Last year, tennis was starting to get interesting at the end of the year. Juan Martin del Potro had become the second player in recent memory that had won a Slam who wasn't named Nadal or Federer (the other was Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Australian Open). Nikolay Davydenko was having a resurgence late in
Both men's semifinals were played today and both were somewhat easier than expected. Well, OK, most folks probably gave Monaco little chance to beat Andy Murray. Murray got an early break against Monaco and was threatening a second break. However, it never came and indeed, Monaco broke Murray to tie the match up, but Murray
Robin Soderling has a peculiar kind of game. The rangy Swede doesn't have a lot of variety in his game. He hits some of the hardest shots in the game. He doesn't play the ball to conventional spots on the court. He's got a huge serve. He's not fast, but he's not exactly slow. If
Djokovic had to wait a day to beat David Ferrer as rain washed out Sunday's play, with Djokovic up a break and 3-1 in the first. The extra day didn't do the Spaniard much good as he won only one more game in the first set, to lose 6-2. Djokovic then won the second set,
Nadal, it seems, doesn't like it when he plays poorly. If he plays a match, and it's as close as his near-loss to Victor Troicki, he gets upset, and sometimes, the next opponent pays the price. That opponent was Gael Monfils. Sporting mini-dreads, Monfils had few answers for Nadal in the first set as Nadal
When the temperature starts dipping from the infernal heat and humidity of summer, when American collegiates put on football helmets on and their professional counterparts do the same, the American tennis-watching public tunes off tennis and turn their attentions elsewhere. It's the post-season in baseball. College and pro (American) football is starting up. Basketball and
It was the third final played on a Monday in a row. In 2008, rain on a Saturday pushed the Nadal-Murray semis to a Sunday which pushed the finals to a Monday. In 2009, Nadal-Gonzalez was rained out on a Thursday, but Friday was washed out so despite a 34 minute conclusion, Nadal was not
It took Novak Djokovic five sets and two saved match points to beat Roger Federer. By that point, Rafael Nadal had a nice break having won his match over Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets. The US Open is the only Slam that plays semifinals and finals on back-to-back days, ostensibly for TV, realizing far fewer
For Novak Djokovic, it was Groundhog Day, a day that kept repeating itself year after year with the same result. In 2007, Novak Djokovic had had a breakout year. He reached the semis of the French Open and Wimbledon. He rushed up the ranks and entrenched himself at number 3. Then, at the US Open,
The US Open seems to be Novak Djokovic's best tournament. He's reached the semis for the third time in a row, and for the fourth time, he'll face Roger Federer. Novak struggled a bit with Gael Monfils in one set, but then he buckled down in the second set while Monfils gave in. The third
