Day 4: Olympic Tennis Matches to Watch

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Milos Raonic
GO CANADA!!! I feel like this match is either going to be a blow-out match with Tsonga winning in straight sets, or a hard-fought three-setter with Milos winning. I wish I believed that Milos could take Tsonga out and keep Canada in the running for a singles medal, but I think the Frenchman will prevail.

Andy Roddick vs. Novak Djokovic
Brutal second round match for Andy. Just brutal. Novak is probably not loving this draw either, but you've got to think that he's going to be able to take Andy out. But who knows. Andy's had a lot of success on the Wimbledon courts in the past (not that Novak hasn't as well), so perhaps we'll see an upset. Here's hoping.

Feliciano Lopez vs. Juan Monaco
If you need to ask why this is a must-see match to watch, then clearly you haven't seen these photos before. Or these. And I guess, you know, it will also be an exciting match because Juan Monaco is on a roll and will want to continue his winning ways, and Feliciano is a pretty good grass court player and will want to make the most of his last minute Olympic entry. It will be a delightfully pretty match to watch, and I'll go with Pico winning in three sets. 

Other potentially interesting matches of the day include Gasquet vs. Baghdatis, Venus Williams vs. Aleksandra Woziak, and obviously the tag team of Federer and Wawrinka against Erlic and Ram.

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

Roddick Destroyed by Monaco in Miami

Less than twenty-four hours after beating Roger Federer, Andy Roddick went down in straight sets to Argentina's Juan Moncao. Really, Andy? You knock out a player who could very well have won this title and then you lose to someone who has a zero percent chance of making it to the finals? You frustrate me Andy Roddick.

Watch Andy's press conference after his loss to Juan Monaco...

Roddick Stuns Federer in Miami

In a surprising turn of events, Andy Roddick overpowered Roger Federer to win their third round match at the Sony Ericsson Open. This is only the third time in 24 meetings that Roddick has managed to beat Federer, and you could tell the win meant a lot to Andy. It's been a long time since I've seen Roddick look that good, and I hope he can keep it up for the rest of the tournament. 

Photo Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Federer and Roddick to Play in Miami

Roger Federer and Andy Roddick are scheduled to play in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open on Monday. This will be the 24th meeting between the two, with Federer leading the head to head 21–3. Below are some quotes from their press conferences in Miami on how they feel about their upcoming match.

Roddick on playing Federer: 
"I know the name value for a third round is certainly there if I play Roger. We've played a ton; there's no secrets. I know I have to execute really, really well. There's a small window of percentages where you have to be right, you know. What he does is he shrinks that window with his strengths. We have had a couple really tight ones here before at night. I'm guessing that's when it would be. I think we played here twice. I won one four in the third and lost one four in the third. It's always fun. It's always fun."

Roddick on his win over Federer in Miami '08: 
"I mean, there's no getting around the fact that it's been he's been the biggest obstacle in my career, and, you know, his game matches up well against mine. You know, just the Xs and Os of it, I have to be really good to give myself a shot against him, better than against most. So it's rewarding. When you beat a guy who's the best ever at his sport, it's a big deal. Doesn't matter where it is. So I was obviously very happy with that."

Previewing the Men's Draw in Miami

To view the official men's draw at the Sony Ericsson Open click here.

Djokovic's Quarter:
I really don't see anyone in this section who will threaten Djokovic's chances of making it to the semifinals. Matches to watch in this section include possible second round clashes between Djokovic and Baghdatis, Tomic and Ferrer, and a possible fourth round match between Del Potro and Ferrer. I'm picking Djokovic and Del Potro to play in the quarterfinals with Djokovic making it through to the next round.

Federer's Quarter:
Federer should make it through his quarter pretty easily, but there are a few interesting potential match-ups to watch including Federer vs. Harrison in the second round and Federer vs. Roddick in the third round. I know I'll also be watching the first round match between Jeremy Chardy and Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic. Come on Frank! I'm picking Roger to play in the quarterfinals against...I don't even know...maybe Mardy Fish? or Verdasco? Let's just say that I don't think Federer will have any trouble beating whichever opponent he meets there.

Murray's Quarter:
This is probably the most interesting quarter because I don't think it's a guarantee that Murray will make it through to the semis. It won't be surprising if he does, but I don't necessarily think it's going to be an easy run for Andy. Interesting matches in this section could include Berdych vs. Gonzalez and Nalbandian vs. Tipsarevic in the second round, Raonic vs. Murray in the third round, and any matches that Gonzalez is in as this is the last tournament he'll play before his retirement. I'm going to pick Murray and Berdych to make it to the quarters with Murray coming through to win that match.

Nadal's Quarter:
And last but not least we've got Rafa's quarter. Matches to watch in this section of the draw include Isner vs. Davydenko in the second round and Tsonga vs. Isner in the fourth round. I'm picking Nadal and Isner to play against each other in the quarterfinals with Nadal making it through to the semis.

Semifinal predictions: Djokovic vs. Federer, Murray vs. Nadal
Final prediction: Federer defeats Nadal


Photo Credit: Miami Tennis News

Results Roundup: Australian Open

In not-so-shocking 4th round news...

Federer defeats Robredo 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Berdych defeats Verdasco 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 (although I would say the straight sets, fairly easy victory is a tad shocking)
Djokovic defeats Almagro 6–3, 6–4, 6–0
Wozniacki defeats Sevastova 6–3, 6–4

In fairly shocking 4th round news...

Wawrinka defeats Roddick 6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Schiavone defeats Kuznetsova 6–4, 1–6, 16–14 (yes, that does say 16–14...longest ever women's match at a grand slam!)
Li defeats Azarenka 6–3, 6–3 (I guess this isn't that shocking, but it could have gone either way)
Petkovic defeats Sharapova 6–2, 6–3

Best Tennis Tantrums: McEnroe, Connors, Safin, Roddick, Hingis, Youzhny, Tarango...

Since the US Open final has, once again, been postponed due to rain, I've had to find other ways to entertain myself today. Luckily I happened to find this gem on the Sports Illustrated website: Fifteen Famous Tennis Tantrums. There's nothing better than a little racquet smashing, and there's certainly nothing more entertaining than an angry John McEnroe (and clearly this collection of videos includes a number of Johnny Mac's best tantrums). My personal favourite is the Jeff Tarango video—he comes across as such a baby, and it's amazing. You'll also find videos of Roddick, Safin, Federer, Connors, Hingis, and more! Check it out, you won't be sorry. 

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

The Fed vs. The Fish in Cincy Finals

Roger Federer and Mardy Fish have both made it to the finals of the Western and Southern Financial Group Masters event (seriously, the name of this tournament is way too long) in Cincinnati. They will play against each other tomorrow in the last big event before the US Open. 

Federer played a great semifinal match against Baghdatis today to book his spot in the finals, and he is the only player to make the finals of the Masters events in Toronto and Cincinnati this year. More importantly, he seems to be playing better with each match, and he's starting to look more and more like the Roger Federer who was nearly impossible to beat.

Fish has had an unbelievable summer as well, and he showed us how much he's improved—and how much his 30 lb. weight loss has helped his game—by defeating Andy Roddick today in three sets. I never thought I'd be saying this, and I know majors are a different thing altogether, but Mardy could do some serious damage at the US Open. 

I think you have to go with Roger as being the favourite tomorrow, but after reading Mardy's interview today you can see how much he wants this: 

Q: Any preference on who you play tomorrow?

MARDY FISH: No. I mean, it’s not where I expected to be in the beginning of the week. Like I said, I knew I was playing well, but how high or the level, you know, I wasn’t too sure about. So I feel like I can beat anyone, to be honest. I mean, I remember the final here in 2003 like it was yesterday. This will be my third Masters Series final. I desperately want to win one.

Watch out Roger! Mardy wants this bad. 

But something tells me R. Fed does too.

Interview Aces This Week

Cincinnati Masters

Q. I guess this win gets you back in the top 10 when the next world rankings come out. Is that something you pay any attention to at all?
ANDY RODDICK: (Laughing.) Um, I wish I got to talk about it as much when I am in the top 10 as opposed to when I'm not. It's only a story when I'm not.

Q. Can I ask you about a serve that you didn't make tonight, but that's obviously being talked about a lot on the Internet. Is that for real?
ROGER FEDERER: Oh, that thing? Yeah. Well, there's a lot of the debate at the moment, you know. You know how it is with magicians. They don't tell how their tricks work, you know. (Smiling.) I don't do it that much, but, yeah, it was shot in one piece and it was — the guy took a chance. (Smiling.) It worked out. I'm happy.
[later]
Q. Back to the video for a second, have you ever done anything like that before, knocked something off somebody's head?
ROGER FEDERER: Um, well, I had to do it before so I knew I could do it, otherwise it was risky for him, right? But no — what was the — what did you mean exactly?
Q. Knocking the thing off the guy's head.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it worked out. I've done it before.
Q. So it was definitely real?
ROGER FEDERER: Not saying that. A magician doesn't tell how his tricks work, so... (Laughter.)

Q. First game of the match you hit a dropshot winner, and he [Andy Murray] gave you a stare down. You kind of looked over like, What's going on? I noticed that. And then even at the changeover he appeared to say something. Was something going on right out of the gate with him?
MARDY FISH: No. I mean, you know, we're not in the first round of a small tournament anymore. I mean, these are the big -- it's big money here; big points here; bigtime confidence going into the US Open, you know. So it's two competitive guys. I welcome it. I like a little bit of trash talk. It's fine. I was fine with it.

Roddick, Berdych: Top Seeds at Legg Mason

The Legg Mason Tennis Classic begins this weekend in Washington, D.C, with quite a few of the top players in attendance—minus, of course, Federer and Nadal, the two players everyone has been waiting to see since Wimbledon. But although Rafa and Roger won’t be playing until next week at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic has the potential for some great matches.

Seeded Players and Their Chances at Legg Mason:

1. Tomas Berdych (CZE)
Tomas has had an amazing season so far with a semifinal result at Roland Garros and a final appearance at Wimbledon, where he had to beat 6-time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer along the way. Berdych hits the ball incredibly hard and he should be able to overwhelm the majority of other players at this event. If he plays the way he’s played all year then he should make the finals where he’ll likely meet Andy Roddick—the only player who will really be able to challenge him for the title.

2. Andy Roddick (USA)
Even though Andy lost early last week in Atlanta, he should make it to the finals in Washington where he has a good chance of winning the title. He’ll want to prove that the loss in Atlanta was a fluke and that he’s ready to do well for the rest of the US Open Series, and there’s no one in his half of the draw that he can’t beat.

3. Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
Verdasco should win his first two rounds fairly easily and then he’ll likely meet Ernests Gulbis or Marcos Baghdatis in the quarterfinals. Baghdatis did not look good in L.A. this week and Gulbis needs to calm down on court (ie. stop smashing multiple raquets) if he wants to win his matches, so Verdasco should make it to the semifinals where he’ll more than likely fall to Berdych.

4. Marin Cilic (CRO)
Cilic really hasn’t done much lately so it would be surprising if he went too far into the draw. To get to the quarterfinals he’ll have to go through Mardy Fish, one of the hottest players of the summer, and if Mardy is healthy I just don’t see it happening.

5. John Isner (USA)
Isner has had some decent results this summer, although he couldn’t take down Mardy Fish in the recent Atlanta finals. He should make it to the quarterfinals though, where he’ll likely lose to Berdych.

The rest of the top ten includes (6)Sam Querrey (USA), (7) Stan Wawrinka (SUI), (8) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP), (9) Ernests Gulbis (LAT), and (10) Radek Stepanek (CZE). Can’t see any of these players winning the title, although Querrey could make the semis, and at this point I’d take the number 11 seed Lleyton Hewitt, or number 15 seed Mardy Fish (as long as his injured ankle has healed) over guys like Baghdatis, Gulbis, or Stepanek.

The entire draw can be seen at the website for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

Andy Roddick, Stop Breaking My Heart

As discussed in an earlier post, I really like Andy Roddick. He's been one of my favourite players for a long time now, since before he won his first and only major at the 2003 US Open. In fact, I've been a fan of Andy's for longer than I've been a fan of Federer's (crazy, I know). And through all of his ups and downs—his on-court temper tantrums, his rising and falling rankings, his final appearances along with early exits from Wimbledon—I've always rooted for Andy and wanted him to do well. So it hurts me a little inside to have to say this, but I think it must be said: "Andy Roddick, stop breaking my heart!"


Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that I'm disappointed in Andy because he hasn't won as many matches as he should have, or that he hasn't been able to get another slam title. I can't stand those people who act like their favourite athletes owe them something—like those people who watch the Olympics and are disgusted and disappointed by how poorly their country's athletes performed. They don't seem to take into account the fact that these athletes have trained their whole lives for this moment and chances are that they are probably a little more devastated than the random television viewer.


What I meant was that with Andy, you can see how much winning another slam means to him—and the heartbreak that you see on his face when he loses makes my heart break. And so I guess the better statement might be: "Andy Roddick, stop breaking your own heart, because it's breaking mine."


I'm not sure anyone could have watched last year's Wimbledon final without their heart breaking at least a little for Andy—and seeing him exit the tournament early this year only makes that 2009 loss to Federer seem even worse, as you probably can't quite convince yourself that he will ever get such a great chance to win the title again.


This year at Wimbledon you could feel the crowd really getting behind him—perhaps remembering what he went through after his loss the year before and hoping that maybe this year he could finally do it. It reminded me a little bit of the atmosphere at the 2009 French Open, after Rafa Nadal lost. You could feel that it was a now-or-never situation for Roger, and it seemed like everyone—the crowd, the commentators, and the other players—desperately wanted Roger to finally get the one trophy that he wanted so much. And while Federer was able to capitalize on his opportunity and win the title, Roddick couldn't quite find a way to stop Federer from winning his sixth Wimbledon crown.


So as each new major comes along, I hold on to the belief that Andy has got one more slam in him. That he'll be able to pull-off an upset of Federer or Nadal, and that all of the hard work he's put into this—new coaches, weight loss, new training programs—will finally pay off.


Maybe I'm crazy, but I really do think that one day he'll do it. 

Passing Shots

Mardy Fish – 30 pounds + Confidence = Better than Andy Roddick (SI Tennis)

A great tennis movie? Yeah, it's possible. (Tennis.com)

Who knew the surfacing of hard courts was so complicated? (Mind the Racket)

Roger Federer is really really rich.  (Tennis-x)

Baby Daddy Cristiano Ronaldo the new Boris Becker? (Tennis Connected)

Serena as nail technician? (Vogue)

McEnroe vs. Agassi in 2010 (LA Times)

Results Roundup: Atlanta Tennis Championships

Singles, Second Round

Roddick defeats Ram 61 76 63

Isner defeats Muller 46 76 76

Fish defeats Ginepri 61 75

Malisse defeats Marchenko 63 63

Anderson defeats Young 75 63

Dent defeats Zeballos 46 62 60

Russell defeats Schuettler 16 62 75

Lacko defeats Hewitt 64 62

So, looks like my semifinals prediction has been ruined with the loss of Lleyton Hewitt. I'm surprised he went down so easily to Lukas Lacko--the young player from Slovakia ranked 76th in the world--although I guess you can't really expect too much from Lleyton these days. Isner, Roddick and Fish are still in the mix though so it will be interesting to see which players can get through to the finals.

Dancevic Back From Injury, Then Cuts Himself on Scoreboard

A few years ago I was really into Frank Dancevic--the first Canadian player to come along in quite some time who actually seemed like he might break into the top 30. Dubbed by some as "the poor man's Federer" (and really, is that such a bad thing to be?), Dancevic reached his highest singles ranking in September 2007 as number 65 in the world.

The biggest win of his career, and the point where people really began to notice him, was when he beat Andy Roddick in the semifinals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in 2007. Dancevic went on to back this win up at the Rogers Cup when he beat Del Potro and Verdasco on the way to a quarter final match with Nadal. Dancevic was able to take a set off Nadal (not an easy thing to do), but was unable to beat the world number 2 and he lost the match.

Atlanta Tennis Championships Early Predictions

Obviously you've got to go with Andy Roddick as the favourite here, but there are a few other good players in the draw who have a chance at the title as well, including Lleyton Hewitt and John Isner.

Based on the draw here are my early predictions:

Quarters: Roddick vs. Malisse, Blake vs. Fish, Tipsarevic vs. Hewitt, Schuettler vs. Isner

Semis: Roddick vs. Fish, Hewitt vs. Isner

Finals: Roddick vs. Hewitt

Winner: Roddick

I would actually love to see a Roddick vs. Hewitt final. When these two play I always feel like it's 2003 again.

Andy Roddick Will Play in Atlanta

Awesome news for the tournament. I'm excited to see Roddick back in action, and I really think he's going to be one of the best players leading into the US Open.

Best Andy Roddick Interview...

Tennis Player Hierarchy

When I watch tennis there is a Player Hierarchy in my head that determines who I want to win the match. I know that everyone has a favourite player, but I didn't realize until recently that I had an actual hierarchy in my head. Let me explain...

For me, Roger Federer is at the top of the hierarchy. This means that in any match he's playing, I want him to win, regardless of who the opponent is. Second in the list is Andy Roddick--so I always want him to win his match, unless he's playing Federer (although if those two meet in a Wimbledon final again I'm going to want Andy to win).

It's easy to name your top few players but it's hard to make a top ten list where you will ALWAYS want your number 6 guy to beat any of the players listed beneath him--and if you can't promise that you want number 6 to beat number 10 every single time then you can't include him in that spot (and yes, the making of a tennis player hierarchy is very serious).

So here's my current top ten:

1) Roger Federer

2) Andy Roddick

3) Andy Murray

4) Rafa Nadal

5) Lleyton Hewitt

6) David Ferrer

7) Mikhail Youzhny

8) Tomas Berdych

9) Tommy Haas

10) Marcos Baghdatis

The last half of the list can easily change at any time, but the top (especially the top two) is pretty permanent. I sort of feel bad about putting Nadal way down in spot number four. The truth is, I think he's amazing but sometimes I want him to lose his matches just so he doesn't break any of Federer's records. And yes, the fact that I've thought this through so much does in fact make me a little crazy.