Men's Olympic Tennis Predictions

The first day of men's tennis action at the Olympics resulted in some not-so-surprising results (Federer, Del Potro, and Isner winning their first round matches), some sort-of-but-not-quite-surprising results (Tipsarevic defeating Nalbandian and Istomin defeating Verdasco), and some really surprising results (Berdych going down in straight sets to Steve Darcis—a player I've never even heard of). 

The Olympics have always seemed to produce unexpected tennis medalists, and while it would seem crazy to bet against a Federer/Djokovic gold medal match, we should brace ourselves for some big upsets (a la Tomas Berdych) as the event unfolds. 

First Quarter:

Roger Federer is the clear favorite in this quarter. Yes, the best two-out-of-three format might allow for an in-the-zone player to knock him out earlier than expected, but when Isner and Tipsarevic are the biggest threats you've got to think that Roger will make it out of this quarter with ease. 

Second Quarter:

This quarter is a little more up in the air. Ferrer and Del Potro seem to be the most likely to reach the semifinals, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Kohlschreiber knock Ferrer out in round two. I'll go with Del Potro and Ferrer playing in the quarterfinals with Ferrer going through to the semis. 

Third Quarter:

At first glance, Andy Murray appears to be the obvious favorite to make it out of his quarter—especially with the early exit of Tomas Berdych. But Murray was unlucky to draw Stan Wawrinka as his first round opponent, and if Wawrinka plays his best then he could be tough to beat. Murray should win this match though, and if he does then I don't see anyone stopping him from reaching the semis. 

Fourth Quarter:

This last quarter is tough. On most days Novak Djokovic could beat any of the players in this section with ease, but at the Olympics and on grass you've got to think that if they're playing well that Tsonga, Roddick, and Raonic all have a chance. As much as I want to pick someone less obvious than Novak, I just can't. I'll go with Djokovic defeating Tsonga in the quarters. 

Semifinals:

Federer defeats Ferrer

Djokovic defeats Murray

Finals:

Federer defeats Djokovic

Gold: Federer

Silver: Djokovic

Bronze: Murray

Medal Dark Horses:

Raonic, Tsonga, and Isner

Raonic Defeats Murray in Barcelona

Huge win for Milos Raonic as he takes out Andy Murray in straight sets in Barcelona. This has got to be one of the biggest wins of his career, and I hope he can keep it up for as long as he can (so, until he has to play Rafa). Next up for Milos will be the winner of the Feliciano Lopez/David Ferrer match. Let's hope Feliciano comes through because although he's very pretty, I think he'll be a lot easier for Milos to beat than David. 

Tomic Asks Father to Leave During Miami Match

Bernard Tomic's father, John, is known as one of the more controversial parents in the tennis world. So it's perhaps not a surprise that he was involved in a slightly odd situation during his son's match against David Ferrer in Miami.

John Tomic was clearly frustrated by his son's play during the match, and after ignoring Bernard's signals that he should leave, Bernard asked the umpire for help in getting his father removed from the stands.

Bernard told the umpire, "I know he's my father, but he's annoying me. I want him to leave, but how is that possible?"

Watch the video below to see the whole incident take place.

Ferrer Ends Raonic's Run at the Aussie Open

Well, I can't complain. Making the fourth round of the Australian Open in your first appearance at the event is not too shabby. Being 20 years old and knocking off a top ten player at a grand slam is also quite the feat. So, congrats Milos. You were amazing. And judging by the praise you're getting from the other players, writers, and commentators, it seems like the entire tennis world agrees with me. Plus, did you really want to have to play Rafa in the quarters? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Can Raonic Make the Quarters? Yes He Can!

I am so excited for tonight's match of Milos Raonic vs. David Ferrer. I really don't know who I think will win. I want Milos to win (because let's face it, I don't get to cheer for Canadian tennis players too often), but Ferrer is going to be really tough to beat. Unless, of course, Milos plays like he did against Llodra and Youzhny—which basically means staying calm and serving ridiculously well. Seriously, I can't wait for this match. I want it to be on right now.

I have a feeling Milos is going to win, but I'm having trouble deciding if I actually think he'll win, or if I just want him to win. No, you know what? I do believe that he can do it. I mean, why not? If he knocked off Youzhny he can take out Ferrer. Let's do this Milos!

Also, can you believe that Milos is the only non-European left in the draw? Yeah, it's crazy.

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. 

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 is Back! And other news...

Amazing match yesterday evening at the Rogers Cup with Federer defeating Chela 7-6, 6-3. The Toronto crowd was very pro-Roger and they went absolutely crazy when he won. Federer looked confident and played aggressively and I really think he's going to go far in this tournament.

Other exciting matches yesterday included Nalbandian vs. Ferrer, with Nalby winning 7-5, 3-6, 6-3; Soderling vs. Gulbis, with Sod defeating Ernie 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; Berdych vs Stakhovsky, with Tomas winning 6-2, 6-4; Verdasco vs. Chardy, with Verdasco going through 6-0, 5-7, 6-2; Monfils vs. Devvarman, with Monfils winning 7-6(3), 6-3; and Wawrinka vs. Dancevic, with Wawrinka knocking out the Canadian 6-1, 6-4.

Below are some match photos from yesterday...