Federer will win. Anyone doubt it? This guy is the next Sampras. Pure domination. link Imperious Federer races into second round By Bill Barclay NEW YORK, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Roger Federer picked up where he left off at the U.S. Open on Tuesday, starting his title defence with a ruthless first-round demolition of Czech Ivo Minar. A year ago, Federer crushed Lleyton Hewitt in the final and the Swiss top seed's 61-minute, 6-1 6-1 6-1 victory over Minar on the same Arthur Ashe Court sent out an ominous warning to those who covet his U.S. crown. Women's second seed Lindsay Davenport, third seed Amelie Mauresmo and French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne also advanced to the second round without dropping a set. However, the player Federer beat in last year's semi-finals, Briton Tim Henman, made a painful exit. Compatriot Greg Rusedski also lost but a third Briton, teenager Andy Murray, progressed despite throwing up on court during his five-set win. Federer had played only one tournament since completing a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles in July but looked in peak form from the start against Minar, lashing forehand winners at will. "That doesn't happen very often going into slams," said Federer, who will play Frenchman Fabrice Santoro next. "Usually early on I'm looking for my rhythm. Today it was there straight away. It's a good sign, a good feeling." World number one Davenport had to work hard for a 6-4 6-4 win over a determined Li Na of China in the first evening session match. "It was a good first match to get under my belt, she is a very good player," Davenport said. "I just hope I can get better as the tournament goes on." Men's fourth seed Andy Roddick of the U.S. was due on court in the second evening match against Luxembourg's Gilles Muller. Together with Belgian Kim Clijsters, former world number one Mauresmo is the highest-ranked women's player still looking for a grand slam title and the Frenchwoman was too strong for Roberta Vinci, beating the Italian 6-3 6-2. "I was pretty solid today, I played a consistent match," the 26-year-old said. "It was a pretty good way to get into this tournament." Mauresmo faces a tricky second-round opponent, however, in Bulgarian 16-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva. Seventh seed Henin-Hardenne ensured there was no repeat of her shock first round exit at Wimbledon in June with an impressive 6-3 6-0 win over Czech Zuzana Ondraskova. "It's pretty usual for me to struggle a lot in the first rounds so I'm happy to win in two sets," the 23-year-old Belgian said. BACK INJURY Russian sixth seed Elena Dementieva, the runner-up last year, recovered from a slow start to quell another Czech, Lucie Safarova, 7-5 6-3. Compatriot Anastasia Myskina, seeded 13, enjoyed a 6-3 6-1 win over Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn. Henman, the 12th seed, slumped to a dismal 6-4 6-2 6-2 defeat to Spain's Fernando Verdasco. The loss means the 30-year-old, who was hampered by a painful back injury, is likely to tumble down the men's rankings because he reached the last four last year at Flushing Meadows. "If you're not healthy you can't compete at this level," the disappointed Briton said. Rusedski, the 28th seed, was beaten in three sets by in-form American James Blake, the winner at New Haven on Sunday. Murray bravely overcame Romanian Andrei Pavel 6-3 3-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 having vomited apparently from exhaustion early in the fifth set. Pavel, ranked 83 places above the 18-year-old, was later penalised a point for swearing at the umpire following an over-rule. Former French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten earned only his third tournament win of 2005 with a four-set victory over American Paul Goldstein, the Brazilian serving 35 aces in the process. However, another ex-Roland Garros champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, seeded 20, lost 7-5 7-5 6-1 to Frenchman Arnaud Clement. Argentine 11th seed David Nalbandian, the 2003 semi-finalist, came through in three sets against Alex Bogomolov of the U.S.
anybody see roddick lose to that muller kid? that guy was playing out of his mind, hittin every line. guess its back to making commercials for andy..
Yea, Roddick match was awesome. I dont think anyone could beat Muller today, except for the Federer Express. I like Safin as a dark horse here. I'm kinda eager to watch James Blake, as he has been playing lights out the past few weeks.
Yeah I think the epic matchup will end up being between Roger Fed.... WAIT HOLY **** ITS FOOTBALL SEASON.
Hope Federer and Henin win it all. Barring injury, Roger is almost a sure thing. Justine is still recovering from the viral infection that affected her stamina. I hope we have many more years to enjoy her picturesque 1-handed backhand, a lost treasure especially from women's tennis. Both their playing styles are a thing of beauty. If they can add a little more server & volley to their games, tennis could not be any more perfect. Thanks to success of Christ Evert, Jimmy Conners, Monica Seles, and Andre Agassi, tennis world has produced generations of players that are unwatchable. MacEnroe, Edberg, Becker, Sampras, Navratilova (and to a lesser extent, Cash, Stich, Lendl, Rafter, Graf, Krajicek), where have you all gone?
i'm rooting for kim clijster. she played beautifully in the rogers open in toronto and was just so gracious in her speech.
OK, so you don't like two-handed backhands? what is so unwatchable about a two-handed backhand? I freaking got a college degree in large part because of a two-handed backhand. It would be better if you would just say "...tennis world has produced generations of players that I CONSIDER unwatchable" instead of stating in absolutes on a topic that perhaps you don't fully understand yourself???
Yeah I understand the advantages and disadvantages of both 1- and 2- handed backhands. Of course "unwatchable" is a subjective term, but since when do we need to add "I consider" in every stated opinion of a fan?
there was a time when everyone figured the federer/roddick rivalry would be one for the ages. well, no one thinks that anymore. By LIZ ROBBINS Published: August 31, 2005 Andy Roddick insisted he had never felt better coming into this United States Open. That is why, after his 23rd birthday celebration turned into a wide-eyed nightmare under the lights, he never felt worse. Gilles Muller, playing in his first U.S. Open, won only 5 more points than Andy Roddick last night, but they were enough to send him to the second round. Gilles Muller, a 22-year-old left-hander, walked on the court as the first man from Luxembourg to play at the United States Open. He was the one who left three sets later as a national celebrity. Muller forced three masterly tie breakers and won them all in a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (1) upset over a helpless Roddick, the world's third-ranked player and the 2003 Open champion. He was seeded fourth here. "This totally blindsided me," a somber Roddick said afterward. "I just felt like I was going to have a pretty good run here. I'm in a little bit of shock right now, to be honest. I'd give anything to go back four hours right now." By contrast, the No. 1 player in the world, top-seeded Roger Federer, waltzed into the second round with an effortless 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic. Any anticipated matchup between Roddick and Federer in the final disintegrated before Roddick's tournament had barely begun. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/sports/tennis/31tennis.html?oref=login
That Roddick dumping Brad Gilbert was a dumbass move. Unlike Federer, Roddick definitely needs a coach who knows how to win (if it means ugly). Gilbert is a proven winner as coach. I expect Roddick will be bouncing back soon, though he may forever remain Federer's b**** - worse than Agassi owned by Sampras.
Federer is like 10-1 against Roddick. That is serious ownage. Federer and Henin's laser backhand are absolutely beautiful. I hope they win. How did Nadal get a #2 for a hardcourt tournament? The couple of times I've seen him play on hardcourt, he didn't look good and was ousted in the 1st round.
IIRC Nadal gave Federal an extremely 'hard' time in the final in Miami (a hardcourt tourney) early this year, taking him to 5 sets after lead 2-0. I believe Nadal also won some other Super-9 hardcourt event(s) this summer. Due to his loss to Nadal in the semi of French Open, I think Roger has extra motivation to kick this little punk ass in the US Open.
The only question is will Nadal wear the capri pants. If capri pants make me a champion like Nadal, I will start wearing them.
LOL. But I think that Russian glamor chick Maria Sharapova is the undisputed champion of grunts. To be fair to Davenport, actually she rarely, if at all, grunts. You don't have to believe my words, ask NJRocket.
