The first grand slam of the year has just started to get into the business end of the event. Here is a quick update of all the action so far:

Best match of the first two rounds: 

2006 runner up Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis beat 2005 champion Marat Safin in a fabulous five setter- 6-4 6-4 2-6 3-6 6-2 in a tough five setter that could have gone either way. Baghdatis now finds himself in a very promising third round match against Lleyton Hewitt.

Biggest Upset: 

We haven’t witnessed too many upsets so far but the biggest one definitely has to be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s defeat of Andy Murray. Murray has come off a very difficult 2007 and the new year hasn’t started on a very promising note.

Other upsets: 11th seed Tommy Robredo lost to American Mardy Fish and Australia’s Casey Dellacqua defeated Patty Schnyder in three tough sets. (8-6 in the third!)

Some good links:

Why Todd Woodbridge believes Roger Federer is the greatest of all time! (GOAT): Here

The Australian police use pepper spray on fans after racism allegations:  Here

What is an anti-grand slam? Really interesting read and a lot of research! Here

This year’s Australian Open, could just prove to be the perfect start for a special year for Roger Federer. 2008 is the year of the Beijing Olympic Games and Federer has the best possible chance to achieve a Golden Slam (4 slams plus the Olympic gold medal). Here in Melbourne, the defending champion is not taking things easy. His biggest concern right now is his physical condition; he is recovering from a stomach infection and has arrived at Melbourne without any match practice. He missed playing at the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament.

On the other hand, the draw has been very favorable to Federer. His first real test is a potential fourth round clash against Tomas Berdych, the thirteenth seed. The world no.1 is likely to face last year’s runner-up Fernando Gonzalez or his friend American Davis-cupper James Blake in the quarters. Both Gonzalez and Blake have not been in great form in the tune-up events. Blake lost to Santoro in Sydney International and Gonzalez didn’t fare too well in the Kooyong Classic, losing to Marcos Baghdatis

Novak Djokovic, the current world no.3 is the second favorite for the title. Nole, as he is affectionately called by his fans started the year on a positive note winning 4 matches at the Hopman Cup, in spite of playing with a back problem. He is seeded to face Federer in the semi-finals, but his path is filled with very dangerous opponents and he could face 5th seed, David Ferrer or the hottest player in the 2007 fall- David Nalbandian in the quarters. Nalbandian on his part is fighting his own battle of recovering from his back injury. Djokovic could face Tursunov in round 3 and 2006 finalist Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis or local hope Lleyton Hewitt in round 4.

Nadal heads the bottom half of the draw and would hope to better his last year’s performance, where he reached the quarterfinals. The year has started well for Nadal as the Spanish world no.2 reached the final of the Chennai Open where he was felled by Russian Mikhail Youzhny. The new Plexicushion surface - supposed to be a lot quicker than the Rebound Ace surface previously used - is right now playing slow. It is expected to become faster once sufficient matches are played on it during the first week. If that happens Nadal could have his task cut short. However, he has been presented with a fairly easy draw and his first real challenge could be Andy Roddick, the sixth seed in the quarterfinals – assuming he gets past Carlos Moya or the talented young Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in round 4.

Fourth seed Nokolay Davydenko is seeded to face Nadal in the semis and the Russian did not have an ideal start for the year (only won a match at the Kooyong Classic) and lost in the semis of the Qatar Open to the eventual tournament winner Andy Murray, the 9^th seed here.

Predictions:

Semi-final 1: Roger Federer Vs Novak Djokovic

Semi-final 2: Andy Roddick Vs Nikolay Davydenko

Final: Federer Vs Roddick

Winner: Federer

Best Outside Chance: Andy Murray

Womens Singles:

Justine Henin arrives at the 2008 Australian Open with the best possible tune-up – she defeated world no.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the Sydney International – thus establishing herself as the firm favorite for the first slam of the year. Her draw also appears to be easy till the quarterfinal stage, where she is expected to clash with Russian Maria Sharapova, provided the Russian gets past American Lindsay Davenport in round 2. Davenport has been in fine form since her return to tennis last year end, winning three titles- one of them this year at Auckland

Henin is seeded to face defending Champion Serena Williams in the semi-finals. Serena too is coming off a good preparation at the Hopman Cup, where she helped U.S. win the title. Serena would be looking for some serious revenge over the Belgian world no.1, to whom she has lost in the quarterfinals at the last three Grand Slams.

Venus Williams is in the bottom half of the draw and would be looking for her first Australian Open crown. She appeared in the finals once losing to sister Serena Williams in 2003. Venus is likely to face Indian Star Sania Mirza in the third round and in-form Serb Ana Ivanovic in the quarters.

Second-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova had a good 2007, where in spite of winning just one title she has managed to attain the world no.2 ranking. The highlight of her year was her appearance in the finals of the U.S. Open. She is seeded to face compatriot Anna Chakvetadze (6 seed) or 9th seed Daniela Hantuchova in the quarterfinals.

Predictions:

Semi-finals 1: Justin Henin Vs Serena Williams
Semi-finals 2: Venus Williams Vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Final : Henin Vs Venus

Winner: Henin

Best Outside Chance: Lindsay Davenport

Recently, I saw a print ad featuring Vijay Amritraj. It pronounced him the greatest Indian tennis player. This set me thinking. Is he really the greatest: over the Krishnans, over Paes? I set about picking my greatest Indian tennis player of all time.

Ramanathan Krishnan

Learning tennis under the tutelage of his dad, he was Indian tennis’ first star. Growing up in the small town of Tenkasi and later playing on poor facilities in Madras, reaching a ranking of Number 3 in the world must rank as astounding. I have never seen clips of Ramanathan Krishnan play. But from what I have read, he was supposedly a master of angles and great volleyer to boot. Anyone who reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon twice and was reckoned as among the top players he has faced by Rod Laver must’ve been good.

His career record was helped by a number of victories in India which had a more bustling tennis circuit in those days. The inability to win a grand slam will remain a black mark especially in an era when some top players were absent (due to the professional status imbroglio).

Vijay Amritraj

A tall, well-built youngster from Madras was to be the next great flag-bearer of Indian tennis. A strong serve and volleyer and good movement on court were his major strengths. The grainy clippings one sees of the man indicate some grace and speed on court. But the lack of fitness and stamina to play long matches proved to be his undoing in the quest for grand slam glory.

He was the captain of the Indian Davis Cup team that reached two finals and he also has some famous career victories against Bjorn Borg, Connors, and McEnroe. A career high ranking of 16, two Wimbledon singles quarter-finals and some notable performances with brother Anand on the doubles circuit: strong claims to title of greatest Indian tennis player.

Ramesh Krishnan

A player who so flattered to deceive. With victories in the junior circuit at Wimbledon and the French Open, one expected many great things of this man. But the lack of fitness and powerful serve and ground strokes proved to be his undoing. McEnroe once famously remarked: “The guy serves at 10 miles an hour and I still can’t return it”. Ramesh Krishnan also had one of the best lobs in world tennis, a lob that repeatedly flummoxed his training partner Stefan Edberg.

In spite of his short-comings, Ramesh performed well on the pro-circuit reaching a career high mid-20s ranking and the quarterfinals of the US Open and Wimbledon. His performances in the Davis cup were quite impressive too: playing a match in the darkness towards the end of his career on the alien French clay and holding his own to take India to the semifinals of the Davis Cup. His straight sets victory over the wily Australian Wally Masur in the fifth match of the Davis Cup rubber was probably his most famous Davis Cup victory.

Leander Paes

Probably the most famous Indian tennis player. This live-wire on court makes up for a weak serve and lack of powerful ground-strokes with his speed, great reflexes at the net and a “never say die” attitude. His performances on the singles tour has left much to be desired. But then, his game isn’t one for modern power tennis. His success on the doubles tour is explained by the speed, reflexes and the presence of a partner with greater power.

His list of achievements on the Davis Cup needs no recounting: Goran Ivanevisic, Wayne Ferreira, Arnaud Boetsch on clay. Paes also has one of the best individual records of all time in the Davis Cup (81-30) placing him fifth in the all time list (a remarkable feat considering over 4500 players have taken part in the Davis Cup).

The one big achievement that continues to stand out in Paes’s impressive resume is the Olympics Bronze medal in 1996. The true meaning and value of that achievement can be gauged by the fact that this was India’s first individual medal at the Olympics for 44 years.

With an Olympic Bronze medal, this multiple Grand slam winner stakes his claim to being India’s finest tennis player of all time.

Who is India’s finest?

In my opinion, it has to be Paes. The other players while being better singles players don’t have significant tournament victories. Paes has a significantly better doubles record and some awesome Davis Cup performances and the Olympics bronze mean Paes scores over the rest. In my opinion, the closest competitor was probably Ramanathan Krishnan. But he played in an era when tennis was less competitive and took less physical toll on a player. For playing as long as Paes has in this era and giving Indian tennis fans something to cheer about, Paes is my pick.

PS: People might wonder why I haven’t included Bhupathi in this list as his performances on the doubles circuit have been quite impressive too and Leander probably owes some doubles titles to Bhupathi’s serve and volley. But Bhupathi’s performances on the singles circuit and Davis Cup are nothing to write home about and he is clearly not the best Indian player of his era.

What happens when Roger Federer plays sub-par tennis, makes numerous unforced errors, does not find his form throughout the match and just about manages to play well on the big points? The answer to this lengthy question is “He wins the title, after taming his opponent in straight sets”! This was proved well beyond doubt in the 2007 US Open final when the current world no.1 beats tennis’ new favorite Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7-4), 7-6(7-2) 6-4 to clinch his fourth US Open singles title and 12^th grand slam title. The Swiss star is now just two slams short of Sampras’ slam count of 14 and is quite likely to equal it the next year.

The Sunday’s final though resolved in three straight sets, was never short in entertainment value. The first set was a match by itself with both players hitting some exciting winners and demonstrating their shot-making abilities. Federer saved no less than 5 set points in that set and the pattern repeated in the second when he saved 2 more. Roger showed his class and played strong on the key points, while Djokovic was never the same after failing to capitalize on the set points in the first set set. Novak’s lack of big-stage experience and nerves aided the top seed, who himself was suffering from a stomach problem.

Of all his 12 slam finals, Federer’s performance in this match was the least dominant, as he made 34 unforced errors (a number way above his tournament average of 14!), missed easy volleys and made uncharacteristic errors on his usually sharp forehand side. He did hit 42 winners and his 11 aces came at the most opportune time.

Novak on his part had a great tournament and his reaching the finals was no surprise. The jovial Serb has the third best slam record (19-4) this year after Federer (27-1) and Nadal (20-3) and joins the top two players at the year-end Shanghai Masters Cup.

David Ferrer was a big gainer from the tournament as he reached his first slam semifinals here and then ran out of steam against an ailing Djokovic. Russian Nikolay Davydenko justified his fourth seeding and reached the semifinal stage without dropping a set. He then loses to Federer in straight sets after wasting two set points on his opponents serve in the third set at 5-4.

American Players Disappoint: 

The final slam of the year ended what was a disappointing year for American men at slams. James Blake crashed out to German Tommy Haas in the fourth round after playing in one of the tournament’s most entertaining matches in round-2 against Fabrice Santoro. Robby Ginepri lost to in-form Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka in round-3 and Mardy Fish squandered a 4-1 lead in the final set to lose to Spaniard Tommy Robredo in round-2. Andy Roddick was the best of the top as he expectedly reached the quarterfinals before losing to Roger in an entertaining three-setter. Future American hope Donald Young won his first grand slam match and reached the third round where he lost to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in 4 entertaining sets.

Tim Henman played his last US Open match in his round-2 defeat to French hard-hitter Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Henman announced his retirement and would play his last competitive matches in the Davis Cup encounter between Croatia and Great Britain. Andy Murray made an injury-free return to grand slams as he reached the third round before losing to Korean Hyung-Taik Lee.

Find of the tournament

Latvian 20 year-old Ernests Gulbis was the find of the men’s draw as he surprised everyone when he reached the fourth round of the tournament, eventually losing to veteran Carlos Moya). On route, he defeated the 8^th seed Tommy Robredo in straight sets.

Novak Djokovic is the kind of character that attracts crowds to the game. He is funny, charming, plays attractive tennis and can last 2 weeks in a grand slam. I was quite impressed with the shot-making ability of the Serb. While he did squander his opportunities in the final, his comeback victory over Radek Stepanek showed great reserves of fighting ability. Till an official review of the U.S.Open and more about Djokovic, enjoy the imitations of Roddick, Federer, Nadal, Sharapova from the U.S.Open:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYA_7RUSarU

 

The U.S. hard court season keeps getting better for India’s Sania Mirza who has now made the third round of the final grand slam of the year in Flushing Meadows. Sania beat Laura Granville of the U.S. in straight sets. Granville is currently ranked 60th in the world; 30 places below the Indian. And Granville is no rookie, she was ranked as high as no.9 in 2003. You have to hand it to Mirza, she is continuing to justify her rank, and beats lower ranked players with regularity these days.

Up next- Anna Chakvetadze, the Russian youngster who has already defeated Sania twice this season. Chakvetadze first beat Sania in the Cincinnati Open semifinals and then again two weeks later in the final at Stanford. After quarterfinal appearences in both the Australian and French Opens, Chakvetadze is looking good for a final four appearence at the U.S. Open. Unless, Sania has something to say about that!

Justine Henin

Last years losing finalist Justine Henin returns to New York in good form after capturing the Rogers Cup, defeating world no.3 Jelena Jankovic in the finals. Between Wimbledon and Rogers Cup, Henin had a month long break, the time she used well to recover from the shock semi-final defeat at Wimbledon to Marion Bartoli. Henin was up by a set and was on the verge of victory when Bartoli came back strongly to win the match.

The top seed has a very tough draw, she could face the Serena Williams in the quarterfinals and potentially Venus Williams in the semifinals. Her fourth round opponent could be Russian Dinara Safina or Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin.

Maria Sharapova

She won her first title of the year at the Acura Classic, in the process defending her title. Her shoulder seems very susceptible to a recurring injury, and her withdrawal from the semifinals of East West Bank Classic against Nadia Petrova might be an indication of things that could go wrong for the Russian double slam winner.But the Russian world no.2 and defending Champion has a reason to smile. She has an easy draw and her first real test could only come in the quarterfinals where she could meet in-form compatriot Anna Chakvetadze. She is seeded to meet fourth seed Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals.

Jelena Jankovic

The ever-cheerful Jelena Jankovic arrives in New York still recovering from her cold and a bout of flu. She has enough matches under her belt coming into the final slam of the year, after reaching the semifinals (lost to Serbian star Ana Ivanovic 7-5 in the third set) of the East West Bank Classic and the finals of Rogers Cup.

She is seeded to play Venus Williams or Ivanovic in the quarters and Henin in the semifinals.

Svetlana Kuznetsova

The former Champion has not been able to recapture the form that helped her to win the title three years back. This year however she is expected to go deep into the draw and justify her fourth seeding. Like Sharapova she has an easy draw and is likely to face Bulgarian sensation Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round and Nadia Petrova in the quarters.

Players with the Best Outside Chance: Serena Williams and Venus Williams

The sisters are seeded to face in the semifinals of the top half of the draw. This is the third successive slam in which Serena and Henin are scheduled to meet in the quarterfinals with Henin winning both times. Serena would love to have her revenge and what better place to do it than here? Her biggest obstacle in clinching her second slam of the year and her third US Open title would be the state of her thumb. The thumb injury contributed considerably in her loss to Henin in the Wimbledon quarters.

While Serena has played no warm-up event before the US Open, Venus played in the Acura Classic and lost to Anna Chakvetadze in the quarterfinals in three-sets after having a match-point in the second. Venus is in a better physical shape than Serena and should have a better shot at the title. Overall, it should come as no surprise to anyone if either of the sisters win the title. A reasonably fit Serena could topple a below par (unlikely?) Henin in the quarters and players in Venus’ half of the draw should start praying that she should not find her form in the later stages of the tournament, which she did on the way to her fourth Wimbledon title.

Justin Henin Vs Maria Sharapova

Winner : Justin Henin

1. Roger Federer

The three-time defending champion and world number one looks to in fine form to clinch his 12th slam and equal Roy Emerson’s record. A win here would mean that Roger would be just two away of Pete Sampras’ record of 14 singles slam titles. Bill Tilden was the last person to win the US Open 4 times in a row (he went on to win six straight titles from 1920-1925).

This year Federer clinched the US Open series by winning the Cincinnati Masters and reaching the finals at the Roger Cup in Montreal (lost to Novak Djokovic). At the US Open Federer has a comparatively easy draw, his first big test could come in the quarters where he could face the American Andy Roddick or the talented Czech Tomas Berdych. In fourth round he could face Wimbledon semi-finalist Richard Gasquet or former Roland Garros Champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.

2. Novak Djokovic

The Serb seems to have developed a great fondness for the North American hard courts. At the beginning of the year he won the Miami Masters and then reached the Indian Wells Masters finals (lost to Rafael Nadal). Over the summer, he won the Rogers Cup in Montreal beating King Roger himself in three sets after saving 6 set points in the first set. His performance in that tournament had been nothing short of magnificent- beating Federer, Nadal and Roddick to win the title. Should he face Federer in the U.S. Open final, it is very likely that he would use the same ploy that he used in Montreal- attack Federer’s backhand relentlessly and expect the Swiss Master to falter.

The young Serb however has a tough draw to navigate through before reaching the semifinals. He is very likely to face in-form Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round and 11th seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the quarters.

3. James Blake

This is Blake’s last chance to redeem what has been a very disappointing year. Much was expected from Blake after he reached the year ending Masters Cup final (lost to Federer) and has shown very little evidence of meeting those expectations. He comes into the U.S. open on the back of his best performance this year ( finals of the Cincinnati master) and this week he sees himself handed-over a slightly tricky draw where he is likely to face rising American Sam Querrey in the third round and Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the fourth round. Should he cross these hurdles he could face the fourth seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals.

4. Rafael Nadal

The world no.2 player comes to the Open short on preparation. He retired against Argentinian Juan Monaco in Cincinati after complaining of cramps. In addition to his health-related woes, he has drawn tough opponents like hard-court specialist Dmitry Tursunov in the third round and in-form countryman David Ferrer in the fourth round. He is seeded to face an out-of-form Fernando Gonzalez in the quarters, the man he lost to in this year’s Australian Open.

Should Nadal arrive in New York anywhere near full fitness and play his own brand of tennis, he could be rewarded with a semi-finals clash with Djokovic. Unfortunately, his right knee has been bothering him since Wimbledon and hence Nadal could struggle in the tournament,

Player with the Best Outside Chance: Tony Roche’s new disciple and sixteenth seed Lleyton Hewitt who gave the maximum trouble to Federer in the Cincinnati semifinals is keen to do well at this year’s Championship. The 2001 champion is in the bottom half of the draw and should he beat Novak Djokovic in the fourth round, he has a very good chance to reach the finals and have another shot at the title. Also, the best of five-set matches are exactly what Hewitt is cut out for and relishes to the maximum.

Prediction:

Finals : Roger Federer Vs Novak Djokovic

Winner: Roger Federer

The women’s list is here

Sportsnob’s favourite tennis player Sania Mirza is on a roll in the U.S. hardcourt season. After a semifinal appearance at last week’s tournament in Cincinatti, she has reached the semifinals of the Stanford Classic.

After coming through a tough three setter in the first match against Japan’s Akiko Morigami, Sania then went on to defeat French teenager and World No. 19 Tatiana Golovin. And in the quarterfinals played last night, she upset fourth seed and World No. 17 Patty Schynder 7-6 6-1. Sania plays 8th seed Sybille Bammer of Austria tonight.