The Whole Delivery

Only two men have defeated Novak Djokovic this year. But both of them egressed on Saturday, as the Top four turned into the Final two of today. Can Rafael Nadal be the third to defend his US Open title? Or will it be the officially the year of the Serbian young king. The tactics and the prediction, right below. The Tactics: For Nadal 1) When you have an opening, go down the line, not cross court. End the point when you are in control instead of letting Djokovic back into the point. 2) Establish the lefty serve with authority. 3) Mix in the serve and volley to make Djokovic not comfortable. 4) Galvanize the crowd to firmly be on your side. For Djokovic 1) Continue being "the better man" at the turnaround points. 2) Aggressive like the last 3 sets against Federer, not passive like the first 2 sets 3) Only come in and mix it up when you aren't in full control of the baseline momentum in this match 4) You own the rivalry now. You survived match points. Nothi...

Full review to come on a scoreline everyone expected to go the other way. PRE-MATCH STUFF....... An American plays on September 11 for a Grand Slam singles title, while an Aussie that has been disrespected this tournament looks for a career defining first one. Here's "The tactics", and the predictions For Stosur: 1. Adjust to the Ashe conditions as fast as you can. 2. Don't just use the kick serve, hit the hard flat one as well. 3. Come to the net with quality approach shots to the backhand. 4. Keep your nerves on the big point, stay calm. For S. Williams: 1. Again, stay relaxed, fight the nerves 2. Keep Stosur off the net, target the backhand. 3. This is your moment, this is your time. This is your final hurdle.

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...

Can Zvonareva make it three in a row against Clijsters and win her first Grand Slam? Or will Kim do it again.

At the days' beginning, disappointment would have been on most tennis fans' faces if the dream final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer somehow did not happen. At days end, that disappointment could possibly be made easier, if not be wiped away completely . In a remarkable effort, Novak Djokovic has played the role of ultimate spoiler, fighting off two match points to defeat Federer 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the final against Nadal tomorrow. Nothing short of "terrific" could be the adjective to describe this second semifinal, the total opposite of Nadal's romp over Mikhail Youzhny in the preceding match. Djokovic delivered his best tennis arguably in two years with this display today, hitting his backhand and forehand with the conviction that garnered him the 2008 Australian Open title. No more was that assurance in his strokes more evident than the two match points at 4-5 in the final set he saved, as Djokovic hit two back to back forehand...

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 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-...

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...

John Isner has continued a marvalous day for the state of Georgia, knocking off Andy Roddick in five thri9lling sets in the upset by far of the tournament. Isner from the get go was confident against one of the tournament favorites, as their past two matches in Washington this year and 2007 gave the 6'9 man the belief that he could beat the US number one. And he did just that, using not only his mammoth serve, but brilliant play at net and outdueling, OUTDUELING, Roddick from the baseline to capture his biggest win of his career. For Roddick, just like Sharapova earlier to Melanie Oudin, obvious disappointment. His summer was chalked full of them after losing to Federer in that epic Wimbledon final. A couple of close losses to Juan Martin del Potro, a tough loos to Sam Querrey in Cincinnati, and now this one. Frustration and anger will be an understatement, as he stormed off the court after being gracious to Isner at net faster than an Usain Bolt sprint. I'm not kidding about t...

Thank God for online streaming and Tennis Channel. And Kim Clijsters is looking again, like she hasn't missed a step. Click on the "link" if the embed doesn't work.

More analysis to come, but the biggest winner today is Roger Federer by far. No Andy Murray to worry about of course because of him being the #2 seed, but he also avoids Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin del Potro, and the only man who has beaten him this summer, Jo Wilfred Tsonga, on his half of the draw. Instead, he gets the man that he has owned (Andy Roddick) and a young man who is really semi-struggling a little to hold his mantle as a Top 4 player in the world (Novak Djokovic). Federer will probably face either Roddick or Djokovic in his semis. On the women's side, you could say the big winner is number one seed Dinara Safina, who avoids both Venus and Serena since they are in the other half of the draw. But to me, the big winner is Maria Sharapova, who not only avoids the sisters herself, but has a draw with players she knows she will not be intimidated by. She potentially faces Elena Dementieva in the 3rd round. Will Dementieva finally play well with expectations on her? More analy...