Cry-Baby Verdasco

Turns out Fernando Verdasco is a bit of a sore loser. After getting beaten twice in a week by Canadian Milos Raonic, Verdasco claimed that it didn't really matter because it wasn't a "real" tennis match. Here's what cry-baby Verdasco had to say after his loss in Memphis:

"For me that's not a real match in tennis. I hope to play soon against him in clay court to show him what it is to play tennis, and play rallies, and run, and not [just] serve.

"I think he was more lucky than me in the tiebreak. He hit the line at 5-5 with a return and when you are at that point in the match and are lucky to put a ball on the line then you have big options to win the match."

So, I guess Federer is not really that great of a tennis player then, since he only won one of his grand slams on clay. And I guess Rafa's Wimbledon and Australian Open titles don't count for much either.

Oh, and by the way Fernando...you probably don't want to meet Raonic on the clay. He's going to beat you, and then you'll be really embarrassed.

Thailand Open Draw

The draw has been done for the Thailand Open, and there are a few interesting potential match-ups. Let's start with the obvious one: Del Potro vs. Rochus. It wouldn't matter who Delpo was playing, this is the match everyone is waiting to see. I hope JMDP plays well so we can see a Del Potro/Nadal quarterfinal, and then a Nadal/Gulbis or Del Potro/Gulbis semifinal (um, and that means you have to play well too Ernie...don't mess this up for me). A Nadal/Verdasco final seems likely, but there are other players in the draw like Troicki and Melzer who could pull off an upset.

I hope Delpo can magically play as well as he could before his injury and that he destroys everyone and wins the title. But sadly, I don't think that will happen.

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 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.

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

Jetsetter Verdasco in GQ

Fernando Verdasco tweeted the following today:

I didn't want to hurt Fer's feelings by not checking it out so I found some of the photos online. I was a little disappointed that he was not shirtless, as that is clearly his preferred uniform, and I was very disappointed that he didn't invite his good friend Feli Lopez to join the shoot (who might even like the shirtless look even more), but all in all I think Fer looks pretty good all suited-up.

Video: Verdasco/Cahill Practice Session

Darren Cahill coaches Fernando Verdasco during a practice session at the 2010 Rogers Cup in Toronto.






For photos from this practice session click here.

Verdasco Hits with Darren Cahill

I got to the Verdasco match yesterday just in time to see Fer take a medical time-out at the beginning of the third set. I'm not sure exactly what was wrong—the trainer was working on his leg—but when play resumed again it was clear that Fer wasn't moving well, and Jeremy Chardy had an easy time winning the match. Haven't been able to find any info online as to whether it was just a cramp or more serious injury, so I'm guessing it was just something minor.

Here are some photos I took of a practice session Fer had with Darren Cahill earlier in the week...

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.