Later tonight, Roger Federer will take on Lleyton Hewitt for the 24th time. Roger will look for his 15th straight win over Hewitt while Hewitt is looking to beat Federer for the first time since 2003. Only twice have they met in Melbourne, in the fourth round at the 2004 Australian Open and in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinals where Hewitt got his last win over Roger.
Much will be made about how Hewitt has improved and how Roger may not be as motivated after winning his 15th Grand Slam. There is no doubt though that when it comes to Hewitt, Roger is going to be as focused and driven as he can be.
Can the home crowd pull Lleyton through? We will have to wait and see but until then, let’s hope we get some great tennis like we have in the past from these two.
NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 12: Serena Williams (R) is disqualified during the Women's Singles Semifinal match against to Kim Clijsters of Belgium on day thirteen of the 2009 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 12, 2009 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
That was embarassing.
Of course everyone knows what happened at the end of the Serena Williams-Kim Clijsters semifinal at the US Open last night. For those that didn’t, here’s the recap:
What the video doesn’t show is that Serena was given a warning for breaking her racquet when she lost the first set. The next step is a point penalty which is what Serena got which just happened to come at match point.
All around the internet today people who would be casual fans at best are complaining about how Serena was treated and how rules are unfairly applied to different players. Let’s take a look at what some of the people are saying.
The first complaint is that a foot fault shouldn’t have been called at that point in the match. Really? A foot fault should be called everytime, regardless of whether it’s the first point or the last. Had Serena not been called and hit a serve that clipped the line for an ace or a service winner, would that have not been unfair? Would it not be unfair if Serena had hit a serve that was called good but in fact missed by half an inch wide or long? A foot fault isn’t a judgement call or at least it shouldn’t be one. Venus was called for seven foot faults in her match against Vera Dushevina in the first round. Even Serena said she most likely foot faulted in her post match press conference:
“I’m pretty sure I did,” she said. “If she called a foot fault, she must have seen a foot fault. I mean, she was doing her job. I’m not going to knock her for not doing her job.”
The second compaint is that people say a lot worse to umpires and get away with it. The truth is, they don’t. Players can argue all they want at an umpire and not get a warning. Calling an umpire or line judge blind or stupid isn’t enough for a code violation. Andy Roddick can’t seem to go a single match without arguing with an umpire. John McEnroe is a perfect example of arguing with umpires, as is Jimmy Conners. However, once a player swears at, intimidates, or threatens an official, it’s big trouble. Serena, after calmy getting a ball from a ball boy, went over and swore constantly at the judge and within a few feet of her, was shaking her racquet and ball in her direction. The judge had no decision, and it may not have been her decision as she may have been called over to the chair by the chair umpire, I don’t know, I didn’t see if she was or not. What makes it worse is that Serena didn’t just swear, she screamed it. Sports Illustrated writer SL Price was sitting in the press row, 15 rows up from the court and heard it clearly. Put your hand over your mouth and swear under your breath is one thing, say it loud enough for the fans to hear, and you’re asking for a Code Violation, just as John McEnroe:
Another complaint is that people are confused about Serena getting a Code Violation for breaking her racquet and see players throw their racquets all the time and not get penalized. There is a difference between throwing and breaking. If a player throws their racquet and it cracks or breaks, it’s an automatic Code Violation, you can’t play with the racquet anymore so you get a warning. Serena didn’t throw her racquet, she smashed it. It’s not a judgement call on the behalf of the chair umpire, it’s an automatic rule.
There are other complaints about race or gender. People have said that if Federer or Nadal had acted like that, they wouln’t have been penalized. Roger may have acted like that in his younger days but not now. Sure he smashed his racquet in Miami but never confronted an umpire. Maybe someone else has seen him argue with a judge, I don’t know, I haven’t seen all his matches over his last 6 years, but I would doubt he said anything close to what Serena came up with last night. Same goes for Nadal.
People would love to pin this on the line judge, or on the chair umpire or the tournament officials. When it comes down to it, Serena Williams alone cost herself the match. Her behaviour was inappropriate for a tennis match, of course other sports fans will say they have seen worse in baseball, football or basketball but these are the rules in tennis.
It’s going to get worse for Serena as an investigation is now underway into her actions. Serena said she wouldn’t apologize to the line judge in her post match press conference but I bet she will soon. A heavy fine will be brought against her and had this taken place in a WTA Tour event and not a Grand Slam, a suspension would be almost certain.
Jelena Jankovic SRB (1) v Yvonne Meusburger AUT
Kirsten Flipkens BEL v Rossana De Los Rios PAR
Nathalie Dechy FRA v Qualifier
Qualifier v Ai Sugiyama JPN (26)
Sybille Bammer AUT (24) v Lucie Safarova CZE
Petra Cetkovska CZE v Marina Erakovic NZL
Qualifier v Tsvetana Pironkova BUL
Melanie South GBR v Marion Bartoli FRA (16)
Nadia Petrova RUS (10) v Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ
Sania Mirza IND v Marta Domachowska POL
Karin Knapp ITA v Monika Wejnert AUS
Galina Voskoboeva KAZ v Agnes Szavay HUN (23)
Maria Kirilenko RUS (27) v Sara Errani ITA
Monica Niculescu ROU v Qualifier
Maria Elena Camerin ITA v Edina Gallovits ROU
Magdalena Rybarikova SVK v Vera Zvonareva RUS (7)
Dinara Safina RUS (3) v Alla Kudryavtseva RUS
Ekaterina Makarova RUS v Aravane Rezai FRA
Qualifier v Patricia Mayr AUT
Qualifier v Kaia Kanepi EST (25)
Daniela Hantuchova SVK (19) v Casey Dellacqua AUS
Jill Craybas USA v Mathilde Johansson FRA
Andrea Petkovic GER v Qualifier
Mariya Koryttseva UKR v Alize Cornet FRA (15)
Caroline Wozniacki DEN (11) v Shahar Peer ISR
Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP v Mariana Duque Marino COL
Jelena Dokic AUS v Tamira Paszek AUT
Anne Keothavong GBR v Anna Chakvetadze RUS (17)
Alisa Kleybanova RUS (29) v Sofia Arvidsson SWE
Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA v Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE
Yanina Wickmayer BEL v Qualifier
Julia Goerges GER v Ana Ivanovic SRB (5)
Venus Williams USA (6) v Angelique Kerber GER
Carla Suarez Navarro ESP v Roberta Vinci ITA
Qualifier v Akgul Amanmuradova UZB
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP v Tamarine Tanasugarn THA (32)
Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP (21) v Isabella Holland AUS
Elena Vesnina RUS v Julie Coin FRA
Jessica Moore AUS v Christina McHale USA
Mara Santangelo ITA v Flavia Pennetta ITA (12)
Patty Schnyder SUI (14) v Kristina Mladenovic FRA
Jarmila Gajdosova AUS v Virginie Razzano FRA
Su-Wei Hsieh TPE v Yung-Jan Chan TPE
Qualifier v Dominika Cibulkova SVK (18)
Aleksandra Wozniak CAN (30) v Sabine Lisicki GER
Samantha Stosur AUS v Klara Zakopalova CZE
Vera Dushevina RUS v Iveta Benesova CZE
Kristina Barrois GER v Elena Dementieva RUS (4)
Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (8) v Anastasia Rodionova AUS
Tatjana Malek GER v Ayumi Morita JPN
Nicole Vaidisova CZE v Severine Bremond FRA
Olivia Rogowska AUS v Alona Bondarenko UKR (31)
Jie Zheng CHN (22) v Camille Pin FRA
Sorana Cirstea ROU v Melinda Czink HUN
Ekaterina Bychkova RUS v Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP
Kateryna Bondarenko UKR v Agnieszka Radwanska POL (9)
Victoria Azarenka BLR (13) v Petra Kvitova CZE
Tathiana Garbin ITA v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS
Qualifier v Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER
Olga Govortsova BLR v Amelie Mauresmo FRA (20)
Francesca Schiavone ITA (28) v Shuai Peng CHN
Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP v Qualifier
Anastasiya Yakimova BLR v Gisela Dulko ARG
Meng Yuan CHN v Serena Williams USA (2)
Looking at Jelena Jankovic’s quarter, she definitely got the easiest of the top 4 seeds. Jelena doesn’t have any real threats here as the top players in her group are Nadia Petrova, Agnes Szavay, Maria Kirilenko and Vera Zvonareva.
Dinara Safina opens against Alla Kudryavtseva who is no stranger to playing a top seed in a Slam. However, Safina won’t go down as easy as Sharapova did at Wimbledon and Dinara will pass this first test. It will get much tougher from there though. Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic are also in her quarter as is a highly motivated Tamira Paszek. Paszek hasn’t yet lived up to her promise and would love to break through here.
Elena Dementieva is going to have to work her way through the draw as she could face vera Dushevina in the second round then Aleksandra Wozniak in the third. Patty Schnyder awaits in the fourth round and Venus Williams in the quarters.
Serena Williams will be tested in the fourth round as Amelie Mauresmo, Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Victoria Azarenka are her possible round of 16 opponent. The quarterfinals could have Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nicole Vaidisova or Agnieszka Radwanska.
Predictions
Quarterfinals Jankovic def. Kirilenko
Safina def. Wozniacki
Dementieva def. Williams
Williams def. Radwanska
Semifinals Jankovic def. Safina
Dementieva def. Williams
Finals Jankovic def. Dementieva
First Round Match to Watch Caroline Wozniacki vs. Shahar Peer. Peer is unseeded and desperate to get back into the top 20. She could give Wozniacki a tough match.
Dark Horses and Players Who Need a Breakthrough Shahar Peer, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Kirilenko and Tamira Paszek.
Rafael Nadal ESP (1) v Christophe Rochus BEL
Florent Serra FRA v Roko Karanusic CRO
Eduardo Schwank ARG v Tommy Haas GER
Qualifier v Dmitry Tursunov RUS (29)
Richard Gasquet FRA (24) v Diego Junqueira ARG
Vincent Spadea USA v Denis Istomin UZB
Guillermo Canas ARG v Nicolas Kiefer GER
Lleyton Hewitt AUS v Fernando Gonzalez CHI (13)
Gael Monfils FRA (12) v Martin Vassallo Arguello ARG
Mikhail Youzhny RUS v Stefan Koubek AUT
Andrey Golubev KAZ v Fabio Fognini ITA
Nicolas Massu CHI v Nicolas Almagro ESP (17)
Ivo Karlovic CRO (25) v Daniel Gimeno-Traver ESP
Filippo Volandri ITA v Mario Ancic CRO
Chris Guccione AUS v Nicolas Devilder FRA
Pablo Andujar ESP v Gilles Simon FRA (6)
Andy Murray GBR (4) v Andrei Pavel ROU
Teimuraz Gabashvili RUS v Marcel Granollers ESP
Qualifier v Colin Ebelthite AUS
Kei Nishikori JPN v Jurgen Melzer AUT (31)
Radek Stepanek CZE (22) v Nicolas Lapentti ECU
Qualifier v Carsten Ball AUS
Sergiy Stakhovsky UKR v Arnaud Clement FRA
Adrian Mannarino FRA v Fernando Verdasco ESP (14)
James Blake USA (9) v Qualifier
Qualifier v Steve Darcis BEL
Albert Montanes ESP v Ernests Gulbis LAT
Qualifier v Igor Andreev RUS (18)
Rainer Schuettler GER (30) v Qualifier
Victor Hanescu ROU v Jan Hernych CZE
Ivan Ljubicic CRO v Igor Kunitsyn RUS
Juan Monaco ARG v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (5)
Andy Roddick USA (7) v Qualifier
Qualifier v Michael Llodra FRA
Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP v Fabrice Santoro FRA
Sam Querrey USA v Philipp Kohlschreiber GER (32)
Tommy Robredo ESP (21) v Bobby Reynolds USA
Alberto Martin ESP v Viktor Troicki SRB
Thomaz Bellucci BRA v Yen-Hsun Lu TPE
Marc Gicquel FRA v David Nalbandian ARG (10)
Robin Soderling SWE (16) v Robert Kendrick USA
Julien Benneteau FRA v Marcos Baghdatis CYP
Simone Bolelli ITA v Kristof Vliegen BEL
Samuel Groth AUS v Mardy Fish USA (23)
Paul-Henri Mathieu FRA (28) v Jarkko Nieminen FIN
Taylor Dent USA v Qualifier
Jeremy Chardy FRA v Marcos Daniel BRA
Qualifier v Novak Djokovic SRB (3)
Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (8) v Mischa Zverev GER
Qualifier v Qualifier
Potito Starace ITA v Bernard Tomic AUS
Gilles Muller LUX v Feliciano Lopez ESP (27)
Marin Cilic CRO (19) v Kevin Anderson RSA
Oscar Hernandez ESP v Janko Tipsarevic SRB
Qualifier v John Isner USA
Denis Gremelmayr GER v David Ferrer ESP (11)
Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (15) v Ivo Minar CZE
Qualifier v Brydan Klein AUS
Brian Dabul ARG v Philipp Petzschner GER
Robby Ginepri USA v Tomas Berdych CZE (20)
Marat Safin RUS (26) v Ivan Navarro ESP
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ESP v Agustin Calleri ARG
Qualifier v Carlos Moya ESP
Andreas Seppi ITA v Roger Federer SUI (2)
This is not the draw that Rafael Nadal wanted. A third round matchup could involve Tommy Haas, Eduardo Schwank or Dmitry Tursunov. While none may stop Nadal from advancing, they could push him to 4 sets before a probable fourth round match against Richard Gasquet, Lleyton Hewitt or 2007 finalist Gonzalez but it will most likely be Gasquet who has been playing very well lately. Waiting in the quarterfinals is 12th seeded Gael Monfils who upset Nadal in Qatar a couple of weeks ago. Nadal hasn’t been in top form so far this year and if he isn’t ready, Monfils could take advantage and knock Nadal out.
Andy Murray is playing great tennis so far and his improved fitness seems to be paying off. Still, there are a couple of players in his quarter he needs to be ready for. Kei Nishikori could be his third round opponent. Nishikori solidified his spot as a player to watch and he would love nothing more than to continue his rise by taking care of Murray but it’s unlikely. James Blake, the 9th seed, could cause some trouble but I can’t imagine he’s going to get the chance to play Murray. Instead, last year’s finalist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could be big trouble. Tsonga’s main concern is to stay healthy and his lower back has been causing problems. More likely is the biggest dark horse in the field, Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis has been lurking around for the last year and is ready to make a run. Murray needs to be on top of his game or Gulbis will send him home.
Novak Djokovic has a pretty easy time until a possible match with Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. The biggest potential problem for Novak is 16th seeded Robin Soderling. Soderling can be dangerous as shown in his epic 5 set match against Nadal at Wimbledon in 2007 but he is also inconsistent. Depending on what Soderling shows up, Novak could cruise or be in for a 5 set marathon. Andy Roddick on the other hand should have an easy time until facing David Nalbandian in the fourth round. Nalbandian is coming off a title win which gives him a lot of confidence but it may not be enough against a highly motivated Roddick.
I’m pretty surprised that many think Roger Federer has a tough draw. Federer just beat Carlos Moya in Kooyong and Moya is well past his prime and not to mention it has been 12 years since Moya broke out and reached the finals here. Roger could face Marat Safin but unless it is the same Safin who beat Federer here in the semifinals a few years ago or the Safin that upended Djokovic at Wimbledon, it should be a fairly easy win for Roger. The biggest problem would come in the quarterfinals in the form of Juan Martin Del Potro or Marin Cilic. Del Potro won the title in Auckland and has lots of confidence, it will be interesting to see how he fares against Roger.
I’m going out on a limb here to pick Monfils upsetting Murray but given that Murray has only twice gotten past the fourth round at a Slam and while he has played great so far this year, it’s always different to play a Slam. The pressure is more intense and for Murray, the focus of an entire nation watching you, criticizing you, praising you as you get further and further into a tournament is going to be something to see. For the first time, he is going to be the favourite to win a Slam and to see him handle the pressure will be interesting.
First round match to watch: Hewitt vs. Gonzalez. Are you starting to think that Hewitt is getting tired of these 5 set marathons?
Dark Horses and Players Who Need A Breakthrough
Ernests Gulbis, Robin Soderling, Kei Nishikori, Gael Monfils and Marcos Baghdatis. Baghdatis broke through here in a big way and did well for a year afterwards but really needs to get back on track.
No one wanted to see Jelena Jankovic win the US Open more than me. Well, maybe Jelena…and her mom. If you didn’t realize it, Jelena is by far and away the most popular player on the site, take a look. Of the top 24 photos on the site, 22 are of Jelena, not bad.
But like I did with the men, I wanted to see just how the women fared in their first Grand Slam final. A total of thirty seven women won a Grand Slam in the Open era. Of those, 15 women lost their first final before taking a Slam while 22 won their first final. After going through both lists, you’re in pretty good company either way.
For those that lost their first Slam:
Player
Runner-Up
Champion
Span From Finalist to Champion
Total Slams
Nancy Richey
1966 Australian Championships
1967 Australian Championships
4
2
Billie Jean King
1963 Wimbledon
1966 Wimbledon
12
12
Evonne Goolagong
1971 Australian Open
1971 French Open
1
7
Chris Evert
1973 French Open
1974 French Open
4
18
Kerry Reid
1970 Australian Open
1977 Australian Open
28
1
Martina Navratilova
1975 Australian Open
1978 Wimbledon
14
18
Gabriela Sabatini
1988 U.S. Open
1990 U.S. Open
8
1
Mary Pierce
1994 French Open
1995 Australian Open
3
2
Jana Novotná
1991 Australian Open
1998 Wimbledon
30
1
Venus Williams
1997 US Open
2000 Wimbledon
11
7
Justine Henin
2001 Wimbledon
2003 French Open
7
7
Kim Clijsters
2001 French Open
2005 US Open
22
1
Amélie Mauresmo
1999 Australian Open
2006 Australian Open
28
2
Ana Ivanovic
2007 French Open
2008 French Open
4
1
Those are some big names and big numbers. Those 15 women won a total of 80 Slams and only 5 have 1 Major to their name but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Ana Ivanovic will soon bee off that list. Kerry Reid on the other hand is a safe bet to stay on it.
That’s an average of 5.3 Slams per person but if you take the One Slam Wonders off it and it jumps to 7.5. It took them an average of 10.4 Slams to bag their first Major after reaching their first final. Again, if you take away the One Slam Wonders, that number drops to 8.7.
Now for that other group…
Player
Champion
Total Slams
Ann Haydon-Jones
1961 French Championships
3
Margaret Court
1960 Australian Championships
24
Virginia Wade
1968 U.S. Open
3
Sue Barker
1976 French Open
1
Mima Jaušovec
1977 French Open
1
Chris O’Neil
1978 Australian Open
1
Virginia Ruzici
1978 French Open
1
Barbara Jordan
1979 Australian Open
1
Tracy Austin
1979 U.S. Open
2
Hana Mandlíková
1980 Australian Open
4
Steffi Graf
1987 French Open
22
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
1989 French Open
4
Monica Seles
1990 French Open
9
Conchita Martínez
1994 Wimbledon
1
Martina Hingis
1997 Australian Open
5
Iva Majoli
1997 French Open
1
Lindsay Davenport
1998 US Open
3
Serena Williams
1999 US Open
9
Jennifer Capriati
2001 Australian Open
3
Anastasia Myskina
2004 French Open
1
Maria Sharapova
2004 Wimbledon
3
Svetlana Kuznetsova
2004 US Open
1
You will notice that the two biggest winners, Court and Graf are in this group, as are Seles, Hingis and Serena. There are also a lot of players that won less than 5 Slams and most of those only won 1.
This group of 22 women won a whopping 103 Slams, an average of 4.6 per player. However, 17 won less than 5 and 9 won only 1. If you take off the One Slam Wonders, that average gets a huge boost to 7.2 Slams but that is lifted of course by Court and Graf who won a combined 46 Slams, almost half of the 103.
So after Serena beat Jelena for the title, I was pissed even though it was a tremendous final. However after looking at the numbers, I must say that it’s encouraging because players who lost their first final are less likely to win only 1 Slam. So relax fellow Jelena fans, it will get better, much better.
For all you diehard Andy Muray fans, I say buck up. The sun did rise this morning and it will be ok. Ask yourself this question, is Murray losing his first Grand Slam final THAT BAD? As it turns out, no, it isn’t.
I had a little time on my hands (bored) when the action was rained out on Saturday when the semifinals and women’s final should have been played. I thought I would hop in my DeLorean and take a trip back to the start of the Open Era and see how the men fared when they either won or lost their first Slam final. Note that although players like Rod Laver reached, then won, their first Major before the Open Era began, I am including players that did win Majors in the Open Era regardless if their first Slam came before 1968.
Of the 49 men that won Slams in the Open Era, 35 won their first Slam final and 14 didn’t.
For those that lost their first Slam final, first let’s take a look at the names: Rod Laver, John Newcombe, Ivan Llendl and Andre Agassi to name a few, did not win their first Slam. Some like Llendl and Agassi took a few finals before they were able to bag their first major and they each went on to win 8 Slams. Not bad.
Let’s take a further look:
Player
Runner-Up
Champion
Span From Finalist to Champion
Total Slams
Rod Laver
1959 Wimbledon
1960 Australian Championships
2
11
Arthur Ashe
1966 Australian Championships
1968 U.S. Open
11
3
John Newcombe
1966 U.S. Open
1967 Wimbledon
3
7
Stan Smith
1971 Wimbledon
1971 U.S. Open
1
2
Manuel Orantes
1974 French Open
1975 U.S. Open
6
1
Guillermo Vilas
1975 French Open
1977 French Open
8
4
Ivan Llendl
1981 French Open
1984 French Open
12
8
Pat Cash
1987 Australian Open
1987 Wimbledon
2
1
Andre Agassi
1990 French Open
1992 Wimbledon
9
8
Petr Korda
1992 French Open
1998 Australian Open
23
1
Carlos Moyà
1997 Australian Open
1998 French Open
5
1
Goran Ivanišević
1992 Wimbledon
2001 Wimbledon
36
1
Juan Carlos Ferrero
2002 French Open
2003 French Open
4
1
Novak Djokovic
2007 US Open
2008 Australian Open
1
1
Some pretty big names and some pretty good results. Some players like Korda and Ivanisevic won only 1 Slam and had a pretty long stretch between reaching their first final and winning their first title but that’s at the far end.
On average these players won 3.3 Slams and it took them 8.7 Grand Slams from when they reached the finals to when they won their first Major. Of the 14 players in this list, 7 won only one major title. Ferrero and Ivanisevic are pretty safe bets to not win another Slam but I am pretty sure we will be crossing Djokovic off this list soon enough.
Now, if you take off the one Slam wonders, the numbers increase quite a bit. On average, the 7 on the list that did win more than one Slam, won 6.1 Majors and it took them 6.5 Slams to do so. Not bad, not bad at all.
However, if you look at those who did win their first Slam…
Player
Champion
Total Slams
Ken Rosewall
1953 Australian Championships
8
Jan Kodes
1970 French Open
3
Andres Gimeno
1972 French Open
1
Jimmy Conners
1974 Australian Open
8
Bjorn Borg
1974 French Open
11
Mark Edmondson
1976 Australian Open
1
Adriano Panatta
1976 French Open
1
Roscoe Tanner
1977 Australian Open - January
1
Vitas Gerulaitis
1977 Australian Open - December
1
John McEnroe
1979 US Open
7
Brian Teacher
1980 Australian Open
1
Johan Kriek
1981 Australian Open
2
Mats Wilander
1982 French Open
7
Yannick Noah
1983 French Open
1
Stefan Edberg
1985 Australian Open
6
Boris Becker
1985 Wimbledon
6
Michael Chang
1989 French Open
1
Andrés Gómez
1990 French Open
1
Pete Sampras
1990 US Open
14
Jim Courier
1991 French Open
4
Michael Stich
1991 Wimbledon
1
Sergi Bruguera
1993 French Open
2
Thomas Muster
1995 French Open
1
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
1996 French Open
2
Richard Krajicek
1996 Wimbledon
1
Gustavo Kuerten
1997 French Open
3
Patrick Rafter
1997 US Open
2
Marat Safin
2000 U.S. Open
2
Lleyton Hewitt
2001 US Open
2
Thomas Johansson
2002 Australian Open
1
Albert Costa
2002 French Open
1
Roger Federer
2003 Wimbledon
13
Andy Roddick
2003 U.S. Open
1
Gastón Gaudio
2004 French Open
1
Rafael Nadal
2005 French Open
5
Those are some pretty big names. Sampras, Borg, Conners, McEnroe, Federer, Nadal all won their first Slam final. Granted, you get more one Slam wonders in this group like Muster, Gaudio, Chang and others but in total, those 35 men won a total of 124 Slams, an average of 3.5 per player.
If you take away the 16 one Slam wonders the remaining 19 men won 105 Slams, an average of 5.5 per player and of those 19 less than half, only 9, won less than 5 Slams.
So be patient Andy Murray. Newcombe, Llendl, Agassi and Laver all won at least 7 Slams, that’s not bad company to be in.
ASHE STADIUM - 11:00 AM Start
Alona Bondarenko (UKR)[27] v. Venus Williams (USA)[7]
Rafael Nadal (ESP)[1] v. Viktor Troicki (SRB)
Serena Williams (USA)[4] v. Ai Sugiyama (JPN)[30]
ASHE STADIUM - 7:00 PM Start
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) v. Dinara Safina (RUS)[6]
James Blake (USA)[9] v. Mardy Fish (USA)
ARMSTRONG STADIUM - 11:00 AM Start
Sam Querrey (USA) v. Ivo Karlovic (CRO)[14]
Julie Coin (FRA) v. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)[32]
Gael Monfils (FRA)[32] v. David Nalbandian (ARG)[7]
David Ferrer (ESP)[4] v. Kei Nishikori (JPN)
Grandstand - 11:00 AM Start
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[9] v. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)[18]
Jurgen Melzer (AUT) v. Andy Murray (GBR)[6]
Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)[17] v. Gilles Simon (FRA)[16]
Severine Bremond (FRA) v. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)
Court 4 - 11:00 AM Start
Tommy Robredo (ESP)/Sergio Roitman (ARG) v. Jonathan Erlich (ISR)[3]/Andy Ram (ISR)[3]
Robert Lindstedt (SWE)/Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) v. Julien Benneteau (FRA)[16]/Nicolas Mahut (FRA)[16]
Elena Vesnina (RUS)[13]/Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[13] v. Lindsay Davenport (USA)/Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
Samantha Stosur (AUS)/Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) v. Rennae Stubbs (AUS)/Robert Lindstedt (SWE)
Elena Vesnina (RUS)/Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL) v. Flavia Pennetta (ITA)/Dusan Vemic (SRB)
Court 7 - 11:00 AM Start
Vera Dushevina (RUS)/Ekaterina Dzehalevich (BLR) v. Lisa Raymond (USA)[10]/Samantha Stosur (AUS)[10]
Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)/Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) v. Simon Aspelin (SWE)[6]/Julian Knowle (AUT)[6]
Alona Bondarenko (UKR)[7]/Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)[7] v. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)/Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)[1]/Daniel Nestor (CAN)[1] or Sloane Stephens (USA)/Robert Kendrick (USA) v. Vladimira Uhlirova (CZE)/Martin Damm (CZE)
Nadia Petrova (RUS)/Francesca Schiavone (ITA) v. Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)/Patty Schnyder (SUI)
Court 10 - 11:00 AM Start
Igor Andreev (RUS)/Mischa Zverev (GER) v. Marc Gicquel (FRA)/Sebastien Grosjean (FRA)
Michal Mertinak (SVK)/Lovro Zovko (CRO) v. Agustin Calleri (ARG)/Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
Marta Domachowska (POL)/Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) v. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)[5]/Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP)[5]
Lisa Raymond (USA)/Marcelo Melo (BRA) v. Jill Craybas (USA)/Eric Butorac (USA)
Court 11 - 11:00 AM Start
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[10] v. Flavio Cipolla (ITA)
Nadia Petrova (RUS)[19] v. Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[16]
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) v. Alize Cornet (FRA)[17]
Dominik Hrbaty (SVK)/David Skoch (CZE) v. Bob Bryan (USA)[2]/Mike Bryan (USA)[2]
Court 13 - 11:00 AM Start
Lucie Safarova (CZE)/Mara Santangelo (ITA) v. Zi Yan (CHN)[8]/Jie Zheng (CHN)[8]
Bruno Soares (BRA)/Dusan Vemic (SRB) v. Rajeev Ram (USA)/Bobby Reynolds (USA)
Lucas Arnold Ker (ARG)/Guillermo Canas (ARG) v. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
Kveta Peschke (CZE)[6]/Pavel Vizner (CZE)[6] v. Liezel Huber (USA)/Jamie Murray (GBR)
Sabine Lisicki (GER)/Aravane Rezai (FRA) v. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[4]/Ai Sugiyama (JPN)[4]
TBA - 4:00 PM Start
Virginie Razzano (FRA)/Rogier Wassen (NED) v. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)/James Cerretani (USA) or Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[2]/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]
Arthur Ashe - 11:00 AM Start
Roberta Vinci (ITA) v. Dinara Safina (RUS)[6]
Rossana De Los Rios (PAR) v. Venus Williams (USA)[7]
James Blake (USA)[9] v. Steve Darcis (BEL)
Arthur Ashe - 7:00 PM Start
Serena Williams (USA)[4] v. Elena Vesnina (RUS)
Rafael Nadal (ESP)[1] v. Ryler De Heart (USA)
Armstrong - 11:00 AM Start
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[10] v. Wayne Odesnik (USA)
Mardy Fish (USA) v. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)[24]
Ana Ivanovic (SRB)[1] v. Julie Coin (FRA)
Gael Monfils (FRA)[32] v. Evgeny Korolev (RUS)
Grandstand - 11:00 AM Start
Bethanie Mattek (USA) v. Alize Cornet (FRA)[17]
Michael Llodra (FRA) v. Andy Murray (GBR)[6]
Kaia Kanepi (EST) v. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)[32]
Sam Querrey (USA) v. Nicolas Devilder (FRA)
Court 4 - 11:00 AM Start
Alona Bondarenko (UKR)[27] v. Sabine Lisicki (GER)
Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) v. Flavio Cipolla (ITA)
Florent Serra (FRA) v. Ivo Karlovic (CRO)[14]
Daniel Nestor (CAN)[1]/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[1] v. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE)/Jim Thomas (USA)
Court 5 - 11:00 AM Start
Chase Buchanan (USA)/Ryan Harrison (USA) v. Tommy Robredo (ESP)/Sergio Roitman (ARG)
Fabio Fognini (ITA)/Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) v. Julien Benneteau (FRA)[16]/Nicolas Mahut (FRA)[16]
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)/Urszula Radwanska (POL) v. Zi Yan (CHN)[8]/Jie Zheng (CHN)[8]
Janette Husarova (SVK)[11]/Shuai Peng (CHN)[11] v. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE)/Selima Sfar (TUN)
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)/Patty Schnyder (SUI) v. Vania King (USA)/Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)
Court 6 - 11:00 AM Start
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) v. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)
Tathiana Garbin (ITA) v. Agnes Szavay (HUN)[13]
Jose Acasuso (ARG) v. Gilles Simon (FRA)[16]
Sabine Lisicki (GER)/Aravane Rezai (FRA) v. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)/Ipek Senoglu (TUR)
Court 7 - 11:00 AM Start
Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)[20] v. Severine Bremond (FRA)
David Ferrer (ESP)[4] v. Andreas Beck (GER)
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)/Pablo Andujar (ESP) v. Bob Bryan (USA)[2]/Mike Bryan (USA)[2]
Sara Errani (ITA)/Karin Knapp (ITA) v. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[4]/Ai Sugiyama (JPN)[4]
Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) v. Arnaud Clement (FRA)[10]/Michael Llodra (FRA)[10]
Court 8 - 11:00 AM Start
Nadia Petrova (RUS)[19] v. Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)
Robert Kendrick (USA)/Ryan Sweeting (USA) v. Jonathan Erlich (ISR)[3]/Andy Ram (ISR)[3]
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[6]/Shahar Peer (ISR)[6] v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)/Francesca Schiavone (ITA)
Lucie Safarova (CZE)/Mara Santangelo (ITA) v. Anne Keothavong (GBR)/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
Alexa Glatch (USA)/Scott Lipsky (USA) v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)/Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)
Court 9 - 11:00 AM Start
Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU) v. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)[18]
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)[4]/Mark Knowles (BAH)[4] v. Johan Brunstrom (SWE)/Thomas Johansson (SWE)
Marta Domachowska (POL)/Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) v. Sybille Bammer (AUT)/Martina Muller (GER)
Maria Elena Camerin (ITA)/Gisela Dulko (ARG) v. Jamie Hampton (USA)/Coco Vandeweghe (USA)
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)/Marcin Matkowski (POL) v. Shahar Peer (ISR)/Paul Hanley (AUS)
Court 10 - 11:00 AM Start
Jurgen Melzer (AUT) v. Jiri Vanek (CZE)
Robert Lindstedt (SWE)/Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) v. Jesse Levine (USA)/Donald Young (USA)
Mariya Koryttseva (UKR)/Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR) v. Lindsay Davenport (USA)/Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
Max Mirnyi (BLR)[14]/Jamie Murray (GBR)[14] v. Michal Mertinak (SVK)/Lovro Zovko (CRO)
Lindsay Davenport (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA) v. Tatiana Poutchek (BLR)/Christopher Kas (GER)
Court 11 - 11:00 AM Start
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[9] v. Mariana Duque Marino (COL)
Shuai Peng (CHN) v. Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[16]
Andrey Golubev (KAZ) v. David Nalbandian (ARG)[7]
Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)[17] v. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)
Court 13 - 11:00 AM Start
Roko Karanusic (CRO) v. Kei Nishikori (JPN)
Olga Govortsova (BLR) v. Ai Sugiyama (JPN)[30]
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) v. Jessica Moore (AUS)
Viktor Troicki (SRB) v. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[25]
Court 14 - 11:00 AM Start
Michael Kohlmann (GER)/Alexander Peya (AUT) v. Simon Aspelin (SWE)[6]/Julian Knowle (AUT)[6]
Emilie Loit (FRA)/Pauline Parmentier (FRA) v. Lisa Raymond (USA)[10]/Samantha Stosur (AUS)[10]
Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)[4]/Julian Knowle (AUT)[4] v. Casey Dellacqua (AUS)/Jordan Kerr (AUS)
Kveta Peschke (CZE)[6]/Pavel Vizner (CZE)[6] v. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)/Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP)/Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) v. Tracy Lin (USA)/Riza Zalameda (USA)
Court 15 - 11:00 AM Start
Marc Gicquel (FRA)/Sebastien Grosjean (FRA) v. Rohan Bopanna (IND)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)
Lucie Hradecka (CZE)/Renata Voracova (CZE) v. Christina Fusano (USA)/Shenay Perry (USA)
Petra Kvitova (CZE)/Gabriela Navratilova (CZE) v. Iveta Benesova (CZE)[12]/Galina Voskoboeva (RUS)[12]
Rika Fujiwara (JPN)/Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) v. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)[5]/Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP)[5]
Natalie Grandin (RSA)/Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) v. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)/Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM - 11:00 AM Start
Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] v. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)
Lindsay Davenport (USA)[23] v. Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN)
Rafael Nadal (ESP)[1] v. Bjorn Phau (GER)
ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM - 7:00 PM Start
Coco Vandeweghe (USA) v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[2]
James Blake (USA)[9] v. Donald Young (USA)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG STADIUM - 11:00 AM Start
David Ferrer (ESP)[4] v. Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG)
Shuai Zhang (CHN) v. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[3]
Sergio Roitman (ARG) v. Andy Murray (GBR)[6]
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) v. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)[10]
Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)[17] v. Guillermo Canas (ARG)
Grandstand - 11:00 AM Start
Gael Monfils (FRA)[32] v. Pablo Cuevas (URU)
Shahar Peer (ISR)[24] v. Na Li (CHN)
Andreas Beck (GER) v. John Isner (USA)
Ahsha Rolle (USA) v. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[21]
Court 4 - 11:00 AM Start
Vania King (USA) v. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[10] v. Simone Bolelli (ITA)
Petra Kvitova (CZE) v. Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP)
Oscar Hernandez (ESP) v. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)
Denis Gremelmayr (GER) v. Steve Darcis (BEL)
Court 5 - 11:00 AM Start
Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP) v. Yvonne Meusburger (AUT)
Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) v. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[25]
Jiri Vanek (CZE) v. Stephane Bohli (SUI)
Emilie Loit (FRA) v. Maria Elena Camerin (ITA)
Court 6 - 11:00 AM Start
Ryan Sweeting (USA) v. Roko Karanusic (CRO)
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[28] v. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)
Ryler De Heart (USA) v. Olivier Rochus (BEL)
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)[26] v. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL)
Court 7 - 11:00 AM Start
Patty Schnyder (SUI)[15] v. Anastasia Pivovarova (RUS)
Wayne Odesnik (USA) v. Fabio Fognini (ITA)
Feliciano Lopez (ESP)[27] v. Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
Jie Zheng (CHN) v. Shenay Perry (USA)
Court 8 - 11:00 AM Start
Evgeny Korolev (RUS) v. Robin Soderling (SWE)
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[14] v. Klara Zakopalova (CZE)
Karin Knapp (ITA) v. Iveta Benesova (CZE)
Zi Yan (CHN) v. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE)
Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR) v. Mariya Koryttseva (UKR)
Court 9 - 11:00 AM Start
Pauline Parmentier (FRA) v. Marina Erakovic (NZL)
Jelena Kostanic Tosic (CRO) v. Sara Errani (ITA)
Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) v. Michael Llodra (FRA)
Gisela Dulko (ARG) v. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)
Court 10 - 11:00 AM Start
Marcel Granollers (ESP) v. Gilles Simon (FRA)[16]
Alexa Glatch (USA) v. Anne Keothavong (GBR)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) v. Brendan Evans (USA)
Tamira Paszek (AUT) v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[22]
Court 11 - 11:00 AM Start
Aravane Rezai (FRA) v. Asia Muhammad (USA)
Galina Voskoboeva (RUS) v. Marion Bartoli (FRA)[12]
Marcos Daniel (BRA) v. David Nalbandian (ARG)[7]
Viktor Troicki (SRB) v. Carsten Ball (AUS)
Court 13 - 11:00 AM Start
Kei Nishikori (JPN) v. Juan Monaco (ARG)[29]
Aiko Nakamura (JPN) v. Sybille Bammer (AUT)[29]
Luis Horna (PER) v. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[25]
Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[8] v. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)
Court 14 - 11:00 AM Start
Michael Berrer (GER) v. Jose Acasuso (ARG)
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) v. Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)
Ekaterina Bychkova (RUS) v. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)
Lucie Safarova (CZE) v. Sorana Cirstea (ROU)