The Williams sisters should be banned from playing for match fixing. A person with little bit of common sense can read what Venus’s goal was. Play your best to lose the set. No one talks about it because of fear.
This is shame for the sports. Had the Williams been from another country, we would have heard lot of comments from the American media.

Sean,
Right in time for the big match! great!
I think Djoko has the game. He has proven it. But maybe his body is still not there and that perhaps leads to his loss of confidence. I learnt about him first in FO 06 when he said he was in control of the matchwith Rafa! and thought he just talked too much. but he has been no 3 for two years now and has been in the semis of all GSs. so, he has the game for sure.
I guess fitness is something he has to work on. Like what Murray did. So he will only get better from here.

Roddick is not as tired and has PMac on his side and this is his home. Now I am thinking maybe that shot to Djoko in his presser was in retaliation to Djoko’s remark on the court ( my opponent will be more fit).

I think Djoko’s hyperventilation and breathing problems are also stress-related. If he can keep his cool (don’t pay attention to the crowd and don’t offend them) and just play and if his body copes he can win the match. Because as you said, he has many more weapons. But if he feels tired and already resigned to defeat, then the match is Roddick’s.

TO THE MEDIA:

Please get off the Roddick bandwagon and go back to writing him off just as you’ve been doing for the past five years.

THANK YOU.

Sean,

Ref: “His body/mind isn’t suited to the task.”

He may not be among the physically fittest in the tour, but mentally he is there among the top 5, imo.

It’d be a little bit more convincing if you say that a player who is able to finish earlier rounds, especially semi, in straight sets and has the advantage of the early afternoon slot will be a little less spent, thus physically better prepared for next round, especially for the final.
Again, I don’t think any player sets a goal for a lengthy 5-setter to win and validate the GS or to prove he is more durable and, therefore, he is a better player. As a viewer, it’s beautiful to watch 5-setter matches, but for players, they want to finish as soon as they can. They are not out there to prove durability. Tennis is more a skill contest than a durability contest, though endurance helps in case such situation arises. Even the most enduring player like Davydenko would admit this (he does not have a slam, yet).

If you have statistics showing MAJORITY of instances where a player played 5 setter Saturday afternoon and won the USO final next day, then I’d accept your reasoning (I’d appreciate if you can chart Connors, JMac, Lendl, Edberg, Sampras, Agassi, Federer’s semifinals and finals, to show the majority instances; or you could provide statistics of majority of those players who made it to the finals most but lost due to durability issue). Or else, there is a fallacy in your over-emphasis on durability, as if GS is hinged on that alone. No doubt it’s a plus, and one has to be ready for any contingency, but durability as the sole basis to win a GS sounds to me overstretched. Or, are you simply wearing this less-than-rational posture to appease the herd?

Shital,
Go back to Super Saturday (1980 or 1981): Lendl versus Pat Cash (5 sets) followed by Mertina versus Evert (3 sets) followed by McEnroe versus Connors (5 sets).

MCenroe then went on to play the finals the next day against Lendl and lost.

Who thought of this super Saturday anyway?
It is ridiculus. why not have the semis at Friday night?

NK,
I already looked at those data before I raise the question to Sean, but they don’t make majority of instances.

S Green, I would actually think the player in the second semifinal match wins more than the first semifinal winner. I bet if you actually dug through the stats it would come out even if not in favor the second winner!

True, as a viewer I too love watching five setters, but I just get the feeling that if one involves Novak his tournament hopes are almost dashed. The way he talks you have to question his ability to recover.

And the only reason I bring this up is because he brought it up. Had he walked off the court and kept his health to himself this maybe is a non-issue, but he chooses to put his exhaustion and injuries out there.

In Cincinnati we saw Novak gassed after having beaten Rafa the night before. In the Olympics he was pooped in his lost v. Rafa following his Monfils three-setter. And at Wimbledon he said he was mentally tired.

Australian Open, IW and Rome he pretty much waltzed into the finals without much energy expenditure.

Inclement Weather Advisory
Thursday, September 4, 2008

As of Thursday, Sept. 4, at 3 p.m. ET

The current weather forecast for the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center calls for rain on Saturday, September 6th, during both Day Session #24 (Men’s Singles Semifinals) and Night Session #25 (Women’s Singles Final).

In the event that inclement weather causes the USTA to reschedule Day Session #24 (Men’s Singles Semifinals), Night Session #25 (Women’s Singles Final) and/or Day Session #26 (Men’s Singles Final), tickets for each session will provide access to the same session at its rescheduled date and time.

The USTA has several contingency plans in place depending on the time and duration of the inclement weather. Those plans will be implemented and communicated as the forecast develops throughout the day on Friday.

For official updates, please stay tuned to USOpen.org.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2008-09-04/200809041220555093218.html

To print this page, select “Print” from your browser’s File menu.

——————————————————————————–

Inclement Weather Advisory

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Thank you USTA for bringing rain and humidity back to NYC.

Zola, you’re absolutely right. It’s totally ridiculous not to give them a day’s rest before playing the finals. It’s almost irresponsible…!

With regard to Djokovic having the game. I agree too. However, I must admit I have a huge problem with his on court behavior. I was in Paris when he retired against Rafa, in London when he retired again against Rafa and then when he retired playing Roger in Monte Carlo. Prior to those events I have personally seen him exagerate about his physical condition and calling doctors on court and/or retiring. With a few exceptions he always finds either a mental or physical fatigue excuse after losing. Like at Wimbledon, where he even talked about the “long season”… What about Rafa or Roger that had played at least the same number of matches and in Rafa’s case even more plus the stress of all the finals he played prior to Wimbledon.

So, S Green, if you think that mentally Djokovic is among the top 5, why does he feel he has to fake injuries or retire? Or already find an excuse prior to playing a match, such as the one tonight against Roddick?

All the players know about his faking, but prefer not to say too much about it. Robredo was absolutely right in saying he doesn’t trust him and also saying ” If you’re not fit, then don’t go on court ” and I loved the way Roddick joked about Djokovic’s so-called convenient and many injuries.

I look forward to the days we only talk about what players like Novak are truly capable of on court. I have given Djokovic the benefit of the doubt too long now. His match against Robredo was the final drop for me. As much as I love the tennis he is capable of, I am positive that if he doesn’t change his irritating on court exagerations and IF ever (with huge emphasis on IF)he reaches number one, there will be fewer and fewer tennis fans welcoming him to the top spot.

Roddick has shown great play in New York. According to the Serb himself” Roddick is the fitter player” so it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Andy in a well earned semifinal.

By the way just heard that they expect rain on Saturday for both the day and night sessions, so we may see a complete change of schedules after all.

bla bla bla, nothing new from you Sean. With your rhetoric you can go for presidency. But those r just empty words: “Novak cannot win big titles if he has multiple long matches along the way, like he’s had at the Open in the last two rounds”.
Do you have any memory recollection of the last US open? Any recollection on day 5, and historical 5-seter match against Stepanek that was running for almost 5 hours? Can you in your selective mind try to refresh what was the score? Was that easy match? For your help here it is: 6-7, 7-6, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6!
Do you have any idea that is tennis game about? You do not live in Rome and these players are not gladiators waiting for your “thumb down”!

I liken Djokovic’s “illnesses”(a.k.a. Self-Induced Drama) to McEnroe’s tantrums( a.k.a. Self-Induced Drama). I read an article some years ago, and it stuck with me, that McEnroe cost himself matches and Slams when he started with his on-court antics.
I do remember they worked okay for him in the beginning, but the tantrums became almost a crutch, if you will, when a match got tight. I guess you could say the tantrums became bigger than the game he brought to the court.

It will be interesting to see if the same happens to Djokovic. In my mind, what you bring onto the court(Irish temper-hey, I got one of those, or deviated thorax etc.) is your own problem.

I wonder when or if Djokovic’s self-induced drama will overtake him like McEnroe’s did him.

The semifinal winners absolutely should get a day of rest before the final. It’s a travesty they don’t, but TV’s in charge and since they put up the big money that’s been the schedule for what seems like forever now. Until the players actually step up and complain - seriously complain - the Saturday/Sunday semifinal/final will continue at the US Open.

Both Nadal and Federer are class acts, never faking injuries or using injury as an excuse for losses.

Nadal played with blisters and lost to Ferrer earlier this year, yet said nothing. As for Federer,he has never ever even called a trainer on court during a match, let alone forfieting one. We all saw his presser yesterday where he talked about how much fun it was to play in a 5-setter and how well Andreev played. Not one word about his own sub-par performance or the state of his health. And some people wonder why he is so immensely popular or gets the sportsmanship award?

Bob22, yes I remember Novak winning that match with Stepanek. I also remember him not winning the US Open last year.

Again, tonight’s Novak’s chance to prove his critics wrong. It’s a match I think he should win (and will per my prediction), and given 48 hours off and with the match in the evening he should be fit to go. No excuses, no medical timeouts, etc. And he need only read the transcript from Roddick for added fuel and motivation.

He should play tonight with a chip on his shoulder. And I actually think he will. But then again maybe he comes up soft again…

NK, yeah Fed talks of how fun 5-setters are while Novak talks about how he won’t be fit for the quarterfinals. Big difference.

Novak really needs to stay away from those on-court interviews…

Just along for that weather update.
It is sweltering in New York. It was hot on tuesday. Weatherman said it’d get cooler.
Wednesday was even hotter. The weatherman said it would be cooler the next day.

Today, Thursday, was absolutely ridiculous. I spend most of my day outside, so I can’t imagine any tennis player feeling very fit. I expect that this kind of hot pattern will continue into the weekend, unless it rains.

I’d have to say whichever player plays their match at night on Saturday will win the USO. Whatever the number is, it feels 15 degrees hotter now than it did two weeks ago.

But to make this relate, I think its more likely that Andy/Djoko will be put on at night, unless Muller wins against Federer. Any long match for Djoko in the day will drastically lower his chances in the final

As for Rafa vs. Murray. Most likely in the day. Murray faced the same thing in Cincinatti, but ironically it was against Djokovic. They were both tired and out of it by the end. A day match in this heat will make him quick work for Rafa

and ironically*. not but

Sean, your 4:35 pm post is spot on !!

But, you see, if he loses tonight (which he may well do as the chance he goes soft again is very real, in which case Andy will be all over him), at least he already publicly stated he was not feeling well/fit. In case he wins, despite ‘all his injuries’ he hopes to receive a hero’s welcome to the semis…

ps+ I’d love to see your guys reaction to this!

http://www.onthebaseline.com/2008/09/04/atp-tour-and-wta-tour-create-subscription-based-online-live-streaming-of-tennis-tournaments/

;o, I believe the first men’s SF on Saturday is at noon; with the second at 3pm or after the first. So both will be played during the day. Women’s final at night.

Henry, if he comes out soft Andy will indeed be all over him as you say and bully him all around the court.

– But following his five-set win over Tommy Robredo, Djokovic curiously announced to the crowd how his opponent would be the fitter player come Thursday. What the hell is that? Is he joking? Is he playing possum? Or does he really think he’ll be that mashed up after 48 hours off? –

his comment about the crowd not liking him was weirder
the crowd sure wont like him tonite against the ARod.

Henry,
I go with Sean on this one. No excuses and no hero’s welcome.

I partly agree with Sean’s position on what Djoko sometimes says on the court. Yes, he should avoid those remarks that are not good for his PR, but I don’t pay attention to them unless I am seeking something other than tennis. Do I like everything about him? No. My dislike erupts when he comes to the court without motivation like he did at Wimby against Safin or even at the last two matches here at the USO. I really like him when I see him like I did at Cincy against Rafa and again at the Olympic despite his loss against Rafa (except the last game). I don’t care whether he loses or wins tonight as long as he shows a strong desire to win through his movement on the court and body language. He has to prove to me he can again play like he did against Fed last year here at USO or at AO this year. All I am looking for is a good tennis.

Sean looks for perfection. A player has to be perfect from all angles to earn his admiration. That’s ok. But I can accept imperfections, though perfection is desirable.

Congratulation to Fed for winning in straight sets !

S Green,

Thanks for your comments.

I am very much like you when it comes to trying to be as unbiased and objective as possible and first of all looking at and mainly enjoying the tennis only. Imperfection is no problem for me either, it actually makes it all more colorful.

However, with truly great and talent-loaded players like Novak and Murray, unfortunately, there have been many tantrum and ‘faking’ incidents that I have personally witnessed. Murray, very much self-aware of his on-court behavior, publicly stated that he really agreed with his critics and was going to do his very best to be more positive on court. And he really has…. and look where it has taken him since his pure concentration on his beautiful game. Djokovic, however, seems to be in a regular state of self-denial, which probably has a lot to do with his support team/family. Just a glimpse at the class act support teams of Federer, Nadal and also Murray is plenty to feel the warmth, compassion and sincerity towards other players. Long ago (end 05) I predicted the number 3 spot for the Serb and thought he would mature and get ready for the no. 1 spot some time after that. Does he have it in him as a player? Absolutely. Does he have it in him as person? I have sincere doubts now he has it in him to face the pressures of a number one or carry the weight and responsibilities of a true number one and actually see Murray overtake him as a top contender (if he can stay healthy)

Heavy rain forecast for Super Saturday, during day and night sessions.

This will be very interesting indeed.

Too bad the size of Ashe stadium precludes it from ever developing a roof.

i have come to realize that djokovic’s antics on court are a way to mind -f*&^ his opponents. it’s always a weird dynamic when the player across from you is, or pretends to be, having difficulty physically in the match - hantchucova should have beaten serena post charley horse in wimbledon 2 years ago but instead went down like a lamb.

so his opponents wonder what’s going on and he is still bashing the ball around like there is no problem. total faker.

the longer he is around the less i like him, talented or not. i hope roddick smokes him tonight. and even if andy doesn’t, i hope roger does.

what a record for roger - 18 straight semis now. unbelievable.

THis is brilliant!

so they know Saturday it will rain and Friday it won’t!

and they are willing to delay the Saturday matches but not transfer them to Friday afternoon! The players might as well stay in the locker room to play the final as well!

Wimbledon geniuses! you are not alone!

I like Djokovic, and I hope he gets past both Roddick and Federer to make the final. But I have to agree with Sean that his problems are his alone. It’s not his fault he has breathing problems, life isn’t fair. But that shouldn’t be used as an excuse. If he’s going to get special consideration because he’s disadvantaged, it’s not fair to the other guys who aren’t disadvantaged. It doesn’t give him a license to make excuses whenever he’s in doubt.

Played a lot of tennis lately? You’re excused. Can’t handle a five setter? Too bad. Taking ‘comfort’ breaks and changing wrist bands during play (why not do it during a changeover?) to catch your breath is deplorable.

Novak is going to be in trouble against Roddick. Rod hasn’t been pushed as hard and doesn’t have all the ailments Djoker has, and he’s going to be fired up, because it doesn’t appear that these two are the best of friends. Djoker himself will have something to prove to shut up his critics. I anticipate there will be a lot of booing from the crowd at Djoker if he tries any stalling tactics again (I don’t mean taking time between points, but changing wrist bands and calling for multiple injury time outs).

It wouldn’t surprise me if Roddick made the final.

Fish played pretty good yesterday. Hit a lot of errors at bad times unfortunately, but a lot of winners also. But he didn’t get more than one look on Rafa’s serve. Nadal played a clean match, not many errors at all, and kept his first serve percentage very high. Hit some great passing shots also. He didn’t look tired like the other day. Hard to complain about his performance. I like his chances against Murray if he can play like he did yesterday.

I like Fish now. I feel bad for him that he lost. Seeing the dejected look on his face in the latter stages of the match, I can only sympathize for him. He’s had great results this year, so I hope PMac gives him a spot on the DC team. It’s hard on Blake who’s also had a fine year, but that’s how it is when you only have two singles spots.

If it rains out on Saturday, is there a chance they will cram both SFs and the finals match on Sunday? I get a feeling that the women will be starting very late, if at all.

I am outta here.

For the first time in a zillion years Fed made less then 20 Unforced Errors in a match, uff! Played great, created a lot of oportunitis but Muller serve really well when matters the most.

Now I want Roddick to win tonight, Fed will be more prepared after he survive the Muller serve.
Djoko would be a tougher opponent, but it all depends if he has any fuel left.

I am felling a Fed x Nadal round 3 this year, and it could be the final stab for Fed if he lost on a hard court Slam final to Nadal.

I sincerely hope the USTA has concrete contingency plans and not have a make-shit, play it by ear type of arrangement for the side effects of Hurricane Hanna. Their money is already in the bank, but it’s the players who will suffer the most, and to some extent the fans, rescheduling plans, etc. And, I only hope no one gets the crazy notion of brnging forward the matches to Friday, or else that will indeed be unfair to the players who played today. From all that I’ve read, it will most likely be a Monday of matches for both the men and women’s finals if super Saturday is scrapped. Hopefully, Hanna will blow out to sea and put an end to everyone’s anxiety and/or misery.

It’s so very difficult for one opponent to play against another who is injured or in poor health. This is a case of where the the healthy player should play deeper within himself and dictating play, instead of allowing the injured player to do the dictating. However, these things play heavily on people’s thinking and it takes a lot of restraint to ignore the obvious. Hopefully, both Djoko and Roddick will be 100 percent and give us some scintillating tennis to watch.

Zola, they can’t “transfer” the matches to Friday for many, many reasons (TV, fairness to players, fans, etc). They could move the SFs to Sunday (and the women’s final) and then have the men’s final Monday, which if the forecast does hold for Saturday and the rain does come my guess is that’s what will go down.

Anyone know what’s happening with the matches tonight. I have my /TV on USA but I’m seeing “Monk” even though the listing says “2008 US Open”. Has it begun to rain in NYC?

Henry,
I think Djoko has tried to improve and that’s something I like to see in players. He stopped those imitations and changed his tone in his pressers. I also like the hug at the net and the imitations ( off-court). I think many of his problems come from his parents. Both Mama and Papa have said and done things that were not received well. But Djoko has managed to keep them a bit farther away. I did not see them in many matches ( after Fed’s “Be quiet!”).

Same with Andy Murray. I did not mind his shouting at himself, but it was not pleasant to see. Now he is conserving his energy and it has really helped him ( As Henry pointed out)….

To me Djoko’s breathing problems are stress-related. I don’t think he fakes it. I think he is under so much pressure to over-achieve from his family that when he does not do the ideal thing, he starts to panic. I think these will all go away once he is more fit and has more experience.

One more thing is that if Robredo or any other player are not happy with Djoko’s time outs or ball bouncing, they seriously should complain to the umpire or the referee. what is the point of whining about it in the presser? it is done and over. Same with Blake’s claim on Gonzo.

Roddick was on offensive starting from his presser. So tonight’s match should be interesting.

andrea

“what a record for roger - 18 straight semis now. unbelievable.”

That’s why I keep saying he is very hard to beat in Slams and he is always favorite to every slam he enter, even the French. Who knows?! Someday someone would beat Nadal, making it easier for Fed, because he is not going to win against Nadal!

Sean,
I guess the rain will not go away. It is the side effect of Gustav!

Maybe the play Wii tennis or Smashcourt whatever tennis.

If that happens and Rafa is in the final, I m sure he will be the winner!

JCF
I am not sure if you have checked the messages on the other thread ( I won’t blame you if you don’t). I just left you a note saying that sentence was not directed to you at all. I don’t mind questions. I am also sorry for the heat you got because of that message.

Daniel
***Someday someone would beat Nadal, making it easier for Fed, because he is not going to win against Nadal! ***

WOW! now that’s quite a complement to Rafa! on hard courts I still think fed can win Rafa if he is in form. On clay/grass? I think RAfa will win.

Sean,
I wanted to say this earlier but missed somehow. It does not look fair to repeat the same thing multiple times, and you admitted that, “I’ve been hard on Djokovic for a while now.” Yet, you continue to do so. This is a 3rd post between you & Vach against Djoko in a row plus your numerous comments the other day and a few today, saying over and over again the same thing.

“jane Says: I am outta here.”
Is this a consequence of Sean’s continual fodder to hate mongers?

S,

It’s just depressing to return to a website, contribute to it regularly, only to read the same negative stuff, or similar, about a player whom I happen to enjoy for the most part. It feels a little masochistic; sucks the life out of me and takes the joy out of watching. Guess I am “soft” like Novak. Ha-ha! Probably just need a break.

Anyhow, may the better player tonight win; I’ll be happy for either.

S Green, fair? Tell Novak to stop with the antics and I’ll happily stop bashing him. But it’s the same old same old, and as I commented earlier Novak is the one who brings up all these injury and fatigue issues. Not me. I didn’t start nor did any journalist. He volunteers it with his on court antics and then in the press.

If he wants people to stop writing about that then he needs to stop talking about it. Can it be more simple?

Scheduled t.v. coverage tonight on USA from 7-11 pm. Right now, there’s other programming….What’s going on with the broadcast?

jane:

By Saturday this will all be gone. Thank God you’re not an American/Roddick fan. it’s a double whammy for country and players. Both you and S have each other and a few more loyal Djoko fans who speak up. The Roddick fans have high-tailed it outta here. I wonder why? Nothing’s fair and it’s a fact of life. People thrive on negativity. As I always say: Keep the faith. Remember to do so. I had better shut up before I get chewed up by the piranhas. I just a little guppy!

Marlene:

I asked about tonight’s programmed matches also, and no one gave even a hint of a reply. Perhaps you’ll receive an answer. I’d like to know what’s going on myself.

Marlene:

USA just began airing the USO. Enjoy!! Maybe the schedule/listing was wrong.

Sean,
I am not complaining about bashing once for each incident if you’re unhappy. That’s legitimate but repeating the same ad infinitum is nothing more than your obsessive compulsive behavior and malicious intent to hurt Djoko fans (Djoko is not gonna read your criticism and get anything out of it; your comments are not going to affect him; and it won’t make you a better player or person, either). Your desire to appease haters for rating shows your character (good luck for that marketing strategy plus sadism !). It shows your character.

According to John MCenroe, Djokovic was practising on the court next to him today, in the heat, and he was looking really sharp. Roddick on the other hand, is not serving well at all — many dolublefaults and is looking lethargic.

Zola,

I ment on Clay!
On hard the edge is to Federer!

Roddick looks frustrated that all his serves are returning, no ace so far. Straight sets to Djoko!

The top 4 this year will meet in the semis, 1×4 and 2×3. That’s interesting, when was the last time this happened in a Slam?!

Just got in, damn Roddick! There was an expo match between two retired players that started at 7. I guess USA did not want to pay to broadcast that match.

Has the US Open ever had a Monday final? Does anybody know? I’m curious what the tv coverage would be. USA can’t seem to get out of the tennis game fast enough, and I don’t see CBS ditching their prime time programming, though maybe their daytime programming. I could almost see them dumping it off on the Tennis Channel.

It would be a real shame if it also turned out to be a Rafa-Roger final. For 3 years I’ve waited for them to meet in the US Open and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that what the sport needs in America is for the Wimbledon final to happen in New York. But it would essentially be a lost cause if it happened on a Monday.

And while I’m thinking about it — doesn’t football start on Sunday? I don’t see CBS dumping football for the semis — and I don’t see them going for a women’s prime time final on Sunday either. So Sunday coverage I think is an issue, too.

Well he’s certainly surprised me, Novak. I expected some after-effects of the previous match, but he’s recovered well (how serious were those injuries anyway?).

Up 2 sets to 0, it’s hard to see him losing now. I was expecting a bigger fight from Andy.

Djoker is just playing incredibly right now. He has Roddick playing defense, which is not his A game, and he’s returning Roddick’s serve well plus serving good himself.

Djoker is still in contention for the title.

We would have learned something if Roddick has actually put up a fight.

If the final gets pushed back to Monday it might be a good thing for the players actually. They will get a day of rest between their last two matches.

It won’t make a difference to me, but it might have a big effect on fans if those who paid for finals tickets aren’t able to come in on Monday. Ratings will probably be affected too. They will want to avoid it if they can, but what can you do? If they try to play on Sat there’s going to be lots of interruptions.

Djoko gifted a break to Roddick with a sloppy service game. There may be life left in this still. I hope so, because I’m enjoying the match so far, and I’d like to see more.

Roddick is close to taking the 3rd set to make it 1-2.

If this goes all the way to 5 sets, it looks like Federer making the finals.

Wow, three aces including second serve! Just to prove me wrong. The match start to became interesting now, will see…

Err.. I am dumb.

It doesn’t give them a day of rest between last matches. It would require a Friday start to do that.

Unless there is rain on Monday and the final is played on Tuesday.

If they move the SF’s to Friday it won’t be that big a disadvantage. Instead of playing SF and F back to back, 2 guys will be playing QF and SF back to back.

The weather has been pretty good considering. It could have been worse.

Nole is not only young, but he is also SERBIAN. This is a different world. I know he’s arrogant- but mroe arrogant than Roddick? No. In a different way, yeah, I’ll give you that.

The guy also had surgery to correct a deviated septum- he has breathing issues, they are real.

I was at the Roddick/Santoro match. Do not underestimate the American crowd and their influence. If Nole wins it, he’ll deserve it.

The crowd is really playing a factor here.
Djoko can’t let him get affected by it, but how?! Every mistake he makes the crowd manifests. If Roddick closes the fourth he will probably win his most important match in years.

Roddick missed his chance to close out the 4th! Djokovic needs to win this set quick if he wants to have a good chance against Fed.

If we go to a tiebreak will be dramatic, specially if it goes the distance. Set point, match point, set point, match point….

Roddick should have closed out the 4th set .. alas he is trailing in the tie-break 3-5 .. guess thats it for him.

Novak Won!!!

This short ball at 5-5 tiebreak after getting the minibreak back was one of the stupids ball of all time!

Great come back from Roddick to make it a match.
If he had served better, he had all the chances to win.
Congratulations to Djoko.
Sean, did he not prove you he has the game?

can you just believe what that puff wad had to say post match?????? what a wank…..

so its going to be No 1 to 4 playing the semi finals, since Murray is definite to get to No 4 after this week.

1 against 4 and 2 against 3 .. pretty kool… last time it happened was in last years French Open i guess.

Wow….Djokovic was very impressive today… Federer is gonna have to serve perfectly if he wants to win cause hes not gonna be winning the rallies at all.

Ugh. Roddick disappoints again.

Oh god. Freaking Michael Barchann (Barkann). Almost all the male players, bar pretty much only Rafa, run there mouth. But he pretty much egged it on.

Tejuz,

But When was the last time it happened in US Open?!

Djokovic may be a good player … but what a twirp. He needs a lesson in PR. Its always the guy that makes fun of others that can’t take it when they are made fun of … and Djok proved it tonight. I just cannot like this guy … I don’t care how he plays the game.

Think Djokovic has a chance to beat Federer. And who knows? It might just be Djokovic vs Murray!

what happened after the match?? since i couldnt see it live??

Andrea

fully agree with your observations. No other word for his behavior. I am European but was rooting for Roddick. Djokovic did not win. Roddick lost the match. He should never have let Djokovic get away with such an easy serve game on 5-3. He expected he could serve it out….
Did anyone notice anything wrong with his hips, ankles etc. There’s no way you can move around the court like this with all the injuries he claimed suffering from. The faker won and got the boos he deserved. This is the one player we should all bash until he stops with the antics and let’s us purely enjoy the tennis he is capable of.

Daniel, Dunno when it last happened in US Open.. but i remember it happened in 2005 AO when Fed, Hewitt, Roddick and Safin reached the finals.

Well, pity we didn’t get a 5th set (Roddick almost levelled the match) but at least we get a semi final with the top 4 players. Sorry your man didn’t win Von. He fought well though. Djokovic appears to still have enough in the tank to keep going, and the injuries he had the other day don’t look like they bother him anymore.

This is the perfect semi we can ask for. The best players have made it through, and I’m glad. It more than makes up for the anticlimactic early round clashes with qualifiers that the top players get due to their seeding.

An interesting thing to note is that now when slam draws are out, instead of looking to see whether Djokovic lands on Nadal’s side or Fed’s side of the draw, it’s pretty even, because the guy who doesn’t get Djokovic will get Murray, who is not far behind as a threat. He has the game to win slams, so it’s about equal and it doesn’t really matter where Djokovic is placed anymore. What would be more interesting is if Djokovic ascends to #2, and then it will be Federer that we’ll be looking to see where he lands in the draw. Fed vs Nadal semi final? Haven’t seen that in a while! Brutal.

Somehow i guess fed will be more than prepared for Djoker after his loss to him in the Aus Open. The only guy who really get Fed mentally and physically is Nadal..

Virtually no one likes Djokovic’s personality… and he deserves it.

Tejuz:

Djokovic pretty much just said that he beat Andy with ‘16 injuries’. Crowd Booed. And then the interviewer said Andy might have been joking, and djokovic said that it wasn’t exactly nice or right to be doing it in public, saying that he fakes injuries. Crowd Booed.
He said that it was the way it is whether the crowd liked it or not. Crowd booed

the post-matches are going to be extremely interesting

Yeah.. If Fed doesnt win the title… i would hope Murray wins it … just to make the top more balanced.. But then he will have to break his duck against Nadal… Except for that.. all four have won against each other pretty consistently.

well .. If he said that… am pretty sure he will earn more booes from the crowd not only in this tournament but also the rest of the US hard court tournaments.

andrea Says:

“can you just believe what that puff wad had to say post match?????? what a wank…..”

What did he say exactly? My feed cut off after the match so I didn’t get to see it. When did the crowd boo at Djoko?

“Sean, did he not prove you he has the game?”

Sean expected him to win. I don’t think it’s his game that he questions, but his attitude and fitness.

“fully agree with your observations. No other word for his behavior. I am European but was rooting for Roddick. Djokovic did not win. Roddick lost the match.”

While Djokovic does not always say nice things, this is just as ungracious a thing to say. Djokovic ‘won’ the first two sets. You can just as easily make a case that it was Djoko who ‘lost’ the 3rd set rather than Andy winning it. It took one poor service game where Djoko made two sloppy errors and a double fault. The 4th set, I agree with you, Roddick should have won it. But the match isn’t decided in one set. Had Roddick won the 4th, it’s no guarantee he would have won the 5th.

I can’t wait to read their press interviews now. Novak will undoubtedly be asked about Roddick’s comments from 2 days ago. The press will try and bait both of them.

Paula, please stop the crap about his breathing problem. I and many others have commented on his so-called breathing problems on this site many times. He had simple and very minor surgery for a sinus problem many people have, including me. He had the surgery in Milan back in 2005 and afterwards claimed he had no more problems. However, when he is behind in matches, or about to lose he loves to exagerate and show the whole world how he is ’suffering’. Then in interviews he forgets what he said in other interviews, so if it’s not his upset stomach, or his hip, or his breathing, or his blisters, or whatever else he can come with as an excuse. Next time he will retire from a match it will be because of amnesia…It’s such a shame as the guy is super talented but slowly is turning whole stadiums against him. Trust you noticed the totally classless way in which he celebrated his victory. Being a champion or a number one is more than being a great player !

Tennis won tonight! You cooked it up with your “jokes” now lick it!

That was a thing of beauty to watch Djokovic stick the donkey’s words right up his ass.
Everything he did tonight was right on target…and that includes his comments when being interviewed.

The donkey…somehow, in this tournament, managed to show even less class than his usual piss poor nominal level. Beginning from the point where he tried to hit a ball right at Gulbis (the ball landed in the net) to his pussy comments ab