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The U.S. Open gets physical

The U.S. Open final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal was one of the most physical battles ever seen on a tennis court.

The sheer speed of their groundstrokes and length of the rallies were incredible. Djokovic dominated Nadal in the first two sets, to win them 6-2 6-4. He was on top of the baseline forcing Nadal to play well behind the baseline and not allowing him to play inside the court and dictate. Nadal though is tenacious and was down a break three times in the third set and broke Djokovic while serving for the match to end up winning the third set in a tiebreaker. Unfortunately, Nadal had nothing left in the fourth set.

With Djokovic taking an injury time out for his back at the end of the third set, Nadal’s momentum was gone and Djokovic cruised 6-1 in the fourth set to win his first U.S. Open title.

He became the sixth man in Open history to win three majors in a year. From my vantage point in the Sky Sports studio I could see the look on Nadal’s face at the end of the match – he still has no idea how to play or beat Djokovic. There is no clear weakness in Djokovic’s game and he does everything better than Nadal at the moment. Djokovic has raised men’s tennis to another level.

“You just can’t speak to umpires like that” – Rusedski on Serena

Week two of the U.S. Open had many stories. Would the weather destroy the momentum of the event? How would the courts hold up? Will the U.S. Open finally make plans to build a roof? Who would be the men’s and woman’s U.S. Open champions?

On the woman’s side Serena Williams made the finals easily and was the big favorite to win the title against Sam Stosur. Stosur had the longest match in US Open history and played the longest tie breaker in U.S. open history as well, to make the finals. Nobody except Sam Stosur thought she would win. If she won, she would become the first Australian woman to win a major since 1980. She played the match of her life and won 6-2 6-3.

But playing Serena is never dull. At 6-2 30/40 break point down Serena, shouted ”come on” during the point which you are not allowed to do because the rules say you are not allowed to distract your opponent during the point, which she did.

The chair umpire rewarded the point immediately to Stosur to give her a set and a break lead. Serena blew up and lost it. Unfortunately for Serena she let herself down and showed poor sportsmanship. It is easy to be gracious when you win, but when you are losing we see a players true sportsmanship.

Rusedski sticks to his picks

The first week of the US Open is always interesting. It’s easy to get a sense of what is going to happen, who is playing well and who is struggling. The weather conditions have been warm but not as humid and hot as last year, no major issues for the players – with the exception of Rafael Nadal and his cramps post match during his press conference.

On the men’s side Novak Djokovic has been sensational and has appeared to have had no issues with his shoulder that was worrying him in Cincinnati. Djokovic still looks like the favorite and is hitting the ball better than anyone in the tournament. Roger Federer has looked good as well, but had his first test against Mario Cilic. The big question mark around Federer is how will he play the big points if he plays Djokovic in the semi-finals but before getting there he has a tough section.

Rafael Nadal has been struggling a bit but he is still winning even though he’s not playing his best tennis. He will have to lift his game if he is to defend his title because at the moment he is not playing well enough to win. Andy Murray was hitting the ball well in his first match, but he got nervous in his second match but came through in five sets.

Winning against Robin Haase might be a blessing in disguise because he might relax more into the next round. In a grand slam you normally have to win at least one match not playing your best to win a major. Week Two will be a lot tougher so let’s see if the likes of Mardy Fish, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, John Isner or Juan Martin Del Potro can cause a major upset.

On the women’s side all of this year’s grand slam champions are out. Petra Kvitova and Li Na both lost in the first round and with the withdrawal of Kim Clijsters it means that all of this year’s grand slam winners are no longer in the running to lift the trophy next weekend. From a British point of view Heather Watson lost in the first round in three tight sets against Maria Sharapova. Heather will have a bright future in tennis and has a great attitude. Laura Robson came through qualifying and won her first ever match at the U.S. Open before going out in the second round. Look out for these two British girls to carry British women’s tennis over the next decade.

Rusedski makes his picks for the US Open

The men’s side of this year’s US Open is going to be very interesting.

Will Novak Djokovic’s shoulder hold up and can he win his third major of the year? Will Roger Federer win another major with one of the toughest sections of the draw? Can Rafael Nadal get his form back to defend the title? Will Andy Murray win his first major? And finally, who are the dark horses?

Djokovic’s first two rounds look comfortable, then his route gets interesting with a possible match up against Nikolay Davydenko in the third, Richard Gasquet in the fourth and Tomas Berdych in the quarters before he most likely meets Federer in the semi-finals, if Federer gets there! Berdych could be the danger man in the section if his shoulder recovers from Cincinnati.

Federer’s opening match should be comfortable, but from the second round onwards it will get tough. He will most likely play the big serving Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, then the dangerous Marin Cilic in the third, Victor Troicki in the fourth, and in the quarterfinals either Mardy Fish or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a place in the semi-finals against Djokovic. Tsonga or Fish are definitely capable of upsetting Federer at the quarters-final stage.

Murray’s section looks very good. His first test will be Feliciano Lopez in the third, but I believe he will come through in four sets. Then he will likely play Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round who knocked him out last year. He won’t falter this year because of the experience and help of Darren Cahill and Sven Groenveld. He is having his best results in majors with their help. In the quarter-finals he could play Gilles Simon or Juan Martin Del Potro. Expect Murray to be in the semi-finals, with a great chance to get to the finals this year.

Nadal’s first two rounds look pretty comfortable, but he needs to get his confidence back, maintain depth of ground shots and serve better. Nadal is one of the greatest players who has shown in the past that he’s able to get his form back during an all-important major. From the third round it gets interesting. He will most likely play Ivan Ljubicic, then Jurgen Melzer or Mikhail Youzny in the fourth round, with David Ferrer in the quarter-finals. I’d say that Nadal will get to the semi-finals just because of his sheer desire.

Rusedski looks to Cincinnati for US Open form

The Cincinnati Masters became a very important event before the US Open because a lot of the big names lost early in Montreal and needed to get match play before the Open started.

How would Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray perform? Could Novak Djokovic continue his amazing run of only one match lost all season, having just won Montreal a week earlier?

From an American point of view, Mardy Fish was having the best results of his career having won in Atlanta and made the finals of LA and Montreal. It is always important for tennis and the tennis industry, to have an American doing well in his own country. Andy Roddick, the stalwart of U.S. tennis for the last decade had been struggling so it was important Fish played well.

Nadal and Federer both got to the quarter-finals were they both lost. Nadal lost to Mardy Fish who he had never lost to before. Nadal is struggling with his game. At the moment he needs to start serving better like he did last year when he won the US Open. He also needs better depth on his ground shots and to get back that confidence which he has lost slightly, if he is going to defend his title.

Djokovic and Kvitova lead European charge

Few things in sport can be sweeter than lifting the Wimbledon trophy, as Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova found out on Saturday and Sunday.

Djokovic even took a shining to the hallowed Wimbledon turf, describing his post-win snack as “well kept”, but in all seriousness the Serb is winning fans left right and centre and on Monday will be confirmed as world number one for the first time.

New era? His Mum thought so, but the battler that is Rafa Nadal won’t give up without a fight, and whereas Roger Federer is approaching 30 and is towards the end of his career, the likeable Spaniard is only just 25 and has some of his best moments ahead no doubt.

As for Kvitova, the shy Czech girl did her country proud at a fruitful championships for her nation in which the eastern Europeans did well. The Czechs had three winners to be precise, to Serbia’s one and the United States all-action men’s doubles duo of Bob and Mike Bryan landed the other title.

Just one more major of the year left now. In two months the US Open will be at the business end. Any betting against Nadal and Djokovic slugging it out for top spot?

Picture: Novak Djokovic of Serbia kisses the winners trophy after defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain in the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London July 3, 2011. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Americans ponder major title drought after McIlroy win

While the European Tour celebrated its fifth successive major champion after Rory McIlroy’s astonishing eight-shot victory at the U.S. Open, American golf grappled with an unprecedented title drought.

For the first time since the Masters was launched in 1934, U.S. players have failed to triumph in five consecutive majors. Not since 1994 has a year gone by without an American holding at least one of the four grand slam crowns.

Northern Irishman McIlroy coasted to victory in record-breaking style at Congressional Country Club on Sunday to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot Graeme McDowell, who clinched last year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

Following McDowell’s major breakthrough, South African Louis Oosthuizen won the 2010 British Open, Germany’s Martin Kaymer landed the 2010 PGA Championship and South African Charl Schwartzel claimed his first major at the Masters in April.

European players also rule the roost at the top of the world rankings where they occupy the leading four spots for the first time in nearly 20 years.

With former world number one Tiger Woods a shadow of the dominant player he once was due to assorted injuries, loss of form and the break-up of his marriage, things appear to look bleak for Americans at the pinnacle of the game.

However, as 1997 PGA champion and next year’s U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III pointed out after tying for 11th at Congressional, success in golf often comes and goes in cycles.

Schiavone shows final set tiebreaks are for wimps

Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova rescued the women’s singles at the Australian Open from anonymity on Sunday when they contested a four hour 44 minute epic that contrasted sharply with some of the dross served up by their rivals.

The third set alone lasted three hours as Italian Schiavone, a breath of fresh air for women’s tennis at the ripe old age of 30, edged a fourth round thriller 4-6 6-1 16-14.

It was a match of extremes that will surely have no equal at this year’s championships, demonstrating the compelling, edge-of-seat drama often served up at grand slams employing the “play til you drop” deciding set format.

While television schedulers may hate it, it has to be hoped that organisers in Melbourne, Roland Garros and Wimbledon never bow to the demand for “sudden death” finishes seen at most events, including the U.S. Open.

Tiebreaks also offer plenty of nerve-shredding tension but are a brutal way to finish a contest that has evolved over several hours.

Just imagine the sporting world being denied the jaw-droppingly unbelievable scenes at Wimbledon last year when John Isner and Nicolas Mahut traded blows for more than 11 hours before Isner prevailed 70-68 in the fifth set.

Schiavone’s victory was a breeze compared to that but has been the main talking point in a women’s draw which has failed to catch fire in Melbourne.

Winds of change at the Davis Cup

The 2010 US Open was a very challenging tournament for all the players this year because of the weather conditions. Players had to deal with a heat wave for the first three days with temperatures well over 100 degrees. Then the mercury dropped into the mid 80s and during the final week dropped to the mid 70’s. With the weather being so hot for the first three days, the players needed to make sure they took shade, ice towels, electrolyte drinks and consumed bananas on court to get potassium into their body. There was a real threat of players cramping with such temperatures. Hydration and prevention were key.

Extremely hot weather favors the more aggressive players and the ones who are in phenomenal shape. Points are quicker as the ball travels through the air faster due to the extreme temperatures. The more the temperature dropped the more it helped baseline players. But for all the players it becomes less physically demanding. There were also heavy winds in these championships which made it very difficult. The top players hate it because it is more of an equalizer for the lesser player because of the unpredictability of the ball moving through the air.

Ivan Lendl used to hate the wind and wanted to put a rule into place that when the wind reached a certain velocity, play would be stopped. When you are with the wind, you can hit the ball with more top spin to bring the ball into court. The top spin helps to bring the ball down. When the wind is into you, you can hit out on the ball more as the ball will drop in. Also, you need to find the balance of height over the net to get the right depth. Foot work becomes that much more important too because of the extra adjustment steps you need to take to get into position. This is because the ball movement is unpredictable. The drop shot against the wind is a very effective shot because the ball stops and doesn’t come towards the opponent. On the other hand with the wind the drop shot is usually a poor shot selection because the ball goes to your opponent. One shot that is great with or against the wind is the slice because it stays low and neutralizes your opponent. When the wind is swirling you have to constantly adjust and there is no rhyme or reason. You need to anticipate what the ball will do and use both theories of dealing with the wind when it swirls – this is the least favorite time for players to play.

The Davis Cup semi-finals were France vs Argentina and Serbia vs Czech Republic. The French team were brilliant and won 5-0 against Argentina at home in Lyon. The defining match was a second rubber with Gael Monfils from France beating David Nalbandian from Argentina. Monfils has really matured and is starting to fulfill his potential. He won in 4 sets to give France a 2-0 lead after day one. The doubles were a formality with the experienced team of Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement winning in straight sets. It’s been eight years since France have been in the Davis Cup final and captain Guy Forget has done another great job. They will be looking forward to regaining the title and having French no. 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga back in the team for the finals.

Nadal success sparks new GOAT debate

Rafael Nadal ticked off another box when he joined an exclusive group of men to win a career grand slam and in doing so re-ignited the debate about whether he or Roger Federer is the better player.

It also strengthens Nadal’s case in the ongoing discussion around the GOAT, or Greatest Of All Time. 

Statistics show that Federer, with 16 grand slam titles and kit bag full of records, is still the greatest player to swing a racket but with the clock ticking ever louder on his career his haul now looks within reach of the 24-year-old Spaniard.

Nadal’s U.S. Open triumph on Monday against a gallant Novak Djokovic proved beyond doubt that his ferocious baseline game translates on any surface.

With his service regularly clocking 130mph these days when once it was perceived as a slight weakness, Nadal looked invincible, especially as the knee problems that blighted 2009 now appear to be under control.

Having beaten Federer in five sets on Saturday, depriving the Swiss of a seventh consecutive appearance in the U.S. Open final, Djokovic was best qualified to offer an opinion on a question that divides tennis fans into Camp Roger and Camp Rafa.

“He has the capabilities already now to become the best player ever,” Djokovic said after his four-set defeat in which his own tennis often reached sublime heights.”Roger is definitely somebody who made history in this sport. He’s still playing as one of the best players in the world. On the other hand, you have Nadal who is just proving each day, each year that he’s getting better.