U.S. Open: Net Points

Does anyone miss the old Federer?

2008-09-04T16:01:00.002-04:00

You remember him: The guy who used to take the Gilles Mullers of the world and toy with them like... Well, like someone who toys with something else. Cat and small mouse, perhaps. Anyway.

Federer just took the first set of his quarterfinal with Muller in a tiebreak, 7-5, on the seventh set point of the set. The old R-Fed might have let this set go to a tiebreak, just to get in a good workout, perhaps, but would put the hammer down eventually. We'll see if he can do that.

I liken the old Federer to Fezzik, Andre the Giant's character in "The Princess Bride." When Fezzik is fighting Cary Elwes' Westley character, he tells the much smaller man, "I want you to feel you are doing well."

Maybe we'll see the old Federer before the week is out.

Roddick, Blake named to Davis Cup team

2008-09-04T15:15:00.002-04:00

Blake stunk it up here, losing in the third round, but captain Patrick McEnroe decided that the only two Americans in the top 10 should play in the semifinal against Spain in Madrid in two weeks.

Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey had nice results here, but McEnroe noted Blake has done well on clay this season and that Fish and Querrey weren't even among the top 40 until recently, at least in Fish's case.

"For this tie, it was a pretty easy decision," P-Mac noted.

Federer's on the court. And it's hot outside.

2008-09-04T15:00:00.003-04:00

The thermometer reads 28 degrees celsius, which is like... a lot of degrees Fahrenheit. OK, I think it's 90. Or so.

Anyway, we're about to get started with the serious tennis today. Qualifier Gilles Muller of Luxembourg is set to face Roger Federer, the four-time defending champion.

In other news, Leander Paes and Cara Black won the mixed doubles crown, defeating Liezel Huber and Jamie Murray (big brother of men's semifinalist Andy Murray) 7-6, 6-4. Paes, 35, has now won the mixed Grand Slam for his career, and he and men's doubles partner Lukas Dlouhy are in tomorrow's final against Americans Mike and Bob Bryan.

Black, 29, is the top seed with Huber in the women's doubles, and they are into the semis. This is her first U.S. Open mixed title, to go with a French Open and Wimbledon title as well.

Oh, and if you think doubles is bush league, here are a couple numbers for you.

The first is 795,907. The second is 350,635. Those are Black's and Paes' prize earnings for 2007. They each get $75,000 for winning here.

So, that ain't bad.

Wow. Just wow.

2008-09-03T22:41:00.002-04:00

Venus lets eight set points slip away in the second set and Serena wins, 7-6, 7-6, with a 9-7 win in the second set. The point at 4-2 Venus in the second tiebreak, when Serena chased down four seemingly ungettable balls but still lost the point.

Serena now leads the head-to-head series 9-8, but this one may stand out as the most entertaining. It took 2 hours, 25 minutes, and Serena is on to face Dinara Safina in the semis on Friday.

Nice rally by Serena to win the first set

2008-09-03T21:44:00.001-04:00

Serena takes the tiebreak, 8-6, winning the last four points. She was absolutely smoking the ball. We'll see what goes down in the second set.

Serena and Venus look like they're trying to win

2008-09-03T21:29:00.002-04:00

Isn't that a nice treat for the night crowd? Venus is serving at 5-6 in the first, with Serena having broken Venus at 5-4 to pull even. It's pretty easy to recall the days when they would play in a semi or a final of a Slam and it was fair to wonder if their pop, Richard, had told one or the other to tank it.

Think we're in for a good one.

Murray wins it, and they appear to be friends again

2008-09-03T19:40:00.002-04:00

Murray pulls it out, 7-5 in the fourth, to advance to the semis against the Nadal-Fish winner. At the net after this four-hour slog, the two frenemies seemed to resolve their differences with a nice chat. I think.

So, in a mere hour or so, Venus vs. Serena will commence.

Murray has it, loses it

2008-09-03T18:46:00.003-04:00

Murray went up two sets, both in tiebreaks, even though by he and del Potro played lots of loose points. Del Potro's left knee looked a bit loose, too, and it seemed he might retire at 3-4 in the third after a lengthy visit with the trainer.

So, naturally, del Potro reeled off the next three games and took the third set, and now looks pretty darn healthy. They've been on the court for 3 hours. I think Rafael Nadal and Mardy Fish will take the court around sun-up in Barcelona.

Tomorrow's sked -- a bit thin

2008-09-03T17:53:00.002-04:00

With just the two men's quarterfinal matches among the singles events.

Qualifier Gilles Muller takes on Roger Federer on Ashe sometime after 2 p.m. That's Luxembourg vs. Switzerland, for those interested in world geography. I think I had that matchup in Risk once as a kid. Switzerland totally rocked.

Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic go in the night session tomorrow, preceded by a men's "seniors" match between Michael Chang and Todd Martin. Considering those two guys accounted for a few late-night forays at the Open, I hope they keep it to one set, with tiebreak.

Murray off to a fast start

2008-09-03T15:57:00.005-04:00

The blood feud between Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro just got underway on Ashe. The last time they played, in Rome in May, del Potro did the unthinkable: He cracked wise on Murray's mother, Judy, who was in the stands for their first-round match on the clay. Then, del Potro retired at 0-1 in the third, left the court in tears and the two have not spoken since.

Said Murray of the meeting: "It is another tennis match for me. When I get on court I have got to put emotions aside. Whether I like Del Potro or not doesn't make any difference.

"I have known him since we were really young. I wasn't great friends with him before."

OK, then. We're on our way to a first set tiebreak here.

Newsday's Rob Kahn weighs in from the Open...

2008-09-03T15:53:00.001-04:00

Tuesday evening, Gov. David A. Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined former mayor Ed Koch and police commissioner Ray Kelly at a ceremony naming the East Gate entryway here for David Dinkins. Dinkins is something of a deity around these parts for his efforts as mayor to keep the U.S. Open in New York.

Chief among the former mayor’s initiatives was a deal with the Federal Aviation Administration to reroute noisy landings and takeoffs from LaGuardia during matches, weather permitting -- something the FAA had refused to do even for the 1986 World Series games at Shea.

As Paterson was relating the accomplishments of his predecessor, a jet flew overhead, banking ever so slightly as if to say hello, and eventually drowning out the governor’s accolades.

When the flight had passed, Paterson looked up, then quipped: "And speaking of flying, I want to thank the FAA for sending that plane over just now."

***

Paterson also managed to spotlight his own athletic prowess, relating a story about the time his dad tried to help him overcome difficulties with his tennis game.

"My father said, ‘Throw the ball and hit it and we’ll see what the problem is.’ So I threw the ball up and hit it and he said, ‘Well, that’s almost a natural serve. Let me see you do it again.’"

"I did the serve two more times and he finally told one of my brothers to go over to the other side of the net and hit one back. So I served, my brother hit it back and I didn’t move."

"My father said, ‘That’s the problem.’"

- ROBERT KAHN

Safina makes semis; only one spot left for women

2008-09-03T15:50:00.001-04:00

Dinara Safina is now just two wins away from matching her brother with a U.S. Open title of her own.

Eight years after Marat Safin won the U.S. Open championship, his little sister has advanced to the semifinal round of this tournament for the first time in her career.

Safina, who is seeded sixth, cruised in her quarterfinal match this afternoon, defeating No. 16 Flavia Pennetta, 6-2, 6-3, at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Safina will play the winner of the Serena and Venus Williams match, which takes place this evening. In the other bracket, fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva will face No. 2 Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals.

Safina’s brother, Marat, lost last week in the second round.

Safina is cruising to the semis

2008-09-03T14:52:00.000-04:00

Barring anything unforeseen, this is going to be easy for Darina Safina. She's up 6-2, 1-0.

BTW, about the weather...

2008-09-03T14:20:00.002-04:00

We're going to go right ahead and jinx the U.S. Open and say it:

What great weather we've had!

But the question is: how long will it last?

Early reports for this weekend call for rain on Saturday, a result of Hurricane Hannah, and this scenario presents the worst nightmare for tournament directors. The final Saturday is historically the best day of the tournament; it's the day the women's final is played, as well the men's semifinals.

A rainout on Saturday would push the tournament back a day, forcing the men's final to take place on Monday. Oh well.

Finally, we have a quarterfinal underway

2008-09-03T14:18:00.004-04:00

The doubles match went into a third set tiebreaker, thus delaying the afternoon schedule a great deal. But, alas, we've finally moved on, and the quarterfinal match between sixth-seeded Dinara Safina and No. 16 Flavia Pennetta is underway. More later.

Live, from New York, it's Wednesday morning!

2008-09-03T11:56:00.002-04:00

And we're at the U.S. Open, but unfortunately not too many of the top tennis players are. The afternoon session matches are, hmmmm, not too much of a draw, to say the least.

Right now at Arthur Ashe Stadium the doubles tandem of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears (United States) are facing fifth-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual for a spot in the quarterfinals. Try saying those four names fast.

Among the singles matches taking place during the day, the sixth seeds are in action. Dinara Safina (sister of Marat Safin) faces No. 16 Flavia Pennetta, and on the men's side Andy Murray takes on Juan Martin Del Potro.

We'll bring you updates throughout the day, along with other fun stuff we see and hear. Stick with us, please.

Federer goes five but survives

2008-09-02T20:26:00.002-04:00

Federer marathon finally over. He beats Igor Andreev, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Call him Mr. Upset

2008-09-02T18:37:00.003-04:00

Some guy named Gilles Muller just upset fifth-seed Nikolay Davydenko, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7.
It is not Muller's first big upset in Queens.
Three years ago, he stole Andy Roddick's "mojo" with a first-round upset.

Still Djoking around

2008-09-02T17:40:00.002-04:00

Oops. While pondering injectables, I forgot to mention that it took Novak Djokovic five sets to get past No. 15 Tommy Robredo.

Just wondering, if they can have a Juverderm booth at the U.S. Open, why isn't there a Rogaine cart at Giants Stadium?

Free Botox at the Open?

2008-09-02T15:54:00.007-04:00

There are two distinct types of women in the world. Those who get nervous when they hear the word "injectables." And those who don't.

Apparently, the U.S. Open has more of the latter than the former as the Juvederm booth outside of Arthur Ashe Stadium has been packed.

For those who are not completely syringe savvy, a spokeswoman at the booth explained that Juvederm is not Botox, though it is made my the same company. Juvederm is a gel that is injected into the the area around the mouth to treat facial wrinkles and folds, such as "parentheses" or what my grandma used to call smile lines.

If this is something you think you'd be into, it is worth the price of a grounds pass just to check out the Juvederm tent, because they are giving away coupons good for two free syringes to those who qualify for treatment. In the New York area, that could be worth up to $1,200.

From 12:30-1:30 p.m. And from 5:30-6:30 p.m. each day there will be doctors onsite to give a free facial consultation. I was invited back to try one....

No Djok

2008-09-02T13:35:00.002-04:00

Upset alert: No. 3 Novak Djokovic just dropped first set to No. 15 Tommy Robredo of Spain.

Tattoo update: Schnyder says tattoo is Chinese symbol for dragon.

Dementieva advances

2008-09-02T12:28:00.002-04:00

Oops. Rumor wrong. Schnyder loses second set, 6-3. Maybe it meant, "Show me the way to the Grand Central."

Pat's tat

2008-09-02T12:07:00.003-04:00

First burning question of the morning session?
Does anyone know what the tattoo on Patty Schnyder's right shoulder means?
Schnyder, who lost the first set to Elana Dementieva is hanging tough in the the second. Rumor around Arthur Ashe Stadium is that it stands for tiebreaker. Have yet to confirm.

One sister in....

2008-09-01T18:44:00.002-04:00

Venus Williams easily dispatched Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1, 6-3. In a few hours, we will find out whether she will be playing sister Venus in the quarterfinals. This one would be the bumper match as the two have an 8-8 head-to-head record and are 1-1 in the U.S. Open.

It's over

2008-09-01T16:57:00.002-04:00

Nadal advances to play Fish. Querrey gets loud ovation after losing, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.