Are tennis players justified in their complaints about the schedule?

Novak Djokovic's incredible season has finally taken its toll

Another year, another debate about the tennis schedule. The pontifications and proliferations over how much tennis the world's leading players are forced to play is an annual exercise that rears its ugly head almost like clockwork. The US Open finishes, the four grand slams are complete, and yet the players have to keep playing. Not fair, they say.

Do they have a point?

The rules of the Association of Tennis Professionals, the ATP, require that men ranked in the top 30 in the world must play: the four Grand Slams, eight of the nine Masters 1000 events (Monte Carlo is optional) and four of the 11 ATP 500 events. If they feel so inclined, they can add another two ATP 500 or ATP 250 events on top of that. And if they are among the world's best eight players at the end of the season, add the Barclays ATP World Tour finals onto that. Which brings us to the round figure of 18 or 19 tournaments in a calendar year.

Of course, that could well be 18 or 19 first rounds. That's akin to a jog in the park.  But if you are Novak Djokovic, or an aspirant Djokovic, you are in line for up to seven matches at a slam, up to five or six at a Masters 1000, up to five at an ATP 500, and at least three, up to five at the World Tour Finals. Multiply all those by 19, and that's a lot of matches.

And, add Davis Cup, and exhibitions, and you've got even more matches.

Not only that, it's also worth taking into account where all these various tussles take place. Djokovic again is the obvious example, somewhat ironic considering that he is one of the few players yet to jump on the complaints bandwagon, although he did have a word or two to say about the length of the season last year. And is now injured.

This has been his year so far…

December 31 Fly from Belgrade to Perth

January 1-8 Hopman Cup, Perth – 3 matches

January 17-31 Australian Open, Melbourne – 7 matches

Fly from Melbourne to Belgrade, then Belgrade to Dubai

February 21-28 ATP 500, Dubai – 5 matches

March 10-20 ATP Masters 1000, Indian Wells – 6 matches

Fly from Indian Wells to Bogota, Colombia, for exhibition (1 match) then to Miami

March 23 – April 10 ATP Masters 1000, Miami – 6 matches

April 25-May 1 ATP 250, Belgrade – 4 matches

May 1-8 ATP Masters 1000, Madrid, 5 matches

May 8-15 ATP Masters 1000, Rome, 5 matches

May 22-June 3 Roland Garros, Paris, 6 matches

Fly from Paris to Belgrade, then Belgrade to London

June 14-17 Boodles exhibition, 1 match

June 20-July 3 Wimbledon, London, 7 matches

Fly from London to Belgrade

Fly from Belgrade to Montreal

August 8-14 ATP Masters 1000, Montreal, 5 matches

August 14-21 ATP Masters 1000, Cincinnati, 5 matches

August 29-September 12 US Open, New York, 7 matches

Fly from New York to Belgrade

September 16-18 Davis Cup, Belgrade, 1 match

And there are still three months of the season left to run. Metz and Bucharest, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Tokyo, Shanghai, Stockholm and Moscow, Vienna and St Petersburg, Valencia and Basle, Paris, London. And the Davis Cup final.

Adam Helfant, the ATP's head honcho, who leaves at the end of this year, has brought the end of the season forward by two weeks for 2012, but that is by running Paris and London back-to-back, rather than reducing the number of events or mandatory events.

So put like that, it is a lot. Even if you do get to join every frequent flyer club in the world, all that travel, and all those matches, takes its toll. Add to that the fact that the women's tour requires only 10 mandatory events rather than 12 (on top of the four Slams), and finishes a whole month earlier, it's no wonder the gents are feeling a little hard done-by.

But, there are also reasons why they shouldn't be.

1. They choose to play exhibitions and more events. Rafael Nadal, for example, did not need to play Barcelona, Monte Carlo, or Queen's. It's great for those tournaments that he did. But he didn't have to.

2. They asked for Davis Cup to be moved the week after the grand slams.  In October 2006, Nadal, along with 17 of the top 20 players, including Roger Federer and Andy Roddick lobbied for the move,  the ITF agreed, and from 2009, that is how it has been.

3. They don't get fined for missing events. They lose ranking points.

4. What they complain about may not be such a problem for the lowly-ranked. How many tournaments does a journeyman pro need to play to break even? A lot, I imagine.

5. Would the likes of Nadal and co be where they are now if they hadn't been able to play as many tournaments in the past and crank up the points? Who knows.

6. Would the sport be able to pay them in prize and appearance money if there weren't so many events? Probably not.

Admittedly, this year's debate has been rather more furious than usual. The debacle that was the US Open didn't help – the weather, the courts, the misinformation and miscommunication all were less than ideal.

It has also been fuelled by the chipping in of various ex-pros to either agree or disagree. Michael Stich, who played 99 singles & 54 doubles matches in the year he won Wimbledon in 1991, has launched himself in like the Hindenburg.

“I think the players forget that all the tournaments out there provide them with jobs," he said. "They are not playing more than 10 or 15 years ago. It’s just like they are running after exhibitions, they are trying to make more money and don’t even fulfil their commitments to the smaller tournaments sometimes. Murray doesn’t even play four rounds of Davis Cup throughout the year. Perhaps they need to look out for their bodies and pick their tournaments better?”

In response to Herr Stich, it has to be recognised that today's tennis is far more physical than yesterday's. Of that there can be no doubt. But is that enough reason for the current state of hullabaloo?

The elephant in the room, of course, is how to fix it.  Reduce the number of mandatory events for the top dogs? Lop off a week here and there? Change the rankings system? The upcoming players' meeting in Shanghai aims to provide a one-size-fits-all solution. We shall have to wait and see if it can.

Why Rafael Nadal is suffering the same fate he dealt to Roger Federer, but at the hands of Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic has turned the tables on Rafael Nadal

As Rafael Nadal sat down in his chair at the end of the third set of Monday night's brutal US Open final against Novak Djokovic, for a split second, he was on his way back.

The Spaniard had been hustling, clawing, scraping his way through a match that Djokovic was winning by a seemingly peerless scoreline. A two-sets to love lead, with just five games dropped, that was all about depth. Nadal was short, Djokovic was deep.

But in the third set, an 84-minute torture-fest that fried the already fragile nerves of tennis fans around the world, Nadal remembered who he was. Rafa. The ultimate warrior. One of the most mentally complete tennis players there has ever been. The man who terrifies opponents with a single raised eyebrow, the picture of elemental brute force.

The forehands that had been struggling over the service line were suddenly fizzing through the deco turf, the slice backhand that had as much bite as a soft cheese began to push Djokovic back, and the two enused in a all-court tug of war that had the entire stadium doing serious damage to their fingernails.

Breaking the skinny Serb as he served for the title, Nadal lip-curled his way back into contention, feeding off Djokovic's aching back and suddenly worried disposition. Dominating the tie-break, Rafa managed to avoid not winning a set in a Grand Slam final for the first time.

But when he bounced off his chair to begin the fourth set, something curious happened. The same thing as had happened at Wimbledon. He had absolutely nothing left. No answers. No way back.

It was starkly reminscent of the way Roger Federer fell apart against Nadal in the final set of their Australian Open final in 2009.

Federer had been meant to win that match. Nadal had been run through the washing machine by Fernando Verdasco in a very late five-set semi-final, so exhausted by the end that the pair practically held each other up as they hugged at the net. Instead, he could only watch helplessly as the Spaniard made a mockery of their epic rivalry, screaming through the final set 6-2. And then came the tears. Federer blubbed at the microphone as he tried to justify to himself how he had lost to this man yet again.

"Tennis is, more than most sports, a sport of the mind;" Nadal writes in his autobiography. "It is the player who has those good sensations on the most days, who manages to isolate himself best from his fears and from the ups and downs in morale a match inevitably brings."

"With Federer, you have to put him under pressure, wear him down. Probe chinks that way in his game and his morale. Frustrate him, drive him close to despair, if you can."

That Nadal leads their head-to-head by 17-8 is all the proof you need that it works. Nadal took Wimbledon, he took the No 1 ranking, he took the Australian Open, and then he took the career grand slam, took them all from Federer.

And now with a sense of almost poetic reciprocity, Djokovic is doing the same thing to him.

At the start of this year, their head-to-head was 16-7 in Nadal's favour. That lead has been cut to 16-13. Having never won a single one of their five meetings in a tournament final, in 2011, the Serb has won all six. Having never beaten the Spaniard on clay in nine previous matches, in 2011, Djokovic has done so twice. And having taken Nadal's Wimbledon crown and the No 1 ranking, on Monday Djokovic took the US Open too.

Only Nadal, a man who admits he is constantly battling against his own self-doubt,  knows how much it has affected him. "I have to accept that I won a lot in the past," he said, his turn to try and hold back the tears as he spoke to the Flushing Meadows crowd.

"Six straight losses, for sure that's painful," he said. "But I'm going to work every day until that changes. [You must] accept the challenge and work."

But what exactly he needs to work on is at the root of his perplexion. He believes Djokovic is a better player because he makes less mistakes. Djokovic believes he is a better player simply because he believes he is. Admittedly, Nadal's execution was not inculpable. He hit short, he served slow. But it is the tactical puzzle that seems to be weighing most heavily on his brain.

Just as Nadal makes Federer boil over in his search for answers, Djokovic strings Nadal around the court as he seeks a way through. Just like Nadal uses his forehand to pummel the Federer backhand, Djokovic's forehand shoots through the Nadal backhand. And, perhaps most tellingly, just the way Federer frames shots against Nadal he would never dream of missing against anyone else, Nadal sends his weapons long and wide when he plays Djokovic.

That is where the breakthrough is needed. But if anyone can do it, Rafa can.

Two days after their four hour and 10 minute battle, both players are already back on the court,  four months of practice ahead of them between now and the next Grand Slam.

That's a lot of time for things to change. After all, it's the time it took Djokovic to become almost invincible.

U.S. Open: Novak Djokovic the champion over Rafael Nadal

For more than four hours Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played punishing tennis that was also beautiful. They grunted and groaned and sent tennis balls straight at each over, over each other, around each other.

And after it appeared Djokovic was down and out, when he had lost the third set and was groaning on the sidelines while a trainer stretched and pulled and pounded on his aching back, the 24-year-old from Serbia came out for more.

Djokovic played the final games as if pain didn’t matter and, after making a sign of the cross, Djokovic bounced the ball 10 times, hit a serve and then a forehand winner, a massive thing that left Nadal almost immobile.

For the sixth time in a row Djokovic beat Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1, in 4 hours 10 minutes. The win made Djokovic 64-2 this year, gave him his first U.S. Open title and also placed him among the all-time greats.

He became the sixth man to win three of the four major titles in the same year since tennis' open era began in 1968. He won the Australian Open over Andy Murray in the final and beat Nadal in the Wimbledon final.

Overall, this was Djokovic's fourth major title. His first was at the Australian Open in 2008.

“It’s been an incredible year,” said Djokovic, who put on a blue baseball cap with FD/NY on it in honor of New York City firefighters, a day after the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The second-seeded Nadal, the defending champion, said, “Obviously I am disappointed now. This guy is doing unbelievable things.” Then he looked toward Djokovic and said, “What you did this year is probably impossible to repeat, so well done.”

After dropping the first two games of the first set, Djokovic began opening up the court with his swift movement and Nadal started to grow frustrated at watching some of his shots get shifted by a swirling, late-afternoon wind. Djokovic began making Nadal run corner to corner and from baseline to net and won six games in a row.

After 53 minutes, Djokovic served a love game and Nadal dropped his head as he walked to his seat on the changeover. The Spaniard had his serve broken three times in a row to end the set.

The third game of the second set encompassed enough ovation-causing tennis for an entire match. It lasted 17 minutes 15 seconds, and while trying to defend a sixth break point, Nadal, who appeared positioned for a winning overhead, slammed the ball into the net into the net.

If Nadal had held serve, he would have grabbed a 3-0 lead. Instead it was Djokovic who pumped his fist, came out after the changeover and held serve at love.

It was a game of momentous physical tennis, with both players grunting loudly. Djokovic has a two-toned sound, Nadal’s grunt is deeper and at the end of points and it made that single game sound symphonic.

U.S. Open: Rafael Nadal joins Novak Djokovic in finals

Defending champion Rafael Nadal earned his way into the U.S. Open men's championship match on Monday with a 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over fourth-seeded Andy Murray on Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Nadal beat Murray for the fifth consecutive time and for the third straight time in a Grand Slam semifinal. Nadal will play top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the finals here for the second straight year. Djokovic eliminated third-seeded Roger Federer earlier Saturday in a five-set match.

Murray had 55 unforced errors to only 23 from Nadal in the 3 hour 24 minute match that ended Saturday's day session at the Open at 9:10 p.m. Eastern time.

RELATED:

Andy Murray beats John Isner in quarterfinals

Rafael Nadal dominates Andy Roddick

Samantha Stosur advances to women's finals

Serena Williams moves into semifinals

-- Diane Pucin, reporting from New York

Photo: Rafael Nadal. Credit: Charles Krupa / Associated Press

US Open Diary 2011: Michelle Obama serves up a treat

Michelle Obama has a hit at Flushing Meadows

Friday in New York

The First Lady comes to town

Michelle Obama visited the US Open yesterday, and unsurprisingly, went down an absolute treat. The First Lady started off with some serves of her own during an on court clinic, part of her campaign against childhood obesity called 'Let's Move'. She made Serena giggle, she hit with Johnny Mac, she chatted to Billie Jean King, she even watched Andy Murray.

Check out Sports Illustrated's superb snaps of Mrs O in action.

Murray makes it four in a row

Andy Murray was at times sublime, at times surprising against John Isner, but most importantly, he got the job done to reach his fourth Grand Slam semi this year. The first two sets were superb, the third not so much, the fourth nail-chewing, but it was a telling performance from the world No 4. He's amped.

The key to the first two sets, as ever, was his first serve percentage – above the 70% mark. And his low unforced error count. Both these numbers were more negative for sets 3 and 4, so there is obviously work to be done.

Credit to Isner though. From looking almost like he was going to pass out (or maybe that's how he always looks) at the end of the second, he found some energy from somewhere, and showed once and for all that he is far from one dimensional. Some of his stretch volleys were a treat.

If you missed it, we live-blogged it, so have a little reverse re-cap if you feel so inclined.

Rafa's back

Foot injury, sickness, cramp, temper tantrums, revolt-planning…Rafael Nadal has had it all  this US Open, but last night he showed that underneath it all, he's still the same old Nadal. He absolutely blitzed Andy Roddick in their quarter-final, romping home in three sets, and looking much more like the man who won this title a year ago. Watch out Muzza.

Three out of four

Britain started the boys' singles competition with four boys in the draw. It's semi-final stage now, and guess what? Three of the four are Brits. George Morgan plays Oliver Golding, guaranteeing one British finalist for the first time since Andy Murray won the title in 2005. And Kyle Edmund takes on top seed Jiri Vesely. Coming after Liam Broady's appearance in the junior Wimbledon final, it's pretty heartening. Good luck to them all.

Melanie Oudin, Grand Slam champion

Yes, you did read that correctly. America's former golden girl, who 'believe-ed' her way to stardom here in New York two years ago, has since been unable to hit a ball in the court. But she and Jack Sock, fellow star of the future, won the mixed doubles title last night. Amazing.

Soundbite

If there was any doubt that Andy Roddick gives a good quote…

 Q. “Just talk about playing on a small court. Do you just feel your juices more intensely, feel more into the match …”

ANDY RODDICK: “I try not to feel my juices ever, Bill. But I appreciate your interest in them.”

Q. “That’s all I think about.”

ANDY RODDICK: “Thank you. Creepy and inappropriate.”

More court troubles

On Thursday it was Armstrong, yesterday it was Grandstand. The cracks keep appearing (literally) in the Flushing Meadows infrastructure. With Armstrong completely out of commission, there were reports of the same 'water seepage' occurring on the US Open's third stadium court. Not good at all.

Get well to…

Robin Soderling. The Swede has glandular fever. Horrible.

Coming up this evening

Roger Federer v Novak Djokovic (12 noon, 5pm UK)

Roger Federer was the man to break Novak Djokovic's winning streak with possibly one of the best clay court performances of his life in the semi-finals of Roland Garros, winning 7-6(5),  6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), so if there is anyone that knows how to expose a chink in Djokovic's seemingly invincible aura, it's Federer. He's played his way superbly into form, and has dropped just the one set all tournament. Will it be enough though?

Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal (not before 2.30pm, 7.30pm UK)

Andy Murray became only the seventh player in the Open era to reach all four grand slam semi-finals in a calendar year, and in so doing, he's handed himself a third consecutive clash with Rafael Nadal. Don't forget, of course, that it was in exactly this position three years ago that the Scot showed what he was capable of, beating the Spaniard for the very first time. Murray and Nadal are different players now, but that knowledge will certainly mean something to Murray.

Angelique Kerber v Sam Stosur (6pm, 11pm UK)

Very much the odd one out, world No 93 Kerber takes on ninth seed Stosur in the semi-final no one would ever have dreamed could happen. It's Sam's to win. But then, so was the French Open in 2010.

Serena Williams v Caroline Wozniacki (8pm, 1am UK)

The match that everyone has been waiting to see. The best player in women's tennis against the world No 1. And no, they're not the same person. Wozniacki will have to play the match of her life to soak up Serena's power and versatility, but maybe this is her moment to do it. Maybe it's what she's been waiting for. Serena's consistency, or lack thereof, will be key.

Predictions?

If I say something will happen, invariably the opposite does, hence why I'm terrified of making predictions about anything. So I'm dividing my punts on the two finals into head and heart:

Head says: Federer v  Nadal, Serena v Stosur

Heart says: Djokovic v Murray, Serena v Stosur

Agree, disagree, on the fence? Comment below…

The daily click

Just how good was Rafa? Take a look… 

U.S. Open: Rafael Nadal crushes Andy Roddick

Defending champion and second-seeded Rafael Nadal met little resistance from 29-year-old American Andy Roddick on Friday in a U.S. Open men's quarterfinal. The Spaniard beat Roddick, who won the 2003 Open title, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3, eliminating the last U.S. man in the singles draw.

Nadal will play fourth-seeded Andy Murray on Saturday in the second semifinal, after top-seeded Novak Djokovic meets third-seeded Roger Federer. The men's semifinals will begin at 9 a.m. PDT.

Roddick received medical treatment on his left thigh twice during the match but when Nadal broke Roddick's serve in the very first game it was an indication that Roddick had no weapons to hurt Nadal, who made the semifinals at the Open for the fourth straight year.

For the second time this year, the top four seeded men have advanced to the semifinals at a Grand Slam event (it also happened at the French Open), and for the third straight major, Nadal and Murray will play each other in the semifinals. Nadal beat Murray in straight sets at the French Open and in four sets at Wimbledon.

Murray said the sport benefits when the top four men compete at the end of a major.

"I think it's good for tennis," Murray said. "What people would like to see would be for you to play your best tennis here."

Wimbledon just missed having the top four when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga upset Federer in the quarterfinals, and David Ferrer upset Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to keep the top four out of the semis in Melbourne.

After Roddick's loss in 1 hour 53 minutes, he shook Nadal's hand and said, "Good luck," and he waved his baseball cap at the crowd.

MORE:

Andy Murray beats John Isner in quarterfinals

Rain washes out another day at U.S. Open

Serena Williams moves into semifinals

-- Diane Pucin, reporting from New York

Photo: Rafael Nadal follows through on a forehand shot against Andy Roddick in their U.S. Open quarterfinal on Friday in New York. Credit: Mike Segar / Reuters

U.S. Open: Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal finally into quarterfinals

 

First Andy Murray and then Rafael Nadal made good use of unexpected good weather Thursday by finishing off their fourth-round U.S. Open matches.

Murray, seeded fourth, needed 1 hour, 58 minutes of match time to end the run of wild-card entrant Donald Young with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 win. Young committed 53 unforced errors and so never threatened to make Murray nervous.

Nadal, who fell behind, 0-3, to unseeded Gilles Muller in the 16 minutes of tennis that was played Wednesday, won their match in straight sets, 7-6 (1), 6-1, 6-2 in 2 hours, 8 minutes.

The second-seeded Spaniard, who is the defending champion, was one of the most vocal players Wednesday in criticizing the United States Tennis Assn. for putting the players on court while it was misting and the courts were slippery.

"Yesteray was a tough a day for everybody, for the players, for the fans too, who waited here a lot of hours," Nadal said. "I am very happy now. I had a tough yesterday but today I think I played well. He played very aggressive all the time.

"The situation yesterday was not easy for nobody, even the organization. They were wrong yesterday but everybody have mistakes. Now, I think I'm playing my best tennis since Wimbledon here."

Next for Nadal will be the winner of the fourth-round match between fifth-seeded David Ferrer and 21st-seeded Andy Roddick. Roddick led, 6-3, 3-1, in that match.

MORE:

Play suspended again because of rain

Serena Williams moves into U.S. Open quarterfinals

Rain-altered U.S. Open schedule takes players out of comfort zone

-- Diane Pucin in New York

Photo: Andy Murray. Credit: Lucy Nicholson / Reuters.

US Open Diary 2011: Were Rafael Nadal and co right to be so disgruntled about playing in the rain?

Rafael Nadal requests officials to examine the slippery courts

Wednesday in New York

More rain, and a revolt in the offing…

Standing up for themselves

Tennis is a lucrative business. A very lucrative one. How else could the tours and tournaments announce recession-defying increases in prize money, television networks continue to pay more and more for broadcast rights,  and fans still flock to put bottoms on seats.

But there would be no business without a major ingredient…the players. Rafael Nadal seems determined to remind everyone of that fact.

"It's the same old story, all you think about is money," the world No 2 said. "We don't feel protected here. The tournament grand slams, they are [getting] a lot of money and they are working for that, but not [for] us."

Joined by Andy Murray and Andy Roddick, Nadal voiced concerns to US Open referee Bill Earley about being forced to take to wet, slippy, courts to give TVs something to broadcast.

CEO Adam Helfant leaves the ATP at the end of the year, with his successor yet to be appointed. Is this the time for the players to take back some of the power?

John McEnroe certainly thinks so…

Poor decisions

Putting the players on wet courts was not the only piece of strange thinking…

Playing in the rain: Not only did Murray and the others reveal that the courts, balls, towels and nets were still wet when they were announced onto court, but the decision was so abrupt that Nadal kept opponent Gilles Muller hopping on the spot for some time while he taped his fingers. Donald Young also kept Murray waiting.

Three-day first round and the Super Saturday: Every other Grand Slam seems to have the art of playing one day on, one day off, down to a tee. Why do the US Open do it differently? The legendary 'Super Saturday' of course – the back to back orgy of men's semi-finals sandwiching the women's final. As Rafa says, it's all about the money.

As for the three-day first round, who knows. But it is surely absurd that someone can play their first match on Monday, and have two days relaxing, while someone else is still stewing that they haven't got a win on the board yet.

Why communicate? Sam Stosur, being Australian,  is a pretty mild-mannered creature. But even she was nearly driven to distraction when her match against Maria Kirilenko was shunted from Ashe to another court, but no one actually told them for almost an hour.

In defence

In their defence, the USTA issued a statement saying that forecasts had indicated a two-hour window of play, hence the decision to send the players out into the mist.

"We have experienced referees, and they decide if courts are fit for play. Conditions may be not ideal, but still can be safe. However, if a player or players feel that conditions are unsafe, we listen to them, as we have always done, and the referee uses that information as part of his/her assessment on whether to continue or halt play.”

So…what do you think? Right or wrong? Or muddled…please do comment below.

Roof-gate

Naturally, there was continued discussion about the lack of roof at Flushing Meadows and whether one will be built in the immediate future. Jeff Tarango, one of the USTA's board of directors, said plans were in place to build a roof by 2016.

But a USTA statement denied that plan.

"The USTA disavows the statements made by USTA board member Jeff Tarango to BBC Radio regarding plans for the demolition of Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium. There has been no scenario discussed that includes the demolition of Arthur Ashe Stadium and any talk about the future of Louis Armstrong Stadium at this point is both premature and inaccurate."

Stories need to be straightened somewhere…

Coming up this evening…

The USTA still insist they are aiming to complete the tournament on Sunday, meaning that those still in the fourth round (Murray, Nadal and co), would have to play and win four best-of-five-set matches in four days to win the title.

As a result, the schedule is jam-packed again, although they've done a little jiggling and brought the new Court 17 into action.

ARTHUR ASHE – Day

4R Rafael Nadal v Gilles Muller 0-3

Is Rafa over his bad mood?

QF Serena Williams v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

They came out to warm-up last night. And then sat in their chairs.

QF Novak Djokovic v Janko Tipsarevic

Night

QF Roger Federer v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

The last two have gone Jo-Willy's way…

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

4R David Ferrer v Andy Roddick 1-3

A-Rod got the better start.

QF Caroline Wozniacki v Andrea Petkovic

The wall versus the machine. Could be interesting.

GRANDSTAND

4R Andy Murray v Donald Young: 1-2 on serve

Delayed for two days…

QF Sam Stosur v Vera Zvonareva

How much birthday cake did Vera eat I wonder?

COURT 17

4R John Isner v Gilles Simon

Little and large? Power v poise? Something like that.

QF Anqelique Kerber v Flavia Pennetta

The one no one's quite sure about. Forza Flavia, I'd say.

Also in action

British duo Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins aim to make their first Grand Slam semi-final (again), while the four British boys aim to make it into round three.

The daily click

Ross Hutchins being ribbed by Andy Murray. Even Mark Petchey joins in.

US Open Diary 2011: Were Rafael Nadal and co right to be so disgruntled about the rain?

Rafael Nadal requests officials to examine the slippery courts

Wednesday in New York

More rain, and a revolt in the offing…

Standing up for themselves

Tennis is a lucrative business. A very lucrative one. How else could the tours and tournaments announce recession-defying increases in prize money, television networks continue to pay more and more for broadcast rights,  and fans still flock to put bottoms on seats.

But there would be no business without a major ingredient…the players. Rafael Nadal seems determined to remind everyone of that fact.

"It's the same old story, all you think about is money," the world No 2 said. "We don't feel protected here. The tournament grand slams, they are [getting] a lot of money and they are working for that, but not [for] us."

Joined by Andy Murray and Andy Roddick, Nadal voiced concerns to US Open referee Bill Earley about being forced to take to wet, slippy, courts to give TVs something to broadcast.

CEO Adam Helfant leaves the ATP at the end of the year, with his successor yet to be appointed. Is this the time for the players to take back some of the power?

John McEnroe certainly thinks so…

Poor decisions

Putting the players on wet courts was not the only piece of strange thinking…

Playing in the rain: Not only did Murray and the others reveal that the courts, balls, towels and nets were still wet when they were announced onto court, but the decision was so abrupt that Nadal kept opponent Gilles Muller hopping on the spot for some time while he taped his fingers. Donald Young also kept Murray waiting.

Three-day first round and the Super Saturday: Every other Grand Slam seems to have the art of playing one day on, one day off, down to a tee. Why do the US Open do it differently? The legendary 'Super Saturday' of course – the back to back orgy of men's semi-finals sandwiching the women's final. As Rafa says, it's all about the money.

As for the three-day first round, who knows. But it is surely absurd that someone can play their first match on Monday, and have two days relaxing, while someone else is still stewing that they haven't got a win on the board yet.

Why communicate? Sam Stosur, being Australian,  is a pretty mild-mannered creature. But even she was nearly driven to distraction when her match against Maria Kirilenko was shunted from Ashe to another court, but no one actually told them for almost an hour.

In defence

In their defence, the USTA issued a statement saying that forecasts had indicated a two-hour window of play, hence the decision to send the players out into the mist.

"We have experienced referees, and they decide if courts are fit for play. Conditions may be not ideal, but still can be safe. However, if a player or players feel that conditions are unsafe, we listen to them, as we have always done, and the referee uses that information as part of his/her assessment on whether to continue or halt play.”

So…what do you think? Right or wrong? Or muddled…please do comment below.

Roof-gate

Naturally, there was continued discussion about the lack of roof at Flushing Meadows and whether one will be built in the immediate future. Jeff Tarango, one of the USTA's board of directors, said plans were in place to build a roof by 2016.

But a USTA statement denied that plan.

"The USTA disavows the statements made by USTA board member Jeff Tarango to BBC Radio regarding plans for the demolition of Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium. There has been no scenario discussed that includes the demolition of Arthur Ashe Stadium and any talk about the future of Louis Armstrong Stadium at this point is both premature and inaccurate."

Stories need to be straightened somewhere…

Coming up this evening…

The USTA still insist they are aiming to complete the tournament on Sunday, meaning that those still in the fourth round (Murray, Nadal and co), would have to play and win four best-of-five-set matches in four days to win the title.

As a result, the schedule is jam-packed again, although they've done a little jiggling and brought the new Court 17 into action.

ARTHUR ASHE – Day

4R Rafael Nadal v Gilles Muller 0-3

Is Rafa over his bad mood?

QF Serena Williams v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

They came out to warm-up last night. And then sat in their chairs.

QF Novak Djokovic v Janko Tipsarevic

Night

QF Roger Federer v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

The last two have gone Jo-Willy's way…

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

4R David Ferrer v Andy Roddick 1-3

A-Rod got the better start.

QF Caroline Wozniacki v Andrea Petkovic

The wall versus the machine. Could be interesting.

GRANDSTAND

4R Andy Murray v Donald Young: 1-2 on serve

Delayed for two days…

QF Sam Stosur v Vera Zvonareva

How much birthday cake did Vera eat I wonder?

COURT 17

4R John Isner v Gilles Simon

Little and large? Power v poise? Something like that.

QF Anqelique Kerber v Flavia Pennetta

The one no one's quite sure about. Forza Flavia, I'd say.

Also in action

British duo Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins aim to make their first Grand Slam semi-final (again), while the four British boys aim to make it into round three.

The daily click

Ross Hutchins being ribbed by Andy Murray. Even Mark Petchey joins in. It's the first video on Murray's page.

US Open 2011 Diary: To roof or not to roof at Flushing Meadows?

Flushing Meadows was hit by a day of rain

Tuesday in New York

Lashings of Tropical Storm Lee meant there was no play at all yesterday in New York…

Wimbledon weather

Earthquake, hurricane, plague, and then…torrential rain. Flushing Meadows has not been treated kindly by the weather gods. There was not a ball hit in anger in Queens yesterday as the rain fell from noon till night. There had been rumours of a dry patch between 2 and 4pm in the afternoon, but it was not to be.

So the locker rooms of the Billie Jean King tennis centre took on a distinctly Wimbledon-esque hue, players huddled around their iPads, plugged into their iPods, or, if you're Boris Becker, reminiscing about chess and backgammon.

Thankfully though, the powers that be recognised early on that the deluge wasn't going to stop, and called a halt to the waiting sooner rather than later, allowing players to either get on with indoor practice, gym work, or simply sleeping, rather than worrying about if they'd be getting on court or not.

To roof or not to roof?

The abysmal weather, for the third year running, yet again raises the hydra of whether the USTA should follow the lead of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the French Open (it's on the way, apparently), and build a roof.

For, as picked up on by tennis journalist Simon Cambers, somewhat astonishingly, the USTA's wet weather policy does not even allow for refunds, frankly extraordinary at a tournament that has seen at least a day washed out or interrupted by rain at least once a year for the past three years.

That's an easy fix. What is not so easy, is the roof. Quite why the USTA did not incorporate a roof into the design of the $254 million Arthur Ashe stadium when it was opened in 1997, is as befuddling as why there are no covers for the courts. After all, Rod Laver Arena was built in 1988, and they managed to think about the rain.

The trouble is now, there are all sorts of technical structural reasons why Flushing Meadows is destined to remain roofless for quite some time. Here's why:

1. To put a roof over the 21,500 seats on Ashe would not only be prohibitively expensive, it's also apparently structurally impossible. Without dismantling half of it, that is.

2. To put a smaller, cheaper roof on either Louis Armstrong or Grandstand is possible, but, according to Jon Wertheim, the ground beneath these two stadiums is too soggy to support the construction effort that adding a roof would entail.

3. To build a new court with a roof. Also possible, but would involve tearing down Armstrong and Grandstand to find the space, and, more importantly, where is the money going to come from?

So all in all, it seems like we're stuck with the rain delays, the towels and the mops.

When a joke can go badly wrong

There has been a very mixed reaction to Caroline Wozniacki's re-enactment of Rafael Nadal's painful press conference cramp attack. Some fans reckon it was a perfectly harmless joke, nothing personal, just the bubbly blonde's way of having fun. She was apparently chivvied along by some of the press, and was just messing around.

But others have banged their heads on the table to work out what on earth she was thinking. Imitating someone else's pain is never going to be funny. Surely. Especially Rafa, who 1. was extremely embarrassed about the whole incident, and 2. very definitely does not like being imitated.

Caro later tweeted a sort of apology/clarification: @CaroWozniacki: Had a bit of fun last night b4 my press conference.Hope it was not taken the wrong way. I have the upmost respect and admiration of Rafa!!!!

Fair dos. So…bad move or harmless move? Have a watch of Wozniacki in action, and let us know what you think.

Some indoor tennis to look forward to…

GB captain Leon Smith yesterday announced his squad to face Hungary next week. There are still tickets available!

Coming up this evening

A schedule absolutely chockablock has seen Andy Roddick relegated to Louis Armstrong, and Andy Murray shunted over to Grandstand. Apparently Rafa put up a fight to stay on Ashe.

The weather forecast is one of intermittent drizzle, so expect there to be more than a few stops and starts.

ARTHUR ASHE – Day

Rafael Nadal v Gilles Muller

Novak Djokovic v Janko Tipsarevic

Both foregone conclusions. Maybe?

Night

Serena Williams v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Will Pavs get stage-fright against the big W?

Roger Federer v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

The last two have gone Jo-Willy's way…

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

David Ferrer v Andy Roddick

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Daveeed is absolutely the last player you want to play if you're not feeling physically tip top. It's exhausting just thinking about it. So Roddick needs to be very much on strike if he is going to compete from the baseline.

Sam Stosur v Vera Zvonareva

Just how in the zone is Vera? She took care of Sabine Lisicki in an awesome display, but are the marbles upstairs sufficiently aligned to withstand Stosur's variety, and, crucially, confidence? Plus, it's her birthday.

Caroline Wozniacki v Andrea Petkovic

The wall versus the machine. Could be interesting. Can Petko stay error-free enough to break down Wozza's barriers?

GRANDSTAND

Andy Murray v Donald Young

Delayed for a day, this much-anticipated clash is going to be a) very loud, and b) hopefully nothing like their previous and only meeting in Indian Wells. Muzza is well aware of what makes D-Young tick now, and bar the partisan crowd messing with Murray's concentration, it should not be too much of a bother.

John Isner v Gilles Simon

Little and large? Power v poise? Something like that. How well Simon can get under Isner's skin and force the errors will be vital. But big John has been playing verrry well of late, so it is a big ask.

Anqelique Kerber v Flavia Pennetta

The one no one's quite sure about. Forza Flavia, I'd say.

Also in action

British duo Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins aim to make their first Grand Slam semi-final, while the four British boys aim to keep up their four out of four record. Props to Liam Broady for his wet weather gear.

The daily click

Former world No 1 Dinara Safina is taking hairdressing lessons.

And, more of SI Beyond the Baseline's brilliant photo captions.

US Open Diary 2011: Roger Federer walks on water

Roger Federer didn't hang around to make it a record late-night finish

Monday in New York

Two more marathon matches as the wet weather threatened to appear…

Playing in the rain

At roughly 10 to midnight, Roger Federer began his fourth round match against Juan Monaco. As one tweeter so aptly alluded, Roger is probably used to waiting around for the women in his life, there being three of them. But not at such a late hour.

Thankfully for the world’s media, and the capacity crowd, Federer wasn’t in the mood to have the US Open’s latest-ever finish. Taking six minutes to win the first three games, 12 minutes to win the first five, and 19 to win the first set, Federer even produced what is known on the tour as a ‘poker’ – four aces in a row.

Handing Monaco (who has to win best hair of the tournament) an opening breadstick, then a brioche (desperate failure to find something that could possibly look like a 2 and starts with ‘b’), Federer was 3-0 up when the rain began to fall.

Before the umpire could even move to examine the droplets on his trousers, Federer had produced a third set bagel, finishing off Pico in an hour and 22 minutes at just after 1am.

Pity the poor press corps though, who were huddled under a tree at 2am waiting for the bus home.

The ladies continue to enthrall

This tournament has not lacked for drama, but it’s largely been thanks to the ladies. Caroline Wozniacki and Svetlana Kuznetsova continued the ‘oh my wow’ trend, contesting an epic over three hours and two minutes.

If ever there was a match to make Wozniacki, it was this one.

“She was a wall and to break a wall you cannot hit hard you have to mix it up…I just couldnt close it,” said a desperate Kuznetsova, who, leading by a set and 4-1, showed at once why she is both enormously talented and enormously frustrating at the same time. You can hit the most beautiful forehand from nowhere off the back of your heels, but 78 unforced errors do not a match win.

With dear Rors tweeting “COME ON!!!!!!” from his Swiss hotel (imagine what time it was), Caro came through 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals. Another step towards justification.

Tsonga reels in Fish

The Murraycoaster against Robin Haase aside, the men have been waiting for an edge of the seat five-setter that shows off concrete tennis at its best. Enter Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish, who did a superb job of winding each other up the wrong way. Some players play well angry, some don’t. Mardy definitely doesn’t, and seemed to have eaten some firecrackers for lunch, complaining about the umpire, and basically losing his way.

It’s a shame, because Fish has been the man of the moment, but credit to Tsonga, who certainly hung tough, even sinking his teeth into a tennis ball. One way to manage anger, I guess. His reward is another meeting with Federer. He’s won the last two…

Romper suits

Surprise, surprise, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic still haven’t dropped a set. Let’s talk about Nole first. As expected, Dolgolpolov gave him a lot to think about in their opening set, whipping that bizarre service motion so quickly, and cutting such a slice that a slightly sleepy-looking Djokovic did a little head-scratching as he went a break down.

But, then he remembered that he’s invincible. Saving umpteen set points to win an edgy first-set tie-break 16-14, the next two sets were routine with a capital R. 61 wins now for Djokovic. That’s as many as he managed in the entire 2010 season.

Janko Tipsarevic is up next, playing in his first Grand Slam quarter-final after defeating J.C. Ferrero. Odds of him causing an upset? Unlikely.

Serena meanwhile, was not the Serena who destroyed Victoria Azarenka. But sadly, even so, there was nothing Ana Ivanovic could do, even if she did hit more forehand winners than Ms Williams. It was Serena’s serve, one of the best shots in women’s tennis, that sent her through to the quarter-finals.

Ciao…

Another day, and some more farewells. Francesca Schiavone, surely the most joyful player to lace up her tennis shoes, bowed out at the hands of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, avenging her loss to the Italian at the 2010 French Open. Pavs hits a heavy ball. But will she get stage fright against Serena? Probably.

Let’s dance

Andrea Petkovic became the only woman on tour to reach three Grand Slam quarter-finals this year, brushing aside Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets before performing her latest jig. And with a torn meniscus too. Respect.

Healthy coffers

There’s no danger of this year’s US Open not making a profit. The weekend smashed the all-time record for people through the gates on Labor Day weekend.

Soundbite

“I don’t know if I’m the best or not. I believe I am and I think a lot of other girls believe they are, too, as they should. I don’t think anyone should go out and say that they’re not.”

Saying it like it is, Serena.

Young Brits

Don’t get too excited, but four out of four British boys made it through their first-round matches at the US Open juniors. Oliver Golding, George Morgan and Liam Broady all joined Kyle Edmund in round two. Woop.

Coming up this evening…

Andy Murray v Donald Young

Given the dark clouds currently hovering over New York City, word on the street is that this is unlikely to start on time. But when it does, expect it to be a) very loud, and b) hopefully nothing like their previous and only meeting in Indian Wells. Muzza is well aware of what makes D-Young tick now, and bar the partisan crowd messing with Murray’s concentration, it should not be too much of a bother.

John Isner v Gilles Simon

Little and large? Power v poise? Something like that. How well Simon can get under Isner’s skin and force the errors will be vital. But big John has been playing verrry well of late, so it is a big ask.

Andy Roddick v David Ferrer

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Daveeed is absolutely the last player you want to play if you’re not feeling physically tip top. It’s exhausting just thinking about it. So Roddick needs to be very much on strike if he is going to compete from the baseline.

Sam Stosur v Vera Zvonareva

Just how in the zone is Vera? She took care of Sabine Lisicki in an awesome display, but are the marbles upstairs sufficiently aligned to withstand Stosur’s variety, and, crucially, confidence?

Also in action

Rafael Nadal v Gilles Muller, Flavia Pennetta v Angelique Kerber.

The daily click

Judy Murray’s blogs. The best guide to cakes and cocktails in New York. And some tennis too.

Get your umbrellas out

It’s raining in New York. Bring on the heaters, squeegee mops and towels.

US Open 2011 Diary: Freaky Friday for Andy Murray in New York

Andy Murray after turning things around against Robin Haase

Friday in New York

It was exhausting…

Agony and ecstasy

It doesn’t get any easier for Andy Murray fans. He’s either sublimely good, or sometimes, sublimely bad, mainly because he’s beating himself up rather than his opponent. Cue a lot of hair-tugging, swiping and swatting, and then, suddenly, big come on’s, fist pumps, even a leap or two in the air.

Which is exactly what happened last night against the curly top Robin Haase. The Dutchman did exactly what we thought he would do – served big and hit bigger from the back of the court. And Murray did, just nothing. Couldn’t get a ball in the court for two sets.

The world No 4 was left staring at the fact that he would have to come back from a two-set deficit for the sixth time in his career, or else head for JFK. And so, he did. Found some energy from I don’t know where, and basically fought himself silly to win 13 games on the trot, survive a Haase fightback, miss two match points (prompting one Italian journalist to yell ‘Ah, idiota!’) and finally come through by the car crash scoreline of 6-7 (5), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, 6-4.

His reaction at the end – grinning and almost giggling as he pogo-sticked around the court, said it all. Might this just be the making of Andy Murray’s US Open? We shall see. Deliciano Lopez is up next.



If the Brits have it bad…

Try being an Australian. Sam Stosur, she of immense talent, potential and one of the nicest accents around, won the longest US Open women’s match of the Open era as she battled and tussled her way past a bicep-bragging Nadia Petrova, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 in three hours and 16 minutes. Imagine the ice bath after that.

Amongst all the kerfuffle

Four other British players made it into the third round, albeit of the men’s doubles…Jonnny Marray and Jamie Delgado survived a three-set thriller, and Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins knocked out the No 2 seeds. Fab.

Over and out

Maria Sharapova. Flavia Pennetta played the match of her life to oust the former champion in three sets. Admittedly, Sharapova made it easier for her, producing a staggering 60 unforced errors, but Pennetta still needed to Hold Her Nerve, as we like to say.

“One of best wins of my career,” Pennetta said. “We fight lot, play really good. At 4-1 up started to shake a little. Just tried to focus.”

So what next for Masha? Losing the Wimbledon final, and now this? Thomas had better start practising his pep talks.

Bizarrely, depending on how everyone else does, Sharapova could still end the tournament as the world No 2. Make of that what you will.

Where did that come from?

Donald Young, the jaunty-angled cap-wearing American, with a fondness for a bit of bling,  dumped out the 14th seed, Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1) victory in 4 hours, 20 minutes on the new court 17. Like, wow.

Young, a former junior No 1, has been one of these perennial ‘is he ever going to make it?’ sort of players, who, ever since beating Andy Murray mid-slump at Indian Wells, has started to do just that.

His celebrations alone showed just how much it meant to him. And to others as well…

@sloanetweets: “Donald Young did that!!! I’m VERY proud ”

Keep an eye on

Sabine Lisicki. ‘Boom Boom’, as she is becoming known, bagel-sticked Irina Falconi to reach her first ever US Open fourth round. Anticipation is building for a collision with Serena. Which of course means it might not happen. But keep an eye just the same.

More on the sick bed

Nicolas Mahut became the latest player to head to the Billie Jean King infirmary, retiring against Rafael Nadal. One half of a doubles team retired yesterday as well.

Still alive

Andy Roddick, Sam Stosur, Vera Zvonareva, David Ferrer, Juan Martin Del Potro, Rafael Nadal, John Isner.

Tweet of the day

“Bloody nora… @judmoo your lad mad us all a bit twitchy there. Well done @andy_murray amazing match.”

@gaby_logan on being an Andy-fan

Coming up this evening…

Novak Djokovic v Nikolay Davydenko

ND v ND. Present v past. And realistically, it’s only going to end one way.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Fernando Verdasco

Hold onto your power tools. This is going to be a big-hitting fest, one which the Frenchman should sneak.

Victoria Azarenka v Serena Williams

It seems very strange to think that it was a full three years ago that Azarenka had the running of Serena in their Australian Open meeting before having to retire. Not a lot has changed – Serena is still the favourite. But this should be her first big test.

Sloane Stephens v Ana Ivanovic

An audience with American for the young Stephens, who will show us if Ana really has the goods to make it back up to the top. Watch out for her serve.

Also in action

Roger Federer v Marin Cilic, Mardy Fish v Kevin Anderson, Tomas Berdych v Janko Tipsarevic, Jelena Jankovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The daily click

The Federer twins. Too cute.

US Open 2011 Diary: Freaky Friday

Andy Murray after turning things around against Robin Haase

Friday in New York

It was exhausting…

Agony and ecstasy

It doesn’t get any easier for Andy Murray fans. He’s either sublimely good, or sometimes, sublimely bad, mainly because he’s beating himself up rather than his opponent. Cue a lot of hair-tugging, swiping and swatting, and then, suddenly, big come on’s, fist pumps, even a leap or two in the air.

Which is exactly what happened last night against the curly top Robin Haase. The Dutchman did exactly what we thought he would do – served big and hit bigger from the back of the court. And Murray did, just nothing. Couldn’t get a ball in the court for two sets.

The world No 4 was left staring at the fact that he would have to come back from a two-set deficit for the sixth time in his career, or else head for JFK. And so, he did. Found some energy from I don’t know where, and basically fought himself silly to win 13 games on the trot, survive a Haase fightback, miss two match points (prompting on Italian journalist to yell ‘Ah, idiota!’) and finally come through by the car crash scoreline of 6-7 (5), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, 6-4.

His reaction at the end – grinning and almost giggling as he pogo-sticked around the court, said it all. Might this just be the making of Andy Murray’s US Open? We shall see. Deliciano Lopez is up next.

Amongst all the kerfuffle

Four other British players made it into the third round, albeit of the men’s doubles…Jonnny Marray and Jamie Delgado survived a three-set thriller, and Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins knocked out the No 2 seeds. Fab.

Over and out

Maria Sharapova. Flavia Pennetta played the match of her life to oust the former champion in three sets. Admittedly, Sharapova made it easier for her, producing a staggering 60 unforced errors, but Pennetta still needed to Hold Her Nerve, as we like to say.

“One of best wins of my career,” Pennetta said. “We fight lot, play really good. At 4-1 up started to shake a little. Just tried to focus.”

So what next for Masha? Losing the Wimbledon final, and now this? Thomas had better start practising his pep talks.

Bizarrely, depending on how everyone else does, Sharapova could still end the tournament as the world No 2. Make of that what you will.

Where did that come from?

Donald Young, the jaunty-angled cap-wearing American, with a fondness for a bit of bling,  dumped out the 14th seed, Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1) victory in 4 hours, 20 minutes on the new court 17. Like, wow.

Young, a former junior No 1, has been one of these perennial ‘is he ever going to make it?’ sort of players, who, ever since beating Andy Murray mid-slump at Indian Wells, has started to do just that.

His celebrations alone showed just how much it meant to him. And to others as well…

@sloanetweets: “Donald Young did that!!! I’m VERY proud ”

Keep an eye on

Sabine Lisicki. ‘Boom Boom’, as she is becoming known, bagel-sticked Irina Falconi to reach her first ever US Open fourth round. Anticipation is building for a collision with Serena. Which of course means it might not happen. But keep an eye just the same.

More on the sick bed

Nicolas Mahut became the latest player to head to the Billie Jean King infirmary, retiring against Rafael Nadal. One half of a doubles team retired yesterday as well.

Still alive

Andy Roddick, Sam Stosur, Vera Zvonareva, David Ferrer, Juan Martin Del Potro, Rafael Nadal, John Isner.

Tweet of the day

“Bloody nora… @judmoo your lad mad us all a bit twitchy there. Well done @andy_murray amazing match.”

@gaby_logan on being an Andy-fan

Coming up this evening…

Novak Djokovic v Nikolay Davydenko

ND v ND. Present v past. And realistically, it’s only going to end one way.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Fernando Verdasco

Hold onto your power tools. This is going to be a big-hitting fest, one which the Frenchman should sneak.

Victoria Azarenka v Serena Williams

It seems very strange to think that it was a full three years ago that Azarenka had the running of Serena in their Australian Open meeting before having to retire. Not a lot has changed – Serena is still the favourite. But this should be her first big test.

Sloane Stephens v Ana Ivanovic

An audience with American for the young Stephens, who will show us if Ana really has the goods to make it back up to the top. Watch out for her serve.

Also in action

Roger Federer v Marin Cilic, Mardy Fish v Kevin Anderson, Tomas Berdych v Janko Tipsarevic, Jelena Jankovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

US Open 2011 diary: ups and downs

Rafael Nadal berating himself against Andrey Golubev

YESTERDAY

What’s happened to Rafa?

The overwhelming sigh of relief emanating from every corridor inside Arthur Ashe said it all. Rafael Nadal, the defending champion, the former world No 1, is still in the US Open. Why such a worry? After all, he’s never lost a Grand Slam first round. And he won in straight sets. But his 6-3, 7-6(1), 7-5 win over world No 98 Andrey Golubev was tighter than the world’s greatest washing line. Nadal just does not look himself. He let Golubev crunch 41 winners past him, struggled to hold serve, and even admitted he was “lucky” to win in straight sets. Vamos Rafa. We need you.

The opposite was true of Serena Williams, who wasted no time at all in crushing Bojana Jovanovski 6-1, 6-1. Watch out.

Passing through

Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Francesca Schiavone (in three sets), Ana Ivanovic (in emotional fashion after revealing her grandfather had died over the weekend), Novak Djokovic, James Blake (re-born?), Jelena Jankovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Sabine Lisicki.



Over and out

Li Na (with 54 unforced errors), Mikhail Youzhny, Anne Keothavong, Conor Niland.

Special mention to Niland, who retired trailing Djokovic 0-6, 1-5 – his body chose the biggest match of his career to inflict food poisoning on him. Sometimes life is just cruel.

Not just a mean girls’ game

Elena Baltacha proved that tennis players may snarl at each other, but actually, underneath it all they are pretty nice people. Suffering the ignonimy of being a set down against a young American, one she had struggled to beat in Australia no less, you might think that the Brit would have breathed a sigh of her relief when her opponent began to cramp. Other players have done it. But not Bally. She crossed her side of the net and went to offer poor Hampton, in the most horrible-looking pain, some help.

“It’s really difficult because over the clay court season we got to know Jamie and her coach because they were at a lot of tournaments,” Baltacha said. “We got pretty friendly. It was quite difficult because I wanted to beat her, but it’s kind of like playing a friend, and she’s going through all that.”

Despite the retirement, Baltacha’s win gave GB two women in the second round at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 1991. She also became the first British woman to reach the second round at all four Grand Slams since Jo Durie in 1983. Pat on the back.

Soundbite

“I mean, normally I like hard court a lot.  But I think these two years I just doing s–t.”

Li Na on what was behind her dismal first-round defeat to Simona Halep. Saying it like it is.

Somewhat opposite was Caroline Wozniacki’s rather bizarre update on her new coaching situation.

“If he wants to be in the background and not have his name out, I have to respect that,” the world No 1 said, explaining that her new coach does not want anyone to know who he is. Very odd.

Stat attack

1971

The last time that the reigning women’s champions at the first three Grand Slams of the year did not reach the second round at Flushing Meadows. AO champ Kim Clijsters (injured), RG champ Li Na (lost 1R), Wimby champ Petra Kvitova (lost 1R). Oh well.



On the grapevine

Adam Scott and Ana Ivanovic back together? Maybe.

Tweet of the day

Fyi I asked Wozza if her green leggings had been inspired by her recent link with Ireland.She said “haha. No. Very funny”. I like 2 think so

@judmoo on the ball as always

TODAY

Ones to watch

Andy Murray v Somdev Devvarman (second match, Arthur Ashe)

Two days after the 2011 US Open officially kicked off, Britain’s best, Andy Murray begins his campaign against Mr Devvarman. It seems to be Murray’s luck that he’s generally the last of the Big Four to get going, Mr Federer getting a whole extra two days grace, but there we go. Som-Dev is no pushover at No 64 in the world, and he likes to take the fluff off the ball, but in the end it will come down to Mr Murray.

Venus Williams v Sabine Lisicki (third match, Arthur Ashe)

Venus’s unseeded status means we get this clash far earlier than we might have liked. Miss ‘Boom Boom’ Lisicki has catapulted her way from Wimbledon wild card to 22nd seed, so the odds are heavily in her favour. But then Venus is Venus. Could be a corker. Could not be.

Laura Robson v Anabel Medina Garrigues

The young Miss Robson made it into her first Grand Slam second round at Wimbledon this summer. And now here she is in a second-consecutive Slam second round. Not bad for a teen considered to be slumping. Can she turn it into a third round? Her Spanish foe has a tricksy, unexplosive style, so Laura will need to do the hard work. And prepare to retrieve a lot of drop shots.

Louk Sorensen v Robin Soderling

After the stomach woes that befell his compatriot Conor Niland, Ireland’s hopes rest on fellow qualifier Sorensen, who will be little to Soderling’s large. But the Swede has not been firing on many cylinders lately. So opportunity knocks, perhaps.

Also look out for: Marion Bartoli v Christina McHale (Marion v Mini Marion), John Isner v Marcos Baghdatis (thundercruncher), Juan Martin Del Potro v Filippo Volandri (Is DelPo back?), Andy Roddick (past it?), Maria Sharapova, Gilles Simon, Feliciano Lopez, Vera Zvonareva, Agnieszka Radwanska.

The daily click

If you needed evidence, Serena’s back

US Open preview: Novak Djokovic and co ready for another grapple in the Apple

Bright lights: Who will come out on top inside the bowels of Arthur Ashe?

August really is a rather strange month. This knocked me on the head the other day as I was taking my morning constitutional in the pouring rush hour rain, running the gauntlet of umbrellas processing solemnly to tube and bus stop. It is a deadwood time, when the majority of folk are either on holiday, or wishing they were on holiday.

For the travelling tennis caravan of players, physios, press, and public who traipse from airport to stadium and back again, August is almost like December. It is a month of build-up, the only really extended period of time when players have a chance to step back, sit down, and start all over again, allowing for tucks and tweaks on and off the court.

In fact, such has been the gap between Wimbledon’s leafy surrounds and the hot dog-infused hard courts of the US Open that we’re entering Flushing Meadows with some intriguing yarns, an earthquake and a hurricane to keep an eye on.

Top of the list is the various machinations of the Big Four. The 125^th Championships ended with a very clear pecking order. Top, the new No 1, Novak Djokovic, an injured (although he claimed not) Rafael Nadal, a resurgent but reflective Andy Murray, and a wounded (in mind) Roger Federer.

Two months on, the four planets have jiggled a bit. Djokovic is still at the top, succumbing to just one more loss, a retirement at that, his 57-2 the best win-loss record since John McEnroe entered New York with 59-2 next to his name in 1984. He’s also the first man ever to lift five Masters Series shields in a season. Yes, he has a shoulder niggle. But is it serious?

Next there’s Murray. After a month lifting weights, modifying his diet, and cutting his hair, it almost looked as if the British No 1 had DeLoreaned his back to March when he slumped his way to a straight sets defeat in Montreal. But, left clutching the ugliest of trophies in Cincinnati a week later, Murray suddenly looked like he had in Australia in January. Focused and fierce and fit. One good week does not a grand slam champion make, of course. But the last time Murray won in Mason, he was in the Flushing Meadows final three weeks later. Fact.

In my view, that leaves the great rivals Federer and Nadal joint third, Roger perhaps a touch ahead because of the hard court conditions. Rafa, who holidayed on a yacht and joined Twitter during July, has also picked up a cold to add to whatever lingering physical issues may or may not have been troubling him. A first-match exit in Montreal was followed by a quarter-final in Cincy, yes, but also a three and a half hour grind against Fernando Verdasco along the way that cannot have helped. Federer, who holidayed on a different yacht, was outplayed by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Montreal, produced some very good goods to beat Juan Martin Del Potro, before allowing himself to be blown off court by Tomas Berdych. But these two are still hungry enough not to do the same in a grand slam situation, one would think.

And then there are the others. At Wimbledon, who was the fifth best player in the world? Tsonga? Feliciano Lopez? David Ferrer? Bernard Tomic? Whoever it was, it’s not him any more. It’s Mardy Fish, the formerly sockless wonder who now tapes his skinny ankles almost up to his equally skinny knees. Fish, the US Open Series champion, reached three finals on the bounce during the American hard court swing, and came credit card-close to making that four against Murray. For a 28 year-old who has only made two grand slam quarter-finals before, that’s pretty damn good.

Jump the gender divide, and instead of the big four, there’s just a big one. Serena Williams. Fleeing SW19 after a fourth-round exit, with an oh-so-lowly world ranking of No 169, and approaching the wrong side of 30, not even Mystic Meg would have tried the Tarot cards. And yet, here she is, US Open Series champion, back-to-back titles in tow, and, yet again, the name at the top of everyone’s favourite sheet. Remarkable.

The USTA have not, unlike Wimbledon, bumped Serena up the seedings, meaning she takes her place in the Flushing Meadows draw as the 28^th seed (one up from her ranking of 29 thanks to the withdrawal of Kim Clijsters). So it won’t be easy. But she is still guaranteed not to run into one of the top eight till the fourth round. By which time the hooped earrings should be flying.

Serena has been helped by the very sad absence of Clijsters, whose dream of a third consecutive New York trophy, fourth in total, was ended by an abdominal tear. The rest of the WTA are in a sort of disarray. World No 1 Caroline Wozniacki coach-less but with a new boyfriend (Hi Rory), the likes of new slam champs Li Na and Petra Kvitova desperately lacking confidence, and many, many others injured. How else could Jelena Jankovic, a self-proclaimed dark horse (before she retracted it), end up in the Cincinnati final?

There is another female with a mission. Maria Sharapova. Who else could serve 13 double faults in a final and still end up winning it? But Sharapova, much like Federer, looks thirsty. Losing the Wimbledon final has been an impetus rather than an impediment. It seems.

Of course, all of this depends on a multitude of things – the draw, the impending weather fronts, the mood of the crowds, and  most crucially, the state of any given player on any given day inside the bowels of Arthur Ashe. There are no second chances.

All in all, it’s set to be another fascinating grapple in the Big Apple.