Monday US Open Schedule: Federer, Roddick, Hewitt, Venus, Clijsters Open Play

hmmmm! looks like Djoko who is in the 1st half will play on tuesday.

August 28th, 2010 at 10:12 pm

Great line-up for Monday — some block-buster matches. Venus and Fed will play the marquee matches.

August 28th, 2010 at 11:32 pm

Just as I predicted, Federer gets the Monday start and Nadal the Wednesday start. Just like last year.

August 28th, 2010 at 11:48 pm

doesn’t the number 1 seed always play on Wednesday?

August 29th, 2010 at 1:07 am

nvm that was a blatant question. w0w

August 29th, 2010 at 1:09 am

Daniel

I know that’s not the case because Federer was the No. 1 seed last year and played his first match on Monday.

August 29th, 2010 at 1:13 am

A little out of the line but there is a point. I’m responsible for opening and closing up the gates of the Church i worship in. Now in the bunch of keys th@ i work with, the are two keys th@ are very much identical, but only one of ’em opens up the main gate. Since there’s only two keys , there’s a 50-50 chance that the key i pick first will b the one that opens the gate. I tell you that……against all odds, for the last 20 consecutive times or so that ive opened the gate, i always initially pic the wrong key….
The Bottom line: figure it out

August 29th, 2010 at 1:22 am

I CANNOT believe that Fed starts first again! Such an advantage at the USOpen, I’m remembering 2008 very clearly here. WTF??
von: yesterday @6.21: yes, completely agree with your idea. It would be easy for tennisx to set up surely?
kimmi: I have team all on my lonesome at USOpen but name is far too idiosyncratic/ biased for anyone else to join…!
Had Stakovsky going quite deep..so feeling very smug..at the mo…agree with kimberly, that Berdych group is impossible, will probly change it yet again.

August 29th, 2010 at 2:55 am

Why would Rafa has to start playing on Wednesday every year? It is not fair. US Open scheduling is pretty bad.

August 29th, 2010 at 4:41 am

Margot, morning.

I’ve read many articles concentrating on the slams, where rafa has stated in his interviews that he prefers a day start, likes playing in the sun and if he had a choice, would prefer the day session to the night session, so this doesn’t surprise me at all. Plus, as World no. 1, he would be asked first, and if this is his choice (why should it be different for USO), then he’s got what he wanted?

kimberly, I joined the mens challenge and saw your name, (and Jane’s), but can’t transfer to tennis.x pool as firstly, couldn’t find it and secondly, came up with the same link as skeezer. So not sure how to go about it now. I’ve read your previous posts on how to do it, so I’ll try again later, otherwise, I just see how I do as an individual competitor as opposed to a team!

It is fun though, as you say –

Margot, tonight, on sky there is a USOpen preview, which starts at 7pm, (I think on Sky2), in case you didn’t know.

And we can watch the ‘show’ tomorrow!

C’mon Federer!

August 29th, 2010 at 4:49 am

madmax: Afternoon 2 u! Hmm, I’m not so sure. Of all the slams the USOpen is where it’s such an advantage to go out first, can’t believe Rafa would choose not to. Perhaps he’ll enlighten us with a interview?
Don’t have Sky so unsure where I’ll be able to watch. Also time difference so it’s difficult for us Brits. Last year I didn’t see any matches, just as well with Andy’s early demise…!

August 29th, 2010 at 8:16 am

David: I wrote this post on the late start on the Murray Lands, etc., thread:

http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2010-08-26/5074.php#comment-160863

I think Rafa likes to start late. Roddick does also, but this time the tourney directors probably said no. I think that the US players are crowd draws so it’s normal.

I also think that the defending Champion usually plays the first day, and since DelPotro isn’t around, I’m thinking they put Fed on, as he as the runner-up.

If there isn’t any rain, I doubt that the late start would hurt Nadal.

_______________
Margot: I think it would be a good idea about having a thread for the bracket posters.

I also think that a separate thread should be available for posts/comments on the matches played, instead of writing those comments on the specific topics threads. This way, if someone wants to know how a match went, all they have to do is look on the thread designated for matches played. As I said, you guys could probably ask Sean Randall, pretty please, or is it Luke Johnson?

August 29th, 2010 at 8:33 am

Margot, I can record for you – and copy to dvd, can then send it to you if you want – i know you might not want to put your email address here, but I have in the past, (put my email), and you can contact me with your address and I can send to you? Let me know.

Really, I do know that rafa likes playing day matches – he was on at the FO with Matts Wilander and at wimby with Sue barker, they had a slot on about TV scheduling (and one could use the same argument about when Andy plays, – 6 pm – when the british public get home from work, and so can watch murray play – but rafa categorically said he prefers to play during the day when it is sunny and hot – I suppose has a lot to do with him practising in the sun at home?

Anyway, I do think that with scheduling it is going to be an ongoing problem and not everyone is going to be satisfied (that’s the public and the players) – I remember recently when both roger and rafa as ATP president and vice president of the council tried to do something about it, I will have to go back to my archive of tennis links to see if I can find it – but I do know it is out there somewhere.

What can we do? Ultimately, we get to see all of them play, and I suppose if fed plays a night match, and – hopefully comes through – then we see him play a day match, and vice versa for rafa?

Do you not think it all balances itself out throughout the tournament at the end of the 2 weeks?

August 29th, 2010 at 9:25 am

margot, also you’ll find the preview analysis via your laptop on http://www.skysportspreviewusopen, so you should still be able to see it live with buckland, rudsezki, wade and stich.

August 29th, 2010 at 9:34 am

Margot, found one of the interviews from Rafa, cut out the bit where he said he preferred to play during the day –

Q. Another big hitter.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, he’s playing well, 6-0, 6-3 against Verdasco; 6-1, 6-3 against Troicki today. I didn’t saw him play, but with the results, he must be playing really well.

So gonna be really difficult match, and hard. *I prefer to play during the day, because, for me, the topspin is easier during the day than the night.* But gonna be a really tough match, and I will be ready. For me it’s a very important match.

Q. Do you know when you’re playing?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, 7:30

August 29th, 2010 at 9:48 am

and here was the other one, which involved rafa in a livechat about which sessions he would prefer to play, day or night – link also to read the full chat:

Hola Rafa, do you prefer to play during the day or at night?

-= Rafa =-

I normally prefer day session but I understand that tournaments give importance to nights sesisions, maybe not the one so late like in Melbourne…they shoul look at that.

http://www.chat-rafa.com/read_the_chat.html

August 29th, 2010 at 10:04 am

http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketUsOpenATP/kimberli25/Pre-Register.aspx

August 29th, 2010 at 1:42 pm

I think Rafa’s preferences vary from tournament to tournament, and I’m sure that’s true for every player. Topspin is particularly important on clay, but I’m not so sure about hc. It will be good to hear from him and see what he thinks if anything about the scheduling. It’s obviously an advantage to have that extra day of rest before a final and for that reason, I can’t imagine why Rafa would choose to start late.

August 29th, 2010 at 2:22 pm

Why are some people trying to prove that Rafa wants to start on Wednesday? That is a little silly. Everybody wants to start early but it is impossible for all players, so the players have to deal with it but of course No.1 seed should have had Monday start. Anyway Roger has the scheduling advantage over all other top three (Rafa, Murray and Novak).

August 29th, 2010 at 7:25 pm

federer is probably bribing all the organisers at the USO. Why? life is not fair…

August 29th, 2010 at 8:38 pm

Kimmi, that’s not a nice thing to say (in your 8:38pm post).

August 29th, 2010 at 9:00 pm

sorry if i offended anyone. But, this its been going on and on as if federer has been given some special favors so that he wins the USO this year.

No one knows for sure what is going on with the scheduling.

the problem is back to back semi and final..i know its tough for players. But I don’t believe the winner has always come from the half that started first.

delpo was in the same half as nadal last year but still won.

August 29th, 2010 at 9:37 pm

i think this is what rafa fans want to say :

” mirka and rogr’s mom and dad are doing the USO scheduling ” (with a little help from the twins ofcourse )

i know you guys are dying to say it. come on, someone …… ron? fed is afraid ? bullies ? one of you super intelligent rafa fans must have figured this out…..

August 29th, 2010 at 10:07 pm

every slam the scheduling has some, (not all) fans fretting, crying “not fair” and pleading “why” about their fave.

none of us know “why”, unless you are on the scheduling committee. then please, share.

i went and looked up who was on first at the other slams this year and it was not federer until now. rafa mad his appearance the 3rd day on susan lenglan court ( not even chartrier ) at RG but he still won. federer started day 2 and went out…

wimbledon- i think both fed and nadal were scheduled for day 2.

AO- both were on day 2, i think ( already forgot ) but it was not day 1.

i do recall another tennis talk site last year during us open last year devoting an entire thread to scheduling complaints and conspiracy theories- hahaha…

very popular thread it was too. a couple hundred posts or something.

pretty sure as popular, important to tennis and the tournament as rafa is, if he had an adamant request or a complaint, the organizers would do everything to accommodate him. one would think.

certainly the scheduling is not a plot to sabotage anyone. it’s more to sell tickets, bring in viewers…certainly the evening matches are difficult for the european viewers, as they take place at 1 or 2 am. attractive blonds get prime time, really. i dunno.

i think rafa will be the winner, anyways. not ALL my brackets have him. but my main one does.

August 29th, 2010 at 10:15 pm

s/b “rafa made” not “mad…” lol… oops

August 29th, 2010 at 10:18 pm

kimmi says?

“delpo was in the same half as nadal last year but still won.”

are you kidding me kimmi? don’t you know that delpotro finished his semifinal match in cool refreshing weather while rafa had to play through tsunamis earthquakes and also volcanoes. actually the uso scheduling is so bad, rafa is still playing that 2009 semifinal against delpotro, as we speak. i hope he finishes that match by wednesday so he can start his 2010 campaign. oh poor unlucky rafa.

and don’t forget rafa is yet to finish up his 2007 wimbledon matches. are you aware that the queen wanted rafael to play forever in london, so she actually scheduled those 2007matches herself ?

let me check if rafa is still playing anyother matches. maybe the 2008 uso semifinal and 2009 ao semifinal too. anything else rafa fans?

August 29th, 2010 at 10:24 pm

“i think rafa will be the winner, anyways. not ALL my brackets have him. but my main one does.”

contador – how many brackets did you make? hmmm, you r bound to get good point on one of them.!

let the games begin..

August 29th, 2010 at 10:29 pm

” wimbledon- i think both fed and nadal were scheduled for day 2. ”

wimbledon – fed opened on centre court on 1st day. traditional defending champ match.

rafa had his chance in 2009 but he withdrew with a bum knee. boo hoo…..

August 29th, 2010 at 10:31 pm

” i do recall another tennis talk site last year during us open last year devoting an entire thread to scheduling complaints and conspiracy theories- hahaha… ”

that site is full of $hit. another stupid site is craigdickman’s tennis site. if you go to that site, you will find psychos who hate roger with a vengeance.

August 29th, 2010 at 10:37 pm

that’s right about wimbles superman. my bad. but roger lost in QF!

yep. on that other site. but the one thing i do still read is the picks. not that i agree- this guy is not often right. and i think he picks against his faves. but i think he’s maybe right about isner and x-man

http://www.tennistalk.com/en/blog/Ricky_Dimon/20100829/2010_U.S._Open_picks:_Murray_over_Federer

Kimmi- i now have 3 draws in kimberly’s pool- couldn’t delete them and one in the main draw on tennischanel for both atp and wta/wtf?

also one on the us open site for atp and wta/wtf?

i have clijsters winning- and have NO IDEA what i’m doing : )

August 29th, 2010 at 10:57 pm

wta/wtf? hahahahaha

August 29th, 2010 at 11:00 pm

wow, i have seen the picks contador. but i will not use his picks..especially the Fish to the semi..wow wow wow. has he ever been correct?

Fish has been great but to come out of that qtr, will be a big achievement.

August 29th, 2010 at 11:06 pm

there are a few i try to follow but many times they don’t last long and it can be painful watching them, Kimmi.

talking about: kuzy, zvonareva and safina..maybe add petrova and woz to the painful watching list , oh yeah and dementieva’s serve…

i like stosur, klijsters, henin, and of course serena is one to count on as solid. venus but she is kinda past her prime, isn’t she? i didn’t pick her to get past the quarter-but what do i know? that’s

ones i have to mute but like- sharapova and azarenko

August 29th, 2010 at 11:10 pm

yeah, he’s more trendy than i am in picking. did you see how far he has dolgo and stakhovsky going?

he secretly likes ernie but never picks him. can’t blame him. he has ernie going out early: neimenen over gulbis!

of note was that he apparently thinks malisse is still not 100% and neither is isner ( i agree ) and has john going out to gil.

kohls was a walkover in cincy, i am counting on him being recovered ( it was a shoulder ) and have him beating simon on my “for real” draws.

August 29th, 2010 at 11:17 pm

@super man re;10:37 pm post.

Ditto, went there once, that was enough…….

August 29th, 2010 at 11:26 pm

Contador,

“…have NO IDEA what i’m doing : )”

Haha! Either do I….no worries it’s all fun :)

August 29th, 2010 at 11:27 pm

Kimmi

The back-to-back semifinals is bad for everyone, so we can’t really say it’s the players who start on Wednesday that are most affected.

The real issue is if it rains because the player with the Wednesday start is more likely to be stuck playing back-to-back 3 out of 5 set matches.

Anyway, there’s a lot trash-talking going on that I have no interest in participating in. That’s why I like this forum, because for the most part you can avoid trolls. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to completely get rid of them.

Anyway, as far as scheduling goes, I just would like to see how many times over the last 6 years or so at the U.S. Open Federer has got the Monday start, how many times Nadal has gotten it and how many times Roddick has gotten it – since really those have been the 3 marquee players at the Open over that time.

I really do have an open mind about this and I’m prepared to drop the topic altogether if someone can show me that each of those players has had his fair share of Monday starts and fair share of Wednesday starts.

Does anyone have that information? TennisX.com staff?

August 29th, 2010 at 11:28 pm

Sorry, I meant “semis and finals on back to back days” in my first sentence.

August 29th, 2010 at 11:29 pm

oh, i forgot about kohls Walkover…

a lot of injuries that could spoil our picks. i have kohls losing to rafa.

I think they all should be OK for GS. they were smart to pull out so that they dont jeopardize their chances at the USO. I am not going to change anymore.

Tomorrow we will see how we have done. This will be my first GS bracket challenge. can’t wait

August 29th, 2010 at 11:31 pm

Skeeze- i know the atp so much better than the wta! that’s what i have no idea about and i crinkle my nose and say “wtf!” when filling out the bracket and it took like 2 minutes.

yeah, Kimmi the kohls walkover- supposedly his shoulder. the way he played lu and rafa in toronto, i am leaning toward simon beating him.

there i go again: a sucker for an injury story!

i cannot imagine isner going far, seriously. he had ” special treatments ” in cincy on the ligaments, whatever those were. i have isner losing to chewy- but have a few hours to change mind. yikes!

it is great fun! two completely different brackets i did on us open bracket challenge and tennischannel- atp ones.

good luck! at least we’ll be able to see your picks and admire them when the draws close. that’s much of the fun of this!
: D

August 29th, 2010 at 11:47 pm

I am having last minute anxiety as who to put as nadals opponent in the quarters. Nalby, gulbis, ferrer, verdasco.

Big john still making me nervous.

Fish take out nole. Nah. But I did have roddick take him out.

August 30th, 2010 at 12:03 am

kimberly-

i have nalby. but i am thinking ferrer is a better choice.

verdasco and ernie – two of my faves but i cant trust them.

big john- can’t take him past chiudinelli. but that’s me.

fish- i have taking out nole. same thing, one of my faves, nole but..unlucky draw for him. i even have fish taking out roddick tho. there ya go. crazy.

and i was just in there tinkering with my picks- the wta ones after reading the other thread you and Kimmi were discussing wta players

i went in and cancelled my atp pool successfully but made a wta pool- “contador’s wta pool” hahaha logo and everything…

had a little fun with it.

August 30th, 2010 at 12:28 am

Contador—post the link to the wta pool if u can. I will join. For some of the early matches I had no idea who either player was and resorted to logic like, long russian name, winner. I think I’ve seen this name before winner. Us wild card, loser

I still have nalby but have switched to gulbis, ferrer and hot sauce a few times.

I still have big john in fourth round. Just don’t see how any of those guys could win over him. But I think its very likely he will retire in a match. I just can’t figure out which one.

August 30th, 2010 at 12:42 am

http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketUsOpenWTA/Contador/default.aspx

i think this might work

i am not doing any more second guessing on the main atp bracket, kimberly. isner is going to hose me if he’s healthy!

only way he’d lose to chewy is if he’s a walkover, lol..

i’m staying with a nadal /nalby quarter but wavering about ferrer.

August 30th, 2010 at 1:05 am

Mg Mg Says:
Why are some people trying to prove that Rafa wants to start on Wednesday? That is a little silly. Everybody wants to start early but it is impossible for all players, so the players have to deal with it but of course No.1 seed should have had Monday start. Anyway Roger has the scheduling advantage over all other top three (Rafa, Murray and Novak).

August 29th, 2010 at 7:25 pm

for the same reason Mg, that YOU are trying to prove that he didn’t. There’s enough evidence out there that he prefers to play a day session, so just accept it, or come up with some evidence that he would prefer a night session.

still can’t transfer my picks to the tennis.x pool everyone. Have about 2 hours to sort that one out!

Anyway, good luck to everyone.

August 30th, 2010 at 4:42 am

Madmax,

Just go here

http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketUsOpenATP/kimberli25/default.aspx

You might have to re-submit your picks, not sure. Good luck!

August 30th, 2010 at 9:27 am

Dear Madmax

Rafa will be playing tomorrow night. just FYI.

August 30th, 2010 at 4:25 pm