Reading Room: US Open Wrap Up

I usually like to do my own post wrapping up the US Open:  the hits, the misses, and everything in-between.  Unfortunately this year I'm not able to do that, however there have been a lot of posts by some bloggers and journalists that really embodied my thoughts on the Open.  Here they are:

We know Serena berated another umpire, but is she the victim, the bully, or both?

Another great blog about why Serena is a ticking timebomb.

Novak is rolling in dough setting a prize money record this year, so why isn't Sergio Tacchini able to capitalize on his success?

A great video on all the funny moments at the US Open.

Another video of all the ridiculous shots made by Nole and Rafa during the US Open final.

Why Rafa will always be my favorite player.

and

Samantha Jane Stosur, US Open Champion, would would have guessed?  A good write-up on the champ from her number 1 fan.

Photos: Action Sam

Throughout my time at the Family Circle Cup, I've been taking all my photographs in the media section in the stadium not realizing that my credential allows me to go and take photos from the photo pit on the court.   But let me tell ya, once I figured that out, I immediately joined Samantha Stosur and Patricia Mayr-Achleitner on the clay.  It's a little bit intimidating to be on court with the players.  First, you get a little paranoid that everyone is looking at you when you trudge down to the pit, and then once there you get even more paranoid that your cell phone is really not on silent and it's going to ring during some crucial moment of a 24 shot rally.  Then, once you have checked your phone about 10 times and are reassured that it is off, you realize how close you really are, and are nervous the whole time you are going to get hit with a ball.  It was intense.  But the photos were totally worth it.  I call this batch:  Action Sam.

Photos: Rally For (Comic) Relief

I tried to get this post up yesterday, but I was up WAY too late, partially to get myself on the Australian Open schedule, but also because I was analyzing the draw for hours, so do me a favor and take a look at some interesting women's and men's first round matches here and here.  With that said, if you missed the Rally For Relief yesterday, which was an exo to raise money for the devastating floods in Queensland, and if you are a true tennis fan......

Dude. You. Missed. Out.  

The first half cast was: Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, Justine Henin, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt, and umpire/emcee Jim Courier. They were split into two different teams, Gold and Green, to compete.  At this point I don't completely remember who was playing on what team because it got a little wild out there.

At times you had A-Rod facing 3 ladies because "men like options."  At times there was some singles going on between the players, but, the best is when Ana (you flirty girl you) was on the court.  The men definetely played up her sex appeal, and she and Andy Murray had a bit of a grunt fest when they hit the ball.  Seriously sounded like sexy-times (and YES, it was on purpose.)

Ana was definitely the break out star, (we all know Nole and A-Rod can hold their own at an expo).   All the funny sexual innuendo, (example her telling Novak to get behind her, and then saying "well, you know what I mean") her giggle fits, and tweeners......she just seems like a delightful person, and I am now officially an AnaKAD.

Other highlights:  Nole the photographer, and A-Rod the linesman.  Yes, he went there and called footfaults, even saying it was their right foot.  If you don't know what I mean, you need to google:  US Open, Andy Roddick, and footfault.  I'm SURE it will pop up.

The 2nd half was less entertaining where we had some doubles action between Roger Federer, Kim Clijsters, Samantha Stosur, and Rafael Nadal.  

The unfortunate part was that they didn't mike up the players, so after all the guffawing during the 1st half, it got strangely quiet.  

It got a little better when the women took on the men and won with a fabulous forehand winner from Kim! And then we got to see this:

Hopefully it will be loaded on YouTube at some point and I can share it with you if you didn't see it.  Don't forget if you want to donate to the Queensland Relief Fund, click here.

Photos:  Australian Open website, Getty Images, AP

Update on Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 2:35PM by [OnTheGoTennis]

Yay!  Video Highlights:

Sexy-times:

Women's Australian Open Draw and Predictions

Photo:  Ben Solomon 

I admit that recently I have not been following the women's game as closely as the men's, and because there has been lack of consistency in the women's game, it is hard for me to make predictions, so this will be short and sweet.  

Top Half of the Draw:

First let's talk Caroline Wozniacki.   She just changed her racquet this year going from a Babolat to a Yonex, which is actually a fairly big deal.  I think if she can make it past her first round match against Gisela Dulko, she should be able cruise to the 4th round where she'll get another test against Marion Bartoli.  If she gets past this (which she should) then she has to face either Justine Henin, Sveltana Kuznetsova, or Francesca Schiavone in the quarter-finals, and I think her AO bid will end here.   If she gets to the semi-finals, she will face a match-up with either Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka or Li Na (probably Williams). I realize that there are a lot of "ifs" here.  It's a tough draw, what can I say.

I think Justine Henin has a great chance of getting to the semi-finals.  Along the way she'll have to defeat Kuznetsova in the 3rd round, and Schiavone in the 4th round, then face Wozniacki in the quarter-finals. I think all matches are going to be tough but doable for the Belgium. 

Venus Williams will be smooth sailing until the 4th round where she'll potentially battle Maria Sharapova. (Can't wait) After that she'll face either Victoria Azarenka or Li Na in the quarter-finals. Her potential semi-finals match-ups could be Wozniacki, Henin, Kuznetsova or Schiavone.

While we are talking about Schiavone.......she will cruise until the 4th round where she'll meet the winner of the Henin/Kuznetsova match.  I'd be shocked if she moved forward from there.

All in all,  this is a pretty tough 1/2 of the draw.  I'll put myself out there and say that we'll see Wozniacki vs Henin and Williams vs Azarenka in the quarter-finals, Williams vs Henin in the semi-finals with Henin making it to the finals.  

Bottom half of the draw:

Vera Zvonareva should easily get to the quarter-finals where she'll likely play Samantha Stosur, and if Stosur brings her A-game here, I think Stosur will have the edge.  If she makes it to the semi-finals she'll likely have a repeat of the US Open finals and face Kim Clijsters and we know how that ended......

In order for Kim Clijsters to get to the quarter-finals, she'll have to get past Ana Ivanovic in the 4th round. Recently Ana has been playing extremely well, but unfortunately in Hopman Cup she suffered an abdominal tear, therefore she won't be in top form and Kim should be able to pull this one out.  In the quarter-finals she'll have a repeat of her recent Sydney semi-final match-up against Alisa Kleybanova.  They both played some amazing tennis in that match, with Kim taking it in 3 sets.  In the semi-finals she would face either Stosur or Zvonereva.  

Sam Stosur should cruise to quarter-finals, where she will likely face Zvonareva.  For her semi-final match she'll face either Clijsters or Kleybanova.

And last we have Jelena Jankovic who I don't think will make it past the 4th round where she will play Kleybanova.  The end.

So, I think in this 1/2 of the draw we'll see Kleybanova vs Clijsters and Stosur vs Zvonareva in the quarter-finals, Clijsters vs Stosur in the semi-finals, and Stosur going all the way.

That was neither short nor sweet, but there it is: Stosur vs Henin in the finals and the hometown girl getting her first slam, hence the above picture.  I think I might be pretty off in this one, but here's to hoping!

Update on Saturday, January 15, 2011 at 12:06AM by [OnTheGoTennis]

I forgot to mention that Kim Clijsters has to face Dinara Safina in the 1st round!  I think Clijsters will definitely advance, but it should be a great match!

Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Stosur and Clijsters Rally For Relief

This Sunday at 2 pm, one day prior to the start of the Australian Open, many of the top tennis stars will host a charity event called "Rally For Relief" in Rod Laver Arena to raise funds for the victims of the devastating floods that are affecting Australia.  The photo above is the now flooded Pat Rafter Arena, on which Robin Soderling won his title at the Brisbane International Tournament last week.  The floods have engulfed approximately 2/3 of Queensland, and it is being called Queensland's worst natural disaster in history. Currently there are 15 people who have died with another 60 people missing.

In a press conference, Pat Rafter stated that in addition to the exhibition on Sunday, there will be events all throughout the AO to raise money for the cause.  The events will include (via the AO website):

• Sunday afternoon's Rally for Flood Relief
• A gold coin donation at Saturday's Kids Tennis Day
• A special "Shirt off their backs" ongoing auction of autographed player apparel belonging to some of the biggest names in the sport
• An ATP and WTA pledge of $10 for every ace served by players at the Brisbane International, Medibank International Sydney, Moorilla International in Hobart and the Australian Open.

Tickets are $20 for entry to Rod Laver Arena.

Tickets will be available through Ticketek from 3:00pm today at www.ticketek.com.au.

To donate to the Flood Relief Appeal click here.

Update on Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 3:13PM by [OnTheGoTennis]

To see the hilarity that ensued at the expo, click here.

Wozniacki Is On Her Way to #1 and Other Tennis Happenings

 

Prepare for it people.  By the end of the year, Caroline Wozniacki is going to be World #1.   I know, I know, *sigh*  we are going to have another "number 1" who hasn't won a major, but we've seen it before (JJ, Safina), and them's the brakes when it comes to the ranking system.  She's won 5 tourneys this year, and the system rewards people who play, unlike some of her, ahem, mysteriously injured counterparts.   She has been consistent when everyone else is faltering, so in that regard, good for her. (Not necessarily good for the WTA) 

In other tennis news, Mikhail Youzhny has won his 2nd tournament this year, beating Andrey Golubev in the Malaysian Open Final, and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who upset Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, went on to win his 2nd ATP title, defeating Jarkko Nieminen at the Thailand Open.

The China Open got underway today and began with a couple of upsets. Samantha Stousr and defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova were both defeated in the first round.

Best Dressed: Caroline Wozniaki Worst Dressed: Everyone Else

This picture is confusing on so many different levels, the weird pose, the mix of plaid and argyle with animal prints, the fact that Caroline is better dressed than Jelena (a sweater gf?)  I guess being a sexy tennis star clearly doesn't make you a fashionista.  I'm disappointed that JJ, Bepa, and Sam didn't taken some tips from their sexy video shoot for the NY Times.

The women did their obligatory presser for the the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan that is from September 26-October 2.  Next time there needs to be a dress code.....seriously.