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After winning his first Wimbledon title you would have to think that Novak Djokovic is now a HOT favourite to win the US Open and collect his 3rd Slam of the year!
Who is going to stop him?? Rafa or Del Po maybe?
Afther this seson he must be a hot favourite.But tennis would not be such a good sport if that was an open and closed case.It's going to be interesting,but the new ruller is established.
Delpo or Rafa? How about the one who beat him less than a month ago at Roland Garros? That's my final, unless the draw doesn't align that way or Rafa ends up beating him in one of the hard court masters before Queens.
Last edited by Wolmas (Jul. 3, 2011 5:46pm)
Probably Delpo if anyone.
Andy Murray plays better on hardcourts so that's something to begin with. He won last year in Shanghai against Roger. He made it to the Semis of RG and Wimby and the finals of Oz. He's been having good results on all courts but flying under the radar.
Oz: Final
RG: Semi
Wimby: Semi
US: Seeing the above results, and depending on his draw, My early prediction is that Nole will defeat Roger in the finals - that's if they're in different halves of the draw.
What about Soderling, though? Can he go deep in the US? I'm guessing he will - but all will reveal itself when time comes.
Last edited by CrossCourt (Jul. 4, 2011 11:53pm)
There are so many possible picks for the US in both genders which makes it all the more difficult when it comes to picking a measly 8.
Yep thats what makes the comp so tough and intriguing CrossCourt!
The way I see it one of these 5 guys will win the US Open....Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray or Del Potro!
I can't see Soderling going all the way CrossCourt, he may have a good tourney and go deep in the draw but unlikely to win it all IMO.
Del Potro is capable of upsetting Djokovic before the semis IF Novak is unlucky enough to be drawn against him that is, otherwise everyone would expect Nole to get to the semis at least and probably the final where im guessing he would meet Rafa, Roger or maybe Del Po...all guesswork until we see the draw though huh!
Last edited by Tono-YODA-CUP-CHAMP (Jul. 4, 2011 4:59am)
I need to see what happens in Montreal and Cincy before saying anything.
I'm with Aiur. It's too early to say.
But if the rankings stay the same -- and the top two won't change between now and the US Open, and no one is going to knock Fed or Murray out of the top 4 before the US Open -- since it's a draw and not a bracket, there is a 50% chance that Fed will be in Nole's half and Murray will be in Rafa's half, and a 50% chance that it will be the other way around.
In a bracket (e.g. the NCAA Basketball tourney), it's always 1 v. 4 and 2 v. 3. In a draw, you draw to see whether 1 plays 3 or 4. In tennis, we don't have brackets, only draws. It's so the same players don't play each other in what could potentially be many successive tourneys.
Last edited by Don (Jul. 4, 2011 3:55pm)
What about Soderling, though? Can he go deep in the US? I'm guessing he will - but all will reveal itself when time comes.
Thats true. I believe Soderling will go far even if he doesn't win the whole shebang.
Yep Soderling is probably due for a good performance in a GS, can't see him winning it all but he could quite easily go deep in the tourney.
I see you have reverted to your Pat Rafter pic there Don, that pic will bring you more luck at the US Open I feel 
Soderling might be slightly mentally fragile after a poor 2 Grand Slams. World No.5 in a straight-sets loss against an unseeded player? I don't see how you could possibly look on the "bright side" of that.
BTW, post no.100!! 
Last edited by CrossCourt (Jul. 5, 2011 3:30am)
That's true CrossCourt. But anyone can comeback after a slight hiccup(I think and hope).
That's true CrossCourt. But anyone can comeback after a slight hiccup(I think and hope).
Soderling is world no.5 for a reason. There is no reason he shouldn't do well at the US Open.
Fast hard courts are not Soderling's favorite. His strokes are very long, so he does better on clay or slower hard courts. He also hates the wind. It affects him negatively more than any other top player, partly because of the long strokes and partly because of the way too high ball toss.
I'll be amazed if he does better than the quarters, and I expect him to go out earlier than that -- depending on the draw, of course. But we'll see.
Where's your faith in him Don? I'm guessing Semis (wishful thinking) or Quarters.
I do not like Soderling on hard courts. I really see him as a rhythm player, kind of similar to Del Potro. He comes out swinging and really cannot afford to start cold. Clay courts give him time to really start getting a feel for the ball and the pace of play. He has an easier time controlling the pace of play on clay. But when he gets on the hard courts, it is a huge toss up. Don is completely correct in his last post, spot on. If someone in the early rounds comes out gunning and serving well, Soderling is going to have a very hard time.
His ball toss is so ridiculously high, I do not know how in the world he survives in the wind. If I did that here in Texas, I would have to have amazing timing or else it would be a long day at the office.
I'm calling him to be an early exit as well.
Last edited by the_lost_scot (Aug. 8, 2011 8:07pm)
Del Potro has not looked impressive in his last couple outings, even though he just thrashed Jarkko. His movement is not looking good. He served near 70% today which was a saving grace. Unless he copies that kind of serving day the rest of the week, I do not see him being a contender for Montreal, nor do I see him making a huge run at the Open.
I can recall some spring matches here in Oklahoma where, if you tossed the ball as high as Soderling and you were serving against the wind, it would have blown into the fence.
Last edited by Don (Aug. 13, 2011 11:49pm)
^ Unfortunately, I have many not so fond memories like that where we simply shouldn't have been playing matches because the ball would get dominated by the wind alone no matter where you tossed the ball. I don't know if these Scandinavians could even muster the energy to toss the ball that high for 3 sets in the horrid summer court conditions here either.
Last edited by the_lost_scot (Aug. 13, 2011 11:55pm)
You wouldn't think they could, but the court conditions in Melbourne get drastic sometimes and the Scandinavians somehow survive it anyway. You'd think they'd all be suffering from heat prostration.
Back to the wind for a second. I can remember matches where the wind was so hard that the only way to play was heavy topspin with the wind and heavy slice against it. The whole issue was whether you (and the other guy) could get your slice against the wind over the net with enough authority (or low enough) that the other guy couldn't just run in and punch off a volley winner. If it's hit properly, it stays low and kinda dies and the other guy has to hit it up at an angle that makes it nearly impossible to get enough topspin on the ball to keep it in. Now THAT sucks.
Last edited by Don (Aug. 14, 2011 12:32am)
Yes it does. I remember playing a whole match slicing because the wind was so bad after a storm that any shot that went even remotely high over the net got grabbed by the wind and dragged over to the neighboring court no matter how much topspin you were able to generate. I was watching the former #1 16 year old in the state who was so perplexed that he too decided that this was his best option and crushed his opponent 0,1 hitting only slice and dropshot/volley. Even with the slice, during the time the ball was in the air it would start drastically veering off to the point that you had to almost aim outside the lines just to bring the ball back in.
If you can master that short slice to their backhand that lands a bit inside the service line, you can play mind games on people because it is so hard to judge exactly which shot you should hit for your approach, and if they choose the topspin pass they have to bring the ball up so much that it hangs for you.
A little chip down the line, preferably inside out, is the best response to that short crosscourt slice IMO. Back in the day, Wilander was a master at both shots. Connors could do it, too.
Last edited by Don (Aug. 14, 2011 1:00am)
You are definitely right about that, but it is surprising just how many players even at a high level are very sketchy on that slice approach when put in that situation. I would expect the pros to have that shot mastered. Then again, my coach always told me how he was amazed that even many pro players now are not comfortable slicing in rallies. I think it is an under-rated shot in this topspin dominated era.
Last edited by the_lost_scot (Aug. 14, 2011 1:04am)
I see more and more of the two-handed players developing some version of the one-handed slice, which they use either purely defensively a la Roddick (which doesn't work IMO) or to vary pace to throw off timing, and occasionally to sneak in behind and sometimes get very aggressive with. I think the main thing that makes it work is variation. It also enables the backhand dropshot, which is one of the deadliest shots in the game played properly.
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