2015 U.S. Open (tennis)

[Troublemaker]

In case anyone's interested.

Serena's going for the rare and coveted Calendar Year Grand Slam (CYGS)!

[BD80]

In case anyone's interested.

Serena's going for the rare and coveted Calendar Year Grand Slam (CYGS)!

You mean "Grand Slam"

No modifiers required, although there is an undeniable impulse to add "real"

[Blue in the Face]

Things were interesting for 2 sets tonight. Then Serena went all Secretariat-at-the-Belmont.

[Troublemaker]

Fognini beat Rafa in a great 5-setter. Despite that, I think Rafa is very close to re-gaining his form. He looked very good in the first two sets against both Fognini and Coric (Round 1) but kind of ran out of gas both times. I think Nadal will be a top-4 player again in 2016.

You mean "Grand Slam"

No modifiers required, although there is an undeniable impulse to add "real"

True.

[Green Wave Dukie]

Fognini beat Rafa in a great 5-setter. Despite that, I think Rafa is very close to re-gaining his form. He looked very good in the first two sets against both Fognini and Coric (Round 1) but kind of ran out of gas both times. I think Nadal will be a top-4 player again in 2016.


True.

That match last night/this morning was amazing. Not sure how Fognini will play next round, but he was AMAZING against Nadal. That half volley forehand up the line from standing right behind/at the baseline was incredible. IMHO, he certainly earned it, Rafa didn't hand it to him.

And agree about Rafa being a top 4 seed come in '16 (assuming he stays healthy). First off, since he didn't play the U.S. Open last year, it's not like he's got a lot of points to defend. Even winning only 2 matches might he may move up.

[JasonEvans]

DY!!!!!

[Green Wave Dukie]

DY!!!!!

Jason - Donald represented you and ATL well. I'm impressed he took a set off Stan. He had a great run.

Kevin Anderson's win tonight over Murray was spectacular. Both men exhausted. 4 hours and 18 mins in 4 long sets.

And Fededer just played 3 incredible points to close out the second set tie-breaker vs Isner. For the life of me, I don't know why John has hit every backhand approach cross court. It hasn't worked yet. Just leaves him too exposed for Roger's backhand up the line passing shot.

And as I write, Gasquet just took a 2-1 set lead over Byrdich. Lots of great tennis.

[gus]

Jason - Donald represented you and ATL well. I'm impressed he took a set off Stan. He had a great run.

Kevin Anderson's win tonight over Murray was spectacular. Both men exhausted. 4 hours and 18 mins in 4 long sets.

And Fededer just played 3 incredible points to close out the second set tie-breaker vs Isner. For the life of me, I don't know why John has hit every backhand approach cross court. It hasn't worked yet. Just leaves him too exposed for Roger's backhand up the line passing shot.

And as I write, Gasquet just took a 2-1 set lead over Byrdich. Lots of great tennis.

Isner is enormous. He must be hitting his serve 11 feet off the ground. But it's no wonder he's responsible for the longest match in history. He's (nearly) unbeatable when serving, and looks hapless and slow when receiving.

This weekend had a lot of entertaining tennis.

Does Kevin Anderson have a Duke connection?

[JasonEvans]

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that a few people may watch Serena versus Venus tonight on TV.

So, who thinks Venus will throw it? Not that we will ever know, if she steamrolls her sister there is no reason it was not the result of Serena just plain being the better player. I can't imagine Venus really trying extra hard to win and ruining her sister's chance for a calendar slam.

-Jason "I'll be watching" Evans

[snowdenscold]

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that a few people may watch Serena versus Venus tonight on TV.

So, who thinks Venus will throw it? Not that we will ever know, if she steamrolls her sister there is no reason it was not the result of Serena just plain being the better player. I can't imagine Venus really trying extra hard to win and ruining her sister's chance for a calendar slam.

-Jason "I'll be watching" Evans

Just when Serena finally returned to Indian Wells earlier this March (for the first time in 14 years) ? The conspiracy theories could get ugly.

I also think Serena is a better play at this point in their careers, but then again, Venus did win in the semi-finals at Canada last year (which is one of the top-tier tournaments just below the Grand Slam events).


Either way, I'm not expecting a great match, since historically Williams vs. Williams has never produced the best tennis. Neither enjoys playing against the other, not surprisingly.

[duke79]

[
Does Kevin Anderson have a Duke connection?[/QUOTE]

Not that I know of. He is from South Africa...and played (I believe) three years at the University of Illinois. I think he might have been NCAA singles champion when he played there.

[Tom B.]

Does Kevin Anderson have a Duke connection?

I was wondering that, too. A guy sitting in Anderson's friends and family box was wearing a Duke hat and shirt.

[duke79]

I was wondering that, too. A guy sitting in Anderson's friends and family box was wearing a Duke hat and shirt.

Yea, I saw that too. Looked like a Duke tennis hat....no clue who that might be?

[Troublemaker]

Not that I know of. He is from South Africa...and played (I believe) three years at the University of Illinois. I think he might have been NCAA singles champion when he played there.

At Illinois, Anderson was a teammate of current Duke women's tennis assistant coach Marc Spicijaric.

[Tom B.]

At Illinois, Anderson was a teammate of current Duke women's tennis assistant coach Marc Spicijaric.

Bingo. I'm pretty sure he was the mystery Duke-apparel-wearing guy in Anderson's box.

[Blue in the Face]

Who had 2 Italians in the women's final? And I don't mean 2 weeks ago, I mean 4 hours ago. Unexpected day of tennis.

[DukieInKansas]

Who had 2 Italians in the women's final? And I don't mean 2 weeks ago, I mean 4 hours ago. Unexpected day of tennis.

Wow!

[Troublemaker]

Serena should've won in two. She dropped her level and started spraying errors, losing set 2. A momentary letdown like that has not been uncommon for her during this season-long run for the Grand Slam, but previously she had always escaped. Not in Set 3, as Vinci legitimately played a great set. Nice sliced backhand from Vinci.

Best-of-3 tennis can go so quickly. Grand Slam dreams dashed, at Serena's best event, where she was defending 3-time champ. Gotta be disappointing.

Still, a great season.

[CDu]

Djokovic destroyed Cilic 0, 1, and 2. Sets up a potentially great final against either Federer or Wawrinka. This is Djokovic's best surface, but either guy tonight has the firepower to win too.

[Troublemaker]

Fed dominated Stan and will be fresh for the final.

I'll be rooting hard for Fed to beat Novak on Sunday (or possibly Monday if there's rain).

I want to say that I watched the best tennis player ever, and it'll be tough to deny Fed that label if he beats Novak here for #18 at age 34.