Thursday, September 13, 2007

A 12th Slam for Roger

Another year, another three Grand Slams for Roger Federer, a different opponent vanquished in each one. Fernando Gonzalez went down in the Australian Open final to start the year, then promptly lost it the rest of the year, making only one finals, in Rome on clay, and never making it out of the 2nd round during the summer hard-court season. His next opponent in a Slam final was Nadal, who easily beat Fed in the French final, only to lose in a tight 5 set Wimbledon Final a month later. And just this last weekend of course, 20 year old hotshot Novak Djokovic, who displays both a comical side and a temper on the court, lost in straight sets in the US Open final.

The gap between Roger and the rest of the mere mortals on the tour seems to be closing though, as Djokovic not only beat him in the Master Series event in Canada last month, but also had multiple set points in the first 2 sets this past Sunday before nerves got the better of him. Easy forehands and backhands were missed at crucial times, and the Serb also committed some very untimely double-faults to keep Fed in the sets. Federer has now won 3 Slams in a year 3 times in his career, 2004, 06, and 07 (One Slam in 2003 and two in 2005 bring the total to 12). For perspective, neither Sampras nor Agassi ever won 3 Slams in a year, and the last man to do it was Mats Wilander in 1988. He's also been in the finals of the last 10 Grand Slams he's played in, yet another unmatched feat.

Nonetheless, at the age of 26 now, I'd be surprised if Federer can win 3 Slams in a year again. It takes great health and a little bit of luck to accomplish such a feat, and to do it 4 times would truly be remarkable - heck, 3 is amazing!! Djokovic will likely learn how not to choke at crucial moments in the future, Nadal is still just 21 and getting better on the hardcourts, and there are always a number of young, hungry up-and-comers chomping at the bit for a chance to shock Roger and the world in a major. I will say though, I'd be shocked if Roger didn't break Pete's record of 14 Slams eventually, I just think it will happen in 2009, not 2008.

This week there are two tournaments - in Beijing, China and Bucharest, Romania.

Friday, September 07, 2007

2007 US Open

A few observations and comments from the most lively & raucous of the 4 Grand Slams

A few teenagers had their best ever Slam results, including Latvian Ernests Gulbis, a 19 year old who beat two seeded players, including Tommy Robredo, before losing to Carlos Moya in the 4th round. Juan Martin Del Potro, the hard-hitting Argentine who turns 19 later this month, defeated one seed on his way to the 3rd round, where he took a drubbing from Novak Djokovic. Finally, American Donald Young, who just turned 18 a few weeks after winning the Wimbledon juniors, made it to the 3rd round before succumbing to the left-handed Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 7-5. Another promising young 19 year old, Evgeny Korolev of Russia, lost in round 1 to former junior #1 Stanislas Warinka 7-5 in the 5th set. Look for all of these teens to be in the top 30 in a couple years time.

Speaking of the talented Wawrinka, Switzerlands other top 50 player (of course Federer is #1), he had his best Grand Slam result yet in reaching the 4th round before losing 6-4 in the 5th set to the tall, skinny Argentine veteran Juan Ignacio Chela. Along the way he beat American Robby Ginepri 6-3 in the 5th set in the 3rd round - good to see Ginepri playing well again. On the other side of the age coin, a few veterans had some nice results like Sebastian Grosjean, who made the 3rd round, Tommy Haas, who made the quarterfinals, and Carlos Moya, who will likely bow out tonight in the quarterfinals when he plays Djokovic.

Two matches I found quite entertaining were the Blake-Koubek Saturday night special, and of course, the Nadal-Ferrer 4th round treat. Both matches were full of amazing rallies featuring supreme displays of athletic shot-making, unbelievable points, and amazing retrievals - especially the latter match. The Roddick-Federer match was very different from those two, but entertaining as well - it's always fun to watch a master dominate his craft like Federer. His timing, reflexes, and smooth gliding on the court is delightful to watch. It looks like he'll be playing Djokovic come Sunday afternoon in a rematch of the Montreal finals where the Serbian upset Fed 7-6 in the 3rd set, winning the tiebreak 7-2. Could be a great final.