Day 10: You Do the Voodoo That You Do So Well

Maybe Tatiana Golovin should just try to avoid Maria Sharapova at all costs, since every time she gets on a roll she soon finds herself staring across the net at the Supernova... and the wheels fall off her smooth ride.



Playing the best tennis of her life in Miami early this year, she backed Sharapova into a corner in their SF match... then bent her ankle in a direction it just wasn't meant to go. On Wednesday night, experiencing the best slam of her career, Golovin's QF meeting with the Supernova had a taste of the same oddly dramatic sense of theater.

Down 0-3 in the 1st set tie-breaker, Golovin split open a blister on her foot and called for a trainer. As Sharapova waited and tried not to have her game go cold, she jumped around and practiced serving... while anyone who remembered Miami recalled how Sharapova took several bathroom breaks during the match that weren't exactly met with a warm reaction from the pro-Golovin crowd (the Frussian Pastry lives in Miami), and that the Supernova was ridiculously criticized after the match for never looking at the fallen Golovin and not showing enough concern for her (she stood near the wall, practicing her swing), despite the fact that she had no way of knowing the full extent of her opponent's injury at that particular moment in time, as Golovin even tried to play on.

This time, Sharapova could help but look at Golovin as she ran across in front of her to her chair next to the umpire... but the uneasiness of the situation was readily apparent.

In the end, Golovin didn't have to retire this time around. She was just forced to witness Sharapova's ability to play the big points oh so well in her 7-6/7-6 victory. The win puts the Russian teen into her sixth semifinal in her last eight slams.

So far, though, Sharapova's 0-5 in those SF matches... and will now face Amelie Mauresmo, who's rather stealthily rounded her game into shape in New York, a player the Supernova (0-3 so far) has never beaten.

Whatever voodoo hex Sharapova has had placed on Golovin, she'd better find the witch doctor who did it fast. It looks like she's going to need something more than a little black dress to finally break through her slam SF glass ceiling.

Can you say, Amelie vs. Justine... again?


LOVE-LOVE...

**LONG 2006 WTA WINNING STREAKS**
17...Henin-Hardenne (May-Jul)
16...Mauresmo (Jan-Feb)
15...Petrova (Apr-May)
11...Sharapova (March)
10...HENIN-HARDENNE (AUG-current)
10...Henin-Hardenne (Jan)
10...Hingis (May-Jun)

**MOST 2006 #1 WINS**
[defeats of current or former #1's]
10...JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE
8....Amelie Mauresmo
5....Svetlana Kuznetsova
4....Maria Sharapova

=============================
15-LOVE... Andre is gone, but Martina lives. At least for one more day. Navratilova has advanced to the quarterfinals in both Doubles (with Nadia Petrova) and Mixed (with Bob Bryan), and is scheduled to play both matches on Day 11. Navratilova/Petrova faces #1-seeded Raymond/Stubbs, while Navratilova/Byran will square off against Groenefeld/Cermak. It could be another great day for Martina, or the end of an era. Backspin is crossing fingers and toes for at least a few more days of the Greatest Player Who Ever Lived.
=============================
30-LOVE...

**MID-ROUND [3r-QF] AWARDS**

=TOP PLAYERS=
1.Justine Henin-Hardenne
2.Amelie Mauresmo
=RISERS=
1.Jelena Jankovic
2.Tatiana Golovin
=SURPRISES=
1.Kveta Peschke (doubles)
2.Aravane Rezai
=VETERANS=
1.Lindsay Davenport
2.Martina Navratilova (doubles)
=FRESH FACES-
1.Shahar Peer
2.Jade Curtis (juniors)
=DOWN=
1.Francesca Schiavone (singles)
2.Zi Yan & Jie Zheng (doubles)

=BEST MATCH=
4th - Amelie Mauresmo def. Serena Williams
...6-4/0-6/6-2. Proving (again) that the past eight months were no fluke, Mauresmo's nerves hold without a hint of instability.

=BEST COMEBACK/WORST CHOKE=
3rd - Shahar Peer def. Francesca Schiavone
...6-3/6-7/7-6. Schiavone led 5-1 in the 3rd set, and Peer saved five match points to advance to the Round of 16 (where she was destroyed by JHH, by the way).

=============================
30-15...

**MEN'S QUARTERFINALISTS - BY NATION**
2...Russia (Davydenko, Youzhny*)
2...USA (Blake, Roddick*)
1...Australia (Hewitt)
1...Germany (Haas)
1...Spain (Nadal)
1...Switzerland (Federer)

(*)-Roddick & Youzhny won QF matches on Day 10
=============================
40-15... there was yet another mini-boomlet moment for Canadian tennis on Wednesday, as Peter Polansky upset Boys #1 seed Martin Klizan in singles.

In other 2nd Round junior results of interest, American teen Madison Brengle defeated Dominika Cibulkova, while British 16-year old Jade Curtis upset Urszula Radwanska.
=============================
40-30... for once, no member of the Safin family outlasted the other in slam singles. Instead, both Marat and Dinara lost on Day 10 within an hour or so of each other. Hmmm, maybe that's actually a WORSE result than one of the siblings flaming out in the early rounds, hmmm?
=============================
DEUCE...

**WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF**
#1 Raymond/Stosur vs. #10 Navratilova/Petrova
#3 Black/Stubbs vs. #8 Safina/Srebotnik
#7 Ruano-Pascual/Suarez vs. Dechy/Zvonareva
#6 Peschke/Schiavone def. #2 Yan/Zheng

**MEN'S DOUBLES QF**
Friedl/Youzhny vs. Damm/Paes
#4 Hanley/Ullyett def. Santoro/Zimonjic
Fisher/Phillips vs. Goldstein/Thomas
#2 Bjorkman/Mirnyi def. Clement/Llodra

**MIXED DOUBLES QF**
Peschke/Damm def. Medina-Garrigues/Prieto
Pratt/Hanley def. Dechy/Santoro
Shaughnessy/Gimelstob vs. King/Spadea
#5 Navratilova/B.Bryan vs. Groenefeld/Cermak

=============================
AD... so much for that Roddick/Nadal semifinal, huh? Now I guess it's time to root for a Federer/Roddick final, if for nothing else to see just how far back Roddick really HAS come. One can make a case that, more than anything else, it was Federer's dominance over him that sent his career on the downward slope that didn't begin to take an upswing until the last few weeks.

Hmmm, why is it that Roddick's new-found swagger would be seen as a bit "jerky" if he'd developed it on his own, but it's kind of fun since Jimmy Connors has played a part? An odd occurence, but most definitely a truthful fact -- it IS a fun development.
=============================
DEUCE #2... speaking of Nadal's loss, how 'bout that Youzhny? First, he sets upon the answer-less Spaniard like a Russian winter during the day, then he helps treat the Bryan twins like Cold War casualties at night as he and Leos Friedl ended the Bryans' run of seven straight slam finals. Not a bad day.
=============================
AD...

**WOMEN'S SINGLES PICKS**
[SF]
#3 Sharapova def. #1 Mauresmo
#2 Henin-Hardenne def. #19 Jankovic

...I'm all with the JHH pick, but not really the Sharapova one. I've got a hunch that Mauresmo will run her career record vs. Sharapova to 4-0, but I'll stick with the Supernova because I DID pick a JHH/Sharapova final (as did Pierre, by the way) at the start, and it'd be a shame to start messing with something that isn't broken (yet, at least).

**MEN'S SINGLES PICKS**
[QF]
#1 Federer def. #5 Blake
#14 Haas def. #7 Davydenko
[SF]
#9 Roddick def. Youzhny

...ditto, because I picked a Federer-Roddick final at the start. But at least with this one I'm pretty confident, anyway.

=============================
GAME, "FAT, DRUNK AND STUPID IS NO WAY TO GO THROUGH LIFE, SON."

...and neither is scrawny, tired and unprepared if you're a professional tennis player. Andy Murray says he's not a morning person, but maybe he needs to start eating his Wheaties on the morning of a big match in the a.m., huh? At the net, Nikolay Davydenko looked almost sorry for Murray after he bageled him in the lightning-quick, blink-and-you'll-miss-it final set of their Round of 16 match. Victory over Roger Federer or not, Brad Gilbert has his work cut out for him with Murray. Thankfully, the clay is pretty good. Now it just needs to be molded into a reasonable facsimile of grand slam contender.
=============================



All for Day 10.

Read more...

Day 9: The One and Only

Jelena Jankovic used to be referred to around here as "the other Jelena."

No longer. Now, she's looking like the one and only.



It's been a strange trip from there to here for Jankovic.

Once Jelena Dokic was no longer listed as "Serbian," though that label was always an iffy proposition at best depending on her constantly changing familial state of mind, Jankovic got a leg up on coming into her own. Once Dokic continued to fade from the tennis landscape in '06, possibly never to return from her trip through the looking glass, Jankovic stood alone.

But a coaching change and that 1-10 start wrecked the beginning of her season's story. She had horrible timing, it seemed. But as things have played out as the season has worn on, Jankovic's timing has turned out to be quite exquisite.

In Los Angeles last month, she displayed a breezy attitude and a killer game as she upset eventual U.S. Open Series champion Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams, only to lose to Elena Dementieva in a three-set final. Today in New York, after showing she had developed quite a finishing touch against Nicole Vaidisova and Svetlana Kuznetsova, she finally finished what she started in L.A..

In the only major singles match that was able to be completed on Tuesday, Jankovic wiped out Dementieva 6-2/6-1 (Punch Sober never once held her serve!) to reach her first grand slam semifinal (not to mention earn a little rest while the remaining players will have to scramble to make up for another virtual rain out in Flushing Meadows).

Thus, the one and only Jelena was the one and only player in the spotlight on Day 9. Talk about perfect timing.


=============================
LOVE-LOVE... #27-seed Tatiana Golovin still could trump her accomplishment when and if she beats Maria Sharapova in the QF, but #19 Jankovic's Open semifinal berth ranks her as one of the lowest-seeded players in the 2000's to reach a women's slam SF. Here's the list:

[unseeded]
2000 Wimbledon - Jelena Dokic
2000 U.S. Open - Elena Dementieva
2002 Roland Garros - Clarisa Fernandez
2003 Roland Garros - Nadia Petrova

[low seeds]
#32 Fabiola Zuluaga (2004 Australian)
#22 Patty Schnyder (2004 Australian)
#21 Mary Pierce (2005 Roland Garros)
#19 JELENA JANKOVIC (2006 U.S.)
#19 Nathalie Dechy (2005 Australian)
#16 Elena Likhovtseva (2005 Roland Garros)
#16 Nicole Vaidisova (2006 Roland Garros)

...of the ten previous semifinalists before Jankovic, only Pierce advanced to the final. She lost the '05 RG title to Justine Henin-Hardenne.
=============================
15-LOVE... Jankovic-Dementieva wasn't the ONLY match that actually managed to finish today. Five Boys and Girls singles winners were declared, and two Women's Doubles 2nd Round contests experienced converted match points. In those, Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur knocked out Shinobu Asagoe & Akiko Morigami and, in an upset, #2-seeded Zi Yan/Jie Zheng lost to Kveta Peschke/Francesca Schiavone, the latter of which someone managed to not blow a big lead and lose in the 7-5/6-4 match. Hmmm, another top Women's Doubles seed falls, while the team of Martina Navratilova & Nadia Petrova are still alive and kicking. I smell a "conspiracy."

Well, either that or all this rain is robbing me of my sanity.
=============================
30-LOVE...

**MEN'S ROUND OF 16 - BY NATION**
3...Russia (Davydenko, Safin, Youzhny*)
2...Czech Republic (Berdych, Novak)
2...France (Gasquet, Gicquel)
2...Germany (Haas, Becker)
2...Spain (Nadal*, Robredo)
2...USA (Blake, Roddick*)
1...Australia (Hewitt*)
1...Great Britain (Murray)
1...Switzerland (Federer)

...ah, a rare list where Federer is listed last.

(*)-already advanced to QF
=============================
30-15...

**MEN"S QUARTERFINAL PICKS**
[bottom half]
#9 Roddick d. #15 Hewitt
#2 Nadal d. Youzhny

=============================
GAME, by retirement...

Dear M.Nature,

Can we please get a little sunshine in New York? What did everyone do to deserve this treatment? Truly, your timing could not be worse.

Might you be open to a little under the table payment to make this happen? Just wondering.

Yours truly,
Backspin

P.S. - Be kind to Justine, if somehow possible. Thank you.
=============================



All for Day 9.

Read more...

Day 8: The Silent Majority

Beware the quiet ones.

While Maria Sharapova has made the headlines at this U.S. Open, Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport have stirred the hometown emotions, and even Jelena Jankovic has grabbed the spotlight with wins over some major power players, this tournament might end up being decided by two players who haven't really sought the spotlight nor been handed it through the first eight days.

Not that they need to say much... they've already collected all three of this year's previous slam titles. Obviously, talk is cheap.

Amelie Mauresmo and Justine Henin-Hardenne both posted wins on Monday to advance to the quarterfinals. Mauresmo outlasted a fitter (but not yet fit enough to fight until the bitter end in back-to-back matches) Serena Williams, while Henin-Hardenne positively blasted Shahar Peer into space while allowing her just one game in their match.

Of course, there's a reason why neither's name has been on the tip of everyone's tongue in New York. They don't court attention. And, anyway, Justine pretty much CAN'T say anything without being attacked for it from some corner, while Amelie has learned it's best to just go about her business at times likes this. It's worked pretty well so far for her in 2006.

A week ago, it seemed like a far-fetched bet to think that these two might meet in a third slam final this season, but as the draw has begun to clear out a bit the legitimate obstacles to such a trilogy are thinning considerably. Sharapova stands in Mauresmo's way in the top half, while Davenport is probably the sternest test left for Henin-Hardenne.

History tells us that those potential match-ups could go either way... but Amelie & Justine have seen fit to let their actions speak louder than any words so far this year (even in Melbourne... no matter how twisted the interpretation by others may have been).

If they don't deviate from that plan, it'd be difficult to argue against them having a pretty good shot at playing "Part III: The Battle to the Finish" on Saturday.


LOVE-LOVE... as the second week begins, the draw is breaking just right to reveal a few more award winners. With her upset of Svetlana Kuznetsova coming on the heels of her win over Nicole Vaidisova, Jelena Jankovic has grabbed hold of this slam's "It Girl" role. Meanwhile, "Miss Opportunity" Tatiana Golovin has more than taken advantage of her chances in New York to reach her first career slam QF. Finally back on track after her Miami ankle injury in early April, The Frussian Pastry will now be able to attempt to pick up her momentum where she left it off. In her next match, she'll face Maria Sharapova, her opponent in that fateful Miami SF that saw her crumpled in the corner of the court.
=============================
15-LOVE...

*2006 "Miss OPPORTUNITY" WINNERS*
Australian Open: Martina Hingis (QF)
Roland Garros: #8 Svetlana Kuznetsova (RU)
Wimbledon: (Q) Severine Bremond (QF)
U.S. Open: #27 Tatiana Golovin

*2006 "It GIRL" WINNERS*
Australian Open: Samantha Stosur (4th)
Roland Garros: #16 Nicole Vaidisova (SF)
Wimbledon: #27 Na Li (QF)
U.S. Open: #19 Jelena Jankovic

=============================
30-LOVE... with the QF set, I kept a slight edge over Pierre in the Battle Royale, clocking four correct picks to his three (thank you for being healthy enough to last this long, Lindsay).

**WOMEN'S QF BY NATION**
3...Russia (Sharapova, Dementieva, Safina)
2...France (Mauresmo, Golovin)
1...Belgium (Henin-Hardenne)
1...Serbia (Jankovic)
1...USA (Davenport)

=============================
30-15... Serena wasn't ready at this slam, but barring another injury or a wavering in her desire, is it too early to pencil her in as a potential winner in Melbourne about five months from now?
=============================
40-15...

**WOMEN'S QUARTERFINAL PICKS**
#1 Mauresmo d. #12 Safina
#3 Sharapova d. #27 Golovin
#19 Jankovic d. #4 Dementieva
#2 Henin-Hardenne d. #10 Davenport

**MEN'S ROUND OF 16 PICKS**
[top half]
#1 Federer d. Gicquel
#5 Blake d. #12 Berdych
Safin d. #14 Haas
#17 Murray d. #7 Davydenko

=============================
40-30... Andy Roddick still has to get past Lleyton Hewitt, who narrowly avoided blowing a two-set lead on Night 8 against a cramping Richard Gasquet (anyone for seeing Gasquet and Baghdatis' cramp-inspired hobbling set to some dance music?). But it's now time to cross the fingers and hope for that Roddick-Nadal semifinal for the right to (probably... well, okay, "certainly") face Roger Federer in the final. Roddick easily dispatched Agassi-killer Benjamin Becker on Monday, running his record with Jimmy Connors looking over his shoulder to 15-1. Ah... but can he beat Pong?
=============================
GAME, "Andre's not the only one ducking out the back door after this tournament is over"
... a few of the top doubles teams were upset in the 2nd Round on Day 8, as #4 Hantuchova/Sugiyama lost to Dechy/Zvonareva and #5 Groenefeld/Shaughnessy were knocked off by Ivanovic/Kirilenko. Which, of course, begs the question, are they subconsciously "stepping aside" to allow Martina Navratilova a clearer path to the final? And would Mary Carillo call them on it if they were? And would Roger Federer STILL be angry at her? Stay tuned.
=============================



All for Day 8.

Read more...

Day 7: The Shadowboxer

Who's that lurking in the shadows of Arthur Ashe Stadium? Who's that peeking around the umpire's chair on Louis Armstrong?



If it's who it appears to be, then the rest of the ladies had better hold onto their tennis skirts and grip their rackets tightly.

A fierce wind may be about to blow through this tournament.

I said before the Open that if Serena Williams got past Daniela Hantuchova and Ana Ivanovic to reach the Round of 16, then watch out.

Well... it's time to watch out for Serena.

Williams' 6-2/6-4 handling of the talented fireballing Ivanovic had to open quite a few eyes, and maybe even caused a little head shaking, too. For if Serena is playing herself into this tournament (she already looks far more fit than she did at the start of the North American tour), then no one is safe.

Not #1 Amelie Mauresmo, Serena's next opponent, who's already been pushed to three sets in New York by far lesser players than Williams. Not Maria Sharapova, a potential semifinal foe, either. It might be that Williams is really the only person capable of being a "Supernova Blocker" -- a force willfully strong enough to prevent Sharapova from storming into her first slam final since winning Wimbledon in 2004.

In fact, she may be the perfect storm.

Serena Williams with something to prove can be an act of nature quite difficult to restrain... if not impossible. She's been here before. She could do it again.


LOVE-LOVE... the streak of consecutive grand slam champions who saved match points during the tournament ended a while back, but there are now two potential candidates desiring to start it back up again. Shahar Peer saved five MP on Friday against Francesca Schiavone, and then Lindsay Davenport saved two against Katarina Srebotnik on Day 7 in a three-set victory that ended with a final set tie-breaker.
=============================
LOVE-15... Mary Pierce's "season-after" year of discontent went fully down in flames in New York on Sunday. After winning the 1st set at 6-4 against Na Li, she was double-bageled and sent packing in the final two sets. Ouch.
=============================
15-15... all hail the U.S. Open "Revelation Ladies." It's the Russians. Again. But this time it's not the Russians we've already come to know and love, it's the "other" members of the Horde. The second wave of slam contenders, if you will. At the Open, the likes of Dinara Safina and Anna Chakvetadze are still alive in the Round of 16, with legit shots to both claim quarterfinal berths. Safina plays Virginie Razzano in the 4th Round, while Chakvetadze faces Tatiana Golovin.

**2006 SLAM "REVELATION LADIES"
Australian Open: Italians
Roland Garros: French
Wimbledon: Serbians
U.S. Open: "other" Russians

=============================
30-15... speaking of the Round of 16 (of which I correctly predicted 11, while Pierre totaled 9). A breakdown:

[nations]
5...Russia (Sharapova, Dementieva, Kuznetsova, Safina, Chakvetadze)
4...France (Mauresmo, Golovin, Rezai, Razzano)
2...USA (Davenport, S.Williams)
1...Belgium (Henin-Hardenne)
1...China (Li)
1...Israel (Peer)
1...Serbia (Jankovic)
1...Switzerland (Schnyder)

[ranks]
#1 Amelie Mauresmo
#2 Justine Henin-Hardenne
#4 Maria Sharapova
#5 Elena Dementieva
#7 Svetlana Kuznetsova
#8 Patty Schnyder
#11 Lindsay Davenport
#13 Dinara Safina
#20 Jelena Jankovic
#21 Shahar Peer
#22 Na Li
#26 Tatiana Golovin
#29 Anna Chakvetadze
#91 Serena Williams
#96 Aravane Rezai
#112 Virginie Razzano

[ages]
30...Lindsay Davenport
27...Patty Schnyder
27...Amelie Mauresmo
24...Serena Williams
24...Elena Dementieva
24...Na Li
24...Justine Henin-Hardenne
23...Virginie Razzano
21...Jelena Jankovic
21...Svetlana Kuznetsova
20...Dinara Safina
19...Anna Chakvetadze
19...Aravane Rezai
19...Maria Sharapova
19...Shahar Peer
18...Tatiana Golovin

=============================
40-15...

**ROUND OF 16 PICKS**
[Women]
S.Williams d. #1 Mauresmo
#12 Safina d. Razzano
#3 Sharapova d. #24 Li
#23 Chakvetadze d. #27 Golovin
#19 Jankovic d. #6 Kuznetsova
#4 Dementieva d. Rezai
#10 Davenport d. #7 Schnyder
#2 Henin-Hardenne d. #21 Peer

[Men's Bottom Half]
#9 Roddick d. Becker
#15 Hewitt d. #25 Gasquet
Youzhny d. #6 Robredo
#2 Nadal d. Novak

=============================
GAME... "And in the cold, cruel world of sports it's time to move on."


...Andre Agassi bid adieu to his tennis career on Sunday after being upset by qualifier Benjamin Becker 7-5/6-7/6-4/7-5. Next came the tearful words for the fans at Arthur Ashe, the limp to the post-match press conference, and the standing ovation from the press corps. A grand career is over... and now it's time to focus on the present and future, not the past.

So, who's up next on Ashe, anyway?
=============================



All for Day 7.

Read more...

Day 6: Rain Check

Rain, rain. Go away. Come again another day... just hold off for about a week or so. We've got some things to do in New York.



All for Day 6.

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Day 5: Jana Would Be Proud

Try as they might to get fully back on schedule before the weekend, the tournament organizers of the U.S. Open were again denied their goal by good ol' Mother Nature.



But Shahar Peer managed to make the most of her time during Day 5. Francesca Schiavone? Ummmm... not quite so much.


Love-Love... hardly the type of news you want to be making at a grand slam, Ms. Schiavone. You know you've had a nightmare of a day when being reminded that Jana Novotna DID lose to Chanda Rubin after leading 5-0, 40-0 in the 3rd set at Roland Garros in 1995 is the only way to avoid believing that no one has EVER choked away a match as badly as you just did. Of course, not that Schiavone will ever forget (or maybe live down) fumbling away a 5-1 3rd set lead over Peer in which she blew five match points as the Israeli teen won 6-3/6-7/7-6. In the end, Novotna won 24 singles titles, including one grand slam in her Hall of Fame career. Schiavone is still stuck on zero career wins, and why the title-less Italian is still as such at age 26 has rarely been as crystal clear as it is right about now.
=============================
Love-15... if not for Schiavone's dive off the face of a steep cliff, the biggest news of the day would be the three-set win by Jelena Jankovic over Nicole Vaidisova, who'll now have to wait until '07 for that elusive first grand slam final. Chalk it up as another learning experience. With the 5-7/6-3/6-2 win, though, Jankovic has proven to still have the finishing touch she discovered last month in L.A. after having it usually turn up M.I.A. throughout her career. With Vaidisova out of the way, Jankovic has the chance to seize a huge opportunity against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Round of 16.
=============================
Love-30... let's just stick that Schiavone loss in an envelope and mail it to ourselves. There are two months or so left in this season, but when we open that letter in November who wants to bet that it'll still be the worst choke of the 2006 season?
=============================
Love-40... meanwhile, Justine had the hiccups on Day 5. For one set. After losing the opening stanza 6-4 to Ai Sugiyama, she proceeded to crush the Japanese vet (I won't say "Godzilla vs. Tokyo style"... why, that would be tacky) 6-1/6-0 in the final two sets.
=============================
GAME, "MAYBE ALESSIO & JELENA KOSTANIC SHOULD MEET FOR DINNER"... after Di Mauro was wiped out Godzilla vs. Tokyo style (here's a BETTER spot) by Andy Murray on Thursday, losing by a 6-0/6-1/6-1 score. It wasn't the double-bagel that Kostanic suffered against Lindsay Davenport the other day, but I'm sure the two would still have something in common to talk about.
=============================



All for Day 5.

Read more...

Day 4.5: Late Night with Andre

Andre Agassi is squeezing every last drop of emotion and drama out of the final Act of his career playing out at the U.S. Open.

Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, for a while, looked as if it was going to include a surprisingly routine win for the 36-year old American over #8-seeded Marcos Baghdatis, fifteen years his junior and runner-up at the Australian Open this year before his semifinal run at Wimbledon earlier this summer. The Cypriot was curiously off his game and perhaps distracted by the atmosphere that made the homemade signs that read "Andre's House" seem perfectly appropriate.

Agassi won the first two sets 6-4/6-4 and was on his way to an under-two hour victory. Baghdatis seemed to sense that the crowd wanted Agassi to survive to fight another day more than it desired a great, epic match, and he seemed willing to oblige as he watched the wave travel round the stadium with a grin on his face. He seemed to want no part in playing the villain in Agassi's Superman play. Boy, was that assumption wrong. As it turned out, Baghdatis turned the big afterschool party into another unforgettable episode of "Late Night with Andre."

Move over, David Letterman.

Baghdatis is one of the most exciting and excitable players on tour, and he proved it once again on perhaps the sport's biggest stage in this 2nd Round match. As he began to pump himself up with brilliant shotmaking and pounded his chest as he showed the heart that makes him so fun to watch, he claimed the 3rd set 6-3 and roared back from a 0-4 deficit in the 4th to knot the match with a 7-5 win.

Then things really got weird... in a matter of minutes, we were only an episode of projectile vomiting away from seeing a Stephen King novella play out before our eyes. (Well, that or one of those old Pete Sampras matches where he's tossing his lunch in the corner of the court in between hitting blistering forehands down the line.)



As the 5th set turned into a game-by-game fight for the continuation of Agassi's career, at 4-4 Deuce on Agassi's serve Baghdatis was suddenly struck with leg cramps that alternately sent him crumpled into a heap on the court, bent over in the corner, hopping around like a mad kangaroo, or hobbling from side to side like a stoop-backed great grandfather.

Suddenly, we had something different altogether.

But rather than fold, Baghdatis began going for outright Sampras-like winners early in points, while Agassi became tentative and/or perplexed about how to play a hampered opponent backed into a corner and throwing out any and every weapon at his disposal simply to keep from shriveling up into a raisin in front of 20,000-plus spectators. Eight deuces later, Agassi finally won the game.

Whew!

The match had turned into a classic before everyone's eyes, with Agassi's career (and tired back?) teetering in the balance, and everyone wondering whether that 20-minute cortisone shot would last as the match time ticked past 3:30 and 12:30am (again) quickly approached.

In the end, when Baghdatis' final shot sailed past the baseline and a relieved Agassi approached the net, everyone in the stands was allowed to breath again. The legend was still alive and kicking (even if he won't be able to stand up in the morning).

With Baghdatis outlasted and unable to play the role of "villain" (ironically, he probably became a "hero" himself in the process), Andre's New York show now brings us a final Agassi-Becker clash. No, it's not that Becker, but it doesn't matter. Maybe it'll be Andy Roddick who ultimately dons the black hat in the Round of 16, but who's to say how this story will end at this point?

No one wants this ride to end... and maybe it won't. At this point, this bald guy doesn't seem to be able to do anything wrong. Maybe he never will in this final, potentially magical journey.

Ah, just another "average" night in New York, huh? Eat your heart out Mr. Letterman... Andre owns the late night now. At least for a little while longer.

(Boy, now we're REALLY going to miss him when he's gone.)

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Day 4: La Belle Dame Sans Merci & the Grand Deception

Quick! Someone find a strainer to catch at least a little of what's left of Daniela Hantuchova before she goes down the drain!

Whoops... looks like it might be too late.

On Day 4, while Wonder Girl continued her "one step forward, two steps back" headlong plunge toward oblivion, the Supernova was still running on the leftover adrenaline from Day 3's outing in the little black dress.

Maria Sharapova's skin apparently retained some remnants of the little black dress' magic, or at least that's the idea that Emilie Loit had to be clinging to as she fell behind 6-0/4-0 against the #3 seed in their 2nd Round match. The afterglow did eventually go away, but it didn't stop Sharapova from advancing while surrending just one game in the match. So far at this Open, it's fair to say that the Supernova has assumed the role of La Belle Dame Sans Merci -- the beautiful lady without mercy.

(All right, I admit it. I've had that one setting around for quite a while, waiting for an appropriate moment to use it... and this seemed as good a time as ever, don't you think?)

It certainly appears that Hantuchova will never be able to claim such a title. In her 2nd Round match against Serena Williams, all the old bugaboos came back to haunt her once again. Serving up 5-3 in the 1st set, her game simply became unhinged. Bad drop shots. Double faults. Soon she'd lost the set 5-7, and was down 0-3 in the 2nd. With the match all but over, she finally rejoined the rest of us in 2006... not that it mattered. She still lost 5-7/3-6.

Four years ago, when Hantuchova claimed her first singles title in Indian Wells, the tennis world saw fit to build her an impromptu throne. She was dubbed the next great marketing doll for the tour, and one with a game to back up all the attention. I, for one, never really bought into the hype, hence the dripping-with-sarcasm birth of her "Wonder Girl" moniker (originally, it was meant to be said with an accompanying eye roll... though it's now used without such disdain), but I was open to being wrong about her.

I wasn't, though. The "legend" of Hantuchova DID turn out to be THE grand deception of the 21st century so far (well, at least the biggest one that doesn't involve the Bush administration). The Tour's post-Kournikova dream scenario never happened (well, at least not for Hantuchova... it DID become a reality with Sharapova, and could again with Nicole Vaidisova).

Hantuchova reached the Top 5, then crashed physically and emotionally. She's never been able to come close to reclaiming her former position, nor even win another title. Rather than being a prelude to a great career, Indian Wells '02 has turned out to be a teasing aberration. Collapses like the one against Williams today are just another sign that things are still a very long way from turning around... if they EVER will.

Maybe Hantuchova should be given some credit for trying, though. Some can't handle the long climb back (Jelena Dokic, at #4 when Hantuchova was #5, has chosen to alternately swim upstream or just flat out disappear). But, then again, there are few sights in sports that are more discouraging than watching what was thought to be the career of a grand talent turn out to be something so far less than expected that the athlete becomes something of a figure of sadness even though their performances would be lauded were they someone who'd been burdened with far less expectation when they were young.

Who knows, maybe Hantuchova will one day rise from the ashes ala Jennifer Capriati... but it's difficult to envisoin such a resurrection when Wonder Girl has days like she had today.



Love-Love... poor, Jelena Kostanic. Lindsay could have at least given her ONE game in their 2nd Round match, don't you think? Hmmm... nah, that'd be too much of a Kim-like thing to do. Bagels for everyone!
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15-Love... It's already that time of the Open:

**EARLY ROUND (1st/2nd) AWARDS**
=TOP PLAYERS=
1.Maria Sharapova
2.Justine Henin-Hardenne
3.Lindsay Davenport
HM-Nadia Petrova

RISER: Nicole Vaidisova
SURPRISES: Virginie Razzano & Anastasia Rodionova
VETERANS: Lindsay Davenport & Mary Pierce
FRESH FACES: Victoria Azarenka & Jarmila Gajdosova
DOWN: Martina Hingis & Anastasia Myskina

UPSET QUEENS: French (Rezai, Razzano, Fedossova)

LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: 5 reached 2nd Round (Birnerova, Fedossova, Flipkens, Lepchenko, A.Radwanska)

BIGGEST UPSET: 2nd - Razzano d. Hingis 6-2/6-4... Martina's worst U.S. Open -- ever!

BEST ESCAPE: 1st - Kuznetsova d. Kloesel 6-2/2-6/6-3... the Contessova was down a break in the 3rd

WORST CHOKE: 2nd - S.Williams d. Hantuchova 7-5/6-3... it's too deep into her career for the one-time Wonder Girl to still be spectacularly imploding in such a fashion that it scares little children.

BEST COMEBACK: Nadia Petrova, after dropping five straight matches heading into New York, has won two in a row while giving up a combined five games (including rolling over Virginia Ruano-Pascual in the 2nd Round, the same Spanish vet who kicked her butt in one of those matches during the losing streak). Plus, today in doubles, she and Martina Navratilova allowed just two games to the team of Osterloh/Rolle. (Nudge, nudge... way to go, Scarlett.)

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30-love... the Cookies continue to get more and more attention (including a write-up in USA TODAY on Thursday), but they didn't have great success at the Open this year. Four of the six in the main draw lost in the 1st Round, and Jie Zheng went out today. Only Na Li survived into the 3rd Round.
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40-love...

*THE WOMEN'S FINAL 32*
[by nation]
10...Russia (Sharapova, Dementieva, Petrova, Kuznetsova, Safina, Kirilenko, Chakvetadze, Likhovtseva, Zvonareva, Rodionova)
---
6....France (Mauresmo, Pierce, Golovin, Bartoli, Razzano, Rezai)
---
2....Italy (Schiavone, Santangelo)
2....Serbia (Ivanovic, Jankovic)
2....USA (S.Williams, Davenport)
---
1....Belarus (Azarenka)
1....Belgium (Henin-Hardenne)
1....China (Li)
1....Czech Republic (Vaidisova)
1....Estonia (Kanepi)
1....Israel (Peer)
1....Japan (Sugiyama)
1....Slovak Republic (Gajdosova)
1....Slovenia (Srebotnik)
1....Switzerland (Schnyder)

...and for the record, BOTH Pierre and I -- even with numerous different picks -- managed to correctly forecast exactly 23 of the final 32 to reach the 3rd Round.
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GAME, "Attention wise, fashion foolish?"... Bethanie Mattek, the same player who brought us the 1970's boardwalk rollerskater & soccer enthusiast look at Wimbledon, gave the world another loopy look the other day:



Who knew living room curtains could double as sporting attire? And, yes, those look like leg warmers (naturally). Well, at least she got her picture distributed all over the net again. "Good" for her... right? Yeah, maybe not.
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All for Day 4... but not Night 4. There are a million stories in the naked city, and there was one more on Thursday than could fit into a single Daily Backspin (see "Backspin Plus" for coverage of Andre Agassi's latest late night epic).

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