US Open Day 8

Matches of Note:

Murray v Raonic ( )
Federer v Fish
Almagro v Berdych
Cilic v Klizan


Pironkova v Ivanovic (one for the men)
Serena v Hlavackova
Vinci v Aggy Radwanska
Kerber v Errani

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/schedule/index.html?promo=subnav

I may be exaggerating, but I think Murray v Raonic is a huge match, not just in terms of this year's US Open, but also in the future. Murray doesn't want to be losing to the new generation of players already in his career*. The pressure would then be momentous. As for Raonic, if he gets the belief he can beat the big guns at the majors I fear for the future.

*Provided he is fit.

Well the best news about Murray v Raonic is that it is on Ashe

I cannot overstate how much of a big factor that will be and how much that will play into Murray's hands. You can expect him to return a lot of serves from the big man. Being a night match as well Murray won't have the stiffling conditions he stated in an interview post Lopez match, though bizarre with the temp falling as the day wore on.

Almagro v Berdy shall be interesting. I think Maggy could upset the Berd.

Eranni v Kerber could spring a surprise. Eranni duffed up Kerber at RG this year. On a faster court we shall see Kerber with the advantage.

Fancy Vinci to take out Radwanska.

I suppose if it is hot, then the conditions should favour Raonic's game, that is apart from Austrialia, the US Open should give Raonic the best opportunity for doing well in a slam. That said, Murray should have too much experience and tactical nous for Raonic.

It's cool today in the US Open (Well, Marcus said it was)

The Special Juan wrote:*Provided he is fit.

That's the key is it not? Let's hope for his sake that Murray's 'wobble' in the last round was a one-off. It's not particularly encouraging that his explanation included that he had less time to practice in Miami after Wimbledon than he would usually have so he has not been so acclimatised to the afternoon conditions. Nor is it encouraging that he has taken to the US HC swing less well than Federer - maybe playing in Canada straight away was a bad decision. I hope not, as on paper this tournament has looked like his best chance of breaking the duck for a long time.

Otherwise I agree that it's probably serendipitous that against the big server various factors which seem to have gone against him in the last round should not be so present in an evening match at Arthur Ashe - i.e. heat & humidity, surface.

Let's cross our fingers that we won't see another Cilic 2009 or Wawrinka 2010.....

I am very interested in the Raonic match because as Juan says it is a good gauge of how far a long the best player of the young generation is progressing. For Murray as well this should be his first real danger match of the tournament where if he isn't up to snuff he could be out of the tournament real quick. Although Murray should be the favorite I kind of feel like he is a bit ripe for the taking. Andy hasn't played all that great in the US hardcourt season so far and in the early rounds he has done what he has had to do but has not looked nearly as convincing as Djoko or Federer.

Raonic out practicing now. Good move?

She's gonna bagel Tsvetty. Why Ana why?

On a serious note, Ana is playing well. She's definitely worthy of the right to be beaten by Serena in the next round.

If I was Federer, I'd be ever so slightly worried about Berdych. His serving is fantastic v Almagro at the moment, over 90% of points won on it.

The Special Juan wrote:If I was Federer, I'd be ever so slightly worried about Berdych. His serving is fantastic v Almagro at the moment, over 90% of points won on it.

Federer has a habit of crushing big hitters who seemed to have been playing lights out tennis in previous rounds.

The Special Juan wrote:If I was Federer, I'd be ever so slightly worried about Berdych. His serving is fantastic v Almagro at the moment, over 90% of points won on it.

Fed will be more concerned about Fish for the moment. If they both make R8 Fed will know that Berdych is back on form after a poor June and July and that he's no pushover, but Fed knows what to expect from him. Notably (I'd say):

(a) the Berdych/Almagro match is on the relative 'server's paradise' of Louis Armstrong
(b) the conversion % on Berdych's 2nd serve is weak in this match, which would put his 1st serve under pressure if he were to repeat that against Fed
(c) for all the former's merits, Almagro in the USO R16 is not the same as Federer in the USO R8.

Nore Staat wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:If I was Federer, I'd be ever so slightly worried about Berdych. His serving is fantastic v Almagro at the moment, over 90% of points won on it.

Federer has a habit of crushing big hitters who seemed to have been playing lights out tennis in previous rounds.

Whilst I agree with that (Isner springs to mind), it's not like Berdych has never beaten Federer in a BO5 match before. I actully give Berdych a hope, although a very small one, of causing an upset. He needs optimum conditions for his game though, anything less and Federer will hit through him.

Assume everyone knows Fish withdrew today.

The Special Juan wrote:

Nore Staat wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:If I was Federer, I'd be ever so slightly worried about Berdych. His serving is fantastic v Almagro at the moment, over 90% of points won on it.

Federer has a habit of crushing big hitters who seemed to have been playing lights out tennis in previous rounds.

Whilst I agree with that (Isner springs to mind), it's not like Berdych has never beaten Federer in a BO5 match before. I actully give Berdych a hope, although a very small one, of causing an upset. He needs optimum conditions for his game though, anything less and Federer will hit through him.

I agree for sure he's got a hope - he's beaten Fed 4 times so if they play Fed won't take him lightly - but Fed has never lost to him without there being some valid explanation for why Fed is out of sorts physically or in his head.

Fed is coming into this tournament in very decent form so barring a recurrence of his back problems from Wimbledon this year Fed remains the very strong favourite should they meet in R8 - as you put it "upset" would indeed be the right word.

Noting Fish's withdrawal - there is always the possibility of the Fognini effect doing down poor old Fed.

Really, really windy on Ashe now. Who does that favour tonight?

Murray

barrystar wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:

Nore Staat wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:If I was Federer, I'd be ever so slightly worried about Berdych. His serving is fantastic v Almagro at the moment, over 90% of points won on it.

Federer has a habit of crushing big hitters who seemed to have been playing lights out tennis in previous rounds.

Whilst I agree with that (Isner springs to mind), it's not like Berdych has never beaten Federer in a BO5 match before. I actully give Berdych a hope, although a very small one, of causing an upset. He needs optimum conditions for his game though, anything less and Federer will hit through him.

I agree for sure he's got a hope - he's beaten Fed 4 times so if they play Fed won't take him lightly - but Fed has never lost to him without there being some valid explanation for why Fed is out of sorts physically or in his head.

Fed is coming into this tournament in very decent form so barring a recurrence of his back problems from Wimbledon this year Fed remains the very strong favourite should they meet in R8 - as you put it "upset" would indeed be the right word.

Noting Fish's withdrawal - there is always the possibility of the Fognini effect doing down poor old Fed.

I do remember there being a slight niggle with Federer at Wimbledon. Was it his back?; I think it was aggravated by Giraldo/Falla in the 1st round. Still, Berdych played a blinder that day and looks to be right in the zone at the moment. With Fish withdrawing from the tournament that may well have the dreaded "Fognini Effect" on Federer as you said, but I don't think it will. Federer is too professional for that to happen and too wise.


On a seperate note, I hope this isn't the end for Mardy. Recurring heart problems are not a good sign for a professional sportsmans so I hope it's nothing too serious and I want to see him back out there soon.

Errani is giving a masterclass in putting spin on the ball v Kerber. If I was playing someone like that it would really irritate me. She's uner 5 ft 5 too so the ball probably bounces higher than her.

Rain due. Drat and double drat.

Sky Sports report unconfirmed reports that Murray's match is being moved forward to 12pm our time (7pm there) due to the threat of rain.

Lets just hope that whatever action is taken they can complete the match tonight.

Ok, 12:30 start I think.

Spots of rain. Not good.

I've got a bad feeling about this. Murray's match rained off and means (should he win) - matches on Tuesday and Wednesday. I can see it coming.

I'd be worried if it was Tsonga but it's "only" Cilic. I'm more worried about the prospect of a day match v Raonic.

Having said that rain is forecast intermittently for the next few days so looks like everyone could/will be affected.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Having said that rain is forecast intermittently for the next few days so looks like everyone could/will be affected.

It's likely to be a fair bit worse for anyone who has 4 matches to play than it is for someone with 3 matches to play, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles I'm afraid. I think it's the difficulty of getting up for a match and keeping oneself in a state of readiness whilst waiting for the rain that's tiring. It stands to reason that the more matches you have to play the more that happens.

What I can't understand is the USTA stubborness to build a court with a roof over it at Flushing Meadows. Now I understand that (due to its size it is not possible to put a roof on Arthur Ashe Court but from what I understand redevelopment of a couple or three courts is to take place soon but no roofs on any of those courts. Baffling just like it is baffling that they refuse to invest in covers for the courts. Just not good enough - you reap what you sow.

CaledonianCraig wrote:What I can't understand is the USTA stubborness to build a court with a roof over it at Flushing Meadows. Now I understand that (due to its size it is not possible to put a roof on Arthur Ashe Court but from what I understand redevelopment of a couple or three courts is to take place soon but no roofs on any of those courts. Baffling just like it is baffling that they refuse to invest in covers for the courts. Just not good enough - you reap what you sow.

You are right to recognise that Arthur Ashe Court is huge and putting a roof on it would be one hell of a feat. You can't build a smaller court alongside Ashe and put a roof on it - that would be chaos. Imagine - Federer v. Nadal scheduled for Arthur Ashe with 20,000 tickets sold. When there's rain do they barge a doubles match off the neighbouring court with a roof and 9,000 seats, no doubt already filled with different spectators? There's got to be an obvious 'Centre Court' which will host the biggest matches, and that has to be Arthur Ashe or any replacement of it. You can understand why they may not be prepared to re-build Ashe making it smaller, or to adopt a different and smaller major court. I accept that roofs have proven to be a great success at Wimbledon and AO and a roof must be the ultimate goal for USTA and Roland Garros, but slams have managed for 100 years + without them and the absence of a roof is not my main criticism of the USTA. For me it's their penchant for exacerbating problems caused by rain that make the worst difficulties - their schedule bunches the matches up to the end of the last week so rain delays from the 2nd Tuesday onwards cause havoc. They don't cover the courts during the rain for aesthetic reasons (covers are ugly whilst not in use) - we are therefore treated to lengthy mopping up sessions losing time when covered hard courts would have been ready for play for 30 minutes. If the USTA geared their approach to minimising the effect of rain delays in terms of schedule and infrastructure the problems would be quite a lot better.

Any Italians on this forum?

The Italian ladies are doing well - two into the quarter-finals, Errani and Vinci.

Agree Barry, covering Ashe is impossible. They just need to be sensible.

Apparently though they are flattening Louis Armstrong and rebuilding it. That being the case then why not rebuild it with a roof on it?

CaledonianCraig wrote:Apparently though they are flattening Louis Armstrong and rebuilding it. That being the case then why not rebuild it with a roof on it?

For the reason I gave - if Ashe is the biggest court it needs the biggest matches. Having a smaller covered court would make nobody happy:

(a) the TV audience would want the biggest matches on the smaller court to guarantee seeing them
(b) the dynamics of the live venue mean that the biggest match should be in the biggest court so that it is likely to fill up the seats
(c) do you move matches when it rains and upset competitors and possibly spectators if the rain clears up - do you move them back when the rain has cleared up? Or do you leave matches as originally scheduled so the only match played on a rainy day is a smaller one less people want to watch? Do you schedule the final for the smaller court because rain is forecast and risk have 9,000 watch in blazing sunshine when 20,000 could have done? How many tickets do you sell for the final - 20,000 and risk it, or 9,000 releasing the last 11,000 only when the weather forecast convinces you it is possible to have the match on Ashe?

A smaller roofed court would create a particularly vivid tension between the TV audience, the spectators at the venues, and the players which would create a perpetual headache for the organisers which would be worse than the supposed 'advantage' of being able to house a match indoors on a smaller court. What they should do is re-build Louis Armstrong designed easily to accept a roof so that when they eventually have the technology to put one on Ashe they can also put one on Louis Armstrong - but not before.

I don't think the new Louis Armstrong stadium though will be anything but small.

Gotta sleep but looks straightforward for Murray.

Tempted to stay up....but.
Raonic in 4 sets.

Murray to serve, 3-4 down. Murray 1st serve 47%... Raonic 1st serve 74%.

Gosh, Murray must be playing well to still be in this set.

Murray breaks to lead 5-4.

It hasn't felt that low. It's probably because a lot of points have ended with a Raonic error-forced or unforced.

And Murray takes the first set 6-4 with some great returning in that set.

Andy, in intense mode, Raonic wilting, really match over unless Andy loses that mode.

I wouldn't say Raonic was wilting but being made to play those extra shots are telling. Still in this though.

Murray showing why he is regarded one of the best serve returners in the world and breaks Raonic to lead 3-2 in the second set.

Just can not see why some on here were backing Raonic to win. Murray superior in every way.

Perhaps because he is the best server in the world at the moment? Murray though playing great stuff and so focussed but must remain that way.

I guess with Raonic you can think that he might just have a day where he's unbreakable.

ryan86 wrote:I guess with Raonic you can think that he might just have a day where he's unbreakable.

I guess that might happen once in a while, but you still need the game to be able to break.

Plenty of huge servers in the past have won nothing of note.

Murray seals the second set 6-4. Murray has some amazing returning stats and considering he's playing Raonic that is even more impressive.

6-4, 6-4 to Murray, going through the motions, Andy way too smart for Roanic.