Flushing Meadows. The last Major of the year. Planes flying right overhead. New Yorkers' screaming just for the heck of it during the middle of a point. It's US Open time again. The most exciting time of the year in tennis.
Three straight Wimbledon's and not stopping anytime soon.
My Top Eight Questions For This Years US Open:
1. Watching on tv like the rest of us? Please don't push mute. John McEnroe is the best commentator this world has ever seen...for any sport. I'm sorry, but he is. He shows more emotion up in the booth than a lot of the players on the court. (The USA Network a couple of years ago tried Anna Kournikova. She was walking around the stadium trying to get interviews. After the first night, yes, the FIRST night, the higher-ups at the channel told her not to come back.)
2. Who is the mens favorite? Roger, Roger, Roger. Federer that is. Unstoppable.
3. Who are the handful of players that might have a chance of pushing Federer off his perch? Rafael Nadal (the all-everything Spaniard), Andy Roddick (very slim chance, see his match vs Roger in Cincy last week), Lleyton Hewitt (has the speed and enthusiasm, but does he have the game? Not so much.) If healthy, Marat Safin would have been another pick, but since he's out of the tourney so we really don't have to talk about him anymore.
4. Who are the women's favorites? Maria Sharapova is the one seed and can grunt her way to the title. Lindsay Davenport (I thought she retired?!) and Justine Henin-Hardenne are my two favorites though. Watch for Kim Clijsters though. She is playing great this summer, is finally healthy and ready to roll. The Williams' sisters you ask? They need to start concentrating more on tennis and lesson on fashion if they want to have a chance to get back to where they were a couple of years ago.
Clijsters really is that tough.
5. What will Serena be wearing? Just not the black Spiderman outfit of a couple years ago. I hope that is gathering dust in the back of some closet. See below.
Yes, this outfit. Please not again Serena.
6. Who might sneak through the draw and make it to the quarter's? Gael Monfils. Straight out of France and 19 years old, the best junior in the world for the past couple of years just won his first ATP tour title a couple weeks back. Monfils has all the tools to go straight to the top. Watch for him. By the way, Marat Safin, the five seed, has pulled out because of a nagging knee injury which opens that quarter of the draw for Lleyton Hewitt to walk through to the semi's. He does have to watch out for Tim Henman though. The Brit can definitely make....haha, I can't even say that with a straight face.
7. Can Andy Roddick do anything but serve and hit a forehand? I'm sorry, but Andy has nothing more than a great serve and a very good forehand. His backhand is gawd awful and his volley's are very suspect. If he makes a run to the final, the one and only reason, in my opinion, is because of the crowd. He's American and gets the crowd going with his screaming and fist pumps. The fans will be behind him all the way.
8. Can Agassi make one last run? Agassi can still make a run to the quarter's or semi's. The one problem? His quarter of the draw includes El Clam Diggers (Nadal). The two did have a great match a couple of weeks. In New York, Agassi would have the crowd behind him if this match happened. I would pay good money to see this match in New York. What I would NOT do is pay good money to sit at the top of Arthur Ashe Stadium to see this match. This stadium is way too big for a tennis event.
Need a good read? Justin Gimelstob, a touring pro, is writing a blog for Sports Illustrated during the Open. His comments are starting to get back to him after he wrote 'players and coaches need to keep their clothes on IF THEY RESEMBLE A BEACHED WHALE.' Rest of the article and Lindsay Davenport's response is HERE. If you would like to check out Gimelstop's homepage for the blog on SI, that is Gimel's Blog.
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