Passing Shots: Rafa, Regis, Federer Twins

Regis Philbin flirts with Rafa (All Tennis Considered)

John Isner + Caro Wozniacki = Twitter Love (Forty Deuce)

The Federer twins take a walk in Central Park (Celebrity Baby Scoop)

Jon Wertheim on who's going to replace PMac as Davis Cup Captain (SI Tennis)

Rafa's USO championship press conference (Tennis Connected)

Rafa Nadal: US Open Champion!

Congrats Rafa! You've had an amazing year and now you've won the US Open. I think you're pretty awesome, so I want to apologize for cheering for Novak and for my angry comments on twitter after Brad Gilbert claimed that you are now the GOAT. You're totally not — you still have quite a few grand slams to go before we can call you that — but you are certainly one of the best ever, and maybe one day you actually will be the greatest of all time. Anyway, the important thing is that you won three slams this year and now have the career slam as well. Doing that by the age of 24 is amazing, so props for that. Oh, and most importantly, you looked really hot in your black Nike "night" outfit. Success!

Federer, You Make My Heart Hurt

Federer was defeated today by Djokovic in an intense five setter at the US Open. Congratulations to Novak—I'm sure he'll have a great match tomorrow against Rafa. And by "great match" I mean he'll lose.

Update: Okay, it's been a few hours since the loss of R. Fed, and now I'm over it, and feel bad about my non-happiness for Novak winning. I actually like him, and think he's funny and charasmatic, but I start to intensely hate him when he's playing Federer. So, with that, I'd like to offer my apologies to Mr. Djokovic: "Congrats on your win today, Nole. I hope you play well in the finals tomorrow. But seriously, you better play really well, or Rafa's going to destroy you." Ah, good. I feel better now.

US Open: Super Saturday Preview!

Can't believe we've already reached the final weekend of the US Open, but here we are! Tomorrow's matches will feature two men's semfinals in the afternoon, and the women's final at night.

Men's Semifinal #1
Rafa Nadal vs. Mikhail Youzhny

12:00 PM on Arthur Ashe Stadium

Predicted winner: Rafa Nadal

Rafa showing off his magically faster serve

 There's nothing better than the Youzhny salute. Nothing.

US Open Matches to Watch: Day 9

Stan Wawrinka vs. Sam Querrey
Wawrinka knocked out Andy Murray, one of the favourites for the title, so he's going to feel confident that he can beat Querrey today. But Querrey will be the crowd favourite, and we know that when he's playing well he can beat a lot of the top guys. I really don't know who'll win this one. I'm going to go with Wawrinka in 4 sets. But I'm really not confident about this. 

Francesca Schiavone vs. Venus Williams
This should be an entertaining match. You've got the fiesty Italian who was the surprise French Open champion this year, against crowd favourite and multiple grand slam winner Venus Williams. The clear favourite for this match should be Venus, but I'm going to say Schiavone wins in three sets. And I'm fully basing this prediction on the fact that Francesca hit a tweener the other day and I liked it. And I like her.

Sam Stosur vs. Kim Clijsters
I think a lot of people are excited for this match. It's too bad that either of them will have to lose in this round, but I think Kim will take this fairly easily. She's just so comfortable on this court and she's had more experience in big situations. I'm going to go with Kim winning in two sets.

Rafa Nadal vs. Feli Lopez
This match of the Spaniard lefties should be good. Feli beat Rafa this year at Queen's, but Rafa is clearly the favourite tonight. Lopez never seems to be as intimidated of Rafa as a lot of the other players, so we might get an exciting match. I still think Nadal will win, but I hope it's close. I also hope it goes on for a long time so I can stare at Feli's pretty face for as long as possible. 

David Ferrer vs. Fernando Verdasco
And here we have another Spain vs. Spain match. I guess I'll go with Verdasco winning, although these two are really close in ability and I won't be surprised to see either one go through to the next round. It's just too bad that all of the Spaniards have to knock each other out in this round. 

US Open: Feliciano Lopez Press Conference

Feliciano Lopez's press conference after defeating Stakhovsky. He makes some interesting comments about Nadal, Davis Cup, and whether or not Wimbledon should ditch their no-tiebreaks-in-the-fifth-set rule. At least I think he makes some good points—personally I was too distracted by his extreme hotness and the fact that he kept rubbing his right arm to really care about what he was saying.

Andy Murray's US Open Dreams End...Again

Wow. Pretty shocked that this happened. Even while watching the match I figured Murray would find a way to come back, but obviously that did not happen. And it was a pretty decisive win, with Wawrinka defeating Murray 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3. I'm happy for Stan—this is a huge win for him, but I'm sad for Andy, as you know the media is going to go crazy with the whole "Will Murray Ever Win a Slam?" thing.

Rafa must be pretty happy about this...all of a sudden his draw just got a hell of a lot easier, especially because Berdych was knocked out early as well. It will be interesting to see how far Stan can go now. I don't think he can beat Nadal, but I also didn't think he'd have a chance against Murray.

US Open Matches to Watch: Day 7

Ana Ivanovic vs. Kim Clijsters
This one is going to be a heart breaker. How can you want either of these two women to lose? I think Kim will win the match, but Ana is finally playing better again and I at least hope that they both play well.

Rafa Nadal vs. Gilles Simon
Gilles became a father this week when his wife gave birth to their son four weeks early. Unfortunately, as it was so unexpected, he was unable to get back to France on time and he will have to wait until after the US Open to meet his baby. Obviously Rafa is the favourite in this match, but maybe Simon's excitement about becoming a dad will help him play better, or maybe he just wants to get the hell out of New York City and fly home to see his wife and child. I'm going to go with Rafa winning this one.

Sam Stosur vs. Elena Dementieva
I really don't know who I think will win this match. I'm hoping that Sam can make it through to the next round, but obviously Dementieva is a tough opponent. I think this match could go either way, but I'm going to pick Sam to win in three sets. Mostly because I feel that me predicting Sam to win will help her actually do it.

Andy Murray vs. Stan Wawrinka
Murray is the clear favourite for this match, but we all know that Wawrinka is capable of playing really good tennis. Plus, he's Swiss...which clearly means he has superior tennis genes. I'll go with Murray winning in four sets.

David Nalbandian vs. Fernando Verdasco
This will probably (hopefully) be the most exciting match of the day. Verdasco is the higher ranked player, but we all know Nalbandian has been playing well beyond his ranking all summer. I was going to write that both players have an equal chance of winning this match, but honestly I'd be surprised if Verdasco won this one. He just hasn't looked that great recently, so I'm going to have to go with Nalbandian moving on to the next round.

John Isner vs. Mikhail Youzhny
Everyone was afraid Isner would have to pull out of the US Open due to injury, but he's playing and he seems to be doing fine for now. I'm not sure there's a favourite for this match, but Isner will have the crowd support behind him and that might make all the difference. I think Isner will win in 4 sets.

Audience Fight During Djokovic Match

Remember that fight in the stands during the match between Djokovic and Petzschner at the US Open yesterday? You know, the one that caused play to be stopped? Fortunately for us, someone in the audience filmed the incident and posted it on youtube. I don't want to ruin it for you, but it does involve an argument that leads to an old man and younger man falling down the stairs. It's crazy. Enjoy!

US Open: Order of Play for Day 4

Click here for the complete order of play for Thursday September 2, 2010.

Federer Hits a Tweener, Again

Fed's tweener against Djokovic, Tennis.com

In case you missed it, Federer hit another between-the-legs shot, or "tweener," during his match last night against Brian Dabul (oh, and in case you were wondering, Fed won).

I'm sure you all remember the fantastic tweener Roger hit during his semifinal match against Djokovic at last year's US Open, and I'm not sure, but I think the latest one might be even better (although it was hit at a less crucial time in the tournament, against a lesser opponent...but still).

Tyler over at All Tennis Considered has kindly tried to help us solve the "which tweener is better" problem by doing a little side by side comparison of the two shots.

Click here to see both videos and vote for which one you like best. Think hard before you vote though, this is serious business, and I want to see some serious results.

US Open Matches to Watch: Day 1

Day 1 of the US Open kicks off tomorrow with a number of the top players in action. Here are a list of matches that should not be missed:

Monday August 30, 2010

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Dinara Safina
Hantuchova is currently ranked 26th in the world, with Safina ranked 59th. Both players have reached the quarterfinals of the US Open before, but only Safina has ever been the world number one and she has a head-to-head record of 6-3 over Hantuchova. Either player could win this match, but I think Safina has a good shot if she can focus and play the way we know she can.

Jurgen Melzer vs. Dimitry Tursunov
It looks like Melzer should easily win this match, as he's ranked 15th in the world and Tursunov is ranked much lower at 482nd. However, Tursunov has been ranked as high as 20th in the world, and he can play a lot better than his ranking suggests. Melzer should win, but I wouldn't be all that surprised to see an upset here.

Lleyton Hewitt vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu
Hewitt is currently ranked 32nd in the world, but he is a former US Open winner and former world number one. Mathieu has been ranked as high as number 12 in the world, but he is currently ranked 107th. People will expect Hewitt to win this match, and no one should be surprised if he does, but Lleyton hasn't been able to play consistent tennis for quite a while now, and this match could be closer than expected.

Taylor Dent vs. Alejandro Falla
Alejandro Falla has played some great tennis this summer, including the near-upset of Federer in the first round of Wimbledon, and I think he can take out some good players if he's playing well. Falla is currently ranked 66th in the world, and his best result at the US Open is a second round finish in 2006. American Taylor Dent is ranked 70th in the world, and his best result here is a fourth round finish in 2004. This could prove to be an exciting match as both players are of a similar ranking and skill level, but Dent has an advantage in that he will have the support of the crowd.

Brian Dabul vs. Roger Federer
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Federer is the favourite to win this match. The current world number 2 has won this title 5 times already, while the 94th ranked Dabul is making his first appearance at the Open. Federer is considered a favourite at this tournament and he should easily win this match, but if he doesn't completely destroy his opponent (or if he loses a set!) then I'm sure the talk will switch back to the whole "Federer is done" thing once again.

Four Canadians in US Open Main Draw

Canada's Peter Polansky

The Canadians had a great day today with Peter Polansky, Milos Raonic, and Rebecca Marino winning their matches and booking places in the US Open main draw.

Peter Polansky will have a tough first round match against the 30th seed, Juan Monaco of Argentina. Milos Raonic's first match should be a little easier than Polansky's as his next opponent will be Carsten Ball, the world number 146 from Australia. Both Canadians will be playing against opponents who are ranked significantly higher than them, especially in the case of Polansky, so they will need to play their very best to advance to the second round.

Aleksandra Wozniak did not need to go through qualifying as her ranking of 53 was high enough for her to be placed directly into the main draw. Her first round opponent will be Sally Peers, the 202nd ranked player from Australia. Wozniak has a good chance of winning her first round, but unfortunately she'll likely have to play Kim Clijsters in the second round. World number 181, Rebecca Marino, will play Ksenia Pervak from Russia who is currently ranked 100th in the world.

Congratulations to all of the Canadian players, and let's hope they can keep up their winning streaks for at least a few more matches!

Federer and Annacone Together Forever

Roger posted the following message on his official website today:

Dear Fans

Paul and I have had a good trial period. He will be working with me during the US Open and I look forward to having Paul as a member of my team going forward and he will be integrated more and more as his responsibilities with LTA wind down.

See you soon

Roger

I think this is really great news, and I'm excited to see how Annacone working with Federer at the US Open will affect his game. I know that Roger plans to keep Severin Luthi, his current coach, on as part of his team, and I'm just interested to see how that will work. Will Luthi be at the US Open, and if so will he be at the practice sessions with Federer and Annacone? Seems like that might be a bit weird, but maybe not. I mean, I'm assuming Federer's got a plan worked out, and I trust that he knows what will work best for him.

Canadians Still Alive at the US Open

Quite a few Canadian players are still alive on the final day of the US Open qualifying tournament, and with one more match win they will earn a spot in the main draw.

The following matches featuring Canadians will take place on Saturday August 28th:

Valerie Tetreault (CAN) vs. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)

Stephanie Dubois (CAN) vs. Irina Falconi (USA)

Rebecca Marino (CAN) vs. Sharon Fichman (CAN)

Frank Dancevic (CAN) vs. Kei Nishikori (JPN)

Peter Polansky (CAN) vs. John Milliman (AUS)

Milos Raonic (CAN) vs. David Guez (FRA)

The match winners will join Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak in the USO main draw.

Analyzing the US Open Men's Draw

Click here for the official men's draw for the 2010 US Open.

First Quarter (or Nadal's Quarter)

Obviously Nadal has to be the favorite to make it to the quarters, along with Verdasco, Nalbandian, and Ferrer. I wouldn't be surprised if Gulbis made it far as well, and I'd love to see him play Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Most interesting first round match:
Gulbis vs. Chardy or Ferrer vs. Dolgopolov.

Most interesting possible second round match:
Nadal vs. Istomin (and really, Nadal should kill him...but not many interesting second round matches to choose from so if you're going to watch someone you might as well watch Rafa)

Most interesting possible third round match:
Nalbandian vs. Verdasco

Most interesting possible round of 16 match:
Ferrer vs. Nalbandian (or Verdasco)

Quarterfinals prediction:
Nadal vs. Nalbandian

Second Quarter (or Murray's Quarter)

In my opinion, Murray and Berdych are the clear favorites to reach the quarterfinals in this section. Querrey and Wawrinka are capable of upsets but they'd have to beat Murray to get to the quarters, and I can't see that happening. Berdych could have some trouble with Almagro, Youzhny, or Isner (but that's only if Isner plays and if he's healthy, which at this point seems like it won't be happening), however, I'd be surprised if Berdych doesn't make it to the quarters.

Most interesting first round match:
Berdych vs. Llodra or Youzhny vs. Golubev

Most interesting possible second round match:
Stepanek vs. Robredo (I tried to find a better one, really I did)

Most interesting possible third round match:
Murray vs. Wawrinka or Almagro vs. Querrey

Most interesting possible round of 16 match:
Murray vs. Querrey or Youzhny vs. Berdych

Quarterfinals prediction:
Murray vs. Berdych

Federer's US Open Outfit

Roger is going to rock two different blue outfits at this year's US Open. I'm assuming the light blue shirt and brown shorts will be his day outfit and the navy blue shirt and shorts will be his night outfit. He's fancy like that. Also, I love when Fed wears his RF logo on his shirts. Seriously, I do.

Click here to be taken to the Nike site to see the rest of Federer's "Look Book"

Federer Wins Cincinnati Masters

Roger Federer defeated Mardy Fish 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 in a very close, very well-played match in Cincinnati. This is the fourth time Roger has won the Cincinnati Masters event and his second title of the year. It's exciting to see Federer playing great tennis again and he has to be the favourite going into the US Open.

Mardy Fish stayed with Federer throughout the entire match and it only took one break of serve for Federer to win the last set—and the match. This is the best tennis Fish has ever played and he should be feeling pretty confident going into the US Open next week.

By making it to the finals in Cincinnati, Federer assured himself the number 2 position at the Open—meaning he will hit either Murray or Djokovic in the semifinals, and he can't play Nadal until the finals (this is, of course, assuming they all make it that far into the draw). Fish's great results this summer have moved his ranking to number 21 in the world—very close to his all time ranking high of 17—which means he will be seeded at the US Open.

Neither Federer nor Fish will play in any tournaments this week, so the next time we see either of them will be at the final grand slam of the year in New York City. Can't wait.

US Open Tennis Series

The month of July is a little slow in the tennis world. You have two huge tournaments--the French Open and Wimbledon--played so close together, and then once Wimbledon ends it seems to take forever until we get to see a tournament where all the top players will play. Which is why I'm so looking forward to the Rogers Cup (and not just because I live in Toronto).

I think it will be really interesting to see who does well at the Rogers Cup and in Cincinnati this year. In the past I don't think the results of these two big tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto have mattered all that much on the men's side because regardless of the results beforehand, you could pretty much assume that Federer was going to win the US Open and that Nadal's knees were going to burn out by this point in the year and that he wasn't going to be too much of a threat by the time the US Open came around. However, this year I think there are multiple players who could win the final Grand Slam of the year, and if Nadal's knees are okay then I think he's going to be a big favourite to finally win the title.

And for the first time in a long time I think that Federer needs to do fairly well in either Toronto or Cincinnati if he wants to make it to the final and possibly win the US Open again. I think he needs to win one of these lead-up events to show the other players that he's still one of the best (if not the very best) hardcourt player in the world. He also hasn't won a title of any kind in a while so I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to get another big win before the next Grand Slam.