Future Tennis Stars http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:46:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 en So Jelena Didn’t Win The US Open, Is That So Bad? http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutureTennisStars/~3/390252025/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/166/so-jelena-didnt-win-the-us-open-is-that-so-bad/#comments Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:45:17 +0000 admin http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/?p=166
Jelena Jankovic Loses The US Open Final

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.

]]> http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/166/so-jelena-didnt-win-the-us-open-is-that-so-bad/feed/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/166/so-jelena-didnt-win-the-us-open-is-that-so-bad/ So Andy Didn’t Win The US Open, Is That So Bad? http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutureTennisStars/~3/388218865/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/161/so-andy-didnt-win-the-us-open-is-that-so-bad/#comments Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:13:23 +0000 admin http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/?p=161

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.

]]> http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/161/so-andy-didnt-win-the-us-open-is-that-so-bad/feed/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/161/so-andy-didnt-win-the-us-open-is-that-so-bad/ US Open - Day 6 OoP http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutureTennisStars/~3/378605775/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/158/us-open-day-6-oop/#comments Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:50:53 +0000 admin http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/?p=158 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]

]]> http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/158/us-open-day-6-oop/feed/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/158/us-open-day-6-oop/ US Open - Day 4 OoP http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutureTennisStars/~3/376728363/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/156/us-open-day-4-oop/#comments Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:41:05 +0000 admin http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/?p=156 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)

]]> http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/156/us-open-day-4-oop/feed/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/156/us-open-day-4-oop/ US Open OoP - Day 1 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutureTennisStars/~3/373574244/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/154/us-open-oop-day-1/#comments Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:41:52 +0000 admin http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/?p=154 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)

]]> http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/154/us-open-oop-day-1/feed/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/154/us-open-oop-day-1/ US Open - Mens Singles Draw http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutureTennisStars/~3/371227003/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/152/us-open-mens-singles-draw/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:03:33 +0000 admin http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/?p=152 Rafael Nadal ESP (1) v Qualifier
Qualifier v Olivier Rochus BEL
Viktor Troicki SRB v Carsten Ball AUS
Luis Horna PER v Philipp Kohlschreiber GER (25)
Tomas Berdych CZE (22) v Sam Querrey USA
Pablo Andujar ESP v Nicolas Devilder FRA
Rainer Schuettler GER v Florent Serra FRA
Qualifier v Ivo Karlovic CRO (14)
James Blake USA (9) v Donald Young USA
Denis Gremelmayr GER v Steve Darcis BEL
Mardy Fish USA v Qualifier
Sebastien Grosjean FRA v Paul-Henri Mathieu FRA (24)
Gael Monfils FRA (32) v Qualifier
Evgeny Korolev RUS v Robin Soderling SWE
Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP v Brendan Evans USA
Marcos Daniel BRA v David Nalbandian ARG (7)

David Ferrer ESP (4) v Martin Vassallo Arguello ARG
Qualifier v John Isner USA
Qualifier v Roko Karanusic CRO
Kei Nishikori JPN v Juan Monaco ARG (29)
Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (17) v Guillermo Canas ARG
Oscar Hernandez ESP v Thomaz Bellucci BRA
Michael Berrer GER v Jose Acasuso ARG
Marcel Granollers ESP v Gilles Simon FRA (16)
Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (10) v Simone Bolelli ITA
Wayne Odesnik USA v Fabio Fognini ITA
Nicolas Lapentti ECU v Yen-Hsun Lu TPE
Qualifier v Mikhail Youzhny RUS (21)
Feliciano Lopez ESP (27) v Jurgen Melzer AUT
Jiri Vanek CZE v Qualifier
Teimuraz Gabashvili RUS v Michael Llodra FRA
Sergio Roitman ARG v Andy Murray GBR (6)

Andy Roddick USA (8) v Fabrice Santoro FRA
Ernests Gulbis LAT v Thomas Johansson SWE
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ESP v Dominik Hrbaty SVK
Hyung-Taik Lee KOR v Andreas Seppi ITA (31)
Nicolas Kiefer GER (20) v Ivo Minar CZE
Scoville Jenkins USA v Jarkko Nieminen FIN
Bobby Reynolds USA v Qualifier
Ivan Navarro ESP v Fernando Gonzalez CHI (11)
Tommy Robredo ESP (15) v Mischa Zverev GER
Vincent Spadea USA v Marat Safin RUS
Qualifier v Carlos Moya ESP
Santiago Ventura ESP v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (19)
Marin Cilic CRO (30) v Julien Benneteau FRA
Robby Ginepri USA v Amer Delic USA
Qualifier v Nicolas Mahut FRA
Arnaud Clement FRA v Novak Djokovic SRB (3)

Nikolay Davydenko RUS (5) v Dudi Sela ISR
Austin Krajicek USA v Agustin Calleri ARG
Albert Montanes ESP v Victor Hanescu ROU
Eduardo Schwank ARG v Dmitry Tursunov RUS (26)
Nicolas Almagro ESP (18) v Frank Dancevic CAN
Sam Warburg USA v Janko Tipsarevic SRB
Laurent Recouderc FRA v Qualifier
Tommy Haas GER v Richard Gasquet FRA (12)
Fernando Verdasco ESP (13) v Igor Kunitsyn RUS
Qualifier v Qualifier
Frederico Gil POR v Jeremy Chardy FRA
Marc Gicquel FRA v Igor Andreev RUS (23)
Radek Stepanek CZE (28) v Potito Starace ITA
Jesse Levine USA v Chris Guccione AUS
Qualifier v Qualifier
Maximo Gonzalez ARG v Roger Federer SUI (2)

]]> http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/152/us-open-mens-singles-draw/feed/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/152/us-open-mens-singles-draw/ US Open - Womens Singles Draw http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutureTennisStars/~3/371221429/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/150/us-open-womens-singles-draw/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:56:07 +0000 admin http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/?p=150 Ana Ivanovic SRB (1) v Vera Dushevina RUS
Qualifier v Casey Dellacqua AUS
Kaia Kanepi EST v Monica Niculescu ROU
Nathalie Dechy FRA v Amelie Mauresmo FRA (32)
Nadia Petrova RUS (19) v Olivia Sanchez FRA
Qualifier v Evgeniya Rodina RUS
Shuai Peng CHN v Eleni Daniilidou GRE
Qualifier v Flavia Pennetta ITA (16)
Daniela Hantuchova SVK (11) v Qualifier
Jessica Moore AUS v Melanie Oudin USA
Marta Domachowska POL v Bethanie Mattek USA
Camille Pin FRA v Alize Cornet FRA (17)
Virginie Razzano FRA (31) v Timea Bacsinszky SUI
Alla Kudryavtseva RUS v Yung-Jan Chan TPE
Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA v Qualifier
Qualifier v Dinara Safina RUS (6)

Serena Williams USA (4) v Kateryna Bondarenko UKR
Elena Vesnina RUS v Julia Vakulenko UKR
Olga Govortsova BLR v Qualifier
Andreja Klepac SLO v Ai Sugiyama JPN (30)
Nicole Vaidisova CZE (20) v Petra Cetkovska CZE
Severine Bremond FRA v Julia Goerges GER
Maret Ani EST v Tathiana Garbin ITA
Gail Brodsky USA v Agnes Szavay HUN (13)
Agnieszka Radwanska POL (9) v Qualifier
Tamarine Tanasugarn THA v Qualifier
Qualifier v Edina Gallovits ROU
Jill Craybas USA v Dominika Cibulkova SVK (18)
Alona Bondarenko UKR (27) v Jamea Jackson USA
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP v Sabine Lisicki GER
Qualifier v Qualifier
Samantha Stosur AUS v Venus Williams USA (7)

Elena Dementieva RUS (5) v Akgul Amanmuradova UZB
Pauline Parmentier FRA v Marina Erakovic NZL
Qualifier v Anne Keothavong GBR
Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP v Francesca Schiavone ITA (25)
Shahar Peer ISR (24) v Na Li CHN
Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO v Sara Errani ITA
Ekaterina Bychkova RUS v Anastasia Rodionova AUS
Ekaterina Makarova RUS v Anna Chakvetadze RUS (10)
Patty Schnyder SUI (15) v Qualifier
Vania King USA v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS
Gisela Dulko ARG v Magdalena Rybarikova SVK
Tamira Paszek AUT v Maria Kirilenko RUS (22)
Katarina Srebotnik SLO (28) v Yanina Wickmayer BEL
Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP v Yvonne Meusburger AUT
Lucie Safarova CZE v Sorana Cirstea ROU
Qualifier v Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (3)

Vera Zvonareva RUS (8) v Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE
Tatiana Perebiynis UKR v Mariya Koryttseva UKR
Aravane Rezai FRA v Asia Muhammad USA
Aiko Nakamura JPN v Sybille Bammer AUT (29)
Lindsay Davenport USA (23) v Aleksandra Wozniak CAN
Alisa Kleybanova RUS v Carla Suarez Navarro ESP
Petra Kvitova CZE v Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP
Galina Voskoboeva RUS v Marion Bartoli FRA (12)
Victoria Azarenka BLR (14) v Klara Zakopalova CZE
Karin Knapp ITA v Iveta Benesova CZE
Emilie Loit FRA v Qualifier
Ahsha Rolle USA v Caroline Wozniacki DEN (21)
Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP (26) v Tsvetana Pironkova BUL
Jie Zheng CHN v Qualifier
Zi Yan CHN v Sofia Arvidsson SWE
Coco Vandeweghe USA v Jelena Jankovic SRB (2)

]]> http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/150/us-open-womens-singles-draw/feed/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/150/us-open-womens-singles-draw/ Congratulations Rafa, Now Comes The Hard Part http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutureTennisStars/~3/368346860/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/147/congratulations-rafa-now-comes-the-hard-part/#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:10:25 +0000 admin http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/?p=147

Congratulations Rafael Nadal, you’re officially, finally, the top ranked player in the world.

Now comes the hard part: staying the top ranked player in the world.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Nadal, he’s the perfect rival for Federer. Now that Nadal is number 1 and Federer is number 2, it only adds another dimension to their rivalry. Only 770 points separate Federer and Nadal.

Now no one can see into the future. Nadal could hold this ranking for a year, two years, three years or six months. What Nadal will see now is that he isn’t chasing anyone anymore. He’s caught Federer and now he’s the top dog and everyone, especially Roger, is chasing him.

Here’s how this could break down for Nadal. How long he lasts at number 1 depends mostly on how well he plays, not necessarily on how well everyone else plays. As I have said in a previous post ( Rafael Nadal Is Great…But Is No Federer ), Nadal is historically an average player from January to May and July to November. This year though, he’s not just better, he’s a totally different player. He reached the semis in Melbourne, semis in Indian Wells and finals in Miami. After his usual clay court tear, he won Queen’s, Wimbledon, Toronto and reached the semis in Cincinnati then won the gold in Beijing. I don’t know who this Rafael Nadal is but he’s definitely not the one who won only 1 title last year after Wimbledon, on clay in Stuttgart last year.

So why could this not last for Nadal?

For one, he has been doing so well for so much of the year that you have to wonder when, or if, this will all catch up to him. Will he crash out of the US Open after an exhausting summer and do little in the fall? Will he be unable to recapture the points he gained in Melbourne, Indian Wells and Miami? Will he have a meltdown during the clay court season and lose the bulk of his points?

All fair questions considering Nadal is such a physical player. The taxing season takes its toll on everyone and Nadal is not immune. As great a physical specimen as he is, he will eventually tire or suffer an injury trying to push himself too hard. If anyone has to reconsider his schedule, it’s him.

What’s next for Federer?

Well, it’s simple: play better. He’s the 4 time defending champion at the US Open and he needs to win it again. A Slam is 1000 points in the rankings and Roger can’t afford to give up any to Nadal. Following the US Open, Federer has a total of 1325 points to defend from Madrid, Basel, Paris and Shanghai. Compare that to Nadal’s paltry 625 points from Madrid, Paris and Shanghai and Nadal could gain quite a bit more from Federer if Roger doesn’t step it up in a hurry.

But there is hope for you Fed fanatics out there.

From January to April of this year, Nadal racked up 1245 points in Chennai, Melbourne, Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami.  Federer for his part has 975 points from Melbourne, Dubai (he actually has none there), Indian Wells, Miami and Estoril. Roger could pick up a lot of points here if Nadal doesn’t revert back to his form from 2005-2007 where he was just average on hard courts.

From after Roland Garros and up to, but not including, Beijing (since it won’t count next year), Federer has a grand total of 1005 points. Nadal meanwhile has almost double that with 1950 points.

Was this year a fluke, or a sign of what’s to come?

It’s hard to imagine that Federer is going downhill just yet. Sure he’s on a slippery slope right now but usually when a player starts the long road into retirement, it’s marked by injuries or personal troubles. None of which Federer has, that we know of anyway. Sampras, Graf, Seles, Capriati, Agassi either were hurt or had serious girlfriends who they eventually married, the so-called wife jinx. When was the last time Federer showed up to a tournament with his leg taped? He probably leads the tour in fewest requests for the trainer. We all know he had mono at the start of the year which threw off his training and his year didn’t really begin until Monte Carlo. Still, after early losses in Toronto and Cincinnati you have to wonder just what is going on with Roger and his mighty forehand. He needs to prove that this year was a mistake, out of sight and out of mind and focus on the task at hand: winning.

Rafael for his part needs to find a way to do what he did this year all the time. He has never competed at the top level year round before and if his body can take the stress, then he could easily dominate on hard courts, clay and grass. The key to his continued success is the clay court season but it may be too much for him. The constant pounding on clay and the need to win Monte Carlo, Rome, Hamburg, Paris and not to mention Barcelona as well is a tad much. He needs to move away from being the greatest clay courter to being the greatest period. If he doesn’t win Monte Carlo, fine. If he doesn’t win in Paris, it’s ok, as long as it means he will be able to compete in Montreal, New York, Miami, Melbourne on a consistent basis.

For the first time in 4 1/2 years, Federer isn’t the top ranked player. Now an incredible year just got even better.

]]> http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/147/congratulations-rafa-now-comes-the-hard-part/feed/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/147/congratulations-rafa-now-comes-the-hard-part/ Finally! Jankovic To Reach #1 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutureTennisStars/~3/353835431/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/141/finally-jankovic-to-reach-1/#comments Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:43:48 +0000 admin http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/?p=141 Jelena Jankovic Is The New Top Ranked Women's Player

Jelena Jankovic Is The New Top Ranked Women's Player

While she won’t win the title in Montreal this week, Jelena Jankovic will realize her childhood dream of becoming the top ranked player on the WTA Tour when the rankings are released on August 11th.

Jankovic will replace compatriot Ana Ivanovic who held the top ranking for 9 weeks from June 9th to August 10th. Jankovic will hold a very slim margin, only 8 points, over Ivanovic. Jankovic will have a total of 3620 points, Ivanovic will have 3612 points.

Jankovic has been a hot player in the last 12 months. Aside from winning Rome this past May, she reached the finals in Toronto last year as well as in Beijing and Miami. She has also reached 6 semifinals in the last year including the first two Slams of this year in Melbourne and Paris.

Jankovic will hold the dubious distinction of becoming the top ranked player without winning a Grand Slam. Kim Clijsters also had this distinction but did later win that elusive Slam title. Jelena will become the 18th player to be ranked #1.

]]> http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/141/finally-jankovic-to-reach-1/feed/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/141/finally-jankovic-to-reach-1/ ATP Draws This Week - Toronto http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/FutureTennisStars/~3/341102051/ http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/140/atp-draws-this-week-toronto/#comments Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:59:29 +0000 admin http://www.futuretennisstars.com/blog/140/atp-draws-this-week-toronto/ (1)Roger Federer (SUI) bye
Gilles Simon (FRA) vs (q)
Ernests Gulbis (LAT) vs Jose Acasuso (ARG)
(14)Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) vs Julien Benneteau (FRA)
(12)Tommy Robredo (ESP) vs (WC)Frederic Niemeyer (CAN)
Marin Cilic (CRO) vs (q)
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) vs Nicolas Mahut (FRA)
(6)Andy Roddick (USA) bye

(4)Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) bye
Carlos Moya (ESP) vs Tommy Haas (GER)
Mardy Fish (USA) vs Nicolas Kiefer (GER)
(15)Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs Andreas Seppi (ITA)
(11)Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
(q) vs (q)
(7)James Blake (USA) bye

(8)Andy Murray (GBR) bye
(q) vs (q)
Samuel Querrey (USA) vs (WC)Marat Safin (RUS)
(9)Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) vs Simone Bolelli (ITA)
(13)Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)
Guillermo Canas (ARG) vs Robin Soderling (SWE)
Mario Ancic (CRO) vs (WC)Frank Dancevic (CAN)
(3)Novak Djokovic (SRB) bye

(5)David Ferrer (ESP) bye
Robby Ginepri (USA) vs Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs (q)
(10)Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs Michael Llodra (FRA)
(16)Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
Gael Monfils (FRA) vs Igor Andreev (RUS)
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) vs (WC)Peter Polansky (CAN)
(2)Rafael Nadal (ESP) bye

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