2014 U. S. Open Championships...New York, New York

[klacr]

Ufff...

May need to take a self imposed hiatus from this forum after waxing poetic about Berdych and his opportunity to win US Open for the past week and a half. It will be hard. After that match today with Berdych I'm really surprised and saddened. I don't mind that he lost, I mind that he lost in straights. It wasn't even close. He'll move on and get ready for Davis Cup. At least he wins in that.

On the bright side, Federer still has a chance. But only a chance. More than we can say about Tberd at this point.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

klacr...

May need to take a self imposed hiatus from this forum after waxing poetic about Berdych and his opportunity to win US Open for the past week and a half. It will be hard. After that match today with Berdych I'm really surprised and saddened. I don't mind that he lost, I mind that he lost in straights. It wasn't even close. He'll move on and get ready for Davis Cup. At least he wins in that.

On the bright side, Federer still has a chance. But only a chance. More than we can say about Tberd at this point.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

You will learn with time that these guys are not worthy of our hero worship. But it's touching it really is. It's all in the game. Berdych lost to "the Sleeper".

Now it is Federer's turn to play the most awkward of opponents. Nothing is for certain. He's stumbled a bit here in the beginning but he cannot lose his nerve...his resolve.

[don_budge]

First Serve Struggles...

Berdych is down two sets to one. He cannot serve any worse.

A very bad sign early on for Federer is his inability to get his first serve in. It certainly did not bode well for Berdych.

Monfils is really putting the pressure on Federer which has apparently affected Federer's rhythm in his serve and maybe even has shaken his confidence and resolve. He has a real challenge facing him. An uphill struggle down a set and a break of serve in the second.

[klacr]

You will learn with time that these guys are not worthy of our hero worship. But it's touching it really is. It's all in the game. Berdych lost to "the Sleeper".

Now it is Federer's turn to play the most awkward of opponents. Nothing is for certain. He's stumbled a bit here in the beginning but he cannot lose his nerve...his resolve.

It's not hero worship. It's just sport, passion, good fun.
Always a tough loss in grand slams but it always gets better. all good don_budge.

I don't take it that seriously, but I do wish for the best.

Federer in a battle. Monfils is playing...smart. Federer with many errors. But if Federer does come back from two sets to love down, it will be the ninth time in his career. one away from Aaron Krickstein's record of 10.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

The fifth set...

It's not hero worship. It's just sport, passion, good fun.
Always a tough loss in grand slams but it always gets better. all good don_budge.

I don't take it that seriously, but I do wish for the best.

Federer in a battle. Monfils is playing...smart. Federer with many errors. But if Federer does come back from two sets to love down, it will be the ninth time in his career. one away from Aaron Krickstein's record of 10.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

He has leveled the match at two sets apiece without the benefit of a single first serve...so it seems. We will see who will hold their nerve now.

It's easy to say perhaps...but the sun is coming up here in Sweden and I have been up all night watching as the fate of tennis is hanging in the balance.

[GeoffWilliams]

Monfils is done. No way. He'll quit.

[don_budge]

Finally...something to write home about

[6] Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. [14] Marin Cilic (CRO)
[2] Roger Federer (SUI) vs. [20] Gael Monfils (FRA)


Tomas Berdych vs. Marin Cilic...Somehow this tournament just came down to the heart of the matter. Another compelling match on paper...it is only too bad that neither of these two has any stomach for the net. Both big strong guys firmly anchored to the baseline with two handed backhands. If I had my way they both would drop that second hand and play the whole darn court. Be that as it may this is anybodies match with the advantage to Berdych...he has friends in high places. But Marin has played the sleeper role to perfection thus far and he has a loose cannon in his corner for a coach. First he has to believe that he can get it done and perhaps his loss to Djokovic at Wimbledon will serve him in good stead. Berdych really is riding with a lot of confidence...perhaps more than I have ever seen in him. He moves around quietly...but he is swinging a big stick. This match just might be watchable...but that isn't certain.

Roger Federer vs. Gael Monfils...Sheer wonder of a match-up. The contrast...it's the irony in life that keeps it interesting. Again it's loosey goosey against the tried and true. Roger paid close attention to what happened to his clone and he is duly impressed. Nobody is a quicker than a cat out of the jungle and that is precisely what Gael is. A big cat. He is primal. He is stoned...immaculate. But leave it to Roger to put it in his own words...his own way...just listen to what he has to say.

"[After my win in Cincinnati] I know exactly how I need to play him," Federer told ESPN of the looming Monfils clash. It's going to be more or less the same conditions. "It's very clear cut in my opinion. I know I'll be coming in; he knows he'll be defending. He'll be wanting to serve well and play big as well. So we both know what to expect going in."

He is making it clear to Monfils...he has his number. He is going to attack and Monfils is going to have to defend. He cannot be any clearer or decisive than that. Monfils though is licking his chops like a cat looking at a bird. True that bird can fly...but so can Monfils. Is he smart or is he just instinctual? It may pay off for him to be not so smart and just react to the drummer in his head. This is the fourth of four great compelling match-ups. Another contrast in each match to light up the New York night.

It's all about Roger's racquet switch this year. Every match he wins he wins for the game of tennis. It's always the same with him and the game of modern tennis. As he goes...so goes the game. The rest of the cast are only supporting characters. It wouldn't surprise me if they speeded up the courts with the sole purpose of giving him another chance to contend. Modern tennis knows who is buttering the bread. The powers that be certainly know. It is Roger...and he knows it too.

Let the tournament begin. Boy that foreplay sure was nice and juicy wasn't it? By definition it makes the main course that much more exciting.

[14] Marin Cilic (CRO) d. [6] Tomas Berdych (CZE) 62 64 76
[2] Roger Federer (SUI) d. [20] Gael Monfils (FRA) 46 36 64 75 62


Tomas Berdych vs. Marin Cilic...It wasn't watchable. Two Goliaths slugging it out from the baseline. Player B in the end hit the ball harder in the court more often than Player A. Tactical play...null and void. This is the epitome of the modern game and it is too bad. Give 'em both a wooden racquet and let's watch them slug it out. I guarantee you that if this were the case both of these players would be doing their utmost to get to the net first. We'd see how much kickback those service motions would have...none I suspect. Marin Cilic has been the sleeper in the draw but Tomas knew what he was up against from the beating he took at Wimbledon earlier in the year. Cilic overwhelmed him when it seemed as if it was Berdych's moment. He was not the first to fall in this fashion. He followed Grigor Dimitrov to the sidelines. Federer next for Cilic...a different animal.

Roger Federer vs. Gael Monfils...Easily the match of the tournament so far. It was the racquet that saved him...and just barely. Without that extra 10 square inches Roger Federer was dead in the water. He didn't have his best stuff. He served terribly which disabled his Plan A. He had to resort to Plan B...gut it out. So he did. Coming back from a two set deficit against an opponent as loosey goosey as the insanely mad Gael Monfils is a steep and arduous uphill battle. But Roger never lost his resolve and he has his racquet to thank for it. He never would have in a million years have been able to fight his way out of that hole with the old one. As it was he got just enough of his stick on the ball to eek it out. Just by the hair of his chinny chin chin. Monfils was riding a tsunami of confidence going into this match. His close defeat a couple of weeks before further fueling his wild and crazy desire to make it to the next round. He had already dispatched "Baby Fed" and he was fully prepared to send the real deal home as well. It was just one thing...he couldn't quite get the horse in the barn. He had two match points that somehow Federer survived and that was that. In the fifth there was nothing left. The mad energy turned into the defeated malaise of someone who had chased the impossible and came up just short. He had him and he slithered away.

Roger proved something to me. I was right about the racquet long ago. I have been right about tennis all along. Now he has another opponent who is hungry for his scalp. This match could serve as a wakeup call for him. His serving nearly let him down. He couldn't buy a first serve to save his life at a critical time. By serving so poorly he had to resort to street fighting tactics. Hopefully he doesn't serve so poorly two matches in a row. There have been times in the recent couple of years when his rhythm seems to disappear and it amazes me that he cannot get it back on track during the course of a five set match. That abbreviated backswing always struck me as being somewhat not perfect fundamentally speaking. But of course a great athlete such as himself can make the fine tune adjustments...but when the pressure is on funny things can happen. Like it did last night. Monfils was amazing in the pressure that he was asserting on Federer. As a consequence Roger could not buy a first serve it seems all night long. Monfils was relentless for two sets and of course he almost ended it in the fourth. The key operative word being almost...almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

The fate of tennis hung in the balance. The very last shred of a connection to classic tennis hung on the razors edge. The semifinals have a different look this year. This is a welcomed change in venue. Two newcomers. More foreplay again. For the final scene. But we shall see. The best laid plans of mice and tennis players often go astray. Just ask Gael Monfils.

By the way...Mats Wilander confirmed what I suspected. The courts seem to be just incrementally faster...quicker. Advantage Federer.

[don_budge]

Quit? Two sets down? The party has just begun...hahaha!!!

Monfils is done. No way. He'll quit.

Well some might say that he quit. But he fought like a tiger for four sets. That is the thing about five set matches...in the end it largely becomes mental. It becomes a question about a couple of things. Who wants it more for instance. Endurance. Certainly stomach for the fight. Who loves "the game" more? Monfils fought...until there was nothing left to fight with. He used every trick in the book to egg himself on.

At one point he was verbally exhorting himself on. He was making wild and insane gestures...the expression in his eyes was one of a madness that I have never personally witnessed. It was primal. He scared Roger...but Federer hung in there and weathered the storm. Roger knows that in the course of a five set match there are going to be up's and down's. He just had to be patient until Monfils slowed just a tad and then he had to cover him like a wet blanket.

But Federer also was running on reserves and his nervousness had left him exhausted. He looked so tight...as if he wanted to scream. I was hoping that he would...maybe even have a "McAttack". Just to clear the air. To clear his mind. Monfils was certainly in his head. With his amazing speed. His control of the ball. Putting it in places that Roger couldn't get a good grip on it. Here were some genuine tactics...amazingly it was Monfils who played the more tactical game. You know what...he did it by feel. It wasn't so cerebral in his case. He was merely in the moment and instinctively knew what he had to do in every given situation. He didn't need a coach to tell him. He was playing the game.

Roger was only fighting. Just holding on. Hold on he did...you saw his reaction when he won. A bit uncharacteristic. He was holding that in the entire match. His burden may have been just a bit lighter if he had unloaded it somehow. But that isn't his style. He was bitching at the umpire at one point about something. It was getting late. It was getting dangerously close to the end. He was pulling out all of the stops in his own way. Two sets down...quarterfinals in the U. S. Open against such a strange and wild opponent who was terribly on his own game. It was a real uphill climb. When he got to the top it must have been such a crazy feeling. Really crazy.

It's not hero worship. It's just sport, passion, good fun.
Always a tough loss in grand slams but it always gets better. all good don_budge.

I don't take it that seriously, but I do wish for the best.

Federer in a battle. Monfils is playing...smart. Federer with many errors. But if Federer does come back from two sets to love down, it will be the ninth time in his career. one away from Aaron Krickstein's record of 10.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

It is a hero worship of sorts. I remember when I was young...really young. How I idolized the Detroit Tigers. My father was a professional ball player and he handed all of the tradition and respect for the mystique of the game. When it was classic baseball...that is. But I knew when the worm turned...when it became all about money and a business. Free agency changed everything in baseball...much as professionalism in tennis did as well. Thing were never the same. By the time 1984 (there is that year again) rolled around and the Tigers won the pennant...there was nothing in it for me. My interest had waned with the money...the loss of tradition. The loss of the love of the game.

Which is what you speak of...and I am happy for you. Tennis needs more people like you. People who just flat out love the game with all of their hearts...with all of their little boy hearts. But those days are done...so they tell me. This is why eventually I believe that I will morph into don_quixote. Swinging my little bitty sword at the machine.

My little buddy Aaron. Talk about love for the game. I loved that kid like a little brother...that I never had. What a wonder that he holds that record. Maybe the most coveted of all obscure records. What a heart he had. Still has. I thought he was a young King Arthur...I was Merlin of course.

[don_budge]

The Men's Semifinals...2014 U. S. Open Championships

Can you see the "tennis etiquette" angle? Be honest...with yourself.

There is a deep lesson here to be learned. Let's just see how the rest of this thing pans out. Right now...he seems to be capitalizing on the whole shebang...the racquet, the situation, his experience, skills from his past. He has proved the point and the rest of it is icing on the cake. Roger is playing for more than this title...he is playing to prove that I am right. For once and for all. He is playing for "the Game".

The game is bigger than us all. Bigger than anyone one of us. Bigger than Roger. Bigger than all of us put together. It was a gift from God...it's 2014 now. Thirty years hence. Take note...remember. Don't forget. I told you so!

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. [10] Kei Nishikori (JPN)
[2] Roger Federer (SUI) vs.[14] Marin Cilic (CRO)

Now it is time for the semifinals of the 2014 U. S. Open Championships. Two matches between four players. It's down to four from the original one hundred twenty eight. If only we could just look at the draw sheet so far...and just appreciate how we got to where we are. Every picture tells a story...and so does every draw sheet.

Novak Djokovic (1)...Diego Schwartzman, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Sam Querry, Phillipp Kohlschreiber (22), Andy Murray (8).

Kei Nishikori (10)...Wayne Odesnik, Pablo Andujar, Leonardo Mayer (23), Milos Raonic (5), Stanislas Wawrinka (3).

Marin Cilic (14)...Marcos Baghdatis, Illya Marchenko, Kevin Anderson (18), Gilles Simon (26), Tomas Berdych (6).

Roger Federer (2)...Marinko Jatosevic, Sam Groth, Marcel Granollers, Roberto Bautista Agut (17), Gael Monfils (20).

Yeah...what a tale my thoughts could tell. Four players enduring all that is thrown before them and somehow managing it all to reach this point in the tournament. It's a struggle. Isn't it? A lot like life in a way...but only metaphorically speaking. It isn't life and death. But in a way it really symbolically does a darn good job in mirroring it. Except for most of us there isn't that pot of gold. Nope...just death and taxes. In between we wait for something that never arrives. We wait. We hope...and we pray.

So in a way these guys feel like that they have reached the end of the world. They are so caught up in their efforts that there is nothing else that matters. The wife. The kids. Mom and Dad. All going to the backburner. This is the culmination point...from which there is no return. It will only be win or lose. Kill or be killed. Into the arena they walk today...with various degrees of confidence.

Novak Djokovic versus Kei Nishikori...You see the paths...their respective paths. The path might just effect the outcome in this case. These two have split two matches between them so it isn't out of the realm of possibilities for Nishikori to defeat Djokovic. Not at all. He has survived two titanic struggles with two titanic opponents. Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka have both tasted the Samurai's Sword and were both cut down in five sets. They found out that the longer it goes on...the worse their chance are of making it out on top. But surely that cannot be the case with Djokovic...who has spent approximately three less hours on the court than Nishikori. Kei comes also with the reputation of getting injured as he did earlier in the year when he had to quit in the finals of a tournament with the Absent One. That was in Madrid in May.

The Samurai Kid has come a long ways to the semifinals this September afternoon. He'll give it all...but how much is all after the two five setters in a row? Novak had a cake walk in comparison. He's got a Slam under his belt this year at Wimbledon. He tanked in the early rounds of the hard court circuit leading up to the U. S. Open. All calculated by the way. Calculated to give him the best shot at a second Slam title to go along with a second place finish at the French. Novak is in position and he is poised to pound a winner into next week today. Nishikori could be cat food depending upon how Novak comes out and plays it. At this point he is all business because he is focused on winning the whole thing...it is in his calculations. He doesn't see any point in coming out today and wasting any time or energy. All business.

Roger Federer versus Marin Cilic...Roger is 5-0 head to head against Marin. He is aiming to make it six and he doesn't want to screw around doing it. He can ill afford to take all night to send Marin home and he would like it if Marin very kindly would cooperate. After the epic against Gael Monfils 48 hours ago there might still be a lingering question about his condition. He pretty much used it all up...all of that nervous energy from the pressure that Monfils put on him in front of a packed Arthur Ashe stadium. How much can he have left? Marin wasn't very shy about bullying Berdych back to Prague and from all indications he feels as if he belongs where he is. All messages to be heeded by the Federer camp. I have been calling Marin Cilic "The Sleeper" in the draw all along and here he is. Poised to take on Roger Federer for all of the marbles with Roger quite possibly on shaky legs.

There is a first time for everything you know. Marin isn't taking those five previous beatings lightly. He is saying to himself...nobody beats me six in a row. An expression made famous by Vitas Gerulaitis after beating Bjorn Borg for the first time after 15 tries...or so. So Roger will not be able to rest solely on past results here...in fact he has to guard about relying on them at all. This is a first time match up in a sense and he has to treat it as such. In fact...he would do well to put himself in Cilic's shoes and try to think of himself as the underdog in a sense. He has to play with a sense of abandon and wanton urgency. Anything less is going to be construed as indecisive to Cilic and he is only looking for an invitation to steal the crown...from the Once and Future King.

So it is anybody's match in a sense. Sure you can say that Roger is up 5-0 head to head. But their last confrontation was in Toronto where he just barely emerged the victor. But I believe in miracles...I always will to my last dying day. Somehow I think that justice will be done...a naive thought I rationally know. So I believe that Roger can beat him...whether or not that he does...one never knows about the future. But seeing as this tournament is all about the racquet of Roger Federer...or the sword of King Arthur...he has to win to give the truth a chance. As Merlin said..."every time you tell a lie you destroy a little piece of the world". Or as Scarface said..."I always tell the truth, even when I lie". It's anybody's match...but I am a believer. Go figure.

At this point it is all about pressure. Tilden writes about maintaining pressure on your opponent. Monfils did a splendid job of this against Federer and Roger was lucky to be playing today. We have Nishikori and Cilic up against a couple of legends of the sport of modern tennis and their unenviable task is to see if they can maintain pressure on them. The one intangible here is the crowd. Mere mortals don't know that kind of pressure...but Roger and Novak certainly do. They know how to make that work for them and the others are sort of leery of it working against them. If they can manage those doubts then they stand a much better chance of emerging today. It's a huge intangible...and it might just bolster Roger's legs when he needs it most.

[stroke]

I'm not seeing any issues for Roger fatigue wise vs Cilic. Roger was very impressive vs Monfils. He withstood Monfil's very best, took that 3rd set, and Monfil's, despite his great 4 sets of play, did not fight his best in the 5th. For Monfil's is to ever take that next step, he just can't go away like that. Kei has the game, I just got a feeling his fitness or injuries will be a factor today vs Novak. I would be very surprised if Roger does not advance to the finals.

[stotty]

An expression made famous by Vitas Gerulaitis after beating Bjorn Borg for the first time after 15 tries...or so.

It was Connors not Borg. Gerulaitis never beat Borg. In fact his head to head with Borg was 0-16. Gerulaitis finally beat Connors on his 17th attempt.

I really can't see Cilic beating Federer on his sixth attempt. But as you say, there are no rules. It's tennis and anything can happen. This is what keeps us all on the forum.

Kei has the game, I just got a feeling his fitness or injuries will be a factor today vs Novak.

I make you right here...and it's a shame. Kei is the real deal and is very capable of beating Novak if Novak was a little off. Let's hope those physios can bring up to his supplest for today's showdown. I have only seen Kei on TV but it sounds and looks like he hits the ball really sweetly.

[don_budge]

Odds and ends...things that go to make up a tournament

Look on the bright side. Short of a stella performance from Monfils, Roger will be in the final if Birdy loses. Cilic has never beaten Federer.

I'm on your side with Annabelle Croft. She is absolutely lovely...and nice with it.

I'm not seeing any issues for Roger fatigue wise vs Cilic. Roger was very impressive vs Monfils. He withstood Monfil's very best, took that 3rd set, and Monfil's, despite his great 4 sets of play, did not fight his best in the 5th. For Monfil's is to ever take that next step, he just can't go away like that. Kei has the game, I just got a feeling his fitness or injuries will be a factor today vs Novak. I would be very surprised if Roger does not advance to the finals.

I just watched horsey face Barbara Schett and Mats Wilander. Barbara first interviewed Kei Nishikori and I don't understand how the producers let this hag get close to these players. I get the distinct impression that they walk away very annoyed with this nagging voice. It seems to me that Wilander has also had his own private thoughts about his partner. Annabelle Croft was such a nice compliment to Mats. Schett makes the hair on the back of my neck prickle. She really annoyed Tomas Berdych and she just succeeded in annoying Nishikori. Bitch.

Martina Hingis is in the women's double final and this must be a treat for the New York tennis community and the tournament in general. She came on the scene at an early age and she paid the price later on in her private life. Let's face it...it is tough enough growing up but this sort of background could certainly be a hotbed for the seeds of dysfunction. That being said...I always felt that she was one of the "hottest" of the female tennis players. Particularly if you take the combination of talent and sex appeal. I guess that I was right about her. She is a bit of a tempest...and I for one love it and wish her the best. Sexy lady.

Serena Williams in the finals against Caroline Wozniacki. Serena wore a pink tennis dress with matching pink shoes and pink socks. That is all that I am going to say. Caroline...I hope that you play the match of your life.

[stroke]

Regarding Caroline........copy that db

[stotty]

Well done Nishikori. It would great for tennis if he were to go on and win the whole thing.

[stotty]

Great tactics from Cilic so far. Waiting for the sliced backhands from Federer then peeling away to hit forehands. The perfect way for a two-hander to play Federer. Well done Cilic. One set to love.

Early days yet...