# US Open Tennis Thread



## Kieran

Let's chat!

Novak may face del Potro (QF) then Murray/Berdych (SF).

Rafa, the form horse, may have Davydenko in the 3rd round (don't snigger, Davydenko has a great record against Nadal on hards: 6-1), then Towerin' John Isner in the 4th, and old Wodger in the QF.

If Federer gets that far, he'll be dangerous. And both Rafa and Roger will be facing a serious Wimbledon hangover. No guarantees they'll even make the 2nd week, let alone the quarters.

Predictions?

Nadal-Berdych final, with Rafa winning in straights... :tiphat:


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## neoshredder

Vamos Rafa. Expecting a Nadal/Murray Final. I think Nadal will win. But it will be a battle. His draw is really tough from the start of the tournament.


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## Forte

If history decides to repeat itself, Roger Federer will win US Open this year 

(Pete Sampras lost in the 2nd round of Wimbledon in 2002, had a relatively poor summer leading up to the US Open, and then defeated Andre Agassi in the finals of the US Open, after which he retired)


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## neoshredder

Forte said:


> If history decides to repeat itself, Roger Federer will win US Open this year
> 
> (Pete Sampras lost in the 2nd round of Wimbledon in 2002, had a relatively poor summer leading up to the US Open, and then defeated Andre Agassi in the finals of the US Open, after which he retired)


Except Sampras always had the mental advantage against Agassi. It's the opposite with Federer and Nadal. Matchups always play a huge part. But if Nadal loses early, Fed could win it.


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## Forte

Sampras faced Agassi in the final, there's no chance either way for that kind of final here.

And actually, with the Cincinnati win, Nadal still has only one match over him on hard court. I wouldn't say Nadal dominates against Federer on hard court the same way he does on clay.


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## neoshredder

Best of 5 suits Nadal strongly. He is the fitter player. Fed already started dropping off by the second set in Cincinnati. I just don't see Federer beating Nadal in a slam anymore. If he did, it would be Wimbledon. The US Open allows Nadal to get in more points on Fed's serve.


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## Forte

I favor Nadal over Federer in matchups nowadays, but I can't say Fed won't win for sure. They might not even meet each other in the QF to begin with, and this is not talking about Murray defending his US Open title or Djokovic, who's still the #1 seed.


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## Kieran

I was there the day Sampras beat Agassi in 2002! I told my wife in June, Pete's gonna win the US Open - he'll beat Agassi - and she laughed, but I went ahead and bought the tickets. We sat in row zed and cheered for Pete and he was awesome! Best I've ever seen, barring Rafa on his day, maybe.

I hope the top guys all punch their weight in Flushing Meadows and we get a bunch of quarter-final brawls. I think with Rafa-Rog, Nadal is just too stern and relentless for Roger to cope with. Federer requires more compliant opponents but rafa makes tennis feel like a contact sport. That ruffles Federer too much, and the way Rafa defers to nobody just throws Roger off his stride. I think Roger can win that match - but not if Rafa is playing the way he has been in the last few weeks. That's a tough ask, by the way, and I'm kind of scared Nadal has peaked too soon.

Set against this, he has a history of rolling roughly through the clay season and he's been treating these HC MS events like clay in May. However, he doesn't have such a huge pedigree on hards.

Vamos! :tiphat:


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## Skilmarilion

Vamos indeed! This is the best I think Rafa's been playing going into New York, especially on the serve. More significantly, he seems to have that look in his eye -- he's on the hunt in a big way. The draw also turned out fairly well for him, avoiding Del Potro, Berdych and Murray in his half.

I'm hoping he brings home #2!



Kieran said:


> I was there the day Sampras beat Agassi in 2002! I told my wife in June, Pete's gonna win the US Open - he'll beat Agassi - and she laughed, but I went ahead and bought the tickets. We sat in row zed and cheered for Pete and he was awesome!


So you were a Pete man? I think this is where you and me part ways.


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## Kieran

Skilmarilion said:


> So you were a Pete man? I think this is where you and me part ways.


Aw, an Agassi-fan? Crystal meths and the French Open. You know, I don't see Agassi winning the French if the ATP had done their job. I know, he was caught for CM about 2 years before, but to me Agassi was an under-the-radar kind of champ. He won when least expected. But when the spotlight was on him, he was less successful, except in Oz.

This whole shebang kicks on in 2 days. I hope they don't jip Rafa on the scheduling. NY has a history of getting this wrong: fellas playing their first round on Wednesday after Federer's second round match. Look after young Ralph's knees, fellers, and he'll look after the rest!

:tiphat:


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## Forte

Kieran said:


> I hope the top guys all punch their weight in Flushing Meadows and we get a bunch of quarter-final brawls. I think with Rafa-Rog, Nadal is just too stern and relentless for Roger to cope with. Federer requires more compliant opponents but rafa makes tennis feel like a contact sport. That ruffles Federer too much, and the way Rafa defers to nobody just throws Roger off his stride. I think Roger can win that match - but not if Rafa is playing the way he has been in the last few weeks. That's a tough ask, by the way, and I'm kind of scared Nadal has peaked too soon.


Djokovic is a guy who does that just as well though, and Federer is never afraid of him. In fact, I think we all remember Nadal being beaten repeatedly in 2011 right after his year of dominance in 2010. Fed doesn't do well over Nadal primarily because of that backhand - he used to do much better against him when it was more reliable.

It's a funny thing though, the Roger-Rafa rivalry has been pretty strange. They've had plenty of one-sided matches and some close calls, but Nadal takes the lead by far, winning 2/3 of their matches. On the other hand, Federer is the only person I can recall who has bagel-ed Nadal on all three surfaces (Grass: 2006 Wimbledon Final; 6-0, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, Clay: 2007 Hamburg Final; 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, Hard: 2011 ATP World Tour Finals; 6-3, 6-0). The fact that he's been able to do that even on clay despite Nadal's dominance on it completely puzzles me. Fed's just not as good anymore though and he's much slower so his chances are decreasing.

I wouldn't be surprised anymore if Nadal loses to Murray, he's a pretty different man on the court now. He's been a bit lucky this summer not to meet Djokovic on the hard courts either.


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## Art Rock

I think it could be Nadal - Del Potro in the finals, with the Argentinean winning it.


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## Vaneyes

Nada will hafta play better than he did vs Isner. Won't make the semis.

Rog needs a bigger racket.

Joker needs to rededicate.

I'm takin' the guy with the farmer's tan...*Andy! *


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## neoshredder

No one plays well against Isner. Talk about a rhythm disrupter. Nadal held his serve the entire match. That's all he could ask for against a server like Isner. Probably the greatest server ever.


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## Skilmarilion

Forte said:


> I wouldn't be surprised anymore if Nadal loses to Murray, he's a pretty different man on the court now. He's been a bit lucky this summer not to meet Djokovic on the hard courts either.


Other than Montreal?



Kieran said:


> Aw, an Agassi-fan? Crystal meths and the French Open. You know, I don't see Agassi winning the French if the ATP had done their job. I know, he was caught for CM about 2 years before, but to me Agassi was an under-the-radar kind of champ. He won when least expected. But when the spotlight was on him, he was less successful, except in Oz.


To be fair I don't remember that generation all too well, but Andre was the first player that I really rooted for (around the end of his career). Of course Pete is one of the absolute greatest, and I liked him a lot too. Unfortunately I missed out on the prime of their careers. I do love how poetically Sampras ended his career, being victorious in New York. Roger probably won't get such a chance but I hope he won't go on for too long.


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## Forte

Roger is great but I don't see why he has to go out when his fans want him to. Tommy Haas is 35 and playing the tennis of his life.


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## Kieran

Forte said:


> Roger is great but I don't see why he has to go out when his fans want him to. Tommy Haas is 35 and playing the tennis of his life.


That's right. Roger has earned the right to play as long as he can - and he's still #7 in the world! That's hardly crisis point. Having said all that, let's hope Ralph knocks him through a cocked hat in the quarters...


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## Vaneyes

Vid of Rog, testing retirement waters?


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## Vaneyes

Semis for the men:

Joker vs Andy

Ferrer vs Nada or Rog

That was easy. :lol:


Semis for the ladies:

The Beast vs Radwanska

The Woz vs Azarenka

That was not so easy.


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## Kieran

See how the US Open screwed up their schedule? Andy plays his first match *after* some women play their 2nd round! And they're expecting rain.

So Murray maybe still in round one tomorrow, and some women will be in round 3 by then. If rain is a feature in text few days, conceivably Murray will be playing 4 matches in 5 days to try win it. Like Nadal in 2011. And we know how that ended.

Hint: The women can play two matches a day!

It's ridiculous, they should have round one all in the can by now and be starting round 2 today...


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## Taggart

Kieran said:


> It's ridiculous, they should have round one all in the can by now and be starting round 2 today...


Quite agree, but they *are* Americans. This site might provide them with some help.


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## Kieran

Taggart said:


> Quite agree, but they *are* Americans. This site might provide them with some help.


:lol: They may not even get a p1ss up right in that place!

I hope rain isn't an issue but it probably will be. In which case I wonder why Federer was scheduled for day one, and the defending champ for day 3...


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## Pyotr

What rotten luck. First day I have time to watch tennis and it looks like a rainout. Started raining here pretty hard at around 10AM. I'm about 100 miles from NYC. As far as who I think is going to win, I haven't the slightest idea. I thought the Joke was going to win the Grand Slam, but his 5-set loss to Rafa in the French semi-finals(after he was up a break in the 5th set), seem to totally shocked him. The Beast looks like a world-beater but she looked the same way during the first week of Wimbledon. 

The most interesting thing for me this tournament is to see whether the Bryan brothers can complete a calendar-year Grand Slam, in men's doubles, an amazing accomplishment. They would be the second team ever to do so(Australians Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman did it in 1951). It would also give them a fifth U.S. Open men’s doubles title, making them the first men’s doubles players in the Open era to win five. They’ve already clinched the No. 1 year-end doubles ranking for 2013 — for a ninth time in 11 years and the earliest that the top ranking has been clinched. These twins are not spring chickens, they are 35 years old (Mike being older by two minutes) - that's ancient in tennis terms. It's good to see.


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## Kieran

Yeah, that's right, Pyotr, the Bryan Brothers are having a remarkable year. Everything seems right for them to complete the slam, which would place them in the annals of tennis immortality. Not going to be easy, though.

Rain! And when they get a window they'll make a mockery of how they re-schedule. I think this tournament will be decided by things like this: how many top players can face a clutch of successive matches in a hard court slam and be fresh enough for the final...


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## Vaneyes

Watching Venus Williams playing. Looks like she put her knitting on top of her head. 

View attachment 23802


"Hint: The women can play two matches a day!"


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## Vaneyes

The Woz brought 'tude. Try wearing that at Wimby, missie. 

View attachment 23804


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## Skilmarilion

Vaneyes said:


> Watching Venus Williams playing. Looks like she put her knitting on top of her head.


Not to mention that she's ranked #60 and hasn't made a Major QF for 3 years ...

I think retirement would do her a lot of good!


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## Vaneyes

Del Potro (vs Garcia-Lopez) looked flat. Ill with flu maybe? He disposed of G-L in 4 sets, but the match went on a lot longer than it had any right to.

DP's post-match interview with Shriver didn't expose anything, other than Pam had thankfully pony-tailed her hair, after looking like one of the Dutch Masters for much of the evening.

Bring on Andy!


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## Vaneyes

Skilmarilion said:


> Not to mention that she's ranked #60 and hasn't made a Major QF for 3 years ...
> 
> *I think retirement would do her a lot of good!*


Agree with this one. The retirement card's very active this week. :lol:


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## Vaneyes

"Roger Federer, wearing the uncomfortable label of superstar-in-decline." How cruel. :lol:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/sports/tennis/united-states-open-tennis-day-four.html?_r=0


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## Pyotr

Nadal looks better than I've ever seen him. 6-2, 6-1, 6-0. On to the third round.


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## Vaneyes

Nada won't have to be that good to beat Kohlschreiber, who only got by Isner because of Isner's long screwy early morning match with Monfils, tennis' clown prince.

Watching The Woz now, playing cutie-pie Giorgi. I expect Woz (currently leading 5 - 4 in the 1st) and her silly tennis garb to prevail.


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## Pyotr

Ah Carmila... with a brother named Amadeus this is a woman after my own heart .... I'll be having sweet dreams tonight.


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## Kieran

Rafa's bristling with positive intent here. He dispatched Dodig like he was handing out towels to a ballgirl. But Wodger is acquiring a perspiring crimson glow. The elder statesman fancies himself again - and he always fancied himself a lot back in the day. If he was chocolate, he'd demolish himself in one go. Gonna be interesting if they face in the quarters.

Interesting for a set, that is... :tiphat:


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## Art Rock

Art Rock said:


> I think it could be Nadal - Del Potro in the finals, with the Argentinean winning it.


Well, that did not take long to be disproved.....


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## moody

Art Rock said:


> Well, that did not take long to be disproved.....


He seems to flatter to deceive.


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## Forte

Heh, Nadal avoided Davydenko _and_ Isner.

I'm really anticipating either Djokovic or Murray in the finals though, if not both.


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## Kieran

Forte said:


> Heh, Nadal avoided Davydenko _and_ Isner.
> 
> I'm really anticipating either Djokovic or Murray in the finals though, if not both.


Isner would have been sticky but he'd have destroyed Davydenko. Djoker sighed deeply when del Potro lost, very easy run to the semis for him, I think he'll face Berdych there, don't think Murray will find form fast enough, and Berdych has a good record against the taciturn Scot...


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## Vaneyes

Agence France Presse--*Tiny blonde bombshell Camila Giorgi goes wild

*Solid groundstrokes. Mental toughness. It was a joy to watch. 

Now some suggestions for the handlers of this superstar-in-the-making. Bags under eyes, dental work, abdominal tire...all need attention a.s.a.p.


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## Vaneyes

Sloane Stephens and The Beast are on the court, with TB holding an early edge. I find Sloane's tennis garb nothing but ravishing. Only a hint of abdominal tire remains. Kieran's probably been plying her with Guinness.

Go Sloane! Though TB should prevail.

View attachment 23989


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## Kieran

Of the two, twould surely be Sloane I'd ply with Guinness...


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## Skilmarilion

I'm really enjoying the run that Lleyton's having this year -- out of the wilderness it's been, too. Even at 32 the man oozes cool. 

Watch out, Djoker!


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## Vaneyes

With Joker & Sousa, we're in the midst of another phone-it-in tennis match. I must mini-rant how shallow the talent pool is. Particularly so, in the gentlemen's end of things.


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## Vaneyes

Skilmarilion said:


> I'm really enjoying the run that Lleyton's having this year -- out of the wilderness it's been, too. Even at 32 the man oozes cool.
> 
> Watch out, Djoker!


It's great to see Lleyton *(and Bec of course) *back. :tiphat:

View attachment 23992


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## Skilmarilion

Vaneyes said:


> It's great to see Lleyton *(and Bec of course) *back. :tiphat:
> 
> View attachment 23992


Can't argue this one! Too bad Roddick isn't around anymore ...


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## Kieran

Yeah, I've been saying for years that the makeweights in the men's game are a fairly unambitious bunch. Ever since they began to enjoy their handsome man-cuddle with Wodger at the net after an inevitable defeat. Never seen such happy grinning losers. Maybe the paycheck keeps them sweet. If Rafa hadn't arrived then men's tennis would have been more of a procession than women's tennis became for Graf, after Seles stabbing. 

There seems to be hunger issues outside the very top 3 or 4 players...


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## Kieran

Pity to see Roger go down so lamely. Rafa now shredding my nerves in a dawg fight...


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## Taggart

Kieran said:


> Pity to see Roger go down so lamely. Rafa now shredding my nerves in a dawg fight...


Rafa was top dawg! Now we've got to wait for Murray!


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## Kieran

Taggart said:


> Rafa was top dawg! Now we've got to wait for Murray!


Yeah, Rafa looks keen! I hope Murray can make the final but he has a couple of tough matches, potentially. Berdych then Djoker. I think I'd prefer a Rafa-Andy final because they haven't played in about 2 years. It would also hasten Nadal's now inevitable rise to #1!


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## Taggart

Kieran said:


> It would also hasten Nadal's now inevitable rise to #1!


You do mean Murray don't you?


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## Kieran

Taggart said:


> You do mean Murray don't you?


I think he's gonna have to join the queue. There's something irresistible about Rafa now, and it's all gain from here on in. Murray won't be #1 for a while yet, maybe next summer at the earliest...


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## Skilmarilion

It's undeniably a shame to see Fed playing (and losing) the way he has been in the past 6 months, albeit Robredo was striking the ball so sweetly and really set out to play aggressive tennis. Fair play to the man.

My take is that it has not much to do with age/physical decline with Roger. Simply he has achieved absolutely everything and that fire is slowly burning out. I still think he can play, but it's also a fine line between prioritising rest and showing up to the majors rusty. I'm sure he'll believe he can make a run next year at a slam, and who knows? ...

Anyway, Rafa wants this badly and the draw has really opened up for him. I like Berdych but it may be too much to have to go through Murray and Djoker. Nole is of course still the man to beat on the other side.


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## Vaneyes

Sad to see Hewitt (and Bec) go. Joker getsa pass with Granollers.


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## Kieran

Djoker's thrashing Granollers like it's the WTA! I think that kind of thing isn't actually good for Djokovic. He could do with a sterner test to get him ready for some true opposition. Next he has Youzhny! :lol: He'll barely lose a couple of games a set.

Then he has to face Murray? he mightn't be ready for that. This is why I didn't mind Ralphy dropping a set last night against Kohlschreiber. He had to work hard and it'll stand him in good stead come next Monday...


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## Vaneyes

The Beast is currently squishing Navarro. Azarenka will hope Li Na can soften her up for the final. 

Andy or Joker should beat Nada, unless Andy or Joker are softened up by a lengthy five-setter.

I know, I'm talking like Ferrer doesn't exist.


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## Vaneyes

Istomin got through the first few games with basic tennis. Andy will be applying the thumbscrews shortly.


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## Pyotr

Andy gets a wee bit of a break with Berdych losing. Wawrinka is a tough, hard-nosed player who grinds it out but Berdych can be downright scary especially when he brings his A game, which he didn't have tonight. Berdych has beaten Andy the both times they met this year. Wawrinka has beaten Andy the only time they met this year, however that was on clay, Andy's worst surface. Should be a good match that could go either way.


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## Taggart

Typical Brit - dropped another set. Still he's through.


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## Kieran

I have to say, it's disappointing that none of the marquee QF's materialised. We don't even have JJ versus Daveed Ferrer. Federer dropped a calf too readily against one of his whipping boys, Berdych went down against wawrinka and Del Potro set the trend early by losing to Hewitt.

Unfortunately, unlike Wimbledon, the upsets have made this a more predictable tournament. Djoker has essentially been using matches as practice and Rafa might as well fly home for a few days R&R and fax in his performance. It's a pity. Wawrinka and Murray might get entertaining but I wouldn't expect an upset. Berdy was the chap to provide that. Let's hope Murray-Djoker is a barnburner, and that Rafa takes the crown in his inimitable industrious style...


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## Skilmarilion

Berdych is becoming increasingly frustrating to follow. To my mind, both he and Del Potro should be going deep consistently in the majors and it's just not happening. I'm still not sure if Del Potro is there physically (although he seems to be over the injuries). With Berdych it seems to be underwhelming mental strength. I don't think either of them are less talented than Murray really. It goes to show how impressive Ferrer's recent success has been. There's really nothing special about his game, but he fights 'till the bitter end and truly believes in his own ability.

Djoker's game was brutal to watch yesterday. I remember Stanislas taking out Murray in New York not too long ago, so I wouldn't rule him and that sexiest of backhands out just yet! Maybe Gasquet will finally make a Slam semi for only the second time too (essentially everything I said re: Del Potro and Berdych applies to him too).

Anyway, Vamos. :tiphat:


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## neoshredder

Del Potro and Berdych play high risk games and don't quite have the footwork of Andy Murray. Their margins for error are less than Murray's because of that.


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## JCarmel

Murray hasn't impressed yet...but he_ does _have the ability to pull out a performance to match the strength of the opposition he's up against...so we probably haven't seen the best of him yet. He'll have to pull out something better than yesterdays efforts to beat Stan-the-Man Wawrinka, who with Roger-on-the-Wain it seems, is the Swiss No 1!
I'm looking-forward to the match.


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## Forte

How the hell did Fed lose to this guy? He looked like he was playing while stoned that first set against Rafa.

What I really want to see now is a Murray-Nadal final. We've seen Djokovic and Nadal already trade wins in New York, but I'm incredibly interested to see what Andy can pull off against Nadal now that he has about 1337% more chops than a few years ago.


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## Vaneyes

Andy looked vulnerable, but it probably won't matter. Joker (1) and Nada (2) look like the finalists to me.


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## neoshredder

Yeah with the courts playing slow. Should help Joker and Nadal.


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## JCarmel

Nadal is looking very likely, methinks. He is so impressive on the hard-court surface, where the spin that he imparts to the ball is so effective. And he seems so highly motivated that he's going to take a lot of beating by anybody.
However, I_ do _wish he wouldn't fiddle with everything....& with his pants, in particular.


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## Taggart

JCarmel said:


> However, I_ do _wish he wouldn't fiddle with everything....& with his pants, in particular.


Bad case of OCD (I hope - otherwise he needs a better tailor). I think it's part of his ritualistic approach. Some of these are believed to include:

He must have a cold shower 45 minutes before a match.
He must carry one racquet on to the court.
He must have wrapped his own white grip on his racquets in the locker room.
His bag must be placed next to his chair, on a towel, never on the chair.
He must towel down between every point. It can be ace or double fault - he must towel down as if he is covered in sweat.
He must pick at his underpants.
He must drink from two water bottles at changeovers. One bottle has cold water, one is warm.
He must face the labels of his drink bottles to the end he is about to play from.
He must never rise from his seat before his opponent.
He must never walk on the sidelines as if he is avoiding cracks in the pavement.


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## Vaneyes

Fiddling is a humorous topic for discussion, though it often disrupts/irritates my TV sports viewing. 

Golfers, and baseball players (particularly batters and pitchers), can be great fiddlers, too. 

Re golf, one of the best current examples is Jason Dufner, 2013 PGA Championship winner. He waggles his full-swing clubs 3 to 8 times, depending on the pressure and difficulty of the shot. He also packs copious amounts of Copenhagen between cheek and gum. Amount varies, depending on the pressure of the situation. High anxiety will see his lower lip extended a full inch or more.

Re baseball, the common fiddles are with the bill of the cap, and the protective cup or jock. Chewing tobacco has largely given way to Double Bubble gum. Close-up camera shots of the dugouts often reveal a gallon tub embossed with the Double Bubble logo.


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## Vaneyes

ESPN's 'Three Wise Men" preview...

http://espn.go.com/new-york/story/_...fael-nadal-andy-murray-battle-bragging-rights


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## Vaneyes

1st Set: Andy and The Waw are displaying not much more than a good club match (complete with the occasional mis-hit), so far.


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## Taggart

Ho hum! Not up to his usual standard. After this, what can Waw do to the Joker?


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## Vaneyes

Youzhny's thesis for beating the Joker...

http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2013/09/05/youzhnys-thesis-for-beating-djokovic/


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## Pyotr

Well, that sucked. Murray goes down in three straight and the Bryan brothers can't get it done. Wake me when the Nadal/Djokovich match is on.


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## neoshredder

Looking forward to Nadal/Gasquet. Should be an entertaining match. Expecting for sure now a Nadal/Djokovic final. And I think Djokovic will win due to the matchup.


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## Vaneyes

I got laughs at the expense of NY fans once again, cheering on the underdog for a purely selfish reason--more tennis for their money. 

After Joker gave the conclusion of the third set to Youzhny, rather than expend any more energy on it...and 4th set skunking became a sincere possibility, they deserted him in droves.

Geez, atleast ancient Colosseum fans would stay for the killing.


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## Forte

...What if Wawrinka won the tournament? What if?

_"Big deal, a Swiss guy won a grand slam again"_


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## neoshredder

Forte said:


> ...What if Wawrinka won the tournament? What if?
> 
> _"Big deal, a Swiss guy won a grand slam again"_


Wawrinka just matches up very well with Murray. I think Djokovic will beat him though. Djokovic is in much better form than Murray. Partly because the US Open is almost as slow as clay. And we know how much Murray struggles on slow surfaces like clay.


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## Vaneyes

With a couple of stronger shots at the net, Pennetta could've taken the 1st set from Azarenka. Not to be, and Azarenka marches onward with her substandard play. 

A date with The Beast will not be so accommodating. Of course, that's assuming Li Na does not accomplish the unthinkable.


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## Vaneyes

Andy must start over. Instead of working harder post-Wimby, he retreated. Technical improvements made are now for naught. Demons have returned. :devil:


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## Vaneyes

The Beast steamrolls to another final, and I see no stopping of.


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## Skilmarilion

What a wonderful performance that was from Wawrinka the other day. He was timing the ball so sweetly, Murray had no chance. Nole will be a brutal test for him but I hope he maintains the confidence he's been playing with -- if he does I see this being pretty competitive. 

Side issue: I really thought Murray had dropped the attitude. He's now a two-time Slam champion, and him smashing his racket and throwing tantrums is quite poor.


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## Forte

And Djokovic survives! Well played by both, although Wawrinka seemed to have issues with his legs in the last few sets.

Gasquet beat Nadal before!... when they were 13.


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## JCarmel

A pity that Stan couldn't maintain his challenge as he played some of the best tennis I've seen ...not only at this tournament but Ever! However, he'll never be a Champion until he is able to control & command his service better. Murray finally became a winner because he improved his service so that he could call upon it at vital points in the game, in both defensive & aggressive mode. I don't know what Stan's percentage for 1st serves 'In' was but it'll be pretty unimpressive, I'm sure.


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## Vaneyes

JCarmel said:


> A pity that Stan couldn't maintain his challenge as he played some of the best tennis I've seen ...not only at this tournament but Ever! However, he'll never be a Champion until he is able to control & command his service better. Murray finally became a winner because he improved his service so that he could call upon it at vital points in the game, in both defensive & aggressive mode. I don't know what Stan's percentage for 1st serves 'In' was but it'll be pretty unimpressive, I'm sure.


Yes, McEnroe commented how surprised he was that Wawrinka led with such bad serving. Of course, Joker's unforced errors greatly contributed.

Wawrinka went to the dark side in the second set, when he hissy-fitted a ball into the stand's upper reaches. It was good to see him resist the demons, and play some inspired tennis thereafter.

A terrific match. I greatly enjoyed it. Not the Joker's best day, but he did what he could to win. Some of his late play was just gut and instinct of a champion. :tiphat:


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## Kieran

Vamos! Am on holiday and haven't seen a shot. Question being, is this lucky for Rafa or bad? Usually going on holidays is unlucky for my man. That's going waaaay back to when my man was Borg. I'll do time for the missus if Djokovic wins this. Barely a faint wifi in the room.  One bar in the town and that looks too rough to ask the nice man if he'd switch the telly over from crocodile rassling to tennis.

Maybe watching crocodile rassling would be lucky for Ralph?


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## neoshredder

Nadal's got a better shot now thanks to Wawrinka tiring out Djokovic some. Too bad Wawrinka couldn't finish the deal though. Will be a tossup on Monday. Heavy weather conditions suit Djokovic.


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## Vaneyes

It should be a bloody-screaming women's final, with The Beast winning.

Nada looked like he was looking ahead, but Gas took the gas, and all was right with the scheduling world.

Joker wins!

View attachment 24444


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## Pyotr

At the beginning of match, joker tried to hit winners several times and tbey didn't go in. It seems like he then decided to play a conservative match and try to beat Stan from the baseline. It worked. That's not going to work against Nadal.Rafa is not going to hit with you for 21 minutes without trying one of his looping, topspin, crosscourt shots that hits the sideline. If I were a gambling man, I would bet the retirement fund and the college fund on Nadal.


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## Skilmarilion

Even though Novak's level has dropped slightly compared to 2011, he is just outlasting guys over 5 sets in the majors. Wawrinka was simply fantastic and relentless from the outset. If that match was 3 sets, he wins no problem. I think the same could be said for the Del Potro semi at Wimbledon. Hats off to Stanislas nevertheless!

Anyway, the big final couldn't be prevented. This will be epic. 

Vamos, baby.


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## Vaneyes

Preview:

[video]http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:9652227[/video]

http://espn.go.com/tennis/usopen13/story/_/id/9650684/us-open-rafael-nadal-versus-novak-djokovic

Weather: Yesterday's wind (Flushing Meadows, NY) was from the north at 19 MPH, gusting to 24 mph. Today's is from the south at 11 mph, so it will not be as much of a factor. :tiphat:


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## Vaneyes

Lots of empty seats in first set. Fashionably late arrivals? Or, Monday Night Football home-viewing preference? :lol:


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## JCarmel

A fantastic match...I've already chomped my way through 3 bags of crisps, several biscuits & a choc ice..& we're only halfway through the 3rd set!


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## Vaneyes

Congrats to Nada, and his supporters. The comeback is complete, and deserves #1 ranking. :tiphat:


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## Forte

CONGRATULATIONS RAFAEL NADAL!!!

My god he's come back to be better than he was before the injury


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## Vaneyes

JCarmel said:


> A fantastic match...I've already chomped my way through 3 bags of crisps, several biscuits & a choc ice..& we're only halfway through the 3rd set!


Whatta turnaround early in the 3rd. It was voodoo, not vamos. 

View attachment 24538


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## Kieran

Vamossssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!


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## neoshredder

Vamos Rafa. Vamos Rafa. Can I borrow your shoes? Vamos Rafa Vamos Rafa. With them I'll never lose.  Incredible match. The 3rd set got me scared. But Nadal was so clutch.


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## Skilmarilion

Ohhhhhh, Rafaello ... you never cease to amaze! Loved that celebration at the end of the 3rd to bits 

Credit to Djoker, Rafa just wanted this so much. What a match, what a break point (!), what a champion.

Vamos. :tiphat:


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## JCarmel

Yes, a truly fantastic match...so many base-line rallies involving inch-perfect precision! But after all the Tension-induced eating I indulged-in during the nail-biting action, I'm going to have to concentrate on my own base-line (_not_ a pretty sight!...)
Calorie count *6*-*0* Will-Power....though in mitigation, the crisps_ were _my favourite flavour?!


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## Kieran

He's the best I've seen. Guy took Fed down, then Djoker. He owns the lot of them! They win their slams around his absences and he wins his going straight through them!


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## Forte

There is no reason now why Rafa can't win 2 career slams - he's the guy to beat next Australian Open. He'll probably dominate at the French and is also in the running at Wimbledon if he's healthy.

It's very possible he will exceed Federer in slams, at least.


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## Vaneyes

Kieran said:


> He's the best I've seen. Guy took Fed down, then Djoker. He owns the lot of them! They win their slams around his absences and he wins his going straight through them!


Oh, oh, I see a bandwagon going full steam. See you at Australian Open, 13 - 26, January 2014. :tiphat:


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## neoshredder

Forte said:


> There is no reason now why Rafa can't win 2 career slams - he's the guy to beat next Australian Open. He'll probably dominate at the French and is also in the running at Wimbledon if he's healthy.
> 
> It's very possible he will exceed Federer in slams, at least.


Except I think the US Open suits him more. The surface at the US Open is basically the ideal hard court for Nadal. Similar to Indian Wells. Medium speed with a pretty high bounce for hardcourts. Ball takes topspin well there. But we'll see. Australian Open is probably the toughest place to beat Djokovic imo. The bounce isn't quite as high.


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