2008 US Open : Tags : nadal

The Return of Tsonga

Posted by active_tennis Aug 27, 2008

Looks like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is back in action.

The 23-year-old from Le Mans, France advanced at the U.S. Open following a first-round win against Santiago Ventura, needing four sets for the win, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

Tsonga stunned the tennis world (and Rafael Nadal in the semis) at the Australian Open with an unstoppable aggressiveness and uncanny ability to make impossible shots.

While not quite recovered from recent knee surgery for an Olympic appearance, Tsonga makes his official return to tennis. He missed the majority of the clay and grass seasons due to the operation and wasn't able to return to the practice courts until the beginning of August.

Tsonga withdrew from Monte-Carlo in May due to the recurring knee injury, which stems from either his hard work on the courts or his hard play in the clubs.

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Pilot Pen: The Tourney That Time Forgot

Posted by active_tennis Aug 26, 2008

Like having a birthday just before Christmas, you kind of get overlooked.

Marin Cilic captured his first career ATP title with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Mardy Fish in the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven last Saturday.

While all the major media sites were preparing for the US Open, there was still a battle to be one in the last US Open Series tournament before the Open, the Pilot Pen Tennis.

But you wouldn't know it from the front pages of ESPN Tennis, Tennis.com and Sports Illustrated, which had large, blaring images of Rafael Nadal with headlines like, "Can Rafa Handle No. 1?" Even the tournament's own site, pilotpentennis.com, didn't refresh their front page at all during the small Connecticut tournament.

Just as all God's children go to heaven, all children of tennis deserve a headline. Sorry, Cilic, your first ATP title went hardly noticed in the shadow of the last Slam of the season.

(Photo: AP/Fred Beckham)

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Ways to Catch the US Open

Posted by active_tennis Aug 23, 2008

TV Schedule

As usual, CBS and USA will own the Open. USA network's extensive coverage is great if you subscribe to anything other than basic cable. Otherwise you're stuck with some semi-final action and the main quarterfinals and finals on CBS. Can't complain too much, though. The way things are going with TV and tennis, we're lucky to have any coverage at all.

USOpen.org Radio

During the 2008 US Open, USOpen.org Radio provides continuous live coverage, including a daily talk show, live match calls, and player interviews.

IBM SlamTracker

The US Open SlamTracker offers live scores and an interactive draw in a convenient micro-site package. For following matches at work or in conjunction with US Open Radio, this is the next best thing to watching the Open live. Visit USOpen.org and select "Interactive Draw" on right rail.

Live @ the Open

Click and tune in LIVE at the top of every hour from 11am to 7pm Eastern time for a five-minute recap of scores, expert analysis, interviews, features from around the ground and more on "Live @ the Open presented by American Express." The show originates from various locations around the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Nadal: The New No. 1 the One to Watch

Posted by active_tennis Aug 18, 2008

There's a new king in town.

22-year-old Rafael Nadal put an end to Roger Federer's 237-week run as No. 1 to claim the top spot in tennis.

It's been a three-year goal for the Spaniard, who has a child-like gaiety off the courts, and a focused intensity on the courts. His all-out athletic style harkens back to the bull fighting days of Spain's yesteryear, transforming the tennis courts to a life-and-death arena where a battle waits to be won.

Coming off a Roland Garros win, a four-hour marathon victory over Federer at Wimbeldon and a freshly minted gold medal from the Olympics, Rafael Nadal is definitely the man of the hour in the 2008 US Open.

The hardcourts in New York, however, have not been kind to Nadal in his career – as he has never advanced past the quarterfinals and lost in the fourth round to buddy David Ferrer in 2008 after suffering from an injury to his left knee.

"I'm not so concerned about the way he hits ball, it's the way he moves and body type he has,'' said Paul Annacone, the men's head coach for Great Britain's Lawn Tennis Association. "He's a big, huge, strong athlete, but there's a lot of muscle mass to carry around. Like Boris Becker, he's big and he's doing all that stopping and starting, pounding side to side.

"The guys that reach that level the most efficiently and easily tend to have the longevity. That's Roger and Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, to an extent. Rafa can play at really high levels. But it takes more out of him to do so. I'd say he is incrementally more vulnerable than someone like a Federer."

Nadal has proved this year he is a threat on all surfaces. Now he needs to prove he has the athletic and mental ability to remain at No. 1.

Photo: (Clive Brunskill/Getty)

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