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Incredible day of tennis today at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio! The men’s final was only two sets, but there were no breaks of serve, as Rafael Nadal defeated John Isner in two tough tie break sets, 7 – 6, 7 – 6. Incredible to think Nadal won but never once broke Isner. This win moves Rafa to the number 2 ranking in the ATP rankings prior to the US Open. Isner should move to #14, back into the top twenty. Sadly, Roger Federer will drop to no. 7, (gasp!), a result of a less than stellar year (so far) and a reduced schedule of play. Nadal has to be the favorite going into the US Open. Still, Djokovic and Murray will certainly be in the mix, as will Del Potro and Berdych and of course, never count out Federer. (He looked the best he has looked this year against a top player in the heart breaking three set quarterfinal loss to Rafa on Friday).
On the women’s side, a tremendous match between #1 and #2, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, and surprise winner, Victoria Azarenka in a third set tie break. Azarenka takes the title, 2- 6, 6 – 2, 7 – 6. Serena had several opportunities to serve for the match, and failed. She has played a tremendous amount of tennis in the past two weeks and perhaps was a bit weary, but take nothing away from Azarenka. She fought and really took it to Serena in the third set. So, Serena heads to the US Open as the favorite, with Azarenka lurking right there with her! US Open coverage begins one week from tomorrow!
A couple of other bits of sporting news: The Braves took care of the Nationals today 2-1, making up for a tough loss last night in 15 innings, 7 – 8. It was especially disappointing as they trailed 5 – 7 in the ninth when Heyward hit his second home run of the night, a two run homer to tie the game.
Also, the AP Preseason College Football Poll came out over the weekend. Top ten: 1. Alabama (58 of 60 1st place votes), 2. Ohio State, 3. Oregon, 4. Stanford (I believe both these two Pac 12 schools could challenge for the National Championship!), 5. Georgia, 6. South Carolina, 7. Texas A&M, 8. Clemson (do not rule them out of the National Championship picture?), 9. Louisville, and 10. Florida
Rest of top twenty-five: 11. FSU, 12. LSU, 13. Oklahoma State, 14. Notre Dame, 15. Texas, 16. Oklahoma, 17. Michigan, 18. Nebraska, 19. Boise State, 20. TCU, 21. UCLA, 22. Northwestern, 23. Wisconsin, 24. USC and 25. Oregon State
Gee, no Georgia Tech? Oh well, hard to believe but it all gets underway in two weeks. Cannot wait!! Both US Open and College Football season get underway in late August.
