Det er mange år siden det var kamp om førsteplassen på rankingen ved årsslutt (2003?). Hvis Federer og Nadal hadde vært nærmere i rankingen kunne de nok pisket hverandre rundt i turnering etter turnering utover høsten. For ti år siden spilte Sampras en haug med turneringer utover høsten for å sikre førsteplassen.

Nadal og Federer er sportens største attraksjoner, men på dette tidspunktet av sesongen tror jeg de helst ville tatt pause. Federer varsler sin tilbakekomst i Madrid-turneringen. Jeg tipper Federer ser på Madrid, Basel og Paris som oppvarming til ATP-sluttspillet. På dette stadiet av karrieren bryr han seg bare om de store turneringene. Madrid og Paris er Masters-turneringer, men den viktigste turneringen for Federer og Nadal de neste seks månedene er Australian Open. Den begynner ikke før om seks måneder.

Perioden mellom US Open og ATP-sluttspillet i Shanghai er mest spennende for spillere som kjemper for å komme til Shanghai. Per i dag er Nadal, Federer, Djokovic og Murray kvalifisert.

yah namanya juga baru bikin. gimana ga bingung. dulu juga waktu pertama kali blogging gw juga bingung, hehehe. bodo ah, yang penting gw sudah berhasil memasukkan muka mas djoko sebagai header wp gw khukhukhu. bagaimana kalau kita pasang muka djokovic lagi..

kenapa sih dia tampan sekali, hahaha. bikin sebal *apa sih gw*

Men det spilles turneringer før den tid også, blant annet i Asia. Andy Roddick slo Dudi Sela i finalen i Beijing, hans 26. tittel i karrieren. Roddicks tredje tittel for året, men ingen av dem har vært blant de mest prestisjetunge. Roddick trenger en god avslutning på sesongen for å være helt fornøyd med 2008, tror jeg. En seier i Madrid eller Paris vil være en perfekt avslutning på et greit år.

Jo-Wilfired Tsonga slo Novak Djokovic i finalen i Bangkok, og fikk dermed revansje for finaletapet i Australian Open i januar. Dette var faktisk Tsongas første ATP-tittel.

Jelena Jankovic vant dameklassen i Beijing. Dette var faktisk bare hennes andre tittel for sesongen, til tross for at Jankovic har nådd førsteplassen på rankingen i år. Ana Ivanovic har også vært verdensener, og også hun har bare to titler i 2008. Etter French Open har Ivanovic vært utrolig svak, og jeg lurer på når det snur.

Maria Kirilenko har tre titler i år, den siste av dem tok hun i Seoul denne helgen.

Dette er i så måte et merkelig år på WTA-touren. Ingen har vunnet mer enn fire titler i 2008.

Nine players from the world top 20 will attend the Bank Austria TennisTrophy at the Wiener Stadthalle. Three weeks before the opening day of the tournament, the participants form a nice little sequence in the ATP Entry Rankings: 9-10-11-13-14-15-16-17-18. With so little between the players, some exciting matches are sure to thrill the crowds at the Stadthalle. Moreover there will be one player who is set to mix it with the big four - namely Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray - in the coming years: Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina. Many of the BA-Trophy past winners were or have gone on to become world number one. Del Potro could well be the next.

Koubek receives wild card for comeback

Of the three wild cards on offer Stefan Koubek will receive the first as a kind-of anniversary present. He is due to mark his comeback following a back injury with his tenth appearance at the Wiener Stadthalle.

The second wild card goes to Marin Cilic of Croatia, who is currently being trained by Boris Becker's former coach Bob Brett. Ranked 22nd in the world, Cilic won his first tournament this year in New Haven. He has signed a two year deal. The 20-year-old, measuring 198 cm tall and born in Mostar (Bosnia Herzegovina), Cilic joins Del Potro and Ernests Gulbis of Latvia to form a trio of young Trophy stars, who are breathing down the necks of the world's greats.

The final wild card goes to Davis Cup winner Alexander Peya, who recently secured Austria's 3:2 victory over Great Britain at Wimbledon.

Davis Cup heroes at the Bank Austria-TennisTrophy

When looking through the confirmed stars due in Vienna, not only Peya was involved in the Davis Cup. Wawrinka secured two points for Switzerland against Belgium, Gonzalez picked up two points for Chile against Australia and Karlovic matched the feat as Croatia played Brazil. Del Potro won twice against Russia to see Argentina through to face Spain in the Davis Cup final.

The doom merchants can now take a step back as the Bank Austria-TennisTrophy is set to bring back the glory days and I for one am already looking forward to 2009's tournament.

The tournament is co-sponsored by The Ring Hotel, Vienna´s Casual Luxury Hotel. For ticket reservation please visit the tournament´s website or call 0043 (0)1 79 999 79.

Srjdan Djokovic, Novak's father, apparently thinks the draw for the 2009 Davis Cup is rigged.

"Does anybody really think that it's just a coincidence that we've gotten toughest opponent second year in a row, Russia in Moscow, then trip to Spain? Of course it's not. Simply, nobody wants us to win DC".

You're right Srjdan, Davis Cup is just one big game of keep away from Serbia. His logic behind this; he thinks nobody in the ITF likes the Serbian Federation president.

"Our president left Bratislava on Sunday afternoon, he didn't even wait for matches to end. If he at least went to Madrid with few influential people and journalists to try to affect the draw with his presence. Nobody's fighting for Serbia's interests and that is way we get this treatment. And when time for DC rolls around everybody will be expecting Novak to give his 150% and beat Spain on clay".

Good Lord, that was unintelligent.

Last year we saw some chinks in the armor, as Roger dropped nine matches - as many as he had in 2005 and 2006 combined! Still, he won three of the Slams, went to the French Open final, and won the Tennis Masters Cup.  Sure, he seemed to be losing his focus in some of the lesser tournaments, but when he was on the big stage he shined brightly.  Not so this year.  He lost to Djokovic in straight sets in the Australian semifinal and was thrashed by Rafael Nadal in the French Open final.  He had several early exits from tournaments, and his only two titles until Monday were in minor events - events he hadn't even competed in last year.

Meanwhile, Rafa was on a run.  Oh, he didn't start off that great.  In fact, he was doused by Mikhail Youzhny 6-0, 6-1 early in the year.  And for the second straight year he was smashed in the Australian Open, this time 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals.  Then there was the perplexing finals loss to Nickolay Davydenko in the Miami Masters.  As is his custom, however, he caught fire during clay court season, and then came that incredible victory over Federer at Wimbledon.  By August he was #1, ending Federer's historic streak at 237 weeks - and his own stretch at #2 at 160 weeks.

Despite Nadal's great year, though, most people attributed Federer's fall to his own problems rather than improvements by Rafa.  Oh, everyone had an opinion: Fed was sick, unfocused, spooked, lackadaisical, etc.  What?  It is undeniable, however, that he was slipping by his own standards.  Coming into the U.S. Open he had 12 losses - the most since 2003 - and he wasn't rolling over people too often anymore.  The chatter about Fed not being "The Mighty Federer" began when his third round match at the Australian Open against Janko Tipsarevic went five sets.  He had cruised the Australian the previous year without dropping a set.  After that, the hits just kept on coming: the straight sets loss to Djokovic in the final, the blowout loss to Mardy Fish at Indian Wells, the upset loss to Radek Stepanek in Rome, and his increasing troubles with Nadal on clay.

The French Open final was the one that had every expert shaking his head.  Federer had looked pretty good, but Nadal gave him a beatdown like he hadn't suffered in years.  How could Federer win only four games in the match?  He had performed well against Nadal in the 2006 final, and at least took a set off him in the 2007 final.  This time, he came up horribly empty.  Still, he was optimistic, and refused to say that his confidence was dinged in any way.  He bounced back with an excellent grass court season that culminated in a final with Nadal at Wimbledon.  On his way to that final, he didn't lose a single set.

It's interesting to look back and see how the whole perspective of the tennis season swung on one match.  If Federer had won that title, he would have two Grand Slams this year rather than Nadal, and his career total would be at 14 - tied with Pete Sampras for best all time.  But that's not what happened.  Nadal was able to escape with that fifth set 9-7 as they played in darkness.  Federer showed some heart, though.  He clearly was being outplayed after the first two sets, but got it together and made a run.  He had his chance to win, that's for sure.  Leading 4-3 in the fifth set he had a break point at 30-40.  Had he converted that, he would have served for the match.

The loss at Wimbledon combined with some other lackluster performances caused Federer to lose his #1 ranking.  After Wimbledon he failed to match his performances from 2007 at either the Canada Masters or the Cincinnati Masters.  He also came up short at the Olympics, losing in the quarterfinals to James Blake, a man he has traditionally blown out.  Here he was, coming up on the U.S. Open with only two titles and zero Grand Slams.

It's interesting, though, that the Olympics helped Federer out in a way no one could have anticipated.  He may have come up short in singles, but he teamed with Stanislas Wawrinka to win the gold medal in doubles.  That experience made him more confident at net, leading him to come to net much more often at the U.S. Open.  He victimized Andy Murray by coming to net quickly after serving, as Murray was playing several feet behind the baseline to return.

The tournament was not a Federer masterpiece like last year's Australian Open or the 2006 Wimbledon, but he finished with a flourish.  He did drop only three sets, but two of them were to #23 Igor Andreev in the fourth round.  He struggled with qualifier Gilles Müller in the quarterfinals but came through in straight sets.  Then Federer caught fire; in both the semifinals and finals he opened and closed with gems.  He frustrated Djokovic with some great serving (20 aces) and really whacked him in the fourth set 6-2.  His first sets against both Djokovic and Murray were just clinics.

I think that the fact that Federer won in dominant fashion is almost as important as his winning at all.  He showed that he still had that extra gear - the gear that seemed to be missing this year.  He rose to the occasion against Djokovic and Murray, knocking them off center stage even though they had beaten him earlier in the year.  He showed that at 27, he can still be The Mighty Federer.

The truth is that Federer is still the most consistent player at Grand Slam events - a testament to how difficult it is to take three sets off him.  He has now reached the last three finals, and that's the longest current streak!  Nadal's best so far has been two - Federer's record is 10! His amazing streak of Grand Slam semifinals continues to roll on; it's now at 18.  By comparison, Nadal's current streak is at four, and Djokovic's best of five ended at Wimbledon this year.  John McEnroe put this phenomenal streak into perspective when he said, "How many guys have even played in 18 straight Grand Slam tournaments?"

Is it possible that he's now hungrier than ever?  I certainly think so.  Not only does he want Sampras's record, he wants to prove to everyone that he can still play at the elite level that characterized his stint at #1.  He wants to show that he's still the best when he needs to be.  I look for him to finish 2008 with some strong performances; look for him to dominate at the Tennis Masters Cup.

Also nachdem ab dem Viertelfinale doch bei manchen Spielern die Kräfte deutlich schwanden (Del Potro, Gonzales, Djokovic, Nadal) wird deutlich, welche Leistungen vor allem die Herren erbringen müssen. Zudem war ja direkt zuvor Olympia, so dass gerade Nadal und Gonzales ja praktisch durchgespielt haben.

Del Potro hatte auch eine enorme Siegesserie hinter sich und musste Federn lassen. Dagegen war Roger Federer diesmal überraschend fit, selbst im Finale. Er scheint wieder motivierter zu sein, was man auch an seiner Freude über den Sieg bei den US Open bemerkte.

Nun folgt noch das letzte Highlight, das Masters. Wahrscheinlich überträgt das wieder mal kein frei anschaubarerer Fernsehsender, aber spannend wird's allemal.

Australian Open

Maria Sharapova was back with a vengence, crushing all opposition, and put an end to Justine Henin's six month winning streak with a bagel to boot. Maria didn't drop a set, beating Ana Ivanovic in the final for her third slam title.

Curse you, Mash's right shoulder! Think of what she could have done if she hadn't gotten hurt at Indian Wells.

Novak Djokovic became Djerkovic during his run to his first grand slam title, beating Monofed in the semis and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final.

Let's just pretend Jo-Wilfried won.

Roland Garros

Ana Ivanovic finally broke through with her first major title at the French.

Who cares if the average ranking of her opponents was like 98? A major is a major.

Rafael Nadal redefined "domination" as he stormed through the draw on the red clay of Paris.

Rafa conceded only four games to Roger Federer in the final and won his fourth consecutive French Open crown.

Wimbledon

If Rafa is the king of clay, then Venus Williams is the queen of grass. In a women's draw that saw the top four seeds fall before the quarters, Venus blazed through the draw.

Venus took home the Venus Rosewater Dish for the fifth time, defeating sister Serena in the final.

Rafael Nadal set out to do what no man had done since 1980, win both the French and Wimbledon in the same year.

On championship Sunday, in fading light, Rafa took out five time defending champion, Roger Federer, 9-7 in the fifth set in perhaps the greatest match that will ever be played. Fed didn't lose this match, Rafa won it.

U.S. Open

Every once in a while Serena Williams reaches a level that no one else can get to. It happened at this year's U.S. Open.

Serena took the title for the third time, without dropping a set.

Roger Federer entered the U.S. Open with the prospect of going slam-less for the first time since 2002 staring him right in the face.

Fed handled the pressure beautifully and won his fifth consecutive Open title, crushing Andy Murray in the final.

 The semi-final clash with Novak Djokovic was the first sign that this could be the year when Federer's challengers will catch up. Djokovic played the match of his life, he not only bagged a win in straight sets, but also Djokovic had made federer look mortal.

 "The shock for me came when the moment I made a forehand error, I knew I wouldn't get a chance to hit the ball now, its just to pack bags and go to the locker room" Roger Federer said after Australian open loss.

 That followed a string of losses that left the world stunned, Federer was upset repeatedly, Andy Murray beat him in Dubai, Roddick in Miami, Mardy Fish in Indian wells and Radek Stepanek in Rome and the man who had emerged as his greatest rival; Rafael Nadal overcame Federer in Monte Carlo, Hamburg and then handed him an embarrassing straight sets thrashing at Roland Garros.

But once the caravan moved to grass; it was expected that order would be restored, Federer cruised through to his sixth straight Wimbledon final but against the fiesty Nadal in possibly the most memorable final in recent memory; the throne he owned was snatched away.

"I got hold of things a little late, but Nadal is a deserving champion, he plays amazingly well," he said after his Wimbledon loss.

The doomsdayers were having a field day as the likes of Giles Simon and Ivo Karlovic added Federer to their list of victims and his number one ranking was snatched away, many wondered if the decline was irreversible now, and James Blake strengthened that view by ending his Federer's quest for gold at the Olympics.

But a couple of weeks in the big apple and the wagging tongues have been silenced the king is back and the pretenders to his throne have plenty to do to unseat him.

Courtesy :- IBN Live

Women's Singles:

On Friday we had four semifinalists - all of the would become the new world No. 1 if she wins the US Open after Ana Ivanovic lost early. In the end Serena Williams won in front of her home crowd...

Final:

[4] Serena Williams (USA) def. [2] Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 6-4 7-5
Serena Williams is the Queen of New York! Because of the rain on Saturday the final was played on Sunday. In a really exciting final Serena won 6-4 7-5 over Jelena Jankovic who played her first Slam final in her career. It's the 9th Grand Slam title for Serena Williams who became world #1 again. Jankovic led in both sets with a break but couldn't hold them... Although she played a great match.

Notable results:

4th round:
No big surprises in the top half of round 4. All favourites won their matches. Italian Flavia Pennetta is maybe the most unexpected player to win but she had no problems with French Amelie Mauresmo. The dream runs of German qualifier Anna-Lena Groenefeld and French wildcard player Severine Bremond were stopped in the 4th round.

--- [16] Flavia Pennetta (ITA) def. [32] Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) 6-3 6-0
--- [6] Dinara Safina (RUS) def. [Q] Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) 7-5 6-0
--- [4] Serena Williams (USA) def. [W] Severine Bremond (FRA) 6-2 6-2
--- [7] Venus Williams (USA) def. [9] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 6-1 6-3
(other results of round 4 you can read in the 1st week review)

Quarterfinals:
All eight players in the quarters were seeded. And all better seeded players won their matches. The most exciting match was the duel between Williams sisters Serena & Venus. Venus won the last match in Wimbledon finals but this time Serena Williams won in a very close match in two tiebreaks.

--- [6] Dinara Safina (RUS) def. [16] Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 6-2 6-3
--- [4] Serena Williams (USA) def. [7] Venus Williams (USA) 7-6(6) 7-6(7)
--- [5] Elena Dementieva (RUS) def. [15] Patty Schnyder (SUI) 6-2 6-3
--- [2] Jelena Jankovic (SRB) def. [29] Sybille Bammer (AUT) 6-1 6-4

Semifinals:
Serena Williams & Jelena Jankovic are the finalists of the US Open 2008. Williams won in the semis vs. Olympic runner-up Dinara Safina who played not as good as in the last months. Elena Dementieva who won Gold in Beijing lost in a for her disappointing match vs. Serbian Jelena Jankovic who reached a Grand Slam final for the first time in her career.

--- [4] Serena Williams (USA) def. [6] Dinara Safina (RUS) 6-3 6-2
--- [2] Jelena Jankovic (SRB) def. [5] Elena Dementieva (RUS) 6-4 6-4

Women's Doubles:

Final:

[1] Cara Black (ZIM) / Liezel Huber (USA) def. [10] Lisa Raymond (USA) / Samantha Stosur (AUS) 6-3 7-6(6)
The world's best women doubles team Cara Black & Liezel Huber became US Open champion. The defeated Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur in two sets 6-3 7-6(6).

Men's Singles:

Same procedure as every year. Roger Federer stays unbeaten since 2004 and won his 5th US Open title. And World #1 Rafael Nadal? He reached the semis but Andy Murray was too strong. Federer shows all his class on his way to the title...

Final:

[2] Roger Federer (SUI) def. [6] Andy Murray (GBR) 6-2 7-5 6-2
Roger Federer takes his 5th consecutive US Open title! And he shows all his pundits that his time is not over. He played awesome tennis and defeated a tired Scotsman Andy Murray 6-2 7-5 6-2. Murray who played his first Grand Slam final in his career started good but then Federer shows all his class. In the end Murray had no chance but played a great tournament and defeated World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semis...

Notable results:

4th round:
Rafael Nadal had some problems with Sam Querrey but Roger Federer had much bigger problems with Igor Andreev. The Swiss was close to an early exit. Federer had to fight over five thrilling sets to beat the Russian. Novak Djokovic played a five setter vs. Spaniard Tommy Robredo too. The big surprise of the Men's draw is still qualifier Gilles Muller from Luxembourg. He kicked 5th seed Nikolay Davydenko in four sets out of the tournament.

--- [1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Sam Querrey (USA) 6-2 5-7 7-6(2) 6-3
--- [6] Andy Murray (GBR) def. [10] Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 6-1 6-3 6-3
--- [8] Andy Roddick (USA) def. [11] Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) 6-2 6-4 6-1
--- [3] Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. [15] Tommy Robredo (ESP) 4-6 6-2 6-3 5-7 6-3
--- [Q] Gilles Muller (LUX) def. [5] Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 6-4 4-6 6-3 7-6(10)
--- [2] Roger Federer (SUI) def. [23] Igor Andreev (RUS) 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-3 3-6 6-3

Quarterfinals:
All favourites reached the semis. Rafael Nadal had to play four sets vs. Mardy Fish from the USA. More problems than expected had Roger Federer with Gilles Muller but finished the match in three. Serbian Novak Djokovic played solid vs. Andy Roddick. The most exciting match of the quarters was Andy Murray vs. shootingstar Juan Martin Del Potro from Argentina.

--- [1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Mardy Fish (USA) 3-6 6-1 6-4 6-2
--- [6] Andy Murray (GBR) def. [17] Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 7-6(2) 7-6(1) 4-6 7-5
--- [3] Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. [8] Andy Roddick (USA) 6-2 6-3 3-6 7-6(5)
--- [2] Roger Federer (SUI) def. [Q] Gilles Muller (LUX) 7-6(5) 6-4 7-6(5)

Semifinals:
Roger Federer is on his way to his 5th consecutive US Open title. In a great semifinal vs. 3rd seed Novak Djokovic from Serbia he won in four sets - before the big rain came. The match between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray was interrupted by the rain so they continued on Sunday. It was a great match too and World No. 1 Rafael Nadal lost in the end vs. an Andy Murray who played on maybe his highest level!

--- [6] Andy Murray (GBR) def. [1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) 6-2 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4
--- [2] Roger Federer (SUI) def. [3] Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-2

Men's Doubles:

Final:

[2] Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan (USA) def. [7] Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) / Leander Paes (IND) 7-6(5) 7-6(10)
An exciting final in Men's doubles! American twins Bob and Mike Bryan won in two very close sets in two tiebreks vs. 7th seed Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes in nearly two hours.

Mixed Doubles:

Final:

[5] Cara Black (ZIM) / Leander Paes (IND) def. Liezel Huber (USA) / Jamie Murray (GBR) 7-6(6) 6-4
Normally Cara Black and Liezel Huber are doubles partners but this times they were opponents. Black and her partner Leander Paes won in a close match 7-6 6-4 vs. Huber and Andy's brother Jamie Murray.

Superb Federer ends Murray dream

Murray will rise to a career-high ranking of four in the world

There was no change of momentum early in the second set, Federer firing a vicious cross-court forehand in game one and repeating the trick to break for 2-0.

A humiliatingly swift defeat looked on the cards for the Briton, who appeared to be struggling with a knee problem, but he got a foothold in the match when Federer's level finally dropped in game three.

Murray pounced with a big cross-court forehand and a powerful backhand drive that Federer could not control at the net, and the Scot finally had a break of serve.

The match appeared well and truly on when a couple of loose errors saw Federer slip 0-40 down again at 2-2 but he continued with his attacking policy and, thanks in part to one dubious line call, he managed to escape.

And the relentless pressure applied by Federer eventually paid off when he broke to love to take the second set in game 12, making a lunging backhand volley, a successful chip and charge, a thumping smash and a running pass.

It was irresistible stuff from the champion and he swept into a 5-0 lead in the third set before Murray staged a late rally to cut the deficit with his second break of the day.

But it only delayed the inevitable and Federer put the British number one out of his misery on his second championship point, winning an epic rally with a smash that Murray could not return.

"I had a great tournament but I came up against, in my opinion, the best player ever to play game the today," said Murray.

"I got the better of him the last two times and he definitely set the record straight today. I've learnt I've got a lot of improving to do if I want to win one of these things.

"I love playing in front of this crowd - it's been the best time of my life."

Roger Federer was at his brilliant best as he won a fifth straight US Open title and ended Andy Murray's hopes of a first Grand Slam crown in New York.

Murray, 21, had been trying to become the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win one of the four major singles titles, but he was outclassed.

Federer stormed to a 6-2 7-5 6-2 victory in one hour 51 minutes at Flushing Meadows.

The Swiss now has 13 Grand Slam titles, one behind record holder Pete Sampras.

Federer joins Sampras and Jimmy Connors as a five-time winner of the US title in the Open era, but neither American won in five successive years.

He is also the first man ever to win five consecutive titles at two Grand Slams - the US Open and Wimbledon.

"It definitely feels great," said Federer afterwards. "After this year, to take this home is incredible. It means the world to me.

I had a great tournament but I came up against, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game today Andy Murray

"I'm not going to stop at 13 - that would be terrible! I congratulate Andy - he's done great these last two weeks. I'm sure we're going to see a lot more of him in the future."

Murray was playing in his first Grand Slam final and came into the match on the back of a first-ever win over world number one Rafael Nadal.

But the confidence the Scot carried from that landmark victory soon took a battering as Federer opened in spectacular fashion.

Having failed to win a major title so far this year, and having lost his number one ranking to Nadal, the second seed had been desperate to arrest his slide.

And after approaching his best in beating Novak Djokovic in the semis, Federer was at the top of his game from the start of the final.

Murray had to stave off a break point in game three but could not repeat the trick two games later, a double fault and two errors handing Federer the advantage.

The champion's confidence was obvious as he moved 4-2 clear with an outrageous forehand drive volley on the run, before more brutal forehands forced another break in game seven, and he wrapped up the set in 26 minutes.

I am in no way a fashion expert but since this is where my blogging arrow has been pointing to recently, here's a quick rundown of what I thought of the fashions at the recently concluded US Open:

Most Dependable: Roger Federer looking his usual elegant and sophisticated self on the hard courts. Not an easy feat when you're sweating buckets, I tell you. And hurrah hurrah, because it's not only the clothes that have been looking old-school fedexpress these days. On to your fifth. :)

Most Wearable: Wozniaki wins it for wearing the dress most likely to be worn on the courts.

Most Ironic: Pink just doesn't become a woman who's over 6 feet tall and has an attitude of a whiny 6 year old.

Lamest Attempt to be Fashion: Jelena Jankovic gets 0 fashion points for a shrug-bolero-I-don't-even-know-what-that's supposed-to-be hitting cover-up. I'll fitting and just plain odd-looking.  I'll take this over the weird ribbon she wore on her head last year, though. Haha. Go look it up.

Most Attention Grabbing Off the Court: This one definitely gave me a run for my money. Haha. Sure kept everybody looking in spite of being eliminated from the tournament.

Most in Need of a Stylist: I don't know which is worse. The acid green or the horrible blue-red combi. Ack.  I agree with Kris on the sponsors not being able to fully bank on this one.  Great career, great body... I don't see how you can go wrong with dressing up someone like that.  Or maybe he just really has a horrible fashion sense that overrides all of his sponsors' decisions. Or...

Yeah, I think it's just him. Hahaha. :p

De la même façon que la tempête a soufflé sur Flushing Meadows, apportant un vent bouleversant l'ordre des choses, un air de changement souffle sur le tennis de haut niveau en cette fin de saison. L'hégémonie de Federer avait déjà été mise à mal depuis quelques temps par Nadal, Djokovic était venu se joindre à la lutte pour les premières places, voilà qu'un petit nouveau vient encore bouleverser les choses. Andy Murray, 21 ans, écossais, a démontré tout au long de l'American tour et de l'US Open qu'il allait falloir compter sur lui à l'avenir. Son jeu tout en touché, en variations de rythme, son revers à deux mains monstrueux et sa défense digne de lutter contre celle de Nadal lui garantissent d'ors et déjà de belles empoignades avec les trois colosses du tennis masculin.

Alors que Federer a démontré qu'il était encore bien bien loin de s'écrouler, voilà que ce petit écossais se profile encore comme un redoutable adversaire pour le nouveau numéro un espagnol. Décidément, ce n'est pas de tout repos de s'asseoir sur le trône du roi! Les demis-finales ont en tout les cas prouvé ceci: l'ordre hiérarchique pourrait bien être bouleversé assez rapidement, tant les quatre hommes semblent proches les uns des autres. Elles ont également prouvé que le tennis ne pouvait que sortir grand vainqueur des affrontements futurs tant le spectacle proposé s'est révélé être un pur régal pour les yeux!

Entre Nadal, l'infatigable taureau au mental infaillible, Federer, le roi déchu qui garde toujours son jeu si pur et complet, Djokovic, le cogneur de coup droit au service ultra-puissant, et Murray, l'homme qui anticipe plus vite que son ombre, défenseur très aérien et rapide, la course au trône est lancé. Avantage Nadal, qui a fait trébuché l'immense Federer cette année après une moisson de titre impressionnante. Mais ce que cette fin d'année apprend, c'est que le gaucher de Manacor n'est pas invincible. Et il va avoir fort à faire face à un Federer vexé, décidé à récupérer son dû, un Djokovic aux dents très très longues qui va sans cesse en s'améliorant, et un Murray qui peut paraître anodin mais qui possède une confiance et des ambitions largement supérieur à être le quatrième homme.

Federer spiller mer ustabilt fra grunnlinjen enn for 3-4 år siden. I likhet med Sampras virker det som han noen ganger lar et av motstanderens servegame gå, for så å konsentrere seg sterkere når han ligger an til et brudd. Federer servet kanongodt mot Djokovic - 20 ess og 1 dobbeltfeil mot en av verdens beste returspillere er fantasisk. Og selv om Federer har mistet sikkerheten fra grunnlinjen, var det Djokovic som gjorde flest feil i går.

Betyr dette at Federer kommer til å overkjøre Murray eller Nadal i finalen? Federer har alle fordeler. Han er klar for finalen, og de to andre får mindre hviletid før mandagen. Men nå for tiden varierer Federers prestasjoner så sterkt fra dag til dag, at jeg tror finalen er 50-50, uansett om motstanderen heter Murray eller Nadal.

Samtidig er det verdt å huske at Federer aldri har tapt en Grand Slam-finale på hardcourt.

Perspective from John McEnroe, Voice of Tennis God as far as Deucebag is concerned, on Novak Djokovic’s on-court meltdown the other night:

“We had Boris Becker in the booth just the other night, and he said it took him about five years to figure the Open out,” McEnroe said. “Stefan Edberg was another one. He used to say he hated it.”

Harshest of all was the South African Kevin Curren, who said he was so spooked by the low-flying planes before the former Mayor David N. Dinkins rerouted them that he suggested one be used to drop a bomb on the place. He could be sent to Guantánamo for saying that now.

“You have to learn to cope here, and I can tell you from experience that it’s a losing proposition to take it out on the crowd,” McEnroe said in an Arthur Ashe Stadium corridor. At that moment, almost magically, a smiling Ivan Lendl walked by, the perfect example of a foreign player, unloved in New York, who learned to thrive here, all the way to three titles and eight straight finals.

McEnroe, who just last month was defaulted from a senior match for bad behavior, may be the world’s foremost expert on crowd antagonism. But he is also an astute, candid commentator, and it occurred to him that Djokovic, sorely wanting to build on his first major title in Australia this year, might have reacted like a deer in the big-city lights.

“The pressure he is dealing with now is a lot different than before,” McEnroe said. “He’s hit the big-boy club now; and he’s not the hunter, he’s the hunted.”

Opponent Not Always the Only Foe [NYT]

But Djokovic has made statements like this in the past, often in an attempt to psyche out his opponent. So after all the sports analysts concurred that Djokovic probably wasn't so injured, Roddick was asked in an interview for his reaction to the news that Djokovic had an injured shoulder and ankle. Andy said something like, "Isn't it both shoulders? And SARS, and Bird Flu, and Anthrax?" After all, the man is a hypochondriac, and besides, who knew the Djoker himself couldn't tale the teasing? After all, this is the same Novak Djokovic who is known for his impressions of other tennis stars (he does a mean Sharapova, and a roast of angry Roddick, in which he destroys his racket). Just watch the two friendly men teasing each other here (they're almost flirting):

So when Djokovic beat Roddick (in a match marred by particularly disappointing inconsistency by Roddick) yesterday, why did he flip out in the post-game Q&A?

This was after a very gracious Roddick hurried over to shake his hand, and the crowd—one which overwhelmingly favored Roddick during the match—actually cheered Djokovic's impresive win. So then, questioned by the USA network's current idiot, Djokovic said defiantly, "Andy was saying I have 16 injuries in last match; I guess I don't." This prompted big boos, and why not? He's an asshole.

The interviewer said something like, "Uh-oh, careful, this crowd can turn quick" and Djokovic answered, "I know, they're already against me because they think I'm faking everything. But that's not nice, to say I have 16 injuries and I'm faking it." How foolish. Couldn't he just take the win, thank the crowd, and exit quietly?

I guess this clown can't take a dose of his own medicine. But no matter, because I'm sure he'll get absolutely torn apart by Federer.

Get 'em next time, Andy!

The greatest single day of tennis viewing a year—the men’s semis and women’s final at the U.S. Open, Super Saturday as it’s known—is here. And … it’s pouring, thanks to Tropical Storm Hanna. They managed to complete one match, though: Roger Federer beat Flushing Public Enemy #1, Novak Djokovic, in four relatively tidy sets, doing his part to set up the Nike cream dream of a Roger-Rafa Wimbledon rematch on Sunday. One problem: Nadal’s not doing his. The supple Spaniard dropped two sets to Andy Murray, Scotland’s Great White Hope, but was up a break in the third when the rains came. They’ll resume the match Sunday at 4. The women’s final between Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic will be moved to primetime on Sunday, and the Murray/Nadal-Federer final will begin at 5PM EST on Monday. (CBS is clearly scared of the Monday Night Football doubleheader.)

I went out on a bit of a limb taking both Fish and Roddick in upsets.

I must admit that while writing the prediction I originally had Nadal in four, but the more I thought about ti, the more trendy the Fish pick became. But Rafa is #1 and playing the best tennis in the world right now for a reason, and while it was fun to root for the American underdog, it seemed inevitable that Nadal would win. Although after Fish won the first set I sure thought I was a genius.

I did actually think Roddick would win. What I clearly forgot is that Novak Djokovic has magical healing powers that can make the numerous injuries he had go away in one day. Call him a warrior, call him a fraud, either way most of us counted him down and out. Roddick's big serve wasn't working for him early and he dug himself into too deep of a hole. I was really pumped when it was 2 sets to 1 Novak, but Roddick was serving for the 4th set and had 30-0 lead. Andy couldn't close on his own serve and that's what cost him the match, being broken four times in the first two sets didn't help either.

But what a semifinals as a result.

#1 Rafa Nadal vs #4 Andy Murray (I know hes 6 right now, but after this tournmanet he'll officially be #4)

#2 Roger Federer vs #3 Novak Djokovic

You couldn't ask for a better semifinals setup.

Let's hope Saturday and Sunday live up to the hype.

Roddick se une a las críticas de Robredo contra Djokovic y el serbio salta

Djokovic, que se quejó por dolores en el estómago, la cadera, el tobillo, y por problemas respiratorios en su partido anterior a cinco sets ante Tommy Robredo, la volvió a liar tras el partido contra Roddick.

"Obviamente Andy estuvo diciendo que yo tuve 16 lesiones en el  último partido que obviamente no tuve ¿verdad?", indicó el balcánico,  aunque en la rueda de prensa posterior agachó la cabeza y pidió  perdón por su comentario.

"Tal vez exageré y reaccioné mal en aquel momento. Pido perdón si obré así. Esto fue algo impulsivo", dijo el balcánico, de quién se han  quejado varios tenistas del circuito por su forma de eternizar los  partidos con constantes asistencias médicas.

Las palabras de 'Nole' provocaron los abucheos del  público, mientras que él quiso explicar que sólo quiere asegurarse de que todo "está bien". "Ayer tuve un día muy duro y tal vez la gente  piense que exagero, pero solamente quiero asegurarme que todo está  bien", zanjó.

Robredo: "Djokovic es un poco payasete dentro de la pista"

7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (5)

and...

Djokovic bt Roddick 

6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)

The unusually emotional Roger Federer beat Giles Muller in a straight sets victory in US Open yesterday, he looked very fluid but very forceful at the same time, playing shots that weren't there.

Muller tried his best with his big serves and powerful ground strokes, definitely a wild card and the underdog in this game, but he played well and gave a good performance, by far it wasn't a straight forward victory as he held is serve in the first two sets forcing Federer to play a tie break.

Federer now will go onto face Novak Djokovic in the semi finals, this will be fierce contest as both players have history, Federer beat him in the final of last years US Open final, Djokovic beat him in this years Aussie Open final, and Federer, during this years Roland Garros, politely told Djokovic's parents to "be quiet" which didn't go so well with Djokovic. So it will be a great match up.

Djokovic was quite convincing in his victory against 8 seed Roddick, he beat him in 4 sets and managed to break the fastest server in the world twice. Djokovic is looking in fine form so it will be a very good game.

Murray vs Nadal - preview

In the other semi-final - Murray will face the world number 1 Rafael Nadal, both players look in fine form so it will be an interesting match up, but Nadal did recently thrash Murray at Wimbledon, so Murray will be fired up, but does he have the strength to overcome Nadal?

Nadal's road to the final has not been so convincing, but this is the furthest he has been on a hard court major so it will be interesting to see if he can go the distance. This is the ideal final four, and the best 4 in the world, Murray isn't ranked there yet but arguably should be.

Si parte alle 18 con le due semifinali degli uomini. Non dovrebbe avere problemi il numero uno del mondo Rafa Nadal contro lo scozzese Murray, già soddisfatto di avere raggiunto la sua prima semifinale in uno Slam. La vera partita clou sarà quella che vede opposti il numero due e il numero tre della classifica Atp. Roger Federer contro Novak Djokovic è una di quelle partite da non perdere. Sapremo se Federer ha davvero superato la crisi d'estate o se ormai ha imboccato il viale del tramonto.

Tutti gli incontri si potranno seguire in diretta, in alta definizione su Eurosport HD (canale 209 di Sky): le semifinali maschili a partire dalle 18.00, la finale femminile dall'una di notte.

Update 8 settembre ore 13.00: sabato è piovuto tutto il giorno. Stanotte alle 3 Serena Williams ha vinto la finale femminile mentre questa sera, lunedì, dalle 23.00 si disputa la finale maschile tra Federer e Murray. Diretta su Eurosport, anche in HD

Last night's heavyweight card at the U.S. Open—the best of this year's tourney by far—didn't disappoint. In a battle of big ball smackers with, as we've pointed out numerous times, incredibly hot girlfriends, Serbian impressionist Novak Djokovic outlasted Andy Roddick in front of his relatively reserved home crowd—Brooklyn Decker, new coach Patrick McEnroe, old coach Jimmy Connors, Regis Philbin (who spent crucial points in the third set reading a fucking book)— 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, with a combination of hard angles and defensive lobs-turned-winners driven by, apparently, rage over some backhanded comments Roddick had made about Djovokic faking injuries.

Via Djokovic's post-match, on-court interview with Michael Barkann:

"You know, Andy was saying I have 16 injuries in the last match …Obviously, I don't—right? … That's not nice, anyhow, to say in front of the crowd that I have 16 injuries and that I'm faking it."

Djokovic, who dazzled the Flushing faithful last year with his hysterical impressions of fellow players on the tour (he does a pretty good Roddick; YouTube that shit if you haven't seen it before) was immediately pummeled with boos. (So much for the goodwill, Screech!)

He later tried to apologize: "I made maybe a mistake by saying that in front of 20,000 people in his city and his favorite tournament."

No matter. Heading into his Saturday semifinal showdown with Roger Federer, the Swiss string-master might as well've been born and raised in Douglaston, 'cuz Djokovic will be about as loved as John Rocker on a 7 train.

In the other Saturday semi, weather permitting, Rafael Nadal will face Andy "Five-Set Prone" Murray, setting up the Nike/Don King/CBS cream dream showdown: Rafa-Roger III. As the Mannings say, it'll be on like Donkey Kong.

On the women's side of the draw, Jelena Jankovic slapped Elena Dementieva in straight sets, and will face the winner of tonight's match between Dinara Safina and Serena Williams. (The mere sight of her across the net has to be intimidating to other chicks on the WTA Tour. The only difference between Williams and Brandon Jacobs at this point is a helmet.)

Bonus for reading this far: In the girls' draw, 16-year-old Coco Vandeweghe—niece of Kiki—won her quarterfinal match to reach the semis. This is apropos of nothing. I just like saying "Coco Vandeweghe."

US Open is nearing its completion and for the first time in 5 years Federer is not the favorite to win this championship. Federer has lost to Nadal in two grand slam finals this year which included his shock defeat in Wimbledon. Federer who has won US Open 4 times before this and is the defending champion this year finds himself not in the headlines for the first time. Djokovic defeating him in the Australian and Nadal defeating him French and Wimbledon has given the others the confidence that they can also beat him.

This might actually work to Federer's advantage as the focus this time is shifted to Nadal and he is the number one player this tournament. Federer this time has less pressure as people have realised that he can be beaten. Even though the champion himself would want to shrug off the bad performances this year in the Grand slam finals to win his 13th.

I am an ardent fan of Roger Federer and I am sure that he will make a grand comeback. The great champion that he is will surely want to end this year on a high note. This will be first year since he won the wimbledon in 2003 that he will end with out a major title if he doesnt win US open. I am sure that Federer will continue to win more slams and break Sampras's record and once again become the number one player in the world.

Good luck to Federer as he will be playing his quarterfinals match against G.Muller later today.