Are The American Men in Trouble in Memphis?

What happened to home court advantage??  I know that the draw for a tournament must be fair, but I am going to assume that many American tennis fans, (as well as the tournament director) were left scratching their heads after the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships Men's Singles Draw yesterday.  Let me give you a preview of some first round matches.

Andy Roddick vs. Richard Berankis - If you've been following tennis at all recently, you would know that the rise of 20 year old Richard Berankis has been a frequent topic of water cooler conversation.  He is the youngest player to be ranked in the top 75, and is part of recent Youth Movement that also includes rising star Milos Raonic.  He reached the 3rd round of the Australian Open, and more recently the QF of the SAP Open.  This will be Roddick's first match since his loss in the 4th round in OZ to Stanislas Wawrinka. Roddick should be able to win this match easily, especially in front of the hometown crowd, but as Berankis moves up the ranks, so does his confidence, and it is possible, (though unlikely) he could upset the #1 seed.  If Roddick makes it through he'll likely face Janko Tipsarevic in the 2nd round, and the last time they played Janko upset A-Rod in the 2nd round of the US Open in 2010.  

Sam Querrey vs. Denis Istomin  I would have said 1 week ago, that Querrey would have no problem with this match, but Querrey is now 0-3 for the 2011 season, bowing out in the first round of the SAP Open last week.  Denis Istomin on the other hand reached the QF of the SAP Open before being beaten by Fernando Verdasco.  They've met each other twice in 2009, splitting the head-to-head.  Tennis is 90% mental and Querrey doesn't seem focused.  I smell an upset.

and last but not least, the kicker...........

John Isner vs Juan Martin del Potro  OMG.  This could be a final and it's a first round match-up.  They've met twice both in 2009 and Del Potro dominated.  Delpo who is making a comeback after wrist surgery is still not in 2009 form, but he is playing well, last night taking out Lleyton Hewitt convincingly in straight sets at the SAP Open.  All I can say is......... the Tennis Gods are cruel.

And no, I didn't forget about James Blake and Mardy Fish.   I honesty don't have an opinion about Blake yet since this is only his second tournament since October 2010.  I will say that Fish probably has the easiest draw of all the American men, as long as he has gotten his thyroid under control.

And let me just mention for fun Fernando Verdasco vs. Milos Raonic.  Raonic's star is rising....fast.  He is in the finals of the SAP Open (a walkover due to Monfils wrist injury) vs either Verdasco or Del Potro.  This should be an amazing match.

Australian Open Day 1 Round-Up: Doozies and D'ohs

Day 1 of the Australian Open was a long one, for the players and for my neck.  My office is apparently not ergonomically set up for someone to watch ESPN2 from 6:30 pm to 3:00 am while simultaneously watching 3 live streams on the computer, and tracking scores on the AO website, but, I do it out of love.

Enough about me, lets talk tennis Doozies and D'ohs (you know, like Homer Simpson?)

Doozies (Matches that went the distance):  

Monfils vs de Bakker:  Gael Monfils, the number 12 seed, looked as though he was going to make hasty exit from the AO, down 2 sets to love against 22 year-old up-and-comer Thiemo de Bakker.  However, De Bakker turned into De Bacle (thanks Brad Gilbert) when he seemed to choke as he tried serve out the match at 5-3.  Gael ultimately took the match 6-7 (5-7), 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 in 3.5 hours.

In his presser, Gael basically said that de Bakker tanked:

But I know Thiemo a bit. I know sometimes he snaps in the head … It's a weakness for him, so you play with that.

De Bakker would disagree:

At 4-1 in the third, when I went for a ball, came a little bit in my groin, like a traction, so from that moment I had problems to play rallies and to serve.

And when he broke me back, I knew it was pretty much going to be tough.

I want to get a fight there, but if it's not possible - the body says no - there's not much I can do.

Mental or physical?  Probably a bit of both, but, we'll never know.

Mardy Fish vs Victor Hanescu:  Fish, who had blood work done this week due to fatigue, was also down 2 sets to love against Hanescu, but the Number 16 seed dug deep and won in 5, 2-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-3. Apparently the 19th time is a charm (he had been 0-18 in coming back two sets down in his career.)

Other interesting men's 5-setters:  Albert Montanes over Dustin Brown,  Ivan Dodig over Ivo Karlovic, and Phillip Kohlschreiber over Tobias Kamke

*And really ladies......there were just too many 3 setters to even count, and that is that.

D'ohs (Upsets):

Sam Querry vs. Lukasz Kubot:  Kubot sent the number 18th seed packing in a tight 5 set match, 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6. I know I shouldn't be surprised considering his frequent 1st round loses at Slams, but I am, but I'm not, but really....... I AM.   The only good part of the match?  Kubot's jig after winning.

Photo: Getty Images

Nikolay Davydenko vs Florian Myer:  Davydenko who was a quarterfinalist last year, was taken out in 4 sets,  6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.  After his recent win over Rafael Nadal in Doha, I had expected him to do well in the AO.  Well, thanks for nothing Kolya....... for the record, because of your loss, my bracket is SCREWED! (Because it's all about me right?)

Top Seeds:  Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Venus Williams, and Francesca Schiavone all advanced. 

For Today's Order of Play, click here.  

Bromance and Vuvuzelas: Davis Cup Wrap Up

There is nothing like a little Davis Cup Bromance to spice up your weekend.  The rowdy testosterone-filled celebrations of the winning teams make it so much fun to watch, and this weekend Team Serbia and Team France had the most to celebrate, making it to the Davis Cup Final this December.  

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Gael Entertains, Novak Cruises, Svetlana Chokes and Caroline Finally Earns Respect

Everyone has questioned whether Caroline Wozniacki really had the game that could live up to her US Open #1 seeding, and today she proved all the haters wrong.  In probably the biggest match of her career, she took down Maria Sharapova in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, and believe me, Maria didn't lose the match, Caroline won it.  Her mental toughness, solid serving, and forehand down the line were impressive.  No moonballs today, just good old-fashioned winners.  I have become a fan. Now if we could just get rid of those "matchy matchy" fingernails.

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My favorite US Open Pictures From the 1st Week

If you haven't seen my flickr photostream yet, you should, but I'll give you a little preview here.  The US Open this week was AWESOME, and I am terribly sad that I am back at home in North Carolina.  The first week was ridiculously hot, and there was no shortage of people getting heat-stroke (really), but we still braved the heat to watch our favorite players battle it out on the courts.

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US Open Day 3 and 4: A Lot of Tennis with a Touch of Douchebaggery

Didn't post anything yesterday, and tonight's post will be a quickie.

Day 3 was a pretty great day.  Didn't get started until around 2pm due to lack of sleep, but when I arrived on the grounds I was grateful for the slight breeze and temperatures a few degrees cooler than the day before.  I stalked the practice courts for about an hour and got to see Tommy Robredo, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Martina Navratilova and Kim Clijsters. The only one that got the shirtless memo was Robredo (Navratilova and Clijsters excluded of course.)

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A G.O.A.T and a Fish Walk into a Bar.......

When I woke up this morning, I wasn't even sure if I was going to watch this final because it just seemed so  *yawn* boring.  I didn't know much about Mardy Fish, outside of the fact that he has always been the "odd-man-out" American, so I thought this was going to be a typical Federer blowout, and honestly, I had better things to do with my afternoon.  But, the tennis nut in me decided to turn it on, just for a little bit, and to my surprise this match was more entertaining than most I've seen during this US Open Series.  And ooooh, the bad Fish jokes just wouldn't stop, but we'll get to that it a bit.  

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