Lets Try That Again...

Thursday was not a very good day.  Like I said do not bet real money on these picks.  If you were smart, you would take the opposite of who I take.

So with 3 losses I am now down to 700 imaginary dollars.  Lets try to win some money back.

Stockholm:
Jarkko Nieminen -275 vs.  James Blake + 190
For some dumb reason I really like the value bet.  James Blake is a good pick for doubling your money.  I'm not 100% confidant in this one, but in a match where its 50/50 and if one of the guys wins you can basically double your money.  It's too difficult to pass on
$100 on James Blake
RESULT: Jarkko Nieminen 6-0, 6-2


Robin Soderling -600  vs.  Florian Mayer + 350
This is when I go "all in" with the rest of my money.  Soderling in his home country will just throttle journeyman Mayer.  I really like this play.  Pricey, but close to a sure thing....I think.....I hope.
$600 on Robin Soderling
RESULT:  Florian Mayer 7-6, 6-1.


Well this didn't go well.  Lesson learned, do not bet on tennis.  I just busted.

It's been a while.

It's been a while since my last post, and nothing real significant has happened.  Well Venus and Serena coincidentally got injuries, so now they have an excuse not to play in tournaments and skip Fed Cup.  How convenient that seems to work.

So I've now decided to do something fun.  Odds are good that I will not stick to doing it since I rarely stick to anything on this blog.

But I have come up with the idea to start off with $1000 of FAKE money and randomly bet on matches just to see how much I will have at the end of the year.  I will be using the money lines at betus.com.  This is not a plug for the site, its just the first one I found with tennis odds.  Repeat I will not be placing bets, nor do I advise you to place bets based on my picks.  This is just for fun.  There is a good chance I will bust in the first couple days and this will idea will be gone with the wind.

Let me explain the money line real quick.  Next to a players name there will be a + or a - and a number.  example -400 or +250   The minus number is always the favorite.  And that is how much money you would have to wager to earn $100.  Now if you bet on a underdog who has a +  That dollar amount is how much you would win if you put $100 on that player.  Confusing  I know, but you'll figure it out with time.

So here are my wagers for the matches on Thursday, October 21, 2010:

In Moscow,   Maria Kirilenko -400,  Kateryna Bondarenko +250
I like the value in taking Bondarenko in this one.  Kateryna could easily win this match.  This seems like a pretty even match, and I like the odds that Bondarenko is getting.
$100 on Bondarenko
RESULT:   Maria Kirilenko 6-0, 6-0

In Moscow,  Anna Chakvetadze -450,  Mariya Koryttseva +275
This one baffles me, there is no way Chakvetadze should be that big of a favorite over anyone.  Chakvetadze during the season went a few months without putting back-to-back victories together.  Well she won her first round match, so you know what that means?  That's right, she's losing this one.
$100 on Koryttseva
RESULT:  Anna Chakvetadze 6-1, 6-2.

In Stockholm, Ivan Ljubicic -225,  Arnaud Clement +175
Ljubicic is always hard to read.  He seems to go through the motions a lot, and throw in the towel in smaller tournaments.  He can go through periods of showing a lack of interest, and Clement is just the opposite.  Clement is always in shape and a grinder.  I like how if you take Clement you can double your money, when this is almost a pick'em match.  I'm banking on Ljubicic not caring and trying to get out of town as quick as possible.
$100 on Clement
RESULT:  Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-4.

Now I realize I took 3 underdogs.  These were the 3 matches on tomorrows schedule that looked like a good chance to make some quick $$$.  There was some favorites that were shoe-ins, but putting $900 down on Soderling to beat up on Benjamin Becker isn't the most fun.  Maybe once I get a big bank roll I can put down some money on the big favorites.

Check back tomorrow to see how much money I won or lost, and who I'll be taking for Friday.

Who wants to see my poll?

The last Grand Slam event is finished, and my power rankings have been updated. My rankings unlike the ATP official rankings start over at the beginning of the season.  Everyone starts at zero and accumulates points throughout the year.  How do you get points you ask.

This is how players get points in my rankings:

GRAND SLAM EVENTS

3 points are earned for every win at a grand slam tournament up until the final.
5 points is earned by the player who wins in the final.

example: Juan Martin Del Potro won 7 matches to win the U.S. Open.
1st round defeated Juan Monaco = 3 pts
2nd round defeated Jurgen Melzer = 3 pts
3rd round defeated Daniel Koellerer = 3 pts
4th round defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero = 3pts
Quarterfinals defeated Marin Cilic = 3 pts
Semifinals defeated Rafael Nadal = 3pts
Final defeated Roger Federer = 5 pts

For a total of 23 points for winning a major.

Masters Series Events
There are about 8 Masters Series tournaments a year and they normally have a field of 64 players. Which means you must win 6 matches to be the champion.

Rounds 1st to Semifinals = 2pts each
Final = 3 pts to the winner.

For a total of 13 points for winning a Masters Series tournament.

All Other Tournaments
Most other smaller tournaments have 32 player fields, so 5 matches are needed to win.
Rounds 1-4 = 1pt
Final = 2 pts to the winner.
For a total of winning 6 points for winning any smaller tournament.

So with my system the bigger the tournament the more points there are to be earned. Kind of makes sense to me. Also the same system is used for both the men and women.




My Womens Top 10 following the U.S. Open
1. Caroline Wozniacki (Den)  127
2. Samantha Stosur (AUS) 104
3. Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 100
4. Venus Williams (USA) 95
5. Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 90
6. Kim Clijsters (BEL) 90
7. Shahar Peer (ISR) 82
8. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 80
8. Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 80
10. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 79


And you are thinking, "Where in the hell is Serena Williams?"  Well in my system, you do not accumulate points for faking injuries, and flaking out of tournaments.  If you did, Serena would be crowned the champion by the middle of March in most years.  She barely missed the top 10 by one point.  Serena is currently #11 with 78 points.  So maybe she will quit getting work done on her face and take it easy on the Michael Jackson-Sammy Sosa whitening formula and get her ass on the court and try to move up the rankings.


My Mens Top 10 following the U.S. Open
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 161
2. Roger Federer (SUI) 115
3. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 104
4. Andy Murray (GBR) 92
5. Robin Soderling (SWE) 91
6. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 90
7. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 84
7. Andy Roddick (USA) 84
9. David Ferrer (ESP) 83
10. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 75

And that is the current rankings, there are still a lot more tournaments left in the season, including the season ending tour championships.  So there is a chance for players to move up or fall completely out of the top 10.  I'll post the final top 10 once the season is complete.

Day 10 of the U.S. Open

Sorry for being late.  The internet was down last evening.

I didn't have much to say anyways, other than "THE WIND SUCKS!"  The wind made for some terrible matches yesterday.  All 4 matches were straight set victories for the favorites.

Results:
Vera Zvonareva over Kaia Kanepi
Novak Djokovic over Gael Monfils
Caroline Wozniacki over Dominika Cibulkova
Roger Federer over Robin Soderling

PICKS FOR THURSDAY:

Mikhail Youzhny will beat a tired Stanislas Wawrinka.  Stan has had to battle his last two matches.  He upset Andy Murray, and went the five set distance with Sam Querrey.  Before the Querrey match, Wawrinka admitted before the Querrey match that he was having leg problems, and that he hoped would be okay.  Well after going five I guarantee his leg isn't any better, odds are it is a lot worse.  Youzhny normally has injury issues of his own, but seems to be fit and playing well.  Because Wawrinka is tired and a little banged up, I have to pick Youzhny in four sets in this one.

The night match will be Rafael Nadal vs. Fernando Verdasco.  I'm still a little bummed that it isn't going to be David Ferrer kicking Nadal's ass at night, on Ashe Stadium.  Verdasco played a great last 3 sets and deserved the win, but like Wawrinka, Verdasco is having some minor injury problems of his own.  During the Ferrer match, Verdasco called the trainer to look at his ankle.  So there may be questions about his mobility tonight.  Even at 100% health, Verdasco had a slim chance of winning, so at 80% its almost no shot.  Nadal wins in 4 sets.

Day 9 of the U.S. Open

Lets start with the match of the day, maybe match of the year behind that boring ass Isner-Mahut match.  If either of them scrubs had the shot making abilities as David Ferrer or Fernando Verdasco, they wouldn't of had to play for 3 damn days.  So in my opinion the Ferrer-Verdasco match was better in quality.  The only thing the Isner-Mahut match had was longevity.

David Ferrer known for being scrappy and not giving up on any point during a match got up to a 2 sets to zero lead on Verdasco.  They were tight sets, with just a point here or there being the difference in the set.  So with two close sets (7-5, 7-6) in his pocket, Ferrer looked to move into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open for the first time since 2007.  In the third set Ferrer's intensity seemed to drift just enough for Verdasco to get a crucial break and take the set.  With his confidence starting to grow, and the support of the crowd getting behind him, Verdasco controlled the 4th set, and sent the match to a deciding 5th set.

With momentum on the side of Verdasco, it looked like Ferrer was laboring physically.  He seemed to have a minor cramp in one leg, which added to an already bleak outlook.  Somehow, someway Ferrer got a second wind, and was able to break serve early in the 5th set and took a 4-2 lead.  He had a break point to go up 5-2 which would of probably put the match away, but Verdasco was able to fight back and hold serve.Verdasco then able to break the serve of Ferrer's and once again hold.  He was looking into the eyes of a 5-2 deficit, and now he was up 5-4 in a matter of a few moments.  The tide of momentum had once again shifted, but this wouldn't be the last shift of the match.  Ferrer held serve and the match eventually went to a 5th set tiebreaker.  Ferrer looked good early in the tiebreaker racing out to a 4-1 lead, and then the wheels fell off.  Verdasco won the next 6 points and on match point he made one of the most amazing points to finish a match you could ever see.  Ferrer laid down a nice drop volley that looked almost impossible for Verdasco to even get to.  Verdasco sprinting from one corner of the court to the other was able to not only get a racket on the ball, but hit it around the pole of the net and in for a winner...Once again David Ferrer let victory slip from his hands.

-------------------------

Lets get to another match today.  Sam Querrey has been pissing and moaning about how he hasn't played at Arthur Ashe Stadium this U.S. Open.  Well Sam, here is a news break for you:  You aren't good.  You are solid, but that is about it.  You are not even in the top 20, so before you go barking about how you should be on the court reserved for the "big boys", you should concentrate on getting past the 2nd round of Grand Slams, since that seems to be a struggle in itself for you.

Sam finally got his chance to play at Arthur Ashe today.  And in typical Sam Querrey fashion he went out and got beat by Stanislas Wawrinka in 5 sets.  Just like most American's have this sense of entitlement from the Williams sisters right on down to a turd like Sam Querrey.  He probably had a list of excuses as to why he lost, just like his homey John Isner who is still blaming his fatigue on a match that happened over 2 months ago.  Yo John, blame that fatigue on you not being fit, blame your loss on your pathetic ground strokes.  Dude you are a one trick pony, you'll never be a factor.  Say hello to America's, Ivo Karlovic.  Although Dr. Ivo is way cooler than Isner will ever be.  Hope Dr. Ivo is recovering well from his foot surgery...Well I've managed to get off track.  This was about Sam Querrey being a whiney bitch, but that seems to be the way all the American players are.  All the credit in the world to Wawrinka for knocking out the last American male in the tournament...Wawrinka now plays Mikhail Youzhny who pretty much handled Tommy Robredo on Tuesday.  Taking control of the match from the beginning, having a hiccup in the 3rd set, just to put Robredo away in the 4th.

Here is a result that shocks nobody.  Rafael Nadal beat Feliciano Lopez in straight sets.  He'll play and kick Verdasco's ass next.

---------------------------

Lets talk about the ladies now.  Francesca Schiavone and Venus Williams had a good battle in their quarterfinal matchup.  There was probably more testosterone between these two "ladies" than what Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco could muster up....Back to the match.  Schiavone was able to break Williams' serve multiple times, and was able to show the other women in the bracket that the once intimidating serve can be beaten.  The difference in the match was that Venus was able to out-muscle the smaller Schiavone, and she also took advantage of quite a few mistakes made by Schiavone.  You cannot give Venus free points, and that is exactly what the veteran from Italy did.

Venus will now get a chance at revenge in the semifinals when she plays the new "Williams killer"  Kim Clijsters.  Clijsters was able to win a rollercoaster of a match with Samantha Stosur, that featured both players getting up a couple games just to be caught and past and so on.  Stosur probably has a better serve than Venus, so if Kim could handle that, she can definitely and probably will not have a lot of trouble with Venus....More like hopefully.

PICKS FOR WEDNESDAY:

All singles matches will be at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Vera Zvonareva will end the "Cinderella" run of Kaia Kanepi.  Zvonareva has the experience and know-how to handle Kanepi's power.  Zvonareva wins in straight sets.

Novak Djokovic has the tactics and brains to beat Gael Monfils who is all athleticism, but not much between the ears other than being a "showoff".  Monfils would rather look good than play good, Djokovic will have little to no trouble with Monfils.  Djokovic in 4 sets

Caroline Wozniacki is on a roll.  Dominika Cibulkova, before this tournament hadn't done anything of note in months.  She was struggling to win matches and somehow she put a few together this past week.  Well her new found form will not be enough.  Wozniacki wins in 2 comfortable sets.

And in the final night match of the day Roger Federer will battle with Robin Soderling.  I'm not positive, but I believe that this will be Soderling's first ever time playing at night at the U.S. Open.  Soderling was able to upset Federer at the French Open, but before then Federer had owned him.  I see no way in Federer losing this match in what will be a great atmosphere on a court where he has had so much success.  He'll keep Soderling moving both vertically and horizontally and just wear out the big man from Sweden.  Federer takes this match in 4 sets.

ESPN's coverage is garbage.

Day 8 of the U.S. Open

How impressive has Caroline Wozniacki been this week?  For someone who's game isn't that powerful, and has been criticized for being a "pusher", which basically means she just gets the ball in, almost never trying to hit a winner.  Relying on her opponent to make the errors, for her to get points and therefore a win.  She must be damn good, to be a "pusher" and kick everyone's ass put in front of her.  Its not only this week, but she has won the previous 2 tournaments coming into the U.S. Open.  She is absolutely on fire, playing excellent tennis.  I really cannot see how anyone can beat her right now.  If you break it down, she has Dominika Cibulkova next.  Well they have almost mirror image games, but Wozniacki is about 2 steps ahead of her.  So that should be a fairly easy win.  After that would be a semifinal match between Zvonareva or Kanepi.  Wozniacki will be the heavy favorite against either of those women.  The final will be a tough match against either Clijsters, Venus, Schiavone or Stosur.  Wozniacki matches up really well against all them players other than Clijsters.   It would make for a rematch of last years final, and a really good matchup sylistically to watch.  Who knows how its all going to unfold, but after this week, and watching Wozniacki dismantle a lot of the experts pick to win this Maria Sharapova, I always doubted Wozniacki, and her style, but she has gained my respect.  She definitely is for real.

While Wozniacki is the real deal,  Svetlana Kuznetsova, not so much.  Kuznetsova has been on the WTA Tour for what seems like forever, and has 2 Grand Slam titles. Basically a shoe-in for the tennis hall-of-fame, but for all the experience she has gained you would think she would be mentally prepared for hard times on the court.  That is not the case for "Kuzie", on Monday she got frazzled by Dominika Cibulkova who is a little waterbug on the court.  She is Melanie Oudin, but actually good.  Cibulkova is only 5'2" but is quick and makes you play every point.  Cibulkova does not have the talent of Kuznetsova, but there is one thing she has that Svetlana does not, and that is mental toughness.  Kuznetsova lost the match in 7-5, 7-6, but "Kuzie" had all the opportunities in the world to make this an easy win.  She ran out to a 4-2 lead in the first set, and was a point away from being up 5-1.  Then in the 2nd set Kuznetsova had a 3-1 lead, but in both of the sets Cibulkova fought for every point and managed to get back into the match.  I'm not sure what Kuznetsova expected from Cibulkova, maybe that she would roll over and die?  Instead, Svetlana got tight, and in the match served 10 double faults and had 42 unforced errors.  When the things got tough, it was Kuznetsova rolling over and dying on the court.  You would think that someone so engaging, and intelligent would be able to work through these types of problems.  It just seems like she is cursed with having mental blocks while on the court.  It makes me think, "How did she win 2 grand slam tournaments?"  Well the answer is in who she beat for them titles.  Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina.  Two people with bigger mental problems than Kuznetsova.  So if you are a fan of Svetlana Kuznetsova, get used to this kind of play from her.  I don't see it improving anytime soon.  If anything, you know her matches will not be boring.  There will be lots of ups and downs, so hop on the rollercoaster, and enjoy the ride.

In other womens matches, Kaia Kanepi was getting blown out of the water by Yanina Wickmayer in the first set.  Wickmayer took the first set 6-0, and then got up a break in the 2nd set.  It was time to put Yanina into the quarterfinals on the bracket, but then Kanepi woke up and harnessed her power, and totally shifted the momentum of the match.  Kanepi was able to win the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6.  Wickmayer then seemed to "gas out".  She has had some long grueling matches this week, and add on Kanepi's power, it just wore down the young Belgian.  Kanepi took the third set and match 6-1, and it sets up a matchup with the underrated Vera Zvonareva who had no problems with Andrea Petkovic, winning 6-1, 6-2.

The mens matches on Monday were not the most thrilling.  Gael Monfils started the day off by winning in straight sets over fellow countryman, Richard Gasquet.  Monfils now advances to the quarterfinals and face Novak Djokovic next.  Djokovic toyed with Mardy Fish and used his great athleticism and even better tactics to keep Fish on the run, and totally uncomfortable.  This was Djokovic's best match so far this tournament.  His game was on, and if he can keep this up, he'll be tough to beat.

Robin Soderling was supposed to blow Albert Montanes off the court (well atleast in my opinion), but that wasn't really the case.  Montanes won the first set over the heavily favorited Soderling.  The old Solderling would of gotten frustrated and probably lost this match, but he seemed to just accept the challenge and then got into a rhythm with his heavy ground strokes.  Once in the rhythm Montanes couldn't really do much.  Soderling pushed him well behind the baseline and when Montanes tried to answer he was so far back he didn't have much "juice" on his shots.  That would go on for the next 3 sets and Soderling was able to set up his quarterfinal date with Roger Federer, who beat Jurgen Melzer in straight sets.  It wasn't easy for Federer though, Melzer hung tough and stayed with Roger for a good two-and-a-half sets.  It was just that whenever there was a "big" point to be won, it was Federer winning it.  He was just more clutch, or a little more lucky.  Either way he was better on the scoreboard, and that is where it matters.

PREVIEW FOR TUESDAY:

Stanislas Wawrinka will beat Sam Querrey.  Wawrinka is looking really good, especially after that win over Andy Murray, and Querrey is a "choker".  That all adds up to a Wawrinka 4 set victory.

Venus Williams will get a win over Francesca Schiavone in a highly entertaining match.  Schiavone when on is as fun to watch as anyone, and she will give Venus a good fight, but for some reason I just feel that Venus is somehow going going to pull this one off, which is really unfortunate.

Kim Clijsters the defending champion will move on to the semifinals with a win over Samantha Stosur.  Stosur I have a feeling will still be fatigued from that battle with Elena Dementieva that took them past 1:30 a.m. on Sunday night.  That will be enough for Clijsters to get a straight set victory.

Rafael Nadal will spank Feliciano Lopez.  Yes, I know Lopez beat Nadal just a few weeks ago on hardcourt, well that doesn't matter.  Nadal is motivated, and the much much much better player.  Lopez will not even win a set.  Just what we all wanted, another night match blowout.

Mikhail Youzhny will take out Tommy Robredo in 4 sets.  Youzhny is playing well, but I pretty much have no faith in Robredo.  I picked him to lose in the first round, so with every win he shocks me more and more, and makes me think the next match is the one he will lose.  Which will be this match.

And last but not least, the best match of the day:  David Ferrer vs. Fernando Verdasco.  Coming into the U.S. Open, neither one of these guys did anything substantial on the hardcourts over the summer.  Verdasco lost early at Wimbledon and was really struggling.  Ferrer was a little more solid, but not getting tremendous results.  Now fast forwarding to today, Ferrer has yet to lose a set at the U.S. Open and Verdasco is coming off a impressive blowout of a in-form David Nalbandian.  Verdasco has a history of hardcourt success, like last years Australian Open run that took him to the semifinals and almost to the final, but he lost that epic 5 set battle with Rafael Nadal.  Going by trends, this is also the time that Ferrer normally flames out of Grand Slam tournaments.  I would absolutely love to see Ferrer beat Verdasco, and get his chance to play at night against Rafael Nadal, but that almost seems too good to be true.  Verdasco will win this match in 4 sets.

Day 7 of the U.S. Open

Will Andy Murray ever win a Grand Slam?  He hasn't had the greatest of seasons by  his standards, but this was probably his best, and self professed favorite slam.  Is the pressure starting to get to him, where he can win the first set over a solid Stanislas Wawrinka and then just go in the tank and lose the next 3?

Andy needs to think more about getting rid of Momma Murray, and getting a real coach.  He has a whole pack of people following him around, but none of them knows who is the boss.  I'm sure he is being pulled in different directions, whether tactically or fitness.  When you have 3 trainers, I can see where they wouldn't always agree.  Its time to simplify things.  Andy leave mom at home with Kimmy.  They can go shopping together and do your laundry.  Hire a real coach, and get the rest of your team all on the same page.  If you don't, there is no way in hell you will ever win a slam or realize your dream of being the #1 player in the world.  You're still young, and have time.  Get your shit together before you waste your potential.

Alright, good talk, Andy.  Now go get em' tiger.  BREAK!

Now lets start with the mens matches of the day.  As expected Rafael Nadal gave Gilles Simon a working over winning in straight sets.  Nadal's next opponent in the 4th round will be Feliciano Lopez who made Sergiy Stakhovsky say "uncle" in the 2nd set.  Stakhovsky retired down a set and 0-4 in the 2nd.... "The man" David Ferrer put a beat down on Daniel Gimeno-Traver in 3 easy sets.  Ferrer now has a date with buddy Fernando Verdasco in the next round, because Verdasco beat the in form David Nalbandian on Sunday.  This will be a tough one to call.  Normally this is about the time where Ferrer crashes and burns in majors, and the same can be said about Verdasco.  Flip a coin...As you know Stan Wawrinka beat Murray and now will play Sam Querrey who beat Nicolas Almagro... John Isner shit the bed against Mikhail Youzhny.  Isner has absolutely no stamina and will never go real deep in majors.  After about 2-3 rounds he is like a zombie out there.  Slow as shit, and nothing left to give.  Luke Jensen doing commentary on the live feed on usopen.org kept telling Isner to suck it up and play.  And to quit playing with his hat, going as far as to call him a "pretty boy".  It was awesome.  He basically called him out for being a bitch without saying it.  Youzhny now plays Tommy Robredo next.  Robredo beat the surprising Michael Llodra by retirement, when Llodra tapped out in the 3rd set.

How crazy is this, either Stanislas Wawrinka, Sam Querrey, Mikhail Youzhny, or Tommy Robredo will be in the semifinals.

"SCHEEVER SCHEEVER SCHEEVER"  Francesca Schiavone.  She hasn't done anything since winning the French Open, but is now looking like the form when she won on the red clay.  Schiavone the wily vet gave Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova a lesson in how to whoop some ass.  The testosterone should be flowing when Schiavone faces Venus Williams in the quarterfinals.  Venus was able to advance with a predictable win over Shahar Peer...Kim Clijsters pulled out the whoopin stick on Ana Ivanovic, handing her a 6-1, 6-2 spanking.  Clijster's quarterfinal opponent will be Samantha Stosur who beat Elena Dementieva in a highly entertaining match that didn't end until 1:37 a.m.  Dementieva had 4 match points in the 3rd set, but couldn't close out the match.  She left the door wide open for Stosur who had a chance to serve out the match, but Dementieva broke back and forced the match to be decided by a 3rd set tiebreaker.  Stosur was able to jump out to a quick lead in the tiebreak and hold on for the victory 6-3, 2-6, 7-6.

PREDICTIONS FOR MONDAY:

Arthur Ashe Stadium
#11 Svetlana Kuznetsova  vs.  Dominika Cibulkova
Kuznetsova has too much power and is in way better form than the often injured and struggling Cibulkova. "Kuz" takes this one in straight sets.
#19 Mardy Fish  vs.  #3 Novak Djokovic
Fish has been battling all week.  Much weaker opponents have been giving him fits.  Djokovic seems to be playing into form and getting better with each match.  The weather should be a little cooler, so Novak should be able to breathe okay.  Djokovic in 4 sets.
#1 Caroline Wozniacki  vs.  #14 Maria Sharapova
Wozniacki is looking unstoppable right now.  She is showing pure dominance over all her opponents.  She has the consistency in her game to give a hot and cold Sharapova fits.  Sharapova will have quite a few unforced errors, and that will be her downfall.  Wozniacki in 2 close sets.
Andrea Petkovic  vs.  #7 Vera Zvonareva (night match)
I'm not sold on Zvonareva, this is about the time where she has a meltdown and pisses away a match she should win.  Petkovic hasn't been lighting the world on fire either though.  I'll be a pansy and stick with the favorite.  Zvonareva wins in 3, but don't be surprised if its Petkovic in 3 either.
#2 Roger Federer  vs.  #13 Jurgen Melzer (night match)
Melzer is a cool dude, but "The Rog" is going to bitch-slap him all over the court.  Nothing in Melzer's arsenal  will even come close to damaging Federer.  Federer wins in 3 easy sets.


Louis Armstrong Stadium
#17 Gael Monfils  vs.  Richard Gasquet
I'm liking the way  Gasquet has been playing.  He has been on target all week.  Mostly against inferior opponents with the exception of Nikolay Davydenko.  But the way he outclassed Davydenko was impressive.  "Monchichi" Monfils would rather be a showman and do his "look at me" clown act than grind out a win.  He likes to "flake out" and a retirement wouldn't be a surprise either.  Gasquet in 4 unless Monfils quits before then.
#15 Yanina Wickmayer  vs.  #31 Kaia Kanepi
***UPSET OF THE DAY-  Kanepi is a hard hitter and will give Wickmayer fits.  Wickmayer has been winning, but by the skin of her teeth.  Her luck will end, and Kanepi will be the surprise quarterfinalist in the womens draw.
#5 Robin Soderling  vs. #21 Albert Montanes
Montanes has absolutely no shot of winning this match.  Soderling is going to blow him off the court with his power.  Montanes is a excellent clay player, but he is a one trick or one surface pony.  His serve is weak, and on a quick court he can't compete with someone like Robin Soderling.  This match won't last long.


ESPN's tennis coverage is a joke, even when they aren't on the air.  Hannah Storm?  Get real.

Day 6 of the U.S. Open

Not the greatest day of tennis in history on Saturday.  Pretty much all the matches went according to form, and were straight set wins. 

The upset of the day was #4 seed Jelena Jankovic struggling in the high winds of Arthur Ashe Stadium, and getting out muscled by the hard hitting 31st seed Kaia Kanepi.  Jankovic just couldn't find a rhythm or put pace on the ball in the winds.  And if she cannot play her game, she is shot mentally, which equaled a straight set win for Kanepi.  Jankovic was my pick to win this tournament, and I have to laugh at myself for picking such a mental midget to win.  Especially over another cluts like Victoria Azarenka.  What the hell was I thinking?

The best match of the day was Mardy Fish vs. Arnaud Clement.  Clement the fit Frenchman gave Fish all he could handle, but Fish was just good enough to escape with a 5 set win.

America's next teenage hopeful, Beatrice Capra got taken to the woodshed by Maria Sharapova.  It was total and utter destruction.  Reginald Denny taking a brick off the face thought it was ugly.  Sharapova outclassed Capra 6-0, 6-0.  Time to put your collective boners away ESPN, this isn't the great American hope you wished for.

Now lets get to the rest of the routine boring results:
Federer schooled Mathieu in straight sets.
Djokovic sent Blake home withought much trouble.
Kuznetsova was able to beat Kirilenko in 2 sets
Soderling outpowered De Bakker in yet another match that ended in straight sets.
Wozniacki continued her dominance over Asians, beating Yung-Jan Chan 6-1, 6-0.
Vera Zvonareva was a straight set winner over Alexandra Dulgheru
Gael "monchichi" Monfils beat a gimpy Janko Tipsarevic in 4 sets.
Yanina Wickmayer was pushed to a 3rd set tiebreaker by Patty Schnyder, but still got the win.
Jurgen Melzer had little difficulty dispatching Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Albert Montanes won when Kei Nishikori hurt his hamstring in the 2nd set, and had to retire.
Richard Gasquet outmuscled Kevin Anderson in straight sets
Andrea Petkovic won by walkover when Shuai Peng pulled out of the tournament.
Dominka Cibulkova dominated Lourdes Dominguez Lino

Preview and Picks for Sunday:

Arthur Ashe Stadium court-
#2 seed Kim Clijsters vs. Ana Ivanovic
Ivanovic is playing much better than she has been of late, but Clijsters is too good.  Clijsters in 3 sets.
#3 Venus Williams  vs.  #16 Shahar Peer
I haven't been impressed by Venus, but Shahar Peer doesn't have the game to give Venus much trouble.  Unfortunately, Venus moves on in straight sets.
#1 Rafael Nadal  vs. Gilles Simon
Rafa normally struggles against the big hitters who hit a flat ball.  Well Gilles is more crafty than strong, and Rafa eats them guys for lunch.  Rafa rolls over Simon in 3 sets.
#12 Mikhail Youzhny  vs.  #18 John Isner
This is the first night match on Ashe.  Flip a coin on this one.  If the focused Youzhny shows up he can easily beat Isner.  But his game is as flakey as John Isner is big.  It all depends on what kind of Youzhny you get, and my guess is a not so great one comes to play.  Isner wins in a 4.
#5 Samantha Stosur  vs.  #12 Elena Dementieva
Two players who haven't been playing at their best the last few weeks.  I think the winds will still be around and that should wreak havoc on Dementieva's weak serving.  Stosur will win a good 3 set match.

Louis Armstrong Stadium-
#6 Francesca Schiavone  vs.  #20 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
This will be a fun match to watch.  Pavlyuchenkova is solid and young, Schiavone has been finding her form and will put on a show.  I like the French Open Champion, Schiavone to win a tough 3 set battle.
#20 Sam Querrey vs. #14 Nicolas Almagro
Sam Querrey normally bitches out in grand slams. So getting to the 3rd round is pretty good for him.  His clock has just hit midnight, Almagro wins in 4.
#4 Andy Murray vs. #25 Stanislas Wawrinka
Murray kicks Stan the man's ass all over the court.

Grandstand-
#31 David Nalbandian vs. #8 Fernando Verdasco
Verdasco would rather chase skirts and model underwear than win tennis matches.  Nalbandian is back in form and wants to get back to where he once was.  Nalbandian wins this one in 5.
#23 Feliciano Lopez vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky
Lopez is probably the worst #23 seed in the history of the U.S. Open.  I'll be nice and give him one set, probably in a tiebreaker, but Stakhovsky takes this one in 4.
Tommy Robredo vs. Michael Llodra
2 scrubs right here. I'm going to take Llodra just based on his serve and volley style. 

Court 11-
#10 David Ferrer vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver
Somebody tell me how in the hell does Ferrer get put out on court 11?  Hell the team of Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova can play on Louis Armstrong, yet the 10th seeded male is out on some shit court?  What a bunch of garbage.  Hopefully Daveeeeeeed is as worked up about this as I am and takes his aggressions out on Gimeno-Traver, then the Nalbandian-Verdasco winner, and then in primetime at night beats the piss out of that squirrelly bastard Rafa Nadal...Lets not get ahead of ourselves now.  Ferrer will beat his on/off doubles partner Gimeno-Traver in straight sets.

No ESPN coverage for the weekend, but they still suck nuts.

Day 5 of the U.S. Open.

Day 5 was a break from the oppressive heat that was a major factor in the first few days of the tournament.  There wasn't anyone doing face plants during sprints, or any monumental upsets.  It was just a solid day of tennis with quite a few matches going the distance.

Lets start with the men first:

My upset special of Marco Chiudinelli fell short.  He pushed the 18th seed John Isner to his limits, but couldn't overcome the big serve of Isner to break when he needed to.  "Chode"inelli was able to take the match to 4 close sets though.  Isner's whole game is his serve.  His ground strokes, movement, and conditioning are below average, or maybe average.  I know, many you think: "What about Wimbledon, his conditioning has to be good to go for 11 some odd hours."  Well if you watched that match, Isner and Mahut were mere clones of eachother.  Both had excellent serves, but were lame in the other areas.  Neither could come close to breaking.  That is what happens when you are a one dimentional player.  Isner will soon begin to break down like he always does.  His U.S. Open is nearing an end.

A fun thing to watch was the "choke job" Ryan Harrison pulled.  The young American was facing Sergiy Stakhovsky, who won the tournament last week in New Haven, Connecticut.  The match went to the farthest limit it could go, a 5th set tiebreak.  Now comes the best part:  Harrison had 3 match points up 6-3 in the tiebreaker.  Then he just folded and lost the next 5 points and the match.  The announcers were rooting for Harrison, the whole New York crowd cheered every mistake made by Stakhovsky.  All the while ESPN was ready to declare Harrison the winner, and break down his future matches.  Then for him to do a nose dive was awesome.  I loved every second of it.

Tommy Robredo who has been struggling most of the year, surprisingly has gotten into the 3rd round.  He got the victory when Julien Benneteau retired in the 2nd set.  Benneteau puked up a lung in his first round match, he clearly wasn't fit for this tournament.  Time to climb some stairs Julien... Michael Llodra continues to play good tennis.  He backed up his first round upset of Tomas Berdych, to win again and now faces Tommy Robredo in the 3rd round.

David Ferrer kicked Benjamin Becker's ass, just like I had called...Fernando Verdasco "schooled" Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-2, 6-2...#20 Sam Querrey advanced, as did #31 David Nalbandian, #14 Nicolas Almagro, and #1 Rafael Nadal

Gilles Simon pulled a mild upset of 29th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in 5 sets...Oh yeah, Andy Murray beat the hell out of some Jamaican dude.

Nothing really out of the ordinary on the side of the women.  Kim Clijsters crushed Petra Kvitova, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova smoked Gisela Dulko in lopsided matches.

Elena Dementieva and Samantha Stosur both won in straight sets and will now face eachother in what will be an interesting 4th round match

Venus Williams won in her night match against Mandy Minella, and will face Shahar Peer in the 4th round.  Peer earned her way to the next round with a tough win over Flavia Pennetta.

Predictions for Saturday:

Arthur Ashe Matches-
#4 Jelena Jankovic will be pushed hard against #31 Kaia Kanepi, but will squeak by with another tough 3 set win.
Beatrice Capra's "cinderella" run will end with a titanic ass whooping at the hands of #14 Maria Sharapova.  This will be brutal and ugly. 
#2 Roger Federer over Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets.  Too easy for "The Rog".
In the first night match on Ashe,#3 Novak Djokovic will beat James Blake, but I would not be surprised if Blake takes a set off Djokovic.
And the last match of the day will be between #11 Svetlana Kuznetsova and #23 Maria Kirilenko.  This will be a good one, but I think Kuznetsova will come through with a tight 3-set win.

Louis Armstrong Matches-
#5 Robin Soderling will not have much trouble with Thiemo De Bakker.
#1 Caroline Wozniacki  rolls over Yung-Jan Chan.
#19 Mardy Fish will struggle to beat Arnaud Clement, but will do so in 4 hard fought sets.
#7 Vera Zvonareva will edge #25 Alexandra Dulgheru in 2 close sets.

Grandstand Matches-
UPSET SPECIAL***  Janko Tipsarevic will defeat #17 Gael "monchichi" Monfils in 5 sets.
#15 Yanina Wickmayer will cruise past Patty Schnyder.
#13 Jurgen Melzer will win a dog fight of a match with #22 Juan Carlos Ferrero.  This will probably be the best match of the day.

Court 11 Matches-
ANOTHER UPSET SPECIAL*** Kei Nishikori over the 21 seeded clay court specialist Albert Montanes.
Richard Gasquet has too much firepower for Kevin Anderson.  He'll win in straight sets.
Andrea Petkovic gets the win over Shuai Peng.
Dominika Cibulkova edges Loudes Dominguez Lino in 3 sets.

Should be another great day of tennis on Saturday.  and don't forget ESPN STILL BLOWS!!

Day 4 of the U.S. Open

Lets start on the womens side where a few seeds met their demise on Thursday.  The big upset of the day was "Midland jobber" Beatrice Capra's huge win over 18th seeded Aravane Rezai.  Capra didn't out-play Rezai by any stretch, but her strategy of just to get the ball back over the net, and let Rezai beat herself paid off.  I've seen Capra play in person a couple times.  The second time was when she was on the bad end of a 6-0, 6-0 lashing.  With that fresh in my mind, it is shocking that she could be into the 3rd round of the U.S. Open and beat a top 20 player to get there.  The American media, especially ESPN want you to buy into this girl being the next Melanie Oudin.  Beatrice Capra is no Melanie Oudin.  She isn't as talented, YET.  Its possible and probable that she could be better, but not now.  Next up for the 18 years young Capra is Maria Sharapova.  This could and probably will get ugly.  It won't be a replay of the 6-0, 6-0 beatdown she took in Midland, Michigan, but it looks like a 6-1, 6-2 smoking to me.  Sharapova laid to waste Iveta Benesova, I can only imagine what punishment Capra will have to endure.

Before I get to some of the other upsets in the women's draw, I want to update the news on Victoria Azarenka.  Azarenka has officially pulled out of the doubles with partner Dinara Safina.  So now she tries to recover for the rest of the upcoming season.

A couple more seeds hit the bricks along with Rezai today.  9th seeded Agnieszka Radwanska was knocked out by Shuai Peng.  Agnieszka will join little sister Urszula on the flight back home, as both Randwanska's were beaten today... Also getting bit by the upset bug was the 22nd seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.  This wasn't that big of a shocker, because she lost to veteran Patty Schnyder, who is no stranger to the top 20.  She is on the downside of her career, but can still take a bite out of a top player.  Plus she did me a favor, I'm sick of typing "Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez".

Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, Yanina Wickmayer, and Jelena Jankovic were all seeded players that advanced without a lot of resistance.  Well Jankovic needed 3 sets for her win.

Now its time to move to the mens side where I can toot my own horn.  Go back and look, I told you Richard Gasquet would upset Nikolay Davydenko.  And not only did Gasquet upset the 6th seeded Russian, he straight up whooped his ass in straight sets...The only other notable upset was the loss of Thomaz Bellucci the 26 seed.  Bellucci went down to Kevin Anderson of South Africa.

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic two of the top 3 seeds won in straight sets.  Robin Soderling also moved on with a easy win over "Pudge" Rodriguez look-a-like Taylor Dent in 3 sets....#21 seed Albert Montanes was also a winner today.  He bounced out Carsten Ball.

Mardy Fish and James Blake were two Americans that won on Thursday.  Fish swam past Pablo Cuevas, and Blake got the victory over some Canadian dude named Polansky.

PREVIEW FOR FRIDAY

Friday will feature the finish of the 2nd round for the men, and the beginning of the 3rd round for the women.  The matches on Ashe will start with Daniela Hantuchova vs. Elena Dementieva, followed by Petra Kvitova vs. Kim Clijsters.  Rounding out the day session will be Andy Murray taking on the dreadlocked Jamaican, Dustin Brown... The night sessions features Venus "has a penis" Williams playing some girl from Luxembourg, Mandy Minella and Rafael Nadal facing off against Denis Istomin.  Both will be snoozers.

Upset of the Day:  Marco Chiudinelli will beat John Isner.  Isner is a big oaf, with little movement.  He isn't skilled other than a big serve.  If you make him move, hes nothing special.  Plus with the heat in New York and Isner still bitching about being tired from a match that happened over 2 months ago.  The dude is a straight up bitch.  Chiudinelli will get the win.

And last, but not least.  DAVID FERRER IS IN ACTION ON FRIDAY!!! He is going to beat the piss out of Benjamin Becker.

Enjoy the matches......and ESPN sucks balls.

Day 3 of the U.S. Open

A great ending to a great day of tennis.  Lets all celebrate that Andy Roddick has been sent home by Janko Tipsarevic in 4 sets.  In typical fashion Roddick threw a tantrum when a line judge called him for a foot fault.  The replay of course showed that the judge was correct, but that didn't hinder Roddick acting like the classless piece of shit that he is.  The McEnroe brothers slurping on his cock the whole way hoped that Roddick would be energized by the tantrum he threw.  Well that wasn't the case as Tipsarevic just kept "ragdolling" him all over the court, until he finally put him away.  So thank you Janko Tipsarevic for winning tonight.  Now I will not have to watch that dickhead again during this tournament.  This will be first time Tipsarevic has ever reached the 3rd round of the U.S. Open.  He will now face Gael "monchichi" Monfils in the next round.  Monfils easily dispatched Igor Andreev in their 2nd round matchup.

Another hyped American, Melanie Oudin also was beat earlier in the day.  Melanie Oudin who has been successfully proving that her run to last years quarterfinal was just a fluke, and that she isn't as good as what ESPN would like you to believe kept up her losing ways.  "Flying Bondarenko sister", Alona beat Oudin in straight sets.  With the loss this should put an end to "Creepy" Cliffy Drysdale slobbering all over her ass as if she is the next Navratilova.  Look for her ranking to sink like a stone after this loss as well.

The first and scariest news of the day was the collapsing on the court of Victoria Azarenka.  Azarenka was in the process of being "whipped" by Gisela Dulko, when she passed out on the court while down 5-1 in the first set.  At first assumption people thought it was the oppressive heat and humidity that New York has been bogged in the last few days.  This wouldn't of been the first time Azarenka had struggled in the heat.  A couple years ago she was kicking the shit out of Serena Williams when she became sick on the court and had to retire.  So her toughness in warm weather was questioned...Later in the day it was revealed that during morning warmups Azarenka was doing a sprinting drill, and tripped and fell down landing on her arm and basically doing a face-plant into the ground.  After the fall she was having symptoms of dizzyness, being light headed and blurred vision.  She was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a mild concussion.  She has been released, and should be fine.  She is scheduled to play doubles on Thursday with partner Dinara Safina.  My guess is she will pull out and not participate in doubles, but we will see.

There was another major upset other than Andy Roddick on Wednesday.  The #7 seed and Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych couldn't find his rhythm against veteran Michael Llodra, losing in straight sets.

In other mens action, Sam Querrey the #20 seed struggled but managed to beat Bradley "ku klux" Klahn in 4 sets... American, Ryan Harrison only 18 years old took out the grizzled vet and #15 seed Ivan "L"Ljubicic.  Ljubicic who has struggled the past few months, just couldn't get anything going in the heat...Andy Murray one of the favorites at this years Open "tooled" Lukas Lacko in straight sets...18th seed John Isner advanced to the 2nd round with a straight set win over  Frederico Gil.

There was a few minor upsets on the women's side on Wednesday.  13th seeded "Frenchy" Marion Bartoli lost to countrywoman Virginie Razzano... Former #1 ranked player in the world Ana Ivanovic looked in great form dominating the #21 seed Jie (not "Yi") Zheng 6-3, 6-0...Mandy Minella of Luxembourg (who?) upset the #32 seed Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-0...and #28 seed Alisa Kleybanova was a upset victim to Sara Errani of Italy in straight sets.

The "Midland Jobbers" didn't embarrass today.  All three in action lost, but looked good in their losses.  Vania King took the #24 seed Daniela Hantuchova to the limits losing in 3 sets.  Rebecca Marino looked real tough, forcing Venus Williams to a first set tiebreak, but she just couldn't hang with Williams and lost 7-6, 6-3.  Elena Baltacha who won this year in Midland played Petra Kvitova close, but also lost in straight sets.

Some of the other women who moved on easily were 6th seeded French Open champion Francesca Schiavone who crushed fellow Italian, Maria Elena Camerin 6-2, 6-1....#12 seed Elena Dementieva had no problem taking out Austrian "geezer" Sybille Bammer in straight sets...and last, but not least, the classy Kim Clijsters eliminated the young "Aussie" Sally Peers.

PREVIEW FOR THURSDAY:

Roger Federer will be playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium in the day session against Andreas Beck of Germany.  Should be a easy win for Fed.

The 2 night matches on Arthur Ashe will be Maria Sharapova vs. Iveta Benesova, and Novak Djokovic vs. Philipp Petzschner.  If Djokovic plays anything like he did a couple days ago against Viktor Troicki, he'll be an upset victim and on his way home.  Petzschner features a excellent serve, and a good all around game.  It may be a thrilling night match again.

"Midland jobber" Beatrice Capra will try to upset 18th seed Aravane Rezai.  No chance in hell of this happening.  I saw the young Capra play, and lose 6-0, 6-0 in Midland.  She'll be ran off the court by Rezai in quick fashion.

My upset pick of the day is Richard Gasquet beating 6th seed Nikolay Davydenko.  Davydenko has been struggling, and Gasquet has been playing fairly solid.  It looks like a great opportunity for a Gasquet to pull out the win.

Other big names in action will be Robin Soderling, Caroline Wozniacki, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic, and Marin Cilic.  Should be a great day of tennis.

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO RODDICK IS OUT!!

First 2 days of the U.S. Open

Its been a while since my last real post, but I'll try to keep more up to date throughout the last grand slam of the year.
Here is a rundown of the happenings of the first couple days of the U.S. Open in New York City.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal continued their dominance by winning in straight sets in their first round matches.
Sharapova had a scare losing the first set to Jamila Groth, but managed to get her shit together and dominate the last 2 sets and escape with the win.
Jelena Jankovic should of lost to the now "boobless" Simona Halep, who is playing better after her breast reduction surgery, but not looking all that better.  Halep served for the match up 5-4 in the 3rd set, but was overcome by nerves and choked away the match to the much more experienced Serb.  Jankovic before the tournament started was my pick to win her first major.  After that performance, I'm not so sure anymore.
There was no major upsets on the women's side of the draw.  Melanie Oudin managed to actually win her first round match.  Kind of odd how Oudin can struggle all year long, and is a first round casualty in most of her tournaments, but can just dominate at the U.S. Open.  She has to deal with a flying Bondarenko sister, Alona in the next round.  We will see if the USTA dollars are enough for her to take a dive like Olga Savchuk.
Novak Djokovic who looked like he was about to die in Tuesday's match against Viktor Troicki managed to fight the heat and his instincts to roll up and quit like a bitch, and won a tough 5 setter.  Is Novak starting to "man up"?  Its doubtful.  If there is heat or adverse conditions you can pretty much pencil him in as a quitter.

"Midland jobbers"  are looking good at this years U.S. Open.  Beatrice Capra, Sofia Arvidsson, Rebecca Marino, Vania King, and the champion at Elena Baltacha all advanced to the 2nd round.

This was a pretty weak effort for my first blog back.   They'll be stronger in the future.

SORRY!!

Blog has been on hiatus, for a little while.  New posts will be coming in time for the U.S. Open.


Also, the comments have been set to only members of this blog can comment.  There has been some asshat spamming the shit out of the blogs comment box.

So feel free to join the facebook page(look to the left, under the map), and follow and comment there.

This Weeks Final Results

Lleyton Hewitt defeated Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Sam Querrey defeated Mardy Fish 7-6, 7-5.

Na Li defeated Maria Sharapova 7-5, 6-1.

Preview of Matches on Saturday, June 12

Semifinal Round

(#1 seed) Roger Federer  vs.  Philipp Petzschner
Petzschner is at home on the German soil, but I can pretty much guarantee the fans will be behind the great Roger Federer.  Federer will destroy Petzschner and look towards the final on Sunday.
Pick-  Federer
Result-

(#8 seed) Lleyton Hewitt  vs.  Benjamin Becker
This will be the upset of the day.  Becker is a solid grass court player that does well in his home country.  Hewitt will probably be looking forward to wimbledon, and believing he has had a good tuneup for the next Grand Slam in less than 2 weeks.  He is looking to get out of Germany, while Becker really wants to win....edge Becker.
Pick- Becker
Result-

All the mighty have fallen out of this tournament:  Nadal, Gone.  Cilic, Gone.  Djokovic, Gone.Roddick, GONE!!  Now we have 4 turds left.

(#8 seed) Feliciano Lopez  vs.  Mardy Fish 
I wouldn't pick Mardy Fish to bean anyone.  I'm shocked he even won one match, let alone 4 so far.  Lopez and Fish are both flakey in the way that they have talent, but just never play like it.  Lopez does have the big serve and has made it far at wimbledon (quarterfinals, a couple years ago I do believe.)  So he does have good results on grass.  Lopez will win this one....unless he has a modeling gig lined up, then his mind may be elsewhere.
Pick- Lopez
Result-

Rainer Schuettler  vs.  (#7 seed) Sam Querrey     
Rainer Shuettler?  Are you kidding me?  He is in the semifinals?  Yes, veteran Rainer Schuettler probably made a deal with the devil to get to the semifinals, because there is no way in hell his talent alone could get him this far... Sam Querrey on the other hand is a little bitch.  Whining and crying his way out of Roland Garros.  Go back home douche.
Pick- Schuettler
Result-

  And now the semifinals for the women.

(#1 seed) Na Li  vs.  (#4 seed) Aravane Rezai
For some reason the Chinese seem to do really well on grass.  Rezai's game is more suited for clay or hardcourts, so I have to lean towards Li scrapping through to the final in 3 sets.
Pick- Li
Result-

Alison Riske  vs.  (#2 seed) Maria Sharapova
Lets start this by saying that I do not know anything about this Riske girl.  I know she got into this tournament as a qualifier, and that she hails from the United States.... Maria Sharapova is a former Wimbledon winner and knows how to play on grass.  This will a grass ass kicking.  Sharapova to dominate.
Pick- Sharapova
Result-   

Preview and Updates of this weeks tournaments. (June 7-13)

The grass court season, albeit a short one starts this week with a few tune up tournaments.

What:  Gerry Weber Open
Where:  Halle, Germany
Surface:  Grass
Event Type:  ATP 250
Defending Champion:  Tommy Haas
Prize Money:  113,600 Euros to the winner

Top 4 seeds and World Ranking:
1. Roger Federer (#1)  *** note the rankings for tournaments is taken the week before the tournament begins
2. Nikolay Davydenko (#5)
3. Mikhail Youzhny (#14)
4. Juan Carlos Ferrero (#18)

Other notables in the field:  Jurgen Melzer, Marcos Baghdatis, Lleyton Hewitt, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Viktor Troicki.

Juan Carlos Ferrero, Mikhail Youzhny, and Marcos Baghdatis were all knocked out in the first round.  This looks like Federer's tournament to lose.  One thing to watch is the form of Nikolay Davydenko since coming back from his injury.

 What:  AEGON Championships
Where:  London, England
Surface:  Grass
Event Type:  ATP 250
Defending Champion:  Andy Murray
Prize Money:  79,260 Euros to the winner

Top 4 seeds and world rankings:
1. Rafael Nadal (#2)
2. Novak Djokovic (#3)
3. Andy Murray (#4)
4. Andy Roddick (#8)

Other notables in the field:  Marin Cilic, Gael Monfils, Sam Querrey, Feliciano Lopez, Janko Tipsarevic, and Richard Gasquet.

Will be interesting to see how Murray's game is, now that he is off the clay and at home on grass.  Gael Monfils lost his 2nd round match to Rainer Schuettler, and is now out... By the looks of the draw, it looks like a Nadal - Roddick final.

 What:  AEGON Classic
Where:  Birmingham, England
Surface:  Grass
Event Type:  WTA International
Defending Champion:  Magdalena Rybarikova
Prize Money:  $37,000 to the winner

Top 4 seeds and world rankings:
1. Na Li (#12)
2. Maria Sharapova (#13)
3. Yanina Wickmayer (#16)
4. Aravane Rezai (#19)

Other notables in the field:  Sara Errani, Yaroslava Shvedova, Olga Govortsova, Andrea Petkovic, Aleksandra Wozniak, Magdalena Rybarikova, Melinda Czink, and Angelique Kerber.

Midland "jobbers" in the field:  Anne Keothavong, Elena Baltacha, Lucie Hradecka, Lilia Osterloh, Katie O'Brien, Vania King, and Heather Watson.

The top half of the bracket is wide open with #1 seed Na Li leading the way.  The Chinese players seem to do well on grass, so she may be the favorite to make it to the final.  The bottom half features Yanina Wickmayer and Maria Sharapova.  The winner between them two will meet and beat Li in the final.

Laura Robson calls out the "sluts" of the WTA tour.

In a recent interview with Vogue magazine, young British up and coming tennis star, Laura Robson said that "some of the tennis girls, they're sluts."

After her comments went to print, it seemed she backpeddled on what she said, issuing a an apology statement.

The British teen said the reprinted comments were taken out of context but nevertheless apologized in a statement on Thursday.

 

"I would just like to say a big sorry to anyone that I may have offended in an interview published recently," she said. "I made a totally inappropriate, throwaway comment without considering the consequences. I still have a lot to learn both on and off the court, and clearly I need to be a lot more careful about how silly remarks may come across when taken out of context.

 

“I live for tennis, I have many good friends in the game and I would never want to do anything that could hurt the reputation of a game I love. I will learn a lot from this and now just want to focus on my tennis."

Stefan Koubek tries to "choke out" Daniel Koellerer.

During a changeover in their match Stefan Koubek tried to choke Daniel Koellerer by grabbing his throat.  Koubek was disqualified from the match and tournament for his actions.  Koubek said,  Koellerer who has a history of gamesmanship and using tactics to get guys off their games, insulted him during play.  "I'm man enough not to let myself be insulted, esepcially not by him," Koubek was reported as saying by the Austrian Times.

Here is the incident:

Wanna see my poll.....Again?

The French Open is now complete, so that means its time to update the rankings.  My rankings unlike the ATP official rankings start over at the beginning of the season.  Everyone starts at zero and accumulates points throughout the year.  How do you get points you ask. 

This is how players get points in my rankings:

GRAND SLAM EVENTS

3 points are earned for every win at a grand slam tournament up until the final.
5 points is earned by the player who wins in the final.

example: Juan Martin Del Potro won 7 matches to win the U.S. Open.
1st round defeated Juan Monaco = 3 pts
2nd round defeated Jurgen Melzer = 3 pts
3rd round defeated Daniel Koellerer = 3 pts
4th round defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero = 3pts
Quarterfinals defeated Marin Cilic = 3 pts
Semifinals defeated Rafael Nadal = 3pts
Final defeated Roger Federer = 5 pts

For a total of 23 points for winning a major.

Masters Series Events
There are about 8 Masters Series tournaments a year and they normally have a field of 64 players. Which means you must win 6 matches to be the champion.

Rounds 1st to Semifinals = 2pts each
Final = 3 pts to the winner.

For a total of 13 points for winning a Masters Series tournament.

All Other Tournaments
Most other smaller tournaments have 32 player fields, so 5 matches are needed to win.
Rounds 1-4 = 1pt
Final = 2 pts to the winner.
For a total of winning 6 points for winning any smaller tournament.

So with my system the bigger the tournament the more points there are to be earned. Kind of makes sense to me. Also the same system is used for both the men and women.


My Women's Top 10 After the French Open
1. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)  72
1. Samantha Stosur (AUS)  72
3. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 69
4. Venus Williams (USA) 68
5. Shahar Peer (ISR) 60
6. Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 58
7. Serena Williams (USA) 55
8. Justine Henin (BEL) 54
9. Elena Dementieva (RUS) 53
10. Nadia Petrova (RUS) 52

The Official WTA Top 10 after the French Open
1. Serena Williams (USA)
2. Venus Williams (USA)
3. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
4. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
5. Elena Dementieva (RUS)
6. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)
7. Samantha Stosur (AUS)
8. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
9. Kim Clijsters (BEL)
10. Flavia Pennetta (ITA)


My MENS Top 10 after the French Open
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP)                        98
2. Fernando Verdasco (ESP)                    71
3. Roger Federer (SUI)                    61
4. David Ferrer (ESP)                        58
5. Andy Roddick (USA)                    57
6. Marin Cilic (CRO)                        56
7. Novak Djokovic (SRB)                    55
7. Robin Soderling (SWE)                    55
7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)                    55
10. Nicolas Almagro (ESP)                    53
10. Tomas Berdych (CZE)                    53

The Official ATP Top 10 after the French Open
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2. Roger Federer (SUI)
3. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
4. Andy Murray (GBR)
5. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
6. Robin Soderling (SWE)
7. Andy Roddick (USA)
8. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)
9. Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 

Nadal gets revenge on Robin Soderling to win his 5th French Open title.

In anti-climactic fashion Rafael Nadal destroyed Robin Soderling in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to win his 5th French Open title in 6 years.

In the final Nadal played probably his finest match of the two weeks, while Soderling struggled and looked tired for most of the match.  Soderling's movement wasn't there, and Rafa just kept returning whatever firepower Soderling could throw at him, and leaving the big Swede off balance the entire match.

Soderling had his chances to make it a match, but was 0 for 8 on break points, which probably got to him mentally.

Nadal played fantastic, Soderling couldn't do dogshit, and when he did have a chance to do something he would make an unforced error.  That is the story of the match.

Francesca Schiavone becomes first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title.

In an upset victory Francesca Schiavone became Italy's first ever woman Grand Slam Champion, by defeating the heavily favored Aussie, Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6.

 Schiavone used different tactics to keep Stosur off balance and control a lot of the points.  Schiavone refused to sit at the baseline and trade blows with the stronger Stosur.  So she implemented a chip backhand and would come to net and volley as much as possible.  She always pushed forward, and that strategy is what was the difference in the match.  Stosur could not find a rhythm on her ground strokes so she could overpower the smaller Italian.

After the match Schiavone looked like a homeless dude who hit the lotto.  The joy and elation of someone who came from out of nowhere to fulfill a lifelong dream is something that cannot be duplicated, say if someone like Serena Williams won this event.  Chances are great that the soon to be 30 year old Italian will never have success like this again.  By tennis standards she is supposed to be well past her prime, and even when she was in her "prime", Schiavone was a solid player and not much more.  With the victory today she will be ranked in the top 10 for the first time in her career.

French Open Mens semifinals preview.

The first semifinal of the day will begin at 1p.m. Paris time.

(#5 seed) Robin Soderling  vs.  (#15 seed) Tomas Berdych
Robin Soderling, last years runnerup is looking to make it back the final, but standing in his way is a Czech that is playing some of the best tennis of his life.  Soderling has went through some top competition to get thus far.  First he had to defeat a clay court specialist Albert Montanes, then the always tough, Marin Cilic.  But his biggest win was when he knocked off the defending champion and world number one Roger Federer.  So Soderling is rolling right now and has some momentum going into Friday's match....Tomas Berdych has been just crushing his opponents.  He defeated Mikhail Youzhny, Andy Murray, and John Isner with ease and made these top 20 players look like amateurs.  I'm really hoping for a rematch of Soderling and Nadal.  Them two guys hate eachother and could make for some good fireworks in the final, but I don't think that is going to happen.  I really like a Tomas Berdych upset in this match.  Berdych normally isn't the strongest mentally, and has been known to fold up and die when things get tough or aren't going his way.  Well his consistency this tournament has shown that he is ready to make the step to the finals in a very close match.  I think this one will go 5, with Berdych squeaking out the win.
Pick- Berdych
RESULT-  Robin Soderling 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.


(#22 seed) Jurgen Melzer  vs.  (#2 seed) Rafael Nadal
Melzer has had the tournament of his life, pulling out upset victories over David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic, but he has no chance, absolutely none, of beating Rafael Nadal.  Nadal will take this match in 3 easy sets.  The types of player that give Nadal trouble on clay are the ones that can overpower him (such as Robin Soderling) but that is not Melzer's game.  He is a grinder and plays a similar game as Nadal.  But Nadal plays it about 5 notches better.
Pick - Nadal
RESULT-  Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-3, 7-6.
 

Schiavone and Stosur to meet in the womens French Open final.

In the first womens semifinal match, Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman to ever reach a Grand Slam final when she beat Elena Dementieva 7-6 (ret.).  The ending of the match came as a shock to Schiavone, as Dementieva after losing the first set tiebreaker decided to retire from the match. 

In her post-match interview, Dementieva sighted a torn calf muscle as the main reason for her not continuing in the match.  The odd thing about this is that going into Thursday's semifinal, Dementieva had no wrapping on her calf, and when it became bothersome, she didn't even attempt to have a trainer look at it.  She could of received some medical assistance and treatment during an injury timeout, but chose to just call it a day and hand over the victory to Schiavone.

It almost seemed as if Elena did not want to be out there.  I'm sure she was injured, but the question is just how injured was she?  It looked like she could of continued, but chose to just give up.  Dementieva pointed out that she has been bothered by the injured calf since her 2nd round match, so supposedly she has been dealing with it for over a week.

When it comes down to it, Elena Dementieva just doesn't have the mental toughness to push herself to a Grand Slam championship.  She may go down as probably the most talented player whether man or woman to never win a Grand Slam title.


The second semifinal was an absolute beatdown.  Samantha Stosur used a huge serve, and an even bigger forehand to just push and pummel Jelena Jankovic from start to finish.  Jankovic didn't know what hit her in the 6-1, 6-2 route.  After the match Jankovic said "It was like playing a man", not that Sam Stosur is manly, but her game with the spin she creates on her shots and her kick serve is reminiscent of a mens player.

Come Saturday, either Sam Stosur or Francesca Schiavone will put their name in the record books as becoming a Grand Slam Champion for the first time.

French Open Womens Semifinals Preview

#17 seed Francesca Schiavone  vs.  #5 seed Elena Dementieva
Going into this tournament, Elena Dementieva was having a terrible year, by her standards.  Nobody, including myself expected her to do a lot at Roland Garros.  But with the luck of a few upsets in her half of the draw and playing herself into form she has reached the semifinals.  A little luck was involved in that Nadia Petrova (#19)  was the only seeded player she had to defeat to make it this far.  Dementieva's serve still isn't that good, but her ground strokes and movement are her strengths, which she will rely on heavily against a more powerful Schiavone.

Francesca Schiavone is about to turn 30 years old and this is her first ever Grand Slam semifinal.  Schiavone has had a tougher road than Dementieva, to get to the semifinals.  Scheeeever had to defeat 3 seeded players in Na Li, Maria Kirilenko, and #3 Caroline Wozniacki.  So she is tournament tested and ready for a player of Dementieva's pedigree.  She'll have to work through the nerves of being in her first ever semifinal, which could be a disadvantage to her, but Dementieva isn't the most calm and collected player either.  Dementieva isn't above getting nervous in big matches causing her to crash and burn.

I'll be rooting for Dementieva to win this match, because I think she is probably one of the classiest and nicest players playing.  But I have this vibe that Schiavone, who has been in better playing form the past few months will pull the upset.  Dementieva's lack of matches and previous poor play will come back to bite her, as Schiavone wins in 3 sets.

My Pick- SCHIAVONE
RESULT-  Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (ret.)


#7 seed Samantha Stosur  vs.  #4 seed Jelena Jankovic. 
Samantha Stosur has been on fire during the clay season.  She has the most wins on clay during this year's clay court season.  Being in top form put her in the position to take out Justine Henin and Serena Williams in back-to-back matches.  Stosur reached the semifinals of the French Open last year, so nerves shouldn't be a big issue with her.  If she can keep her head against both Henin and Serena in pivotal 3rd sets, her mental toughness is right were it should be.

Jelena Jankovic is the definition of steady.  She keeps plugging along winning matches.  She isn't the flashiest (well other than her bright yellow dress) player around.  She is a defensive grinder who is quick and will run down anything you throw at her.  Jankovic has been blessed with a kind draw only having to beat 2 seeds to reach the semifinal round.  Them 2 seeds were Alona Bondarenka and Daniela Hantuchova.  Bondarenko has been terrible and injury ridden all year, and Hantuchova is a solid player, but she doesn't strike fear in anyone anymore.  For Jankovic to have a chance in this match, she'll have to remain focused, which can be hard for her.  She seems to let her mind wander and let the smallest of issues bother her.

Stosur has been on a roll, and I don't think she is about to stop.  Jankovic's movement and experience will be a tough test for her, but Sam Stosur's amazing stretch of beating Henin and Serena will add another player in Jankovic.  Samantha Stosur will advance with a straight set win.

My Pick- STOSUR
RESULT-   Samantha Stosur 6-1, 6-2.