US Open 2013

The last grand slam of the year comes at last. It's the end of summer, and it's New York.

So far, just like last year, the three slams have all been won by a different member of the "big 4".

Will it be the same this year, too. is one of the top 3 going to win it and thus reestablish himself as the player of the year, or will it be somebody completely new? (how many times have we said that....)

I don't know but look forward to finding out in the coming two weeks.

The Draw:

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/draws/ms/msdraw.pdf

Daily Order of Play:

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/schedule/index.html?promo=subnav#




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYERlquLia4


Start spreadin' the news...  

Day 1 matches of interest:


Nadal-Harrison
Federer-Zemlja
Agut-Bellucci
Williams-Davydenko
Gasquet-Russell
Gulbis-HA

and not much else....

Looks like this time round, all the fun is happening in the bottom part of the draw.

This GS looks very open, I don't know who will come through in the end. Slams have started to be distributed among players and no longer are the days where a single player is holding multiple slams. Murray is having 2 right now, but I'm not sure he will be able to keep his USopen title this year. His form is poor and confidence is low.


Nadal looks quite on song. Its shocking the kind of return he makes a break. 

Djokovic is shaky but he is bearing the fruits of the cruel draws he might have had in the past. A ticket to the finals is placed on a plate for him even this time. So its 3 out of the 4 slams this year where is a almost guaranteed ( on paper of course ) to reach the finals without breaking too much sweat. Unless something happens.


Federer is unknown for me, so I'm not keeping any hopes with him. His back and overall fitness mainly will decide how 
 far can he go. Tough draw for him having to face Nadal in QF.

I'm hoping Delpo can do some justice to his capabilities this time.  for JJ and Gulbis.

Will the young guns rise to the occasion? Only time will tell.

 to the US Open 2013.

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:

Djokovic is shaky but he is bearing the fruits of the cruel draws he might have had in the past. A ticket to the finals is placed on a plate for him even this time.

You that confident he can beat Murray in the SF?

Julia Santamaria wrote:

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:

Djokovic is shaky but he is bearing the fruits of the cruel draws he might have had in the past. A ticket to the finals is placed on a plate for him even this time.

You that confident he can beat Murray in the SF?

Murray?? Djokovic is placed to face Ferrer is the SF provided they both reach that far.

No.

Julia Santamaria wrote:

No.

Thanks for correcting me Julia.

Nishikori looks like the first seed to fall today.

Evans !!!!

Fantastic performance from the Brit.

WOWW!
Stunning shot to break immediately from Nadal, Harrison smashed it and Nadal simply jumped and smashed it back past him, without even looking. Stunning hand-eye coordination.

Last time I've seen that is Federer against Roddick ages ago.

Feds vs davydenko sf's of 2009 wtf's.

Link me up, sounds good !

Nice shot to watch always, rare though.

He's done it a few times. here are some i remember Vs djoko 09 cinci final and us open sf. aus 09 vs korolev 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPCXCfO7YkE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbXJR9FH5OM (davy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc1RCqidtTg (djoko 08).

Good stuff

Gulbis falls...  . When will he grow up.  

Night match abandoned due to persistent rain. Fed plays today afternoon session.

Maestro time   !

PS
Dimitrov, JJ out
Mannarino through

Although I only started watching at 1:1 in the third set, there was plenty to enjoy from his Elegance today.
First, it was unusual to see him in daylight, I can't remember when was the last time I did not see Federer scheduled for a night session on Ashe.
Second, it was windy, and I'm pretty sure I saw his back wrapped with that protective belt.
Federer's ball striking was very good and his net play sublime. He looked hungry and very much his old self.
HOWEVER....
What I noticed in that third set (7:5) was that his serve was not a weapon any more, it did not have great variation in placement and it looked pretty average compared to his best days, the wind  can't have helped, though.
Also, his footwork was lagging behind a little; Federer just did not appear as light on his feet as my eyes remember it.
Still, I enjoyed watching him as always and had my fair share of heart-stopping forehands and a few spectacular CC backhands.

Grega Zemlja was belting his ground strokes whenever he got hold of them, and he definitely did not hold back on his serves.

All in all, a good first round win for Federer.

Nole time 

No champion's haircut!!! 

two games lost vs berankis atm. 6-1 2-1.

noleisthebest wrote:No champion's haircut!!! 

But a champion's result in the end

Excellent serving and returning, not quite there on the attacking groundstrokes, about 8-9/10, still would be enough to take out Nadal if they played tomorrow.

So, similar to Federer, not 100% and in tune, but less nervous than Federer.

Confidence building will be essential over the next few rounds.

Berankis showed off his ball striking but not much else, was firmly pinned back and could not do much but steal an occasional moment of brilliance.
If he was 3-4 inches taller, he'd easily be the next number one.

Murray vs Llodra today. Anyone rooting for Llodra?

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:Murray vs Llodra today. Anyone rooting for Llodra?

he,he rotla  

After spending my holidays in glorious France, I am now a full-on Francophile, so....

Alleeeeeez!!! 

A few sumptuous match-ups today:

Dolgopolov-Goffin
Wawrinka-Stepanek
Mahut -Youzhny


And Ivo-Blake will be great, too! Could be Blake's last match....


and while I'm at it:

Go Paire!!! (vs Bogomolov)  

I only saw a few points of that 3rd set of Federer....and he looked really poor compared to the few points seen in the first 2 sets.

Not looking good for the rest of the tournament.....

Tenez wrote:I only saw a few points of that 3rd set of Federer....and he looked really poor compared to the few points seen in the first 2 sets.

Not looking good for the rest of the tournament.....

His movement capability seemed very good though- he seemed to just lose focus and want to get it over with quickly in that third set..    Unless the sloppiness if more of an indication that he physically only has two sets in him and is going to wear down...  One good sign-  he actually hit the practice courts AFTER the match with Annacone and kept the press waiting for 45 minutes.  So he must have physically felt like he has some gas in the tank.   The fans there said it looked like he was just trying to rally and gets some point construction practice in, and he confirmed at the presser that he wanted to get some "rhythm" because the match was more of a serve fest ad there weren't many rallies.     Apparently this is only the 2nd time anyone can remember in the past few years where he practiced after a match-- at least in public..

Thanks for the updates Truffin, sounds very promising!
What did you make of Fed's serving (I only saw the 3rd set) ?

truffin1 wrote:

 One good sign-  he actually hit the practice courts AFTER the match with Annacone and kept the press waiting for 45 minutes.  So he must have physically felt like he has some gas in the tank.   The fans there said it looked like he was just trying to rally and gets some point construction practice in, and he confirmed at the presser that he wanted to get some "rhythm" because the match was more of a serve fest ad there weren't many rallies.     Apparently this is only the 2nd time anyone can remember in the past few years where he practiced after a match-- at least in public..

Hopefully you are right....but I find this very bizarre if anything. Could he not practice tomorrow?...or after the pressie?

I just saw his serving in the 3rd set and it looked weird,....though the quality of the image on Youtube was not great.

the practice was def unusual.. My guess is he did it immediately after the match as he was still "warm" and stretched..

He was still elevating and wasn't modifying his back arch more than the new norm for him during the 3rd set-- so I think he as okay physically..   the concentration wasn't there though- and it rarely has been  lately-  maybe the Cinci Nadal match was about the closest to a full match of focus in nearly a year.

Blake still playing great tennis!

Ivo looking very good, too. Surprisingly few people in the stands.

Wonderful comeback from two sets down for Ivo, he wins the 4th set in the TB with some brilliant tennis.
So, it's the 5th set fight for your life scenario for Blake now...who is showing so much emotion with his face (Ivo is not far behind him in that department, either).
Small, but very lively crowd is 50/50, both players having some great support.


Paire also battling it in the 5th set 4 all....

5th set TB !!!  

And it's the end of the road for Blake....sent to retirement by Ivo's ace .
James made his career last an extra half a minute by challenging it, and then that was it!

Giving a goodbye speech, and a it's a journey into the night now ...

I'll remember him as a gent who played great, real tennis and can now walk off the court holding his head  high   

Yep....I like Blake a lot and his tennis was amazing at times. Can anyone find a faster rhythm of game than Fed v Blake? I doubt it.

By rhythm I mean the ball coming back and forth between 2 players. I did not check with a lot of different players but I bount it was 20% faster than a Djoko v Murray for instance....d'love to retrieve this thread on v2.

feds vs nalbandian?

A good one to check.....certainly. Shoudl be close. v Davydenko too as he also takes the ball early.

Blake hits with greater pace than Nalby and Davy surely?

Julia Santamaria wrote:Blake hits with greater pace than Nalby and Davy surely?

It's not the speed of the ball/shot (although that makes life even more difficult) but the speed of the exchange of shots (a complete opposite and something impossible to do if you wait for the ball so far behind the baseline like Nadal) the talent to control the ball tested to its ultimate limits, always great to watch, but, so, so rare. Fed is always up for it, but few answer the call.
The fastest exchange I remember seeing was between Davydenko and Nole in their DC match in Moscow about 5 years ago It really blew my mind.
Davy is amazing when he is on fire!

I wonder how Bruce Lee would have done as a tennis player...

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SncapPrTusA

noleisthebest wrote:.
The fastest exchange I remember seeing was between Davydenko and Nole in their DC match in Moscow about 5 years ago It really blew my mind.
Davy is amazing when he is on fire!

Woudl be worth a check...I'll check whether I can find a youtube link.

I'd need to retrieve the thread on v2 too where I put quite a bit of data.

Which thread was it, they should all still be there.

This is it:
http://www.606v2.com/t20572-our-great-era-debunked

The article always confused me, surely you can see that it's not all down to court speed... Fed and Blake hit the ball flatter than Nadal and Djokovic so will have quicker rallies on any given surface.

Can't remember.....one I started about pace. I'll have a look there too.

Not looking good for the rest of week weather wise in NY

https://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=weather+new+york&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GUEA_enGB539GB539&q=weather+new+york&gs_l=hp...0l5.0.0.0.6743...........0.ZJOvByvWC90

Julia Santamaria wrote:This is it:
http://www.606v2.com/t20572-our-great-era-debunked

The article always confused me, surely you can see that it's not all down to court speed... Fed and Blake hit the ball flatter than Nadal and Djokovic so will have quicker rallies on any given surface.

Yes but you hit flatter when it is worth hitting flatter. Slow conds allow you to put more spin. On a fast skidding surface with small balls, topspinners struggle to put more spin in the ball....meaning this in turn makes the ball easier to hit flatter.

On the other hand, the more spin a ball has, the harder it is to hit it cleanly flat and that forces players to inject spin in turn...slowing things further.

When the USO was fast...Nadal coudl not win a seeded player....since they increased the ball size and added sand, Nadal has become really tough to beat there.

The srting technology has simply allowed to slow all surfaces beyond clay as it makes topspinning much eachier and powerful.

I've had this argument with Truffin a week or so ago... 

Let's see Federer's word on the issue:

Federer admits he's been surprised at just how well the Spaniard has played on the ultra-fast surfaces.
"I'm clearly very impressed," he said. "Especially seeing him play really well on the quicker hard courts. 

http://www.sport360.com/tennis/us-open-nadals-arch-rivals-make-spaniard-favourite

Also, as for your article:
(Nore Staat):

Nadal v Djoko USO 11 
a) total points ..................268
b) match duration ..............4 hrs 10 mins = 250 mins
c) points / min ..................1.072
d) strikes / rally .................22.25 (taken from Tenez data = 89 / 4)
e) strikes / min ..................23.85 (match average = c x d)
f) Average .......................2.52s per length of court (match average) Where a ball strike corresponds to the ball traversing the length of the court

Federer v Blake USO 06
a) total points ..................291
b) match duration ..............2 hrs 47 mins = 167 mins
c) points / min ..................1.743
d) strikes / rally .................12.00 (taken from Tenez data = 84 / 7)
e) strikes / min ..................20.91 (match average = c x d)
f) Average .......................2.87s per length of court (match average)

Hence considering the average time taken for the ball to cross the tennis court as an overall match average, the speed of the court has increased from 2006 (2.87 s/court length) to 2011 (2.52 s/court length). That is using Tenez' data (average ball strikes per rally point) we may safely conclude that the US Open court has speeded up in recent years. Thus we have debunked the debunker. 

According to your stats the USO has been speeded up since 2006 to 2011...

Julia Santamaria wrote:Also, as for your article:
(Nore Staat):

Nadal v Djoko USO 11 
a) total points ..................268
b) match duration ..............4 hrs 10 mins = 250 mins
c) points / min ..................1.072
d) strikes / rally .................22.25 (taken from Tenez data = 89 / 4)
e) strikes / min ..................23.85 (match average = c x d)
f) Average .......................2.52s per length of court (match average) Where a ball strike corresponds to the ball traversing the length of the court

Federer v Blake USO 06
a) total points ..................291
b) match duration ..............2 hrs 47 mins = 167 mins
c) points / min ..................1.743
d) strikes / rally .................12.00 (taken from Tenez data = 84 / 7)
e) strikes / min ..................20.91 (match average = c x d)
f) Average .......................2.87s per length of court (match average)

Hence considering the average time taken for the ball to cross the tennis court as an overall match average, the speed of the court has increased from 2006 (2.87 s/court length) to 2011 (2.52 s/court length). That is using Tenez' data (average ball strikes per rally point) we may safely conclude that the US Open court has speeded up in recent years. Thus we have debunked the debunker. 

Noore stat did not understand anything about this thread. It was comical as exposed by all other posters who understood this simple analysis.

I must say rereading it was vintage Tenez!

Tenez wrote:

Julia Santamaria wrote:Also, as for your article:
(Nore Staat):

Nadal v Djoko USO 11 
a) total points ..................268
b) match duration ..............4 hrs 10 mins = 250 mins
c) points / min ..................1.072
d) strikes / rally .................22.25 (taken from Tenez data = 89 / 4)
e) strikes / min ..................23.85 (match average = c x d)
f) Average .......................2.52s per length of court (match average) Where a ball strike corresponds to the ball traversing the length of the court

Federer v Blake USO 06
a) total points ..................291
b) match duration ..............2 hrs 47 mins = 167 mins
c) points / min ..................1.743
d) strikes / rally .................12.00 (taken from Tenez data = 84 / 7)
e) strikes / min ..................20.91 (match average = c x d)
f) Average .......................2.87s per length of court (match average)

Hence considering the average time taken for the ball to cross the tennis court as an overall match average, the speed of the court has increased from 2006 (2.87 s/court length) to 2011 (2.52 s/court length). That is using Tenez' data (average ball strikes per rally point) we may safely conclude that the US Open court has speeded up in recent years. Thus we have debunked the debunker. 

Noore stat did not understand anything about this thread. It was comical as exposed by all other posters who understood this simple analysis.

I must say rereading it was vintage Tenez!

Yes, like wine, it reads/tastes better and better as time goes by

Thanks for digging out Amri!