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federer and serena win the title
Federer is back! The veterans prevail: Roger Federer, 5-time U.S. Open champion, and Serena Williams, 3-time U.S. Open champion, take the title in straight sets from two new competitors, Andy Murray and Jelena Jankovic, both players who have never been in a Grand Slam final before. Playing with post-Australian-Open-semifinal-lost style, Federer has taken his 3rd title and first Grand Slam of the year–a surprisingly bad year for his high standards. The matches were postponed by Hurrican Hanna’s winds and downpour, with the Sunday-scheduled Men’s Final played today.
This win will mark Federer’s 13th Grand Slam singles titles, and only one more and he’ll match Pete Sampras’ record! Of course, the young Scot Murray and the 21-year-old Serb Jankovic both have wonderful opportunities ahead of them as well.
Congratulations Federer on being the first person to win 5 straight Grand Slams in two different tournaments: Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
what?!
Ana Ivanovic lost in the second round of the U.S. Open, repeating her demise at Wimbledon this year, now to 188th-ranked qualifier Julia Coin from France, not having lost to a 188+ ranked player since 2003 when she was ranked in the 700s on the tour. She suffered the earliest exit from the U.S. Open by a top-ranked player in history.
I’m guessing that it would be almost impossible for her to end this week as the World No. 1.
early-round upsets at the 2008 u.s. open
First-Round
11 Daniela Hantuchova loses to Anna-Lena Groenefeld: 3-6, 2-6
10 Anna Chakvetadze loses to Ekaterina Makarova: 6-1, 2-6, 3-6
Ana Ivanovic drops a set but scrapes through with a win 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 against Vera Dushevina.
Second-Round
8 Vera Zvonareva loses to Tatiana Perebiynis: 3-6, 3-6
1 Ana Ivanovic loses to Julia Coin: 3-6, 6-4, 3-6
alla kudryavtseva: maria sharapova’s early-round defeat at wimbledon 2008
“Alla Kudryavtseva caused one of the biggest upsets of the 2008 tennis season by ousting third seed Maria Sharapova in straight sets at Wimbledon” (On the Baseline).
I’ve heard that said about Maria so many times. Not that Maria has upset anyone: Maria has been upset’d so many times. U.S. Open 2007: 3nd-round lost. French Open 2008 (where she was the top seed): pre-quarterfinal lost. And now, at Wimbledon, a 2nd-round lost to a player ranked at #154.
But she’s won the Australian Open this year, with stunning straight-set wins in every match that she played. It was simply amazing to watch. Seeing how she breezed through every match, the commentators noted that there was no way Maria Sharapova could have lost the tournament, no matter how lucky her opponents got.
But at the French, where she double-faulted in double-digits for every match, I thought I was seeing a different Maria Sharapova. And that Maria Sharapova was who played against her countrywoman in the Wimbledon 2nd round in June.
It seems like Maria’s #3 ranking comes from her two alter-egos: one who plays at the level of a World #1 player and one who plays at the level of a 50+ ranked player. So Maria’s “stunning upset” at the hands of #154 Alla Kudryavtseva isn’t really that stunning after all. Maria doesn’t deserve to make history by setting the record for “worst performance of a top-seeded player against lowest-ranked opponent.”
Kudryavtseva also rubs salt into the wound during her press conference:
“I don’t know her well. I think I’m quite sure no one on the tour knows Maria well because she’s not a very talkative girl and not very outgoing,” Kudryavtseva said.
“But we were in the same team for Fed Cup. After that she started saying hello. That’s nice.
“It’s very pleasant to beat Maria. Why? Well, I don’t like her outfit. Can I put it this way? It’s a little too much of everything.
“It was one of the motivations to beat her.”
“If I’m not afraid to go play her and she’s world No.3, I’m not afraid she’s going to catch me in the dressing room and say, ‘You know what, you said you don’t like my outfit. You were wrong’.” Kudryavtseva said.
“I will say, “Sorry. That’s just my opinion’.”
