Tennis Top Gear

Nobody can say Kim Clijsters took an easy path to her U.S. Open title last year. She played both Williams sisters. This year, she’ll only play one, though this could be an even more effective version of Venus Williams than came to Flushing Meadows in 2009. Clijsters and Williams each won their quarterfinal matches Tuesday to set up a marquee semifinal — the No.

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—New York
Fourth-Round results:
No. 1 seed d. No. 23 seed 6-3 6-4, 6-4; No. 8 seed d. No. 10 5-7- 6-7(8), 6-3- 6-3- 7-6(4);  No. 12 seed d. 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; No. 25 d. No. 20 seed […]

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Rafael Nadal won his 18th consecutive Grand Slam match by beating fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 Wednesday in the fourth round of the U.S. Open. The top-seeded Nadal saved all four break points he faced against Lopez and has erased all 13 he’s had to deal with this year in New York.

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By MadProfessah

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In the semifinals the elder Williams sister will face No. 2 seed and defending champion , who outlasted Aussie Sam Stosur in three sets in the final women’s night match.

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Rafael Nadal beats Feliciano Lopez in straight sets to reach the US Open quarter-finals.

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Clijsters’ was anything but easy. Struggling with her serve, shaky off both arms and bothered by the wind, defending champion Kim Clijsters barely got past French Open runner-up Sam Stosur of Australia 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in the quarterfinals Tuesday night. “After the match, I was like, ‘How did I win this?’ I didn’t feel like I was playing well; Sam is a good player,” Clijsters…

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—New York
It must be difficult to be . He?s had a more than respectable career on Tour, which has included reaching the top 10, and the latter stages of both Grand Slam and Masters 1000 events. But within  that ?respectable? career for Stan the man, his accomplishments have always been overshadowed by […]

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Fernando Verdasco has rallied from two sets down for a 5-7, 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over fellow Spaniard David Ferrer to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Verdasco trailed 4-2 in the fifth set and 4-1 in the fifth-set tiebreaker Tuesday before winning a match that took 4 hours, 23 minutes.

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A day after manhandling in the fourth round of the , is on top of the tennis world. The whole world, that is. TSF noticed all the buzz today, and is here to chronicle it for you in one, easy-to-read blog post. Voila! On the Twitter front, @carowozniacki, Caroline herself, […]

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Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams with their quarter-final matches to set up a semi-final at the US Open.

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The USTA put out a press release today, along with this ad (click image above to see video) detailing the changes in the youth game, particularly with kids 10 and under. Along with its new teaching system, QuickStart, the USTA is pushing a more accessible and ready-to-use kit for tennis teaches and enthusiasts to get […]

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The USTA put out a press release today, along with this ad (click image above to see video) detailing the changes in the youth game, particularly with kids 10 and under. Along with its new teaching system, QuickStart, the USTA is pushing a more accessible and ready-to-use kit for tennis teaches and enthusiasts to get […]

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Wednesday?s order of play at the will feature , , , and .
For Wednesday?s order of play, click the link below. For tickets to Wednesday?s action, click the ticket link on the top menu bar.
Order of play for Wednesday September 8, 2010.

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Wednesday?s order of play at the will feature , , , and .
For Wednesday?s order of play, click the link below. For tickets to Wednesday?s action, click the ticket link on the top menu bar.
Order of play for Wednesday September 8, 2010.

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Q. It seems this year it?s a little bit more of a subdued Open for you, you?re not the No. 1 seed, not the defending champion this year. Do you prefer it that way, the spotlight a little bit off of you?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I always feel the spotlight?s on me regardless of what […]

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Mark 2010 down as a low point for U.S. men’s tennis. The last of 15 American men left in the U.S. Open, 20th-seeded Sam Querrey, lost in the fourth round Tuesday, edged by No. 25 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (9), 6-7 (5), 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 after nearly 4 1/2 hours of quite even, wind-affected play.

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Shouldn’t there be some kind of freaking penalty for not being able to return a second freaking serve – unless it’s Sampras across the net? And that penalty should move up couple of notches when the stupidity occurs at critical juncture(s). It’s a second freaking serve. How much freaking mysterious can it get? And if […]

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The French Open finalists, Francesca Schiavone and Sam Stosur, both fell short of making the US Open semifinals on Tuesday, as Venus Williams defeated Schiavone, 7-6(5), 6-4, and Kim Clisters overcame Stosur, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

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by Pete Bodo Never send a man to do a job best left to a woman. In fact, if you’re an American tennis official, don’t send three men, just dial 1-800-Williams, and ask for Serena, or the lady dressed in…

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Venus Williams is one victory away from reaching the U.S. Open final for the first time since 2002. The No. 3-seeded Williams overcame nine double-faults and beat reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the quarterfinals Tuesday night. The 30-year-old Williams owns seven Grand Slam titles, including the 2000 and 2001 U.S.

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M Pictures – USO 2010 Roger’s 4R Photostory: The Ballad of Roger’s Fourth Round Good news and bad news. The good news (hopefully) is that I think I managed to find about 40 halfway decent pics out of the bushel I shot. The somewhat strange news is that to read the little photostory on the […]

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Federer enjoys about two hours ‘time on court’ advantage that may very well come in play with Soderling’s physical power play and the dying need to insert that thumb over and over freaking again. It that doesn’t work ANY of the other stats will step in to make the difference as Soderling is losing in […]

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Before the first ball was struck Tuesday at the U.S. Open, this much was certain: Spain would be the day’s big winner. Sparked by Rafael Nadal’s surge to the top of tennis, the country has produced six men in the world’s top 25 and six of the final 16 players at the U.S. Open. There were two all-Spanish matchups Tuesday, meaning there’s a guarantee that at least one will advance all…

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It’s also why ‘not good looking’ girls possess the most revealing dresses. With Nadal now about to begin the downward spiral as far as physical peak is concerned closely followed by some serious hair loss, look for the muscles to get only bigger and badder. It could also be the reason for Federer zeroing in […]

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Federer vs Soderling. Djokovic vs Monfils. Wawrinka vs Youzhny. Nadal vs Ferrer? ——————————————— Semis: Federer vs Djokovic. Nadal vs Wawrinka? ———————————————- Finals: Federer vs Nadal?

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France captain Guy Forget has called up Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet to face Argentina in next week’s Davis Cup semifinal. France will host Argentina on an indoor hard-court in Lyon from Sept. 17-19. Monfils beat Gasquet this week to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. The French team also includes Michael Llodra and Gilles Simon, with the experienced Arnaud Clement picked as a…

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Stars are moving around in unison to align for that to happen, don’t you think? If Federer-Soderling match turns into a dog fight, the winner may be far too fatigued – mentally and physically – to fully compete for a place in the finals. And Nadal, even with his relatively easy ride to the big […]

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CHICAGO FAN Nadal rides in van that Federer endorses. I love how humble Rafa is. Click here.

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CHICAGO FAN Gilles Simon has a son. Interesting article on Gilles, before his loss to Rafa today. TP, do you have any pictures of Gilles and his wife? Click here.

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CHICAGO FAN Lendl takes a walk down memory lane. A nice article on Ivan Lendl: Click here.

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David Nalbandian has been picked to lead Argentina’s undermanned Davis Cup team against France in the semifinals later this month. Captain Modesto Tito Vazquez on Tuesday said Nalbandian will be joined by Juan Monaco, Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos for the matches on Sept. 17-19. All four are ranked outside the ATP’s top 30.

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KITTY TP, can you please start another one from quarters, this one is very slow now.

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Mikhail Youzhny briefly slowed Spain’s march through the U.S. Open bracket.

Mikhail Youzhny - Tommy Robredo - Spain - Rafael Nadal - Andy Murray

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Grit was not going to be enough to get Maria Sharapova through this one. Not with nine double-faults, including three in a row. Not with a total of 36 unforced errors. And certainly not with No. 1-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark across the net Monday in the fourth round of the U.S. Open, doing “what she does best,” as Sharapova herself put it: getting to nearly every ball and hammering…

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Gillette has just released a new video of Federer playing a word association game.

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Twelfth-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, beating Tommy Robredo of Spain 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 on Tuesday. The 2006 U.S. Open semifinalist faced just three break points, but Robredo converted his only one in the third to win the set. Robredo was the lowest-ranked man left in draw at No.

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(SUI) vs. (SWE) Federer was able to fight off the pesky Austrian, , in straight sets and he has still not dropped a set throughout this tournament. Federer’s incredible streak of reaching the at least the semis in Grand Slam tournaments came to an end earlier this year at the […]

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talks to CNN’s Pedro Pinto on the golf course.

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Pictures from the latest day of action at Flushing Meadows

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Laura Robson eases into the last 16 of the girls’ singles at the US Open after a straight-sets win.

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by: Tom Cochrane
knocked off my tip for the women’s tournament, , and is now in the box seat to advance to a second consecutive final. If can overcome the power game of Sam Stosur on Day 9, we could be headed for a repeat of last year’s […]

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Ricky is doing a great job writing about the Open, we just can’t seem to get his work up in time. Better late than never, no? Here’s what he had to say yesterday:

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With all the extreme heat and wind that has occurred this week at the US Open, we are finally into the second week. There are still some interesting fourth round/quarterfinal matches to be played, and some surprising upsets. Here are some of my storylines so far:

1. Performance of American men – Andy Roddick was bounced in the second round of the US Open by Janko Tipsarevic in four sets. After the foot fault incident, Roddick’s Grand Slam performance ultimately stands as another disappointing performance at a major. He had a good opportunity to take advantage of a favorable draw in New York as well as during Wimbledon and failed both times. The tenth ranked American’s recent performance has made American tennis fans wonder now if he will ever win a major again. Eighteenth seed John Isner also lost his third round match to twelfth seeded Mikhail Youzhny in four sets. His serve was dominant as usual, with 33 aces, but the problem was his footwork and forehand were not on Sunday night. Can Isner build around that powerful serve? He had a great chance to make the quarterfinals with Andy Murray’s loss and failed to take advantage. I expect a big 2011 from Isner if he can recover from the 70-68 fifth set with Mahut at Wimbledon and once the torn ligaments in his knee are healed.

As for some positives, twentieth seed Sam Querrey has matched his best performance at the US Open with a dominating straight sets’ victory over fourteenth ranked Nicolas Almagro. Also, twenty first ranked Mardy Fish has continued his great summer with a berth in the fourth round against Novak Djokovic. However, American men have struggled on Arthur Ashe Stadium with a 0-3 record in this tournament. Querrey and Fish did their winning on Louis Armstrong Stadium and the grandstand, but with the central spotlight on them, can they come through?

2. The one seeds show their form – On both sides of the draw, the one seeds have held their own. Without Serena Williams in the draw, top seed Caroline Wozniacki has had the luxury of not being on the court that often. Through her three matches, she has been on court for an average time of one hour and one minute. However, she has yet to face the tougher competitors in a Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, or a Kim Clijsters.

On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal has looked strong on the hard courts, particularly with his serve. He has raised his velocity on his serve into the 130 miles per hour range. He has also not had his serve broken in this tournament despite some close sets in each of his first two matches. He had his best match of the tournament against former top ten player Giles Simon in the third round. With Murray out of the draw, Rafa has a great shot to make his first U.S Open final at the age of 24. He might have to play Federer and his tweener shot in that final. As for me, I hope Rafa-Fed happens this year.

3. Can the Brit win a slam? - Andy Murray suffered a third round loss at the hands of the number 25 seed Stanislas Wawrinka in four sets on Sunday. A lot of experts picked Murray to advance to at least the semifinals in this tournament, but the Scot disappointed once again. Last year, he was the two seed until losing in the fourth round to Marin Cilic. Murray had a chance to put the Swiss away when he was up a break in the second after winning the first set in a tiebreak, but failed to do so. A lot of pressure is on him to be the first person from the United Kingdom to win a slam since Fred Perry, but will they have to wait for the next British phenom? Only time will tell.

4. Extreme Weather conditions: I live in New York City and have experienced these conditions first hand of extreme heat and wind over the last week. With winds up to thirty miles per hour on Saturday and heat going up to 100+ degrees on the court in the first week, it has been tough for some players to deal with the conditions such as fourth seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia on the women’s side. She lost to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in the third round on Saturday in straight sets. On the men’s side, six time finalist Roger Federer used the wind to his advantage in his win over Paul Henri-Mathieu and looks like he has a great chance to win his sixth US Open title.

On to some predictions for the fourth round/quarterfinal matches over the next two days:

Men’s 4^th Round: Mardy Fish vs. Novak Djokovic – I have been very impressed with Djokovic in this tournament so far. He was known for not handling heat well over his career, but the three seed battled in five sets to win his first round match over fellow Serbian Victor Troicki. He has looked strong in his last two wins and has made at least the semifinals in each of the last three US Opens. As for Fish, the story has been well documented about the sudden change in his fitness and the twenty pound weight loss. He has had some tough five setters in this tournament, but the key for him will be to attack the second serve of Djokovic because the Serbian has been prone to double faults with his new service motion over the course of this summer. Can Fish break the Americans’ struggle on Arthur Ashe? Well, I picked Novak to make the quarterfinals before the tournament began and I am sticking to that prediction taking Djokovic in five sets, but I would not be surprised if Fish’s powerful serve continues his magical run in this tournament

Women’s 4^th Round: Caroline Wozniacki vs. Maria Sharapova – This match will be the first true test for the Dane. She has struggled against the top ten players over her career. Now, Sharapova is not a top ten player (number fourteen), but she has played like a top ten player since the French Open. The one thing that Maria has turned around is her serve. It seems the shoulder has improved and the double fault numbers continue to grow less and less. This allows her to work her powerful 1-2 punch of a good first serve and a powerful ground stroke. Wozniacki does not have the power ground strokes of a Sharapova, but she has the belief that she belongs and that she can win this match. It is going to be a good show, but I like Sharapova to win in three sets.

Men’s 4^th Round: Roger Federer vs. Jurgen Melzer: This is a rematch of a Round of 16 match at Wimbledon in which Federer dominated Melzer in straight sets (6-3, 6-2, 6-3). Melzer can give Fed a small test especially after his best performance of the tournament in straight sets over Juan Carlos Ferrero. However, Fed seems to be too much for the Austrian, who had his breakthrough performance on clay at the French Open. Melzer can take a set, but I expect Federer to win in straight sets.

Women’s Quarterfinal: Francesca Schiavone vs. Venus Williams – Coming into this tournament, I was not high on the sixth seeded Italian. But, she has proved me wrong especially after her dominating fourth round win over the twentieth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The key for Schiavone is to take advantage of the Williams’ serve. The lone American woman in the draw had a low first serve percentage in her straight sets’ win over the sixteen seed Shahar Peer on Sunday. Against the French Open champion, she will have to do so much more. I like Venus in this match because she is very strong at the net and her powerful first serve can give Schiavone trouble. However, the Italian will not make this an easy match. Schiavone is in the top ten so far in first serve return points with 60. Prediction: Venus in 3 sets.

Men’s 4^th Round: Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Sam Querrey – When looking at Wawrinka, I use this analogy. Wawrinka is like a box of Swiss chocolates. He is the chocolate that tastes good, but at the end, it is not as good as the ones you had when you opened the box (Federer). Wawrinka’s primary weapon is his one-handed backhand, which he used for 58 winners in his third round upset over Andy Murray. He has made the Round of 16 twice (2008, 2006), but has failed to make it past that point. The same thing goes for the young American Sam Querrey. Querrey will go in as the favorite unlike the last time he played in a fourth round match in New York against Nadal back in 2008. Querrey dominated against Almagro, but can he handle the pressure on most likely Arthur Ashe Stadium? I think Querrey is ready for the spotlight after his success this summer beating Murray in Los Angeles. He has 48 aces, which is third this tournament behind Fish and Isner, but his seventeen double faults are a cause for concern. With the crowd behind him, I like Querrey in four sets to advance to the quarterfinals.

Men’s 4^th Round: Richard Gasquet vs. Gael Monfils – Even though Spain has had its successful run of players into the round of 16, do not disregard the French. Monfils has finally moved into the fourth round of the US Open for the second straight year The seventeenth ranked Frenchman is known for his entertaining perfomances on the court, but is known as more of a defensive player. As for Gasquet, the 38^th ranked player in the world has not made this round in a major since Wimbledon in 2008. Two years and a cocaine suspension later, the Frenchman is back with his signature backhand that he used to handle six seed Nikolay Davydenko in the second round in straight sets. This is going to be an entertaining match especially with Monfils involved, but I like the upset with Gasquet winning in five sets.

Men’s 4^th Round: David Ferrer vs. Fernando Verdasco – This matchup features two of the most underrated players in the men’s game and features two Spainards no less. Six players from Spain reached the Round of 16 which continues a successful summer for the country in sports. Ferrer is the ten seed in this tournament, but is well-known for his clay court play. He is just 8­-8 on hard courts this year. I wouldn’t count him out, but I like Verdasco in this match. The eight seed has had a disappointing 2010 in terms of his performance in the majors, but had an impressive win over a red hot player in the 31^st seed David Nalbandian of Argentina in four sets on Sunday. Plus, he leads the tournament with 99 first serve return points. An interesting stat on this match: Verdasco is 6-4 against Ferrer, but nine of those ten matches have been on clay (Ferrer won on hard courts in 2004). I will take Verdasco in four sets over Ferrer.

Men’s 4^th Round: Rafael Nadal vs. Feliciano Lopez – The twenty third seeded Lopez has the game to give Nadal fits with his aggressive play and above average backhand. He has broken serve fourteen times in three matches, but I don’t think he will have much success against the new and improved serve of Nadal. Rafa and Lopez are good friends according to all accounts. Lopez got a little break with his opponent Sergiy Stakhovsky retiring in the second set, but Nadal will win this one in straight sets.

Women’s Quarterfinals: Kim Clijsters vs. Samantha Stosur – Before discussing this match, I must give credit to the fifth seeded Australian for having the mental toughness to escape four match points in the third set to defeat the twelve seed Elena Dementieva at 1:30 AM in New York Sunday night/Monday morning. Stosur beat Serena Williams and Justine Henin on her way to the finals at the French Open, but she has finally broken through on a hard court. Before this year, she never made it past the second round in New York. Now, she takes on the defending US Open champion who had a great match in the fourth round against Ana Ivanovic. Clijsters is going to play aggressive in this match and hasn’t lost since 2003 in New York. Stosur will give Clijsters a solid match with her forehand, but in the end, Clijsters is always good at handling the big points. I like Kim in three sets.

Other picks

Women’s 4^th Round

(7) Vera Zvonareva over Andrea Petkovic in straight sets.

(15) Yanina Wickmayer over (31) Kaia Kanepi in 3 sets.

(11) Svetlana Kuznetsova over Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets

Men’s 4^th Round

(5) Robin Soderling over (21) Albert Montanes in straight sets

(12) Mikhail Youzhny over Tommy Robredo in straight sets.

Enjoy the read and Enjoy the Tennis!

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