US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year in tennis, gets underway tomorrow from Flushing Meadow, NY! Here is a bit of a preview…women’s and men’s favorites and then some other sports/pop culture tidbits.
Ladies first…women’s side could be even more intriguing a pick than the men’s, with the exception of world #1 Serena Williams. If Serena is healthy, fit and motivated (I think she is), then she is the favorite, hands down. Other contenders, Ana Ivanovic has looked really good lately and S. Halep, world #2 should make a serious run at the title. Unfortunately, she has not been able to close out matches when taking an early lead against the likes of Maria Sharapova. Sharapova should be a factor, but she has not beaten Serena in ten years so if those two should meet, gotta go with Serena. A. Radwanska is a crafty, talented player but lacks the power to perhaps bring home this trophy. Missing in action is Li Na, who when on, can beat anyone (well, maybe not Serena at her best!) Venus Williams is now back in the top twenty and playing great tennis and she could certainly make a deep run (would love to see that happen, Venus is now 34 years old). V. Azarenka loves hard court tennis, and NY loves Vika. It is also fun to see her b/f Redfoo rocking in the house cheering her on. Unfortunately, she has really struggled to get her game back after rehabbing from a serious foot injury and then she suffered a knee injury in her last Masters 1000 event. Would love to see Azarenka move back up in the rankings but I think she likely needs more time. Then there is the new darling of the tennis world, Eugenie Bouchard of Canada. Some feel she is ranked and seeded too high. She has been very successful at the Majors this year but has struggled in her past two hard court Masters events, going out right away in front of her home town crowd in Montreal and then losing again early in Cincinnati. Hard to say if she will go deep in this the final Grand Slam of the year or suffer an upset. When all is said and done, have to go with Serena. Oops…apologies to P. Kvitova, this year’s Wimbledon champ. Kvitova just won in New Haven at Yale and she could certainly be a factor! Still, it is Serena as the favorite!
Now for the boys…Novak Djokovic is seeded #1 (and ranked #1) and Roger Federer is seeded #2 (ranked #3 as world #2 Rafael Nadal is out with a right wrist injury) and Stan Wawrinka is seeded #3 (ranked #4). Djokovic is most pundits pick with Federer certainly right there, perhaps even c0-favorite. Well, of course, in my totally biased opinion, Roger Federer is the favorite. He has been the hottest player on tour the past couple of months, lost a heartbreaker to Djokovic in the five set Wimbledon final, and has won more matches than any other player on the men’s tour this year. He is now 33 years old, and winning a Masters 1000 event like in Cincy last week is different from a Grand Slam, 3 sets vs. 5 sets, more grueling for sure. But Fed looks really primed to perhaps finally grab that elusive #18 Grand Slam title he and all of his fans have been dreaming of. Djokovic certainly deserves to be a favorite, but he has struggled in the two Masters events prior, just getting married after Wimbledon and awaiting the birth of his first child. So, these two guys are the favorites, and then we have the field. Wawrinka, would love to see him make a serious run but he has been very hit or miss since his break out win at the first of the year down under (Australian Open title). Berdych is always a tough out, Ferrer is the energizer bunny but I do not see him as huge threat to take this hard court title as he is much better on clay. Andy Murray has continued to struggle this year coming off his back surgery late last year but will probably still make a run, at least to the quarters?? Del Potro is missing still recovering from yet another wrist surgery so the door opens for a couple of the new young guns, hard serving Milos Raonic of Canada and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Both of these guys could go deep and surprise someone, but still think Djokovic and Federer are the guys. Tsonga has come back from a bit of a lapse and is playing great tennis, defeating Federer in the final in Toronto so Jo Willie certainly deserves to be considered in the mix as does hard serving John Isner of the USA. But, when all is said and done, hoping for a rematch…Federer vs. Djokovic and this one going the way of my guy…Mr. Federer.
It all starts tomorrow, Monday, August 25th. Excited, cannot wait!
Elsewhere, we have final round of the Barclays going on in golf, preseason NFL games galore (Peyton Manning even used the “F” word after what he saw as a cheap shot on his WR Wes Walker resulted in yet another concussion for Walker…you go Peyton!), and then, wait for it…College Football starts next weekend (Labor Day weekend). Can you believe it??
A new episode of Unforgettable airs tonight on CBS at 9:00 pm…and I am trying to decide what I think about the new show Reckless which airs after it (10:00 om EST). It is filmed in Charleston, SC and it is very much “Charleston” for sure. (I feel compelled to complain yet again that my favorite guilty pleasure, Betrayal which aired at 10:00 pm on another network (ABC) will not be coming back this fall!)
Monday, drumroll please…it is Emmy night. The Emmy Awards will air live on NBC starting at 8:00 pm EST. Seth Meyers is hosting and it should be a great show!
So, take it all in and enjoy your Sunday. Much to be stoked about in the world of sports and pop culture this week and next!
