US Open Wrap-Up (A Bit Late, I Know...)

I'm a bit behind and most people have moved on to bigger and better things, but the climax of the 2008 US Open does merit some comment.
On the women's side, I love the way Serena Williams stepped into the leadership void and seized not only the title, but what should have arguably been hers for the past several years; the number one ranking. Clearly her commitment to the game has been rejuvenated, and with some improved fitness and motivation to back up her massive game, there is no one (her sister included) that can hang with her. Should she keep this up, 2009 should be the year she cements herself as one of the greatest, maybe the single greatest, woman to ever play the game of tennis.
Speaking of legacies, Roger Federer showed how his legacy should focus not on his titles, but on the sheer guts and determination that this champion possesses. Written off by nearly every tennis pundit after a down year, Fed showed more passion, more grit, and more heart than we've ever seen from him before in seizing his 5th consecutive US Open and 13th overall Grand Slam title. So let's take a fresh look at the year: semis at the Australian (while admittedly ill with mono), the finals of the French Open, the finals of Wimbledon, and the US Open championship. By any other standard in the men's game, this is an incredible year, but universally regarded as a "down" year for Federer, thus showing how high he set the standard.
Now, with a chance to rest and refocus, we'll see what Federer is capable of next year.
The only downside of this entire tournament was the lack of televised coverage of the men's final on Monday. San Diego's CBS affiliate was the only one nationwide not to show the event, so we were left to find bits and pieces online. The idiot program director at San Diego's affiliate figured that Oprah and Guiding Light would get better ratings in a city with the most tennis players of anywhere else in the country. Good choice and thanks a bunch, you moron!

Five Set City At The US Open

On this gateway-to-the-quarterfinals day, it was a battle of attrition throughout.
To start the morning, we had third seeded Novak Djokovic battling 15th seed Tommy Robredo. This one went the limit, with all of the requisite ups, downs, injuries, shotmaking, and drama you need. Djokovic was gimping around on a bum hip and ankle, Robredo fell down and tweaked his shoulder. In the end, Djokovic had just a bit more in the tank and beat Robredo to move into the quarterfinals.
As this match was winding down and Roger Federer's match against Igor Andreev was building up, qualifier Gilles Muller continued his unlikely run through the tournament, knocking off 5th seed Nikolay Davydenko in 4 tough sets. He got back to the locker room just in time to watch the next thriller of the day, as the Federer vs Andreev clash started to heat up.
Andreev is a player more comfortable on clay, but possesses arguably the biggest forehand in the men's game, which on hardcourts is a great equalizer. Federer dropped the first set, then stormed back to take the next two. Just when it looked like vintage Roger was ready to put the hammer down and close out the Russian upstart, he faltered and Andreev seized the opportunity to push the match into a fifth set.
Shouting, gesturing, and emoting all over the place in a way I've not seen before, Federer found another level just in time and took the 5th set 6-3. With Boris Becker and John McEnroe in the booth, Federer channeled them and rediscovered the net. He won 16 of 20 points when he attacked the net in the 5th set, and looked cool as the other side of the pillow up there. He said after the match he "rediscovered" his confidence at net during his run to the doubles gold medal, and (you heard it here first) this is going to be the way he forges into the future. He'll use that first serve that goes in about 70% of the time, his quickness, size, and confidence to take his game back to the highest levels. On his way there, you'd better believe that he's glad to be facing the qualifer Muller instead of the 5th seeded Davydenko in the quarters
On the women's side, we met our first two semifinalists: Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic, who coasted through their quarterfinal matches and will square off in a few days (I got this one half right; who knew Dementieva had gotten so mentally tough?)
It fell to Andy Roddick to change the tempo of the day, and he looked tremendous in his three set crushing of Fernando Gonzalez. He'll be facing Djokovic on Thursday in the quarters, promises to be something special

UCLA Football Triumphant! (Nadal Too, But Barely)

Wow! Wow! Wow! What a victory for the UCLA Bruins tonight! Honestly, I'm just reeling at the size of this last-second, come from behind overtime 27-24 win over 18th ranked Tennessee. I mean, we were supposed to be terrible; no quarterback, no O-line, an overhauled coaching staff. This wasn't supposed to be close!
In true gutty Bruin spirit, this team came together under new coach Rick Neuheisel and put together an effort for the ages. How many teams could lose three starters in the first quarter and still win? How many quarterbacks could throw 4 interceptions in one half in their first start and come back with a Montana-esque second half? How many defenses could keep their much maligned offense in the game for so long without a drop in morale or confidence.
One. Your 2008 UCLA Bruins football team.
I wish I was still writing for the Daily Bruin after a game like this one, the storylines just overflow the keyboard: Neuheisel's homecoming, Kevin Craft's unbelievable second half performance, the touchdown drive followed by Tennessee's field goal at the final gun to tie, the game-winning field goal, the genius of coordinators DeWayne Walker and Norm Chow, that unreal defense!
What a boost to the team's confidence, what a shot in the arm for recruiting, what a way to start the year! Think the team doesn't feel it? Check out Coach Neuheisel celebrating with the fans after the game.
OK, I've caught my breath, so on to today's US Open action, and we'll start with the women. My pick to win, Dinara Safina, stormed into the quarters in two easy sets, as did the Williams sisters. Older sister Venus gave a serious beating to Agnieszka Radwanska and will face her sister in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
On the men's side, I caught the last set of Mardy Fish's easy win over Gael Monfils, and I'm not sure what to make of it. Not that Fish didn't deserve to win, but Monfils had clearly thrown in the towel and was pretty much goofing off in the third set. I wish players wouldn't do that, just have the integrity to play hard regardless or get off the court.
Monfils could take a lesson from top-seeded Rafa Nadal in the effort category, and Nadal needed every ounce he could muster in a brutal 6-2, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 win over Sam Querrey. This one I watched from beginning to end, and Querrey gave the number one player in the world all he could handle. There was a stretch from late in the second set to just before the 3rd set tiebreak where Querrey had Nadal pretty well befuddled, and his forehand was just tremendous; it's effort like today's that will push Querrey into the top 20 if he keeps it up.
Just as he can build on the positive, he needs to see where the next step in his game is, and we go back to the central dogma of tournament tennis: big players play big on big points. Querrey basically got out of Nadal's way in the 3rd set tiebreaker after brawling his way into it, and after going down a break at 4-2 in the fourth set, he had a total of seven break point chances on Nadal's serve, but couldn't convert. Still, a fantastic effort.
Tomorrow we'll see the rest of the quarterfinal brackets filled out, but in the meantime, click here for all the UCLA football coverage you need while you listen to the mighty Bruins roar!

Refreshments And Roddick At The US Open

Last night was Andy Roddick's first big test of this US Open as he took on Ernests Gulbis in the second round. It was muggy as anything in NYC and Roddick was dripping sweat off his hat brim straight away, so to help him cool off, The Jess and I decided some cool refreshments were needed. I decided to try a new spin on old standbys, here's what I ended up with:

G & T For The Jess

1.5 oz Tanqueray Ten gin

Schweppes tonic water (the small bottle)

2/3 of a fresh lime, cut into thick wedges

Add gin to highball glass, add 4 large cubes of ice. Squeeze each lime wedge (should have 4 total) over ice and then drop each on top of ice. Pour over tonic until 1/4 left in bottle. Use bar spoon to gently stir.

This was crisp, cold, limey goodness. Plenty of aromatic spice from the gin, and the lime was just going everywhichaway!

Twisted 7 & 7

1.5 oz Seagram's 7
1/2 can 7up

1 thick lime wedge

Pour Seagram's into highball glass. Add 4 large ice cubes. Squeeze in lime juice, then drop in wedge. Add 7up until can nearly empty. Gently stir.

Oh yes, lime and whisky play well together! The juice amps the 7up just the right amount, so the whisky and fruit are just dancing.

I can say that these two drinks were a smashing success, and so was Roddick. After dropping the first set and nearly letting the second get away, he settled down and rolled to a 4 set victory. He'll be back on court tomorrow on CBS.

Also on the men's side, kudos to Mardy Fish, who just finished stomping James Blake in three sets, and Sam Querrey, who steamrolled the 14th seeded Ivo Karlovic to move into the Round of 16 for the first time at a Grand Slam event. In the process, he hit an absolutely ridiculous topspin lob winner against the 6 foot, 10 inch Ivanovic. Querrey will have his work cut out for him next round, as he'll face Rafa Nadal, who is playing tremendous tennis (and his blog is as funny as ever).
The Jilted Kilt advanced with a 5 set victory over journeyman Jurgen Melzer, coming from 2 sets down to win. Nice comeback, but he has no business getting pushed so hard by a player nowhere near his class. Worse yet, he closed out the match with another of his disgraceful bicep flex routines. Just a pathetic display of unsportsmanlike conduct, so no rooting for him!

The women's draw is as turbulent as expected, with the 1 and 3 seeds out after two rounds. We do have a marquee match coming up on the women's drawn, as 9th seed Agnieszka Radwanska faces off against Venus Williams, seeded 7th, on Monday. In such a jumbled draw, this could just have easily been a finals clash, so we're in for a treat.
To wrap us, here's a nice augmentation to USA and CBS' coverage on Youtube.

US Open 2008: Andy Roddick and Ana Ivanovic In Different Directions!

Before we begin our post, here's another breaking news bulletin from the Tipsy Historian: Women's number one seed Ana Ivanovic has just been upset by Julie Coin, currently the 188th player in the world, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. This literally just happened, so you know where to turn for your breaking news! Now back to your regularly scheduled US Open post.
It all comes down to the US Open for Andy Roddick this year, that's for certain. He crashed and burned in Flushing last year and this year has been one struggle after another: changing coaches, the sore shoulder, the Wimbledon loss to Tipsarevic, the decision to skip the Olympics. About the only thing going right in his tennis life right now is Davis Cup. His seed for this year's tourney has dropped to 8, and he's just about off the radar as a title contender.
Which also makes it the perfect time to make a move, and he sure looks ready to do it. Last night, with Davis Cup coach and erstwhile mentor Patrick McEnroe in his box, he came out blazing against Fabrice Santoro and rolled to a quick three set victory. Santoro is the sort of player who could have driven Roddick nuts with his mixture of spin, consistency and fitness. Roddick was unfazed as his serve was enormous (up to 147 mph) his forehand was dialed in, and his backhand was solid. This last issue is certainly huge for Andy, because opponents know to pick on that wing whenever possible. If it's going to be up to the challenge, then Roddick may be poised to make a run.
This would be the perfect time for it, with American tennis in the doldrums and interest waning, not to mention the fact that this ex-champ has become something of an afterthought in the world of Nadals, Federers, and Djokovics. He certainly has his work cut out for him in the second round, with everyone's favorite up and coming player Ernests Gulbis waiting for him tomorrow night.
Today is a big day for another Andy, last name Murray, who not only moved into the third round with a tough 4-set win, but finally got his nickname! I dub him "The Jilted Kilt", and he will henceforth be referred to as such in this space. Congrats to Mr. Triathlon, who will get a stash of home-roasted coffee as his prize.

Day One US Open 2008: San Diego In Primetime!

Ah heaven, the sun is out on this warm early evening, and the first night session of the 2008 US Open is in full swing! There was a big celebration tonight of the US Open's 40th anniversary in the open era, with all the bigwigs and previous winners in attendance, and seeing those famous faces all in one place was quite a sight.
Following that spectacle, our hometown tennis hero, San Diego's own Coco Vandeweghe walked onto center court for her US Open debut. Only 17, she had to do battle with second seeded Jelena Jankovic, and though she lost, this was a blast to watch. Coco played rock-solid tennis and demonstrated a wealth of potential while keeping a positive attitude and huge smile on her face. Anytime she did anything good, the cameras cut to her mom in the stands, who was absolutely beaming with joy. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this San Diegan again in the future.
Now, as we gear up for James Blake and Donald Young, some thoughts on the first day's play...
For every John Isner disappearing act, there is a Wayne Odesnik (remember him?) 5 set slugfest. Isner, America's tallest player and biggest server, came into the Open with the usual fanfare and modest expectations, but today was a disaster for him from a tennis perspective. He went down in three sets to the 122nd ranked player in the world, Andreas Beck of Germany. We all have reasonable expectations around Isner, but this is inexcusable. If he's going to have any sort of serviceable career, losses like this in Grand Slams just have to go away.
On the other side is my favorite tennis journeyman Wayne Odesnik, who went the distance against Fabio Fognini, winning 6-4 in the 5th set. This is the kind of win that makes people your fan, and I am definitely an Odesnik fan. He's not going to win a Grand Slam, but heart and courage like his are a real treat in the tennis world.

US Open 2008 Preview

Whew, three posts in two days and 5 in the past three, guess I had a lot to say!
Tomorrow begins my single favorite sporting event of the year; the 2008 US Open tennis tournament! Two weeks packed to the rafters with drama, noise, brilliant shotmaking, and unreal tension. All the big names are playing, all the celebs are traveling; the final Grand Slam of the year is ready to go!
This is our national tennis tournament, and it is bigger, louder, more intense, and more dramatic than anything else in the tennis world. The players' personalities always come out as they have a chance to wear their emotions on their sleeves, so each match becomes incredibly engaging. The grounds are absolutely swarmed with fans and the matches go all hours, so the setting is loud and beer-soaked. For the American tennis fan, the hard court playing surface is the same that we play on, so this is a fantastic study of tennis tactics and shotmaking on a platform that we're very familiar with.
Even with all this, here is the best part (after trying to watch the Olympics on the other side of the world) No tape delays in the hours and hours of daily coverage!
Quickly before we start the preview, I'm going to extend the deadline for the Andy Murray Nickname Contest until Wednesday 8/27, so get your votes in if you haven't already.
There is tremendous uncertainty on both the women's and men's draws on the eve of the tourney, with no clear favorite going into the Open, so that said, let the preview begin.
You may have thought after reading the above comment about uncertainty in the men's draw that I'm flat out nuts; that Rafael Nadal is the favorite, he's number one in the world, Federer is slipping, and no one else is close. These are valid points, but not so fast. The bane of Rafa's tennis existence remains hard courts, especially at Flushing Meadow where his best result is the quarterfinals. Not only that, but the courts take a tremendous toll over two weeks, and for a player with Nadal's physicality, that is nothing to sneeze at. he's also number one in the world now, and for some people wearing a target that size is quite an albatross. Finally, there is the Olympic question. No one can predict what effect the Olympics will have had on these players, but I would bet that for Rafa, his gold medal run in Beijing will detract from his preparation for the Open. Consider the travel, the emotional high, the daily matches, and the travel again.
Roger Federer is clearly not the Federer of old, and I agree with most pundits out there that he looks burned out, needs a break and a fresh perspective. He's also an unbelievable competitor, with a versatile game perfectly suited for the Open, as his previous results attest. Hard to believe I'm saying this, but he's the very definition of a wild card in this event. Will he have the form and confidence to push deep into the tournament, or will he wash out early.
Aside from these two there are some familiar names in the mix. Of course Andy Roddick is supercharged for this one, and Andy Murray played brilliantly over the summer, Olympics notwithstanding. Novak Djokovic is a sexy pick for the title and always plays well on hard surfaces. There is also a fascinating groundswell of young talent in the men's game, and you can be sure they understand that New York is a great place to make your name.
Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro ripped apart the summer season in the US with the top players in Beijing, winning 4 consecutive tournaments and 19 straight matches. France's Gilles Simon and Switzerland's Stanislaus Wawrinka are also on the rise, but keep this name foremost in your mind: Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. He is young, confident, and has an unbelievable game. He is poised for a breakthrough, and this may well be the year.
Here are my predictions:
Semifinals: Federer vs Djokovic, Nadal vs Murray
Finals: Djokovic vs Nadal
Winner: Rafael Nadal
After looking at the women's side, I honestly want to throw up my hands, as this draw is in a state of anarchy. What a bizarre year this has been, with retirements, nerves, questionable commitment, and injuries shattering the upper echelons of the game. Now we are left with a host of women playing well, but not a single person showing they are ready to rise to the top. I'm not saying there isn't quality there, because that's not the case. Ladies like Dinara Safina, Ana Ivanovic, Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic are playing outstanding tennis, and just like the men, there is a whole new crop of players banging on the door of the top ten. It's just that no one stands above the rest in any meaningful way.
Which is just awesome! I mean, how much fun is this going to be? Look for upsets galore, new names and personalities plowing into the second week, and a first time Grand Slam winner.
Semifinals: Dinara Safina vs Agnieszka Radwanska, Anna Chakvetadze vs Jelena Jankovic
Finals: Safina vs Chakvetadze
Winner: Safina
There is a massive quantity of daily coverage and here is a link to the schedule. Keep your eyes peeled for the final US Open appearance of tennis' last magician, Fabrice Santoro. He will battle Andy Roddick in a first round match on Tuesday, sure to be at night. There are also two wonderful blogs to keep you updated, aside from The Tipsy Historian, of course. Rafa Nadal will be blogging again and the NY Times maintains an excellent tournament blog, so definitely keep up with both.
This is going to be a ton of fun, so stay tuned and up to date!