Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray is the semi line-up for the second time in three slams. There is a tendancy in Britain to feel that Murray is more like no.1 of the rest of the world than part of the elite. I think the slam semi record this season gives the lie to that.
Federer serves for the match, gets to 40-15, can't close it out. Three games later, Djokovic is in the same boat and does.
Another dagger to the heart for Federer, he has had some truly painful loses recently. Most players have results like this in their careers, but spread over the course of them. For him, it's all coming towards the end.
Amazing how a tennis match is decided by inches. With Federer at 5-4 in the fifth, and 40-15 and serving with a double match point, Djokovic decides on a do-or-die shot-to-nothing from Federer's serve rather than merely return it. It flies across the court, stays in, and Federer looks beaten there and then.
The constant references to the Tsonga game at Wimbledon were trotted out from the third set on, but the fifth set proved to be very different. Where we saw a complete collapse by Federer against Tsonga, tonight he raised his game magnificently in the fifth set. He won't believe how he lost that match.
Overall, Federer just didn't win enough points on the Djokovic serve. And those weak backhands straight into the net have become as much a trademark of his as his winners were. Going back to the epic Wimbledon Final against Nadal in 2008 this poor backhand has been a costly feature of his game. It was on show against Nadal in Melbourne in 2009, against Del Potro later in the year, and in successive years against Djokovic at Flushing Meadow.
For the fourth year in succession my sporting highlight has been a tennis match. In 2008 it was that Wimbledon Final; in 2009 it was the Federer-Nadal re-match in Melbourne; in 2010 it was the Djokovic-Federer semi at Flushing Meadow; and tonight's game has been the best sport I've seen this year. A truly golden age in the sport.
Yep, good win. She is obviusly over the the psychological fall-out from the non-performance in the French final last year which had held her back for a while. When on form, she is probably the best female player out there at the moment.
Serena, well...
They have to suspend her for this. The point has to be made that her behaviour and attitude towards umpires is totally unacceptable. Given that the last incident was also in New York, it ought to be from this tournament next year, rather than, say, the Aussie Open.
There also should be a public statement of the absolute correctness of the umpiring decision that sparked it. You cannot shout before the ball has reached your opponent. And it's clear that Stosur had some kind of chance to retrieve it, as she got her racquet onto it.
Stosur must have been biting her lip somewhat in the post-match interviews. Not just when congratulating Serena on her play and carefully ignoring what had happened, but also in not making reference to the months she spent bed-ridden with Lyme disease a few years back, which looked like it might end her career, in response to Serena's histrionics about her recent illness.
I will never understand the continued fawning over the Williams sisters (Serena in particular) by those charged with bringing the game to a wider audience; their continued lack of humility seems to be overlooked by what is generally accepted as their undoubted ability, which is in itself limited to being merely faster and stronger than their opponents.
Whether Serena will be subject to any official sanction, the media condemnation of Williams's conduct needs to be followed up by reappraisal of her legacy as a player. It is only Serena's playground-bully physicality that has led to her success as a player and her vulnerability as a person, as was displayed to full effect last night.
Big congrats to Stosur, who was not overawed by the shitstorm generated by Williams. Such a toxic climate would have overwhelmed the most experienced pro, never mind someone playing on a show court for the first time. A great achievement.
Such a toxic climate would have overwhelmed the most experienced pro, never mind someone playing on a show court for the first time. A great achievement.
Stosur is an experienced pro. It was first time she had played on the Arthur Ashe court this year, not the first time in her life. Her QF against Clijsters last year was on Arthur Ashe, for example. I'm guessing the 2005 Women's Doubles final, that Stosur won with Lisa Raymond, was also on the main court. There have probably been other occasions in her career. The Arthur Ashe Stadium is not the only show court at Flushing Meadows, anyway. In fact, only Stosur's R1s matches in the singles and doubles were on anything other than a show court.
Janik wrote:
[quote]
Stosur is an experienced pro.
To put it another way, someone who had actual show court experience (whether this year or in years past) and was still able to keep it together against an opponent strongly fancied to win comfortably in front of her own support, especially following THAT incident, is still quite an achievement.
It is only Serena's playground-bully physicality that has led to her success as a player.
What a pile of horseshit.
As horse shit has its uses, I'll take this as a ringing endorsement, unless you care to follow up on your eloquence with something approaching an explanation.
If Djokovic beats Nadal tonight, I reckon that would be a pretty good contender for the greatest season any male player has enjoyed since Rod Laver's Grand Slam.
I'm staggered by the inadequacy of Grand Slam committee response. Did they ask for her autograph whilst considering their decision?
Nadal is also staggered currently. How many loses in a row would this be to Djokovic? Pwned is the word, I believe.
Odd stat at this precise moment (2-2 in set 3). The service hold rate for the entire match is 50%. Both players have managed exactly as many service holds as they have breaks of the other guy. 7+7 for Djokovic, 4+4 for Nadal.
Whilst I wouldn't phrase it the way Commodore does, Serena's game is very definitely a one-dimensional power play. She can only hit the other girl off the court, and if that doesn't work she is totally lost. She has never and will never make a tactical alteration to win a match, she simply believes (often with justification, but not always) that if she can cut out the errors then she will win.
Whether her game would have developed the same way if she hadn't ended up as one of the phyiscally strongest players on the Women's tour is a moot point, because she is, and she relies on her strength absolutely.
It's this complete self-belief which leads to her utter gracelessness in defeat. It's all about her, always. But sometimes it really isn't, she could have played essentially error-free Tennis and would still have lost because the other player was having a day of days. Bartoli at Wimbledon this year being a perfect example. Serena played well. Bartoli played better. Serena couldn't possibly admit this.
Comment