US Open 2010: Days 9 + 10 wrap

Hey, sorry I disappeared for a second there. I couldn’t bring myself to watch tennis yesterday, Day 9, because of the recent development that is Caroline Wozniacki. I just didn’t want to hear about it. Pardon my moment of weakness.

I did, however, hear about (and later saw) Fernando Verdasco’s amazing match point against David Ferrer. Then, I read that Kim Clijsters and Sam Stosur played a match that started off with high quality tennis but ended pretty poorly. With that, it’s hard to bet against Venus Williams now.

Day 9 results:
Quarterfinals
Kim Clijsters [2] def. Samantha Stosur [5] 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Venus Williams [3] def. Francesca Schiavone [6] 7-6(5), 6-4

Round of 16
Rafael Nadal [1] def. Feliciano Lopez [23] 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Fernando Verdasco [8] def. David Ferrer [10] 5-7, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4)
Mikhail Youzhny [12] def. Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Stanislas Wawrinka [25] def. Sam Querrey [20] 7-6(9), 6-7(5), 7-5, 4-6, 6-4

Day 10 was pretty uneventful. The wind made it hard for everyone. It was hard to play under those conditions and it was hard to watch the pros play under those conditions. The favorites all came through relatively easily. Straight sets on tap.

Day 10 results:
Quarterfinals
Caroline Wozniacki [1] def. Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 7-5
Vera Zvonareva [7] def. Kaia Kanepi [31] 6-3, 7-5

Roger Federer [2] def. Robin Soderling [5] 6-4, 6-4, 7-5
Novak Djokovic [3] def. Gael Monfils [17] 7-6(2), 6-1, 6-2

Image via Getty

US Open 2010: Day 8 wrap

Day 8 sucked! Svetlana Kuznetsova and the rest of the world was stunned by Dominika Cibulkova. My only favorite left in the draw was ousted by Caroline Wozniacki.

Guess I can’t give Caro shit anymore this summer, can I? She shut down Maria Sharapova in their R16 match and was definitely the steadier player out there today. True to her game, she got all of Masha’s balls back and forced the error. Caro’s first serves were also very effective and I think that threw Masha off. I’m still puzzled why Masha allowed very long rallies to happen but she did and they weren’t pretty.

Ah, well, Masha will learn and better never lose to Caro again.

Day 8 results:
Caroline Wozniacki [1] def. Maria Sharapova [14] 6-3, 6-4
Vera Zvonareva [7] def. Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 6-2
Dominika Cibulkova def. Svetlana Kuznetsova [11] 7-5, 7-6(4)
Kaia Kanepi [31] def. Yanina Wickmayer [15] 0-6, 7-6(2), 6-1

Roger Federer [2] def. Jurgen Melzer [13] 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3
Novak Djokovic [3] def. Mardy Fish [19] 6-3, 6-4, 6-1
Robin Soderling [5] def. Albert Montanes [21] 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
Gael Monfils [17] def. Richard Gasquet 6-4, 7-5, 7-5

Image via Getty

US Open 2010: Day 4 preview

It’s frazzle day. Day 4 will showcase a slew of former champions and finalists. Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Novak Djokovic, Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki are all scheduled to play.

• Sabine Lisicki vs Vera Zvonareva [7]
  These two have had an interesting few months. Sabine’s has been plagued with injury and her first round win over Coco Vandeweghe a few days ago was her first tour win since Dubai in February. Vera, on the other hand, had a nice little trip to the finals at Wimbledon last Spring. That was immediately followed by a little hiccup early in the summer but she has bounced back looked sharp in her first round match.
• Iveta Benesova vs Maria Sharapova [14]
  Go, Masha! Go!
• Philipp Petzschner vs Novak Djokovic [3]
  Let’s see if Nole will use his second shot at US Open life well. Philipp shouldn’t give Nole any trouble on this surface.
• Nikolay Davydenko [6] vs Richard Gasquet
  I would like to see Richie get this scalp. That is all.
• Robin Soderling [5] vs Taylor Dent
  I’m sorry balls but you’re going to get crushed more than usual. If Sod plays the kind of tennis that got him to the top 5 then I wouldn’t give Taylor any chance. Unfortunately, he hasn’t really showed much of it this summer.
• Kei Nishikori vs Marin Cilic [11]
  Upset alert! As in, Marin defeating Kei.

Complete Day 4 schedule here.

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US Open 2010: Day 1 wrap

I’m not going to lie, Day 1 at the US Open was a little boring. This is what happens when Day 1 of the slam prior was ridiculous, you expect a little too much. It’s supposed to be a good thing that there weren’t any upsets. Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Nikolay Davydenko, Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic (!) and Elena Dementieva all breezed through their opening round matches.

The match I looked forward to the most was the Daniela Hantuchova and Dinara Safina slugfest. Ah, yes, it was painful to watch but I’m a masochist- aren’t all WTA fans? Daniela showed more consistency throughout the match that eventually lead to the victory. Dinara also imploded a little bit but that’s nothing new. I’m not Dinara’s biggest fan but I just really want this, whatever this is, to end and for her to start winning again. The back injury did not seem to be an issue today. Break my heart like it’s Roland Garros 2008 again, Dinara.

Tracked the final game of that match and it went a little something like this: Danka FH error 0-15, Dina winner at net 0-30, Dina dumps BH into the net 15-30, Dina FH winner + roar 15-40, Dina return error (really!?) 30-40, Danka attacks Dina’s BH draws error deuce, ACE?! MP, Danka takes it 3 & 4. That’s basically how the entire match looked like except more deuces and roaring and puta!

Gael Monfils, Robin Soderling and Samantha Stosur narrowly escaped first round exits.

Notable wins and losses:
Samantha Stosur [5] def. Elena Vesnina 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-1
Victoria Azarenka [10] def. Monica Niculescu 6-0, 5-7, 6-1
Ana Ivanovic def. Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-2

Robin Soderling [5] def. Andreas Haider-Maurer 7-5, 6-3, 6-7(2), 5-7, 6-4
Gael Monfils [17] def. Robert Kendrick 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4
Richard Gasquet def. Simon Greul 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Complete Day 1 results here.

Image via Getty

It’s a party in NYC!

*Internet high five* to everyone who has covered the pre-US Open parties going on all around New York City. I want to go to there.

• Down The Line!, Tennis Served Fresh and GTV News covered the evian and Maria Sharapova Live Young event in SoHo last Tuesday.
• Rich from Down The Line! endured some rain and John McEnroe at the Nike Primetime Knockout Event on Wednesday which featured Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.

• Rich sure loves to party, goes on for a 3rd straight night of tennis debauchery at the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis on Thursday with the biggest ballers in the world and the world’s top chefs.
• Erwin from Tennis Served Fresh was at the Ralph Lauren and Venus Williams legends clinic also on Thursday.

CHANCE YEH/PatrickMcMullan.com

Masha stepped out with the boyfriend and took pictures? I’m telling you, it’s one big party in NYC. I don’t think any of the bloggers TSF’s Erwin was at the Interview + Cole Haan + Maria Sharapova (+ The Selby) event and fall collection launch. The event also raised some money to benefit Common Cents.

Trophy case: August 22-23, 2010

Roger Federer defeated Mardy Fish 6-7(5), 7-6(1), 6-4 in the finals of the Western & Souther Financial Group Masters in Mason, OH to win his second title of the year and 63rd (!) of his career.

After winning Melbourne to start the year, 2010 has been a battle for RF. I’m sure he’s not used playing for 7 months without winning a title. But that happened and while I think he had a good run in Cincy- a much needed one, I’m still not convinced that he can go on and reclaim his crown in New York.

The same goes for Mardy and his USO sleeper status, I’m not convinced.

Caroline Wozniacki defeated Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in the finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada to claim her third title of the year and ninth of her career.

The semifinals and finals weekend in Montreal were rained out so Caro had to play her semifinal and final matches today. Props, girl. Props!

Images via Getty

Trophy case: August 15, 2010

Kim Clijsters defeated Maria Sharapova in the finals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open in Mason, OH, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, to win her third title of the year and 38th of her career.

Kim had a sloppy start to the match and had to fight off 3 match points in the second set. The match was delayed due to rain and during that short break, Kim found her game and rallied in the second set tiebreak to force a decider. She steamrolled Maria, who caught a foot injury, in the third.

Andy Murray defeated Roger Federer in the finals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada, 7-5, 7-5, to win his first title of the year.

Muzz had an impressive week in Toronto. En route to the title, he defeated Gael Monfils, a surging David Nalbandian and the top two players in the world, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. He played aggressive tennis throughout the entire tournament and looked a lot like the Andy Murray we saw in Melbourne early this year. I think I smell another trip to the finals in NYC, I hope he makes it one better this year!

Images via Getty

A thank you letter

You’ve been the best, Wimbledon ’10. Just the best.

Here’s a big thank you…

• For stopping the tennis world with Roger Federer/Alejandro Falla and Novak Djokovic/Olivier Rochus on opening day. I wish I read more into your hints that this was going to be a crazy year.
• For proving that James Blake can really be an ass and Pam Shriver is always drunk.
• For stopping the whole world with IsnUt. Tennis needed that!
• For introducing me to Robin Haase. He’s such a cutie.
• For the awkward curtseys and bows that only Her Majesty and Great Britain can make these million-dollar athletes succumb to.
• For never letting a day pass without drama.
• For showing me that Maria Sharapova can win the big ones again.
• For alerting the fans of Venus Williams, Andy Roddick and Roger Federer that their clocks are ticking and maybe it’s time to find other players to learn to love. It doesn’t necessarily mean right away but sooner than later. Harsh but true. I wouldn’t want you any other way.
• For leading Tomas Berdych back home- at the top with the big boys.
• For maintaining the balance between crazy and reality by, in spite of the explosion this fortnight, still having both World Number 1s win the Championships.

And most of all, thank you for making me fall in love with tennis all over again. It’s been seven years but you made me feel like the best has yet to come and all of us are really only getting started!

I’ll remember you forever. xx

Wimbledon 2010: Day 9 wrap

I know, I’m late. *pout*

So, Day 9 was fun, huh? I know it was for me. Other than Jo-Wilfried Tsonga losing to Andy Murray, all the men I wanted to get through got through.

When the draw was released and I saw a potential quarterfinal match-up between Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer, I had no doubt who I was picking to win that match. No, not because I don’t like Fed but because T-Berd’s very confident right now. When the tournament started and Fed struggled in his opener against Alejandro Falla, I thought, shit, Fed’s not even going to get to that QF match-up. But he did and I was right. That’s all.

All this talk about Fed probably not going to win another Grand Slam is a little premature. Was it in 2008 that people said he was never going to beat Pete’s record? That went well. He might not regain the the #1 ranking again, he’ll drop to #3 next week, but I think he can still go for another major or two if he really wants it.

Day 9 results:
Tomas Berdych (12) def. Roger Federer (1) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Rafael Nadal (2) def. Robin Soderling (6) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
Novak Djokovic (3) def. Yen-Hsun Lu 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
Andy Murray (4) def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10) 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-2

Image via Getty

Wimbledon 2010: A look ahead to Day 9

Day 9 is men’s quarterfinal day. At this point, if Yen-Hsun Lu doesn’t get through, I’ll be shocked!

I don’t think I can stand to watch Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga go at it. Argh, I’m lying. Sure I can and my heart slightly beats more for Jo.

Day 9 schedule:

Centre Court

• Roger Federer [1] vs Tomas Berdych [12]
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [10] vs Andy Murray [4]

Court No. 1

• Novak Djokovic [3] vs Yen-Hsun Lu
• Robin Soderling [6] vs Rafael Nadal [2]

Good luck, boys! And by boys I mean, Berd and Jo!

Image via Getty