If the Williams sisters were to retire with Davenport as of this writing, the U.S. would have no women in the Top 40, and three players in the Top 100 (including the 30+ Jill Craybas, and Ashley Harkleroad who is pregnant). In other words, by the time the Williams retire, U.S. women’s tennis will virtually retire with them.

We are a week removed and the tennis world is still buzzing over Roger Federer’s US Open triumph.

Rafa may have an issue with New York. To Nadal’s credit he plays every point with utmost effort and toughness. New York draws out reserves of toughness from more fragile players. Therefore, relative to his competition, Rafa’s intensity advantage declines at Flushing Meadows.

So who picked Andy Murray to win that one? I did. I was wrong. Very wrong.

That’s right, and my reasoning is simple. I think Andy Murray is playing better tennis right now than Roger Federer is, so I like the Scot to surprise the Swiss and capture the US Open title in the final which begins in little less than an hour from now.

“I wasn’t even going for No. 1 and it is an added bonus,” Serena said.

If you were hoping for another chapter in the Roger Federer v. Rafael Nadal saga, forget it because it’s not happening at the 2008 US Open final.

Is Roger Federer back to his old self? I wouldn’t go that far but the former No. 1 is playing the best brand of hard court tennis he has in the last 12 months. Federer earlier today dispatched Novak Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 to reach the US Open final for a fifth consecutive time.

“I think I was behaving like a really spoilt girl today,” Safina told reporters.

I was looking for a statement-type match from Novak Djokovic at the US Open last night, and I got that and a whole lot more.