Her victory over Marino sees me through. There is obvious risk in picking such a strong player this early but I don't see Venus going much further.

US Open Day 2: Nalbandian Survives

Curtain Call

Player: Rik De Voest
Nation: South Africa
Age: 30
Current Ranking: 231
Tour Page
Today's Result: loss to David Nalbandian (31st seed, Argentina) in five sets

Photo from ATP

Well done, sir, of course. I can't deny, however, that I would have been mighty embarrassed had my pick for the champion gone out in the first round. I know he's a long shot but still!

De Voest has had more career success as a doubles player. His high rank for doubles (#39) is significantly higher than his high for singles (#110). He also has won two doubles titles on tour. Going five sets against possibly the best grinder in the world is still pretty darn good for a 30-year-old.


Catching Up with Old Friends

Daniel Brands (Curtain Call, Wimbledon Day 7) - This was Brands's first time in the main draw of the US Open. A first round exit pales in comparison to his fourth round effort at Wimbledon but the 23-year-old's career is definitely heading in the right direction.

All Part of My Fantasy

I'm already out of the running for the men but my pick for the women today was Jelena Jankovic. It was a little scary in the third set against Simon Halep but Jankovic prevailed.

US Open Day 1: Flushing Meadows

Curtain Call

Player: Andreas Haider-Maurer
Nation: Austria
Age: 23
Current Ranking: 214
Tour Page
Today's Result: loss to Robin Soderling (5th seed, Sweden) in five sets

Photo from juniortennis.com

Haider-Maurer went through qualifying to reach his first slam. Pushing the fifth seed the distance is an impressive showing.

The brothers McEnroe are currently debating the merits of Federer's between the legs shot tonight versus the one against Djokovic last year. I realize it's not so interesting to talk about the lopsided match in front of them. Heaven forbid they should stop talking altogether.

Catching Up with Old Friends

Greta Arn (Curtain Call, Wimbledon 2010 Day 5) - Today's match marks Arn's return to the US Open main draw after a three-year absence. At 31, it's good to see her making a late-career surge.


My Tennis Fantasy

First, my picks for the tournament...

Men -

Semis: Nalbandian v. Murray, Roddick v. Federer

Final: Nalbandian def. Federer

Yup, I'm going with the long shot. If he gets hot and stays healthy, Nalbandian can do it.

Women -

Semis: Kuznetsova v. Martinez Sanchez, Schiavone v. Clijsters

Final: Clijsters def. Kuznetsova

It's difficult to be too shocking with a wide-open women's field.

My suicide pool picks for Day 1 were Marion Bartoli for the women and Leonardo Mayer for the men. Bartoli came through with a straight-sets win over Edina Gallovits. Mayer, on the other hand, crashed and burned. He stormed through in the first set against French wild card Guillaume Rufin only to go down in four.

I'm still doing my bracket on the Tennis Channel site but major kudos to the US Open site for running their own bracket challenge. I think it's a great way to potentially draw the interest of casual fans and also draw the more serious fan to early round matches that otherwise wouldn't merit much attention.