US Open 2011 Day 3 Open Thread

AP



Young tennis fans look on during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011.



::



Well, I guess the answer to my question about Li Na and Petra Kvitova was answered a whole lot sooner than anyone would have imagined. Two reigning champions losing in the first round of a major has to be unprecedented. I feel an essay about these two coming on, but not today.



We'll stick with today's action. I was a bit surprised that the US Open's own website's headline doesn't even mention Andy Roddick in today's action. Vera Zvonareva, Venus Williams and the other Andy, but not Roddick. I know he's fallen from grace of late, but he's still the last American man to win a major and it just so happened to be this one 8 years ago. When you consider that a Frenchman and a Brit haven't won majors in at least a generation, you have to wonder why Roddick seems to get so little love stateside. I'd love to know the true nature of Roddick's relationship with the USTA. It just has to be more than meets the eye.



But I digress.



Order of Play for Wednesday, August 31, 2011



Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00



Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Kateryna Bondarenko(UKR) vs. Vera Zvonareva(RUS)[2]

Not Before:13:00

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Somdev Devvarman(IND) vs. Andy Murray(GBR)[4]

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Venus Williams(USA) vs. Sabine Lisicki(GER)[22]



All three of these matches could be tight with potential upsets in the making.



Arthur Ashe Stadium 19:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Andy Roddick(USA)[21] vs. Michael Russell(USA)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Anastasiya Yakimova(BLR) vs. Maria Sharapova(RUS)[3]



An All-American first-rounder under the lights. Given Roddick's form, it could be a barn burner. Russell is a tough competitor.



Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00



Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Madison Keys(USA) vs. Lucie Safarova(CZE)[27]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Juan Martin Del Potro(ARG)[18] vs. Filippo Volandri(ITA)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Coco Vandeweghe(USA) vs. Samantha Stosur(AUS)[9]

Not Before:17:00

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Marcos Baghdatis(CYP) vs. John Isner(USA)[28]



Can't wait to see if Keys can challenge to Safarova. And what is Miss Coco bringing to the table today? Isner vs. Baghdatis could be special.



Grandstand 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Robin Soderling(SWE)[6] vs. Louk Sorensen(IRL)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Marion Bartoli(FRA)[8] vs. Christina McHale(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Robby Ginepri(USA) vs. Joao Souza(BRA)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Angelique Kerber(GER) vs. Agnieszka Radwanska(POL)[12]



Not a lot to see here. Oh, wait. Former semifinalist Ginepri is playing tennis again? Welcome back.



As for the rest of the schedule, unless your favorite player is among these ....



Court 17 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Julien Benneteau(FRA) vs. Nicolas Almagro(ESP)[10]

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Laura Pous-Tio(ESP) vs. Julia Goerges(GER)[19]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Bob Bryan(USA)[1]/Mike Bryan(USA)[1] vs. Ivo Karlovic(CRO)/Frank Moser(GER)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Jack Sock(USA) vs. Marc Gicquel(FRA)



Court 13 11:00



Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Anabel Medina Garrigues(ESP)[30] vs. Laura Robson(GBR)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Shuai Peng(CHN)[13] vs. Tsvetana Pironkova(BUL)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Ricardo Mello(BRA) vs. Gilles Simon(FRA)[12]

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Yanina Wickmayer(BEL)[20] vs. Alla Kudryavtseva(RUS)



Court 11 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Feliciano Lopez(ESP)[25] vs. Tatsuma Ito(JPN)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Alex Bogomolov Jr.(USA) vs. Steve Johnson(USA)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Dominika Cibulkova(SVK)[14] vs. Irina Falconi(USA)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Flavia Pennetta(ITA)[26] vs. Romina Oprandi(ITA)



Court 4 11:00



Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Jessica Pegula(USA)/Taylor Townsend(USA) vs. Klaudia Jans-Ignacik(POL)/Alicja Rosolska(POL)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Rui Machado(POR) vs. Robin Haase(NED)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Nadia Petrova(RUS)[24] vs. Polona Hercog(SLO)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Raquel Kops-Jones(USA)/Abigail Spears(USA) vs. Liezel Huber(USA)[4]/Lisa Raymond(USA)[4]



Court 6 11:00



Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Alexandra Dulgheru(ROU) vs. Monica Niculescu(ROU)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Diego Junqueira(ARG) vs. Karol Beck(SVK)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Monica Niculescu(ROU)/Shahar Peer(ISR) vs. Iveta Benesova(CZE)[9]/Barbora Zahlavova Strycova(CZE)[9]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Grigor Dimitrov(BUL)/Dmitry Tursunov(RUS) vs. Eric Butorac(USA)[8]/Jean-Julien Rojer(AHO)[8]



Court 7 11:00



Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Vera Dushevina(RUS) vs. Maria Kirilenko(RUS)[25]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Denis Istomin(UZB) vs. Ryan Sweeting(USA)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Sorana Cirstea(ROU)/Ayumi Morita(JPN) vs. Casey Dellacqua(AUS)/Rennae Stubbs(AUS)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Ivan Dodig(CRO)/Bernard Tomic(AUS) vs. Pablo Andujar(ESP)/Daniel Gimeno-Traver(ESP)



Court 8 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez(ESP) vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver(ESP)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Jarmila Gajdosova(AUS)[16]/Bethanie Mattek-Sands(USA)[16] vs. Jelena Dokic(AUS)/Virginie Razzano(FRA)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Santiago Giraldo(COL)/Pere Riba(ESP) vs. Max Mirnyi(BLR)[2]/Daniel Nestor(CAN)[2]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Arnaud Clement(FRA)/Lukas Dlouhy(CZE) vs. David Marrero(ESP)/Andreas Seppi(ITA)



Court 9 11:00



Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Olivier Rochus(BEL)/Andre Sa(BRA) vs. Julian Knowle(AUT)/Horacio Zeballos(ARG)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Eva Birnerova(CZE)/Klara Zakopalova(CZE) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu(ROU)/Simona Halep(ROU)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Petra Martic(CRO)/Ksenia Pervak(RUS) vs. Vitalia Diatchenko(RUS)/Olga Savchuk(UKR)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Bojana Jovanovski(SRB)/Varvara Lepchenko(USA) vs. Andrea Hlavackova(CZE)[8]/Lucie Hradecka(CZE)[8]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Marcel Granollers(ESP)[13]/Marc Lopez(ESP)[13] vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez(ESP)/Albert Montanes(ESP)



Court 10 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Vasek Pospisil(CAN) vs. Lukas Rosol(CZE)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Martin Damm(CZE)/Radek Stepanek(CZE) vs. Colin Fleming(GBR)/Ross Hutchins(GBR)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Sania Mirza(IND)[6]/Elena Vesnina(RUS)[6] vs. Samantha Crawford(USA)/Madison Keys(USA)



Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Carlos Berlocq(ARG)/Lukas Rosol(CZE) vs. Simone Bolelli(ITA)/Fabio Fognini(ITA)

Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Nadia Petrova(RUS)/Jamie Murray(GBR) vs. Elena Vesnina(RUS)[7]/Leander Paes(IND)[7]



Court 14 11:00



Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Matthias Bachinger(GER)/Philipp Kohlschreiber(GER) vs. Jamie Delgado(GBR)/Jonathan Marray(GBR)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Jurgen Melzer(AUT)[9]/Philipp Petzschner(GER)[9] vs. Santiago Gonzalez(MEX)/Jamie Murray(GBR)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Vania King(USA)[3]/Yaroslava Shvedova(KAZ)[3] vs. Petra Cetkovska(CZE)/Renata Voracova(CZE)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Tsvetana Pironkova(BUL)/Chanelle Scheepers(RSA) vs. Nuria Llagostera Vives(ESP)[14]/Arantxa Parra Santonja(ESP)[14]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Denis Istomin(UZB)/Mikhail Kukushkin(KAZ) vs. Johan Brunstrom(SWE)/Jarkko Nieminen(FIN)



Court 15 11:00



Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Liga Dekmeijere(LAT)/Jelena Jankovic(SRB) vs. Chia-Jung Chuang(TPE)[13]/Olga Govortsova(BLR)[13]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Jonathan Erlich(ISR)/Andy Ram(ISR) vs. Lucas Arnold Ker(ARG)/Juan Monaco(ARG)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Shu-Ying Hsieh(TPE)/Galina Voskoboeva(KAZ) vs. Greta Arn(HUN)/Arantxa Rus(NED)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS)/Vera Zvonareva(RUS) vs. Mirjana Lucic(CRO)/Tamira Paszek(AUT)



Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Jarmila Gajdosova(AUS)/Bruno Soares(BRA) vs. Kveta Peschke(CZE)[4]/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi(PAK)[4]



Court 16 11:00



Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Michael Kohlmann(GER)/Alexander Waske(GER) vs. Scott Lipsky(USA)[16]/Rajeev Ram(USA)[16]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Frantisek Cermak(CZE)[11]/Filip Polasek(SVK)[11] vs. Daniele Bracciali(ITA)/Potito Starace(ITA)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Yung-Jan Chan(TPE)[10]/Anastasia Rodionova(AUS)[10] vs. Andreja Klepac(SLO)/Anna Tatishvili(GEO)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez(ESP)[12]/Anabel Medina Garrigues(ESP)[12] vs. Mathilde Johansson(FRA)/Pauline Parmentier(FRA)

Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Yung-Jan Chan(TPE)/Mariusz Fyrstenberg(POL) vs. Ana Ivanovic(SRB)/Nenad Zimonjic(SRB)

US Open 2011 Day 2 Open Thread

Reuters



Tennis fans walk the grounds at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during matches at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, August 29, 2011.



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Yesterday, Petra Kvitova was the first Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round of the US Open in the Open Era. Or so I thought I heard one of the commentators say. If it was Chris Evert, then you might want to fact check this stat for the things that fall from her lips are often so wrong as to be flatout ludicrous. But the young Czech hasn't won but a few matches since taking the crown jewel back in July and it seems she's still on the lawns of Wimbledon dealing with such an overwhelming accomplishment. I don't expect her to rebound till the indoor season begins.



16-year-old American Madison Keys won her first Slam match, taking out veteran wild card Jill Craybas in straight sets. The youngster has weapons. Christina McHale also rallied to victory, while Bethanie Mattek-Sands continues to disappoint, barely winning games in her straight-set loss. And what on earth has happened to Melanie Oudin? I didn't expect her to become a world beater after her run to the quarterfinals two years ago, but she's now eating bagels baked by journeywomen with no weapons.



Today, I don't foresee any big upsets, but with late arrivals to New York and interrupted rituals due to Irene, who knows? Look out for Igor Andreev.



::



Order of Play for Tuesday, August 30, 2011



Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Victoria Azarenka(BLR)[4] vs. Johanna Larsson(SWE)

Not Before:13:00

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Caroline Wozniacki(DEN)[1] vs. Nuria Llagostera Vives(ESP)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Novak Djokovic(SRB)[1] vs. Conor Niland(IRL)



Arthur Ashe Stadium 19:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Andrey Golubev(KAZ) vs. Rafael Nadal(ESP)[2]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Bojana Jovanovski(SRB) vs. Serena Williams(USA)[28]



Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

David Ferrer(ESP)[5] vs. Igor Andreev(RUS)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Galina Voskoboeva(KAZ) vs. Francesca Schiavone(ITA)[7]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Simona Halep(ROU) vs. Na Li(CHN)[6]



Not Before:17:00

Men's Singles - 1st Round

James Blake(USA) vs. Jesse Huta Galung(NED)



Grandstand 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(FRA)[11] vs. Yen-Hsun Lu(TPE)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Jelena Jankovic(SRB)[11] vs. Alison Riske(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Jarkko Nieminen(FIN) vs. Fernando Verdasco(ESP)[19]

This match may be moved to Ashe Stadium



Not Before:15:00

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Ksenia Pervak(RUS) vs. Ana Ivanovic(SRB)[16]



Court 17 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Alona Bondarenko(UKR) vs. Sabine Lisicki(GER)[22]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Donald Young(USA) vs. Lukas Lacko(SVK)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Shahar Peer(ISR)[23] vs. Sania Mirza(IND)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Bobby Reynolds(USA) vs. David Nalbandian(ARG)



Court 13 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Kimiko Date-Krumm(JPN) vs. Silvia Soler-Espinosa(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Andrea Petkovic(GER)[10] vs. Ekaterina Bychkova(RUS)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Marinko Matosevic(AUS) vs. Juan Ignacio Chela(ARG)[24]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Iveta Benesova(CZE) vs. Jarmila Gajdosova(AUS)[29]



Court 11 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Flavia Pennetta(ITA)[26] vs. Aravane Rezai(FRA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Mikhail Youzhny(RUS)[16] vs. Ernests Gulbis(LAT)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Adrian Mannarino(FRA) vs. Florian Mayer(GER)[26]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Reka-Luca Jani(HUN) vs. Sloane Stephens(USA)



Court 4 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Lauren Davis(USA) vs. Angelique Kerber(GER)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Nikolay Davydenko(RUS) vs. Ivan Dodig(CRO)[32]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Sara Errani(ITA) vs.Svetlana Kuznetsova(RUS)[15]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Vania King(USA) vs. Greta Arn(HUN)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Alexandr Dolgopolov(UKR)/Albert Ramos(ESP) vs. Mahesh Bhupathi(IND)[4]/Leander Paes(IND)[4]



Court 6 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Coco Vandeweghe(USA) vs. Alberta Brianti(ITA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Marsel Ilhan(TUR) vs. Frank Dancevic(CAN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Irina-Camelia Begu(ROU) vs. Roberta Vinci(ITA)[18]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Nicolas Mahut(FRA) vs. Robert Farah(COL)



Court 7 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Yanina Wickmayer(BEL)[20] vs. Sorana Cirstea(ROU)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Eric Prodon(FRA) vs. Jurgen Melzer(AUT)[17]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Jamie Hampton(USA) vs. Elena Baltacha(GBR)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Ivan Ljubicic(CRO)[30] vs. Blaz Kavcic(SLO)



Court 8 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Kaia Kanepi(EST)[31] vs. Tamarine Tanasugarn(THA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Stanislas Wawrinka(SUI)[14] vs. Maximo Gonzalez(ARG)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Arantxa Rus(NED) vs. Elena Vesnina(RUS)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez(ESP)[32] vs. Mona Barthel(GER)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Anna Tatishvili(GEO) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS)[17]



Court 9 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Mirjana Lucic(CRO) vs. Marina Erakovic(NZL)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Edouard Roger-Vasselin(FRA) vs. Gilles Muller(LUX)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Mathilde Johansson(FRA) vs. Carla Suarez Navarro(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Evgeniya Rodina(RUS) vs. Petra Cetkovska(CZE)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Petra Martic(CRO) vs. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova(CZE)



Court 10 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Andreas Haider-Maurer(AUT) vs. Sergei Bubka(UKR)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Dmitry Tursunov(RUS) vs. Steve Darcis(BEL)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Daniela Hantuchova(SVK)[21] vs. Pauline Parmentier(FRA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Michaella Krajicek(NED) vs. Eleni Daniilidou(GRE)



Court 14 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Potito Starace(ITA) vs. Michael Berrer(GER)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Jelena Dokic(AUS) vs. Olga Govortsova(BLR)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Rohan Bopanna(IND)[5]/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi(PAK)[5] vs. Robby Ginepri(USA)/Rhyne Williams(USA)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Mariusz Fyrstenberg(POL)[6]/Marcin Matkowski(POL)[6] vs. Michael Shabaz(USA)/Ryan Sweeting(USA)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Jack Sock(USA)/Jack Withrow(USA) vs. Mark Knowles(BAH)[15]/Xavier Malisse(BEL)[15]



Court 15 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Rebecca Marino(CAN) vs. Gisela Dulko(ARG)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Akgul Amanmuradova(UZB) vs. Tamira Paszek(AUT)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Olivier Rochus(BEL) vs. Jean-Rene Lisnard(MON)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Casey Dellacqua(AUS) vs. Alize Cornet(FRA)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Bradley Klahn(USA)/David Martin(USA) vs. Robert Lindstedt(SWE)[7]/Horia Tecau(ROU)[7]



Court 16 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Matthias Bachinger(GER) vs. Igor Kunitsyn(RUS)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Vitalia Diatchenko(RUS) vs. Jie Zheng(CHN)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Pere Riba(ESP) vs. Carlos Berlocq(ARG)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Chanelle Scheepers(RSA) vs. Anne Keothavong(GBR)

US 2011 Day 1 Open Thread

Getty



Serena Williams of the United States poses with the Olympus US Open Series Trophy at a press conference during Day One of the 2011 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2011 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.



::



Here we go, people. Here we go.



Which first-day, first-round matches are on your radar?



Order of Play for Monday, August 29



Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Tobias Kamke(GER) vs. Mardy Fish(USA)[8]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Heather Watson(GBR) vs. Maria Sharapova(RUS)[3]



Arthur Ashe Stadium 19:00

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Vesna Dolonts(RUS) vs. Venus Williams(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Roger Federer(SUI)[3] vs. Santiago Giraldo(COL)



Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Ryan Harrison(USA) vs. Marin Cilic(CRO)[27]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Petra Kvitova(CZE)[5] vs. Alexandra Dulgheru(ROU)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Stephanie Foretz Gacon(FRA) vs. Vera Zvonareva(RUS)[2]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Marion Bartoli(FRA)[8] vs. Alexandra Panova(RUS)



Not Before:17:00

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Grigor Dimitrov(BUL) vs. Gael Monfils(FRA)[7]



Grandstand 12:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Tomas Berdych(CZE)[9] vs. Romain Jouan(FRA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Jill Craybas(USA) vs. Madison Keys(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Alejandro Falla(COL) vs. Viktor Troicki(SRB)[15]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Bethanie Mattek-Sands(USA) vs. Polona Hercog(SLO)



Court 17 13:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Sergiy Stakhovsky(UKR) vs. Richard Gasquet(FRA)[13]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Tommy Haas(GER) vs. Jonathan Dasnieres De Veigy(FRA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Christina McHale(USA) vs. Aleksandra Wozniak(CAN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Sofia Arvidsson(SWE) vs. Samantha Stosur(AUS)[9]



Court 13 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Kei Nishikori(JPN) vs. Flavio Cipolla(ITA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Laura Robson(GBR) vs. Ayumi Morita(JPN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Shuai Peng(CHN)[13] vs. Varvara Lepchenko(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Dudi Sela(ISR) vs. Thomaz Bellucci(BRA)



Court 11 12:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Kristina Barrois(GER) vs. Julia Goerges(GER)[19]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Michael Yani(USA) vs. Bernard Tomic(AUS)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Radek Stepanek(CZE)[23] vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber(GER)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Urszula Radwanska(POL) vs. Agnieszka Radwanska(POL)[12]



Court 4 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Augustin Gensse(FRA) vs. Janko Tipsarevic(SRB)[20]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Michael Llodra(FRA)[29] vs. Victor Hanescu(ROU)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Dominika Cibulkova(SVK)[14] vs. Shuai Zhang(CHN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Melanie Oudin(USA) vs. Romina Oprandi(ITA)



Court 6 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Misaki Doi(JPN) vs. Laura Pous-Tio(ESP)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Ivo Karlovic(CRO) vs. Fernando Gonzalez(CHI)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Virginie Razzano(FRA) vs. Tsvetana Pironkova(BUL)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Nadia Petrova(RUS)[24] vs. Yung-Jan Chan(TPE)



Court 7 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Marcel Granollers(ESP)[31] vs. Xavier Malisse(BEL)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Juan Monaco(ARG) vs. Andreas Seppi(ITA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Ekaterina Makarova(RUS) vs. Maria Kirilenko(RUS)[25]



Court 8 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Fabio Fognini(ITA) vs. Horacio Zeballos(ARG)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Kevin Anderson(RSA) vs. Go Soeda(JPN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Klara Zakopalova(CZE) vs. Irina Falconi(USA)



Court 9 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Patricia Mayr-Achleitner(AUT) vs. Monica Niculescu(ROU)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Mikhail Kukushkin(KAZ) vs. Albert Montanes(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Lucie Hradecka(CZE) vs. Kateryna Bondarenko(UKR)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Anastasiya Yakimova(BLR) vs. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn(THA)



Court 10 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Philipp Petzschner(GER) vs. Albert Ramos(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Anabel Medina Garrigues(ESP)[30] vs. Karin Knapp(ITA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Pablo Andujar(ESP) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Alla Kudryavtseva(RUS) vs. Anastasia Rodionova(AUS)



Court 14 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Alexandr Dolgopolov(UKR)[22] vs. Frederico Gil(POR)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Magdalena Rybarikova(SVK) vs. Lucie Safarova(CZE)[27]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Malek Jaziri(TUN) vs. Thiemo de Bakker(NED)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Vera Dushevina(RUS) vs. Anastasija Sevastova(LAT)

US Open 2011 Preview

Getty



Heavy rain falls on a tennis ball as Hurricane Irene heads up the east coast during previews at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27, 2011 in New York City.



::



The draws are out, the wind and rain will subside, and tomorrow, in the concrete jungle known as New York, the last Slam of the year will begin.



I tend to find men's tennis more compelling than women's, but for at least the fourth Slam in a row, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are in the same half of the draw, while Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer reside in the other half. And while I haven't checked about, I bet the fanged Scot is most pundits pick to win the title.



Yawn.



Two-time defending champion Kim Clijsters is nursing an injury, so most will probably tell you that Serena Williams is the favorite in New York. No big surprise, but I agree. Unless there's a major upset, she'll face Victoria Azarenka in the third round. I'm sure that match will be hyped to the hilt, but I sincerely doubt it will live up to it. From what little tennis I've seen this summer, Serena is on a mission. I don't see anyone in the draw stopping her from claiming her fourth US Open crown and 14th major title. I'm not suggesting it's going to be a run to winner's circle without the loss of a set, but who would be shocked if it were?



As for a few of the rest: Will Juan Martín del Potro find his best form at his favorite tournament? How recovered is Robin Söderling? Are there any Americans other than Serena ready to thrill the home crowd with an appearance on the final weekend? Will the reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champions on the women's side get their groove on in Flushing Meadows, or will Li Na and Petra Kvitova have to be satisfied with a lone Slam title this season? Who's going to defeat the top-ranked player on the women's side? Which youngster on either tour has the best chance to steal the show?



I'm ready to find out. Are you?

US Open 2011 Men's Draw

Novak Djokovic SRB (1) v Unknown

Pere Riba ESP v Carlos Berlocq ARG

Potito Starace ITA v Michael Berrer GER

Nikolay Davydenko RUS v Ivan Dodig CRO (32)



Alexandr Dolgopolov UKR (22) v Frederico Gil POR

Kei Nishikori JPN v Flavio Cipolla ITA

Ivo Karlovic CRO v Fernando Gonzalez CHI

Sergiy Stakhovsky UKR v Richard Gasquet FRA (13)



Tomas Berdych CZE (9) v Unknown

Fabio Fognini ITA v Horacio Zeballos ARG

Philipp Petzschner GER v Albert Ramos ESP

Unknown v Janko Tipsarevic SRB (20)



Marcel Granollers ESP (31) v Xavier Malisse BEL

Mikhail Kukushkin KAZ v Albert Montanes ESP

Pablo Andujar ESP v Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP

Grigor Dimitrov BUL v Gael Monfils FRA (7)



::



Roger Federer SUI (3) v Santiago Giraldo COL

Dudi Sela ISR v Thomaz Bellucci BRA

Unknown v Bernard Tomic AUS

Ryan Harrison USA v Marin Cilic CRO (27)



Radek Stepanek CZE (23) v Philipp Kohlschreiber GER

Juan Monaco ARG v Andreas Seppi ITA

Tommy Haas GER v Unknown

Alejandro Falla COL v Viktor Troicki SRB (15)



Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (11) v Yen-Hsun Lu TPE

Andreas Haider-Maurer AUT v Unknown

Unknown v Unknown

Jarkko Nieminen FIN v Fernando Verdasco ESP (19)



Michael Llodra FRA (29) v Victor Hanescu ROU

Kevin Anderson RSA v Unknown

Unknown v Thiemo de Bakker NED

Tobias Kamke GER v Mardy Fish USA (8)



:: :: :: ::



Robin Soderling SWE (6) v Unknown

Alex Bogomolov Jr. USA v Steve Johnson USA

Robby Ginepri USA v Unknown

Marcos Baghdatis CYP v John Isner USA (28)



Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (18) v Filippo Volandri ITA

Diego Junqueira ARG v Karol Beck SVK

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ESP v Daniel Gimeno-Traver ESP

Ricardo Mello BRA v Gilles Simon FRA (12)



Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (14) v Maximo Gonzalez ARG

Donald Young USA v Unknown

Dmitry Tursunov RUS v Steve Darcis BEL

Marinko Matosevic AUS v Juan Ignacio Chela ARG (24)



Feliciano Lopez ESP (25) v Tatsuma Ito JPN

Unknown v Lukas Rosol CZE

Rui Machado POR v Robin Haase NED

Somdev Devvarman IND v Andy Murray GBR (4)



::



David Ferrer ESP (5) v Igor Andreev RUS

James Blake USA v Unknown

Olivier Rochus BEL v Unknown

Adrian Mannarino FRA v Florian Mayer GER (26)



Andy Roddick USA (21) v Michael Russell USA

Jack Sock USA v Marc Gicquel FRA

Denis Istomin UZB v Ryan Sweeting USA

Julien Benneteau FRA v Nicolas Almagro ESP (10)



Mikhail Youzhny RUS (16) v Ernests Gulbis LAT

Edouard Roger-Vasselin FRA v Gilles Muller LUX

Matthias Bachinger GER v Igor Kunitsyn RUS

Eric Prodon FRA v Jurgen Melzer AUT (17)



Ivan Ljubicic CRO (30) v Blaz Kavcic SLO

Bobby Reynolds USA v David Nalbandian ARG

Nicolas Mahut FRA v Unknown

Andrey Golubev KAZ v Rafael Nadal ESP (2)

US Open 2011 Women's Draw

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) v Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP

Arantxa Rus NED v Elena Vesnina RUS

Vania King USA v Greta Arn HUN

Iveta Benesova CZE v Jarmila Gajdosova AUS (29)



Daniela Hantuchova SVK (21) v Pauline Parmentier FRA

Akgul Amanmuradova UZB v Tamira Paszek AUT

Jamie Hampton USA v Elena Baltacha GBR

Sara Errani ITA v Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (15)



Andrea Petkovic GER (10) v Unknown

Unknown v Jie Zheng CHN

Casey Dellacqua AUS v Alize Cornet FRA

Irina-Camelia Begu ROU v Roberta Vinci ITA (18)



Kaia Kanepi EST (31) v Tamarine Tanasugarn THA

Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN v Unknown

Mathilde Johansson FRA v Carla Suarez Navarro ESP

Simona Halep ROU v Na Li CHN (6)



::



Victoria Azarenka BLR (4) v Johanna Larsson SWE

Rebecca Marino CAN v Gisela Dulko ARG

Qualifer v Eleni Daniilidou GRE

Bojana Jovanovski SRB v Serena Williams USA (28)



Shahar Peer ISR (23) v Sania Mirza IND

Qualifer v Sloane Stephens USA

Evgeniya Rodina RUS v Petra Cetkovska CZE

Ksenia Pervak RUS v Ana Ivanovic SRB (16)



Jelena Jankovic SRB (11) v Alison Riske USA

Jelena Dokic AUS v Olga Govortsova BLR

Petra Martic CRO v Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE

Anna Tatishvili GEO v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS (17)



Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP (32) v Mona Barthel GER

Chanelle Scheepers RSA v Anne Keothavong GBR

Mirjana Lucic CRO v Qualifer

Qualifer v Francesca Schiavone ITA (7)



:: :: :: ::



Petra Kvitova CZE (5) v Alexandra Dulgheru ROU

Patricia Mayr-Achleitner AUT v Monica Niculescu ROU

Jill Craybas USA v Madison Keys USA

Magdalena Rybarikova SVK v Lucie Safarova CZE (27)



Yanina Wickmayer BEL (20) v Sorana Cirstea ROU

Alla Kudryavtseva RUS v Anastasia Rodionova AUS

Lauren Davis USA v Angelique Kerber GER

Qualifer v Agnieszka Radwanska POL (12)



Shuai Peng CHN (13) v Varvara Lepchenko USA

Virginie Razzano FRA v Tsvetana Pironkova BUL

Misaki Doi JPN v Laura Pous-Tio ESP

Kristina Barrois GER v Julia Goerges GER (19)



Flavia Pennetta ITA (26) v Aravane Rezai FRA

Melanie Oudin USA v Qualifer

Anastasiya Yakimova BLR v Qualifer

Heather Watson GBR v Maria Sharapova RUS (3)



::



Marion Bartoli FRA (8) v Qualifer

Christina McHale USA v Qualifer

Vera Dushevina RUS v Anastasija Sevastova LAT

Ekaterina Makarova RUS v Maria Kirilenko RUS (25)



Nadia Petrova RUS (24) v Qualifer

Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA v Polona Hercog SLO

Coco Vandeweghe USA v Alberta Brianti ITA

Sofia Arvidsson SWE v Samantha Stosur AUS (9)



Dominika Cibulkova SVK (14) v Shuai Zhang CHN

Klara Zakopalova CZE v Irina Falconi USA

Vesna Dolonts RUS v Venus Williams USA

Alona Bondarenko UKR v Sabine Lisicki GER (22)



Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP (30) v Qualifer

Qualifer v Ayumi Morita JPN

Lucie Hradecka CZE v Kateryna Bondarenko UKR

Qualifer v Vera Zvonareva RUS (2)

Caro parts ways with Piotr.

World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and her father, Piotr, have ended their coaching relationship, Ekstra Bladet reports. The father and daughter apparently discussed her moving in another direction after Dominika Cibulkova upset Wozniacki at Wimbledon. The Wozniackis are said to have hired a new private coach to travel with Caroline, but he/she has yet to come on board, so Piotr went with Caroline to Toronto and Cincinnati.

Wozniacki fell in the opening round of both tournament, to Roberta Vinci in Toronto and to Christina McHale in Cincinnati. Piotr was heard yelling at the slumping Caroline when he came on court during her loss to McHale.
The identity of the new coach is so far unknown but is said to be a former touring pro.

Wozniacki's agent, Lagardere's John Tobias, confirmed to TENNIS.com that Piotr is stepping back, but said that no definitive hire of a new coach has been made yet.

Wozniacki has also worked with adidas Player Development coach Sven Groenefeld. Piotr Wozniacki, a former soccer player in Denmark, is said to have encouraged his daughter to try someone else out. Wozniacki, who has yet to win a Grand Slam, has been criticized for playing too defensively.

"We've heard from morning to night how Caroline should play," Piotr told the newspaper. "So now she tries something else. It is intended that she should be a very aggressive player. But as you can see, she cannot win matches right now, because she does not know how she should play. But whatever, I'm Caroline's father, and I will always support her."

She is scheduled to play in New Haven next week.

-- tennis.com

A few comments:

1) The Cibulkova “upset” at Wimbledon?

These are some of the players Domi’s beaten this year: Goerges at Wimbledon (R32), Sveta at Madrid (R64), Masha at Madrid (R32), Bepa at IW (R32).

Three of those have come in the last four months. You’ll note that the Wimbledon match in which Domi’s purported to have “upset” Caro was preceded by a win over Goerges– was that also an upset?

And here some of the players she’s lost to: Petra in Madrid (QF), Masha at Wimbledon (SF), and Marion in Stanford (SF).

We all know what a nutjob Domi can be and still is. There’s no point in defending her on that front – I think I might even prefer it that way.

But she’s also a top 20 player who’s reached the R16 or better at every Slam playing some of the best tennis of her life. Reading of her “upset”  above you’d think Caro had been routined by Christina McHale.

There’s getting defensive, and there’s putting your head in the sand.

Caro’s problems, whatever they might be, began well before Wimbledon with those consecutive losses she suffered to Goerges. Unless, of course, that too was an upset.

2) Not completely sure this is entirely a good or a bad move.

It’s certainly clear this is the first major crisis of her career. Not responding proportionally wouldn’t be wise. She’ll likely benefit from hearing a new voice. And that’s not even a knock on Piotr.

What’s not clear is what direction that new voice will take her in. Her stated ambition is more aggression. Much as the world has been calling for this, is that even possible? Probably, but to what degree?

Tennis is a game of organic growth –  with very few exceptions, you don’t suddenly wake up one morning and remould your groundstrokes. Doing so usually (and sometimes irrevocably) turns you into a different player and mostly proves counterproductive.

But there’s a bigger issue at stake. Much as aggression is being touted as her Holy Grail (and it is precisely that), the fact remains she was winning these types of matches just six months back. Whatever the issue is it may run deeper than any single technicality can account for. Whilst it’s simply indisputable that Caro will benefit from more aggression, she might still wind up losing matches, whether that’s under Piotr, Navratilova or the Cookie Monster.

3) Piotr’s Piotr..

Whatever your thoughts him (of which there are many) or on her game (of which there are also many), the fact remains she made world #1 under his tutelage.

Personally, I don’t think the very intense image of him hollering at her, comparing her to a “junior”, with her staring vacantly off into the distance during her loss to McHale, did anyone much good.

But they do seem to have a good relationship – and if they don’t, the fact is we simply don’t know any better. She may simply have come as far as she can with him. They may even be parting to preserve/strengthen that familial bond. Easy to forget that during the inevitable snarkfest that this episode will inevitably provoke.

Rogers Cup: ‘Excellence’, it’s a platitude

Novak Djokovic has now won 5 Masters titles this season – that's one less than Murray’s won in his entire lifetime. I’m not going to bother relaying the other stats – we already know them too well.



The reaction to this has been the predictable mix of astonishment at witnessing history unfolding before you, to giving him his due…to a particularly benign form of acceptance which I confess I’m beginning to  find completely uninspiring – the journalism, not the streak.

Winning DC, Aus, and the IW/Miami double was “unbelievable”. Following up with a further two MS titles on clay and, of course, Wimbledon was “unprecedented”.

That we’re still talking about it in exactly the same terms over a month later, just two weeks before the last Slam of the year suggests a certain complaisance.

It’s not that I object to giving Novak, or anyone else, his due. Quite apart from how ridiculous or unfair that would be, it’s simply counterproductive – marking you out as little more than a fruitcake with an enormous ideological chip on your shoulder.

And no, I don’t subscribe to the “dominance is boring” school of thought either – nor am I suggesting complaisance on the part of the players.

But there’s only so many times you can sit through breathless essays on the precise nature of excellence. To be honest, it fosters the kind of environment in which its deemed ok to loose to Novak Djokovic – I don’t think he needs any help on that front.

Forgive, therefore, my taking a slightly different tact.

To be honest, the best assessment I’ve seen came from Jo:

"He plays incredible tennis, but he's not an alien. In fact, what he does is doing everything better than the others. He doesn't hit harder, he doesn't hit the ball earlier. But he's always there. This is tiring when you play against him. He does not have the best return on the tour. But on every return, he returns well, and he's always there. So what does it is his consistency, and he has no weaknesses."

-- tennis.com

No he’s not alien. And that’s probably one of the few times you’ll hear consistency being described, in the current climate, in such glowing terms.

But what I really like about it is how technically astute it is – and how he uses those technical observations in order to find a happy medium between giving Novak his due, and giving TENNIS its due – you really can do both. You really ought to do both.

I’ve yet to see a single tennis writer come up with something as cogent or concise; instead, a player known more for his on court talent and/or fragility took us by surprise in an unrehearsed moment of brilliance.

Not just a pretty face then.

Yeah.

I was one of those who were sceptical of her decision to participate in all three events before the USO, not because I thought she couldn’t win, but because I flinch at the idea of her risking injury.

Once again, it appears she knew what she was doing. Still, I won’t be sorry if she goes out early in Cincy.

The win moves her up to #31 in the rankings which, mishaps, upsets, anomalies and the discovery of actual aliens in the draw notwithstanding, really ought to be enough to secure her a seeding in NY.

Serena's Return

Getty



Serena Williams celebrates match point against Samantha Stosur to win her first big title since Wimbledon 2010.



It was her return of serve that broke the match wide open. Particularly, that one forehand that flew by Samantha so fast she could barely see it late in the first set.



I've said all that can be said about the greatness of Serena Williams. But the way she's gone about her business in this particular comeback deserves nothing but respect from lovers and critics alike. Sport has never seen anything like it.



So glad I can bear witness.

Cincy: Noticeboard

Cincy last year…



May we NEVER forget

Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Nole	Fed	Simon	Fish
Gael	Berd	Murray	Rafa

Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Petrova	Peng	Sam	Dani
Petko	JJ	Pova	Bepa

 

Legend

Hoity-Toity

Upwardly-Mobile

Sympathy Vote

Ideas above their station

Stacked

Rogers Cup: Well it wasn’t for want of trying

On the one hand, I can’t truly say I was especially invested in Vika winning this event. Notwithstanding that I root for her almost without fail in every match she plays, like Andy and Caro, I just can’t see the point of winning at this level anymore.




Williams d. Azarenka 63 63

When you’ve won Miami twice or, as in Andy’s case, six Masters titles, winning the same old Premier events simply allows talking heads to continue to bitch about your Slamless credibility.

That said, yesterdays match was, as it seems most everyone in my timeline agreed, just a little special.

My feeling was that Vika had a chance – Serena had played two three setters to reach here, Azarenka had only lost six games. If Zheng could get a set off Serena, why shouldn’t Vika get two?

BOTH WOMEN came out striking better than anyone had all week: Vika was playing as well as she’s capable of and yet Serena seemed to be (and I’m sure I’m not the only one to notice this) taking the ball that little bit earlier.


 
I’m not sure we can read much more into how the match played out except to say that there’s very few that can maintain the intensity that goes with playing your A-game for that period of time. And even fewer (if any) that can do it against Serena. Vika eventually cracked in the middle of set two – I’m only surprised (and rather proud) she lasted as long as she did.

Let the record, therefore, reflect no blemish, no want of effort from Victoria – she was simply outmatched by a legend. Sure, there were a few service glitches (47% 1st serves in set one), but that was the best I’ve seen Serena time the ball since her return.

No one, as we’ve heard many times since yesterday (and many times over the past decade), can stay with her at that level.

And yet this trivial, uncontroversial statement of fact continues to provoke the kind of hostility I thought we did away with in the pre-Twitter era.

”Unless the women's game loses its inferiority complex where @serenawilliams is concerned, she will win US Open #assimpleasthat

Harman’s a respected commentator – I mostly agree with him. But anyone that saw the match knows how grossly unfair that is. Vika continues to have holes in her game , she may be suffering from many things, but an inferiority complex ain’t one of them. And it certainly wasn’t the problem last night.

Nothing new of course – its the same argument that saw those unwilling (or unable) to give Fed his due when he was winning 3 Slams a year, citing “locker room impotence” in the face of “the aura”. Only, I’m pretty sure Harman wasn’t amongst them back then.

And that’s why this really rankles. Its not that *certain* players haven’t given Fed and/or Serena an easy ride over the years (they have). I don’t even dispute anyone’s right to make that claim even though I think it’s clear that it’s often little more than an ideological hoax – one I didn’t take very seriously then or now.

But it’s only fair to require those professing such a theory to play an even hand, not just against styles of play and/or personalities that don’t “please” you: it may not be his intent, but this simply smacks too much of those antiquated attacks on Serena (and Venus) stemming from an ideological dislike of their, and only their, dominance.

That’s, like, so 2003. 

(Pics: getty)

Rogers Cup: Noticeboard

Whatever side of the ‘No-Slam’ debate you’re on, its becoming difficult to dismiss the idea that these two have practically NOTHING to gain by winning events like this anymore – worse yet, it will almost certainly see a renewal of those retard assaults on their Slamless credibility so many seem to continue to find so funny. Vika’s on that list too.

All of which is to say I won’t be that put out if either loses early. A good run – one that ensures neither make an utter dick of themselves at the USO – no more, no less.

Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Nole	Tsonga	Fish	Berd
Gael	Nico	Wawa	Tipsy

Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Vinci	Aga	Voskoboeva	Safarova
Sam	Petko	Vika	Serena

 

Legend

Hoity-Toity

Upwardly-Mobile

Sympathy Vote

Ideas above their station

Stacked

Potential R3 bust-ups: Serena/Kim, Nole/Delpo, Fed/Tsonga. 

I’m struggling to conceive of a scenario in which Fed doesn’t get his revenge over Tsonga. They say lightening doesn’t strike twice – nor, experience suggests, does Jo.

Difficult to know what to make of Ernie’s section: on the one hand it’s the draw from HELL – on the other hand, it’s also a collection of giant-killers rather than giants. And most of them will cancel each other out.

Ana/Venus (R1)….there’s only so much you can go on about “Ana’s troubles” without it sounding like cloying, overwrought piffle; even so, this kind of sh*t seems to happen to her A LOT. Venus out with viral illness.

With R1 exits in Julia’s last two events, now’s as good a time as any for JJ to be drawn against Goerges….she might even spring an upset. Actually, no.

A Statement on the recent events in Canada

Can you guess? Can you guess which country, which tournament cannot, will not, be swayed from “doing its own thing”?

I give up. Everything I said yesterday about explaining or not explaining is gunk. We may as well ask the Cookie Monster for his opinion – you could do a lot worse.

The #newrogerscupslogan hashtag (which you really need to look at if you haven’t already)  is total win, so completely expressing the feelings I might have vented had I been conscious. 

The casualty list of Caro, Murray, Delpo, Rafa and Kim, now extends to Li, Pova, Petra, Fran and Fed, who saw fit to win only a single game in the final set of his loss to Tsonga. The funny thing is I don’t know if we can blame any of them.

I said lightening and/or Jo-Wilfried doesn’t and wouldn’t strike twice. I was wrong. Or, at least, it does in Canada. And I bet if you waited long enough, it would strike again…and again…and again…in the same place, several times over. All against the wonderfully resonant backdrop of the blue screen of death and under a hail of broken light bulbs. For that, apparently, is how Canada rolls.

So now we know.

Either we’re in urgent need of updating our Canadian stereotypes, or this is Canada’s most audacious bid for attention since…..yeah.

Even Serena was to lose a set before bringing down Zheng and, one can only hope, the Antichrist along with her.

You’d think Serena and Novak should now, by rights, sleep walk their way to the title. Except Canada don’t deal in rights. Or wrongs. Or pretty much any type of consciously (or subconsciously) imposed order.

For all I know Roberta Vinci will probably win.

All that’s left is to book passage on the fastest plane, train or camper van out of here and on to Cincy.

And to deliver a standing ovation to the only people who seem to have had the foresight to plan against the chaos before the event even began, and wanted no part of it. I think we can all agree that they were on to something.

Well played Venus Williams….Well played Robin Soderling….Well played Andy Roddick.

Your judgement and various ailments do you credit.

Rogers Cup: Bad things happen to good people and to multimillionaire tennis players with high rankings

Losing a few big names in the early rounds is no big deal – it’s almost part of the deal and may even prove beneficial.

Lose Caro, Rafa, Murray, Delpo and Kim in the space of 48 hours and its clear you’re dealing with chaos.

And any post purporting to “explain” chaos is, well, part of the problem.

That doesn’t mean I don’t think there’s any reasons for what’s happening: I don’t think you can dismiss the role of the July layoff, for example – Murray, from what I remember (which is frankly nothing), doesn’t always cope with that type of interval too well.

Rafa losing to a big hitting Croatian on a hard court? Seen that before. Being so horribly predictable under pressure it makes your eyes water? Seen that too. [full credit to Dodig for his muscly double-hander but he shouldn’t have been given so many of them to begin with]  

Injuries, withdrawals? That’s just the fabric of tennis reality.

Perhaps the only real surprise is that it should all happen at once – a statistical anomaly, nothing more, nothing less.

All of which is to say is, the sh*t sometimes hits the fan.

And I don’t even think its that much of a big deal . Nor do I think we should be bending over backwards trying to “explain” it.

Some weeks you get the Milk, Other weeks you get the Vodka

The end of the slump. The 2nd career title. A reminder of his relevance. A reminder of his foolishness. Vodka and Milk. Its all good. And it couldn’t have come too soon.

But it would be a mistake, I think, to expect him to repeat this type of form every week, or every other week, or even every other month. He just ain’t that guy.

Having a breakout week is one thing: he’s more than capable of taking down the biggest names in the game, he may even be capable of stringing together the requisite 7 matches it takes to win a Slam. Hold out for that if you must.

But he ain’t, and won’t likely ever be, about crafting a ranking – top ten or otherwise. That would involve invoking of the ‘C’ word. And, well, whatever else Ernests’ strengths are, CONSISTENCY certainly isn’t one of them. Some weeks you get the milk, but more often than not you get the vodka. You’d think those that liken him to Marat would already know that.

Another thing – as much as I liked this, I’m having difficulty with the necessity some seem to feel of having to “rehab” personalities like Ernests. To do so seems to me to spectacularly miss the point. You think he gives a hoot about what you or I think?

And what makes us think fans or haters will change their view of him even after such elaborate PR surgery?

Those that like talented, chaotic nutjobs given over to recklessness as a form of public service, will continue to appreciate his brand of anarchy, both his vodka and his milk, no matter what.

Those that don’t, will continue to reel in repugnance at the rich kid that can’t be a*sed to make good on his talent, his so-called “sense of entitlement”, no matter what.




If it were any other player beating Masha, Sabine and Marion consecutively, and in straight sets, winning her first title after a year-long outage, more than halving her ranking to #79 in the process, I’d probably take time to gape a little. As it’s Serena I’ll move along and make like there’s nothing to see here.

Still not convinced playing three out of the three events ahead of the USO is the best thing, however. There’s “getting serious” about events outside of Slams and there’s over-compensating.  Am I the only one that thinks that’s, like, a LOT of tennis? Not to mention it opens one up to the risk of injury.