A Day at the Cincinnati ATP Event

The 2009 quarterfinals at Cincinnati's premiere tennis event was just too good to pass up. With the Western & Southern ATP Master event occurring every August here in my own backyard as the last big tune up to the US Open, I somehow managed to not attend a single match this year... that is until I saw the men's quarterfinal schedule.

The top 4 players in the world all playing on the same court that day made it a must see event, so I took a half-day of vacation and sprung for box seat tickets to go see Andy Murray play Julien Benneteau, Roger Federer play Leyton Hewitt, Novak Djokavic play Gilles Simon, and Rafael Nadal play Tomas Berdych--all on a sun-filled day in Mason, OH.

First, this event is outstanding. The amount of access to the greatest players in the world is mind-boggling. The crowds are large, but not overwhelming...with easy access to watch players warm up on the side practice courts, interact with them, get autographs, etc. Try doing this at the US Open where you are lucky to catch a glimpse of the top players... let alone interact with them.

The Murray match started things off with a surprise, as Andy's serve really let him down in losing the first set. He scrapped back against Benneteau to win the second set (with set point being a monster 53 stroke rally that ended with a standing ovation--even though Benneteau completely choked on an easy overhead to win the point), and simply wore down Julien in the third set. Murray's serving woes would continue to exist the following day in his semi-final match against Federer (double fault on match point!), and unless he gets more consistent with his serve in the next two weeks, I can see Murray getting ousted in the 4th round of the US Open. He is moving well, and hitting his ground strokes as fluidly as ever, but hitting only 50% of his first serves and double digit double faults will be his downfall if it continues in New York.

After some quick shopping in the vendor tent area, I settled in for the 2nd quarterfinal match. Roger Federer playing former #1 Leyton Hewitt was the big draw of the day, and the Swiss flags were out in force. Watching Roger in person does not disappoint, as his effortless groundstrokes (always with pace and depth) are just amazing...and he makes it look so easy. Leyton put up a good fight, but ultimately Roger wore him down for a straight set win. I was actually surprised at how many unforced errors the Australian had on his backhand side--once his most consistent side. Leyton's patella injury also seemed to slow him down a bit, but I expect him to play into the 3rd round of the US Open. Roger, on the other hand, appears to be back in top form. Approaching the net to shake Hewitt's hand after winning match point, Roger lobbed a ball into the upper stands directly into the middle of a section that was holding a "Shhh...Genius at Work" bed sheet plastered with the Swiss cross--an obvious message of 'thank you for your support' from Roger. Federer's precision with this lob was just as impressive as his man-handling of Hewitt.

The Djokovic-Simon match was close throughout, with "The Joker" winning the pivotal points for a straight set win. I was surprised at how skinny Simon is, and wonder about whether he has the endurance to go deep in the US Open. He also has an awkward starting stance with his knees locked... can't be good over the long run. Novak wasn't overpowering, but just did not make many mistakes and was moving extremely well. I'm expecting a deep run at the US Open for Djokovic.

The final match with Nadal-Berdych was a coming out party for Rafa, as he finally showed some of his 2008 form and movement. Didn't appear that his knees were bothering him any longer, and he wore down a sprite Berdych in straight sets. Although Rafa would lose the next day to Djokovic, I think he'll make it to the semi-finals at the Open... but don't expect him to win his first Grand Slam in Flushing Meadows.

On a side note, I cannot say enough about this event and, specifically Roger Federer. I have always been a Federer admirer, as I truly believe that he is the greatest player in tennis history (15 Grand Slams...and counting!). But watching him spend nearly a half-hour after the match signing autographs for the sea of fans awaiting his exit from the player's lounge was impressive and surprising. Many players rushed through the autograph-seeking masses with nary an acknowledgment (Tsonga got a resounding 'BOO' from the crowd when he rushed through after his doubles match without signing anything, not even for a little boy wearing a Tsonga shirt holding a new oversized tennis ball for signatures), the amount of time and the level of interaction from the world's #1 was amazing (even though I'm sure he wanted to get back to his wife and baby twins at the hotel). Roger is truly a class act in every way.

I highly recommend this event to the avid tennis fan, as it would be hard to find a tournament with the amount of fan access to all of the world's best women and men tennis players in the world. Practice courts are never overwhelmed with gawkers, and where else can you chat up with Brad Gilbert (left image) as he's hitting balls with fellow ESPN commentator Darren Cahill (Brad won this tournament in 1989, defeating Stefan Edberg in the final). The Cincinnati ATP event claims to be the oldest professional tennis tournament in the United States (to have not moved to another city), and it is truly a gem of an tennis event.

The results from my day of tennis gawking brought dream semi-final matchups between the top 4 players in the world, with over 20 grand slams between them all!! With each player playing well, this sets up for an exciting 2009 US Open!

2009 Australian Open: Nadal Outlasts Federer in Five Sets

Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer Sunday in the men's final of the 2009 Australian. The match was a tense, back-and-forth marathon five-setter that was definitely worthy of what's becoming a legendary series and rivalry between the world's top two tennis players. Nadal pulled out a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 victory for his sixth grand slam title, keeping Federer from winning a record-tying 14th grand slam. At only 22 years-old, Nadal is ahead of the benchmarks set by Pete Sampras and Roger Federer in terms of majors won by the age of 22.

The quality of tennis throughout the first four sets was incredibly high, with Nadal showing no symptoms of fatigue that many feared he would have as a result of his marathon five set match twenty-four hours earlier against Fernando Verdasco in the Australian Open's longest match in history. The first four sets had many momentum changes, as Federer broke Nadal first in the opening set, only to have Nadal break his serve right back and then again late in the set. Both players made unbelievable shots throughout, with Federer playing loose and carefree in the opening sets to provide an aggressive counter to Nadal's fierce, relentless game. Nadal is the hardest working player in the game, and his effort on the court makes me tired just thinking about it. He ran down what I thought were clean Federer winners so many times that I found myself becoming surprised whenver the ball bounced twice on Nadal's side of the court.

Despite the high quality of tennis on display, it was Federer's game that showed tinges of weaknesses throughout the match. Federer's first serve was not the consistent weapon that it had shown to be against Andy Roddick, and Nadal was able to attack Federer's second serve and control those points on numerous occasions. Federer also had to fight through consistency issues with his usually trusty forehand, a problem that reared its ugly head in the opening set and continued to cause sporadic errors during the near five hour match. These two weaknesses came together in the final set, as Federer seemed to lack his normal closing confidence and let the final set slip between his fingers with unforced errors and two games where he had his serve broken.

Overall, the match was a classic, but ranks below their 2008 Wimbledon final (I still contest that was the greatest tennis match of all time). However, I found myself screaming 'Wow!' and 'No way' throughout this morning's match with all of the unbelievable shot making in tense moments. This was definitely the match of the tournament, and made the women's final look like a high-school match (Nadal and Federer's first set was just a hair under the total duration of the entire women's final between Serena Williams and an uninspired Dinara Safina).

I'm hoping the Australian Open is a sign of more to come from the men's game. Anchored by Nadal and Federer rivalry, and followed by stand-ins Djokovic, Roddick, Murray, Verdasco, Monfils, and Tsonga, the 2009 men's season should be a thrilling one.

2009 Australian Open: Hoping The Men's Final Isn't Like The Women's

So, I stayed up last night to watch the 2009 Australian Open Women's Final, hoping for inspiring, dramatic tennis from Serena Williams and Dinara Safina. After watching a reply of the Nadal-Verdasco match for the second time, I guess I was thinking--make that 'hoping'--that the same high-quality tennis would repeat itself on the women's side.

Boy was I wrong.

I expected Serena to be her normal self. All tournament long, she looked mentally focused and definitely played with the confidence that comes with having "been there, done that"--a state of mind you obtain after having already played in twelve Grand Slam finals. With a 9-3 record in the finals, she definitely had every reason to be confident coming into the match with Safina.

The only way for the women's championship to compare with the Nadal-Verdasco semi-final in quality of play and drama would be dependent on Safina. She would need to step up on the big stage and play attacking tennis (much like her brother did in his heyday) with strong mental toughness (unlike her brother his heyday, who was famous for his hot temper).

Alas, Safina did neither.

Safina looked unsure of herself from the get go, struggling with her serve and not hitting as aggressively with her long, flowing groundstrokes. Before she realized it, she was down 4-0 in the first. Unlike the Nadal-Verdasco match (when I was glued to my seat for each point), my attention started to wander to other things, like my phone (hmm... I wonder if anyone updated their Facebook/Twitter status), like wondering what I would eat for dinner tonight (marinate some salmon), like...well, you get the jist. Safina didn't win her first game until the second set, and Serena just kept the pressure on with solid (but not great) tennis. Serena continued on to collect a 6-0, 6-3 straight-set victory for her 10th Grand Slam singles title, and fourth Australian Open title.


On the men's side, one of the best rivalries in tennis history will continue, as Rafael Nadal goes up against Roger Federer...their first matchup in an Australian Open final. General opinion suggests that Federer has the edge against Nadal, thinking that Nadal's marathon match with Verdasco (did I mention how great that match was?) will leave him just a tad less energetic for the finals. I'm not buying it, and fully expect Nadal to put forth yet another tremendous defensive effort against the always smooth and deadly-accurate Federer.

Nadal has recently played in arguably two of the greatest tennis matches ever (the already-mentioned Verdasco match and the 2008 Wimbledon final against Federer--easily the greatest tennis match in history). Federer and Nadal seem to bring out the best in each other--just like great rivalries should.

I'm hoping that their match tonight will be just as endowed with gripping, tense, high-quality tennis as last year's Wimbledon final, if for no other reason than to make up for the dud that the women's final ended up being.