Federer Has Something to Prove at this US Open, For a Change

Former world no.1 and defending champion Roger Federer has more
than a point to prove at this year's US Open. To his thousands of
fans, he need to show that he is not out yet, even though the aura
of invincibility is quickly fading, and to himself that he is still
a strong contender to win grand slams as it was in the past six years.

2008 till date has been a hard year to Roger Federer, and a year
since 2003 in which he had failed to win a grand slam tournament
before August. He had reached the finals of two slams in 2008, but
had failed to clear the final hurdle, which in both cases had been the
resilient and resolute Rafael Nadal. In the Australian Open semifinals,
he lost to Novak Djokovic. If that was understandable, as 2008 wore
down, he also went on to lose to lower ranked players like Blake,
Roddick, Ivo Karlovic, Gilles Simon, and Radek Stepanek, against whom
Fedex had won hands down just months back. Worse, outside grand slams,
he had won only at two tournaments, as opposed to eight last year.

These recent results worryingly points to the fact that the rest in the
ATP tour are fastly catching up with Federer, with some even managing to
get their hands on the key to unlock the Fedex puzzle. True, the bout of
mononucleosis at the start of the year had weaken Federer's game. But
even after recovery, he had failed to rediscover the magic that had
made him the remarkable player he had been just an year back. Now, the
US Open is the last chance Federer has got this year to redeem himself,
and show to the world that he is still right there on the top, and the
earlier losses this year were just an aberration in his otherwise
glittering career. The next two and a half weeks will show whether Nadal's
rise to world no.1 was temporary, or it really meant a change of guards.

Let's wait and watch until then!

Nadal, Ivanovic Top Seeds in US Open

Spain's Rafael Nadal and Serbian's Ana Ivanovic have been named
no.1 seeds in the men's and women's sections respectively, for
the upcoming US Open championship. This is the first time Nadal
is going into a grand slam tournament as the top seed.

Former world no.1 and reigning US Open champion Roger Federer is
seeded second, while Australian Open winner Djokovic is third,
followed by David Ferrer and Nikolay Davydenko, the fourth and
fifth seeds respectively.

In the women's section, Ivanovic is followed by Jelena Jankovic,
Svetlana Kuznetsova, Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva, in
that order. Venus Williams is seeded seventh.

It is Nadal Vs Gonzalez in the Olympics Finals

As the Olympics tennis event winds up to its last days, the
draw has been thinned down to just two players, who will fight
it out for the coveted Olympic gold medal, and they are
world no.2 Rafael Nadal of Spain and Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.

In thrilling semifinal matches, Gonzalez defeated Federer assassin
James Blake in three sets, 4-6, 7-5, 11-9, while Nadal got the
better of his hard court 'nemesis' Novak Djokovic in another
hard fought three setter, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

Federer still has a chance to win a tennis gold for Switzerland as
he and Stanislas Wawrinka had entered the doubles final, defeating
world no.1 doubles pair of Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6, 6-4. They will
play Swedes Simon Aspellin and Thomas Johansson in the final.

Nadal Vs Djokovic

While predictions had gone awry with the ouster of Roger Federer
in the one half of the men's tennis draw, the other half, which
features Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, has not seen any major
upsets in the preliminary rounds up to QF , meaning these two
will meet each other in a mouthwatering semifinal today.

In the respective QF matches, while Nadal got rid of Austrian
Jurgen Melzer 6-0, 6-4, Djokovic survived a three set scare
against Frenchman Gael Monfils, eventually prevailing 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
In head-to-head matches, Nadal leads Djokovic 9-4. But in hard
court encounters, Djokovic leads Nadal 4-2.

Nadal Juggernaut Rolls on..

Rafael Nadal now does not have Roger Federer on his way. But,
he may have to face Novak Djokovic, to whom he had lost in the
Cincinnati semifinals, in the semifinals if both wins their respective
quarterfinal matches. In their third respective round matches, Nadal breezed
past Russian Igor Andreev in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, while Djokovic
got rid of another Russian Micheal Youzhny, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Federer Avenges Athens Defeat

Roger Federer had avenged his defeat in Athens 2004 by thrashing
his then conqueror, Tomas Berdych, in straight sets, 6-3. 7-6, in the
Beijing Olympics tennis event. By this win, he had entered the last
eight, which also features his nemesis Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Nadal, Djokovic Advances

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic continued their march
toward the Olympic honors by beating Australian Lleyton Hewitt
and Rainer Schuettler respectively in their second round matches.
While Nadal rolled past Hewitt in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, Djokovic
did the same to his German opponent with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Nadal will now lock horns with Russian Igor Andreev, while
Djokovic have to battle it out with the wily 13th seed Mikhail Youzhny
for a place in the next round.

Andy Murray Handed out a Tough Draw

Andy Murray's ambitions for an Olympic gold seems to have
a Great Wall on the way, in the form of 'would be' world no.1
Rafael Nadal in the QF, thanks to the draw he finds himself in.
If Murray manages to win his first three round matches, he'll
have to face Nadal - assuming he also wins his first three matches -
and if he manages to get past Nadal as well, his possible opponent
in the semis will be none other than Novak Djokovic.

Good luck Andy!

It is Andy Murray Vs Novak Djokovic

Cincinnati Masters 2008 has come down to its last day of excitement
filled Tennis action, and the two players left on the field are world no.3
and Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic, and world no.6 Andy Murray.

When they meet in the finals on Sunday, it'll be a battle of differing styles
and tactics, but for the fans, they will surely get to watch an exciting match
on all counts. In the 5 career meetings between the two players, Djokovic
has won four times, with Murray's lone win coming in Roger's Cup 2008 QF.

Djokovic Ends Nadal's Dream Run

Djokovic halted Nadal's winning streak of 32 matches, by defeating
his famed world no.2 (going to be no.1) rival 6-1, 7-5 in the semifinal
of the Cincinnati Masters 2008.

Clearly elated by his recent found hard court dominance over his fancied
opponent, Djokovic said that 'Rafa always gives 100 percent in every
match and on any surface. It was a challenge and I accepted it."

Nadal, on the other hand, was consolatory in tone, when he quipped that
he's happy with his hard court performance this season, and he is happy
anyway since even after this defeat, he'll be raised to the world no.1 ranking
on August 18, a spot occupied by Roger Federer.

Flu Downs Djokovic; Russia Marches On

Novak Djokovic, who had flu symptoms since last week, eventually
succumbed to the virus as he withdrew midway through his Davis Cup
draw against Nikolay Davydenko, a match he was leading two sets to one,
when he decided that he can't carry forward anymore.

"I stopped because I didn't want to risk my health," the Aussie Open
champion told the press after the walkover.

The gifted match gave Russia an unassailable 3-1 lead, in the first
round tie in Moscow. Later same day, Viktor Troicki beat Dmitry Tursunov
in straight sets to reduce the margin to 3-2 in Serbia's favor.

Russia are the current Davis Cup runners up.

Federer Downs Blake

Even though Roger Federer struggled to find his best form, but
founded the big shots whenever he needed them. In a hard fought
quaterfinal match, the world no.1 overcame the US challenge in
straight sets 7-5, 7-6, 6-4.  Federer will now face world no. 3
Serbian Novak Djokovic in the last four.