#6 Juan Martin del Potro celebrates winning the 2009 US Open. Photo via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

Men's Final:

Juan Martin del Potro ARG (6) def. Roger Federer SUI (1) 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2

I knew it would be a close match, but I thought that when the going got tough Federer would get going, and del Potro would just get tired. 

But the opposite happened.  As the final moved into its fifth hour, del Potro played his best tennis while Federer looked listless.  del Potro broke Federer twice, hitting 108 mph forehands and playing more aggressive, assertive tennis in the moments that counted most.  del Potro, who had never been on this stage before, was the fearless player when it mattered most.  And on del Potro's third championship point, pummeling Federer as he had so many times before in the match, he finally forced an error from Federer's backhand that floated long, giving him the first grand slam title of his career. 

I went over in my prediction for the final what Federer could have accomplished by winning this title.  While the list is not nearly as impressive for del Potro, there are still a few milestones del Potro achieved by winning his first grand slam title:

• At 6'6'', Juan Martin del Potro becomes the tallest man to win a grand slam singles title, breaking the previous record held by 6'5'' Richard Krajicek, who won Wimbledon in 1996.
• del Potro is only the second south American to win the US Open, after Guillermo Vilas did it in 1977.
• del Potro is the first player outside the top four to defeat Federer at a grand slam since the US Open in 2003, when he lost to #12 David Nalbandian.
• del Potro becomes the first player ever to defeat Federer and Nadal at the same event
• del Potro joins Novak Djokovic as only the second first-time grand slam winner since 2005, the only two to break through the Federer-Nadal duopoly in the last nineteen grand slams.
• del Potro becomes the first player since fellow Argentine Gaston Gaudio to win a grand slam without having won a Masters Series event.

With his loss in the finals, Federer completed his set of grand-slam runner-up plates, becoming the only active player with all four.  Makes for some nice dinner party flatware, to be sure.

But Federer shouldn't be throwing any parties any time soon.  del Potro played well, but Federer was nowhere near his best.  He missed 50% of his first serves, a number more associated with his opposite number in the WTA, Dinara Safina, than with the player almost universally agreed to be the greatest of all time.

And for the second time this year, he won only two games in the fifth set of a grand slam final.  When it came down to the wire, it simply looked like del Potro wanted it more.  It's an incredible statistic, because Federer has never been a player with questionable desire.  Did breaking Sampras' record for most grand slams soften his resolve? Does he feel like Nadal has been taken out of the picture in his battle for supremacy, leaving him with little to prove? Does he feel so badly about Roddick's loss at Wimbledon that he promised to let younger finalists have their moment once in a while? Only time (and an eventual Federer autobiography) will tell.

The sun sets on the 2009 US Open. Photo via flickr.com

View full size photo »

Looks like we've made it.  The final day of the 2009 US Open is finally upon us.  The final grand slam tennis this decade. 

And with that momentous occasion comes an equally momentous open thread, into which you can and should share all your comments, reactions, and thoughts on the day's tennis.

Here is the singles order of play for Arthur Ashe Stadium on Day 15 of the US Open:

4:00 PM Start Time

1. Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)[6]

While I've stuck to just posting singles matches this tournament, there's a pretty interesting doubles match as well, today, as the women's doubles final pits Cara Black and Liezel Huber against Venus and Serena Williams in what will be Serena's first appearance since her controversial outburst at the end of her singles semifinal.  How will the crowd react to Serena? Will the Williams sisters appear distracted by the negative press? Will any line judge have the balls to call a foot fault?

That match starts at 1 PM. Feel free to throw thoughts on it in this thread, as well.

Roger Federer should be able to hoist the US Open trophy for the sixth consecutive year. Photo via images.sportinglife.com

View full size photo »

After over two weeks of rain, upsets, tears, and a threat to force playing equipment into official's orifices, we've finally made it to the end of the US Open.  Before you get too excited by the finish line nearing, remember that the next race doesn't begin for over four months.  So savor this last bite of grand slam action while you can.

Only one singles match left to be decided, but this one should be awesome.

Before I get to this match, a partial run-down of what Federer could accomplish with a win on Monday:

• It would be Federer's sixth consecutive US Open title.  Not only would he be the first player to win six consecutive US Opens, he would be the first to win ANY tournament six consecutive times, including grand slams and all the tour events, during the Open Era.
  
• It would be Federer's sixteenth Grand Slam title, putting some breathing room between himself and Pete Sampras' fourteen.  It would also put him two ahead of Tiger Woods.
  
• Federer would become the first player ever to win three grand slams in a year four times.
• Federer would be one step away from a "Roger Slam," needing only to win the Australian Open in February to hold all four grand slam titles for the first time in his career.

With all that in mind, here's how I see things shaking out:

Men's Final:

Roger Federer SUI (1) vs. Juan Martin del Potro ARG (6) -- As one more reminder of just how consistent Federer has been, its worth mentioning that del Potro is Federer's sixth different opponent in his six US Open finals.  And while he dispatched Hewitt, Agassi, Roddick, Djokovic, and Murray with some ease, del Potro could be the most dangerous opponent yet.  Federer has never lost to del Potro, but he hasn't ever faced him on a hard court this fast. And it could be fair to say that he has never faced anyone who hits the ball as hard as del Potro does on a hard court this fast.  When del Potro comes into a match without any self-belief (see his 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 loss to Federer in the Australian Open), it can get ugly.  But del Potro is playing the best tennis of his life in this tournament, and should feel confident that he can blow even the world #1 off the court with his power.  Set up your DVRs, folks--this one should be a lot of fun. Prediction: Federer in 5.

In the extremely unlikely event that I incorrectly predicted the winner of this match, it's going to be pretty interesting to see how Federer deals with losing.  The last time he lost a grand slam final, remember, he broke down in tears.  Will he have gained perspective since? Or will he melt into a puddle of crying again? Only time (and an incredible match from del Potro) will tell.

Kim Clijsters and baby makes two. Two US Open titles, that is. Photo via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

Women's Singles Final:

Kim Clijsters BEL def. Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) 7-5, 6-3 -- The player who won the U.S. Open wasn't even playing professional tennis as of July.  That's pretty crazy.

In her first grand slam in two years (and only her third tournament of any kind), unranked, unseeded wild card Kim Clijsters was the last woman standing of the 128 players who entered this tournament.  On her way to this title she defeated Wozniacki, Stanford champion #14 Marion Bartoli, #2 Serena Williams, and #3 Venus Williams, all four of whom have won multiple tournaments this year.  She became the first player ever to beat both Venus and Serena Williams in the same tournament, and only the second to do so on her way to winning a grand slam, after her countrywoman Justine Henin completed the feat in the 2007 US Open.

The final itself was fairly scratchy, though always fairly competitive.  Clijsters came out firing, winning the first two games to jump out to an early lead.  But Wozniacki then reeled off the next three games, including two breaks to swing momentum her way.  Clijsters was dictating play easily, but was missing too many neutral balls to run away with the match the way she should have been able to.  Wozniacki served for the first set at 5-4 before Clijsters found her range and won the next three games to take the set 7-5.

Clijsters stayed moderately in control throughout the second set as well, breaking Wozniacki at 3-2 to go up a break, an advantage she held on to as she successfully served for the match on her first try, winning it 7-5, 6-3.

Wozniacki competed admirably, and in the end only won one fewer game than Serena Williams had against Clijsters.  But Wozniacki's game simply isn't in a place right now where she can beat a great player who is playing well.  She's not winning points on her own accord, but merely hanging around long enough to wait out an eventual mistake from her dictating opponent.  She made her way through this tournament by keeping the ball in play against the wildly inconsistent players she faced, only two of whom were seeded. Wozniacki frankly got lucky that Clijsters wasn't particularly sharp in this match and threw in an uncharacteristic number of errors, or it would have been a rout.

It will be interesting to see what kind of momentum Clijsters will take from this win, and what type of schedule she will play the rest of this season and into next year.  Clijsters is adored by fans in Australia, and probably goes into that tournament as the favorite based on her performance in New York.  I'd be surprised if she dragged her family to Asia, but she could presumably enter a few of the European indoor tournaments coming up this fall (likely Linz and Luxembourg).  She may nose her way into that bizarre lesser YEC being held in Bali, and should she choose to play that event she would be a huge favorite to win it.

There will be more time to discuss Clijsters, surely (unless she immediately goes and gets pregnant again), so let's turn to the other two big matches from Sunday in Flushing.

Men's Singles Semifinals:

Roger Federer SUI (1) def. Novak Djokovic SRB (4) 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 -- What doesn't get brought up enough when mentioning Federer's incredible streak of twenty-two grand slam semifinals is that he's no slouch when he gets to that round, either.

Federer improved his record in his last twenty-two grand slam semifinals to 19-3 with his straight sets win over Novak Djokovic, a match that featured some incredible, flashy shot-making and battles, with both players putting on a show for the New York crowd in the timeslot that was originally to contain the men's final.

Federer never looked out of control in this match, but Djokovic gave him plenty of scares.  Federer had characteristic moments of jaw-dropping brilliance, but also was left to watch Djokovic come up with some incredible winners at seemingly neutral points in rallies on several occasions.  Federer's experience and impeccability on the biggest points shone through in the end, as he advanced to his seventh consecutive major final, and his seventeenth of eighteen.

A lot of credit should go to Novak Djokovic for living up to his seeding for the first time in a year, which he accomplished by playing his best tennis of the year.  Djokovic is a player who feeds off the positive emotions of the crowd, and when he wasn't getting the crowd's support it showed in his results.  But he seems to have returned to the crowd's good graces now, by improving his on court temperament, keeping his parents away, and inviting John McEnroe on court for the occasional publicity stunt.  Djokovic's Q Score is definitely trending up, and that may be as big a victory for his chances as any match win could be.

And, lastly, if you haven't seen Federer's shot on the second to last point of this match, do yourself a favor and watch it.

Juan Martin del Potro ARG (6) def. Rafael Nadal ESP (3) 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 -- This match was a lot closer than the score.  Of course, when the total games count is 18-6, that's not saying a whole lot. But Nadal did make del Potro work for each and every point, stretching the rout out to 2 hours and 20 minutes.  The second set of this match lasted the same amount of time, 51 minutes, as did the second set of Federer-Djokovic, despite the fact that Federer and Djokovic's set was four games longer.  Each game in del Potro's win lasted an average of 7.3 points, meaning that the average game went to deuce--a rare stat in a match where 75% points are won by one player.

And though Nadal stretched it out, del Potro's dominance was never in doubt.  He is hitting his groundstrokes harder than anyone on the tour, not giving opponents any opportunity to play any type of defense or counter-punching.  The match-up in the final vs. Federer is an awesome one to be sure, and will be a battle of wills just as much as it will be power vs. finesse.

Serena Williams in her press conference, via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

Suffice it to say that after the last point contested in her US Open semifinal vs. Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams was anything but serene.

Serving to stay in a match in which she was being outplayed, Serena Williams was a woman battling.  It was a battle against Kim Clijsters, an unseeded player in her first grand slam in over two years, playing some of the best tennis of her career. It was a battle against history, as a win would put her a match away from tying Billie Jean King's mark of twelve career slams.  And it was a battle against her own nerves, which had become somewhat shakier as double faults crept into her game in the second set.

But with all the battles she was fighting, Serena saved her most vicious attack for a small, bespectacled lineswoman who sat monitoring the right baseline.

The lineswoman's offense? She called a foot fault on a second serve at 15-30 in 5-6 in the second set, thereby giving Clijsters two match points and sending shockwaves through the crowd.

Serena turned to the ball kid for new balls and appeared to collect herself for a moment, but then turned to the lineswoman and went on a screaming, racquet shaking assault.

Here is what CBS audio was able to pick up, before boos drowned out the end of the tirade:

"I swear to God I'll fucking take this ball and shove it down your fucking throat! Do you hear me? I swear to God. You better be glad--you better be fucking glad that I'm not, I swear."

The chair umpire summoned the lineswoman to the chair, where she reported what Serena had said.  The chair umpire called tournament referee Brian Earley and official Donna Kelso to the court, where they conferred with the chair umpire, lineswoman, and Serena, and determined that a code violation would be assessed.  Since Serena had already been given a warning at the end of the first set for smashing a racquet, this second offense was to result in a point penalty.  And since the next point was a match point, the point penalty gave Clijsters the match.

Serena walked to the far side of the court, shook a reluctant Clijsters' hand, and calmly left the court with her things, waving to the crowd, who was either booing her conduct or the decision.  Perhaps both.

The targeted lineswoman deserves a ton of credit for her conduct throughout the entire incident.  She firmly called a foot fault when she believed a foot fault had been committed, which is exactly what is her duty.  She was unfazed by the situation in the match, as she should have been.  A foot fault is a black-and-white call, and for her not to have made it because she was daunted by the occasion would have been a disservice to her duty.  She did not flinch in the face of Serena's rage, nor did she lash back at her.  She explained to the chair umpire what happened when asked, and quietly left the court when all was said and done.  Whatever your name is, lineswoman, I salute you.

For someone who had just unleashed a verbal chainsaw on a petite, glasses-wearing woman trying to do her job to the best of her abilities, Serena was remarkably bubbly in her press conference.  She smiled, laughed, gave copious amounts of credit to Clijsters for her play, and seemed to be in better spirits than she ever has been after being eliminated from a grand slam.  The about-face was stunning, and almost frightening.

Serena even admitted in her press conference that she probably had committed a foot fault, a fact she never did dispute in her upbraiding of the woman.  Whether she wanted to intimidate, bully, embarrass, or merely vent her frustration, Serena's motivation was clearly never to question the veracity of the call.

The question now is whether or not Serena will be further punished for her actions.  She could be fined by the WTA, ITF, or even USTA for her profanity and threats of violence, though they may decide losing a grand slam semifinal was punishment enough.

Do you think Serena should face further consequences for her actions? Vote in the poll, then explain your vote in the comments.

After the jump, embedded video of the incident.

Continue reading this post »

Serena Williams walks away after shaking hands with Kim Clijsters, still holding the ball she threatened to shove down the line judge's throat. Photo via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

One of the most bizarre days of tennis I can remember.  I'll have more on the ending of Serena-Clijsters a bit later, but for now a more tennis-focused recap of the day's matches:

Women's Semifinals:

Kim Clijsters BEL def. Serena Williams USA (2) 6-4, 7-5 -- For as much as the ending of this match will be discussed for years, the rest of it should go down as an all-time classic.  Both Williams and Clijsters played clean, aggressive tennis, running down ball after ball and wrestling for control of the match.  Clijsters surprisingly outserved Serena, though, often holding serve with ease for most of the first set.  In the five games in the first set in which Clijsters held serve, Serena won only three points, total. By the end of the match, Serena had served eleven more points on her serve than had Clijsters, a sign of how Clijsters forced Serena to work for her service holds much harder than Serena forced Clijsters to.  The two were much more even in the second, with neither showing any visible signs of nerves as a tiebreak seemed inevitable.

But then while she was serving to stay in the match at 5-6, 15-30, Williams was called for a foot fault on a second serve, and all hell broke loose.  Serena accosted the base line judge who made the call, pouring on a sauce of threatening profanity thicker than anything I have ever heard from Serena, and maybe from any tennis player, period. The point penalty Williams received for her tirade came at match point, giving Clijsters the match.  Clijsters outplayed Serena and deserved the match, but the way it ended was beyond bizarre.

Continue reading this post »

View full size photo »

After a wet, frustrating but restful Friday, the US Open on (not quite Super) Saturday features the same matches Friday would have, but with a slightly shuffled the order.

Here is the order of play for singles matches that might happen in Arthur Ashe Stadium this Saturday:

Day Session: 12:00 PM Start Time

1. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)[11] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[3] (Nadal Leads 7-6(4), 6-6(3-2*)

2. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) v. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[9] (May be moved to Armstrong)

Night Session: Not Before 8:00 PM Start Time

1. Kim Clijsters (BEL) v. Serena Williams (USA)[2]

The men's doubles final is theoretically to be held between Gonzalez-Nadal and Wickmayer-Wozniacki, but it will presumably be moved to Armstrong.

The full order of play for all courts can be found here, and live running scores can be found here.

It could be a huge, awesome day of tennis, or it could be another day of tapes from the 80's.  Either way, feel free to share your most heartfelt (or least heartfelt) feelings on the day's proceedings in this open thread.

Rain-soaked Arthur Ashe Stadium d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

Here's what happened on Day 12 of the US Open, chronologically:

1. It rained.
   
2. Start of play moved from "2 PM" to "Not Before 2:30 PM."
3. Still raining.
4. Start of play moved from "Not Before 2:30 PM" to "Not Before 3:00 PM." The organizers announced that all three matches would begin simultaneously once the weather cleared up.
5. Still raining.
6. Start of play moved from "Not Before 3:00 PM" to "Not Before 3:30 PM."
7. Still raining.
8. Start of play moved from "Not Before 3:30 PM" to "Not Before 4:00 PM."
9. Still raining.
10. Start of play moved from "Not Before 4:00 PM" to "Not Before 4:30 PM."
11. Still raining.
12. Start of play moved from "Not Before 4:30 PM" to "Not Before 5:00 PM."
13. Still raining.
14. Women's semifinals postponed until Saturday, still possibility of Nadal-Gonzalez resuming sometime later.
15. Start of play moved from "Not Before 5:00 PM" to "Not Before 5:30 PM."
16. Still raining.
17. Start of play moved from "Not Before 5:30 PM" to "Not Before 6:00 PM."
18. Nadal-Gonzalez postponed until Saturday, entire Friday declared a washout.
19. Women's final moved to Sunday night, Men's final moved to Monday.
20. I get to catch up on sleep.  Hooray.

Caroline Wozniacki, via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

Even though there is potentially a lot of tennis left for Nadal and Gonzalez to play, I'll hold to my original prediction of Nadal in three in that one.  For the two big matches that are set to begin on Friday, the two women's semifinals, here's what I see happening:

Women's Semifinals:

Kim Clijsters BEL vs. Serena Williams USA (2) -- To call this the de facto final would massively understate just how little chance either Wozniacki or Wickmayer has of winning this tournament.  This is it.  This semifinal is for all the marbles.  Both Williams and Clijsters have won their last twelve matches at the US Open, a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence between the defending champion and a player who hasn't entered this tournament since she won it in 2005.  Clijsters has been impressive all this tournament, and she's had an incredible run, but no one can hold a candle to how Serena has been playing in this event.  Serena is yet to drop a set, and I'm guessing she'll be able to continue that streak through this match as well as the final.  Prediction: Williams in 2.

Yanina Wickmayer BEL vs. Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) -- Caroline Wozniacki's game wasn't always this boring, I swear.  But in this US Open, being a backboard just pushing the ball over the net has been enough for Wozniacki to win five matches in this tournament and make her first career grand slam semifinal.  Wickmayer doesn't have the explosiveness or consistency to undo Wozniacki's steadiness, and should lead Wozniacki to the finals in what has been one of the softest draws any player has had in a major in recent years .  If Wickmayer comes out nervous, this one could be over real fast.  Prediction: Wozniacki in 2.

Rafael Nadal shivers under an umbrella during the second (and ultimately postponing) rain delay. Photo via d.yimg.com

View full size photo »

For the first time in this tournament, there was a rain delay.  For the first time in this tournament, there was a rain delay so long that matches had to be postponed until the next day.  For this to happen early on in the tournament would not have been too disruptive, but for it to delay the final men's night match of the tournament, setting up a situation in which the Gonzalez-Nadal winner could potentially have to play three matches in three days,

There's been some talk about how the schedulers did this to screw over Nadal and help Federer (who will have had both Thursday and Friday to rest before his semifinal on Saturday), but that's a pretty ridiculous notion.  Federer plays because he is the defending champion and therefore opened the tournament, and Nadal plays the day after him because he is on the opposite half of the draw.  No conspiracy, just the way most every grand slam is scheduled.

With that out of the way, here's a look at the 1.5 singles matches from Thursday, plus a little bonus coverage to make up for the meager portions on the singles plate:

Men's Bottom Half Quarterfinals:

Rafael Nadal ESP (3) leads Fernando Gonzalez CHI (11) 7-6(4), 6-6 (3-2*) susp. -- Fernando Gonzalez was doing an incredible job of keeping this match competitive, which was more than I thought he would be able to do.  Gonzalez was likely helped somewhat by Nadal's abdominal muscle strain, though it's impossible to say just how much that is bringing down his level of play.  Nadal, who looked totally healthy in his battle with Gael Monfils, is clearly getting worn down as this tournament progresses.  With his playing style he gets no easy points, which keeps him (and his strained abdominal muscle) out there for much too long.  The cold, rainy conditions will do Nadal's strain no favors, either.  If Gonzalez can find the self-belief he needs to recover from blowing set points in the first to come back and win the second, he'll be in pretty good shape.  Gonzalez has lost his last consecutive sets against Nadal, but he is potentially only five points from breaking that streak and restoring a huge amount of confidence.

Juan Martin del Potro ARG (6) def. Marin Cilic CRO (16) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 -- Early on in this match, Marin Cilic's shock upset of Andy Murray didn't look like such a fluke.  He was hitting the ball cleanly and ending points on his terms, getting the first strike in enough rallies toBut then midway through the second set, when Cilic had a point to take a 4-2 lead to go up a set and a break, everything fell apart for the lanky Croat. del Potro seemed to realize that he was the one who was be winning this match, and Cilic seemed to remember he was the one who was supposed to be losing it.  They both assumed their predicted roles fairly quickly, and the rout was on. del Potro won 16 of the last 19 games to dig out of a big hole with pretty incredible speed.  It was exactly the sort of comeback against the decidedly collapsible Cilic that Andy Murray should have been able to pull off, but didn't.  Cilic put up little fight by the end, hitting sixteen errors to only three winners in the fourth set.  del Potro has looked the most solid of the players in the bottom half throughout the tournament in my mind, and the second half of this match was his best effort so far.  He matched Cilic in winners while hitting about half as many errors, moving well around the court and keeping the ball incredibly deep.  Especially with how exhausted they're bound to be, it's tough to see the Gonzalez-Nadal winner beating him.

For your bonus coverage, a Cinderella story where glass slipper fit at the end (even if the glass didn't have "Believe" etched in the sides):

Mixed Doubles Final:

Carly Gullickson USA/Travis Parrott USA def. Cara Black ZIM/Leander Paes IND (2) 6-4, 6-2 -- Mixed doubles is an odd event, to be sure, but there's no denying how incredible this performance by American wild card team Carly Gullickson and Travis Parrott was.  Parrott is a pretty decent player on the ATP doubles circuit (#34), but Gullickson's performance is only ranked #72 in doubles, and has never had any success to speak of before, never winning so much as a WTA doubles title much less a grand slam.  Parrott had been intending to play the event with Abigail Spears, but when she pulled out at the last second he was set up with Gullickson. 

Like Oudin before them, these two Americans also navigated an absolutely killer draw. They faced the #6 seeded team of Max Mirnyi and Nadia Petrova in the first round (against whom they saved three match points), the unseeded but fearsome team of Sania Mirza and recent #1 Daniel Nestor in the second, #3 seeds Lisa Raymond and Marcin Matkoswki in the quarterfinals, and #1 seeds Liezel Huber and Mahesh Bhupathi in the semifinals.  And in the final they played their best tennis yet, hitting only four total errors to dominate #2 seeds Cara Black and Leander Paes, the defending champions. The pair played classic doubles throughout, poaching at net to hit easy put away volleys and smashes on most every point they won. 

This title will likely go down as the career defining achievement for both Parrott and Gullickson, but hopefully it leads the two Americans to continued success.  Well done, you two.

And as a footnote: Travis Parrott and Carly Gullickson have each won one more grand slam title in their careers than Andy Murray.  Heh.