Unlucky Loser

Well, it's official - Kim Clijsters is on the comeback trail. And I think I'm excited. It'll be nice to see someone new - well, 'new' - back in the mix. But if she comes back and wins, like, twelve tournaments on the trot, we'll know for sure whether or not the WTA is in a state. And if Kimmie can't have an effect... we'll just have to hope that Roger and Mirka have a baby girl who grows up to dominate like her daddy.

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Now, to actual tennis, not the tennis of the future. It was a good day for the Australians yesterday, with a quality win for Lleyton Hewitt (after a struggle) and good wins for Sam Stosur and Jelena Dokic. Man, I would love to see Dokic do well this tournament - she has admitted herself that she screwed up her scheduling a bit after the craziness of the Aussie Open, but hopefully she's settled herself down. A couple of rounds here would do wonders for her confidence (and also her ranking!)

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There were no huge upsets on either side today, though there are a couple of players that I like the look of that lost. Not quite Stars, but players I like to keep a bit of an eye on because they're sort of interesting. Gilles Muller for Luxembourg is one - I saw him defeat Bernard Tomic in the second round of the Aussie Open at Rod Laver Arena this year, and you cannot tell from television just how booming his serve is. And he's quick, and has some serious shots. I like watching him a lot - but still he lost today, to Sam Querrey. Querrey is definitely the higher ranked player, but I would like to see Muller do well one of these days.

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And in the women's side, I've always liked the look of Marina Erakovic from New Zealand, but she has totally seemed to go off the boil lately over the past few months. She's got some great weapons, but... I don't know what's happening, whether they're misfiring or what, but she's losing where she once won, and it's a bit disappointing. It'd be nice to see her pick herself back up again - our friends across the pond have no other tennis players at all, really! Actually, therein might lie the problem...

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Open (Miami)

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Men's Draw

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Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Potito Starace, 7-6 (11-9) 6-4

Nicolas Massu def. Ryan Sweeting, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Simone Bolelli, 6-4 4-6 6-4

John Isner def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-4 6-4

Amer Delic def. Steve Darcis, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Sam Querrey def. Gilles Muller, 6-4 6-3

Benjamin Becker def. Jesse Levine, 6-4 6-3

Andreas Seppi def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

Frederico Gil def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (9-7) 6-2

Bobby Reynolds def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 0-6 7-5 6-4

Yen-hsun Lu def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Gisela Dulko def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 6-2 6-4

Li Na def. Urszula Radwanska, 6-4 5-7 6-1

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-0 6-4

Ekaterina Makarova def. Chan Yung-Jan, 3-6 6-2 6-3

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Jill Craybas, 6-4 6-1

Tathiana Garbin def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-3 6-4

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Karin Knapp, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Mariana Duque Marino, 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Karolina Sprem def. Marina Erakovic, 6-0 6-2

Alexa Glatch def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-4 6-1

Bird Flu, Anthrax, SARS...

I have to say that I am a little disappointed in Andy Roddick. I'm not particularly enamoured with him at the moment, what with the Olympics thing, but I was going for him against Djokovic - and damn it, he could have won! He certainly had that fourth set on his racquet, and he threw it away not once, but twice: when he was serving for it, 30-0 up, and served two double faults, and then in the breaker at 5-5 when he tried that STUPID dropshot. What was that? He played so beautifully in the third set and most of the fourth - and if it had gone to a fifth, I would have backed him. Very disappointing, A-Rod. I hope Patrick McEnroe spanks you good.

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One thing I have to say, though, and that is that Djokovic's wingspan and reach is deceptively huge. He's not that big a guy, but when it comes to returning, he is a wall. At the net, as well, he has great reach - though I have many bad things to say about his volleys, especially his forehand volley. I mean, what is that? It certainly was not a match of volleyers - I wince and look away every time I see Roddick coming near the net.

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For two such good players, this was not the highest quality match ever. I only caught the third and fourth sets, but although Roddick lifted and played really well there, it wasn't exactly scintillating. Djokovic lets the crowd into his head too much, as well - and he really, really needs to learn not to antagonise them. I can tell you one thing, and that is that the crowd is going to be 120% behind Roger Federer in the semi after that performance there. He's a crowd favourite anyway, and Djokovic has really not done anything to endear himself. Considering that he lets the crowd get to him, that really isn't a smart career move.

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Let's talk about the Federer match. It was probably a little closer than I would have liked, considering who his opponent was, but he did what he had to do, which was nice. Of the Big Three, he's probably managed to conserve the most energy - he certainly came into the tournament less tired than Rafa and even his five set match was well under the four hour mark. And also he doesn't have Djokovic's injuries - though whether they are injuries or 'injuries' I'm not sure. A-Rod wasn't far off the mark when he said that Djokovic had 'bird flu, anthrax, SARS.' You watch. If Federer gets two sets up - or even a set and a break or two - I BET Djokovic will retire. He's been setting himself up for it all tournament. You just watch.

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Oh, and kudos to Gilles Muller, as well. He was never going to beat Federer, but he did his best, and he did pretty well considering his ranking. I hope Luxembourg is proud of him - and I would like to see him making his mark at tournaments in the future. One thing I will say, though - he needs to wear longer shorts. I'm not a fan of Rafa's 'manpris,' but Gilles was seriously wearing hotpants. Not a good look.

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So we have our semi finalists - Rafa against Murray, Roger against the Djoker. I'm picking a Murray/Fed final, though I would not be surprised to see Rafa come through. Murray is maybe just a little fresher, and is certainly playing well, whereas Rafa hasn't been playing 100%. And I am gagging for the Australian Open rematch. Of course, if Djokovic wins, I will cry many bitter tears, but if (when) Roger wins, I will celebrate like nobody's business. Revenge, dish, cold, best served, etc - and if Djokovic retires and takes that away (what with his bird flu, anthrax and SARS,) I will be FURIOUS.

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Oh, and a special congratulations to Roger Federer for making his eighteenth straight Grand Slam semi final. That is a streak that will not be matched in a LONG time, if ever! Congratulations, Roger!

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Today's Results

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US Open (Flushing Meadows)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Gilles Muller, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Novak Djokovic def. Andy Roddick, 6-2 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5)

Cyclone Igor

I would love to gloat about how Novak Djokovic got taken to five by Tommy Robredo, who is definitely not one of the king of hard courts, and barely scraped out of it alive, but then, in the interests of my pretended fairness, I would have to say the same thing about Federer, and I don't want to. So I'll say this instead: both Federer and Djokovic got taken to five sets by lower-ranked but dangerous opponents, and both played well to dig themselves out of trouble and asserted themselves when it counted.

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Well, except for Djokovic.

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Let's start with the Federer match. He didn't play his best tennis EVER, but he didn't suck - it wasn't one of those times when the wheels just fall off one of the aspects of his game or anything. Everything was working, firing mostly. Andreev just played really, really well. He has a very high risk game - he rips that ball from the baseline like nobody's business and his serve has major pop on it. He's one of the closest things tennis has to a force of nature - he's Cyclone Igor. If it works, it's deadly. If it doesn't, it's painful to watch. He certainly came out hard, and credit to Federer for hanging with him, because ain't just anyone can do that. Even though Federer got the break back, Andreev really did deserve that first set, so perhaps it was sort of justice that he won it. But good on Roger for hanging tough and doing what he does best. I breathed a sigh of relief when he got that breaker and brought it to one set all.

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The third set had some vintage Fed moments, as did the fifth - the fourth was a bit of an anomaly. However, I don't think that's the fourth set Roger would have played if he were down two sets to one instead of being up. Remember the Tipsarevic match? Federer was down, and then stamped his authority all over the fourth. He eased his foot off the accelerator a bit and paid the price. Against most opponents he could probably afford to do it, but Andreev proved his quality by not being one of those guys.

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The fifth was the real thriller, with all those deuces, but from the get go it had Federer stamped all over it. That game where he got the break to go up 2-0 after was really a microcosm of the match. Andreev was close to him, really, really close, but Roger came through when it counted. Major credit as well for saving all the break points that he did - the story of a match is often told in the break point conversion rate, and Roger's percentage was not brilliant, but it was better than Igor's.

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If I hadn't been so nervous, I think I would have thoroughly enjoyed that match. I was, am and always will be going for Federer, but I like Andreev, and I was glad he could make a good account of himself. Has he ever won a tournament title? If not, he should have. He had a couple of near misses earlier - I think he lost one final to del Potro - but I don't know if he's ever actually won a title. I could go and find out, but that would just be too easy.

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Over to Djokovic, and if it was Federer looking like he is at the moment, I'd be worried. Robredo is a good player and all - he's ranked higher than Andreev is - but hard courts are not his thing, and really, he shouldn't be able to press Djokovic this much. Robredo is clearly in excellent form - Marat Safin and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are not cakewalk matches - but Djokovic is obviously not. He managed to pull the win out of somewhere, but I would be seriously surprised to see him make it through the quarter final if he plays at this level. Matt Cronin said in his pre match analysis that Djokovic should be bouncing Robredo off the walls, and there was nothing like that happening. He's whinging about injuries and being sick, and all those things just spell two sets down and retiring to me.

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He'll meet Roddick in the next round, and disenchanted though I am with A-Rod, I think he'll beat the Djoker. He really surprised me today with his win over Gonzalez - I thought Gonzalez was going to demolish him, but instead it was the other way round. On the men's side, Roddick had by far the easiest win today. Djokovic/Roddick will be an intriguing match, and whoever wins it will provide an intriguing semifinal, which will probably be against Federer - fun and exciting as Gilles Muller's run has been (good on the boy from Luxembourg for taking out Kolya the Whinger!) I don't think it can withstand the Mighty Fed... and besides, his legs have to give out sometime. He's played so many hours of tennis that I'm amazed he can still walk.

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Meanwhile, Jelena Jankovic is looking surprisingly good. I keep waiting for her to injure herself and crash and burn, but it hasn't happened yet, and her win over Sybille Bammer today was very convincing. That said, Sybille Bammer is hardly one of the top players on tour right now, but still, a quarter final is a quarter final, and you don't get there by being a schlep. Jankovic will meet Dementieva in the semi, who took out Schnyder, and that should be a very intriguing match. I'm not sure which way to call it. I'm pretty sure Jankovic is guaranteed to be #1 if she makes the final, and I want Dinara to get it, so I might be going for Dementieva... but Dementieva's serve REALLY ANNOYS ME.

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Today's Results

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US Open (Flushing Meadows)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Igor Andreev, 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 3-6 6-3

Novak Djokovic def. Tommy Robredo, 4-6 6-2 6-3 57 6-3

Andy Roddick def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-2 6-4 6-1

Gilles Muller def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4 4-6 6-3 7-6 (12-10)

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Sybille Bammer, 6-1 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Patty Schnyder, 6-2 6-3

Don't Cry For Me, Miss Safina

I don't want to cast aspersions on Rafa Nadal - he has undoubtedly been the best player on tour this year, whatever my personal preferences may be - but he is just not so hot right now. I thought that he'd played out his early kinks with that good victory ove Troicki in the third round, but then against Querrey today, the kinks were back. I mean, he still won, and won pretty comfortably when it came down to it, but he wasn't the Rafa we've seen over the past six or so months. This wasn't the man who won the French Open and Wimbledon and the Olympics back to back. This man... well, he was a bit tired.

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And I can get why he's tired. I mean, come on, the scheduling is insane. Add to that the Querrey factor - the guy may not be ranked that high, but he's not a pushover, and he was playing at home in front of an adoring crowd - and you can see why Rafa's not playing at his best. But if he wants to win the tournament, he's going to have to lift. While Fish could emulate his countryman Querrey and take a set off Rafa in the quarters, I don't see him doing much more than that - but when Rafa gets to the semis, he's going to face either Juan Martin del Potro or Andy Murray, either or whom will eat him alive if he doesn't pick it up. Murray, I feel, has a real chance - he played pretty damn spectacularly to beat Djokovic and win the Cincincatti. And we know the Scottish kid has what it takes to beat members of the Big Three - I don't know about Rafa himself, but he's certainly beaten Djokovic and Federer in recent times.

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Speaking of Murray, wasn't he in scintillating form today? Sure, lovely Stan Wawrinka did not play to the best of his ability, but Murray was just awesome. I'm not a Murray fan, I have to say, but the kid's got game. I would not be surprised at all to see him make the final. If/when he faces Rafa, I don't think we're going to see a repeat of the Wimbledon match they played. Rafa is not going to be able to have it his own way with Andy. Remember when they played at the Australian Open - I think it was last year? It was a fabulous match that really went the distance - in the end, it pretty much came down to Rafa having the better legs and Murray running out of steam. If they go five sets again, I don't think we'll see Murray's fitness have such a negative impact. He's certainly picked it up - and, unlike Rafa, he hasn't played tennis solidly for six months. I don't want to impugn Rafa's fitness - in fact, I would go so far as to say he is one of the fittest players on the tour, maybe even the fittest - but no one can do that and not feel the effects. And we've seen him feeling the effects. So what can Murray pull out the bag?

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I'm sort of assuming Murray will be the random semi finalist here - with his form, he deserves to be - but that's not to rule out the del Potro possibility. We all know how hot del Potro has been of late. However, he hasn't been 100% sparkling here - a few five set matches here and there - but on the flip side, he's in the frickin' quarters. I don't think he's ever done that before. I shouldn't judge him by Federesque standards - my bad. But I think Murray'll get him. Del Potro is hot right now, but if anyone is due a big showing at a Slam, it's Murray. It's his turn, really.

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And we can't forget Mardy Fish either. Everyone ruled him out at Indian Wells or Miami or wherever it was when he played Federer in the semis, and he came out and won the thing. Best of five sets is a bit of a different story, but with the home crowd behind him and Rafa not playing as Rafa does, maybe Fish can hook a big one. (Sorry for the pun.) This is Fish's best ever showing here - it would be a bit of a fairy tale to see him go the distance.

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Speaking of Americans, one match I am very much looking forward to is the Roddick/Gonzalez match tomorrow. That one is going to be a corker. I know Roddick is the higher seed and has the home crowd support, but I think Gonzalez might just get him. Fernando hasn't been playing quite as well as he did that time at the Australian Open where he made the final, but he's been big in form recently, and it'd be nice to see him put up a good showing. And wouldn't a Djokovic/Gonzalez quarter be an awesome match? I would like that one enormously - mostly because I think Gonzalez would win.

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And going back to fairy tales, I would dearly love to see Gilles Muller make the quarters by taking out Davydenko. Kolya seems to have got a little bit of his mojo back, but that doesn't mean I am any more impressed with him. And I like the guts of this Muller guy. And since when does Luxemborg ever win anything? Go Gilles.

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And obviously I want to see Federer beat Andreev. That should be a good match, actually - Andreev is good enough to test Federer, but I don't know if he's good enough to actually put him in danger. That said, I won't count my chickens - I remember Tipsarevic. Oh, do I remember Tipsarevic. But I like the look of Roger right now. If he can put away Stepanek - someone who he has had trouble with in the past - in easy straights, then he's in pretty decent form.

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Oh, and women. Yay Dinara and being through! Actually, did anyone see the Tennis Australia headline this morning? I ain't got nothing on their bad puns. 'Don't Cry For Me Safina.' Apparently she started crying before her match and couldn't stop until her coach came and calmed her down for some inexplicable reason. Go figure. That article also featured the immortal line 'sobs turn to lobs.' I like a good pun here and there - I went to town with curtain/Kuerten puns (just like everyone else) when Guga retired, but really, isn't there a place where you have to draw the line?

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It's looking like a Williams/Safina semi - though which Williams will be an interesting question. I'm feeling Serena, but honestly, they're pretty interchangeable to me. Whichever one does get through, I'm still picking Dinara to win. Apparently - on the ever constant rankings question - she can become #1 if she wins and Jankovic doesn't reach the semis. Here's hoping Jelena loses. Not that I dislike Jelena or anything, but Dinara deserves it way more than she does right now.

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And yeah, I stole the Safina pun and used it as a title. Puns that awful just cannot be denied. But you will notice, however, that mine scans better. I, at least, understand that 'Argentina' has four syllables. Take that. Ha.

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Small victories. Small, small victories.

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Today's Results

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US Open (Flushing Meadows)

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Sam Querrey, 6-2 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Andy Murray def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-1 6-3 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro def. Kei Nishikori, 6-3 6-4 6-3

Mardy Fish def. Gael Monfils, 7-5 6-2 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 7-5 6-0

Serena Williams def. Severine Bremond, 6-2 6-2

Venus Williams def. Agineszka Radwanska, 6-1 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Amelie Mauresmo, 6-3 6-0