OT: Tennis update

[wire chief]

With the Olympics recently done, the grass court season was extended and that shortened the US Open Series, so we are already on the eve of America's one major.
We're at the usual Cincy venue this week, with today featuring the men and women's semifinals.

Serena lost her first match since Queen Elizabeth married Prince Phillip--or so it seems. She offered that she felt OK in her early rounds, but fatique seemed to be settling in following a busy spring/summer.
The upside is she has a longer rest now before Open play. Despite not yet credited with the top ranking, everyone knows she will be the Flushing Meadows favorite.

Venus, however is lasting at least one round longer than little sis (as happened in the French Open also), by conquering Sam Stosur in a 2 hour 3 setter. She seems to feel pretty good, but the Sjogern's curse she is under always makes her a day-to day. She must go against Li Na, who's having a consistent summer, including making the Montreal final last week. The 3rd set vs. Sam is kind of indicative of Venus' play, in that a 5-2 lead got followed by 2 games lost, but she did pull it out on her final service game. Venus is 0-2 vs Li Na, and it may not be good news for Venus that Li Na knocked out the #1 seed Radwanska 6-1, 6-1. Their battle will be at 7pm on the deuce.

Angelique Kerber, who came out of nowhere berfore making last year's US Open semis and continues strong play (like just yesterday vs. Serena) will match up vs. Petra Kvitova, last year's Wimbledon champ. These 2 women follow Venus on court.

For those wanting to see top notch men's play, tune in at 1pm for Djokovic Vs. Del Potro (also on ESPN2), a rematch of the bronze medal game that the Argentine won. You can't get better than that.
Then late afternoon come 2 Swiss, Roger Federer vs Stan Wawrinka.

So, if you were looking for an excuse to couch potato...

 

[alexrgct]

Out and about today, but I see Novak made it to the finals. Federer needs to make the finals too in order to stay #1. If he loses to wawrinka and Novak wins the finals, Novak is #1.

 

[alexrgct]

Fed pulls through as well. That means he's already gained 420 points this tourney vis a vis last year. Djokovic made the finals last year, meaning he can only gain 400 points by virtue of winning tomorrow.

In short, if Federer wins tomorrow, he'll be 895 rankings points ahead of Novak for the #1 spot, and if he loses, he'll be 95 points ahead.

Novak has serious points to defend at the US Open, but Fed has a ton from the indoor season at the end of last year. Year end #1 is coming down to the wire. For now, momentum heading into the year's final major is at stake tomorrow. Either way, Nadal is out, so the question is whose side of the US Open draw Murray ends up on. That won't be decided tomorrow, but it's an interesting question still to be determined.

 

[wire chief]

As for the evening, Venus felt her back go bad on her just before the match, and was strongly handicapped on serve.
One first serve reached 101 mph, and that was tops. Otherwise, particularly in set 3, they were slower than 2nd serves.
After losing set one and then going down 0-2, a trainer gave her serious minutes of back massage, and Venus reentered
with a 5 game sweep and took the 2nd set.
Alas she weakened afterwards and could only manage one game in the final set. She doesn't know yet what her ailment is precisely.

Li Na will meet Angelique Kerber today. TV coverage is NBC at 12:30.

 

[wire chief]

As for the evening, Venus felt her back go bad on her just before the match, and was strongly handicapped on serve.
One first serve reached 101 mph, and that was tops. Otherwise, particularly in set 3, they were slower than 2nd serves.
After losing set one and then going down 0-2, a trainer gave her serious minutes of back massage, and Venus reentered
with a 5 game sweep and took the 2nd set.
Alas she weakened afterwards and could only manage one game in the final set. She doesn't know yet what her ailment is precisely.

Li Na will meet Angelique Kerber today. TV coverage is NBC at 12:30.

Correction: not NBC, but CBS

 

[alexrgct]

Federer beats Novak! For whatever reason, Fed loves this tournament; it's his third win at Cincy in four years. The only time he hasn't won it during that stretch was last year, when he made the quarters. As a result, he picked up 820 points for winning it, whereas Novak was net zero. Meanwhile, Djoker has championship points to defend in NYC, and Fed "only" has semifinals points to defend. As the #1 seed, Fed has a good chance of making the finals at least and extending his points lead over Novak. Fed has a lot of points to defend in the fall given that he won the Paris Masters1000 event and the year-end tourney, but he is the best indoor player in the world (he's fitter than anyone and thus less run down by season's end, plus his game is very precise so he fares well in conditions without wind and such).

In short, Fed may just finish this year at #1, which would be an amazing accomplishment for him. If he could pick up major #18 at Flushing Meadows en route, even better.

On the women's side, Kerber is intriguing. She seems ready to break through and make it to at least a final at a slam, possibly even win one.

 

[nan linds]

Next up is the New Haven Open... formerly Pilot Pen.

 

[easttexastrash]

Fed pulls through as well. That means he's already gained 420 points this tourney vis a vis last year. Djokovic made the finals last year, meaning he can only gain 400 points by virtue of winning tomorrow.

In short, if Federer wins tomorrow, he'll be 895 rankings points ahead of Novak for the #1 spot, and if he loses, he'll be 95 points ahead.

Novak has serious points to defend at the US Open, but Fed has a ton from the indoor season at the end of last year. Year end #1 is coming down to the wire. For now, momentum heading into the year's final major is at stake tomorrow. Either way, Nadal is out, so the question is whose side of the US Open draw Murray ends up on. That won't be decided tomorrow, but it's an interesting question still to be determined.

420 surely left him hungry for more points. Fed totally dismantled Djokovic today. I remember not too long ago there were people who thought Fed should retire. He is the epitome of professionalism. What a career and what intelligence in pacing his body to still be at the top at this age.

 

[alexrgct]

420 surely left him hungry for more points. Fed totally dismantled Djokovic today. I remember not too long ago there were people who thought Fed should retire. He is the epitome of professionalism. What a career and what intelligence in pacing his body to still be at the top at this age.

Yep, Novak over-extended himself a bit by going from the Olympics to Toronto to Cincy. Roger skipped Toronto and appeared to be the fresher player. Djoker came out flat, Fed came out crisp, and the first set was over in 20 minutes. The second set went to a tiebreak, but Federer never even faced a break point the entire match. If he can keep serving like this on hard courts, he will breeze into the finals at the Open.

I agree that Federer's ability to preserve himself has been remarkable. The demands of a top tennis player, both physical and psychological, tend to cause people to burn out young. Fed never overextended himself, took an approach to footwork that keeps him fresh, and didn't succumb to the pressure of the brute force attack of Nadal. Fed has been stubborn about changing his game too much, and it's paid off.

That he did all of this while having twins in his life is also remarkable. Family is something most top players simply put off, but he's found a way to have it all.

He seems to want to keep playing for at least a few more years, to which I say, why on earth would anyone want Federer to retire? Tennis fans should treasure him for every second he wants to play because there will never be anyone quite like him again.

 

[wire chief]

"Finding a way to have it all" must include the apparent spectacular choice of a spouse, a true life partner.

 

[alexrgct]

"Finding a way to have it all" must include the apparent spectacular choice of a spouse, a true life partner.

Indeed. Very rare for a male tennis player to have his girlfriend/wife travel everywhere with him. Unheard of for the same woman to manage his affairs like she has and does. Most of the guys like the opportunities being on the road affords the young celebrity and wouldn't trust the women they meet in the process to manage anything relating to their finances. Roger and Mirka have had an understanding regarding family, career, money, etc. that not everyone finds at a young age, if ever. They are very lucky to have each other.