Sort of grateful for 5th set tie-breakers at the Open....
Is this the only major that does this?

How many times is Roddick going to lose a match like this? It reminded me of the Gasquet match at Wimbledon last year. I don't get it. I'm not as impressed by Isner as I am disappointed in Roddick. Isner out in 3 easy sets in the next round.

Oh, Andy - not again!

Por favor, Rafa.......

Mmmm Hmmm...just when I think its safe to start throwing Roddick back in the conversation. Good job Isner. Bye Robo Rod.

Blake: outtie.

Two Americans in the second week of the USO, and neither of them is named Blake or Roddick. How far back do we have to go for that one? Roddick had that early exit to Muller in 2005, but that was the year Blake played that famous quarterfinal against Agassi (not to mention steamrolled Nadal) so he was still around. And Roddick's otherwise been in the QFs or better since what, 2001?

Unfortunately I'm not sure if Isner has another Top 10 upset left in him, and Dent's style of play is exactly the kind Murray loves to chew up and spit out, with just about the best returns and passing shots in the business; but it's cool to have them both still in the mix.

Blake's exit was not a surprise. He played one US Open Series event and lost early there, and was lucky to get to round 3 here. Isner and Dent I feel will end their runs in the 4th round. Roddick however was many people's second choice after Federer to win this tournament. I didn't see the match but thank god I won't have to listen to PMAc and JMac and all the other American commentators hype him up. Nice to see some American flags though heading into week 2 with the WS, Oudin, Isner and Dent.

As much as Andy R has improved almost every aspect of his game, sometimes old habits die hard. In the only (I think) minibreak of the 5th set breaker, Isner hit a short ball. Instead of pouncing on it, Andy almost seemed to be dragged up to the net (reminiscent of Fed's short slices). He hit a forehand with way too much topspin, which sat up nicely for 6'9" Isner, such that John managed to crack a passing shot winner from 10 feet behind the baseline. You gotta think that play made Larry Stefanki groan and drop his head into his hands, at least figuratively. But you gotta give credit to Isner too. He kept coming in and knocking off some terrific volleys. Andy put a lot of passing shots into play, that is, they weren't dropping into the net or flying long. But if there's one way in which Andy still lags well behind the four guys ranked above him, it's the passing shot. Roger, Andy M, Rafa, and Novak all possess superb passing shots off both sides. Andy's passes aren't quite good enough yet to bother a guy who's volleying well like Isner was tonight.

They didn't show that much of the Blake/Robredo match, but it looked like James just didn't have it tonight whereas Robredo was pretty solid, especially on serve. Tommy put 64% of the first ones in compared to 49% for James, and Tommy seemed to pump in a great 1st serve at all the critical moments. Even during his best stretches, James never had footwork quite good enough to pull off the superaggressive Seles/Agassi style of play, at least not with enough consistency. Now that he's approaching the big 3-Oh, his footwork seems to have dropped off even more.

I'm bummed they didn't show much of the Verdasco/Haas match. Fernando came back from a break down in the 5th to win it. Considering El Bonito's superior fitness, I gotta think he'll handle Isner fairly easily in the next round. I'd be bummed that they didn't show much of the Djoke/Witten match too, except that Novak was playing so badly that it was probably a blessing in disguise.

Good point about the quality of play from the Big 4, that it seems to be more a matter of who is embarrassing himself the least. I'd put Rafa at the top of the list, because the only thing that's off seems to be his serve, and that might be a minor physical problem, nothing technical or mental. Fed is next up, because at least he's been able to right the ship when necessary. I haven't watched any of Andy M's matches yet, but he's gotta rank above Novak, who looked downright amateurish today.

I had to leave my house when Roddick-Isner were at 4-all in the 5th. Up until then I agree that Roddick played way too safe last night - spinning his forehand, pushing his backhand and forgetting where the inside of the court was. That Wimbledon loss, and those 4 Set Points he let slip away in the 2nd Set Tiebreak that day, evidently haven't gone completely away. He's been in some tight ones since then and hasn't won many of them.

Almagro's got really sexy Bedroom Eyes.

& a sexy tush!

Edit:

Found this pix. Ooh la la.

OMG I want to just run on the court and stage an intervention with Davydenko. Those grandpa shorts are a MESS!!!!!!

So Davydenko retires because of his leg, giving Soderling his second retired opponent in the tournament. Wonder what the record is for retired foes in the same event??

Acasuso quit against Monfils. Davydenko's Leg, Nadal's Stomach, Verdasco's Back. Simon's knee. Venus, Zveroneva wearing more garb on their legs than anyplace else. Oudin with a thigh wrap. Ditto for Gonzo's knee.

Am I missing anyone on the list of what should be called the 2009 Walking Wounded US Open?

So one service break per set basically decided the Isner/Verdasco match.

Good result for tall Isner, making it this deep into the draw... embarrassing for the American men's game as a whole. First year ever an American didn't make it at least to the qtrs. This is what they said during the match, I'm too lazy to look it up.

Well, we've known Roddick has had the ability to just go away (and ironically, he's really picked things up this year, making it to later rounds than usual in all slams this year, with a thrilling 5 setter vs the Fed at the Big W, just to fade here) and that there aren't a lot of really promising youngsters...but is anyone else concerned that the hopes for American players are Querry and Isner? Do Roddick/Fish/Blake have much left?

Meh, I'm just bitter...I'm used to having someone else other than Rafa to root for at this point during the USO. Now, with Rafa's abdominal strain and the Djoke and Murray playing pretty poorly (and even the Fed hasn't been that glowing), it just seems like there isn't much to get excited about in the remaining men's draw...much like American men's tennis.

But were they as bad a Isner's pajama pants?? What is up with that? Nadal, Fed, Verdasca, many others looking so stylish....he looked like he had a bad trip to the Goodwill store.

Mmmmmm thats a tough one tealsea. Isner is so tall and poor thing just has that awkward tall walk thing goin on. But yeah those shorts of his are very shaky. I know I know...its the tennis that matters but I can't help from making my fashion comments. Nadal and Federer just always seem to be so well put together. Thank god Nadal ditched the pirate pants, although I can't see the shape of the booty as well as with them. But the capris generally are just....ungh ungh.

And good grief I know CBS has sponsors to pay the bills but that Geico caveman commerical is grating my nerves. If I hear that "Let me be Myself" song ONE MORE TIME......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The commercial I keep seeing is the Roddick one for LaCoste. And what is the name of that song they put in that one - or who sings it??

Oh yeah voicemale...that one too. Is that the one where its kind of low budget looking with models up and down the runway and occasional shots of Andy?

If I see that "I always feel like...somebody's watching me" commercial too many more times, you know, the one with the stack of cash with eyeballs, I swear I'll throw my TV out the window. That one gets played at least 20 times per hour. Enough, already.

Yeah - love that term "low budget" terp - it's perfect!! What is kinda cool about it is the 16mm film footage of him as opposed to digital video. Nice touch. It's that song I can't get out of my head - if I only knew what it was!

A bit surprised at the perving over Almagro - seems a bit cross-eyed and out-of-shape to me. Not in the top several dozen players as far as attractiveness - hell, among the top Spaniards alone he's outside the Top 5. Subjective, I know.

Speaking of Spaniards, Verdasco didn't really have to do anything spectacular today. What a disappointing effort from Isner - he was flubbing key volleys that he was landing in the clutch against Roddick, and his serve let him down at a lot of key moments. Bizarrely, he stayed in the back of the court most of the time, where of course he was outgunned, instead of rushing the net at every opportunity like his last match. He couldn't even force a single tiebreaker. The biggest shame is that it was Fernando who had the nervier start, but big John didn't capitalise on it at all. It was an opportunity missed to really solidify a name for himself, I feel, and Verdasco, who looked like he was on the way out down 1-3 in the fifth set to Haas, may instead make his second Slam semi if Djoko isn't careful.

No matter what, Fed pretty much owns this half of the draw although Djoko might manage to make him work a little. He already threw in the one bad match he has been doing early at the majors lately (Andreev, Berdych, Acasuso) against Hewitt and survived that without too much trouble. The other half seems like it will come down to the winner of the Del Potro v Murray QF, neither of whom will get the job done on Sunday.

Oh yes...another Geico commercial. I find myself bopping to it though when it comes on. By the end of the week though I may be with you in putting one of my golf clubs through the flat screen.

Voicemale I can't think of the name of that song for the Lacoste commerical.

Urban...I'm totally with you when it comes to Almagro. Meh is my opinion. Ungh ungh at your cross eyed comment lol. But I would look at him all day than Radek Stepanek. My god this man is hard to look at. How in the hell does Vaidisova do it. Speaking of Nikki V...they showed her supporting her man (threw up in my mouth) with his match against Djokoviic. WHAT DID HE DO TO HER?!!! She needs to be out on that practice court. What are the men doing to these women. Verdsasco dates Ivanovic and her stock is dipping SHARPLY with every tournament. Nicole should've learned from Hingis.

It's amazing how a player can change from one match to the next. I actually thought Djokovic might lose to Stepanek after his crappy performance in the previous round.

They used to call Hingis the black widow, but Stepanek's been the purest poison for the women he's dated. Didn't ivanovic fall apart before dating verdasco, though?

It says a lot about the quality of play this year when we're devoting so much bandwidth to commercials that annoy us. It's a shame since Wimbledon was so gppd this year (even without Nadal). Let's hear it for the ladies. If it weren't for Clijsters and Oudin and Serena, I'd be taking care of the lawn.

Very efficient and sharp from Djokovic tonight. I think that was the best performance from any of the top 4 so far.

Anyone see the always stylish Tipsarovic? Played in the men's dubs yesterday. I think the U.S. Open has been the tournament with more of a showcase for style....NY thing.
Yes, nix on the clam diggers and Geico needs to go away.

Maybe Cilic's time to break through has arrived.

I had him down as the main player to do so in our 09 crystal ball thread, but was on the verge of thinking he was stuck...

Wow..at this moment Murray is looking pretty shabby down 2 Sets to Love. And I heard that if Nadal goes one round further than Murray here, Rafael will be #2 again come Monday.

And I've decided Patrick McEnroe is even more annoying in the broadcast booth than his own brother. And that's saying something

Well, that was just the latest chapter in Murray's flops at the Slams. He's brilliant everywhere else but the majors, where he manages to lose the matches he should be winning at this point in his career. But kind of like Wozniacki on the women's side, Cilic has been overdue for a breakthrough into the QFs after reaching the final 16 several times, so I'm glad he was the one to pull the upset.

So I'm seriously hoping Rafa manages to win tonight so he can take back the No 2 spot, but the abdominal injury really throws everything into question and Monfils has already defeated him on hard courts this year. Either way I'm going to be there to see it in person. Woo.

The trophy engraver has already started....R....O....G...

Since I don't play tennis, I have a question for you tennis players:

Is it considered poor form or poor sportsmanship to yell, "Come On" when you win a point by your opponent's mistake or unforced error?

Watching this year's Open on TV I've heard Lleyton Hewitt, Melanie Oudin and Andy Murray all loudly yell, "Come On" at times immediately after their opponent misses a shot on an unforced error.

Seems like it would be cool to for a player to yell "Come On" or some other celebratory shout when he or she hits a winner to get the point. But to shout out like that immediately after your oppenent's mistake seems a bit 'off'. Just curious as to what is considered good tennis etiquette.

Dreadful show from Murray today. He had about as much spark as a 10 year old battery. Certainly did not, for whatever reason, live up to the expectations today. I expected much better, although Cilic did play extremely well.

You're probably going get as many viewpoints as individual answers to that. In the women's thread a poster has complained about Oudin's "cmon"s, which aren't really any different from the cries of "allez" and "ajde" of recent years in the WTA.

My viewpoint would be that if you're a pro player and you're bothered by it, you've got a problem.

And that as a spectator, how much one likes or is annoyed by the war cry depends on how much one likes or is annoyed by the player. Unless you're old school and favor no noise, but even Federer usually yells out after winning crucial points.

What I like about Oudin's "cmon" is that it's backed up by fierce belief, and always sounds -- to me -- like it is directed at herself, even when her opponent has made an error. (I def understand the view that doing that on an error is rude, but I'm not hardline about it as a fan.) With some of the recent WTA players those kinds of shout outs seem fake and like a catchphrase, something now borne out by those players' lousy results and declines in form. With Oudin it seems genuine.

I find Hewitt's "cmon" hilarious. Probably in the minority there.

As for playing someone who does that on weekends or USTA tournaments, I've encountered way, way worse gamesmanship or cheating. Without refs around you wouldn't believe what some people get up to.

You're right. Whenever I look @ a player whom I find attractive I never have lustful thoughts.

I'd say you'll hear it more when the match gets tight, or starts to slip away from the one who reads their press accounts saying they should win the match they're playing, or if they have an opponent playing lights out and they have no answer themselves. I don't think any of it's personal (although in some cases they probably do it for the exact purpose of getting under the other one's skin). Overall though, these players work so hard to get to the top, and even harder to stay there - I think it's more reflective of the pressure of the moment and not meant as a slight to the opponent.

Some of these rallies are just unbelievable. These guys make the court look really slow.

Hi All.....Did anybody see this after Nadal beat Monfils? Was Rafael trying to go back for more as security was pulling the guy away??

Nadal kissed by fan

NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal was kissed by a fan who invaded the Arthur Ashe Stadium court after he beat Gael Monfils to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals on Tuesday.

The Spaniard was returning to his chair having removed his shirt when the male fan put his arms around the former world number one and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Security staff bundled the fan away quickly while a smiling Nadal appeared unruffled by the incident.

“The man has been arrested and it is now in the hands of the NYPD and we will be reviewing the footage to see whether security needs to be strengthened,” USTA official Tim Curry said.

Asked about his close shave with the fan, Nadal told reporters: “For me it wasn’t a problem. The guy was really nice. he was a great fan, he said I love you.”

It is the second time this year at a grand slam that a fan has made contact with a player on court following an incident in the French Open final where a spectator rushed on and tried to put a hat on world number one Roger Federer.

Hats off to Cilic, but wow, what a disappointing performance from Murray. I know his wrist was bothering him, but he can't use that as an excuse (credit to him for not doing so). With Andy M's puff-puff-puff-KILL strategy, he could have sliced almost all his backhands anyway. Sure, Cilic's serve and forehand were booming today, but it's nothing Andy hasn't seen before. Before the Aussie Open, Novak and I think Roger said that they didn't consider Andy Murray to be one of the favorites because you can't really consider someone a favorite for a Slam until he's won one already. At the time, I thought the comment seemed rather peevish. But is it really peevish if it's true? Andy M's record in the ATP events is simply terrific, and he deserves that #2 ranking. And even in the other Slams, he's done OK. He matched his best AO result and had a best-ever Roland Garros and Wimbledon. But to end 2009 Slam-less, especially going out like this at the USO, must be extremely disappointing.

All the commentators were picking JMDP over Cilic in tomorrow's match, but if Cilic plays like he did today, I'm not so sure. Nadal/Gonzalez all depends on the severity of Rafa's abdominal injury. He got away with a bunch of ~90 mph serves against Keifer, but Gonzalez will eat those serves alive. Federer over Soderling is a given; I wonder if the sports books are even taking bets on that one. The most intriguing matchup is Novak vs. El Bonito. Novak was very sharp against Stepanek, but you gotta think that all that work with Reyes, Cahill, and most of all Agassi has helped Fernando tremendously. Again, there's the question about the severity of his abdominal injury.

i liked rafa's reaction, both verbally and body-language-wise when it happened.

Ha! I was gonna post the same link. I loved how Rafa took it in stride and looked like he was gonna give the guy a big hug before security jumped in. It was a lighthearted moment, but you have to wonder about security at these events, and why the tennis tours seem to have forgotten the lessons from the Seles stabbing. If this guy had been a nut this could be a very different, very sober conversation today.

Still, I thought Nadal looked spectacular last night. It was - by far - the best he's played since the spring. Some of the rallies were amazing - great hustle and shotmaking by both players. But you could see Nadal essentially wear Monfils down. After the third set it was just a matter of how long would Rafa toy with him before delivering the coup de grace.

And Rafa shirtless was a perfect vision by which to drift off to sleep. I'd leave my chewing gum in his armpits anytime.

Dunno how much Nadal's abdominal issue will bother him. Last night he was lowering his serve toss so he wouldn't have to reach for it. He couldn't kick the 120-plus barrier with any consistency, but he was making his serve heavy enough that Monfils was having a tough time getting it back with much authority. One thing Nadal did do well last night was get a range on blocking back the forehand with great depth every time Monfils tried to hit through it. Nadal gave it a lot of air with the spin and had great success keeping Monfils back behind the base line. Nadal last night actually looked like he could possibly win the whole thing, which looked unlikely up until then. Gonzo really shouldn't be much of a bother to him in Best of 5. Nadal should be able to force Fernando into over hitting that huge forehand often enough to get him smashing his racquet before the day's over.

Federer won't lose to Soderling. Historically those who've posed the most trouble to Federer are the guys who do one of two things: create difficult timing issues for him-especially on his backhand; or attack consistently and powerfully from their backhand side. Nalbandian and Murray are extremely adept at the latter and they get Federer out of the Middle of the Court for long periods in both directions. Nadal is the very best at the former, regularly screwing up Federer's timing on his backhand. Soderling does neither. Interestingly, Djokovic can do what Murray and Nalbandian do to Federer. To the extent Djokovic has beaten Federer it's his Backhand that's held up and did the work for him. They should meet again in the Semis - since Verdasco won't have enough consistency to take Novak out.

JMDP has been playing well all the way through. My question on him would be - does he actually have another gear to go to? Federer hadn't been playing well - until his Robredo match. Ditto Djokovic, until he took out Stepanek. Nadal stepped up from what he'd been doing against Monfils. All three have that Grand Slam Experience of knowing Majors are won in the Second Week, and can easily be lost in the First Week. Agree with Rudy - if Cilic brings the same game he showed Murray, JMDP will need to step it up from what he's been doing. I guess we'll find out whether he'll step it up to win the match, or wait for Cilic to lose it if the Croat's playing well.

I was at this match last night and what started out as looking like an epic US Open night match kind of faded into a bit of a dud. I was hoping to be there past midnight, but Nadal wasn't having it. There were some absolutely AMAZING rallies by both guys, but Monfils just had too many unforced errors and got sucked into the Nadal web. Rafa is fresh and didn't look to be suffering from anything much to me, which makes it even scarier that he's not 100%. His movement is just the best thing I've ever seen from a male tennis player. Absolutely brilliant handling of the pace of shot given the speed of the courts. There were questions about whether or not he could make the final but I can't see anyone left on his side stopping him now.

The incident at the end with the guy on court was scary. I know that it was handled well by him and people seem to be chuckling about it since nothing bad happened... but I'm sorry...it makes no sense that someone can do that. After the incident with Roger and now Rafa, security at these events has to really be reevaluated. Its all lighthearted "ha ha" in the moment when nothing happens, but if there's another Monica incident, it won't be.

P.S. Congrats to Rafa for snatching back #2 from Murray. That didn't last long and it only happened because Rafa had his injury issues and was unable to defend French and completely missing Wimbledon. Hopefully the knees will continue to hold up and the ab issue can be managed for the remainder of the fortnight.

Good point about that incident. And I agree with you - it's crazy and dangerous not to take stuff like that seriously. I guess we've all gotten too far away from Monica Seles to get worked up about something like that.

It's amazing to think Gunter Parche, Monica's assailant, was set free after stabbing her in front of 6,000 people. Yet Graf's Father Peter was jailed and kept in prison for Tax Evasion. I guess Germany back than showed what it's priorities are: attempt murder? No problem - we feel bad that you're a victim of your Steffi obsession.. Keep your own money? Rot in prison until you pay up to the government. Oy vay.

Points for sarcasm, but did you even read what I wrote? I have no issue with the perving on a player itself, obviously - I engage in it enough myself. I was only saying I never really thought of Almagro as a sex object and expressing surprise that it came up. But of course tastes differ.

Anyhow, nothing against you Rudy, but I am seriously sick and tired of hearing about all the fawning over Gil Reyes & Co. in relation to Verdasco's modest success this year, which is pretty much predicated on a single deep run at the AO and now a good run here at the USO. It's not like Nando was some out-of-shape schlub before or sliding into Nalbandian territory (although Nalby has deceptive speed and definite endurance for all the flak he gets over fitness); his issue has always been mental strength, not physical. (Let's not forget the epic semi against Rafa ended with a double-fault on match point.) I'm glad he got something out of good off-season training but it's just not that remarkable compared to what most top players get done in the off-season these days. It's particularly annoying to hear Cahill slobbering all over Verdasco in the commentary booth now - he's actually signed onto the Reyes project recently so he's not exactly the most impartial observer (not that he has to be - hell, Patrick McEnroe all but soaks his knickers at the passing mention of Fed).

Speaking of his tendency towards mental fragility, Verdasco threw in a lousy game at 5-all in the third against Djoko and now trails by two sets to one. Still, he dug out of that five-setter against Haas a few matches ago so he's certainly capable of doing it again (although that was more about Tommy I think). For the sake of at least a tiny bit of suspense in this event, I'd like to see Djoko close this one out, though. Can you believe he's the only active player besides Rafa to take out Fed in a Slam since Nalby did it here in 2003? (SIX YEARS AGO by the way.) That has to count for something, no matter how much someone screams 'mono' at the top of their lungs. I mean, Soderling and Verdasco could play doubles together against Fed and find a way to lose.

Now the kissing fan will be charged.

I understand the legality behind it, but c'mon. He didn't harm Nadal. &, after all, Rafa liked it:

He should be charged and made to pay a hefty price. The players on the court should not have to be concerned with anyone running out on to the court. Monica Seles was assaulted on the court during a match, in front of thousands of people. A few inches over she'd have been murdered. And because of German weirdness the assailant was let off. Maybe it doesn't seem as threatening because these are male players. When's the next one running at Serena. Or Maria. Security at the French and now at the USO have failed to do their jobs.

Never been one to fight much. But if it were me and the guy ran out at me, I'd need a new racket.

I agree it ultimately wound up seeming humorous, but can't be treated as such. Rafa was completely unaware that the guy was charging toward him, just as Monica was unaware all those years ago. If the guy had had a weapon he had the opprtunity to take a shot at harming Rafa. During a match, and in the moments completely following a match, players are completely focused on one thing, and that's as it should be. They are totally vulnerable and rely exclusively on tournament organizers, security personnel, etc. to protect them, and twice now that hasn't been done very well. When you watch the video of this, all the on-court security people had their backs to the crowd. That doesn't strike me as very smart. I'm glad Rafa handled it so graciously publicly, but I hope behind the scenes heads rolled.

Good pts guys!

Munson --- Completely agree that Rafa handled the incident gracioulsy. I also think he handled the male-kiss part of it graciously too. Plus, the media focused more on the security issue rather than the male to male kiss. I fully expected Brad Gilbert to have something snide to say, but to his credit - for once - he didn't.

I'm happy that the male-kiss wasn't a big deal to Rafa...... but outraged that something like this could occur again.

I liked Rafa's quote and even his reaction as it happened.

The USO really seems like it has its priorities wrong. All about corporate sponsorship ruling the (oft-empty) stadium seats and in many ways overall preventing an "open" experience in terms of fans seeing the big players remotely close or just seeing them practice. (Even someone as right-leaning as Bodo has railed about this year after year.) And yet something like this happens. God knows what money they spend on security.

As for tennis:

Marin!

He's surprising me. Must be his popularity amongst tree kangaroos: