US Open Day 9 Impressions

by Savannah

That was a hell of a men's match last night. Props to Gael Monfils for playing his ass off especially since he had no legs after the second set. The drunks, I mean crowd, tried to buoy him but there was not much he could do.

Speaking of fans how the hell did this happen? I know the woman security official is well trained but she was literally standing by herself when this particular fan made his way on court from the high priced seats. She was eventually helped but the lapse is startling. I've seen security run the kids with the big yellow balls off when it was perceived they were too close to the court or too rowdy. To its credit ESPN2 brought the man who runs security for the Open on live this morning to ask what happened. He blathered on about increased security, etc and said that it won't happen again. If your forces can behave like the gestapo towards kids why was no one guarding the sidelines against an incident like this? Fortunately this clown was only armed with a camera. It's a time honored US Open thing that after a certain time you can sit where you want. I hope one fool doesn't cause that tradition to be suspended.


I missed the Marin Cilic vs Andy Murray match yesterday. Kind of. I mean it was on the television but I had the sound down because I was watching Juan Martin del Potro vs Juan Carlos Ferrero online. I figured that would be the better match. I glanced at the television and saw that Cilic had won the first set. I shrugged and went back to the match I was watching. When I looked up again Cilic was waving to the crowd. Knowing how heavily invested some of the talking heads were in Murray I put the sound back on. The common refrain seemed to be "it's not that he lost but how he lost". That has continued into today. I don't know what happened so if anyone was watching please reply with details. Thanks.
The Fashion Disasters

Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova during their match yesterday. Just in case you wanted to know why Bethanie has her own little place in the annals of tennis fashion. If you haven't seen the dress Craig has described as a garbage bag with ruffles it'll be on display tonight when Caroline Wozniacki plays Melanie Oudin. Let's hope Melanie and Usain Bolt never get together on shoe designs. I mean really. Who will win tonight? Who the hell knows.

End Notes

Brad Gilbert was having a ball making fun of Yanina Wickmayer's last name. He also keeps calling Kateryna Bondarenko "The Flying Bondarenko Sister". One would think that any discussion of the Tier III section of the women's draw would focus on why Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams are the last seeds standing not on what you perceive is a funny name. I find it amusing that when the subject of the WTA situation is broached it's in terms of the "depth" of the women's game. Kind of reminds me of that old joke about the degrees of education one can obtain. You start with the Bachelor of Science = BS = Bull Shit. You move on to the Master of Science = MS = More Shit, and finally you get the PhD = Piled Higher and Deeper. We're at the PhD stage with the WTA now.

It can't be said often enough that Kim Clijsters was crazy like a fox coming back in the second part of the year after the FO and Wimbledon. She's got fresh legs, a clear mind, and a nanny to help her focus. That said Li Na seemed beaten before she took the court yesterday. She said she never plays well on Ashe and that she was just going out there and, well, play.
The key to Clijsters is her quick style of play. If you take that away from her she has to think too much and she gets flustered. If she controls the pace of the match her opponent is in trouble.

You live and learn. I never knew it was the brothers Luke and Murphy Jensen who started the chest bumping that has been made famous by the Bryan twins. I'm enjoying the commentary this morning. A lot. Jensen wants to talk about the match and is pointing out the strategy involved and what each team is doing. Cliff is letting him talk. Good work.

Think the Australians are a tad upset about Lleyton Hewitt moving his family from his native Australia to the Bahamas? Yahoo reports the following:

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP)—Lleyton Hewitt is defending his adopted Bahamas home.

Hewitt called a Bahamian newspaper to angrily reject an Australian media report that he and his wife are living in fear amid crime and poverty on the island.

The former No. 1 player told The Tribune in an interview published Wednesday that the Australian magazine report was “absolute rubbish.” He told the paper he and his family have had nothing but “fantastic experiences” in the nearly nine months they have lived in a gated community on New Providence island.

“We’ve made great friends over here, everyone’s been so friendly and we feel so safe,” he told the Nassau-based Tribune. “For us it’s a fantastic place to raise a young family.”

Sugiyama Ai is pondering retirement.

The 34-year-old Sugiyama has indicated the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this month likely will be her last in a 17-year career in which her singles ranking rose to a high of No. 8.

“I am normally the type that can picture what the near future holds, but to be honest at this moment in time, I can’t see myself competing next season,” Sugiyama told Kyodo news on Wednesday.

At the U.S. Open on Monday, Sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchova lost to Yan Zi and Zheng Jie 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. She lost in singles to Samantha Stosur 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round.

“I knew that the moment I realized I could play well in fits and starts but not over the course of a season, then it would be time to retire,” she said. “Now I would like to give something back to tennis.”

Sugiyama won six WTA tour singles titles and doubles titles at all the Grand Slam events except the Australian Open. She reached the final there this year.

SOURCE

Rain is predicted for tomorrow in New York.