Flushing Meadows comes alive. The 2008 US Open Thread

#1
volfanbill

volfanbill

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#1
The US Open has begun and it's only fitting that we have a thread for it. Many are considering this to be the US "Wide" Open because there are so many twists on both the women's and men's sides.

Women:

Can Dinara Safina capitalize on a great year while all of her strongest foes are down? Can Ana overcome her thumb injury that left her unable to play for over a month to win her second major? Can Dementieva come out as a semi, sort of, almost sleeper and take the whole thing? Can Jankovich shed all her injury problems and finally set her place as the best female player on the planet? And how can we forget the Williams sisters and their flair for the dramatic in New York?

My pick: well I honestly have no idea. With Sharapova out and so many top players nursing serious injury, it really is wide open. Jankovich isn't getting much pub, I don't see my girl Ana overcoming her thumb and I don't see Safina pulling it off, so I'll take Jankovich on the women's side.

Men:

Federer is slipping and some say slipping fast. Nadal doesn't have a good track record in NY. Aussie champ Novak Djokovic is trying extremely hard to break into the Nadal/Federer rivalry. Could we possibly see a changing of the guard on the men's side? Is Federer done? I do expect to see Blake and his fans make some noise here, but let's not kid ourselves, no way is James Blake winning the US Open. And just because I don't want to shun an American I'll put Andy Roddick's name in this paragraph even though it doesn't belong.

My pick: Somewhat sentimental and somewhat unable to comprehend that he can go 0-4 in Majors this year, I'll stick with Federer.
 
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#2
#2
Good post, Bill. I think Rafa is gonna be struggling to hang on to his #1 ranking, but will probably lose it to Djokovich before the end of the year or shortly thereafter. I wish Roger would snap out of it. I still firmly believe he's the best player on the planet.
 
#3
#3
MphsBlues said:
Good post, Bill. I think Rafa is gonna be struggling to hang on to his #1 ranking, but will probably lose it to Djokovich before the end of the year or shortly thereafter. I wish Roger would snap out of it. I still firmly believe he's the best player on the planet.
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thanks blues. I too struggle with the notion Federer is losing it. I didn't realize Djokovich had closed the gap that much. Is it really possible for him to be #1 by the end of the year?
 
#4
#4
Djokovich is at 5105 right now. Nadal is out there at 6700, so probably not. But an open win can do wonders. It also appears that when the two play, it is Djokovich's to win or lose. But it's a VERY thin line between that and Nadal's to win or lose. I just get the feeling that Nadal feels the pressure a bit more when they play. And I can't stand Djokovich. I'm not a huge Nadal fan either, but Djokovich's in-your-face attitude is awful.
 
#5
#5
Safina has really been a pleasant surprise this year. But I think you may be right. The Open might not be her cup of tea this year. We'll probably see a Williams win. Just my .02.
 
#7
#7
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#9
#9
this Arvidsson(??)/Jankovic match has been rather entertaining today.

Jankovic might be the best looking worst looking female on the tour (see also: butterface).
 
#11
#11
BPV mentioned this in a previous major thread, but Andy Roddick really does just need to show his awesome display of power and see if anyone can beat him. When he starts getting fancy he screws up his footwork, gets off balance and gives up countless unforced errors. I don't recommend the grip it and rip it approach, but it's Andy's best bet to ever contend again.
 
#13
#13
He won at 2, 2 and 2. He did play the power game very well, but Fabrice Santoro is a finesse player and always has been for over 15 years. There wasn't much hope for the Frenchman. The New York crowd was pretty tough on him, too. They can be pretty tough at Flushing Meadows. Andy came through fine in this round. He plays Ernests Gulbis next round. He's young and tough. Santoro is 35 so it won't be near the same.
 
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#14
#14
volfanbill said:
BPV mentioned this in a previous major thread, but Andy Roddick really does just need to show his awesome display of power and see if anyone can beat him. When he starts getting fancy he screws up his footwork, gets off balance and gives up countless unforced errors. I don't recommend the grip it and rip it approach, but it's Andy's best bet to ever contend again.
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looks like Patrick McEnroe has him moving back toward aggressiveness instead of the passive loopy crap we saw under connors.
 
#16
#16
volsgal03 said:
I didn't even realize Connors was no longer with Roddick.
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I actually don't know, but I do know that PM is now involved.

Bottom line is that Roddick's game was huge serve, best forehand in tennis and weak backhand. The backhand has improved but the forehand has been completely neutered. I think he's going to address that and it makes him dangerous, regardless of who he plays. It's higher risk tennis, but that's just what he has to play to compete. He cannot compete with Nadal, Fed, or Djok without playing that way, as has been proven. His shoddy return game, that's likely to always stay with him.

I saw him hit a couple of rocket forehands, even on returns last night that reminded me of his old game. I'd love to see it back.
 
#17
#17
I like PM, and I would love to see Roddick win a few more grand slams, the USA needs somebody now that Agassi, Sampras have left the game.
 
#18
#18
It's been fun is watching this 28 year old Kendrick from the US. He is playing some great tennis but he has a monster task ahead of him next match when he plays Djok. I hope he kicks Djok's arse. Be looking for this one on Ashe court in a night match tomorrow or the next night. That's my guess, anyway.
 
#19
#19
Blake has a tough match going on live right now. He is playing the Belgian, Darcis. It just started on USA network.
 
#20
#20
Blake lost the first set and then became the beneficiary of Darcis throwing his back out in the 2nd. Darcis ended up retiring.
 
#22
#22
Lost to a qualifier. Who woulda thunk it? Ivanovich's forehand, which is usually her biggest weapon, packed up and left town well before this match.
 
#23
#23
On an interesting sidenote, there is a guy playing his very first ATP event against Nadal named Deheart. He is down two sets and up 3-0 in the third. What a treat for this young man swinging like this is his last day on Earth.
 
#24
#24
doozer said:
Ivanovich is heading for an early departure right now.
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MphsBlues said:
Lost to a qualifier. Who woulda thunk it? Ivanovich's forehand, which is usually her biggest weapon, packed up and left town well before this match.
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it's really hard to do much with with a tennis racquet when your thumb is so screwed up you can barely grip it. She'll be back when she gets healthy. I've read a handful of newspaper articles before the Olympics that a lot of people didn't even expect her to play.
 
#25
#25
volfanbill said:
it's really hard to do much with with a tennis racquet when your thumb is so screwed up you can barely grip it. She'll be back when she gets healthy. I've read a handful of newspaper articles before the Olympics that a lot of people didn't even expect her to play.
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I thought it was her footwork that failed her yesterday. Seemed a half step slow...
 
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