Here are some of my random thoughts after having watched parts of the US Open so far.
1. Federer is playing brilliant tennis. He is serving and hitting his backhand as well as I've ever seen. His backhand passing shots were phenomenal last night against Lopez. It seems to take Fed about a set to get a read on big servers but when he zones in, it's over.
2. Nadal looked horrible in the first round and quite good in the second and third. If he is healthy, he should make it through to face Djokovic in the semis.
3. James Blake chokes a lot. He got lucky against Santoro to win his first 5 setter, but he was back to his old ways yesterday against Haas. He played an atrocious tiebreak full of really bad unforced errors. I thought I saw a smile on his face after Haas hit the topspin lob winner at 3-3 in the 5th set breaker. Real competitors would have been pained or angry beyond belief. This was not the time to think " Good Shot Mate."
4. Djokovic is so solid it's scary. It's going to be exciting to see what happens as the tournament progresses. And, if someone does beat him, I want to see what his deficiency is. The only thing I can see is that Nadal and Federer might be a touch quicker than he is. Can't wait.
5. The Williams sisters are still great. And, to their credit, they play exciting, attacking tennis. In general, women's tennis is so cookie cutter it's pathetic, but the Williams sisters and Justine Henin are the players to enjoy watching.
6. Andy Roddick has his chance tomorrow night against Federer. He's lucky to be playing at night, as Bjorn Borg used to hate playing at night saying he couldn't see as well under the lights, which could be a big advantage to Roddick if Fed has a little trouble picking up the ball.
7. Thank god -- No Rain.
Until next time,
Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Tennis Strategy Tactics And Tips To Help You Improve Your Game guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.
Technorati Tags Tennis
Technorati Tags US Open
