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Quote of Day

September 9, 2008 in Quote of Day, tennis, US Open

It comes from the one and only Roger Federer following some more tennis history becoming the first male singles player to win five straight at two different grand slams after defeating Scot Andy Murray in yesterday’s U.S. Open Final 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.

The elegant 27 year-old Swiss Maestro silenced many doubters with a terrific run at the final grand slam event of the season atoning for dropping the last two finals to world No.1 Rafael Nadal including that all-time Wimbledon classic. It resulted in his fifth Open in a row becoming the first man to accomplish this remarkable feat since Bill Tilden back in the 1920′s.

The exciting victory in front of many pro-Federer supporters who adopted the graceful champion even moving him to say he “felt like a New Yorker” was his 13th career grand slam title- moving him within one of Pistol Pete Sampras’ record 14.

A man who just the other day after a well earned four set semifinal triumph over world No.3 Novak Djokovic indicated that he didn’t care who the opponent was between Murray or Nadal and “just wanted the trophy” knew again what to say after making some more tennis history. When asked by CBS veteran broadcaster Dick Enberg about whether No.13 was lucky or unlucky, a grinning Roger pointedly remarked:

One thing’s for sure. I’m not going to stop at 13. That would be terrible.” :-D

He sure knows how to play to a crowd who saluted him with laughter and thunderous cheers paying tribute to arguably the greatest male tennis player in the history of the sport. Something a classy runner-up Murray alluded to getting lots of applause from the crowd. For the 21 year-old Scot who officially moved up to a career high No.4 in the world making his first slam final, he was the first British man in the U.S. Open Final since Fred Perry won it back in 1936 also winning Wimbledon which marks the last time a man from their country won a major.

Though Andy had a tough call go against him which would’ve given him a break for 3-2 in the second set, he didn’t complain as Federer gave a vintage performance swinging freely from both sides rocketing that inside out forehand wherever he wanted playing the kind of match we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.

Congrats to Roger on winning No.13 and proving many including yours truly who picked Djokovic to beat him and Nadal! It was great to see.

We’ll have more later on what was another memorable Open here in NYC including American Serena Williams rising up to a strong challenge from Serb Jelena Jankovic to claim her third Open title in an ultra competitive two sets 6-4, 7-5. She also became No.1 in the world again for the first time in five years.

All in all, a great couple of weeks for tennis fans.

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Djokovic clarifies statements

September 5, 2008 in tennis, US Open

Last night following his hard earned four set quarterfinal win over Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic went a little too far during a postmatch interview with USA Network’s Michael Barkan dissing his elder competitor for sarcastic remarks made regarding the No.3 seeded Serb’s health following a Round of 16 win.

Apparently, the 21 year-old Australian Open champion and 2007 U.S. Open runner-up took the reference of his “16 injuries” to heart and indicated on court that he didn’t have that many injuries to beat Roddick. Not surprisingly, the very talented player was booed by the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd who for the most part were in the former 2003 Open champion’s corner. It’s been five years since the 26 year-old American won his only grand slam which also sadly signifies the last one won by a homegrown male singles’ player.

After getting the treatment from a large Roddick contingent while only minimal Nole supporters applauded his efforts, Djokovic didn’t help himself much going on step further about the criticism:

“They (the crowd) are already against me because they think I am faking everything, so sorry.”

Not a wise move which just increased the disdain and most likely added supporters to four-time rating champ Roger Federer for their semifinal. The classy 27 year-old Swiss Maestro has never gotten into this kind of situation and should have overwhelming support whenever the 2007 Final rematch takes place. They’re calling for heavy rain on Super Saturday which could push the women’s final between revitalized American Serena Williams and No.2 Serbian Jelena Jankovic along with the two men’s semis between the now top four ranked players in the world with Andy Murray taking over No.4 to Sunday.

Djokovic has come under the radar due to all the injury timeouts he’s used even getting ripped by the normally calm Tommy Robredo, who fell in five sets to him a couple of rounds earlier.

“I never made medical timeout because I wanted to distract the opponent or make the result look worse. I just took the medicals to help me out,” Djokovic answered late last night.

“Maybe the people think that I’m exaggerating with these things, but it’s nothing bad. I twist my ankle, I feel bad. I get the pain in the back. I just want to make it right. Andy was always nice to me when I got to the tour, so this was just a clear misunderstanding.”

It was just a year ago that Djokovic was a fan favorite with New Yorkers who enjoyed his dead on player impersonations while serving. Sometimes, that didn’t sit too well with some of his peers which explains why he’s cut it out of his matches this year.

“It’s different,” he said. “Once you win the Grand Slam title and win a couple more major events, you get more attention from everybody, and it’s logical. I don’t want to make any impersonations any more. It’s not that I don’t want to. This is something that people will get wrong. And this is exactly the reason, and this is exactly the situation I don’t want to be in — fighting with people, with the press, and this is absolutely not me.”

Perhaps one of the ATP’s top players who enjoys getting a laugh or two should heed the advice of Roddick.

“It was completely meant in jest,” he explained. “I figure if you’re going to joke and imitate other people and do the whole deal, then you should take it.

“If someone wants to focus in on that and use it, then by all means, but especially in Novak’s case, if you’re going to dish out all the stuff, then be able to take it with a smile, is the only part that I don’t quite agree with.”

Misunderstandings happen all the time. Especially in sports. As long as they’re on the same page, that’s good for future meetings. Though you just know some of the old school guys such as John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors who was in attendance last night watching his former pupil wouldn’t mind seeing some of that bad blood which could give a sometimes bland sport a little extra juice a la those classic meetings between the former American stars. We don’t see many heated tennis rivalries anymore. And the ones that are a la Federer-Nadal lack that sorta substance due to the level of respect each has for each other.

Djokovic shouldn’t expect too much support the rest of this weekend no matter what happens.

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More HB

July 28, 2008 in More HB

-Rafael Nadal took another step closer to the No.1 ranking by defeating veteran German Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-2 to capture the Rogers Cup in Toronto yesterday for his ATP Tour leading seventh title of the year. It also marked his fifth consecutive tournament win and extended his match win streak to 29 straight. The 22 year-old No.2 ranked Spaniard also captured a fourth straight French Open and first ever Wimbledon becoming the first male tennis player to win both since Bjorn Borg in 1980. He defeated Scot Andy Murray in straight sets to reach the final after Murray had upset No.3 ranked Serb Novak Djokovic in the quarters of an upset marred tournament which saw top ranked Roger Federer, No.4 Russian Nikolay Davydenko, No.5 Spaniard David Ferrer and No.6 American Andy Roddick all bounced in the third round.

Nadal was able to avoid the upset bug to capture his first hard court tournament of the season. Though Kiefer raised his level early in the second set getting a few break points in the fifth game, the resilient Nadal fought them off and held serve before breaking the German’s spirit with two breaks to take the last four games for the championship.

If he continues to get solid results on the hard courts, then Nadal has to be considered a serious U.S. Open contender. He now believes he can win on any surface:

“I win on every surface, no? I win on grass, on hard, on indoor, and on clay, too. So if I am playing my best tennis I can win on every surface, no?”

In his career, Nadal’s now won 30 titles, making him the third youngest player to win that many behind Borg and Jimmy Connors.

He now trails Federer by just 300 points in the rankings boasting an impressive 61-7 record in 2008. So, can he finally overtake the 12-time slam winner who’s held the top spot a record 234 weeks in a row?

Every player wants to be No. 1, no? I would love to be No. 1, but I am No. 2 right now. I’m very happy for be No. 2. Because with my titles, with my points, in a normal situation I, well, would have been No. 1 before. So I think I have to be happy, very happy anyway if I am No. 1 or No. 2. Because if I am No. 2 it’s because in front of me there is amazing player like Roger (Federer).”

We’ll see how Rafa follows up all his success in Cincinnati this week.
-This Brett Favre Saga has gotten out of control. Now, ESPN’s Bottom Line is giving a daily synopsis of the on-goings filled with quotes from the Green Bay QB as if it matters more to sports fans than the scores which is what it’s supposed to fill us in on. I highly doubt most NFL fans outside the crazies in Milwaukee care about every life detail of Favre’s existence. What’s next? ESPN Bottom Line fills us in on the little details of Favre’s day:
“After talking about how he won’t report to camp, Favre then milked his cows on his farm before having a balanced lunch with a homemade salad filled up of veggies freshly picked and washed it down with some fresh squeezed lemonade.”
Why can I actually see this happening?
-In a fun baseball season filled with pennant chases, it’s easy to overlook the season San Diego first base slugger Adrian Gonzalez is having. Despite playing for a last place team with not much else around him, the 26 year-old former Marlins’ 2000 No.1 pick is hitting .280 with 25 homers, 82 RBI’s and 63 runs scored. He needs just five dingers and 18 RBI’s to match last year’s total. His 25 long balls are tied for fifth in the NL and 82 knocked in are tied for second. Just imagine if he was on a good team with more productive hitters. He’s become one of the more productive hitters in the game since coming over from Texas three years ago. Isn’t it about time he got his due?
-I don’t care what comes out of his mouth. The Red Sox would be crazy to trade Manny Ramirez. Few sluggers are more dangerous in crunch time than the kid from Washington Heights.
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Federer and Nadal for all the marbles at Wimbledon

July 6, 2008 in tennis, Wimbledon

They’ll do it again. No.1 vs No.2 for all the marbles at a third consecutive Wimbledon at the All England Club on Centre Court tomorrow.

Some more history will be on the line when five-time defending champion Roger Federer tries to become the first tennis player to win six in a row for the first time in over a century (1886) with his biggest nemesis standing in the path in four-time French Open conquerer Rafael Nadal, who blitzed the Swiss world No.1 holding him to four games leading many to make the younger Spaniard the favorite to win a fifth major on grass following up an impressive run at Queen’s Club.

The 22 year-old Nadal will once again be attempting to become the first male tennis player to win both the French and Wimbledon in the same year since tennis legend Bjorn Borg accomplished the feat some 28 years ago. In last year’s rematch, he came awfully close to dethroning Federer losing in an ultra competitive five sets with Borg returning to the place he once owned for the first time since he played to present the trophy to the Swiss Maestro.

Having battled mono early in the season when eventual Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic straight setted him in the semis, Federer suffered some tough defeats including to Andy Roddick in a close three sets down in Miami. But he even lost to Mardy Fish making people wonder if his brilliant level was dropping off leaving the door open for either Nadal or Djokovic to overtake him for the ATP’s top spot.
Though he made the final at Roland Garros, once again he was thwarted in an effort to become the sixth male tennis player to complete a career grand slam by a dominant Nadal, who made it look so easy that many pondered if a changing of the guard was on the horizon. Given how well Federer’s responded in not dropping a set while losing serve only twice and not since the third round, we won’t know until Sunday if the speedy and powerful Spaniard is ready to overtake him for the world’s top spot.

While Federer was taking care of business making Mario Ancic look normal and even frustrating Marat Safin to the point where the unpredictable 28 year-old Russian broke his racket and made some of the funniest challenges (they weren’t even close), Nadal was working his way through the field dropping just a set back in Round 2 to big server Ernest Gulbis while making quick work of tough foes such as Russian Mikhail Youzhny and Scot Andy Murray en route to a third straight final.

He sounds ready for the challenge but so does Federer. Whoever prevails, they’ll earn it. Get ready for some history.

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Federer to take on Ancic in quarters

July 2, 2008 in tennis, Wimbledon

Copyright Getty Images

Roger Federer waves to Centre Court crowd after defeating Lleyton Hewitt in three sets to advance to the quarters. He's won a remarkable 63 in a row on grass and next faces the last man to beat him in Mario Ancic later today in the men's quarters at Wimbledon.

Roger Federer should get his first challenge today when he faces an opponent from the past. The Swiss world No.1 who’s captured five Wimbledons in succession will take on the last player to defeat him at the All England Club on grass. That’s hard slugging Croatian Mario Ancic, who’s had a successful return back from sickness making the quarters.

The 24 year-old former top 10 player’s latest big win came at the expense of No.22 seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco rallying from two sets back to pull out a lengthy five setter prevailing 13-11 in the final set on Court 11 Monday.

Now he’ll step up in competition and try to duplicate his 2002 second round shocker when he beat Federer as an unknown 18 year-old qualifier. Since then, all the popular 26 year-old Swede has done is reel off a record 63 straight on grass. He’s continued to look like the player to beat having swept through former ’02 Wimbledon champ Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-2. He still hasn’t dropped a set and looks very focused on making history by becoming the first player in more than a century to win six in a row.

Still, given how Ancic is playing, it promises to be an intriguing match. His all court game and big serve could make things interesting. A couple of tiebreakers aren’t out of the realm of possibility. It will be his biggest match since losing to American Andy Roddick in a very competitive five set semi a few years ago on this very same surface in London.

We’ll see if he can threaten the greatest grasscourt male player later today.

Also in action will be British (Scottish) hope Andy Murray, who will look to continue a great run when he takes on No.2 ranked Spaniard Rafael Nadal. Nadal has looked very sharp and set on making a third consecutive finals appearance having dropped just one set. Murray valiantly fought back from two sets down and a break to comeback and beat last year’s French semifinalist No.8 seeded Richard Gasquet. The lanky Scot served extremely well and returned superbly also tracking down some balls which defied logic like his around the net backhand winner to capture the third set electrifying a pro-Murray crowd.

It’s no secret who a vast majority of the supporters will be pulling for.

Also in action will be 28 year-old veteran Russian Marat Safin as he looks to make his first ever Wimbledon semi against Spanish big lefty serve and volleyer Feliciano Lopez who fought off three match points against Marcos Baghdatis in the fifth set before coming back to advance. It promises to be a very good match with five sets not out of the question.

The other quarter features the biggest surprises in vets Rainer Schuettler and Arnaud Clement. The winner will make the semis and draw either Nadal or Murray while the Safin-Lopez winner gets either Federer or Ancic.

Meanwhile, the Williams sisters moved one step closer to facing each other by both prevailing in their quarterfinals in straight sets. Defending champion Venus will take on the highest seeded player remaining in No.5 Russian Elena Dementieva while Serena faces surprise wildcard Jie Zheng from China.

The women get a day off. 

It should be a fun day of tennis.

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Federer aims for six at Wimbledon despite naysayers

June 23, 2008 in tennis, Wimbledon

Copyright Getty Images

Five-time rating Wimbledon champion Roger Federer answers questions during conference call prior to the biggest tournament of the year. He's out to prove to critics that he still is the man to beat on grass.

Has Roger Federer lost it? Are the naysayers right about the world’s top ranked player because he’s lost a few more matches this season including failing to win at the first two grand slams?

Back in late January, the Swiss Maestro was straight setted in the semifinals by eventual first-time slam champion Novak Djokovic. However, word eventually spread that the 12-time slam winner wasn’t right due to a bout with mononucleosis. Still, unusual things began to happen including a rare defeat to former top rival American Andy Roddick.

Federer even lost to Radek Stepanek in a Rome quarterfinal on clay. Though he’s not a bad player by any stretch, the Czech is best known for dating former tennis champion Martina Hingis. There was also a blowout loss to American Mardy Fish but that was his second tournament back following a six week layoff. Top 10 Scot Andy Murray also defeated him in Dubai prior.

Federer’s closest rival No.2 ranked Spaniard Rafael Nadal continued his mastery by going three-for-three on his favorite surface. Most disheartening though was that after Roger pushed Rafa in two warm-ups for the French Open, he was uncharacteristically routed in the final at Roland Garros only able to muster four total games leading to even more questions.

What’s wrong with Federer? Perhaps nothing. He got beaten good by a great player who never gave anyone a blink in a third straight run to the French Open title. Just cause he was once again runner-up in falling short of becoming the sixth male tennis player to complete a career grand slam doesn’t mean the world’s best grass court player should be doubted.

Instead, you have even tennis legend Bjorn Borg along with gung ho No.3 rated Serb Djokovic concluding that a player who’s dominated on grass five years running is more vulnerable with Wimbledon about to get underway this morning at the All England Club.

“It’s maybe a time where some people talk a little bit too much,” Federer answered to critics a day before playing the first Centre Court match in pursuit of history. He’s aiming to become the first player in more than a century to win a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title. It only happened some 122 years earlier when William Renshaw accomplished the remarkable feat from 1881-1886.

Federer also brings in an Open Era record 59-match winning streak on grass including another win at Halle, Germany a week ago. Though he didn’t face stiff competition unless you consider that former Aussie Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis is a good grass court player (semis and quarters past two yrs in London), the 26 year-old still didn’t drop a set in the tune up.

So, is his perfection in jeopardy? The last defeat Roger had on grass came to Croat Mario Ancic in 2002 at Wimbledon in the first round a year removed from stunning seven-time champion Pete Sampras.

No question Federer will get tested. He could see surprise French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils in the third round and either former Wimbledon champ Lleyton Hewitt or hard hitting Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in the Round of 16. Streaky Czech Tomas Berdych is also in his section as is an unseeded Ancic, who if finally right could shake up the bottom of the bracket.

Federer is projected to face Djokovic in a semi clash. Boy. Would I love to see what happens if that comes down. Novak has said a little too much for a guy who’s won one major.

While his draw is tough just to make the final, Nadal is the odds on favorite to come out and reach a third straight Wimbledon final. He could get tested early though by Latvian big server Ernest Gulbis in Round Two. If he’s going to lose, it’s more likely to come early in the tournament before he gets his teeth into the surface.

It’s worth noting that Nadal became the first Spanish player to win a grass court warm-up in 36 years impressively besting Roddick and Djokovic on his way to the title at Queen’s Club in London. So he enters with even more confidence that he has what it takes to win a fourth slam on another surface and close the gap on Federer.

Assuming Nadal makes the second week, he could see either Murray or Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the quarters with either Roddick or possibly often overlooked Russian Nikolay Davydenko looming in the semis.

So, who are our picks? Let’s break it down from quarters on:

Section 1 Qtr: (1) Federer over (11) Berdych

Section 2 Qtr: (3) Djokovic over (10) Baghdatis

Section 3 Qtr: (6) Roddick over (4) Davydenko

Section 4 Qtr: (2) Nadal over (12) Murray

FINAL FOUR

Semifinal 1: (1) Federer over (3) Djokovic

Semifinal 2: (2) Nadal over (6) Roddick

Wimbledon Championship: (1) Federer over (2) Nadal

Many like Nadal to win this time but it’s awfully hard to go against history. Roger has much to prove and will be out to silence his critics.

Later today, we’ll take a look at the women’s draw where much is possible. American Venus Williams looks to defend her crown and win a fifth Wimbledon. But she should get strong competition from younger sis Serena Williams along with former 2004 champ Maria Sharapova plus Serbs Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic.

It all gets underway today.

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Random Thoughts

March 4, 2008 in Random Thoughts

 Roger Federer's first round defeat to Andy Murray was one of many topics in the latest Random Thoughts.

Sometimes, it’s just easier to just jot down what’s on my mind quickly. Especially before bed. So, here goes:

1.Roger Federer was upset by Andy Murray in the first round at Dubai. The top ranked Swiss Maestro played his first match since bowing out to eventual Aussie Open champ Novak Djokovic in the semis five weeks ago. Anytime Federer loses, it’s a big story. That it came in the opening round makes it that much bigger. He admittedly said he wasn’t expecting a whole lot and Murray has beaten him before and certainly is a quality opponent.

Still, it’s noteworthy. It will be interesting to see how close Djokovic gets to Federer in the ranking points. Something tells me this might be a very intriguing year for men’s tennis.

2.Comment of the night came from one of the SC anchors on the Knicks imploding down the stretch against the Hornets:

 ”Chris Paul to Tyson Chandler is better than the Knicks.”

Paul is awesome and finished with 27 points, eight assists, five boards and three steals while Chandler had a double double (15 and 18). Something former Bull buddy Eddy Curry isn’t too familiar with even if he did have a decent night notching 19 and eight rebounds.

3.Meanwhile, Paul’s close rival Deron Williams had 17 points and dropped 20 dimes in a six-point win over Jason Kidd and the Mavs last night. The former Illinois star has been putting up huge numbers and has the Jazz 17 over .500 looking primed for another playoff run in the ultra tough West. So, I ask it to you. Who would you rather have? Williams or Paul?

4.Kobe’s great. Everyone gets that but when it comes to who I’d rather have right now, it’s LeBron because he’s younger and has a lot more left in the tank. So even if Kobe wins league MVP, I’ll take No.23 on the Cavs.

5.I’m not big on Spring Training but that was a nice diving snag by Met phenom Fernando Martinez in right.

6.If you missed it, Alexander Ovechkin had a week in a 10-2 home rout of Boston last night in the nation’s capital. The electric Russian finisher notched a first period hat trick and two helpers for a five-point night surpassing Evgeni Malkin for the league lead in scoring with 90 points. He also became the first player to 50 goals this season matching a previous best with 52. Ovechkin is so much fun to watch. Between him and Malkin, it’s really close for that MVP race with Martin Brodeur sitting third.

7.Can anyone explain to me why Lord Isiah doesn’t give more minutes to Renaldo Balkman, Mardy Collins and rookie Wilson Chandler? What’s he saving them for? The season’s been over for three months.

8.I have plenty of respect for the New York Islander Stanley Cup Dynasty. Winning four straight Cups and all those series in a row is something which will never be accomplished ever again. And it’s cool to celebrate that special group of Islanders. But it’s 2008 now. Isn’t it about time to stop living in the past? Ditto for the Rangers and all the 1994 celebrations. That Jay Wells night will be announced anyday now!

9.So here we are with a little over a month left and five total points separates the top seed from the seventh seed in the East. It very well could be upside down by the time next month rolls around.

10.Is there a quieter superstar than Joe Thornton in the NHL?

11.I’ve been on the Habs for a while and still think they can go pretty far if the kid Carey Price can take them there but tell me which team is beating the defending champion Ducks in a seven-game series.

12.Dewayne Robertson. We hardly knew ye.

13.It’s ashame that Anthony Mason, Jr. plays in such obscurity cause he’s a heck of a baller. Just ask Seton Hall. Speaking of which, could Bobby Gonzalez just shut the hell up already?!?!?!?!?! Stop complaining about the game being at Carnesecca Arena instead of The Garden. Especially when St. John’s was honoring its seniors. That’s where the game belonged. Maybe the former Manhattan coach should wonder how his team choked down the stretch when they needed that game a lot worse than Norm Roberts’ Redmen did.

14.If I find tix for Santana at the Garden in April, I’m so there.

15.This Austin Jackson for the Yanks who made a nice catch the other day is the next big outfielder for the Bronx Bombers. Remember that name. He’ll start in Double A Trenton and could wind up with Scranton/Wilkes Barre by the time late August rolls around.

16.Thanks again to the kids at Berkeley Carroll for a fun basketball season. It was a nice ride and certainly enjoyable. Best of luck to all the seniors graduating and getting ready for college.

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