Wozz up with that?

Fanatic Omes:

So it's official. They are hereby deemed: Wozzilroy. And the 2nd Z? Well that just makes it gangsta.

(Pic: Caroline's Twitter)

 

Readme

 Fanatic Omes:

• Ok I sympathise with the players and everything re all the strike and schedule talk, but all I'm hearing from them is whine whine whine.
• Again, whine whine whine.
• Argentina and the essence of the Davis Cup.
• Rafa will bounce back - like a tennis ball that's hit a wall. AmIright?
• Cool piece from a photographer at the US Open.
• If the players do decide to strike, they'll need replacements right...? It could be more fun this way.
• So what you're saying is you can sit on bum watching tennis and still be training.
  
• Nice Q&A with Martina Hingis.
• Rafa and Quely - the perfect pair. My favourite is how many different camera angles they managed to find to film him eating the biscuits. 
• Tipsy wants his share of underwear action too. To be honest, I'm surprised it's taken him this long.
• I heart Momo Chan.
• WHAT COULD THIS MEAN???!!!

(Pic: christinefeehan.com)

The Real Winners of the Davis Cup

Fanatic Omes:

Sure Spain beat France and Argentina beat Serbia to set up a nice Hispanic-y clash in the final. Sure Switzerland, Austria, Japan, Italy, Croatia, Canada, Russia and the Czech Republic all came through in the world group playoffs. These countries may have won their ties, but nobody won over our hearts, LOLZ and WTFs like this lot:

Rafa Nadal: For playing 3 days after losing that grueling US Open final, which must have felt like assault. Rafa had just 45 minutes to practice transitioning from hard to clay and disclosed that he was "close to the end of his energy". And he still PWNED poor Gasquet and Jo-Willy, reminding us that he is no doubt the GOATOC. (Greatest of all time on clay).

Córdoba: For making that the killer poster above (click to enlarge and read). Unless it was the thing responsible for spurring on Fer's jacket.

Nalbandian: For being the anchor of the Argentina. Nobody does a Davis like Daveed. He brings out his best for it and it brings out the best in him. You'd have to smile thinking about how much making this final must mean to him. But then you'd soon frown knowing that Spain will probably kick their asses. And then you'd smile again because: vamos.

That Judy fan: For that t-shirt. Andy, this is what you get for having a cool mum.

Hewitt and Guccione: For upsetting Olympic Gold pair Stanislas and Roger, having teamed up for just the second time ever. Did you LOL? I did.

Sela: For not letting a little thing like height keep him from making his voice heard.

Popsicle (Vasek Pospisil): For leading Canada to victory in a stand out performance, complete with a 5 set epic against Sela, a doubles shocker with Nestor and a straight sets final over Weintraub. The 21 year old moved up a couple of ranking spots with the performance declaring it "the best moment of [his] career". And those rosy cheeks!

Nole: For going out there with a failing back and trying the best he could. It must have been tough to come crashing down on the same stage that was so integral to his unbelievable success this year. I'm sure if all his ligaments etc. had snapped so that his skeleton was only being held by his skin, and there was a way he could still play, he would have. Also a couple of points for the tears. Grown men crying gets me every time.

Del Potro: Again the crying thing - every time. 

Roger: For being the tournie's class clown.  

Fer: For being brave enough to don that jacket. And also for redeeming himself after his shocktastic performance with Feli in the doubles match against Tsonga and Llodra.

(Pics: AP, Getty, Reuters, SMP Images, Yahoo)

Serena admits fault for her actions at US Open final

Fanatic Omes:

"My emotions did get the best of me this past weekend when I disagreed with the umpire. It has been a long road to get back to the US Open this year, and I am thankful to have had such a great two weeks in New York." - Serena

Good good.
 

US Open 2011: Rafa Reflections

Fanatic Omes:

I don't think I'm going to write a neutral post about Nole only because I've done it before and nothing's changed - if you want to know what I (neutrally) think of him and his season (fine then, and fanatically too) - go here and just add in his hard court results. 

Well what can I say? Do I feel like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat has ripped out my heart through my stomach? Yes. Do I want to hurl my laptop, TV and myself out the window? Yes. But am I unbelievably proud of Rafael Nadal? Hell to the yeah! He had NO serve and probably a total of two cheap points the entire match. He was up early twice, only to get broken back straight away. He was facing a monster-alien with the "luckiest" returns in the business that served for the championships. I can't imagine how much that 24 hour game in the 2nd set took a toll mentally. But he fighted. Boy he fighted. I've never seen anyone fight that hard on a tennis court - he had no right to win that 3rd set, break point down, but every right thereafter. 

And yes I do believe if Rafa brought his best from the start, it could've gone either way. But many times he wasn't allowed to do that both as a result of his opponent and the disappearance of some crucial aspects of his game (dude, where was the forehand down the line? And seriously enough with the short balls; thankyouplease). Regardless, he's not totally unhappy with the match: 

"I am happy with a lot of things, much happier than the previous matches against him. ...I go back home knowing that I am on the way. You know, I like to fight, I want to enjoy about this battle against him. Six straight loses, for sure that’s painful. But I’m going to work every day until that changes. So I have a goal, easy goal for me now. It’s going to be tough to change the situation, but the goal is easy to see. To have a goal always you know how to work every day."

And he's definitely on the way. I now see this as a work in progress. No one has been better than Nole this year, and to expect Rafa to snap out of a 0-5 final scoreline just like that would be unfair. He knows what he needs to do and that's a huge step up from being totally lost at Wimbledon. 

Things are definitely looking up - this will not last forever. And if the thing that Nole has sold his soul to makes it so that some way it does (kidding guys), being the sort of champion that he is, Rafa has nothing to left to prove. 

So just can say, BRAVA to our man and bring on 2012! Oh wait, it's Davis Cup this weekend (vamos España) then Shanghai, then Paris then the World Tour Finals. Tennis never ends.

Vamos.

(Pic: Getty)

Sam Stosur: 2011 US Open Champ

Neutral Omes:

For me, Sunday's ladies' final was more about Samantha Stosur who played the best match of her life, and less about Serena Williams who didn't conduct herself in the best of manners. 

Stosur played a flawless match. Her movement was impeccable, she employed the glorious tactic of slicing Serena on the backhand to draw her to the net and pass her - and said backhand did not break down. Her winners from both wings were innumerable, and she remained mentally stubborn from start to finish.

I defy the entire tennis world to deny that they put their money (or at at least their mouth) on Stosur being dominated by her 13 time Slam winner opponent; but she felt something we all couldn't  - she knew could win. Even after all the commotion, save a momentary lull to lose a break, she kept her head - she was not about to let anything get in the way of her first Slam. When you look back at her tournament, she seems to have had one of those performances poised for such a moment. She's responded well to adversity - unintentionally undermined by the USTA and their scheduling difficulties on more than one occasion; not to mention the injustice of reaching the final without once having played on Ashe. She's broken US Open records including the longest women's tie-break with 32 points and the longest US Open women's match in the tie-break era which lasted for 3 hours 16 minutes. She's won tough, easy, come from a set down, a set up; and yesterday she found herself the underdog with no pressure and nothing to lose.

For Serena - an American playing her home Slam final on the melancholic 10th year anniversary of 9/11 - there was all the pressure. Fatigue may have played a part in her final performance - she didn't arrive back at the hotel till 2.30 am after the men's semi-finals ran late - in fact for the first set her legs looked uncharacteristically heavy. With her first serve percentage finding itself in the 30s in the first set, she was in definite need of a lift, but especially considering 2009, no one would have guessed she'd find that lift in the way that she did at the start of the second. A loud "come on" on a heavy forehand before Stosur had a chance to get her racquet on her ball saw umpire Eva Asderaki invoke the hindrance rule. Serena was livid to say the least. Despite being in the rule book, arguments could be made on Serena's behalf- should the umpire have used discretion to replay the point, choosing to deem Serena's actions as 'unintentional'? It's hard to believe it would have been intentional. However no argument can be made in favour of her consequent offensive behaviour towards the Asderaki, who cannot be blamed for Serena's poor play. That being said (and it's certainly not an excuse but,) it was an extremely high pressure moment - it's not easy with all that expectation to feel the trophy slipping from your grasp partly due to you failing to bring out your best. 

The anger seemed to bring the American back to life and it looked as if we finally had a match on our hands. But Samantha. The way she didn't let it phase her. Even after Serena took that long pause, which saw some 22,500 members of the Arthur Ashe stadium let out a sustained roar, to gather herself, Stosur kept her composure and the level of her game beautifully. She isn't the most emotional or extroverted character on the tour and you got the feeling that this sort of event could have left her wanting to run away; but the exact opposite was true. In her mind there was no way anything but exceptional play from Williams was going to get in the way of her maiden Slam. And when she got the break she played with audacity and broke to close it out. This was a prime example of will to win taking over - Stosur had had a fantastic hard court season, but prior to that, her results certainly did not reflect her 9 in the world ranking. Not only that, but it should be pointed out that this US Open trophy is in fact her third title ever. Ergo it certainly can't be said that experience in finals led her to the win; and while confidence did play a huge part, as did ability - it was more of a case of the Australian just bringing out her best, not failing to make the most of the opportunity at hand.

It was gutsy but measured, calm but aggressive - finally Stosur played the sort of game that she, a few months back, didn't dream, but the rest of us knew, she was capable of. 

Congratulations to the deserving 2011 US Open champion.

(Pic: Getty)

US Open semi-final blurps.

Novak's box.

Fanatic Omes:

- I can't even talk about the match, I'm so devastated for Rog. 2 sets to 0 up playing lights out tennis, then serving for the match (THAT FOREHAND) only to double-fault to give it away and lose the next service game so his opponent could serve for it and ohhhhhh, it's so sad. Mirka and the girls have some work to do. Rog says he is now "extremely hungry going into Australia" - oh shoot, he's gonna win the damn thing, isn't he?

- Andy just couldn't pull it together against Rafa. Even the upwards of four imaginary friends to berate wasn't enough to lift him. He had a resurrgence in the 3rd, but lack of appropriate wristbands saw him lose his serve at 1-2 in the 4th and that was it. Rafa thought that that was his best match of the year! I thought his best match of the year was the semi at Wimbly...against Andy. Poor fuzzy bear. Oh, and WOOOOOOOOH!

- And so I will try to doge the obvious outcome of these two semi-finals and say, hope everyone had a good weekend. I will be needing a sick-bucket all of Monday.

- Couldn't stay up till after 4am to watch Rere and Wozza (I know, grow up, right?) but heard that the great dane just couldn't cut it against a below par Serena. Well a Serena/Sam final makes sense doesn't it? We got there in the end, even though there was a whole lot of crazy en route. If Sam plays 100% she can bother the big butt-ed one - half a percent less and she's toast.

(Pic: Andrew Ong/USTA)

US Open: Super Saturday

Fanatic Omes:

With both men and women semi-finals today, surely this is the superiest of them all? So sit back, relax and enjoy. I'll be the one peeing my pants.

Order of play.

Ladies' match of the day: Wozniacki vs Williams; 1st night match, Ashe.

Men's match of the day: Really really can't decide.

(Pic: nicey200 on Photobucket)

OMG only 3 days left! Hold me.

Fanatic Omes:

- Rafa came back from a 3-0 deficit during the few minutes of play before rain emphatically told us to say hello to its little friend, for a straight sets win. Homeboy was agreeeessive - so at least the whole prospect of 4 best of 5 matches in 4 days was good for something. (Small mercies).

- Adventures were had on Armstrong where Roddick was to play Ferru. Believe it or not a water bubble appeared on court so the guys had to go straight back off. First a ball boy tried to towel it off, then the tournament director himself had a go. It came to that. Anyway after a long wait the boys stepped back on court and a "baffled" Roddo had had enough - he rallied for the match to be moved over to Hawk-eye-less court 13 which has a capacity of, what 500? The players and their entourages then made their way over, the crowd and an ESPN camera followed behind. And hey presto. This was the first time in 9 years that Roddo hadn't played on Ashe. And the power of 13 seemed to work for him. A very focussed Roddo raced to a two set lead, but then a very grindy Ferrer won the 3rd. But then focussed Roddick came back to take it in four. And he was so happy that he walked around the court slapping hi-fives to all. Gotta love.

- Andy Murray taught Donald Young a lesson winning 6-2 6-3 6-3. DY got so peeved at one point that the actually told a fan who was cheering for him to "shut up". Way to turn around perceptions, Young.

- Serena and Pavs traded consecutive breaks till 3 all. Pavs has some serious game. Potential is ridonk. But Serena is Serena. It was an error stricken performance and I'm not gonna not blame her player box, which was full of the Kardashian Krew komplete with Kim, Lala and Ciara.

- The 2-7 head to head reared its ugly head for Bepa, who went out rather emphatically to Stosur. She was just a mental midget and Stosur was on point. Simples.

- Nole and Janko's match was a so much fun for the first 2 sets. It was a damn shame Tipsy had to retire. How dumb would it be if the fact that Nole ground Tipsy like whole peppercorns ruined their chances at the davis Cup this weekend? Woopsies.

- Federer, who beared a striking resemblance to FedererGOAT, bossed Jo-Willy to set up a clash with Nole in the semis. Oops! I think I just drooled.

(Vid: ArjunJethwa on YouTube)

US Open: We live in hope.

Fanatic Omes:

Say it with me, 'hope'.

Order of play.

Ladies' match of the day: Federer vs Tsonga; only night match, Ashe.

Men's match of the day: Stosur vs Zvonareva; 2nd on Grandstand.

(Pic: keeponsledding.blogspot.com)
 

Readme

Fanatic Omes:

• The 'case of the magic draw' has been quite the topic of controversy this US Open, and it's easy to see why.
• Because it's always fun to read an Ernests Gulbis article.
• Nice article on whether Roddick's meltdown mania was kindddda justified.
• Now everyone is a racquet diva.
• Wondrous illustrative article showing the best fistpumps through the years. Glorious; just glorious.
• Article about the abusive tennis coach, who's now been named and shamed as hall of famer, Bob Hewitt. Appalling.
• Exhibit A. Exhibit B. But there's nothing wrong with Harrison's temper - according to Jim courier. (No comment on Gimelstob btw. Wow.)
• Toni being candid and a little pessimistic about Rafa (sky is blue).
• Glorious animation on Rafa's forehand from the New York times. And it's informative too kids!
• With the number of retirements  as numerous as sand grains on the seashore at the USO - this certainly springs to mind.
• We all know about Ball Boys and Girls, but meet Spitz - the (over) enthusiastic Ball Lawyer.

(Pic: dcanimals.org)

The rain, the drama and the need for a union.

 

Neutral Omes:

On day 10 of the US Open, Rafael Nadal and the two Andys (Murray and Roddick) were the big names to start off rain-delayed play on Ashe. Seven minutes in and the rain returned. The players had to go off - but not without getting visibly irate about their having to go on court in the first place in the misty and damp conditions. Rafa was supposedly heard saying to tournament referee Brian Early: "It's the same old story, all you think about is money." And so it began. 

Rafa went off to complain to Early further behind closed doors, with Roddick and Murray close by. A little later all three players were interviewed by Pam Shriver on ESPN:

“Everyone’s relaxed about it now, but when we went out on court, it was still wet, and the balls too. It doesn’t make sense to get out there for seven or eight minutes and I don’t think that will happen again. I knew that Rafa was going to see [Brian Earley]. I spoke to David Ferrer, and he was saying: ‘It was still raining when we went on there.’ The lines are slippy and very dangerous. I said I will go in and mention it as well, then Andy [Roddick] came.”- Murray

 

“They need to put tennis on television, I understand the business side of it, but they need to make sure the players are safe. If I were by myself I’d feel uncomfortable going in there, as an American. We said if conditions are similar to that again, it might be uncomfortable. To Brian Earley’s credit, he listened to what we had to say. He was very nice in the conversation.” - Roddick

“It was a tough day. We don’t feel protected here. The tournament grand slams, they are [getting] a lot of money and they are working for that, but not [for] us.“The rain really never stopped. The court was dry for 10 minutes and they know we have to go out there. The health of the players is important. This is part of the show – and we don’t feel protected. We are here working hard and we want to feel good when were playing a tournament.“Things happened today and at [other] slams and for sure we cannot accept these things. We have to be together and not accept situations. We have to fight to change that, so we don’t go on court when it’s raining. If I have to, I go on court, but it’s not fair.” - Nadal

US Open: Day 9, Take 2

Fanatic Omes:

I have a feeling this is Irene's way of saying: "suckaaaas".

Optimistic order of play.

Ladies' match of the day: Stosur vs Zvonareva, 2nd on Armstong.

Men's match of the day: Federer vs Tsonga; 2nd night match, Ashe.

(Pic: Getty)

US Open: Blather, rinse, repeat.

Fanatic Omes:

- Rafa was still shaky in the first set of his 3rd rounder but Nalba(ckha)ndian played some lights out tennis. I wish Rafa was like Rog in the sense that he can pull confidence out his ass. But that's beside the point. He's showed up during this tournament big time, so you know, vamos. He then brought the dramz with that cramptastic press conference. Rest your weary leg boy.

- Roddick breezed through but it was pointed out the average ranking of his first three opponents was 244 so you know... yeah. But he's looking good no doubt. Good for the confidence and all that.

- Donald Young's still plugging away showing maturity and guts and all that, making his way to the fourth round of Slam for the first time ever. Dirt no longer on shoulder. 

- I mentioned how Delpo running out of gas in his 3rd rounder didn't bode well. Well Andy Murray the II or as people like to know him by, Gilles Simon, ran him to the ground. Simon played that usual grind game and sucked Delpo into it. The Argentine tree seemed to forget he was capable of blasting those crazy winners that got him the title. Oh well. He'll be back.

- Ferrer's been ghosting in nicely, slipping and sliding under the radar. This is impressive - he's coming back from injury. I guess now that Delpo's gone, Ferrer gets the honorary 'dangerous floater' badge.

- Ana Ivanovic's got to be pleased with the way she came out against Serena, what with the question on the twitterverse being: how many games is Serena going to concede? Ana sure showed us that she's one adje-twirl closer to getting back to her best. ReRe didn't bring her best, but then the gale force winds in Ashe didn't help.

- I had the displeasure of missing the 32 point record-breaking breaker between Stosur and Kirilenko as I was wasting my time sleeping. But heard it was epic. Sisters have indeed been doing it for themselves this tournament.

- Ah part I in the chronicles of Mardy and Jo. Jo get's angry with antagonists from Mardy's box. Mardy get's angry with antagonists from Jo's box. The two kiss and make up at the net. It was not unlike an Ashton Kutcher movie. I have to say I'm a little bit surprised - didn't think Fish would fizzle out so emphatically. But he has been playing non-stop since Madrid and admitted he was "spent".

- Pavlyu-check you out, Pavlyuchenkova! Pulled the upset over Fran Schiavone to book a place in her first ever quarters at the USO. I just love the nonchalant look on her face when she plays - like she's queuing up to buy stamps or something.

- In the intimate settings of Armstrong court, Dolgopolov took on Nole in a display which can only be described as a something Monfils would be proud of. The long-haired one would hit those cray cray shots in that beautifully trashy unorthodox style he's got, complete with those excessive, debilitating slice backhands, but then soon after several clusters of his braincells would take their momentary leave of absence. 4-1 up in the first set tiebreak, and with the way he had Nole cornered - he really should have taken that. Anyway in his presser Dolgo gave the impression that he was just there to have fun. And that was the problem - lack of belief. But then again isn't that everybody's problem against Nole these days?

(Vid: xohxxmyx on YouTube)

Celbrity SIGHtings at the US Open.

Fanatic Omes:

So it's the 2nd week of the USO and that can only mean one thing: darn celebrities start to arrive and take up valuable fan seats. Some even make themselves comfy in the boxes of players they hardly know. (I'm looking at you Jay Z.) So in a tribute to I don't entirely know what, here is a gallery of the latest celebs at the Open. Sigh.

Alas, alack, it's Alec! (Baldwin)

Jay, B and bay-B.

A happy Owen Wilson. Nice to see.

Now if ANYONE deserves to sit in a player's box, it should be this guy. (Andy Samberg)

Much respect to Aretha Frankling for coming out. (I'm sorry - that was poor.)

Chis Pine and pop.

Ben Stiller - who is a Rafa fan btw, so you know, he rules, plus wife Christine Taylor.

I love you Bradley Cooper, but not your glasses.

Mr and Mrs Zeta-Jones-Douglas.

Diddy, who made himself comfy in Nole's box and actually calls him 'No'. The two apparently met at a party. Alrighty then.

Ed Burns and supermodel wife Christy Turlington. Good-looking pair, no?

Jeremy Piven

Jimmy Fallon, scouting tennis players for his show no doubt.

It's funny how glasses and a hat can make Justin look the opposite of incognito. 

Click below for more celebos.

US Open: Day 9

Fanatic Omes:

So there's apparently going to be some lovely torrential rain at Flushing. Damn, suspended play = no excuse for not going to the gym. Apparently matches are to be "frontloaded" i.e. they'll try and get the big matches out of the way earlier. Hey, you gotta earn your preferential treatment.

Order of play.

Ladies' match of the day: Stosur vs Zvonareva; 3rd on Armstrong.

Men's match of the day: Ferrer vs Roddick; 1st night match on Ashe.

(Pic: AP)

US Open: Day 8

 

Fanatic Omes:

So it's Labour Day in the US today and as someone on my twitter timeline pointed out (holler if it was you), it means day session > night session at Flushing.

Hence the order of play.

Ladies' match of the day: Williams vs Ivanovic; 2nd on Ashe.

Men's match of the day: Fish vs Tsonga; 3rd on Ashe.

(Pic: Reuters)

Fed says the darndest things.

Fanatic Omes:

It's really worth having a read of Rog's 3rd round presser. He funny.

(Pic: Getty)
 

US Open: Day 7

Fanatic Omes:

With a belly full of oats and berries I get to watch the start of the US Open this week, and guess who's up first on Ashe? Happy times!

Order of play.

Ladies' match of the day: Zvonareva vs Lisicki; last on Ashe.

Men's match of the day: Nadal vs Nalbandian; 1st on Ashe.

(Pic: Getty)

More US Open musings.

Fanatic Omes:

- Delpo was sublime until he kind of checked out in the third set hitting some cray cray serve and volleys. He seemed to run out of steam at the end, which doesn't bode well, but he's Delpo; he's still dangerous.

- Shock of the tournament Penetta took out Masha, who was still rusty as an old gold chain. The match was breaks and deuces galore, but Penetta just played some inspired tennis, working the important points extremely well. Sadly Masha doesn't seem to have that intimidation factor at all anymore. The bottom half of the draw is now as open as a can of worms.

- Ok the Muzz vs Haase match. I didn’t watch much till the 5th set, as I was following my heart (reads: watching Rafa). But to sum up that was probably the most hilarious, confusing, exhausting, infuriating, ridiculous, atrocious, stupid, silly, discombobulating match in the history of the world. Face was in palm. Lungs were working overtime with laughter. Andy was all giggles at the end. BANANAS.

- It's not just the baby female Americanas making an impression. Give it up for Donald Young! He pushed Stan to 5 sets and crazily enough the wiring in his brain seemed to be set to 'on'  in the final set tiebreak. He held his nerve and held his serve. Good boy.

- Rafa started to look like Rafa again. His winner error ratio was very agreeable indeed 24 - 5. He's still working out the kinks, but working them out no doubt. Mahut retired making it the 1456778th retirement this week. **Update: And then Berdych and Granollers retired tallying it up to 1456780.

- Unfortunately for young Americans Christina McHale and Jack Sock, their elders (Kirilenko and Roddick) felt the need to teach them some discipline. Both got schooled but should pat themselves numerous times on the back.

- Marin Cilic, inspired by the dismantling of two prodigies back to back tried to take it to King Fed. He played some great tennis but just didn't play the important points fantastically. And he wasn't helped by umpire Pascal Maria who frankly, rather ridiculously gave him a time violation on break point down in the middle of his service action (advantage Rog). Having lost a bit of focus he then proceeded to double fault handing Rog the 5-4 lead and the chance to serve out the 3rd set. Not cool Pascal, not cool.

- SerenaGOAT took care of Vika 6-1 5 in what reallllllllly should have been a semi or a final. Much credit to Vika, who played some exhilarating, inspired stuff with an unbelievable resurgence when Serena served for the match in the 2nd set. It was hands down the best set of tennis from the ladies in this USO. With crazy ridonkadonk rallies, these girls were pummelling the ball like it was a piñata filled with buy one get one free Louboutins. The tough ending gave Serena a good test, which she passed with flying colours and honestly if she goes on like this, I can't see anyone else winning the next few Slams. Probably not even Kimmie.

- Haven't said much about Nole but, I mean, there's nothing else to say. The guy is an alien. Sure, that "pod" is a recovery device. No, Nole it's how you arrived on this earth from planet Xylon500.

(Vid: coreycelt on YouTube)

US Open: Day 6

Fanatic Omes:

Andy, NEVER DO THAT AGAIN.

Order of play today.

Ladies' match of the day: Williams vs Azarenka; 3rd on Ashe (hold on to your hats)

Men's match of the day: Tsonga vs Verdasco; 4th on Grandstand

(Pic: Reuters)

US Open: Day 5

Fanatic Omes:

Now that everyone in the tournie is freaking injured, let's just double check and do a quick head count. Rafa? Present. Roger? Present. Nole? Present. Muzz? Present. Good. Keep it that way.

Order of play.

Ladies' match of the day: Sharapova vs Penetta; 2nd on Ashe. Special mention for McHale vs Kirienko; 4th on Ashe

Men's match of the day: Ferrer vs Blake; 4th on Grandstand.

(Pic: Getty)

 

Second Round US Open blatherings

Fanatic Omes:

- Robbo (Laura Robson), who played an opponent with exactly the same outfit for the second time in a row,  failes to capitalise on her big chance. She just wasn't solid enough off the ground. Her concentration needs work but she's only 17 - it's allowed. There are good enough signs for the future. It give me so much respect for Masha (who totally owned her 2nd round match, 6-1 6-1 against Anastasiya Yakimova) - winning her first Slam at 16.

- Muzz, sporting an EXTREME MAKEOVER seemed to smooth out the couple of kinks in his game during his first round match. Credit to Somdev taking it to him in the first set. He'll be happy with how he's doing - lots of vintage Andy moments and some nice aggressive forehand play.

- Venus pulling out of the USO with Sjogren's syndrome just sucks hard. I liked it better when I pretended she was pregnant. Her withdrawal means she's now out of the top 100. Soderling also withdrew due to illness. Stop it guys.

- American teenage girls be killin 'em - Christina McHale upset Marion Bartoli big time. All hail McHale! She's the USO's American story and earns her spot tomorrow night on Ashe against Kirilenko. Can she handle the big stage? Only time will tell. And how bout Sloane Stephens huh? Kept pressure on Peer all through the match and held her nerve to serve it out. Oooh oooh and Vania King took out Jarmila Gajdosova, dropping only two games. Meanwhile even though she lost, Keys took it to Safarova big time. The wild, young thing is only 16 so she has an ok excuse for blowing the multiple leads she had in every set of the 3 set match. Is the future of American tennis with the ladies? It's looking likely.

- Delpo clearly had somewhere to be other than the tennis court as he obliterated Volandri in minus time. He's a dangerous dangerous man and most people's dark horse.

- Ok 14 retirements/walkovers -USO can we stop hurting out players?? Thankyouplease.

- Monfils. Oh Monfils. Hit 81 winners and 81 unforced errors during his match against JCF. Can we coin a new phrase? - "That's so LaMonf". He's just not gonna change is he? Phenomenal win from Ferrero though - talk about 'still got it'.

- Andy Roddick won ugly. Then talked ugly. But it can't be easy being at the brunt of all that "dude, retire soon, you old" speak.

- Didn't catch the match but apparently Tomic checks out when the going gets tough. If that's true, his attitude needs to change like yesterday otherwise all that talent and arrogance will go to waste. Nice in-roads for Marin Cilic though. He needs this.

- Do we even need to talk about how heads, shoulders, knees and toes Serena is above the rest of the field right now? I'm scared for the WTA.

(Vid: JP25 Tennis on YouTube)