U.S. Open Tennis-2013

[trysail]

Here we go, again.


I still hate the playing surface and wish they'd use anything (clay, Har-Tru or even grass) other than those stupid hard courts.




US Open Caps A Wacky 2013 Tennis Season
by The Associated Press
August 26, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) — A surprise Wimbledon champion one day, a retired player providing TV commentary the next, nobody's been in touch with the fickle nature of tennis in 2013 better than Marion Bartoli.

So, when asked if Serena Williams was a shoo-in to defend her title at the U.S. Open, which starts Monday, Bartoli's answer came as little surprise.

"In sports, at the end of the day, you can't write the story before it's over," she said.

Given all that's transpired in the lead-up to the year's final major, it would be foolish to try:

—There was the sudden retirement of Bartoli, the 28-year-old from France who realized a few weeks after Wimbledon that her body couldn't take the pounding anymore.

—There was the withdrawal of Maria Sharapova, ailing with a sore right shoulder and also still spinning from a whirlwind partnership with Jimmy Connors, who she hired, then fired, as her coach, after playing only one match.

—There was that strange, crooked number placed next to Roger Federer's name: a "7" — worst seeding at the U.S. Open for the five-time champion since 2002.

—And there was the sudden reemergence of Rafael Nadal, who, for the last year-plus, has made headlines with his injuries and early exits (along with, of course, another French Open title) but finds himself with a 10-0 record on hard courts in the lead-up to the U.S. Open.

"Nobody in my family, my team who is close to me seven months ago, thought about a comeback like this," Nadal said. "I feel very lucky. I feel very happy to be in this position."

Second-seeded Nadal, who missed last year's U.S. Open with an injured knee and the 2013 Australian Open with a stomach virus, came back to win the French Open, then was bounced from Wimbledon in the first round, opens his 2013 stay at Flushing Meadows on Monday with a match against American Ryan Harrison.

Federer plays Grega Zemlja in the day's last match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Top-seeded Williams begins the night session against Francesca Schiavone.

Also on court Monday are fourth-seeded David Ferrer and, on the women's side, 16th-seeded Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki knocked off Williams at Wimbledon, though her last appearance on a grand stage had her dissolving in tears during a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Bartoli in the final at the All England Club.

The Lisciki-Bartoli final at Wimbledon seemed to come out of nowhere and, now, almost everyone in the 128-woman draw at the U.S. Open has to believe she has a chance.

"I think it's fair to say that there are a bunch of players that are capable of winning Grand Slams and capable of doing great things out here," said 11th-seeded Samantha Stosur, who defeated Williams in the 2011 final. "That hasn't always been the case."

The men's game hasn't been nearly as unpredictable.

Federer, Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have won 33 of the last 34 majors dating to 2005.

Third-seeded Murray is the defending champion and coming off a career-defining win at Wimbledon. Top-seeded Djokovic has appeared in the last three U.S. Open finals.

Federer? He hasn't been to the final since 2009, when he lost to Juan Martin del Potro. His year has been slowed by an aching back, an unsuccessful experiment with a new racket, a second-round exit at Wimbledon and the slow, steady decline of his ranking.

His struggles may very well stand out as the biggest surprise of all in 2013, but at 32, Federer thinks he might have one more to spring on tennis fans.

"People are going to say what they like," he said. "Important is that I concentrate on my game and that the passion is there, that I work the right way, that I'm prepared, and that I feel like I can win a tournament."

 

[trysail]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...ve-in-bid-to-match-agassi-as-champ-at-32.html



Federer Betrayed by Serve in Bid to Match Agassi as Champ at 32
By Rob Gloster and Stephanie Brown
August 26, 2013

Roger Federer enters the U.S. Open with his lowest seeding since 2002, hitting fewer aces and struggling with service returns as he tries to add to the lone Grand Slam championship he has won in the past 3 1/2 years.

Federer’s ace production in major tennis tournaments has declined to 7.7 percent of serves this year from 12.4 percent in 2009. Opponents have aced him on 8.1 percent of serves this year, up from 4.7 percent in 2011’s majors, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Sports.

After winning an unmatched 17 men’s Grand Slam singles titles and spending an unprecedented 302 weeks as the world’s No. 1 player, the 32-year-old Swiss is trying to match Andre Agassi’s Australian Open feat in 2003, when he became the oldest man to win a major in 40 years. He also was 32.

“When you get into your 30s, tennis takes its toll and physically starts to slow you down,” said John McEnroe, who was 25 when he won the last of his seven Grand Slam singles titles at the 1984 U.S. Open. “There comes a point, even as great as Roger has been for so many years, that it catches up to you a little bit.”

Federer faces Grega Zemlja of Slovenia, who is ranked 62nd in the world, in the second match on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court tonight, the first day of the U.S. Open.

Federer’s recent struggles in the four annual majors -- the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open --also can be tracked with his returns against the top three-ranked players in the world: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.

Returning Power
He has won 29.9 percent of first-serve returns and 44.6 percent of second-serve returns against them in Grand Slams since the 2010 Australian Open. From 2003 Wimbledon to the 2010 Australian Open, it was 32 percent on first-serve returns and 48.6 percent on second serves, Bloomberg Sports data show.

“Possibly he’s slowed down a little bit, the balance and the movement are not quite as Nureyev-like as they were in the past,” McEnroe said in an ESPN conference call. “So he’s reaching for more balls and therefore mis-hitting more shots.”

That has translated into a rough summer for Federer, who is seeded seventh in this year’s Open -- the lowest since he was No. 13 in 2002.

Federer’s record run of 36 straight Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances ended in late June with a second-round Wimbledon loss to 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Then, while most players moved to North American hard courts to prepare for the U.S. Open, Federer experimented with a larger racket at European clay-court tournaments. He lost in the semifinals in Hamburg, Germany, to 114th-ranked Federico Delbonis and in his first match in Gstaad, Switzerland, to No. 55 Daniel Brands, and returned to his old racket.

Back Problems
Federer then dropped out of a hard-court tournament in Montreal with back problems. Former player Pam Shriver, who like Federer is the parent of young twins, said having children puts extra physical as well as emotional demands on an athlete. Federer’s daughters are 4 years old.

“No other tennis player at the top has kids, much less twins, so he’s got it coming at him from two significant angles,” Shriver said in a phone interview. “When you’re a parent, you spend an enormous amount of time down low with them. The darndest things can tweak your back, like reaching down for a Lego.”

Federer won two matches in Cincinnati in mid-August before losing in the quarterfinals to Nadal and said that three-set defeat showed he was heading in the right direction.

“I know my body’s fine and my mind’s OK, so that’s two good things looking ahead,” Federer said in a news conference after the loss. “So rankings, at this point anyway, are not what leads me. It’s about getting my game back on track, and that’s what I’m doing well.”

Endorsement Earnings
Even with his declining game, Federer has almost $78 million in career winnings and Sports Illustrated estimated his 2012 endorsement earnings at $36 million. His website lists sponsorship deals with companies including Credit Suisse Group AG, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz, Nike Inc. and Rolex Group.

A higher percentage of U.S. consumers know him -- 38 percent -- than Nadal (26 percent), Murray (20 percent) or Djokovic (19), according to Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Q Scores, which measure consumer appeal.

Long Career
Federer has 77 career championships and a 910-209 mark in singles. His reign at No. 1 included a record 237-week run from Feb. 2, 2004, until Aug. 18, 2008.

Since the 2010 Australian Open, Federer is 3-7 against Djokovic, Nadal and Murray at majors. From 2003 Wimbledon to then, he was 8-7 against them.

“Seeing Roger struggling a little bit is surprising, but he’s been so good for so long,” Pete Sampras, who won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, said this month at a news conference in Toronto. “It just comes down to confidence. When Roger’s playing well, he can play with a broomstick. He’s that good.”

Sampras, one of Federer’s boyhood heroes, played his last match -- winning the 2002 U.S. Open -- less than a month after he turned 31.

“My career is long, over 1,000-some matches,” Federer told reporters in Cincinnati. “I’ve doubted myself in the past. I know where I have to go, so at least I know where I am, and I know what I need to work on.”






http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...ve-in-bid-to-match-agassi-as-champ-at-32.html

 

[islandman]

Blah, blah, blah...


Blake retiring makes me sad.

 

[LiFeNdEaTh]

tennis, golf, hockey an nascar has gota be the worst shit to see on TV!!!

 

[LiFeNdEaTh]

~ don't get me wrong though, the Tiger Woods Golf game for xbox is dope though. hahah

 

[renard_ruse]

Wow, the only sport more boring than soccer and its got its own thread.

 

[trysail]

Wow, the only sport more boring than soccer and its got its own thread.

Tennis is the ultimate test of individual athleticism.


No other sport requires such a combination of reflexes, quickness, foot speed, agility, strength, stamina, strategic thinking and hand-eye coordination ( the only possible exceptions are certain individual positions in the team sports of basketball and lacrosse). The decathlon lacks tests of reaction time and prolonged agility.

 

[islandman]

Wow, the only sport more boring than soccer and its got its own thread.

It's boring to those who lack the grey matter to appreciate the nuances of the sport.

Or maybe you need them to do a dance after every ace?

 

[trysail]

Whoa !


Sam Stosur has got some honest-to-goodness guns.

 

[trysail]

American Teenager Stuns Stosur
August 28, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) — From the earnest explanation of why Gary the Snail is her favorite "SpongeBob SquarePants" character to the name-check of rapper Lil Wayne, Victoria Duval made quite clear she is very much a 17-year-old kid.

One who just so happened to stun 2011 champion Sam Stosur in the first round of the U.S. Open.

Overcoming the sort of nerves that derive from never before having played this highly ranked an opponent — let alone beaten one — and never before having won a match at a Grand Slam tournament, Duval hopped up and down with arms overhead after pulling off her big surprise at Flushing Meadows, a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the 11th-seeded Stosur.

"I don't even remember match point," the 296th-ranked American said Tuesday night, less than two hours after closing out Stosur with a forehand winner. "I guess I was really happy. I mean, you could tell by all the jumping I did."

She wore a white towel around her neck, giggled at her own squeaky-voiced answers, and genuinely seemed to be enjoying the whole experience during a news conference that was a meandering affair, befitting Duval's bubbly personality — and the long, unique journey that brought her to this point.

Duval, currently based in Bradenton, Fla., was born in Florida, but grew up in her parents' home country of Haiti. She said that when she was 7, she and some cousins were taken hostage there by robbers.

"It's not a good memory, so I've tried to forget as much as I could about it," Duval said when the subject was raised. "I don't remember too much of it anymore, which is great."

Then, in 2010, when Haiti was rocked by an earthquake, her father was buried in rubble and badly injured, Duval said.

"There's a lot to be thankful for. I don't take anything for granted. ... My Dad is really fortunate to be here," she told the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd during an on-court interview.

Duval, who needed to go through qualifying to get into the U.S. Open because her ranking is so low, joined eight other American women in the second round of the main draw. Tuesday also was a good day for American men, who went 5-2, led by No. 13 John Isner and No. 26 Sam Querrey.

"We're obviously trying to make American tennis become what it used to be," Duval said. "We're all working toward the same goal. We're all a tight-knit group. Helping each other is important. I think we're on an amazing path."

The first American to play Wednesday was CoCo Vandeweghe, who dropped her second-round match 6-3, 6-4, to 18th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro. Others on the schedule included past champions Serena and Venus Williams, 15th-seeded Sloane Stephens, 23rd-seeded Jamie Hampton, and 33-year-old James Blake, who announced the U.S. Open will be the last tournament of his career. Also on the schedule: Andy Murray, the defending men's champion who added a Wimbledon championship last month.

In other early matches Wednesday, No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 5 Li Na advanced to the third round with straight-set victories.

Until Tuesday, Duval did not own a victory over anyone ranked higher than 69th. She had not faced a woman in the top 20. She only had played one match at a major tournament, a first-round loss to Kim Clijsters at last year's U.S. Open (which turned out to be the final singles victory of the Belgian's career).

Stosur was unhappy with the way she played Tuesday, including 10 double-faults and a total of 56 unforced errors, 21 more than Duval.

"I'm not going to be a sore loser and say she didn't do anything," said Stosur, an Australian. "But, you know, I think I certainly helped her out there today, that's for sure."

Perhaps. But Duval's game also has benefited from time spent in heady company recently, including mentoring from Billie Jean King and tips from famed tennis coach Nick Bolletieri.

"We have a great relationship," Duval said. "I call him Uncle Nick."

Seconding Stosur's assessment, Duval summed up their match this way: "Although she didn't play nearly her best today, I played amazing, so I'll take it."

And why shouldn't she? We've seen this sort of thing before, and rather recently: In 2009, another 17-year-old American, Melanie Oudin, made it all the way to the quarterfinals in New York by upsetting a series of seeded players, including past champion Maria Sharapova. This year, Oudin lost in U.S. Open qualifying.

Next for Duval, who wears white-framed eyeglasses and a visor on court, is a matchup against Daniela Hantuchova, who has been ranked as high as No. 5 and been a Grand Slam quarterfinalist.

But for an evening, anyway, Duval wanted to relish the biggest win of her nascent career.

And the kid sure seemed to be having a grand ol' time speaking to reporters, describing herself as "very goofy off the court" and "a child at heart."

So it made sense that when the subject of the "SpongeBob" cartoon series came up during her media session, she pointed out that "Gary's cute; Gary doesn't get enough credit."

And she brought this up, too: "I heard that Lil Wayne tweeted me. I need to go check that out. I don't have Twitter. I'm going to go hit that up."

 

[trysail]

Murrray, Del Potro Advance
Blake's Career Ends

by The Associated Press
August 29, 2013

...[Andy] Murray's 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 49th-ranked Michael Llodra of France began in Arthur Ashe Stadium only after 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro wrapped up a contentious 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory over 74th-ranked Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain that stretched more than four hours.

Del Potro was irked by his opponent's repeated calls for a trainer to treat his left leg, while Garcia-Lopez kicked a towel and got into an argument with the chair umpire over a ruling to replay a point in the closing tiebreaker.

Murray, who last month became the first British man in 77 years to win Wimbledon, needed only a little more than 1½ hours to get past Llodra, making only five unforced errors while compiling 34 winners.

"I'm very happy everyone stayed behind to watch," Murray told the spectators afterward. "I know it was late, but it made it special to come back to a full house."

A little past midnight, 33-year-old American James Blake's career came to an end with a 6-7 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) loss to 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia. Blake, once ranked as high as No. 4 and a three-time major quarterfinalist, announced Monday that the U.S. Open would be his last professional tournament.

"I don't know when it's going to hit me," he said. "I don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight."

No. 17 Kevin Anderson of South Africa, No. 20 Andreas Seppi of Italy, No. 21 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, 2001 U.S. Open title winner Lleyton Hewitt and 109th-ranked American wild-card entry Tim Smyczek were among the day's winners. But No. 16 Fabio Fognini, No. 24 Benoit Paire and No. 29 Jurgen Melzer lost, meaning 10 of the 32 seeded men bowed out in the first round...

 

[trysail]

Lleyton Hewitt’s upset against men’s No. 6 seed Juan Martin Del Potro, which took more than four hours.

Del Potro had been ahead 2 sets to 1 before Hewitt rallied to win the match.

 

[trysail]

Federer Advances at U.S. Open Tennis as American Men Keep Losing
By Rob Gloster and Mason Levinson
September 1, 2013

Five-time champion Roger Federer advanced to the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament as American men moved to the brink of some dubious history.

Federer, 32, of Switzerland, whose No. 7 seeding is his worst at the National Tennis Center in New York since 2002, won in straight sets against Adrian Mannarino of France.

Losses by No. 13 John Isner and unseeded Jack Sock left Tim Smyczek, a wild-card invitee ranked 109th in the world, as the only American man left in the tournament. If Smyczek loses today to Spain’s Marcel Granollers, it would mark the first time in the tournament’s 133-year history that no American man has reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open.

“I don’t care,” Isner said in a news conference after his four-set loss to No. 22 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. “No, I’m going to watch football for a while. That’s all I care about.”

There has been an American man in the fourth round of the U.S. Open every year since the tournament began in 1881, according to the U.S. Tennis Association. Breaking that streak would be the latest indignity for the sport in the U.S.

No American man has won any of tennis’ four Grand Slam events -- Wimbledon and the Australian, French and U.S. opens -- since Andy Roddick won in New York in 2003. At Wimbledon this year, no U.S. man reached the third round for the first time in 101 years...

 

[miles]

Isner looked terrible. He really gets down on himself when things aren't going well.

 

[trysail]

Isner looked terrible. He really gets down on himself when things aren't going well.

He's a good guy and it's usually a lot of fun to watch him play. I simply cannot fathom what a serve of 140 mph coming from almost 10 feet high must look like. It's simply unreturnable.


I guess he never pursued basketball. It would be interesting to see how he'd fare in the NBA. People that tall with superb hand-eye coordination, quickness and agility are rare.

 

[trysail]

The American Bryan brothers are seeking a "Calendar Slam" in men's doubles (winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open all in the same year). It hasn't been done in 62 years.


They are the sole bright spot in what is looking to be the worst showing by U.S. men in the history of the U.S. Open.

 

[trysail]

I like Andy Murray but I have to admit delight at seeing Stan Wawrinka pull off the upset. Wawrinka has labo(u)red long and hard in the shadow of countryman Federer and has given a good account of himself.


The tournament has seen the emergence of some new faces. Milos Raovic of Canada is one who will be heard from again. He's only 22.

 

[trysail]

Rats. This is too bad. The Bryans were deserving of another listing in the record books. Plus, their run at a "Calendar Slam" gave the television folk a reason to broadcast doubles matches— something I wish they'd do more of as they are entertaining in their own way and a radically different game than singles.​

Bryan Brothers Grand Slam Quest Ends in U.S. Open Semifinals
By Eben Novy-Williams


The Bryan brothers lost in the semifinals at the U.S. Open, ending their bid for the first men’s doubles calendar-year Grand Slam in 62 years.

Americans Mike and Bob Bryan fell 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Leander Paes of India and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. After a first set in which they hit 14 winners without an unforced error, the 35-year-old twins from California struggled to find their rhythm.

“I have tremendous respect for the Bryan boys,” Paes, 40, said in a televised interview after the match. “They’re great ambassadors for American tennis.”

The top-seeded Bryans were two wins away from their 16th Grand Slam title and fifth at the U.S. Open. A title this week would have also made them the first men’s duo to win all four Grand Slam tournaments -- Wimbledon and the Australian, French and U.S. opens -- in a calendar year since Australians Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman in 1951...




http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...d-slam-quest-ends-in-u-s-open-semifinals.html

 

[islandman]

My memory card is happily recording pics of the men's quarters currently under play.

I, however, am home watching the opening game to this year's NFL season.

 

[trysail]

Nadal v. Gasquet

and​

Djokovic v. Wawrinka​

Both ought to be entertaining matches. It's nice to see one-handed backhanders (Gasquet and Wawrinka) do well. Both really snap the ball and it's really lovely to see them spank the ball.

 

[trysail]

...and so, it comes down to:

Nadal v. Djokovic​

Wawrinka deserves a lot of credit.

NEW YORK (AP) — The game that will be talked about for years and years required 198 strokes, 30 points, and 21 minutes to decide. Entire sets have taken less.

It might be easy to conclude that Novak Djokovic won his tense, topsy-turvy U.S. Open semifinal against Stanislas Wawrinka despite dropping that epic third game of the fifth set. The truth is that the 2011 champion emerged with a 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory in 4 hours, 9 minutes on Saturday at least in part because of the one that got away.

"Even though I lost that game, I felt like, 'OK, he's getting a little bit more tired, and maybe this is my chance to step in,'" Djokovic said. "And that's what I (did)."

The No. 1-seeded Djokovic will play No. 2 Rafael Nadal on Monday. It's their record 37th match against each other, their sixth Grand Slam final, and their third meeting for the championship at Flushing Meadows since 2010. Nadal was a 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-2 winner over No. 8 Richard Gasquet of France in Saturday's second semifinal, which was far less competitive than the first.

Indeed, the tennis and theatrics at 1-all in the last set alone of Djokovic-Wawrinka were so compelling that the game was interrupted twice by standing ovations.

By then, Wawrinka's strained right thigh had been taped after a medical timeout in the fourth set (he would be seized by cramps during his postmatch news conference). Still, he managed to erase five break points and navigate 12 deuces until finally delivering a 123 mph service winner to hold for a 2-1 edge. He stepped gingerly to the sideline, plopped down in his chair and smiled.

That grin remained in place throughout the two-minute changeover. If the ninth-seeded Wawrinka was enjoying the moment, perhaps feeling a tad relieved, Djokovic was ever more determined. He responded by taking the next three games, propelling himself to a fourth consecutive title match at Flushing Meadows and fifth since 2007.

"I was already quite tired," said Wawrinka, who won the same number of points in the match as Djokovic, 165. "I was already quite dead physically."

***more***​

 

[trysail]

Rich, gorgeous and athletic?


Life really isn't fair.


​

The problem is if Sharapova wins, I'll have to decide whether to root for her, my favorite, or my up and coming perv, Azarenka.

How to choose?

..

Maria Sharapova............................................................................................Victoria Azarenka

 

[trysail]

Nadal looked extremely sharp in taking the first set of the final from Djokovic 6-2.


In the middle of a point in the third game of the second set, some asshole in the crowd shouts out. Sheesh— only in New York.

 

[trysail]

A 54-stroke rally ???

Mein Gott.



The damn topspin is un-frickin'-believable.

 

[Bert Notorius]

unfortunate as it is, all I came away with is a lasting impression of victoria azarenka's sweaty boobs.