On a day that marked the 9th anniversary of the attack on the US at the Twin Towers and the Pentagon (which happened 2 days after Lleyton Hewitt won the 2001 US Open) and a day where an obscure Florida preacher promised to burn the Koran (but was talked out of it), there was tennis
They weren't favored to win. Denis Kudla, tenth seed, played Agustin Velotti, the eighth seed. Velotti had won the French junior boys championship. Kudla trains in College Park, Maryland with Frank Salazar. Will Hamilton of Fuzzy Yellow Balls used to work at that facility. Kudla has been invited to be with the Davis Cup team.
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,
When Nadal raised the Wimbledon trophy for a second time, he knew that there was only one achievement he needed: win the US Open. He won the Australian Open once. He won Wimbledon twice. He's won the French 5 times. Twice, he's reached the US Open semifinals. Historically, Nadal's clay court victories has meant that
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
These are the kinds of matches that separate the men from the boys, or at least the champions from the ones that aren't. Stan Wawrinka hadn't had such a great year, but after his four set win over Andy Murray, he had to feel good about his chances against Sam Querrey. Meanwhile, Querrey had beaten
Federer used to be one emotional guy. He'd cry. He'd yell. He used to smash racquets. But these days, Federer has become positively Swedish, or at least Borgian, in his emotions. He calmly plays one point after the next. True, when he hits a good shot, he's still prone to a brief emotional outburst, but
In the 2 hours I was out of my place, Djokovic made short work of Mardy Fish. Many had hoped, with his weight loss, that he would be able to give Djokovic a challenge. Fish had been having a career half year. However, Djokovic is often underrated as a talent. If he had been in
Once you get to Labor Day, you move from the obligatory early round matches to the business end of a Slam. Those that want to seriously make a run need to get to Labor Day, when the fourth round begins. Let's begin with a quick recap of what happened so far. Among those coming in
Two weeks ago, John Isner was doubtful to play the US Open, but through treatment, he was able to play the US Open, and got through two rounds. Youzhny was going to be a tough guy. While Isner can hit good shots, his movement has always been a big suspect, partly a curse of being
