Rafael Nadal has yet again been pushing his body
Sunday in New York
No rest for the wicked at Flushing Meadows…Sunday was another day of astonishing drama.
Testing the limits
Ever since day one, this US Open seems to have pushed players above and beyond what their bodies are capable of. Whether because they came in tired, or got sick, or have played too much, or not enough. The debate goes on. But there were two insane examples yesterday.
Flavia Pennetta, one of the most natural athletes around, did something quite indefatigable against Peng Shuai. Having won the first set, she was overcome by nausea. Hardly able to stand, and even dry-heaving at the back of the court, the Italian came back from 2-6 in the second set tie-break to win the match 6-4, 7-6. Literal guts.
“My body just need to breathe, and I starting maybe to have the sensation to throwing up,” she said, admitting it was the worst she has ever felt on a tennis court. She advances to her third US Open quarter-final, against Angelique Kerber.
The other was what befell Rafael Nadal. After a toasty three-set win over David Nalbandian, which required several shirt-changes on Rafa’s part, he had just concluded his English press conference when he was over-taken by what seemed to be an extreme cramp attack. Sliding back into his chair, and eventually off it to lie flat on the floor, it was astonishing to see him in so much pain in the docile surroundings of the interview room.
Andy Murray put it best. “Rafa’s human. I think some people forget that sometimes,” he said.
Somewhat bizarrely, although all press were ushered out of the room to allow Rafa to be treated, they left the tv feed on. Needless to say, all eyes were glued.
Yet another record
Not content with winning the longest women’s singles match in US Open history, Sam Stosur decided she wanted to break herself another record. She and Maria Kirilenko contested the longest women’s tie-break in Grand Slam history, a 32-point epic in the second set of what would be a victory for Stosur in three, 6-2, 6-7 (15), 6-3.
If you missed it, the 17-15 ridiculousness is well worth watching.
Asked if she had ever been involved in anything like that before, Sam said simply, “Uh…no.” Queensland simplicity.
Still, with two big wins on her racket, barring tiredness, the Aussie is shaping up nicely.
Bye, bye DelPo
Forehand fans will have to wait a little while to see Juan Martin Del Potro’s infamous stroke in full swing. The 2009 champion was handed his first loss at Flushing Meadows since losing to Andy Murray in the 2008 quarter-finals, bounced out by Gilles Simon in four sets.
Stars and stripes
The Americans are back in the game. Four men in the fourth round for the first time since 2003 is not a bad stat. Mardy Fish, John Isner, Andy Roddick and…Donald Young. who would have thunk?
Young plays Andy Murray next – a repeat of their second round in Indian Wells. The crowd reaction is going to be fascinating.
Darth Murray
Speaking of the British No.1, he was a joy to watch against Feliciano Lopez last night. Decked out in black and red (but without the black leggings from the presser the other day) Murray executed extremely well under Ashe’s night lights. More of the same please.
Caption fail
Whoever decided that Leon Smith, Britain’s Davis Cup captain, was actually Jamie Murray. I mean, really.
Brit-watch
The retirements have benefited some people…Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins are into the men’s doubles quarter-finals after receiving a walk-over. Meanwhile in the juniors, Kyle Edmund won his first round. Liam Broady, George Morgan and Oliver Golding are still to play.
A big hand also to Peter Norfolk, the quadfather, who arrives in New York having one a singles and doubles title in a day in St Louis. Ominous.
Tweet of the day
Back to back gems from Boris Becker (@Becker_Boris). Correcting Serena Williams’ spelling of Kim Kardashian, and then labelling Feliciano Lopez ‘a pretty boy.’
Gold.
Coming up this evening…
Serena Williams v Ana Ivanovic
Can anyone stop Serena? And if so, is it really going to be Ana? The Serb showed glimpses of her 2008 self in an enthralling tussle against Sloane Stephens, her forehand, and celebrations, in particular reminiscent of Ivanovic model 2008.
But then, it’s Serena.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Mardy Fish
Someone announced on twitter than from now, Mardy Fish has to swim through a lot of sharks. Tsonga is the first. All the makings of a classic five-setter, but that also depends on both players executing. Tsonga seems to be the more likely to go off the boil, given Fish’s run of form, but you never know.
Caroline Wozniacki v Svetlana Kuznetsova
Possibly not the most exciting of matches as far as playing style goes, but the result of this could tell us a lot about both players’ futures. For Wozza, who apparently has the world No 1 ranking sewn up until mid September, it’s about credibility. For Kuzy, it’s about longevity. Who knows.
Novak Djokovic v Alexandr Dolgopolov
The pony-tailed Ukrainian has been one of the silent swimmers of this draw so far, probably because he hasn’t done a great deal since reaching the quarter-finals in Melbourne what seems like a lifetime ago. That match he played against Andy Murray was a real tactics-off, a cerebral affair that proved exhausting to watch.
Can he bring something similar to the table against Djokovic? He’ll have to keep up first though.
Also in action
Roger Federer v Juan Monaco, Francesca Schiavone v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Janko Tipsarevic v Juan Carlos Ferrero, Andrea Petkovic v Carla Suarez Navarro.
The daily click
1. Whoops. Andy Roddick sits down in the wrong chair.
2. Photo-highlights (and captions) from the hilarious Beyond the Baseline.
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