Federer in Fourth Round

Roger Federer had won his 30th consecutive match at the US Open,
by defeating Czech Radek Stepanek in straight sets 6-3, 6-3,6-2.
With this win, Roger has reached the fourth round of the US Open.

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.

Dementieva Wins Women's Singles Gold in Beijing

In an all Russian final, Elena Dementieva had won the singles event
by defeating Dinara Safina in a hard fought three setter 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
The loss also brought to an end Safina's 15 match winning streak.

If double faults had been a major problem for long in Dementieva's game,
in the finals, it was Safina who suffered most from erratic serving. She hit
as much as 17 double-faults, the highest seen in an Olympic final till date.
Frustrated by her struggle to put the ball in play, Safina once even flunged
her racket, slammed it against the concrete, and hit the ball into the stands.
But her tantrums failed to help her game get back on track.

On the other hand, Dementieva packed more power from the baseline,
hitting as much as twenty six winners to Safina's thirteen.
This is the second time that Dementieva is playing the Olympics singles
final. In Sydney Olympics 2000, she had lost to Venus Williams.

Williams Sisters Claim Olympics Doubles Gold

Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, had won the doubles gold by
outclassing the Spanish pair of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia
Ruano Pascual in a virtually one-sided match, 6-2, 6-0, that lasted
only for 1 hr and 5 minutes. This is Williams sisters second doubles
gold medal in an Olympics, since their win in Sydney 2000.

It is an all Russian Affair in the Ladies Singles Final

In the ladies singles final of the Olympic tennis event, it is going
to be a match up between two Russians, Dinara Safina and Elena
Dementiva. Whoever wins, Russia is assured of a gold medal.

In their respective semifinal matches, Safina got rid of Chinese
sensation Li Na 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, while Dementiva demolished
compatriot Vera Zvonareva in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6.