US Open 2015

I was kinda hoping Serena would crash and burn, but at least the first set was interesting.

A science teacher was arrested for guiding a drone into Louis Armstrong Stadium. I don't know if the arrest was for trespassing and disrupting play or for not buying a ticket for the drone.

Yep...still watching between nods. I've never found Nadal's game ideal for hard courts. We have to thank Federer's unwillingness earlier to improve his net play for Nadal's rise to prominence. Thankfully, Nole rose to the top to keep Fed & Rafa honest. I'm a fan of the big 3 and consider this the greatest era in men's tennis at least in my lifetime.

Now onto Serena and company. I'm the world's biggest Serena fan but I HATE where Sharapova, Azarenka, and she have taken the women's sport. Between the three of them they have made their on-court growls, grunts, shrieks, death stares, eye rolls, and strategically-timed "come-ons" the highlight of the highlight reel. As the most successful active champion, naturally Serena gets the brunt of the criticism leveled against the women's game but her on-court behavior doesn't help. Those three have made the women's game as painful to watch as the men's during the ugly era of Connors-McEnroe-Lendl. I'd like for Serena to win this US Open, tying Graf, and then promptly exit the sport, right along with Sharapova and Azarenka.

Updated On: 9/5/15 at 12:59 AM

I'm always happy when Nadal loses.

I predicted that Andy Murray's winning ways would come to a halt after coach Ivan Lendl and he parted ways. Kevin Anderson played the match of his life against Andy but that was not the same Andy out there tonight as the one under coach Lendl's tutelage. Word on the street is that Andy's still a bit of momma's boy who needs to be coddled by his handlers. Lendl had him imposing his will on his opponents on court and put an end to all that sulking out there, at less temporarily. With Lendl long gone, it's back to sourpuss Andy playing defensive tennis all the while hoping his opponent commits a bunch of unforced errors.

Changing lanes, the Isner-Federer match is underway. Isner's filled out his lanky frame and by all appearances his mobility has improved as a result. I can't get over how well he moves out there now. A few years ago he still looked like an awkward teenager who grew too tall too soon. Fed's definitely winning in the style department. Dude's always been dapper.

Updated On: 9/7/15 at 09:23 PM

Thrilling tennis tonight. Huge Federer fan!

My predictions:

Men: Wawrinka def Djokovic in a 5 set thriller to claim his 1st US Open title

Women: Halep def Serena in a 3 set thriller to claim her 1st major title

Why?

1. Wawrinka likes the taste of victory and has figured out how to bring his A game to the late stages of majors finally. Djokovic is already assured the year-end #1 ranking regardless of the outcome of his 2 remaining matches.

2. Serena will be a bundle of nerves and Halep who is the Queen of Consistency and the best mover on the women's tour will be dialed in.

Anyone watch the 2 women's semifinal matches earlier today? Who woulda thunk it? I've been on deadline today and didn't bother tuning into them which was clearly my loss. That what I like about competitive sport as the Europeans would say.

I love Roberta Vinci after her on court interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q11I-H8DW5Q

Both women's matches today were great. I'm really looking forward to the finals tomorrow.

I love Novak, but the cutest guy will win. Touche!

Nole's coach Boris Becker is back at it, trash-talking Federer on the sly. He's now gone on record suggesting that players of his era would have tried to drill a hole through Federer as he rushes the net to return serve these days using a a tactic called Sneak Attack By Roger (SABR). To me, his well-timed statement is a tactic to get into Federer's head before the match. If anyone had rushed the net on my serve when I was still active I would've taken his head off at least once just to keep him honest.

Fed's always been known as someone who doesn't like to be bullied on court by the few players who can hit through him like Nadal, Del Potro, and Djokovic. I find it interesting that at this point in his career, he'd finally resort to intimidation out there to win a match. Oh well, rushing the net on an opponent's serve is fair play, no matter how disrespectful...so is gutting out the aggressor in response.

Updated On: 9/12/15 at 08:39 PM