US Open 2011

[Sir David Gray]

The final major of the year gets underway tomorrow. New York's obviously recovering from Hurricane Irene today but the organisers still hope that play on day one will commence at the scheduled time of 4pm (BST).

Andy Murray will play Indian Somdev Devvarman in the first round, although he won't be playing tomorrow.

The only player out of the "big four" to play tomorrow is Roger Federer, who is in action at about 2am British time on Tuesday.

British females in action are;

Heather Watson vs Maria Sharapova (approx. 9pm BST)
Laura Robson vs Ayumi Morita (approx. 7pm BST)

[Sir David Gray]

Good result today for Laura Robson as she made it through to round two of the US Open after her opponent retired early in the second set.

She'll now play either Anabel Medina Garrigues or Karin Knapp in the next round.

Heather Watson was going well against Maria Sharapova as she took the first set 6-3. Sharapova has come back at her though and levelled the match at one set all. Sharapova is currently serving at 2-0 up in the decider.

[Sir David Gray]

Bad luck for Heather Watson as she goes out to Maria Sharapova 3-6 7-5 6-3.

Very good performance by her, though.

[Sir David Gray]

Roger Federer got safely through to round two in the early hours of this morning after seeing off Santiago Giraldo in straight sets. He'll now play Dudi Sela in the next round.

Novak Djokovic is also through to the next round after his opponent, Conor Niland, retired with the score at 6-0 5-1 in Djokovic's favour. Djokovic will now face either Pere Riba or Carlos Berlocq.

Rafael Nadal starts the defence of his title at midnight tonight against Andrey Golubev.

Andy Murray's tournament begins tomorrow against Somdev Devvarman and his match should be on at around 6pm (BST).

Elena Baltacha is also through to the second round after her opponent, Jamie Hampton, retired in the deciding set.

[Sir David Gray]

Andy Murray's safely through to round two after defeating Somdev Devvarman 7-6 6-2 6-3.

He'll now play Robin Haase in the next round.

Rafael Nadal was made to work for his win last night against Andrey Golubev. Nadal was behind in each set but came through it, 6-3 7-6 7-5.

Laura Robson's US Open campaign ended today against Anabel Medina Garrigues as she lost 6-2 6-3.

That leaves Elena Baltacha as the sole remaining British woman in the draw and she has a tough match coming up against Svetlana Kuznetsova.

[JimBHibees]

Andy Murray's safely through to round two after defeating Somdev Devvarman 7-6 6-2 6-3.

He'll now play Robin Haase in the next round.

Rafael Nadal was made to work for his win last night against Andrey Golubev. Nadal was behind in each set but came through it, 6-3 7-6 7-5.

Laura Robson's US Open campaign ended today against Anabel Medina Garrigues as she lost 6-2 6-3.

That leaves Elena Baltacha as the sole remaining British woman in the draw and she has a tough match coming up against Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Watched a bit of the Murray game looked ok against a decent opponent. Lopez his potential opponent is a tricky customer. Bit strange Murray being made to play his first game on the 3rd day thus making his schedule much more crammed than some others if he is to go along way in the tournament.

[Sir David Gray]

Watched a bit of the Murray game looked ok against a decent opponent. Lopez his potential opponent is a tricky customer. Bit strange Murray being made to play his first game on the 3rd day thus making his schedule much more crammed than some others if he is to go along way in the tournament.

:singing: It's a conspiracy...! :greengrin

You're right, though, the scheduling's not ideal and it's not as good as it is at Wimbledon from that perspective. At Wimbledon, everyone plays every second day, up to and including the third round and then again from the last 16 onwards.

Roger Federer, for example, played his first round in the night match on Monday evening (New York time) and then doesn't play again until this afternoon (New York time). That's practically a 72 hour rest period. Murray will be playing his second round match tomorrow which is obviously a day less in recovery than Federer will get.

It gets even worse at the end of the tournament when they have the men's semi finals on the Saturday and then the final on the Sunday. I've never understood that one.

I suppose at the US Open, they have 14 days of play and at Wimbledon it's only 13 and at the US Open they have night sessions on the Arthur Ashe court, which they don't have at Wimbledon.

[JimBHibees]

:singing: It's a conspiracy...! :greengrin

You're right, though, the scheduling's not ideal and it's not as good as it is at Wimbledon from that perspective. At Wimbledon, everyone plays every second day, up to and including the third round and then again from the last 16 onwards.

Roger Federer, for example, played his first round in the night match on Monday evening (New York time) and then doesn't play again until this afternoon (New York time). That's practically a 72 hour rest period. Murray will be playing his second round match tomorrow which is obviously a day less in recovery than Federer will get.

It gets even worse at the end of the tournament when they have the men's semi finals on the Saturday and then the final on the Sunday. I've never understood that one.

I suppose at the US Open, they have 14 days of play and at Wimbledon it's only 13 and at the US Open they have night sessions on the Arthur Ashe court, which they don't have at Wimbledon.

Simple, tv and advertising revenue will be much higher at the weekends so they play the big games then weather permitting. Matter of time before Wimbledon start bringing in night games as a matter of course IMO.

[Sir David Gray]

Simple, tv and advertising revenue will be much higher at the weekends so they play the big games then weather permitting. Matter of time before Wimbledon start bringing in night games as a matter of course IMO.

I wouldn't bet on it.

The AELTC is full of ultra-traditionalists who refuse to change the tournament in any way, shape or form. In many ways, I like that about Wimbledon because that is what sets it apart from all other tennis tournaments and gives it its unique atmosphere.

I don't think Wimbledon could play night matches anyway because of the condition of the grass at night time, I think it would be too slippy.

Things were going well for Elena Baltacha against Svetlana Kuznetsova as she broke early in the match to lead 3-0 in the first set but Kuznetsova has recovered and is now serving for the set at 5-4.

[Sir David Gray]

Elena Baltacha is out after losing 6-4 6-3 to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Once again, Andy Murray is the sole remaining British player left in the singles draw.

[JimBHibees]

I wouldn't bet on it.

The AELTC is full of ultra-traditionalists who refuse to change the tournament in any way, shape or form. In many ways, I like that about Wimbledon because that is what sets it apart from all other tennis tournaments and gives it its unique atmosphere.

I don't think Wimbledon could play night matches anyway because of the condition of the grass at night time, I think it would be too slippy.

Things were going well for Elena Baltacha against Svetlana Kuznetsova as she broke early in the match to lead 3-0 in the first set but Kuznetsova has recovered and is now serving for the set at 5-4.

Not so sure about that as who would have thought that they would have had a court with a roof a few years ago. Does the atmosphere system not reduce moisture on the grass. I think they will bring it in and it would be an excellent idea especially having a top game starting at say 9pm each night under the roof. Sure tv would lap that up.

[Sir David Gray]

Not so sure about that as who would have thought that they would have had a court with a roof a few years ago. Does the atmosphere system not reduce moisture on the grass. I think they will bring it in and it would be an excellent idea especially having a top game starting at say 9pm each night under the roof. Sure tv would lap that up.

The AELTC quite firmly states that Wimbledon is an outdoor, daytime tournament. Other than for inclement weather, the only other reason for them playing a match under the roof was so Djokovic-Rochus, at last year's tournament, could get finished that day because the light was beginning to fade with Rochus two sets to one up.

The difference between the night matches at the US Open and if they had night matches at Wimbledon is that the US Open's atmosphere is entirely natural regardless of whether they're played at night or during the day because they don't use a roof at all at the US Open and the court is always exposed to the outdoor conditions.

Obviously the conditions would be different at night than they would be during the day but it would still be completely natural. Whereas at Wimbledon the conditions during night matches under the roof would be artificial and created by a man made system. Therefore giving the night time players a completely different match from those who played during the day.

I just think that making night matches a regular occurence would be a step too far for the organisers. Changing to suit TV/commercial purposes would upset an awful lot of people at Wimbledon. This is a tournament that doesn't even allow any advertising to be displayed around the courts, except for Rolex being advertised on the clocks.

[Sir David Gray]

Novak Djokovic had an unbelievable match last night against Carlos Berlocq. He won the first two sets in under an hour and without dropping a single game.

He went 2-0 up in the third set and was serving for a 3-0 lead when Berlocq somehow managed to break serve, only for Djokovic to break back straight away. However Berlocq broke for a second time to get it back on serve at 2-3.

But that was as good as it got as Djokovic won the next three games and won 6-0 6-0 6-2 in under an hour and a half.

Andy Murray is back in action today as he plays his second round match against Robin Haase of the Netherlands. His match should be on at around 8pm (BST).

The match will be shown on the red button via Sky Sports 2 as they are showing the Wales-Montenegro match tonight.

Also on at around 8pm will be Rafael Nadal as he takes on Nicolas Mahut.

[sunshine1875]

Novak Djokovic had an unbelievable match last night against Carlos Berlocq. He won the first two sets in under an hour and without dropping a single game.

He went 2-0 up in the third set and was serving for a 3-0 lead when Berlocq somehow managed to break serve, only for Djokovic to break back straight away. However Berlocq broke for a second time to get it back on serve at 2-3.

But that was as good as it got as Djokovic won the next three games and won 6-0 6-0 6-2 in under an hour and a half.

Andy Murray is back in action today as he plays his second round match against Robin Haase of the Netherlands. His match should be on at around 8pm (BST).

The match will be shown on the red button via Sky Sports 2 as they are showing the Wales-Montenegro match tonight.

Also on at around 8pm will be Rafael Nadal as he takes on Nicolas Mahut.

Murray loses first set on tie break, having being 4-1 up in the tie break. Pity as he had fought back from a break down during the set.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray loses first set on tie break, having being 4-1 up in the tie break. Pity as he had fought back from a break down during the set.

Almost went 4-0 down in the second set as well.

As it happens, Murray's managed to get it back on serve and he's serving at 2-3.

His serve's been hopeless so far, though, and, if he wins tonight, he'll need to improve it dramatically if he wants to do any damage.

EDIT-Scrap that, Haase's broken again to go 4-2 up in the second set.

[Sir David Gray]

Haase takes the second set 6-2.

Murray has been awful and it looks all over for him at this year's US Open.

[Westie1875]

Almost went 4-0 down in the second set as well.

As it happens, Murray's managed to get it back on serve and he's serving at 2-3.

His serve's been hopeless so far, though, and, if he wins tonight, he'll need to improve it dramatically if he wants to do any damage.

EDIT-Scrap that, Haase's broken again to go 4-2 up in the second set.

2 sets down now FH, not sure he can pull it back.

[Sir David Gray]

Got the 3rd set in the bag, 6-2, and he's 2-0 up in the 4th set. :pray:

He's just had a mammoth game to hold serve. Very big game for him to win.

Haase's also beginning struggle a little, physically.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray takes the 4th set, 6-0.

Haase's barely hit a ball since he went two sets to love up and that was an hour ago.

Surely Murray has to do it now! :aok:

[Sir David Gray]

Murray breaks in the first game of the 5th set! :thumbsup:

[Sir David Gray]

I don't quite believe what I'm seeing here.

Murray was 4-0 up in the decider and absolutely cruising. About 10 minutes later, it's now 4-4.

Unbelievable.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray's broken serve again and will now serve for the match at 5-4 up!

[Sir David Gray]

Game, set and match, Murray. :thumbsup:

6-7 2-6 6-2 6-0 6-4 in about 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Murray thought he had won it about two minutes beforehand when Haase hit a shot that was called out but he challenged it and it was in.

It was quite a remarkable match with so many twists and turns. The main thing is that he's won the match but he will need to play a lot better in future rounds than he did today.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

What a match, that is all!

[Westie1875]

Unreal, good comeback from Andy. I really didn't think he was looking like he could do it but he came through in the end, phew! :greengrin

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Game, set and match, Murray. :thumbsup:6-7 2-6 6-2 6-0 6-4 in about 3 hours and 20 minutes.Murray thought he had won it about two minutes beforehand when Haase hit a shot that was called out but he challenged it and it was in.It was quite a remarkable match with so many twists and turns. The main thing is that he's won the match but he will need to play a lot better in future rounds than he did today. I think Murray knew that shot was in, he didnt start celebrating at all, not to worry, his part of the draw is there for the taking. Happy days!

[Sir David Gray]

If there's any more matches like that over the next week or so, I'm going to have a nervous breakdown.

I could have strangled him when he lost that 4-0 lead and Haase got it back to 4-4.

Feliciano Lopez is up next for Murray on Sunday and I know I'm playing a dangerous game after witnessing that tonight but I don't see him losing that one. He has a 5-0 head-to-head record against Lopez and he beat him a couple of months ago at Wimbledon.

I might be tempting fate but I think that's a nice match for Murray after the drama of tonight.

The last 16 is looking fairly decent for him now too as he will face either Donald Young or Juan Ignacio Chela, if he can beat Lopez. I would fancy Young to win that but he's just played a five setter against Stanislas Wawrinka so who knows how he'll react?

If he gets that far, it'll really start to get interesting from the 1/4 finals onwards. He'll have a potential draw of playing Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarters, Rafael Nadal in the semis and Novak Djokovic in the final.

That's all a long way off at the moment, though, and he just needs to focus on Lopez.

[sunshine1875]

Amazing. I went to bed after he lost the second set. I am amazed that he was able to turn it around. IIRC he did the same in the year he got to the US Open Final - two sets down totally outplayed, then slowly you can see the game turning. Must have happened again last night.

C'mon Andy, Scotland today and Hibs for the rest of the season...............forever, in fact!

[Houchy]

Amazing. I went to bed after he lost the second set. I am amazed that he was able to turn it around. IIRC he did the same in the year he got to the US Open Final - two sets down totally outplayed, then slowly you can see the game turning. Must have happened again last night.

C'mon Andy, Scotland today and Hibs for the rest of the season...............forever, in fact!

He went on a charge after that winning 6-2, 6-0 then was 4-0 up in the 5th set and Haase was down and out after not winning a game for over an hour, he then won one game, the Americans started going radge, Haase then won the next 3 to tie it up at 4-4 before Murray went to 5-4. Queue a massive GTRFUY to the yanks. He then served out for the match (he did need 3 attempts at Match point though). When he finally won, he jumping about like a joey on a pogo stick:agree:

[Sir David Gray]

Should be a good night of tennis tonight.

Roger Federer will play Marin Cilic at about 6pm (British time). I expect Federer to come through that one but Cilic should make it competitive.

At about 10pm, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play Fernando Verdasco and that match has the potential for going the full distance.

I won't be staying up to watch it but at about 1.30am/2am, Novak Djokovic will play Nikolay Davydenko. I don't see Davydenko doing anything at all in that match.

If you fancy a scream-fest, then Serena Williams will play Victoria Azarenka at about 8pm/8.30pm.

[Sir David Gray]

Roger Federer is safely through to the last 16 after he beat Marin Cilic in four sets, 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2. He'll now play Juan Monaco who has just defeated Tommy Haas, also in four sets.

The order of play has been released for tomorrow and Rafael Nadal is up first against David Nalbandian, so his match will be on at 4pm (British time). For the first time in the tournament, Andy Murray will be playing in a night match against Feliciano Lopez, so his match will begin at midnight (British time).

[jodjam]

Did you see the Nadal press conference. That does not look good. He just slumped in his chair and disappeared under the table. Looks serious.

[hibeeliam]

just seen nadals interview. Does not look good :pray:

[jodjam]

just seen nadals interview. Does not look good :pray:


now saying its cramp.....big jessie :agree:

[Sir David Gray]

Did you see the Nadal press conference. That does not look good. He just slumped in his chair and disappeared under the table. Looks serious.


just seen nadals interview. Does not look good :pray:

It didn't look great but they said a little while ago that it was just a spot of cramp and he says that he's absolutely fine.

Another decent result for Andy Murray today as Gilles Simon beat Juan Martin del Potro in four sets. It's certainly opening up now for Murray.

If he wins tonight, he'll play Donald Young in the last 16 after he beat Juan Ignacio Chela.

Murray will be on court in around 5 minutes against Feliciano Lopez.

[Sir David Gray]

Sublime performance from Murray so far as he takes the first set, 6-1 in about half an hour. :thumbsup:

It took Lopez until the 4th game, just to win his 1st point.

[Sir David Gray]

The second set was a lot closer but Murray still does enough as he takes it 6-4.

Pretty comfortable so far and I'm not expecting a repeat of Friday's drama.

[Sir David Gray]

Andy Murray wins 6-1 6-4 6-2 in under 2 hours. :thumbsup:

A very comfortable evening for Murray and he'll be pleased that he's on and off within a very short period of time. It conserves a lot of energy for the later rounds when he'll really need it.

He'll now play Donald Young in the last 16 on Tuesday.

[Hibbie_Cameron]

Game over, far far better performance.

Bed Time

[Sir David Gray]

Game over, far far better performance.

Bed Time

:agree: I wouldn't have been happy if it had been a repeat of Friday and I had been kept up 'til about 4 o'clock. :greengrin

A 4pm match on Tuesday now, please tournament organisers! :aok:

[jodjam]

Great result and also Simon winning helps big time as recently Murray has the sign over the Frenchman.

Bit worried about another late one on Tuesday tho. Playing against an American may swing him to the main tv slot of 7pm US time. Hopefully the pull of a Nadal or Roddick match may give Andy the 11am US slot. Fingers crossed.

[JimBHibees]

It didn't look great but they said a little while ago that it was just a spot of cramp and he says that he's absolutely fine.

Another decent result for Andy Murray today as Gilles Simon beat Juan Martin del Potro in four sets. It's certainly opening up now for Murray.

If he wins tonight, he'll play Donald Young in the last 16 after he beat Juan Ignacio Chela.

Murray will be on court in around 5 minutes against Feliciano Lopez.

Completely agree his draw is looking much easier than may have been the case. Cant see him losing to Young but you just never know with Andy at the moment. I think it would benefit Murray for it to be a night game again as it seems to suit him however not that good for people trying to watch it. In saying that if Nadal is due to play Roddick that will IMO clearly be chosen by the US channels as a bigger draw for the night session than Andy.

[Sir David Gray]

Completely agree his draw is looking much easier than may have been the case. Cant see him losing to Young but you just never know with Andy at the moment. I think it would benefit Murray for it to be a night game again as it seems to suit him however not that good for people trying to watch it. In saying that if Nadal is due to play Roddick that will IMO clearly be chosen by the US channels as a bigger draw for the night session than Andy.

Nadal's not due to meet Roddick until the quarter finals, which would be played on Thursday, Murray plays Young in the last 16 tomorrow.

Roddick may still be the night match tomorrow, though, as he will play David Ferrer which may still be thought of as a bigger draw for TV audiences in the USA than Murray-Young.

[jodjam]

Nadal's not due to meet Roddick until the quarter finals, which would be played on Thursday, Murray plays Young in the last 16 tomorrow.

Roddick may still be the night match tomorrow, though, as he will play David Ferrer which may still be thought of as a bigger draw for TV audiences in the USA than Murray-Young.

I reckon Ferrer will beat Roddick in the next round. Will be a close match though.

[JimBHibees]

Nadal's not due to meet Roddick until the quarter finals, which would be played on Thursday, Murray plays Young in the last 16 tomorrow.

Roddick may still be the night match tomorrow, though, as he will play David Ferrer which may still be thought of as a bigger draw for TV audiences in the USA than Murray-Young.

Apologies didnt realise that personally think Ferrer will take Roddick.

[JimBHibees]

I reckon Ferrer will beat Roddick in the next round. Will be a close match though.

Agree. :agree:

[Sir David Gray]

Fantastic tiebreak going on just now between Novak Djokovic and Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first set.

Currently 14-13 to Dolgopolov.

[Sir David Gray]

Djokovic finally wins the tiebreak 16-14.

Unbelievable stuff that you can only get in men's Grand Slam tennis.

[jodjam]

Djokovic finally wins the tiebreak 16-14.

Unbelievable stuff that you can only get in men's Grand Slam tennis.

That was amazing. And all the time Nole played it with a smile on his face. Top tv

[Sir David Gray]

Looks like it will be an all-Serbian match in the quarter finals between Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic. Djokovic has just taken the second set 6-4.

[MountcastleHibs]

Andy Murray has tweeted that he's the 11am (American time) start tomorrow, so 4pm BST :thumbsup:

Come on Andy :flag:

[Sir David Gray]

Andy Murray has tweeted that he's the 11am (American time) start tomorrow, so 4pm BST :thumbsup:

Come on Andy :flag:

:agree: Confirmed on the US Open website.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/schedule/schedule15.html

I know I said last night that I wanted him to be on at 4pm our time but I actually wanted it to be the second match on tomorrow as I'll not be in the house until about 7.30pm, so I'm going to miss it. :boo hoo:

It's been a good match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish just now. It's into a final set decider with Tsonga 4-1 up, so it's looking like he'll be playing either Roger Federer or Juan Monaco in the quarter finals. They are second on court in the night matches so that will be on at around 3am (BST) if anyone fancies it!

[Sir David Gray]

The order of play for today and tonight has been cancelled and carried over into tomorrow due to persistent heavy rain in New York and no sign that it will clear up.

That is extremely bad news for Andy Murray, who will now need to play his last 16 match against Donald Young tomorrow then, assuming he wins that, he'll be playing his quarter final against John Isner or Gilles Simon on Thursday.

The problem is that tomorrow's weather forecast is no better than today's and if tomorrow's schedule gets wiped out as well then they'll have big problems.

[Sir David Gray]

Schedule for tomorrow has been revealed and Murray will be the first match on the Grandstand court.

At the moment it's scheduled for a 4pm start (BST) but, as I said, the forecast for New York tomorrow is poor so who knows when it will be played?

[sunshine1875]

Murray - Young match has just started, only 25 hours late!

Currently 2-1 Young - all games going to the server.

C'mon Andy!

EDIT: rain stops play!

[Sir David Gray]

This is becoming a real problem now for Murray.

I think it's almost certain now that the final will be on Monday and possibly even Tuesday, if the weather doesn't clear up.

With Murray still to play his last 16 match, for the final to be played on Sunday and assuming that there's no more play today, he would need to play every single day until Sunday, if he got to the final.

I cannot believe that the organisers would allow that to happen.

I don't think the weather is to even be all that clever over the next couple of days either so a Tuesday final remains a possibility.

It's turning into a bit of a nightmare at the moment and I would imagine that this will be extremely frustrating for the players.

[Sir David Gray]

The USTA have just announced on the US Open website that today's day session has been cancelled.

That means Murray won't be playing again until tomorrow at the earliest.

[Twiglet]

The USTA have just announced on the US Open website that today's day session has been cancelled.

That means Murray won't be playing again until tomorrow at the earliest.

This is turning into a joke. I know that this kind of weather isn't expected every year, but that's now 2 days Andy's been trying to play a single match and he's managed 3 games! Why don't they have a roof? If Wimbledon and the LTA can have a roof, why don't hey have one at Flushing Meadows?

[Sir David Gray]

This is turning into a joke. I know that this kind of weather isn't expected every year, but that's now 2 days Andy's been trying to play a single match and he's managed 3 games! Why don't they have a roof? If Wimbledon and the LTA can have a roof, why don't hey have one at Flushing Meadows?

I don't think that they could have a roof on the main Arthur Ashe stadium court as they have simply made it too big. The cost involved in having a roof on this court would be astronomical.

I think the Louis Armstrong court is due to be demolished and rebuilt in the near future and although it won't have a roof, it will be capable of having this structure in place if it is felt that it is required.

[Sir David Gray]

This is becoming really farcical now.

Serena Williams came out on court against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to play their quarter final match and before they even got finished the warm up, the referee came on and stopped play. They have now gone off the court again because it's started raining again.

It's almost 8pm in New York now, they really need to forget about today's session and start again tomorrow.

[Sir David Gray]

Finally been announced that there will be no further play at the US Open today.

Weather permitting, play will resume at 4pm (BST) on Thursday.

[PatHead]

Just looked on the BBC website. Only rain free day before Tuesday is Saturday. Wonder if they will try and get Murray to play more than 1 tie on same day. Wouldn't put anything beyond these organisers.

[Sir David Gray]

Just looked on the BBC website. Only rain free day before Tuesday is Saturday. Wonder if they will try and get Murray to play more than 1 tie on same day. Wouldn't put anything beyond these organisers.

There's no chance of that.

They may have got him to play the remainder of his last 16 tie and then, if he wins that, play his quarter final a few hours later, if he had been near the end of his last 16 match.

But considering that he's barely halfway through his first set against Donald Young, I cannot see them getting him to play practically two full best-of-five set matches in one day.

There would be an outrage if that was allowed to happen.

[PatHead]

Wasn't saying it would be fair only trying to work out how he could fit in all his matches.

[Sir David Gray]

Wasn't saying it would be fair only trying to work out how he could fit in all his matches.

I know you weren't saying it would be fair but you brought up the possibility of the organisers asking Murray, and the other players who are still stuck in the last 16 round, to play more than one match in one day, in order to finish the tournament.

All I'm saying is, there's no way that they will do that.

If the weather from today until Sunday is ok, and I don't believe that is to be the case, then if they can play every day in order to finish the tournament on time then that is what they will do.

With that in mind, if possible, they will schedule it like this;

THURSDAY

Four remaining men's last 16 ties.
First two men's quarter finals.
Women's quarter finals.

FRIDAY

Last two men's quarter finals.
Women's semi finals.

SATURDAY

Men's semi finals
Women's final.

SUNDAY

Men's final.

It will mean that the men in the bottom half of the draw (Murray, Nadal, Roddick etc...) would need to play every day between now and Sunday, if they got to the final, whereas those in the top half (Djokovic, Federer, Tsonga and Tipsarevic) would get tomorrow off.

It's not so much of a problem in the women's draw as all players have reached the quarter final stage.

[Sir David Gray]

Great news, the sun is shining in New York today. :thumbsup:

They expect to get at least 2-3 hours of play in before some rain may be forecast.

Players are out on court and Andy Murray is currently warming up against Donald Young. When play begins, he'll be serving at 1-2 down in the first set.

Live coverage on Sky Sports 1.

[Sir David Gray]

They're back off again on Louis Armstrong court between Andy Roddick and David Ferrer as there appears to be some sort of problem with water seeping through the court.

No idea when that one will be back on.

Thankfully there's no problem on Grandstand and Andy Murray has broken early against Donald Young and is currently 4-2 up in the opening set.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray wins the first set 6-2. :thumbsup:

[PatHead]

Can no-one hold their serve in this set?

Almost all games against server 4-3 Murray. Nadal 1 set up 7 6.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray safely through in straight sets is very good news since he'll probably/hopefully face a gruelling schedule over the next 3 days. He'll now play John Isner tomorrow after he defeated Gilles Simon in 4 sets, 7-6 3-6 7-6 7-6. I cannot see Isner causing Murray too many issues.

Rafael Nadal is also through to the quarter finals after beat Gilles Muller 7-6 6-1 6-2 and will now play Andy Roddick tomorrow, after he had to move to an outside court against David Ferrer as the problem on Louis Armstrong couldn't be fixed. He beat Ferrer in 4 sets. I don't see Roddick causing an upset in that match.

The first men's quarter final is currently underway and Novak Djokovic is level at 5-5 in the first set against Janko Tipsarevic.

The second quarter final begins at midnight between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

[jodjam]

weird as it seems a spot of rain now would help Murray. Get all the q/f matches at the same point. Plus i could do with the final moving to monday as i'm on a tour up north on sunday and the guests are putting me up in a hotel that prob wont have sky :)

[jodjam]

weird as it seems a spot of rain now would help Murray. Get all the q/f matches at the same point. Plus i could do with the final moving to monday as i'm on a tour up north on sunday and the guests are putting me up in a hotel that prob wont have sky :)

[Sir David Gray]

There was a half decent match in the making between Djokovic and Tipsarevic. The first two sets was exciting stuff as both players took a set each on a tie-break. However, Tipsarevic seems to have given up the ghost as Djokovic has just won the third set, 6-0.

[Sir David Gray]

Novak Djokovic is the first player to book his place in the semi finals after Janko Tipsarevic retires in the 4th set.

At the time, Djokovic led 7-6 6-7 6-0 3-0.

It's a pity that the match ended that way because the first two sets were brilliant and it was shaping up to be a bit of a classic.

Djokovic will now play the winner of tonight's match between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Saturday in the semi finals.

Federer-Tsonga is due to begin in the next 15 minutes or so.

[Sir David Gray]

Unfortunately the rain has made a return and forced off Federer and Tsonga after only five games of the first set.

Federer is 3-2 up with a break and was 0-15 down when play was suspended.

Incidentally, that retirement of Janko Tipsarevic means that 11 men have now retired from their match during this year's tournament.

Conor Niland vs Novak Djokovic (First round)
Kei Nishikori vs Flavio Cipolla (First round)
Frank Dancevic vs Marsel Ilhan (First round)
Louk Sorensen vs Rogerio Dutra da Silva (First round)
Karol Beck vs Diego Junqueira (First round)
Marinko Matosevic vs Juan Ignacio Chela (First round)

Nicolas Mahut vs Rafael Nadal (Second round)
Radek Stepanek vs Juan Monaco (Second round)

Tomas Berdych vs Janko Tipsarevic (Third round)
Marcel Granollers vs Juan Carlos Ferrero (Third round)

Janko Tipsarevic vs Novak Djokovic (Quarter finals)

[Sir David Gray]

Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga finally got on court last night and it was Federer who will go on to play Novak Djokovic in tomorrow's semi final after a straight sets victory.

Federer got revenge for the defeat to Tsonga at Wimbledon in June and it will now be a repeat of last year's classic semi final encounter between Federer and Djokovic. Federer is still the only man to beat Djokovic this season in a full length match so hopefully it will be another great match between them.

The last two quarter finals will be played today. First up will be Andy Murray and John Isner, who will be playing at 5pm (BST), followed by Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick, which will be on probably at around 7.30/8pm.

The USTA has announced that, due to the weather disruptions earlier this week, the tournament will now finish on Monday.

So the schedule is like this;

FRIDAY

Last two men's quarter finals

SATURDAY

Men's semi finals
Women's semi finals

SUNDAY

Women's final

MONDAY

Men's final

[HibbyAndy]

IMO Its a complete farce Murray if he wants to win the US Open will have to play 4 matches in 4 days..Absolute nonsense, Considering he never played his 1st match till the 1st Wednesday, Whats that all about?!?!.

It will be the 4th year on the trot the tournament has finished on a Monday, Build a roof FFS...The organisers would argue it cost 200 Million to build a roof, Id argue they are losing MILLIONS a day..Infact thats a fact.

Can you imagine a Djokovic v Murray final? Murray would be on deaths door with fatigue.

US Open used to be my favourite tournament, Its now just a burden to the players, They just wont admit it.

[JimBHibees]

IMO Its a complete farce Murray if he wants to win the US Open will have to play 4 matches in 4 days..Absolute nonsense, Considering he never played his 1st match till the 1st Wednesday, Whats that all about?!?!.

It will be the 4th year on the trot the tournament has finished on a Monday, Build a roof FFS...The organisers would argue it cost 200 Million to build a roof, Id argue they are losing MILLIONS a day..Infact thats a fact.

Can you imagine a Djokovic v Murray final? Murray would be on deaths door with fatigue.

US Open used to be my favourite tournament, Its now just a burden to the players, They just wont admit it.

Totally agree about the schedule it was completely unfair for him to be asked to play his first game on the Wednesday when there had been no delays. It appears to me that Federer seems to land well from the scheduling in this tournament for some reason.

Of course now the final has been moved to the Monday the men players will have a day off on Sunday weather permitting.

[Sir David Gray]

IMO Its a complete farce Murray if he wants to win the US Open will have to play 4 matches in 4 days..Absolute nonsense, Considering he never played his 1st match till the 1st Wednesday, Whats that all about?!?!.

It will be the 4th year on the trot the tournament has finished on a Monday, Build a roof FFS...The organisers would argue it cost 200 Million to build a roof, Id argue they are losing MILLIONS a day..Infact thats a fact.

Can you imagine a Djokovic v Murray final? Murray would be on deaths door with fatigue.

US Open used to be my favourite tournament, Its now just a burden to the players, They just wont admit it.

They've decided to extend the tournament so that the men's final will now be played on Monday.

Which means that, although Federer and Djokovic have a day off today, all four semi-finalists will play tomorrow and then both finalists will have Sunday off and then play on Monday.

I think that's fair enough, to be honest. It would have been extremely unfair on whoever made the final from the bottom half of the draw, if the final had been played on Sunday as they would have had to play every day for four days, whilst their opponent had a day off today.

I know that they're not writing off the possibility of building a roof on Arthur Ashe but I really don't see how that can happen as I honestly think it's too big for a roof.

I agree with you about Murray not playing his first round until Wednesday though, there's no need for that. As I said in an earlier post, I realise that at the US Open they have 14 days of play, whereas at Wimbledon it's only 13 as they don't play on the middle Sunday but I really don't know why they can't have a schedule that is similar to Wimbledon.

How about;

FIRST MONDAY/TUESDAY

Men's/women's first round.

FIRST WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY

Men's/women's second round.

FIRST FRIDAY/SATURDAY

Men's/women's third round.

FIRST SUNDAY

Men's/women's last 16.

SECOND MONDAY

Women's quarter finals (top half).
Men's quarter finals (bottom half).

SECOND TUESDAY

Women's quarter finals (bottom half).
Men's quarter finals (top half).

SECOND WEDNESDAY

Women's semi final (top half).

SECOND THURSDAY

Women's semi final (bottom half).
Men's semi final (top half).

SECOND FRIDAY

Men's semi final (bottom half).

SECOND SATURDAY

Women's final.

SECOND SUNDAY

Men's final.




OR




FIRST MONDAY

Women's first round.

FIRST TUESDAY

Men's first round.

FIRST WEDNESDAY

Women's second round.

FIRST THURSDAY

Men's second round.

FIRST FRIDAY

Women's third round.

FIRST SATURDAY

Men's third round.

FIRST SUNDAY

Women's last 16.

SECOND MONDAY

Men's last 16.

SECOND TUESDAY

Women's quarter finals.

SECOND WEDNESDAY

Men's quarter finals.

SECOND THURSDAY

Women's semi finals.

SECOND FRIDAY

Men's semi finals.

SECOND SATURDAY

Women's final.

SECOND SUNDAY

Men's final.

Neither of them are perfect really but would surely be better than the current schedule.

[Sir David Gray]

Great start for Murray as he takes the first two sets, 7-5 and 6-4.

However Isner is mounting a bit of a comeback in the third set and is currently 3-0 up, with Murray serving.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray lost the 3rd set 6-3 and it is currently 4-4 in the 4th set.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray wins 7-5 6-4 3-6 7-6 in over 3 hours. :thumbsup:

He'll now play either Rafael Nadal or Andy Roddick in tomorrow's semi final.

[jodjam]

Here's hoping for a 5hr match between Rafa and Roddick. Anything to help out Andy.

[Sir David Gray]

Here's hoping for a 5hr match between Rafa and Roddick. Anything to help out Andy.

It would be good but I really don't see this going to anything like five hours.

I think Nadal will win in straight sets and that it will be over in around 2 hours.

[Sir David Gray]

Not a great start for Roddick, to say the least.

Nadal's got a double break at the start of the first set and is now serving at 3-0 up.

[Sir David Gray]

Nadal wins the first set, 6-2, after about 40 minutes.

[Sir David Gray]

Nadal leads two sets to love after barely an hour.

He's won the opening two sets 6-2 6-1.

Brilliant performance so far by Nadal.

[Sir David Gray]

Rafael Nadal wins 6-2 6-1 6-3 in under 2 hours.

It was an excellent display by Nadal but I'm sure that Andy Murray will prove to be far stiffer opposition tomorrow than Roddick was today.

First up tomorrow is Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic at 5pm (BST) and that match is followed by Andy Murray vs Rafael Nadal. I would expect that match to be on at around 8.30/9pm (BST).

What an evening of tennis we will have in store for tomorrow.

I cannot wait. :drool:

[Sir David Gray]

Round one of tonight's tennis is coming up in 10-15 minutes or so.

Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic, live on Sky Sports 1.

Hopefully it will be the ideal appetiser, before the main course.

[Sir David Gray]

Might be a little while before play begins as heavy rain has come down on New York. :boo hoo:

[Sir David Gray]

Players are on court, the warm up is underway and play should be starting in the next 2 minutes.

Expect Andy Murray on at around 9.30pm.

[Sir David Gray]

Brilliant first set, which Federer has taken on a tiebreak.

More of the same, please!

[Sir David Gray]

Federer breaks early in the second set.

He's serving at 2-1 up.

[Sir David Gray]

Federer takes a giant step towards taking his place in Monday's final as he goes two sets up.

He takes the second set, 6-4.

Can the world number one recover?

[Sir David Gray]

Djokovic breaks first in the third set, he's serving at 2-0 up.

Does this signal a change in the match?

[Sir David Gray]

Djokovic halves Federer's lead as he takes the third set, 6-3.

[Sir David Gray]

Djokovic breaks in the first game of the fourth set.

This is a completely different match to the one that was being played about an hour ago.

[Sir David Gray]

Djokovic breaks for a second time in the fourth set. He's now serving at 4-1 up.

The change around that has taken place in the last hour is quite amazing.

This is almost exactly what happened when Federer played Tsonga at Wimbledon.

[Nuitdelune]

IF Andy could possibly get passed Nadal, would have more chance of getting passed Federer I think. Fingers xxx

[Sir David Gray]

Djokovic levels the match up at two sets all and the match will go into a decider.

He takes it 6-2.

You've got to fancy Djokovic now to complete the comeback and book his place in Monday's final.

[greenlex]

What a game of tennis this is It has everything. If Murray V Nadal is half as good we are in for a treat.

[Sir David Gray]

This is incredible.

Federer had two match points at 5-3 up and 40-15 and Djokovic thought he was out. Somehow he manages to break, though, and he'll be coming out to serve at 4-5.

Amazing, just amazing.

When you get a match like this, men's Grand Slam tennis, to me, is unrivalled with any other sport in terms of drama and excitement.

[Sir David Gray]

Djokovic holds and it's 5-5 now in the decider.

[Sir David Gray]

Djokovic breaks again, this time to go 6-5 up and he'll now serve for the match.

Unbelievable.

[HH81]

When you get a match like this, men's Grand Slam tennis, to me, is unrivalled with any other sport in terms of drama and excitement.

I'd have to go rugby league on that. Watch the super league grand final its fantastic. :agree:

[Sir David Gray]

Novak Djokovic wins 6-7 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-5 in around 4 hours.

What a brilliant effort by Djokovic, not only to come back from two sets down but to save the two match points on Federer's serve.

Just a fantastic tennis match between two of the all-time greats, with non-stop entertainment.

[greenlex]

Fantastic.

[Sir David Gray]

No adjectives could really do that match justice.

If there's athletes out there today who are fitter than the top men's tennis players then I'd love to meet them.

To go at it for almost 4 hours and to play at such a high level for that duration is just awesome.

[Sir David Gray]

First blood to Nadal in the first set as he breaks to go 4-3 up.

Pretty negative body language coming from Murray at the moment.

[Sir David Gray]

One of the shots of the tournament there by Nadal.

Incredible forehand.

[Sir David Gray]

First set to Nadal, 6-4.

[Sir David Gray]

One of the shots of the tournament there by Nadal.

Incredible forehand.

Scrap that.

Murray just played the shot of the tournament to hold serve for 2-1 in the second set. It even got a clap from Nadal, which is very rare.

He had a lot of chances to break Nadal and go 2-0 up, he had 3 break points but couldn't take any of them.

Still in this set though.

[Hibbie_Cameron]

Scrap that.

Murray just played the shot of the tournament to hold serve for 2-1 in the second set. It even got a clap from Nadal, which is very rare.

He had a lot of chances to break Nadal and go 2-0 up, he had 3 break points but couldn't take any of them.

Still in this set though.

Not now

Andy seems to ranting and raving away to himself between points

[Sir David Gray]

It would seem that the writing is on the wall now for Andy Murray as Nadal goes a set and a break up.

He's now serving at 3-2 up in the second set.

[Sir David Gray]

And that, as they say, should be that.

Nadal takes the second set, 6-2.

Maybe he'll do a Djokovic...!

I wouldn't bet on it though.

[Hibbie_Cameron]

This is more like it

2-1:thumbsup:

[Sir David Gray]

Murray takes the third, 6-3. :thumbsup:

Come on, Andy! :aok:

Get a good start to the fourth and anything can happen.

[Hibbie_Cameron]

Murray takes the third. :thumbsup:

Come on, Andy! :aok:

Get a good start to the fourth and anything can happen.

It really is vital he keeps it going at the start of this set.

Trying not to get carried away tho, been there done that with Murray

[Sir David Gray]

It really is vital he keeps it going at the start of this set.

Trying not to get carried away tho, been there done that with Murray

:agree: Let's be honest, it's still a long shot and Nadal remains the overwhelming favourite for the match.

He's given himself a lifeline, though.

It's essential that he, at the very least, sticks with Nadal in this set and see what happens.

[Hibbie_Cameron]

Game over now. He has played very well in the last set or so but its still not enough

[Hibbie_Cameron]

He's oot

[Sir David Gray]

Ah well, not to be.

Nadal wins 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-2 in around 3 and a half hours.

It wasn't Murray's greatest performance in the world but Nadal is just the ultimate competitor and you can't do anything but admire the way that he plays. Fair play to Murray for managing to keep it semi-competitive in the third set but it's just not good enough to beat the very best.

We'll have a superb final on Monday night, in many ways a dream final. We have the two greatest players in the world by a mile going up against one another and it could possibly be a classic.

[BroxburnHibee]

Murray is just not good enough.

I couldn't stay up to watch but from reading the match report it seems Murray started slow - yet again.

Always seems to be tentative in these big matches.

I remember Djokovic was not really doing much a couple of years back - something's changed though - he seems to have been able to move his game up a level where he's now in the same class as Federer/Nadal if not better.

Cant see Andy doing that somehow - hope I'm wrong.

[Golden Bear]

Andy Murray is a great player but in terms of ability and strength of character he is some distance away from the world's top 3 players. Last night he seemed to lack belief in his own abilities to beat Nadal and this contributed to his defeat just as much as Nadal's brilliance.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

On a side issue, Annabel Croft is a good looking woman for a 45 year old!

[CFC]

American crowd booing in Serena Williams match. Ryder cup-esque, hope the Aussie pumps her.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

What happened with Williams and the umpire at the start of set 2? Just saw the last few games.
Those Williams sisters don't like it up them! (probably in more ways than one).

[CFC]

Williams screamed out during a point (which she was about to win) and the point was awarded to the Aussie lassie due to Williams verbal interference. Then Williams went all John Mcenroe and the crowd acted like it was the 99 Ryder Cup and was booing so long the Aussie lass couldnt serve for 1 minute. GIRFUY!

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Happy days right enough! Those 2 sisters get right on my thruppenies and their old dear is even more annoying than Mrs Murray!

[Sir David Gray]

What happened with Williams and the umpire at the start of set 2? Just saw the last few games.
Those Williams sisters don't like it up them! (probably in more ways than one).

Williams hit a massive forehand when she was break point down, which was destined to be a winning shot. However, when the ball was in mid-flight, she shouted "Come on!". The umpire then awarded the point to Stosur because of Williams' "deliberate interference".

The umpire was completely correct to apply that rule and award Stosur the point, and subsequently the break of serve, and Williams' reaction to the situation was absolutely disgraceful. She should be ashamed of the way she behaved towards the umpire at the change of ends a few minutes later. She's experienced enough to know the rules of tennis.

"Don't shout out during a rally and when the ball is in play" is one of the first rules of tennis that she'll have been told when she started playing the sport as a young girl. So as a professional of 16 years, there really are no excuses.

Her refusal to shake hands with the umpire at the end of the match was also extremely classless.

I started off not caring less who won that final last night but after that, I was delighted that Sam Stosur won. She played some really nice tennis for practically the whole match and completely dominated.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Just saw it on SSN. Nae class whatsoever!

[JimBHibees]

Andy Murray is a great player but in terms of ability and strength of character he is some distance away from the world's top 3 players. Last night he seemed to lack belief in his own abilities to beat Nadal and this contributed to his defeat just as much as Nadal's brilliance.

I would agree with regard to belief. He also needs to IMO curb the constant negative chat that he gets involved with his entourage. In terms of the game I dont think there was that much in it though Murray's unforced errors were basically what killed him. Got to be said the standard of the top of Men's tennis is better than it has ever been IMO.

[Sir David Gray]

Andy Murray is a great player but in terms of ability and strength of character he is some distance away from the world's top 3 players. Last night he seemed to lack belief in his own abilities to beat Nadal and this contributed to his defeat just as much as Nadal's brilliance.

I've gone past the point of getting too hung up about Murray's attitude and character. He's 24 years of age now and it's not something that he's going to change now, it's just part of who he is. Unfortunately it will probably cost him the chance of winning a Grand Slam but that's Andy Murray.

I think Murray is still of the belief, deep down, that he's not as good as the other top three players. If that's the case then no coach in the world will be able to give him that belief and that confidence.

[Sir David Gray]

Men's final about to start in the next five minutes.

I cannot wait for this, it's a dream final. :aok:

I think it will be extremely close and I am backing Djokovic to win it in five sets. He should have gone out in the semis against Roger Federer but he somehow got through that match and I think that will give him a huge amount of belief and confidence.

You can never count Nadal out though as he really is the ultimate competitor.

I'm looking forward to 3-4 hours of the highest quality.

[PatHead]

Ah well, not to be.

Nadal wins 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-2 in around 3 and a half hours.

It wasn't Murray's greatest performance in the world but Nadal is just the ultimate competitor and you can't do anything but admire the way that he plays. Fair play to Murray for managing to keep it semi-competitive in the third set but it's just not good enough to beat the very best.

We'll have a superb final on Monday night, in many ways a dream final. We have the two greatest players in the world by a mile going up against one another and it could possibly be a classic.

Looks like you are getting your wish................

Maybe Murray's performance wasnt so bad

[Sir David Gray]

Fantastic match so far.

Nadal got the early break but Djokovic has just won three games in a row and is now serving at 3-2 up in the first set. Those five games have taken almost 40 minutes.

At that rate of games per minute, if this match goes to five sets, it would last six hours! :aok:

[CFC]

This is superb stuff, over 10 minutes this 3rd game, 6 deuces!

[Sir David Gray]

Game of the decade has just been played on Arthur Ashe court, absolutely phenomenal play from both players.

It lasted for 17 minutes and it ended with Djokovic breaking back in the third game of the second set and he will now serve at 1-2 down.

Djokovic took the opening set 6-2.

Incredible match so far, I don't want it to stop.

[Sir David Gray]

One of the best sets of tennis you are ever likely to see anywhere has just been won by Novak Djokovic.

He now leads by two sets to love.

I don't see Nadal coming back from this but you can never write him off.

[Hibbie_Cameron]

I need to be up for work in 4 1/2 hours but its difficult to switch the tv off

[Sir David Gray]

I know I've used this description already but this is absolutely unbelievable.

A tennis match of the very highest quality.

I could do with two more sets of this! :aok:

One downside is the disrespectful conduct of some people in the crowd. The heckling and shouting out as the players are about to serve is really not on.

[Shrekko]

Just watched the best set of tennis that's ever been played IMO- and by a mile. These guys have taken the sport to a new level tonight.

How Djokovic hasn't won this is incredible considering the way he's played but Nadal is quite simply the most durable player that's ever played the game.

I could be wrong but even at 2 sets to 1 up, I think Djokovic may be a beaten man.

[Shrekko]

I could be wrong but even at 2 sets to 1 up, I think Djokovic may be a beaten man.

I was right!- I said I could be wrong! :greengrin

Absolutely brilliant- what a player.

[Sir David Gray]

Novak Djokovic wins 6-2 6-4 6-7 6-1 in around 4 hours.

The scoreline doesn't even begin to do the match justice. If ever a match deserved to go to five sets, it was this one. Both men played their part in what was an absolutely fantastic match, filled with entertainment, drama and excitement.

Like I said the other day, if there's athletes out there who are fitter than the top men's tennis players then I would really love to meet them.

The only thing that disappointed me slightly was Djokovic getting treatment at the start of the fourth set. I think there was a bit of mind games involved there and, considering the way he came out and played after that, I don't think there was much wrong with him, other than requiring a bit of a rest.

He was the worthy champion, though, there's no doubts about that.

How Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal get the same prize money as Sam Stosur and Serena Williams is an absolute joke.

[Greentinted]

One of the finest sporting displays I've ever seen in my years on this planet. Brilliant!

[--------]

Williams hit a massive forehand when she was break point down, which was destined to be a winning shot. However, when the ball was in mid-flight, she shouted "Come on!". The umpire then awarded the point to Stosur because of Williams' "deliberate interference".

The umpire was completely correct to apply that rule and award Stosur the point, and subsequently the break of serve, and Williams' reaction to the situation was absolutely disgraceful. She should be ashamed of the way she behaved towards the umpire at the change of ends a few minutes later. She's experienced enough to know the rules of tennis.

"Don't shout out during a rally and when the ball is in play" is one of the first rules of tennis that she'll have been told when she started playing the sport as a young girl. So as a professional of 16 years, there really are no excuses.

Her refusal to shake hands with the umpire at the end of the match was also extremely classless.

I started off not caring less who won that final last night but after that, I was delighted that Sam Stosur won. She played some really nice tennis for practically the whole match and completely dominated.


:agree: John McEnroe was saying he thought it should have been a 'let' - in other words, the point to be replayed - but I assume that the umpire considered the Williams was actually trying to put Stosur off. Not just instinctive exuberance on playing a great shot, but actual cheating - which is what 'deliberate interference' implies, of course. McEnroe, of course, is American, which may have influenced his judgement, and was on live TV, which meant he had to be careful what he said, since the Williams gang are nothing if not litigious.

The bellow didn't even come in mid-flight, it was just as Stosur was about to play the ball. In fact, it looked perfectly timed to distract Stosur. The fact that SW had lost the first set had nothing to do with it, of course... (Aye, right. :rolleyes:)

I was rooting for Stosur on principle, anyway - the Williams sisters have treated women's tennis as their own private playground for far too long IMO and it's long past time someone really challenged them - but when a player who's won as many Grand Slam titles as SW has resorts to this sort of behaviour playing someone who hasn't won any...

And in front of her home crowd, with them baying like animals?


On a more pleasant note, Djokovic-Nadal was simply awesome. Borg-McEnroe in 1980 was a great match, but wow! Men's tennis has come a long way in 30 years.

Mind you, a 20 minute tie-break, 18-16?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmfKbggEt5s

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmfKbggEt5s)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az36waluC5c&feature=related

[Sir David Gray]

So the final Grand Slam of 2011 is at an end and another tennis season is almost over.

There is absolutely no doubt about, as we look back at the 2011 season in years to come, which player will dominate the discussion.

There really has only been one man out on his own for the entire year. What Novak Djokovic has achieved this year is nothing short of miraculous. To win three Grand Slam titles in one year is a fantastic feat in itself but to have also won the Masters titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome and Montreal is just astonishing.

As things stand just now, he has won 64 out of the 66 matches that he has played in 2011. Even the great man, Roger Federer, when he was dominating the sport five or six years ago didn't record stats like that. The only two players to beat Djokovic this year have been Federer, at the semi finals of the French Open in one of the best matches of the year, and Andy Murray, in the final of the Cincinnati Masters when Djokovic retired injured.

As for the rest of the players, what now for Roger Federer. For the first time since 2002, Federer has gone through a whole calendar year without winning a single Grand Slam title. Also, at Wimbledon which he dominated for so many years, he has now failed to get past the quarter finals stage for two years in a row. Crucially, though, for two Grand Slams in a row he has been two sets to love up against his opponent and he has gone on to lose. Against Djokovic at the US Open, he had two match points as well, which will have hurt him even more.

It's never a good thing to discount Roger Federer because he has been such a great champion, undoubtedly the greatest tennis player the world has seen, however at 30 years old now, it is going to be more and more difficult for him to come back and win major honours.

For Rafael Nadal, 2012 will be all about trying to find a way to beat Djokovic. Prior to this year, the head-to-head record between the two of them was 16-7 in Nadal's favour. However, they have met six times this year and Djokovic has won every single one of them. It will be very interesting to see how Nadal learns from this year and tries to adapt his game to get past Djokovic next year and reclaim his number one spot.

And for Andy Murray, it will be the same questions that were posed at the end of last year. Can he ever win a Grand Slam title. This year he got to at least the semi finals of every Grand Slam tournament, including the final in Australia, but he just couldn't go that extra step and get his hands on any of the trophies. Obviously for the duration of his career, he has had to contend with Nadal and Federer, two of the all-time greats and this year he has seen Novak Djokovic hit unprecendented levels of greatness but he has to keep going and believe in his abilities. There is no doubt that he has the skill and the qualities to win a Grand Slam, however his temperament does let him down on the big stage. That's not something that he's going to be able to sort out very easily but he must try.

18 months ago, no-one would have predicted that Djokovic would be where he is now but he has done it and good luck to him as he deserves it. Murray must try to do likewise.

As for the rest, it will be interesting to see if any of them can break into the top four and challenge for a major. For many years now, it has all been about the top four players and the rest just making up the numbers but it will intriguing to see if anyone can change that.