The Whole Delivery

Nothing was going to stop him. Not oppressive heat. Not capricious winds. Not torrential rain. Not a fast surface. Not even small, usual green balls. And today, not Novak Djokovic. Rafael Nadal has won the only Grand Slam that had eluded him, defeating good friend Novak Djokovic in an enjoyable, if not delayed, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 result. Along with becoming only the 7th man to win the Grand Slam, Nadal also becomes only the second man ever to win three straight Grand Slams in a calendar year, joining only Rod Laver to accomplish the remarkable feat. It seemed destiny would fall to the Serbian arms, blessed with the match's one day postponement, timing rain delays after dropping the 1st set, and his fine record against Nadal on hard courts. And it seemed that way after he battled to capture a terrific back and forth second set, hitting his backhand down the line shot to optimum levels. But after the first game of the third, Djokovic's level of play went down, and Na...

It was an affair that was always hanging in the balance until match point was converted. And the one who covered it was, again, the Belgian. For the third time at the US Open, and 5th time in a row, Kim Clijsters has defeated Venus Williams 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a typical sea-saw encounter that these two players can certainly play with each other. For the elder Williams, this is a crushing defeat, especially considering how well she played in the first set. She conceded only three points on serve in that set, and even played decent defense in the long rallies against Clijsters. But her level dropped at the start of the 2nd set, letting Clijsters back in the match. Both players went on to struggle the rest of the set, especially the Belgian on the backhand side and the American on the same wing as well. Eventually, the middle set went to a tiebreak, and featured the first signs of the tension getting to Venus. After doing a fine job on her serve with one double fault up until t...

Photo from AP's Paul Bereswill When the top draw was revealed for the women at the US Open, most through Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, or even Svetlana Kuznetsova would be the finals representative from that section. Vera Zvonareva thought differently. For the 2nd time in as many Grand Slams, Zvonareva has advanced to the finals with a comprehensive 6-4, 6-3 domination of top seed favorite Wozniacki. It was a terrific mental and tactical performance from Zvonareva, as the Russian controlled the middle of the court, aggressively was stable at the net, and made her Danish opponent play her looses match of the tournament. For Wozniacki, the forward and consistent play from her opposition this afternoon clearly got her out of her comfortable zone, as she committed multiple errors on the forehand side. She had no answer for the solid serving of Zvonareva today, only breaking her once at 2-1 in the 2nd, only to donate the break back at 15 the next game. Despite not dropp...

Photo from AP Rafael Nadal has impressively advanced past good friend Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 for the 11th time in as many matchups to reach his third straight US Open semifinal. Unlike the previous two years, Nadal is a heavy favorite to reach the final, as the world number one is both healthy and confident in his game at Flushing Meadows more than he's ever been before. Verdasco came in to try and replicate the form that lead him to his thrilling comeback win over David Ferrer on Tuesday as well as the memorable 2009 Australian Open 5-set semifinal he had with his fellow Spaniard, breaking Nadal's serve in game three of the first set. It was the first time Nadal was broken in the entire tournament, and it was the last time Verdasco made any serious headway into his opponent's serve. From then on, Nadal slowly adjusted to the blustery conditions to hammer and frustrate Verdasco, getting the break back and then taking the first set eventually 7-5. The #8 seed...

Photo: AP Photo/Mark Humphrey Roger Federer has advanced to his 7th straight US Open semifinals, impressively dispatching of his French Open conqueror Robin Soderling 6-4. 6-4, 7-5. It was a match that turned out to feature Federer's usual legendary mentality, winning the big points and not letting Soderling get comfortable with any lead in the match. Making the win more impressive was the 5 time champion's serving and hitting in this atrocious windy condition tonight, though credit has to also be given to Soderling for his lack of groundstroke shanks in "The Wind Bowl" that was Arthur Ashe Stadium. But the Swede will be chastising himself over not taking his chances to turn the match around, wasting his early comeback from a break down in the 2nd set and dropping his chance to serve out the third with four brutal errors at 5-3. And with Federer's sensing Soderling's dejection at letting his chances go to push the match further than the minimum, the 16-...

For the fourth straight year, Novak Djokovic has advanced to the semifinal stage of the US Open, a straight sets win over his talented but mentally challenged friend Gael Monfils. The 7-6 (2), 6-1, 6-2 was Djokovic's 4th straight win without conceding a set, giving the Serbian enough fuel in the tank to possibly win on both Saturday and Sunday to claim an unlikely 2nd Grand Slam title. It was a total disappointment from Monfils, who started the match so well with the aggressive tactics coach Roger Rasheed urged from him. But as that first set progressed, the wind started to get into the Frenchman's head, and his usual alarming passivity spelled his demise. Though Djokovic also had his typical negatives flare up in this encounter (getting frustrated easily, poor volleying at the net), he maintained his consistency enough on the big efforts. Djokovic awaits the winner of Roger Federer and Robin Soderling tonight in what will probably be the first semifinal on Saturday.

What a display today from the top seed, as her placidity on the court when Sharapova pressed her was terrific to see. And she was able to remain level headed by being so forceful at times with her serve, forehand, and her brilliant two handed backhand. The full review is here .

It has been the number one Swiss that has dispatched of Andy Murray in our modern day Grand Slam times. Today, it was the number two who accomplished that feat. Stanislas Wawrinka has produced the result of the tournament, knocking out Andy Murray in a shocking 4-set win in the third round of the US Open. The 6-7 (3), 7-6, 6-3, 6-3 result is of course a massive win for the 25th seed and utter dejection for the Scot and his many supporters. Murray was in for a long day from the get go, as Wawrinka brought his A game today on his serve, forehand, and outstanding feel. Nevertheless though, after surviving the first set with an authoritative win in the tiebreak, Murray seem to be able to overcome today's hurdle towards his 1st Grand Slam by serving for the second set at 5-3. But that is where the match turned on its head, as Wawrinka stayed the course and broke back. From then on, Murray lost his edge with a troubling amalgamation of poor shot selection and the usual high tensio...

Janko Tisparevic has dispatched Andy Roddick once again in the early stages of the Grand Slam, defeating him 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the 2nd Round of this US Open. Also on the day, Victoria Azarenka is in good condition after collapsing on the court in her second round match to Gisele Dulko on the Grandstand court. The biggest upset in the men's 1st round came at the hands of Wimbledon finest Tomas Berdych, who fall victim to the always dangerous and hilarious character that is Michael Llodra 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 today. It was a masterful serve and volley performance from the capricious Frenchmen, knocking out one of the in form players this year on the ATP Tour. And American sweetheart Melanie Oudin continues her major sophomore slump, as she lacked the consistency required to take out Alona Bondarenko 6-2, 7-5.

The 2010 US Open has already commenced so far, as here is live coverage of the tournament. While it would be a surprise if the likes of Federer, Nadal, Murray or even both Roddick and Djokovic fail to win the title on the men's side, the women's field does provide a very wide open feel with Serena Williams' freak injury caused by a beer bottle. With how the draw has worked out, Caroline Wozniacki is snake bitten by drawing Maria Sharapova in the 4th round, while Kim Clijsters really should have a free run to at least the semis before she plays Victoria Azarenka (unless Venus Williams somehow shows ominous form, something really unlikely considering her time off and non clinical showings at the Grand Slams this year.) Jankovic is off form, Dementieva's week in New Haven a few days ago signifies her struggles, and Kuznetsova is Kuznetsova. At fortnight's conclusion, regretfully, I think the Shriester that is Sharapova will take home her 4th Grand Slam (provides...

There was outside hope, but this injury is a very serious one , even if she is hoola hooping whenever she can: Serena Williams has pulled out of the U.S. Open because she is still recovering from cutting her foot last month. The top-ranked Williams has won three titles at Flushing Meadows, part of her 13 Grand Slam singles championships. Last year, she lost in the semifinals after a tirade at a line judge over a foot-fault call. Williams' agent and the U.S. Tennis Association confirmed her withdrawal Friday. It was already a wide open event with her not participating in any of the events of the US Open Series. But this injury really is a concern for her overall fitness the rest of the year. With how she dominated at Wimbledon this year (arguably going up another level than even before), I really thought this was going to be the summer where Serena finally dominated all the way to regaining a US Open crown. Now with her departure (as well as Justine Henin being out for the...

Photo from AFP It would be quite a spectacle to actually see him play : Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro is "expected" to return from injury at the US Open, says the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The Argentine, 21, has not played since the Australian Open in January after suffering a wrist injury. Del Potro said after undergoing surgery in May that he would miss the US Open as he did not want "to rush things". But a USTA statement on Thursday said Del Potro "is expected to return to Grand Slam competition" in New York. And the player's agent, Ugo Colombini, told The Associated Press: "Del Potro is working and hopefully he will be back soon." One of the more disappointing sports stories of 2010 has been the tennnis world being deprived of the terrific young Argentine. After his amazing win over Roger Federer at the Open last year, del Potro was definitely in some people's minds going to be #1 player in the wor...