Arena Federer/Nadal/Djokovic Era - Now 1/3rd Over

I was watching a bit of film of Connors-Rosewall from 1974, where Connors beat Rosewall in straight sets (in almost as easy fashion as McEnroe would someday do to Connors). In the part I was watching, Rosewall was already down a set and down 4-1 in the second. As he paused for a moment, someone in the crowd yelled out "Come on Ken, give it a go! What the hell." Drew quick laughter and applause from the crowd, and Rosewall did win the next point.

Made me think of the moment in 1988 when someone in the US Open crowd yelled out "he's a punk, you're a legend!" to Connors while he was playing Andre Agassi.

You can see it here, starting around the 2:25 mark:



Here's the Agassi-Connors match:



In an odd coincidence, starting around 2:21

I wonder if anyone yelled out for Agassi in 2005 when he played against Federer in the US Open final that year. He had Roger on the ropes for about ten seconds, or thereabouts, but that didn't last.

 

Made me think of the moment in 1988 when someone in the US Open crowd yelled out "he's a punk, you're a legend!" to Connors while he was playing Andre Agassi.

That's just...not nice. And fits with the things we mentioned last week somehow.

 

Watched the Davis Cup doubles game today between the Murrays and Tsonga/someone else from France. Jamie is brilliant at doubles. No wonder he got to the Wimbledon final this year. Totally outshone his brother.

 

Is it just me, or is Kyrgios a complete ****womble?

 

I overslept the other semis...knowing mom and me, we'll probably fall asleep *during* the final or get a lot of food in order to prevent that from happening. Last week, I watched it until the end, with all of Andy's strange outbursts that sort of ruined how great he was in it.

Nole apparently has some stomach bug...let's see how that goes.

 

Well, those two losses in a row hurt. But Federer the other day was a much more honourable opponent than Murray last week.

 

A lot of people are anticipating Serena will make it to the US Open final to attempt the Grand Slam, because the Women's final sold out well before the Men's did.

 

It's great Serena is the top story of the U.S. Open. She's earned it. Who can really take her on? Kvitova beat her in 2015, but mostly Serena is in a pitched battle against the impending decline of her own body, which she seems to be winning for now. The thought that she might be able to carry this winning streak into 2016 is enough to make me more excited about the Australian Open than I've ever been.

But first things first.

 

Nadal out in an intense late night five setter. Incredible tennis from 32nd ranked Fabio Fognini.

 

.

 

If Nadal tried to preserve his body by focusing on clay he'd still have a shot at matching Federer's slam record solely on the back of Roland Garros wins, in my view. Focus all coaching/training efforts on keeping Nadal healthy and tuned up for May.

and yet it was a spectacular match last night

 

The Serena train is not slowing down for Madison Keys.

 

Federer v Isner tonight in what promises not to be a very interesting match no matter who wins. I was sorry about Eugenie Bouchard's exit due to head injury. Best hopes for a speedy recovery.

 

Either Azarenka or Halep will be the only woman under 32 years of age in the semis. Halep's the only one born in the 1990s.

Odd aside about the residency of tennis players. Kevin Anderson is listed as a South African player with residency in Del Rey Beach, Florida, but he actually lives in Glenview, Illinois, not far from me.

 

Serena Williams close to losing her match to the unseeded Roberta Vinci. Down a break, 5-3 in the third.

 

Yep, it definitely looks like Serena may be outplaying herself in this match...

 

And there it is: the unexpected all Italian women's final between two 30-somethings not ranked in the top 20.