Surprises at the US Open

Thanks to James Wolcott for sending me hundreds of visitors from VANITY FAIR to read my humble reports from the US Tennis Center (the next five entries down the blog). My site meter is in overdrive due to Mr. Wolcott's kind referral, for which I am truly grateful.

UPDATE from Monday: Wow! Did you see that Haas/Blake match? Unbelievable...they were both playing so well. It must have been the match of a lifetime for Tommy Haas {left}. He was really fantastic and though I'm a big admirer of Blake, I could not for a moment begrudge Tommy's win. He showed great daring and skill at the net. They went all the way to a fifth set tie-breaker before Tommy closed it out.  As Mary Carillo  commented in the post-match euphoria: "This is the kind of playing that makes you proud to be a tennis fan!"

UPDATE from Sunday:  Who is Ernests Gulbis? I don't know...he was only a Latvian name until he beat Tommy Robredo on Sunday night.  Earlier in the day Nadal looked terrific  despite his sore knees and I enjoyed watching the hard-playing Stanislas Wawrinka, compatriot of Federer, advance. I have to say that Venus Williams made Ana Ivanovic look like an amateur. If Venus continues in this mode she will deservedly will the title.

Possibly the most exciting match (of which we saw only excerpts) was between two players I really like, David Ferrer {left} and David Nalbandian. In five long sets these guys battled it out; there were some absolutely thrilling points and a few of those shots that appear un-returnable and then suddenly someone gets a racquet on it and...wham!...really fun to watch this sort of play. Nalbandian, who is clawing his way back up the rankings after a run of injury and bad luck, looked great and I would have been happy if he'd won. But Ferrer really digs in; he simply wouldn't give up. Ferrer won at long last. He's a player I will want to see at the Open next summer - if I can get anywhere near the court he's playing on.

UPDATE from Saturday: Wei and I have been following the Open as best we can; we don't have cable so we are limited to what the network wants to show us over the Labor Day weekend. Our reception is lousy but good enough to see those two European sweeties, Agnieszka Radwanska and Agnes Szavay, 18-year-olds from Poland and Hungary respectively who are rocking the women's draw. Radwanska dug in in the third set to dismiss the defending champion Maria Sharapova in a surprise upset; Sharapova was on remarkable vocal form but seemed oddly nervous and unsettled. Radwanska capitalized on Maria's insecurities by stepping well inside the baseline to receive second serves. Szavay, a lovely girl who last week had the misfortune of having to retire from the final of the Pilot Pen, eliminated Nadia Petrova.

I was sorry to see Martina Hingis depart so early. The Williams sisters are cruising forward; I love Venus but am indifferent to Serena {she just might win the whole thing, though.} Ivanovic is looking good, from all points of view. I miss Mauresmo. And Mary Pierce. And Lindsay. And Kim Clijsters doing her full splits. The Open isn't the same without those gals.

The upstarts John Isner and Donald Young both had honorable showings against Federer and Feliciano Lopez respectively. I saw Isner earlier in the week and wondered if he wouldn't be more at home on a basketball court; he has a huge serve when it's working and has fired off way more aces at this Open to date than anyone else. It was interesting to watch Fedi slowly dissect the Isner game and prevail. Donald Young is simply loaded with talent; he has so much energy and is very pleasant in interviews. He should lose the earrings though - so 80s. He flustered Feli for a while til the good-looking Spaniard outfoxed him. The meeting of Federer and Lopez in the next round should be lots of fun.

Isner and Young are a boon for Americans who like a side order of nationalism with their tennis; Roddick is doing well so far - his bizarre uncoiling service motion works most of the time - but for me James Blake is the king of US tennis. Udaman, James!

It's so nice to see Hyung-Taik Lee progressing into the second week here for the first time since his incredible run in 2000. He has had big wins over Canas and Andy Murray and faces the very tough Davydenko next. Lee is such a classy and committed player, the kind of player you love to see succeed. Watching the massive crowds on TV and imagining the exponential number of cellphone calls which must be emanating from the Tennis Center during each match makes me glad I'm watching from home. But it would have been fun to be there cheering for Lee along with his legion of Korean fans.

Comments

[perky]

Martina Hingis was my favorite player when she was on top. She played with finesse and intelligence. Unfortunately her style of play is overpowered by the big girls now. Not that there is anything wrong with that, tennis like everything else evolves, but I still miss that style of play.
Isn't it funny how people seem to like one Williams sister over the other? Venus has always left me cold, although I believe she has more talent then Serena. Serena is more exciting to watch. She is emotional which adds a unpredictable element to her game. I also rather like those outlandish outfits she wears on the court sometimes. Not that I think they are attractive!! Ugg!!, I just like the fact that she marches to her own drum, stylewise.

[Philip]

Oh Perky, I didn't know you were a tennis fan too!

I didn't like Hingis when she was on top because she was so cocky but later when things were less easy for her I thought she became more interesting...I'm not quite sure why!

For me it is a lot more fun to watch Venus with her big, athletic game rather than Serena who can be so stolid at times.

[Cathy]

oh, watching US open these days made me miss tennis so much! I used to play it until I ran out of time due to ballet schedule... If only I had time to play it again!

[Philip]

Hi Cathy - I guess one has to concentrate on dance if you have the talent, and that would eliminate risky things like playing tennis where you might get injured. Both careers are short, though...they were commenting on Carlos Moya at 32 like he was an old man. Ballet dancers usually begin to think about stopping around 40-45.