Update

I have just been elected to the Maine House of Representatives.

I'm beside myself.

I'm not going to turn my back on this blog forever, but I've got a new job to begin in less than a month, and I have no idea how much I will be able to post here going forward.

I'll do my best.

Thanks for reading.

Drive By

It's been one helluva harvest season. No end in sight.

I want to write about tennis, but I simply can't.

I will again, though. Sure as the sun rises.

2012 US OPEN: Men's Final Preview

Andy Murray GBR (3) vs  Novak Djokovic SRB (2)

Andy Murray of Great Britain will be playing in his 5th major final, having lost the first  four against Roger Federer (2007 US Open, 2010 Australian Open and 2012 Wimbledon) and one against Novak Djokovic (2011 Australian Open). Djokovic already has 5 majors and has won the last three hard courts majors played.

The two played what would have been the best match of the year in the 2012 Australian Open semifinal if it were not eclipsed by the insane 6-hour final played between Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Since then Murray has won the Gold Medal at the 2012 Olympics and I think that he really feels that he can win this match. He is playing someone he has known since he was 11 years old. The two are 1 week apart in age and are god friends off the court (who used to practice together, until Murray's coach Ivan Lendl prohibited such fraternization).

Murray has had an extra day to rest, which should serve him well. To me, the match will not be decided by tactics and strategy but by the mental toughness of the person who wants it the most. Head-to-head Djokovic has a slight 8-6 edge, but this Murray is a different player now.

MadProfessah's pick: Murray.

2012 US OPEN: Women's Final Preview

Victoria Azarenka BLR (1) vs.  Serena Williams USA (4)

Here are my predictions for the women's final of the 2012 US Open. This year I have correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 3 of 4 of the men's quarterfinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals and 2 of 2 men's semifinals.

How They Got Here: Women's Semifinals Review
Serena Williams USA (4) d. Sara Errani ITA (10) 6-1 6-2. 
Serena was never threatened by the diminutive Italian who has become her country's best player by dint of having one of the best seasons of any player this year. Errani has won all 6 of her WTA career singles titles this year, and reached the quarterfinals or better in  three majors, the first time she had ever progressed that far in any Grand Slam. Errani is a fighter but she has no shot that could trouble Serena, and the match was basically a mismatch, with the result never really in doubt.

Victoria Azarenka BLR (1) d. Maria Sharapova RUS (3) 3-6 6-2 6-4.
The other semifinal was completely different, one in which the result was hard to predict until the very last game, which was won by Azarenka. These two are establishing a significant rivalry, having played four times in 2012, with Vika winning three of these matches and now has a 6-4 lead in their career head-to-head.  The two have very similar playing styles with hard-hitting groundstrokes on both wins, with stronger backhands than forehands. Azarenka has significantly better movement, while Sharapova can have a significantly better serve when she gets in a groove. This match was a war of attrition, with Azarenka surviving Sharapova's firepower with her retrieving powers (the Russian ended with 44 winners and 42 unforced errors, while the Belarussian ended with 19 winners and 19 errors). Sharapova's mental toughness and competitive spirit has served her well in winning 4 majors but Azarenka is 2 years younger and could very well end her career with  an even larger numbers, depending on when Serena decides to retire.

The Women's Final: Prediction

Victoria Azarenka BLR (1) vs.  Serena Williams USA (4). Serena has an overwhelming 9-1 career head-to-head advantage against Azarenka and this really reflects the 90% probability that Serena will win this match. Despite this act, it should be a relatively close, hard-fought match, perhaps of the quality of their 3rd round match from 2011, which was won by Serena 6-1 7-6(5). This is pretty typical of their matches; Serena wins the first set relatively easily and when she gets up a break in the second she relaxes and gives Azarenka a chance to get back into the match and eventually has to gut out the second set in a close tiebreak. Serena does not feel any kind of animus towards Azarenka and will not try to blow her off the court as she did with Sharapova during her 6-0 6-1 drubbing to win the Gold Medal match at the London Olympics earlier this summer.

However, after having two bad experiences in New York in 2011 against Sam Stosur and in 2009 against Kim Clijsters, Serena has been on her best behavior this year. Serena was unable to play the 2010 tournament due to her year-long medically induced hiatus from the game, and she last won this title in 2008 (over Jelena Jankovic). It's amazing that  a few weeks before her 31st birthday Serena is the heavy favorite to win her 15th major title, pulling her within striking distance of the magic number of 18 that all-time greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert ended their storied careers with. If she were to get to the number then the question of Greatest of all Time would be another legitimate title to bestow upon her.

MadProfessah's Prediction: Serena.

2012 US OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals. This year I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals. Here are my predictions for the 2012 US Open women's semifinals.

Victoria Azarenka BLR (1) vs.  Maria Sharapova RUS (3). Both players played some of the best tennis of the year against stubbon opponents in their quarterfinals to reach this point. Azarenka took out the defending champion Sam Stosur in the most exciting women's tennis match of the year 6-1 4-6 7-6(5). Sharapova had to come back from 0-4 down against the hard-hitting but peculiar Marion Bartoli, which she did by winning 3-6 6-3 6-4. This showdown is worthy of a grand slam final, and indeed these two played the Australian Open final earlier this year, which was won by Azarenka 6-3 6-0. Bizarrely, this was not the only time this year that Sharapova was blanked in an important final, losing the Wimbledon Gold medal match 6-0 6-1 to Serena Williams but she also had a high point by winning the French Open over surprise 2012 US Open semifinalist Sara Errani to completing the career slam. Azarenka and Sharapova have played 9 times, with the Belarussian possessing a slight 5-4 lead, including a 4-2 lead to Azarenka on hard courts. Azarenka has also won their only grand slam meeting (in the 2012 Australian Open final). Sharapova got revenge for that major final loss to Azarenka by winning the Stuttgart final but that was clay and this match will be during the day on a hard court in New York. The World's #1 player will likely prevail to reach her first US Open final. Mad Professah's Pick: Azarenka.

Sara Errani ITA (10) vs.  Serena Williams USA (4).  For the first time in my memory Serena was placed in the much easier half of the draw. The other half of the draw contained almost all the former and current Grand Slam champions except for Serena's sister who lost in the second round to another one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament to Angelique Kerber. Kerber is the last person to beat Serena, but the lefty German was taken out by Errani, her Italian opponent in two tight sets 7-6(5) 6-3. Errani is a fighter and makes the most of her slight frame but she can easily be overpowered, as women's tennis most powerful player ever will demonstrate quite easily as she reacher her 6th US Open final, and 19th major final, of her career. Mad Professah's pick: Serena.

2012 US OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

EDUARDO MUNOZ/Reuters

BY RON BUCKMIRE

Last year I predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. Below is my preview of the 2012 US Open women's quarterfinals.

Victoria Azarenka BLR (1) vs  Samantha Stosur AUS (7) . The World #1 has been brutally efficient in reaching her first career quarterfinal in New York, dropping an impressive total of ten games to reach this stage. She will face the 2011 US Open defending champion whom she has never lost to despite playing 6 hard court matches against, including a final this year in Doha. Stosur has the game to match up well against anyone on the WTA tour but she sometimes does not have the mental strength to match her physical strength. After all, this is someone who has been on the tour for 13 years and has a mere 3 career singles titles, one of which is a major, despite playing in 14 finals. However, when she is playing without pressure, like in a match where almost no-one expects her to win, Stosur can often play her best tennis and this can make her very difficult to beat. Also, since Azarenka has only faced token opposition to this point in the tournament I suspect she may be surprised at the difference lowered expectations can make to her opponent and may find herself in too deep a hole to dig out of. Of course, tat 6-0 career head-to-head does make it more likely that it will become 7-0 instead, but nevertheless I'll go with the Australian who has played some of her best tennis in New York, unlike the Belarussian who never has. Mad Professah's Pick: Stosur.

Maria Sharapova RUS (3) vs Marion Bartoli FRA (11). Surprisingly, these are two players where the career head-to-head is also skewed heavily in one direction, with the Russian 4-time major champion having never lost to the unorthodox French player in four career meetings. Sharapova has been playing excellent tennis this summer, winning her 4th major title in Paris in June, despite being demolished by Serena Williams in the Gold Medal match at the Olympics in July and dealing with the dissolution of her engagement to hockey player Sasha Vujicic. That being said, Bartoli does have a very intense fighting spirit, as her comeback win against Petra Kvitova in the previous round is testament to. Theoretically, she also has the game to defeat Sharapova, but really everything Marion can do, Maria can do as well, and perhaps just a little bit better. Mad Professah's pick: Sharapova.

Ana Ivanovic SRB (12) vs  Serena Williams USA (4). Serena has won 20 of her last 21 matches, with her sole loss coming at the hands of Angelique Kerber in Cincinnati. Her opponent in the Round of 16 failed to win a single game while Serena was pummeling the ball with deadly and frightening power and accuracy. Ivanovic is in her first major quarterfinal since her disastrous slide down the rankings following her sole Grand Slam title at the 2008 French Open. It's good to see Ivanovic back in the mix again; she has a beautiful forehand and moves quite well but after falling so low can she ever really have the confidence to go toe-to-toe with another major champion deep in the decisive set? I think not. That being said, it is more likely that Ivanovic will prevent Serena from reaching her second consecutive major final of the year and second consecutive US Open final than either of the Italians in this part of the draw. After all, Serena has never lost to the Serbian, despite playing her 3 times, including last year in the Round of 16 here in New York. The only question is which Serena will play on Saturday evening, will it be the 2012 Wimbledon finalist (who defeated Agnieska Radwanska with brilliant serving and mental toughness) or will it be the 2011 US Open finalist (who won the fewest number of games she had ever won--5--in a still-puzzling defeat to Stosur). We'll know soon. Mad Professah's pick: Serena.

Angelique Kerber GER (6) Sara Errani ITA (10) vs  Agnieszka Radwanska POL (2) Roberta Vinci ITA (20).  This is one of the most surprising major quarterfinals in recent memory. Errani is having the best year of her career, having reached her first major final in Paris just 10 weeks ago, broken into the Top 10 and won a half-dozen doubles titles this year with her best friend and countrywoman, Roberta Vinci, whom she will be playing to reach her second ever major semifinal (and whom she owns a slight 3-2 career  record against). This should be an almost unwatchable match, which often happens when the stakes are so high and the competitors are so close. Vinci actually leads 2-1 on hard courts and I suspect would desperately like to become the 3rd Italian woman to make a big splash at a major, following in the footsteps of Errani and Francesca Schiavone. In the end it doesn't really matter who wins this match, because in all likelihood they will be losing their semifinal match to Serena. But this is sports, and nothing is impossible. Mad Professah's pick: Errani.

US Open 2012 Labor Day Open Thread

Reuters

Andy Roddick thanks the crowd for cheering him through a four-set victory over Fabio Fognini in the third round. Next up: Juan Martin del Potro.

::

Here in the United States, today is the day we celebrate the contributions of the great American worker to our nation's prosperity. In Flushing Meadows, the players on the singles schedule will have to work hard to secure a berth in the quarterfinals of the great American Slam.

On Ashe, former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic will open against Grand Slam giant killer Tsvetana Pironkova. I think the Bulgarian with the nasty forehand slice has another upset in her. Olympic Gold Medalist Serena Williams continues her campaign for a fourth US Open crown against Andrea Hlavackova. I haven't a clue how the Czech woman plays but if Serena is on point, she won't even drop her serve.

The men take the main stage next. American Mardy Fish faces Roger Federer and if Fish, who can disappear quicker than money, can win a set, I'll be shocked. In primetime, Olympic Gold Medalist Andy Murray will take on Milos Raonic. The Canadian Tower has been serving down aces like rain, but has struggled off the ground when his opponents dig in. Some are smelling an upset here. I'm not.

On the minor show court, I suspect on the high seeds will prevail. even if it takes a final set.

Who you got?

::

Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 4th Round
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) vs. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)[12]
Not Before:1:00 PM
Women's Singles - 4th Round
Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) vs. Serena Williams (USA)[4]
Not Before:2:30 PM
Men's Singles - 4th Round
Roger Federer (SUI)[1] vs. Mardy Fish (USA)[23]
Arthur Ashe Stadium 7:00 PM
Women's Doubles - 3rd Round
Serena Williams (USA) /Venus Williams(USA) vs. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[4] /Nadia Petrova(RUS)[4]
Men's Singles - 4th Round
Andy Murray (GBR)[3] vs. Milos Raonic (CAN)[15]

Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00 AM

Men's Singles - 4th Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[11] vs. Tomas Berdych (CZE)[6]
Not Before:12:30 PM
Women's Singles - 4th Round
Angelique Kerber (GER)[6] vs. Sara Errani (ITA)[10]
Women's Singles - 4th Round
Roberta Vinci (ITA)[20] vs. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[2]
Men's Singles - 4th Round
Marin Cilic (CRO)[12] vs. Martin Klizan (SVK)

Grandstand 11:00 AM

Women's Doubles - 3rd Round
Vania King (USA)[5] /Yaroslava Shvedova(KAZ)[5] vs. Julia Goerges (GER)[11] /Kveta Peschke(CZE)[11]
Men's Doubles - 3rd Round
Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)[16] /Scott Lipsky(USA)[16] vs. Bob Bryan (USA)[2] /Mike Bryan(USA)[2]
Mixed Doubles - Quarterfinals
Kveta Peschke (CZE)[4] /Marcin Matkowski(POL)[4] vs. Sania Mirza (IND) /Colin Fleming(GBR)
Mixed Doubles - Quarterfinals
Lucie Hradecka (CZE)[7] /Frantisek Cermak(CZE)[7] vs. Elena Vesnina (RUS)[3] /Leander Paes(IND)[3]

Court 17 11:00 AM

Men's Doubles - 3rd Round
Frantisek Cermak (CZE) /Michal Mertinak(SVK) vs. Alexander Peya (AUT)[15] /Bruno Soares(BRA)[15]
Women's Doubles - 3rd Round
Sabine Lisicki (GER) /Shuai Peng(CHN) vs. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)[6] /Elena Vesnina(RUS)[6]
Men's Doubles - 3rd Round
Jamie Delgado (GBR) /Ken Skupski(GBR) vs. Marcel Granollers (ESP)[6] /Marc Lopez(ESP)[6]
Mixed Doubles - Quarterfinals
Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) /Jean-Julien Rojer(NED) vs. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) /Bruno Soares(BRA)

Andy Roddick To Retire After US Open 2012

He's in a press conference discussing his decision and his career right now.

Not surprising, but a bit unexpected. I'm verklempt.

More later.

US Open 2012 Day 2 Open Thread

Getty

Victoria Duval of the U.S. returns a backhand to Kim Clijsters of Belgium. during their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York August 27, 2012.

::

How nice to see a teenager play her first professional tennis match on Arthur Ashe Stadium against one of her idols. Was the highlight of an uneventful day of first-round tennis at the US Open.

Today, the less loaded side of the women's draw, which includes Serena and Venus Williams, takes to the court as well as defending champion Novak Djokovic.

Order of Play

Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Nina Bratchikova (RUS) vs. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[2]
Not Before:1:00 PM
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Andy Roddick (USA)[20] vs. Rhyne Williams (USA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) vs. Venus Williams (USA)
Arthur Ashe Stadium 7:00 PM
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[2]
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Coco Vandeweghe (USA) vs. Serena Williams (USA)[4]

Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00 AM

Men's Singles - 1st Round
David Goffin (BEL) vs. Tomas Berdych (CZE)[6]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Sam Querrey (USA)[27] vs. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[22] vs. Sloane Stephens (USA)
Not Before:6:00 PM
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[8] vs. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)

Grandstand 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Elina Svitolina (UKR) vs. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)[12]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Karol Beck (SVK) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[5]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)[10]
Not Before:3:30 PM This match may be moved to Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Christina McHale (USA)[21] vs. Kiki Bertens (NED)

Court 17 11:00 AM

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[11] vs. Radek Stepanek (CZE)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Angelique Kerber (GER)[6] vs. Anne Keothavong (GBR)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Olga Puchkova (RUS) vs. Irina Falconi (USA)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR)[14] vs. Jesse Levine (USA)

Court 13 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Kimiko Date-Krumm (JPN) vs. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Nicolas Mahut (FRA) vs. Philipp Petzschner (GER)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Garbine Muguruza (ESP) vs. Sara Errani (ITA)[10]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Carlos Berlocq (ARG) vs. Bernard Tomic (AUS)

Court 11 11:00 AM

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Santiago Giraldo (COL) vs. Milos Raonic (CAN)[15]
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Vania King (USA) vs. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Julien Benneteau (FRA)[31] vs. Olivier Rochus (BEL)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[14] vs. Chanelle Scheepers (RSA)

Court 4 11:00 AM

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs. Pablo Andujar (ESP)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[30] vs. Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Olga Govortsova (BLR) vs. Tamira Paszek (AUT)[29]
Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Max Mirnyi (BLR)[1]/Daniel Nestor(CAN)[1] vs. Steve Johnson (USA) /Jack Sock(USA)

Court 6 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) vs. Klara Zakopalova (CZE)[24]
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Ayumi Morita (JPN) vs. Monica Niculescu (ROU)[26]
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Vera Dushevina (RUS) vs. Nastassja Burnett (ITA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) vs. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)
Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Michael Llodra (FRA)[7]/Nenad Zimonjic(SRB)[7] vs. Nicholas Monroe (USA)/Donald Young(USA)

Court 7 11:00 AM

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs. Jimmy Wang (TPE)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)[13] vs. Johanna Larsson (SWE)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) vs. Matthias Bachinger (GER)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Mirjana Lucic (CRO) vs. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)

Court 8 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Shuai Peng (CHN)[32] vs. Elena Vesnina (RUS)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino (ESP) vs. Shahar Peer (ISR)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) vs. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[18]
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Agnes Szavay (HUN) vs. Greta Arn (HUN)

Court 10 11:00 AM

Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Martin Emmrich (GER) /Igor Sijsling(NED) vs. Brian Baker (USA) /Rajeev Ram(USA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Urszula Radwanska (POL) vs. Roberta Vinci (ITA)[20]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Dennis Novikov (USA) vs. Jerzy Janowicz (POL)
Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Mikhail Elgin (RUS) /Denis Istomin(UZB) vs. Jonathan Erlich (ISR) /Andy Ram(ISR)

Court 12 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) vs. Eleni Daniilidou (GRE)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Steve Darcis (BEL) vs. Malek Jaziri (TUN)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) vs. Camila Giorgi (ITA)
Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Julian Knowle (AUT) /Filip Polasek(SVK) vs. David Marrero (ESP)[13] /Fernando Verdasco(ESP)[13]

Court 14 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Ksenia Pervak (KAZ) vs. Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) vs. Mona Barthel (GER)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs. Fabio Fognini (ITA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) vs. Tatjana Malek (GER)
Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Colin Fleming (GBR)[14] /Ross Hutchins(GBR)[14] vs. Blaz Kavcic (SLO) /Jurgen Zopp(EST)

Court 15 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) vs. Arantxa Rus (NED)
Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Christian Harrison (USA) /Ryan Harrison(USA) vs. Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)[4] /Marcin Matkowski(POL)[4]
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Johanna Konta (GBR) vs. Timea Babos (HUN)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Rogerio Dutra Silva (BRA) vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS)

Court 16 11:00 AM

Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Lukasz Kubot (POL) /Mikhail Youzhny(RUS) vs. Benjamin Becker (GER) /Jarkko Nieminen(FIN)
Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Eric Butorac (USA) /Paul Hanley(AUS) vs. Jan Hajek (CZE) /Lukas Lacko(SVK)
Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)[16] /Scott Lipsky(USA)[16] vs. Robin Haase (NED) /Andreas Seppi(ITA)
Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) /Martin Klizan(SVK) vs. Marcel Granollers (ESP)[6] /Marc Lopez(ESP)[6]
Men's Doubles - 1st Round
Alex Bogomolov Jr. (RUS) /Raven Klaasen(RSA) vs. Tatsuma Ito (JPN) /Go Soeda(JPN)

US Open 2012 Day 1 Open Thread

Reuters

Cooks on a break have their meal out on the steps of Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open in Flushing, New York August 26, 2012. The final grand slam of the tennis season begins here on Monday.

::

The last Slam of the year is upon us. I haven't watched much tennis since the Olympics but do hope to catch most of the US Open this time around.

Order of Play

Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Petra Martic (CRO) vs. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[7]
Not Before:1:00 PM
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Andy Murray (GBR)[3] vs. Alex Bogomolov Jr. (RUS)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Maria Sharapova (RUS)[3] vs. Melinda Czink (HUN)

Arthur Ashe Stadium 7:00 PM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Victoria Duval (USA) vs. Kim Clijsters (BEL)[23]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Roger Federer (SUI)[1] vs. Donald Young (USA)

Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00 AM

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Lukas Lacko (SVK) vs. James Blake (USA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Melanie Oudin (USA) vs. Lucie Safarova (CZE)[15]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Mardy Fish (USA)[23] vs. Go Soeda (JPN)

Not Before:3:00 PM This match may be moved to Ashe Stadium.

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[1] vs. Alexandra Panova (RUS)

Grandstand 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Marion Bartoli (FRA)[11] vs. Jamie Hampton (USA)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Jack Sock (USA) vs. Florian Mayer (GER)[22]
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Polona Hercog (SLO) vs. Petra Kvitova (CZE)[5]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Michael Russell (USA) vs. Gilles Simon (FRA)[16]

Court 17 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Na Li (CHN)[9] vs. Heather Watson (GBR)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Varvara Lepchenko (USA)[31] vs. Mathilde Johansson (FRA)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Rui Machado (POR) vs. Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[25]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Marin Cilic (CRO)[12] vs. Marinko Matosevic (AUS)

Court 13 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) vs. Sabine Lisicki (GER)[16]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) vs. Igor Andreev (RUS)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)[17]
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) vs. Somdev Devvarman (IND)

Court 11 11:00 AM

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Guido Andreozzi (ARG) vs. Kei Nishikori (JPN)[17]
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Romina Oprandi (SUI) vs. Andrea Petkovic (GER)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Jeremy Chardy (FRA)[32] vs. Filippo Volandri (ITA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Virginie Razzano (FRA) vs. Jie Zheng (CHN)[28]

Court 4 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Julia Goerges (GER)[18] vs. Kristyna Pliskova (CZE)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Albert Ramos (ESP) vs. Robby Ginepri (USA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Samantha Crawford (USA) vs. Laura Robson (GBR)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Robin Haase (NED) vs. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)[30]

Court 6 11:00 AM

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Tim Smyczek (USA) vs. Bobby Reynolds (USA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) vs. Mallory Burdette (USA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Nicole Gibbs (USA) vs. Alize Cornet (FRA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Pauline Parmentier (FRA) vs. Michaella Krajicek (NED)

Court 7 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Nadia Petrova (RUS)[19] vs. Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. Guido Pella (ARG)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)[25] vs. Julia Glushko (ISR)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) vs. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL)

Court 8 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Lucie Hradecka (CZE) vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)[27]
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Alexandra Cadantu (ROU) vs. Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP) vs. Sesil Karatantcheva (KAZ)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Maxime Authom (BEL) vs. Bjorn Phau (GER)

Court 10 11:00 AM

Men's Singles - 1st Round
Marcel Granollers (ESP)[24] vs. Denis Kudla (USA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Edina Gallovits-Hall (ROU) vs. Stefanie Voegele (SUI)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) vs. Julia Cohen (USA)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Denis Istomin (UZB) vs. Jurgen Zopp (EST)

Court 12 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) vs.Casey Dellacqua (AUS)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Simona Halep (ROU) vs. Iveta Benesova (CZE)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Daniel Brands (GER) vs. Adrian Ungur (ROU)

Court 14 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Stephanie Foretz Gacon (FRA) vs. Anna Tatishvili (GEO)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Hiroki Moriya (JPN) vs. Ivan Dodig (CRO)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Tatsuma Ito (JPN) vs. Matthew Ebden (AUS)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) vs. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)

Court 15 11:00 AM

Women's Singles - 1st Round
Mandy Minella (LUX) vs. Olivia Rogowska (AUS)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Blaz Kavcic (SLO) vs. Flavio Cipolla (ITA)
Women's Singles - 1st Round
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) vs. Marina Erakovic (NZL)
Men's Singles - 1st Round
Martin Klizan (SVK) vs. Alejandro Falla (COL)

US Open 2012 Men's Singles Draw

Roger Federer SUI (1) v Donald Young USA
Qualifier v. Bjorn Phau GER
Albert Ramos ESP v Robby Ginepri USA
Rui Machado POR v Fernando Verdasco ESP (25)

Mardy Fish USA (23) v Go Soeda JPN
Nikolay Davydenko RUS v Qualifier
Ivo Karlovic CRO v Qualifier
Michael Russell USA v Gilles Simon FRA (16)

Nicolas Almagro ESP (11) v Radek Stepanek CZE
Nicolas Mahut FRA v Philipp Petzschner GER
Blaz Kavcic SLO v Flavio Cipolla ITA
Jack Sock USA v Florian Mayer GER (22)

Sam Querrey USA (27) v Yen-Hsun Lu TPE
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo ESP v Somdev Devvarman IND
Denis Istomin UZB v Jurgen Zopp EST
David Goffin BEL v Tomas Berdych CZE (6)

:: ::

Andy Murray GBR (3) v Alex Bogomolov Jr. RUS
Qualifier v Ivan Dodig CRO
Thomaz Bellucci BRA v Pablo Andujar ESP
Robin Haase NED v Feliciano Lopez ESP (30)

Marcel Granollers ESP (24) v Denis Kudla USA
Lukas Lacko SVK v James Blake USA
Paul-Henri Mathieu FRA v Igor Andreev RUS
Santiago Giraldo COL v Milos Raonic CAN (15)

Marin Cilic CRO (12) v Marinko Matosevic AUS
Qualifier v Adrian Ungur ROU
Qualifier v Qualifier
Qualifier v Kei Nishikori JPN (17)

Jeremy Chardy FRA (32) v Filippo Volandri ITA
Tatsuma Ito JPN v Matthew Ebden AUS
Martin Klizan SVK v Alejandro Falla COL
Qualifier v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (5)

:: :: :: ::

Janko Tipsarevic SRB (8) v Guillaume Rufin FRA
Brian Baker USA v Jan Hajek CZE
Qualifier v Qualifier
Cedrik-Marcel Stebe GER v Viktor Troicki SRB (29)

Philipp Kohlschreiber GER (19) v Michael Llodra FRA
Grigor Dimitrov BUL v Benoit Paire FRA
Mikhail Kukushkin KAZ v Jarkko Nieminen FIN
Xavier Malisse BEL v John Isner USA (9)

Richard Gasquet FRA (13)v Albert Montanes ESP
Jurgen Melzer AUT v Qualifier
Steve Johnson USA v Rajeev Ram USA
Ernests Gulbis LAT v Tommy Haas GER (21)

Mikhail Youzhny RUS (28) v Gilles Muller LUX
Tobias Kamke GER v Lleyton Hewitt AUS
Qualifier v Daniel Gimeno-Traver ESP
Kevin Anderson RSA v David Ferrer ESP (4)

:: ::

Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (7) v David Nalbandian ARG
Benjamin Becker GER v Ryan Harrison USA
Lukasz Kubot POL v Leonardo Mayer ARG
Tommy Robredo ESP v Andreas Seppi ITA (26)

Andy Roddick USA (20) v Qualifier
Carlos Berlocq ARG v Bernard Tomic AUS
Edouard Roger-Vasselin FRA v Fabio Fognini ITA
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ESP v Juan Monaco ARG (10)

Alexandr Dolgopolov UKR (14) v Jesse Levine USA
Marcos Baghdatis CYP v Qualifier
Steve Darcis BEL v Malek Jaziri TUN
Sergiy Stakhovsky UKR v Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (18)

Julien Benneteau FRA (31) v Olivier Rochus BEL
Dennis Novikov USA v Jerzy Janowicz POL
Rogerio Dutra Silva BRA v Qualifier
Paolo Lorenzi ITA v Novak Djokovic SRB (2)

US Open 2012 Women's Singles Draw

Victoria Azarenka BLR (1) v Alexandra Panova RUS
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE v Qualifier
Su-Wei Hsieh TPE v Qualifier
Virginie Razzano FRA v Jie Zheng CHN (28)

Julia Goerges GER (18) v Qualifier
Mandy Minella LUX v Olivia Rogowska AUS
Stephanie Foretz Gacon FRA v Anna Tatishvili GEO
Sorana Cirstea ROU v Sabine Lisicki GER (16)

Na Li CHN (9) v Heather Watson GBR
Qualifier v Casey Dellacqua AUS
Qualifier v Laura Robson GBR
Victoria Duval USA v Kim Clijsters BEL (23)

Varvara Lepchenko USA (31) v Mathilde Johansson FRA
Qualifier v Julia Cohen USA
Qualifier v Qualifier
Petra Martic CRO v Samantha Stosur AUS (7)

:: ::

Maria Sharapova RUS (3) v Melinda Czink HUN
Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP v Sesil Karatantcheva KAZ
Timea Bacsinszky SUI v Mallory Burdette USA
Lucie Hradecka CZE v Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP (27)

Nadia Petrova RUS (19) v Jarmila Gajdosova AUS
Simona Halep ROU v Iveta Benesova CZE
Alexandra Cadantu ROU v Aleksandra Wozniak CAN
Melanie Oudin USA v Lucie Safarova CZE (15)

Marion Bartoli FRA (11) v Jamie Hampton USA
Romina Oprandi SUI v Andrea Petkovic GER
Kristina Mladenovic FRA v Marina Erakovic NZL
Daniela Hantuchova SVK v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS (17)

Yanina Wickmayer BEL (25) v Qualifier
Pauline Parmentier FRA v Michaella Krajicek NED
Nicole Gibbs USA v Alize Cornet FRA
Polona Hercog SLO v Petra Kvitova CZE (5)

:: :: :: ::

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (8) v Irina-Camelia Begu ROU
Silvia Soler-Espinosa ESP v Qualifier
Tsvetana Pironkova BUL v Camila Giorgi ITA
Ayumi Morita JPN v Monica Niculescu ROU (26)

Francesca Schiavone ITA (22) v Sloane Stephens USA
Akgul Amanmuradova UZB v Qualifier
Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN v Sofia Arvidsson SWE
Qualifier v Ana Ivanovic SRB (12)

Maria Kirilenko RUS (14) v Chanelle Scheepers RSA
Agnes Szavay HUN v Greta Arn HUN
Galina Voskoboeva KAZ v Arantxa Rus NED
Andrea Hlavackova CZE v Klara Zakopalova CZE (24)

Shuai Peng CHN (32) v Elena Vesnina RUS
Ekaterina Makarova RUS v Qualifier
Mirjana Lucic CRO v Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP
Coco Vandeweghe USA v Serena Williams USA (4)

:: ::

Angelique Kerber GER (6) v Anne Keothavong GBR
Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA v Venus Williams USA
Qualifier v Timea Babos HUN
Olga Govortsova BLR v Tamira Paszek AUT (29)

Christina McHale USA (21) v Kiki Bertens NED
Qualifier v Irina Falconi USA
Vera Dushevina RUS v Qualifier
Garbine Muguruza ESP v Sara Errani ITA (10)

Dominika Cibulkova SVK (13) v Johanna Larsson SWE
Bojana Jovanovski SRB v Mona Barthel GER
Vania King USA v Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ
Urszula Radwanska POL v Roberta Vinci ITA (20)

Jelena Jankovic SRB (30) v Kateryna Bondarenko UKR
Qualifier v Shahar Peer ISR
Ksenia Pervak KAZ v Carla Suarez Navarro ESP
Nina Bratchikova RUS v Agnieszka Radwanska POL (2)

2012 US OPEN: Nadal Withdraws Due To Injury

BY MAD PROFESSAH

Rafael Nadal, the world's #3 player, who played in the 2011 US Open final and won the 2010 US Open final, will not play the 2012 US Open, due to an ongoing issue with tendinitis in his knees, it was announced today. The 11-time major champion has not played a tour match since he was stunned in the 2nd round of Wimbledon by Lukas Rosol, having missed the London Olympics, the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the Cincinnati Masters. In fact, today's statement, which was announced via Twitter, does not say when he will return to the ATP Tour..

nadal's withdrawal raises the importance of this year's US Open draw, because World #1 Roger Federer and World #2 Novak Djokovic are almost certainly not going to be in the same half of the draw, so the question is in whose half will Olympic gold medalist (and potential #3 seed) Andy Murray fall? Murray routed Federer in the best-of-five-sets Gold medal match on grass, and the Scotsman best surface is hard court, so he would have a decent chance of breaking through against the 17-time major champion in a high-stakes semifinal. Murray lost his best Grand Slam match of his career against Djokovic in the 2012 Australian Open semifinals.

It's unfortunate that Nadal will not be able to play this year's Open, because it will almost certainly lead him to fall out of the Top 3 rankings. But I'm sure there will be several other interesting stories to cover, especially whether Federer can go for his mind-boggling 18th major, or will someone else win their first?

Surprise Of The Day

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Bronze medalist Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina poses during the medal ceremony for Men's Singles Tennis on Day 9 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on August 5, 2012 in London, England. He defeated Serbia's Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-4 to take the Bronze medal match.

Team Of The Day

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Americans Serena Williams and Venus Williams celebrate on the podium after receiving their gold medal for winning the London 2012 Olympic Games women's doubles tennis tournament, at the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on August 5, 2012.

Face Of The Day

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Great Britain's Andy Murray celebrates after winning the men's singles gold medal match of the London 2012 Olympic Games by defeating Switzerland's Roger Federer 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 at the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on August 5, 2012.

2012 Olympic Tennis Gold Medal Matches Open Thread

Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova in a rematch of the 2004 Wimbledon final. Whoever wins will win a career Gold Slam. This is Serena's last chance to win an Olympic Gold in singles while Sharapova is trying to achieve that feat in her first Olympic appearance. May the best ball basher take the Gold.

Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray in a rematch of the this year's Wimbledon final. Like Serena, this is Raja's last chance to wan an Olympic Gold in singles while Murray gets to try for his first in front of a home crowd. It's best-of-three, so Murray's chances are better than they were in the Wimbledon final, but I still can't see Federer denied.

Team Of The Day

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Face Of The Day

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2012 Olympic Tennis Open Thread

Somehow, I lost a day. I could've sworn tennis action started tomorrow, so I missed almost all the live tennis broadcast today.

Check out Savannah's preview.

Federer Wins 7th Wimbledon and 17th Major Title

AP

AP

BY RON BUCKMIRE

As I predicted yesterday, Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 to win his 17th major title and tie Pete Sampras record of 7 men's singles titles at Wimbledon. The 30-year-old Swiss great has now won titles at Wimbledon in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012. With his win today, Federer moves three singles titles ahead of Sampras' 14 on the list of most Grand Slams. His previous Grand Slam win came at the 2010 Australian Open (over Murray), more than 29 months ago. Additionally, he will be ranked World #1 on the ATP Tour again on Monday, for the 286th week, becoming tied with Sampras for the most weeks at #1. That record will almost certainly be broken the following week. At 30 years, 335 days Federer will be the second oldest player to be ranked #1 after Andre Agassi did it when he was 33 years, 131 days old. Federer was last ranked number 1 in June 2010, losing the ranking to his nemesis Rafael Nadal on June 7, 2010 following his quarterfinal loss to Robin Soderling at the 2010 Roland Garros tournament.


Federer's win should end the conversation once and for all who is the greatest men's singles player of all time, despite his 10-18 losing career record against Nadal. Nadal has won 7 titles on his best surface, and reached 5 Wimbledon finals, where he defeated Federer in one. Federer has won 7 titles (in 8 finals) on his best surface, and faced Nadal in 4 finals and 1 semifinal in the major on his worst surface and lost all 5 matches. But on hard courts Federer has won 5 major titles (in 6 finals) while Nadal has reached 2 hard court finals and won one (not against Federer). Federer has now won 75 ATP tour singles titles, extended his head-to-head lead over Novak Djokovic to 15-12 and he has evened his career head-to-head score with Murray at 8-all. Speaking of Murray, the first British Wimbledon finalist in 74 years made many more fans worldwide with his post-match speech where, despite unsuccessfully fighting back tears, he praised his opponents play and said "I'm getting closer, aren't I?" Hopefully his coach Ivan Lendl, who also famously lost his first 4 major finals but went on to win 8 major titles, will be able to help his charge recover from today's loss.


Interestingly, both the mens and women's singles title winners this year, Roger Federer and Serena Williams, are both over age 30, the 6th time the two have won majors at the same tournament in their illustrious career. The 5-time Wimbledon ladies singles champion also won the Wimbledon doubles title with her sister, 5-time Wimbledon ladies singles champion Venus Williams, for the 5th time.


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It was a great tournament for me, as I correctly predicted 7 of the 7 last matches in the men's draw (quarterfinals on) as well as 7 of the 7 last matches on the women's side. A 100% accuracy rate!


Men's Final Review
Murray started the match much more strongly than Federer, who was clearly uncharacteristically nervous in the very first service game of the match, making two errors on very easy shots to lose his serve. Murray was played aggressively at the start, hitting his forehand and backhand with much power and authority than he is known for. Eventually, Federer was able to get the break back in the 4th game of the match, but suddenly at 4-all Federer was broken and Murray was able to serve out the 1st set. In the second set, things were basically proceeded on serve, with Murray routinely hitting his serve at 130 mph and Federer struggling to achieve his usual unerring accuracy on the serve, which resulted in less aces than his 25-year-old opponent. Federer had to save break points in his 3rd and 5th service games. Murray was serving at 30-0 in the 12th game when suddenly Federer won 4 straight points, primarily with excellent net play to win the 2nd set. Serving at 40-0 in the third game of the 3rd set the rain started coming down and play was suspended. Unfortunately for Murray, the decision was made to close the roof on Centre Court, transforming the match into an indoor 3-set match on a grass court, basically ideal conditions for the 16-time major champion. In the 6th game of the 3rd set Murray was at 40-0 when suddenly things got complicated and there were ten deuces, with Federer having 6 break points and Murray's serve. The game was more than 20 minutes long, with Murray repeatedly getting out of trouble with big serves. Eventually, the young Briton succumbed and Federer was able to hold serve to maintain his lead and claim the 3rd set with a 1-break lead 6-3. In the fourth set, Murray barely missed a forehand down-the-line passing shot on a breakpoint in Federer's first service game but then lost his own serve in his 3nd service game and Federer was able to calmly hold serve without incident to win the 4th set with another 1-break lead 6-4.

2012 Wimbledon: Men's Final Preview

BY RON BUCKMIRE

Here are my predictions for the men's final at the Wimbledon Championships for 2012. Last year I correctly predicted Petra Kvitova's win over Maria Sharapova in the women's final and Novak Djokovic's win over Rafael Nadal in the men's final. This year I have correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals. I also correctly predicted Serena Williams's win over Agnieska Radwanska.


How They Got Here: Men's Semifinals Review
Roger Federer SUI (3) d. Novak Djokovic SRB (1) 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3. 
Many pundits believed that the World #1 would continue his winning ways against the 16-time champ in major semifinals but I always believed otherwise. After all, Federer had been able to end Djokovic's 44 match winning streak in the semifinals of Roland Garros last year and that was on clay. On grass, here at Wimbledon, Federer has lost a mere 3 matches in a decade (2008 Final against Rafael Nadal, 2010 quarterfinal against Tomas Berdych and 2011 quarterfinal against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga). In order to beat him on Centre Court you need to bring something special, and if he gets out to an early lead and feels comfortable, look out. Against Djokovic Federer easily won the 1st st after an early break in well under a half-hour. Djokovic returned the favor in the second set, although he had a slightly tougher time holding on to the break. The key to the match was the 3rd set, where the two had pretty thrilling rallies, and it became clear that Federer was able to hang with Djokovic in backhand-to-backhand rallies and was winning the forehand-to-forehand rallies. Federer's defense on grass was stifling the Serb's offensive efficacy. Federer failed to break serve in the 6th game but in the 10th game he was able to get breakpoints which were also set points and took a 2-1 set lead by blasting an overhead into the corner out of reach. In the fourth set Djokovic played like a man mentally defeated, and soon the score reflected that fact, giving Federer his 8th appearance in a Wimbledon final, a perfect 8-0 in Wimbledon semifinals.


Andy Murray GBR (4) d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (5) 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-5.
This match was fraught with historic significance, as Britain's Great Hope was playing to end a 74-year drought of British male players reaching the Wimbledon final. Happily, he had an excellent 5-1 head-to-head record against his opponent, and his play showed why. Murray raced out to a quick two sets lead as Tsonga was slightly flat at the start. Murray got an early break in the 3rd and the match looked like it would soon be over but then Tsonga broke back and since he was serving first he was able to put pressure on Murray to hold serve to stay in the set, which the Brit was unable to do. The fourth set seemed like it would go to a tiebreak but in the 12th game out of nowhere Tsonga got tight and suddenly faced two break points which were match points. Tsonga served a first serve on the first and Murray blasted a forehand crosscourt  service return which appeared to clip the sideline but was called out by the linesperson. Murray challenged as the two players walked towards the net and the electronic review showed the ball had indeed touched the line and Murray was awarded the game, set and match. History made.


Who Will Win: Men's Final Preview
For both players, this is going to be the most important match of their careers to date, but 30-year-old Federer has been in this position many many more times than his 25-year-old opponent. Surprising to some, Murray has a slight 8-7 career head-to-head edge against the 16-time champion. Earlier in his career, Murray had an even better record against Federer, but the Swiss Great has had more success recently, especially in big matches. In ATP tour finals Federer leads 6-2 and the two have never met on grass before. This is the 3rd major final the two will be contesting, after the 2007 US Open final and the 2010 Australian Open final, both won by Federer in straight sets. In fact, Murray has been unable to win a set in the three major finals he has appeared in, also losing in straight sets in the 2011 Australian Open final, this time to Djokovic.  I am pretty confident Murray will end that streak in the men's final, giving his country hope but in the end I think the history that will be made is Roger Federer extending his lead in the number of most men's singles majors titles to 17 (Pete Sampras is next at 14) and returning to the World #1 spot in order to surpass Sampras's record 286 weeks at #1. Federer has currently been #1 for a mere 285 weeks. For Murray to win he will become the first British male in 76 years to win a singles title at Wimbledon, which would happen one day after Jonathan Marray became the first British male in 76 years to win a doubles title at Wimbledon.


Despite my confidence that Federer will win, it is very possible for Murray to win this match. He has the ability and almost certainly will be a heavy crowd favorite. However, he will have to get some help in order to win the match Great Britain has been waiting to see for 76 years. Murray wants the weather to be bad, windy and wet but not wet enough that the roof is closed. Federer has been nearly flawless in indoor matches, amassing a gaudy 28-1 record over the last year in indoor matches (the one loss was to John Isner in Davis Cup this spring). If the roof is closed, Murray may not even win a set. However, if the roof is not closed and Federer starts to have problem with his timing on the serve and one-handed backhand in the wind then Murray has a much better chance to stay close enough to win two (and possibly even 3) sets. This would require assistance from Federer, which is very unlikely to occur in a final, especially a major final. His overall final record is 74-30 and his major final record is 16-7. I expect Federer to find a way to close out the match, and end the debate about the Greatest Player of all Time once and for all. Prediction: Federer.

2012 Wimbledon: Women's Final Preview

Serena Williams USA (6) v.  Agnieszka Radwanska POL (3) 

BY RON BUCKMIRE


Here are my predictions for the women's final at the Wimbledon Championships for 2012. Last year I correctly predicted Petra Kvitova's win over Maria Sharapova in the women's final and Novak Djokovic's win over Rafael Nadal in the men's final. This year I have correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals.


How They Got Here: Women's Semifinals Review
Serena Williams USA (6) d. Victoria Azarenka BLR (2) 6-3 7-6(6).
Serena put on a serving display that has never been before on Centre Court, or frankly any court, to win her semifinal. In 11 service games and a 14 point tiebreaker Serena  blasted 24 aces, 1 more than the record she had set earlier in the tournament. Serena's set total is extraordinary; in the tournament through 6 rounds of play she had more aces than either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic, despite (obviously) playing far less sets. Azarenka played an excellent match--she cut down on her unforced errors and was doing well to not only hang with Serena in the groundstroke rallies but Vika was actually able to win a lot of the important points from the back of the court. But whenever Serena got into any kind of trouble, her serve was able to bail her out. She only faced 2 breakpoints and was broken once, after she was already leading 6-3, 3-1. Azarenka was able to save a couple of breakpoints and then slightly faltered in the inevitable tiebreak when the score was even by hitting some unforced errors. Vika was able to save one match point on her serve, but the second was on Serena's and one knew that she would be able to end the match with one swing of the racket, which she did with her 24th ace.

Agnieszka Radwanska POL (3) d. Angelique Kerber GER (8) 6-3 6-4.
This match was actually much tighter than the score would indicate. Kerber is the more powerful player and grass always rewards players with lefty spin. She broke first and led 3-1, but even though she was playing in her first major semifinal, Radwanska did not panic and calmly held her service games and was able to break back twice to win 5 games in a row and steal the first set. Radwanska repeatedly frustrated Kerber with her tenacious defense and her opportunism, i.e. ability to instantly convert defense into offense and move forward to the net to win a point if she could see her opponent was even slightly out of position. The two had many long rallies which would finally end when Kerber would go for broke, more often than not hitting an error instead of a winner. That's how Radwanska wins, she hits a remarkably low number of unforced errors herself and incites her opponent to go for too much. The problem is that sometimes she meets someone who can combine power and accuracy and the strategy fails. Kerber was unable to rise to the occasion. The second set was also very close with just one break in the 5th game which the new World #2 nursed to reach her first ever major final. If she wins one more match she will not only become the new World #1, but she will lead the tour for the most matches won on tour in 2012 with 45. This almost certainly will not happen.


The Women's Final

Agnieszka Radwanska POL (3) vs. Serena Williams USA (6). These two have met only twice in their career, both times in 2008 when Radwanska was a teenager, including here in a Wimbledon quarterfinal, with Serena winning both matches easily. In the last few years although there have been multiple players winning in their first appearance in a major: Francesca Schiavone (2010 French Open), Petra Kvitova (2011 Wimbledon) and Victoria Azarenka (2012 Australian Open), most Grand Slam winners have either won major titles before or are appearing in their second major final: Samantha Stosur (2011 US Open), Maria Sharapova (2012 French Open), Li Na (2011 French Open) and Kim Clijsters (2011 Australian Open, 2010 US Open). If Radwanska was playing a different opponent I do believe she has the mental fortitude to add her name to the first list, and I also think she has the potential to add her name to the second list as well.


Unfortunately for her, Aggie is playing the one active player who is appearing in her seventh final here at Wimbledon and her 18th major final overall. In fact, the only year in the last decade that Serena has not appeared in a major final was in 2006. There's almost nothing that Serena has to fear from Radwanska, even if she does get nervous as the significance of winning her 14th major at age 30 becomes closer to a reality. Serena is well aware that she nearly died last year from a blood clot and did not play a single professional match for a year during a period which ended just over a year ago. I''m pretty sure that Serena's serve will continue to bail her out, and even if she gets frustrated by Radwanska's dogged defense, she knows that she will have her opportunities to win in both her own service games, and her opponents. Prediction: Serena.

2012 Wimbledon: Men's Semifinals Preview

Reuters

BY RON BUCKMIRE

Here are my predictions for the men's semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2012. Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals and correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals. This year I have correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Novak Djokovic SRB (1) vs. Roger Federer SUI (3). There are three major rivalries in men's tennis right now: Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal (10-18), Roger Federer versus Novak Djokovic (14-12) and Novak Djokovic versus Rafael Nadal (14-19). Each of these match-ups brings excitement and intrigue to the men's game. Although the Djokovic-Federer rivalry is the 3rd most significant in terms of total matches contested is it is still quite significant, especially in terms of Grand Slam tennis. Although they have only met in one major final (unlike the 8 Nadal and Federer have contested or the 4 in a row Djokovic and Nadal have played over the last year), the two have met an astounding eight times in major semifinals (Djokovic leads 5-3). This number of semifinal clashes is quite surprising because Djokovic has only been in 15 major semifinals in his career (8 wins 7 losses) compared to 33 major semifinals for Federer, an all-time record. Their current head-to-head in grand slam matches is even at 5-all with Djokovic having won 4 of the last 5 meetings, including last month at the 2012 French Open semifinals. Their matches are becoming less competitive, not more, as both players age. However, bewilderingly, the two have never met at Wimbledon. Djokovic is the defending champion here but Federer won 5 titles in a row between 2003 and 2007 and considers Centre Court "his house." But Federer had also won 5 consecutive titles in New York between 2004 and 2008 when his reign was ended by Juan Martin del Potro in the 2009 US Open final. In 2008, Nadal (the member of the triumvirate at the top of men's tennis who is missing from the final weekend due to a Czech fluke named Lukas Rosol) had to win what many consider the best match of all time to stop Federer from winning his 6th consecutive title here. Djokovic has demonstrated that he will do whatever it takes to win during the slugfest with Nadal that lasted nearly 6 hours to defend his Australian Open title. However, I don't believe that the match will be a slugfest. I think that Federer will do (and some would argue, he must) what it takes to change his game and mindset to beat Djokovic on grass: be aggressive, serve outstandingly and use the crowd. I believe that if Federer plays his best tennis and Djokovic plays his best tennis, that Federer can win. It doesn't mean that Federer will definitely win, but I believe it is more likely than not. PREDICTION: Federer.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (5) vs. Andy Murray GBR (4). Murray has faced more pressure to do well (i.e. reach the final and win it) at his country's major tournament, which just happens to be the oldest and most prestigious tournament in the world, than perhaps any well-know sports figure in the world. The fact that he has not cracked mentally under the pressure is a pretty good result. No male British player has reached the final of Wimbledon since 1938 and no one has won it since Fred Perry did it in 1936. Previously, Tim Henman carried the hopes of his nation circa 1998-2202 but Murray has already surpassed many of Henman's career achievements, reaching 10 major semifinals (and 3 major finals) to Henman's 6 major semifinals and no major finals. After having lost to Nadal in the previous two years he must be very happy that instead he will be facing someone else, the talented Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Murray did well to get past a surprisingly tenacious David Ferrer in tough 4-sets 6-7(5) 7-6(6) 6-4 7-6(4). Murray has a surprisingly large 5-1 career head-to-head edge against Tsonga, only losing to the Frenchman in the 1st round of the 2008 Australian Open, which is the tournament that Tsonga demolished Nadal in the semifinals and lost a tight 4-set final to Djkokovic. The two have played twice on grass, both won by Murray: an entertaining final of Queen Club last year and a 4-set Wimbledon quarterfinal encounter the year before where Tsonga won a bagel set but lost the match. Both players have improved since then, especially Tsonga, who has accomplished two noteworthy feats in the last year: having 3 match points against Djokovic in a major semifinal match (French Open 2012) and dropping two sets but winning the next three against Federer in last year's Wimbledon quarterfinal. Murray has not been able to accomplish either of these, but he has been consistently higher ranked than Tsonga for several years. It is very possible that Tsonga could have one of these superb performances which allows him to defeat Murray, but I suspect that the Briton will use his hometown advantage to counteract any Gallic power. PREDICTION: Murray.