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.

Rafael Nadal is the Olympics Singles Champion

It can't get any better than this. An Olympic gold medal, a day before
he'll be formally elevated to ATP world no.1 rankings, dethroning
Roger Federer. In the men's singles final today, Rafael Nadal had defeated
hard hitting Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.

The Olympic gold medal comes as a glittering addition to his already
colorful achievements in 2008, that includes wins at French Open and
Wimbledon, plus victories in three masters series championships. Now,
for the first time in his career, he'll go into next week's US Open as the
top seed, and title favorite. Let's wait and see if he could absorb the pressure
of expectations, and make it three grand slams in a row.

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!

Federer Eyeing Olympic Gold

Roger Federer, who is yet to win a grand slam this year, is pinning his
hopes in the Olympics tennis event, and the US Open next month.
He thinks a win in Beijing would save the season for him, which so far
has not been anything great considering the high standards Federer
had set for himself in the past 4-5 years. After losing the French Open
and Wimbledon finals to nemesis Rafael Nadal, Federer had lost twice
at least to lower ranked opponents in the master's series, and is about
to lose his world no.1 ranking to Nadal come this August 18.

But Olympics tennis have been traditionally a different ball game with
unfancied players making it to the podium most of the times. Last time,
though Federer the overwhelming favorite to win the gold medal, he
was ousted in the second round by unseeded Thomas Berdych in three sets.

Let's see if Fedex will be third time lucky.

What Happened to Roger Federer?

What happened to Roger Federer? Every tennis fan is of late asking
themselves this question after viewing Fedex' performance in the first
eight months of the 2008 ATP tennis calendar. True, he had reached
the finals of two grand slams in this period - the French Open and
Wimbledon - before losing both matches to world no.2 Rafael Nadal -
but, Federer's overall showing in the tourneys in the earlier half of
the year, and post Wimbledon, raises serious questions on the world
no.1's (world no.2 in the next two weeks probably) game and fitness.
Roger suddenly appears to have lost his confidence, and his movements
on the court slowing down considerably that even lowly ranked players,
whom Roger had dispatched so easily few months back, are able to
beat him with ease. It appears that the weight of his reputation,
coupled with the anxiety of losing, is heavily burdening his mind/game.
Recent loses have not helped the matter either.

May be Roger needs a bit of rest, and time to reassess his game plan.
In fact, he himself had admitted that he need to sit back and take a
look at his game. But a tighter ATP tour calendar means he would be
able to do that only after the US Open at the earliest.

Come August 18, and Federer will lose his world no.1 ranking for
the first time in the last 237 weeks to Rafael Nadal. But, he is definitely
capable of making a comeback. However, in order to do that, he needs
to play far better than at present, and of course with a clear mind that
is not burdened by the monster he himself had created in the
last 4 years. Let's hope that Fedex will bounce back to the player he
had been 10 months back.

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.

Can Federer Make it Three in a Row?

With Australian Open kickstarted in the new Plexicushion surface,  
the big question that most tennis lovers ask is will 2008 also witness
the dominance of Roger Federer in grand slam events? Well, while it is
too early to comment, given the note in which 2007 tennis season
ended, there is enough reason to believe that it won't be a smooth sail
in the offing for the current world no.1. Argentinian David Nalbandian
and Djokovic are potential threats to Federer, alongside his clay court
nemesis Rafel Nadal and Guillermo Canas, even though for the latter,
 his form had deserted him as 2007 wore down. Let us wait and see how
all these players fare in Australian Open, and hopefully that'll set the
tune for 2008.

Madrid Masters

David Nalbandian, ranked 25, stunned Federer by coming from one set down to take
the next two quite comfortably to dethrone the world no.1 as the 2007 Madrid Masters
champion. Enroute to the final, Nalbandian had defeated no.2 Rafael Nadal and no.3 Novak Djokovic, the first player to do so after Boris Becker, before eventually conquering Federer.
This is Nalbandian's first victory over the world no.1 in their last 9 meetings.

Its Federer Vs Nadal in Wimbledon Again

Defending champion and world no.1 Roger Federer will meet world no.2 and three-time
French Open winner Rafel Nadal in the 2007 Wimbledon finals on Sunday. The two had
already clashed thrice this year, the last time being in the French Open finals in July, which
Nadal had won in four sets. This year, Nadal is already 2-1 up against Federer.
Overall, Nadal leads 8-4 in their head-to-head meetings.

Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal appeared thrice in Wimbledon, 2007 being his fourth appearence.
He was eliminated in 3rd round in 2003, 2nd round in 2005, and was a finalist
in 2006, which he lost to the eventual winner and World no.1 Roger Federer.