USO: Unteachable Talent

US Open—New York

It’s often difficult to understand the genius or the questionable choices of an elite level athlete. Whether it’s a reverse inside-out forehand, or a back-pedaling overhead into the corner, the seemingly unthinkable appears like a walk through Central Park for the pros.

Entering tonight’s Louis Armstrong match between James Blake and Peter Polansky, I certainly had my fare share of reservations towards the potential winner. I knew that Blake would be coming in slightly injured and not confident, while Polansky was in the best form of his career, defeating Juan Monaco and Jurgen Melzer in recent outings.

Knowing Polansky quite well from his junior days, I thought that he held a more than even shot at victory. His forehand contained enough juice to penetrate the slick court, and his foot speed and athleticism allowed him to complete with the best players in the world.

Beginning the contest locked in a servers duel, neither player would manage to dent the others delivery, while marching forward to an inevitable tiebreak. Unleashing a picture perfect backhand return to take a 5-1 lead, Polansky would gain a first set advantage after 38 minutes. While Blake remained suffocated in his go-for-broke game-style, Polansky continued to display his ever improving game.

Fast forwarding to the end of the match for a moment, Blake told the supportive crowd that “I played a pretty passive, not-so-spectacular first set, especially in the tiebreaker. But I turned it around and played great.”

I’ll touch on how impressive Blake performed after the first set shortly, but I would certainly disagree that he played passive in set one. Sitting front row for the entire match, I witnessed a fifth gear Blake right from the first point. Taking full cuts at Polansky’s serve, the American’s mind set was ultra aggressive, but his accuracy and shots were far from consistent. Finding the green area of the blue hard-court at inopportune moments, Blake’s “passive play” won him 80 percent of his first serve points, while racking up 17 winners and committing 10 unforced errors. Still sound like he was holding back?

However, with the beginning of the second set came the Blake of old. Connecting on numerous clean return winners, and spectacular running forehands, Blake displayed his best ball-striking of the season. Short-hopping forehands off the baseline, Blake annihilated his first serve, and even struck his predominately flat backhand with precise sharp angles.

While Polansky continued to play at a high standard, Blake’s speed of shot, and his ability to pound away from the back-of-the-court, kept him in line for the victory.

Blake to my mind has always been the epitome of a microwave player. When he’s on he can bring forward lights out tennis, but when he’s off he can lose love and three like he did to Denis Istomin a few weeks back. Within the good, the bad, and the blistering velocity, Blake has always remained a player that can hit some miraculous shots.

Most of what Blake can do with the ball was never taught. His fast twitch muscles were a god given trait, and his quick split step—which has decreased in recent years—remains admirable.

There was a point in particular in the middle of the forth set when Blake was forced to hit a cross court passing shot. Becoming wrong footed by Polansky’s forehand down-the-line, Blake changed his grip to a continental forehand and slapped the ball cross-court for a winner. Glancing over at Polansky’s player box, Blake provided a rye smile of disbelief. Although he was aware that his shot was aided by good fortune, a part of him also acknowledged that he knew exactly what he was doing.

After losing a double break lead in the fourth set, Blake would once again break Polansky to lead 5-4. Serving the match out with purpose, Blake provided an encouraging sign that he may be on the rebound before the final point. Walking over to receive his usual selection of three balls before choosing his desired two, Blake murmured a strong “this is my house” under his breath.

Striking a power slice serve down the tee, Blake dusted the hopes of the young Canadian, while setting up an intriguing third-round match with Novak Djokovic.

There’s no doubt that the challenge of Djokovic will be difficult to combat come Saturday. But the unteachable talent of Blake; a talent that deservedly brought a smile to the former top four player’s face, was more than worth the price of a so-called passive start.

–Nima

USO: Janko Tipsarevic Second-Round Press Conference

Q. Andy said unlike in Wimbledon where he felt like the two of you did not play high quality tennis, he said tonight you absolutely deserved to win.

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: I said to my coach the same thing in the locker room. You know, in Wimbledon when I won, I felt that I was lucky and that Andy choked on important moments where he had. But here I feel it was a different story. Well, I’m saying from my point of view, it was a high quality match, especially in the fourth set. I was nowhere near his serve in the fourth set because I think that he had played much better. And I follow his like matches in the past. It happens so that normally he starts off too defensive, and then when he sees that things are not going his way, he starts playing aggressive. That’s when he’s really dangerous. So I was thinking that I really need to win this fourth set, because in the fifth it would be really, really difficult. I had a tough first round match. I had a long, long doubles match yesterday on the heat, so I’m really happy that I went through in four.

Q. He made a comment that after Wimbledon you went out in the next round. He discussed the fact that you’re capable of playing this incredible level of tennis and then have the level fall off a bit. Do you feel you can sustain this level of tennis going forward?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Well, in Wimbledon, if I remember, I won against a tricky opponent, Tursunov, in the next round, who was top 20 at the time, and then lost to Rainer Schuettler. But then again, it was a good draw to play quarters against Arnaud Clément. These are all players which I won in the past, and I didn’t seize the opportunity in the moment. This problem is following me all my life. I am playing really well on big stadiums against big players. I am winning. I’m losing sometimes. But whatever happens, I play very, very good tennis. The difference to become a champion in this sport is that you need to play this level for not just one tournament, but let’s say for a period of a year, or in case of Nadal and Federer just all year long, you know. And that’s really, really hard. You know, I’m not saying that what I did is easy. But keeping this level all year long, I’m telling you, it’s really, really hard, and only champions can do it.

Q. How would you describe the risk level of the shots you were going for and making tonight?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: You know what, I was playing a little bit more risky, but I don’t feel that I was rushing too much, you know. I was trying that in the first set, and I played a really good, I think, first three games. And then it happened that I made two mistakes, Andy made one good point, one shank, and there’s the break. So with him, it’s like a mind game. Like to answer your question, I wasn’t feeling that I played too risky. I was just playing good, you know. I was building up a point. Of course, I made a couple of unbelievable shots from back of the court, but most of the winners that I made I was stepping in and being close to the line. You know, that’s the point on the court where I’m most dangerous.

Q. What was your conversation at the end?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: He was really nice. He said, Well done, man. You played great. And he said, If you lose early, I’m going to kill you. Yeah, he said. You beat me at Wimbledon, and now if you lose early, I’m going to freakin’ kill you. Yes, that’s what he said.

Q. You said he starts out playing defensively. Why do you think a Grand Slam winner like Roddick would start out playing defensively?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Well, I don’t know. That’s just my feeling. I don’t know how many winners he made during the match, not counting the serve. But, I mean, he has I don’t even want to talk about the serve, but he has a strength. He has a good return and he’s incredibly fit. People say that he was much more dangerous when he was young because he was really going for the forehand every chance that he had, you know. And now I just don’t see that, you know. He’s a kind of player that you need to beat, you know. Let’s just say, my opinion, he’s going to wait for the mistake of the opponent rather than go for a big shot.

Q. You were talking before about the problem you identified as having the ups and downs. Tonight you had a chance to play a night match in Arthur Ashe Stadium against an American favorite. You’re able to get up for that. Now you have Monfils coming up. Say it’s out on the Grandstand, but it’s not the same theater.

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: I know what you mean. It’s just that for me, I don’t want I mean, Monfils is a great player. He’s on tour forever. But it would mean so much to me that I prove that I can have this level for longer than two and a half, three hours on court. To me. I know that people will maybe remember this match, and tomorrow they will put me on Court 18 F or whatever. But I don’t know, I’m not afraid, even if there is like 50,000 people. I mean, playing Roddick night session in New York with, I don’t know, 20,000 people, it hardly gets bigger than that. So this generally doesn’t intimidate me. This motivates me to play better, you know. But to become somebody that the world of tennis can remember in years to come, I need to hold this level for longer than two and a half hours on the court.

Q. So would you identify this moment right now as an epic opportunity in your career, to be able to turn this corner and go out and do it again against Monfils?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Yes, definitely. Beating a big champion like Roddick and then confirming the big win with a couple of wins after, that’s big, you know. I mean, I don’t want to be remembered by a player who played and this was really killing me, I tell you, especially when I lost to Roger at Australia like anybody who was saying anything about me, they were saying, That guy lost to Roger in five sets, whatever. That was really killing me in the head. Maybe now they’ll say I beat Roddick. I don’t know.

Q. Can you speak about how you reacted to Andy’s dispute over the initial foot fault call, how that was affecting you? In addition, did you sense after that that that had any effect in changing his tactics or giving him any more energy?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: He was trying, in my opinion he was pissed off. I would be if a referee told me I made a foot fault with my right leg. I mean, he never moves his right leg, so it was just a stupid call. But I feel he was trying to do something to change, you know, the match, to get the crowd involved or whatever. But if I remember, it really didn’t. It was first point of the game, and I had Love 40 the same game. He came up with a couple of big serves. I held my serve pretty easy, won the set 6 3. So in my opinion, I was just trying to tell to myself, Just don’t look at him. You know, he’s in his own world. He’s pissed off, nervous, whatever. Just focus on what you need to do.

Q. Do you think Andy can win another Grand Slam title?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: He needs to be more aggressive. But, yes, I think he can. He needs to change his game style a little bit, in my opinion, going for a little bit more, especially from his forehand. Like this, I mean, I don’t want to say that he played bad today, you know, but obviously, you know, it was night. He likes more playing on the heat. He had mononucleosis. Things were going my way tonight. He had a couple of bad calls when he could have broken me. When it goes your way, it goes your way till the end. If he recuperates and starts being a little more aggressive I’m not here to give tips but definitely he needs to change something to win a Grand Slam.

Q. You just got married. There’s been talk about how married players lose their competitive juices. What has been your experience in that regard of being married?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: I don’t want to say it’s just a piece of paper, because it’s not. But talking about a lifestyle, it didn’t change anything for me. You know, I’m with my girlfriend/wife now for like five years. I’m a kind of guy who doesn’t believe in these like long relationships like 10 years and then you get married after 10. But honestly, talking about a lifestyle, when kids come your life is changing, you know. But now, I mean, everything is the same. She will still travel sometimes with me; sometimes not. Everything stays completely the same, so…

Q. Can you describe your thoughts on facing Monfils in the next round and what that match will turn on.

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: He will obviously be very motivated because he sees probably an opening there because Roddick lost. I played him I think three or four times. I remember that I won three and I lost one time. He plays more or less similar like Andy. You know, he has a weaker serve, but then again he moves better. Probably he covers most of the court on tour maybe after Nadal. So he’s a great fighter. I think he’s hungry. He didn’t make any big results recently, you know. It’s going to be definitely a tough match, you know. He’s going to fight until the end. I think he won a very difficult first round in five sets against Kendrick or something. So more or less we have the same juice in our fuel tank. I guess it’s a completely open match. If I’m able to play like today, I think I have a good chance to win. I know what I need to do because I won against him three times in the past. So let’s see what happens.

Q. You are a good friend of Randy Lu. You play doubles together. You are coached by the same person. Randy beat Andy in Wimbledon. I was wondering if he gave you any tips to beat Andy?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Yes, he did.

Q. Or if your coach had specific tactics.

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Coach told me the regular tactics. I played him twice so I more or less knew what to expect. Coach was mainly telling me what I need to focus on, you know. Regarding Roddick, I more or less knew what strengths and what weaknesses he had. Randy gave me a couple of tips. Well, they worked, so… I am grateful for that.

Q. Touching Andy’s chest with your forehead must have some meaning. You don’t do that after every match. Why did you do that?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC: You know what, he’s not a good friend, he’s a friend of mine. I think he’s a very nice guy. And, you know, just to say those nice things after probably being really, really disappointed, it was just like an emotional thing. I wanted to hug him, but then it probably wouldn’t be so good. So is just saying nice words after being disappointed and losing, I mean, against and underdog on your stadium in front of your home crowd, that just brings up a big champion in him.

USO: Andy Roddick Second Round Press Conference

Q. How surprised were you with his performance tonight? You played him at Wimbledon; played him twice before.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, the Wimbledon match wasn’t that level. I thought it was pretty bad tennis, to be honest, probably by both of us. He played great tonight. You know, on my little cheat sheet that Larry and I put together, I wanted to keep my unforced errors down, which I did. You know, he’s going to take big swings and pot shots at the ball. I wanted to make him do that from stretch positions, maybe on the move; I did that. I wanted to get a very high percentage of returns in play; I did that. I think it was close to 75% of returns in play. You know, I thought I hit the ball pretty well. I thought he played very high risk and executed for four sets. I kept telling myself, You know, this has to have an expiration date on it. Unfortunately, I needed another set for that.

Q. You were very upset with the foot fault call.

ANDY RODDICK: Let’s be fair. I wasn’t upset with the call. I got called for two others which I wasn’t that upset about. I just expect my umpires to know the left foot from the right foot. If I ask, you know, what I’m doing, and she says, Right foot, and I point to my right foot and she says, Yes, that one. So then I let it marinate, and say you had time that’s impossible. So if I’m questioning it and then you’re telling me this and you’re pretty adamant about it, that’s impossible. I’ve never once find me any tape where my right foot has ever landed in front of my left foot on the serve. And just the stubbornness of I let mine get in the way of them not being able to say, Okay, just change your mind. You know what, it was your it never would have stopped. I got called for two others after that, and I had was no issue with it. You know, in the moment, I was just stupefied.

Q. How much did you let it get in the way?

ANDY RODDICK: It wasn’t in the way. I was down 5 2 in the third already. If anything, it kind of shifted the energy a little bit. You know, after that, I played okay actually. But, uhm, I don’t think it had zero impact on the match. It wasn’t like I was up, and after it happened it was a different result. I’m sure a lot is going to get written about it. But the actual impact on the match was probably close to zero.

Q. It seemed like you did get a lot of energy from it, though, a certain edge that was missing early. Did you feel that way or not?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, at that point any change in energy was a good change in energy for me. You know, he was in a groove. He was seeing the ball big and he was taking risky cuts at the ball. They seemed to be dropping, the majority of ‘em. So, yeah, I don’t know. It wasn’t all bad.

Q. When you went for the short change after that set, was that more to get out of there for a moment and have time to yourself or was that a necessary…

ANDY RODDICK: No, it was because my shorts were wet.

Q. I know you’ve said once you decide to play you don’t like to point to excuses. Could you address the energy level in the first two sets? Was there a lingering medical reason it wasn’t where you’d like it to be?

ANDY RODDICK: Like I said, there’s nothing there. You know, we’re not talking about it if I win a match. I’m not going to talk about it because I lost it.

Q. You’re a married man now. Do you feel you kind of curtail your anger when you have situations like this and maybe not go off into a real boil? Is it different now that you’re married in these situations where you feel you have to be more respectable on the court?

ANDY RODDICK: You thought I was respectable tonight?

Q. Could have taken it to Johnny Mac levels.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I could have. And the fact that I didn’t is because I’m married? That’s the thought process we’re going to go with? No, I think that’s — no. We got to find another avenue for a story, I think.

Q. The replay showed your left foot did touch the line.

ANDY RODDICK: That’s fine.

Q. If she had just said left foot would it…

ANDY RODDICK: There would have been no discussion. There would have been zero discussion. There was two after that. It was the fact that I couldn’t get her to admit that it wasn’t the right foot just infuriated me beyond… The lack of common sense involved in that was unbelievable to me. I just have trouble when they stick to an argument that obviously isn’t right. It’s her job to call it. Like I said, there were two after that that they said front, and there’s no argument there. There’s zero argument there. I mean, we got to be able to maybe have a test, like point to your right foot, point to your left foot; okay, now call lines. I think that would be maybe standard.

Q. Did she have an opportunity to correct herself, though?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, she was talking. She was talking.

Q. She answered the one thing, right?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. Then I pointed again. She said, No. Then I said again, Have we thought about this? Do we realize that it’s a physical impossibility? She says, No. I think she was definitely responding, you know, when I was asking questions. None of the responses was, It was your left foot.

Q. In hindsight, did you let it go too far?

ANDY RODDICK: In hindsight did I let it go too far? Yeah, probably. Probably. I think it was a very correctable mistake, and I probably let it get to me more than it should have. Yeah, sure.

Q. Getting to the end of the fourth set, did you expect him to kind of fall out of the zone, or did you think you were going to get him in the breaker, he would get nervous, you have more experience, you could gut it out?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I mean, that was the plan. There’s a lot of matches that have turned on a set before. But I don’t know if he missed a first serve in the breaker. If he did, it was one. I mean, he kept it up. You know, he played well. He deserved to win tonight. He went out and earned a win.

Q. Was there anything out there you think you could have done differently or you have to say the guy played great?

ANDY RODDICK: Uhm, I’ll put it this way: there’s a lot of matches where I come off the court saying, I did not even come close to the game plan that we were trying to apply or exercise. Tonight I came off and I feel like I hit most of the points. Obviously there’s always things you could do differently. But I’ve definitely been a lot further away from what I was trying to do on a tennis court before.

Q. John and Patrick were both saying in the first couple sets you seemed very quiet, subdued, lack of energy. Do you agree with that, or do you think you came out with the fire you needed?

ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. I did what I could, you know, out there. I battled the way I could.

Q. Can you describe the conversation you had with your opponent at the end of the match. What did you tell him about how he had played?

ANDY RODDICK: I just said, Too good. You know, he’s a pretty good guy. I just said, The last time you beat me in a Grand Slam second round you lost the next match, so don’t do that, to which he head butted me, which was fun (smiling).

Q. When he approached you at the net, he touched you with the forehead. How did you read this gesture?

ANDY RODDICK: It was fine. There was nothing there. I said something and he responded. There was nothing to it.

Q. What was the feeling like when he was in that zone, when it seemed he kept going big and converting on every big try?

ANDY RODDICK: It’s a lot more frustrating when you’re the one messing up time after time a opposed to someone else coming up with the goods. If you put yourself in position, I mean, the guy came — it was frustrating. At the same time, I was just trying to keep making him come up with it, you know, from all ends of the court just firing, pulling the trigger down the line flat, you know, time after time is not an easy thing to do, and he was able to do it. Kudos to him. He played great. Obviously it’s not fun. I kept thinking there was going to be a Love 30. There was going to be something that was going to make him think a little bit. He stuck to it. He played really well.

Q. You said the loss at Wimbledon was the result of bad play on both of your parts. Taking that into consideration going into the match, was the fact you had lost to him there not really a concern to you because it was identifiable as a bad match for you?

ANDY RODDICK: I was more concerned just because he’s dangerous. He’s got a high upside and he’s got a low low side. You know, he’s capable of playing like he did tonight, yet he’s under .500 for his career. He plays high risk. It’s high reward, but he can throw in some ordinary ones. I didn’t put too much stock in the Wimbledon match. I felt like if you would have showed me these numbers before the match I probably would have taken them not his side, my side.

Q. Do you generally grab a stat sheet and look at it or only after a match like tonight?

ANDY RODDICK: No, they normally hand it to you. I wanted to see it tonight to see if I was going crazy or not.

Q. Is there anything on there that surprised you?

ANDY RODDICK: I mean, you have a rough estimate. But 66 winners versus 30 errors for him, that’s pretty good. I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty firm, too. You know, he played well. I just wanted to kind of validate my own mind. At least, like I said, make sure I wasn’t playing crazy pills.

Q. You love this slam. Every slam loss is an opportunity lost. Do you leave crushed? Could you sleep terrible tonight? Do you understand and just move on?

ANDY RODDICK: I’ll sleep a lot better than I did at Wimbledon, which basically I just, you know, felt like I hand fed someone a win. Tonight I felt like the guy earned it. That’s probably easier to deal it, when you make the guy earn it and he comes up with the goods. Still not fun obviously. I agree with pretty much everything you said in your question. But it’s not the worst that it’s been.

Q. Given how well you played in the spring, you win Miami, you get the mono in Madrid in May, do you feel a little bit snake bitten?

ANDY RODDICK: It’s unfortunate. It’s unfortunate. You know, I feel like when I’ve gotten some decent momentum, I’ve in the last year, I missed the last four months of last year and I’ve been dealing with this for a little bit. It’s been a short year as far as all things being perfect at one time. You know, hasn’t really been that way too often. It’s disappointing. But, again, I mentioned this before, but I always think that I have a pretty good sense of perspective. I mean, you know, mono is the worst thing that can happen to me. That’s not such a bad thing, comparable to most.

Q. Are you still feeling a little lethargic?

ANDY RODDICK: I feel fine. I feel like I’m going to get some rest tomorrow.

Q. Do you feel like you were aggressive in tonight’s match?

ANDY RODDICK: I mean, yeah. A little tough to be aggressive when a guy is hitting every ball as hard as he can. I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty firm. I think I wasn’t aggressive because I got married.

USO: Roger Federer Second Round Press Conference

Q. Can you talk about the conditions out there today? Specifically, the heat early on and then the wind later in the match.

ROGER FEDERER: Um, yeah, I mean, it was a little bit warmer at the beginning and at the end of the match, but I thought the wind gave it a bit of a cooling factor today.I don’t know if it was hotter yesterday or today. I really don’t know, but for me it wasn’t a problem, anyway.

Q. In this extreme heat, have you lost any weight? I know some commentators mentioned you’ve been looking a little skinny.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I don’t know. The match wasn’t that long, and I played like an hour the last two days. So I don’t think there’s much I was eating more than I was practicing, so… No, I mean, I thought it was warm, but I don’t think it was brutal, you know. Sure, out on the court it always gets warmer than elsewhere because of, you know, the concrete and all that stuff that reflects back from the court, as well. Obviously if you have tough rallies it’s tough anywhere but especially if it’s humid and hot, sure, you feel it. But I don’t know. We practice hard to be fit for those conditions, as well.

Q. You mentioned that you had muscle pain in Toronto; earlier this week you were talking about it. How are you feeling now?

ROGER FEDERER: No problem. The body has gotten used to playing matches and serving one after another, returning one after another, for three, four hours in a row. So I have no muscle pain anymore, and it’s about just, you know, saving your energy for the really big match coming up, maybe the next one. Who knows?

Q. At this point in your career, is it any more important for you to make sure you get off court as soon and quickly as possible?

ROGER FEDERER: No, not really. I feel it’s the same. I guess now it’s almost easier to handle tougher matches, really, just because you know what your body can take. You know what’s just muscle pain, you know what’s more injuries, you know what’s tiredness; whereas when you’re younger that kind of hits you like a truck, and all of a sudden you realize you have no more energy and mentally it’s a big push when you’re young.You know, and I had it twice at the French against Corretja. I think both times I kind of got into it. Once I got into the third or fourth round of the Major I was just so tired from playing. I think today it’s much easier to cope with that.

Q. After last night’s match, Andy Roddick’s opponent said he didn’t think Roddick was as aggressive as he should be in that match, and it’s pretty well known he should be more aggressive. What’s your opinion of Roddick’s degree of aggressiveness and his approach in the court?

ROGER FEDERER: I mean, he played well in Indian Wells and Miami. You figure he knows what he’s doing. If he keeps that up, he’s gonna have a shot at a title here. Obviously it’s a big surprise for me to see him go out, even though Tipsarevic is a good player. I beat him at the Australian once 9-7 in the fifth. That was a phase I had mono, and so it’s kind of somewhat of a similar situation, I guess. Andy had signs of it now, as well. Look, him and his coach need to know what’s best for him. The guy played well yesterday. It was a tough match for Andy, and I feel bad for him.

Q. You alluded earlier to the short durations of your first two matches, two straight set win. Is this sort of the perfect way, in terms of looking at the way you’re launching this particular campaign? Do you feel like you’re you’ve gotten off to a more or less good start?

ROGER FEDERER: No, it’s the perfect start, sure. I played Monday, had two days off. I had another easy one physically today, and here I am in the third round feeling like I’m completely in the tournament. I got a sense for how the court speed is again. I got the sense of, you know, the crowd and the wind now as well. I played one night, one day. I have all the answers after two matches. Obviously they weren’t the most difficult matches, you know. I didn’t have to save multiple breakpoints or whatever. Even though I got broken today, I feel really good. Tougher matches will only be coming up now, I guess. I underestimate nobody. But today was already, you know, a little bit dangerous of an opponent. He hits hard, flat, and through the wind it’s not so easy to all of a sudden try to brush up the ball because you shank a lot so you start playing more careful. It’s gonna be interesting to see how the Saturday conditions are going to be with the hurricane sort of moving in. We’ll see how that goes.

Q. The women’s top seed is Wozniacki, also one of the youngest players. What do you make of her success?

ROGER FEDERER: I obviously haven’t seen her play so much. Definitely not as young as when Martina and Capriati and Serena all came up. They were all 15, 16, and you knew they were going to be future No. 1s in the world and win Grand Slams. That doesn’t happen so much in the women’s game, and actually in the men’s game you don’t have any teenagers in the top 100, which I think is a bit unfortunate. But games are getting more physical and more tough now. It’s just hard to kind of breakthrough sometimes, I guess. But seems like she’s doing great. She’s No. 1 seed obviously because Serena is not here, but she’s doing great in all other events, playing a full schedule. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons she’s ranked up high.

Q. Have you seen any huge improvements in your style lately with Paul on your team now?

ROGER FEDERER: No. I mean, when I’m playing great, regardless of who’s in my player box, I can beat anybody, you know. It’s about being consistent and being confident in the way I play. I’m not all of a sudden going to play a two handed backhand or serve and volley on my second serve nonstop. It’s just not gonna happen. It’s in the details, and it’s very important to me what Paul tells me and what Severin also tells me, who I’ve been with for three years now. It’s an interesting, you know, time right now, because I went through times where I thought every time was interesting for me, because I went through times where I didn’t have a coach, I had times where I had two coaches, as well, one coach. Here we are at the stage again where there’s someone new to the team, and I kind of like those times, yeah.

Q. You’re the only past champion left in the men’s tournament. How much of an advantage is that, or a help is that, knowing you’ve done it in the past versus other players who are trying to but don’t know that they can, because they haven’t?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely an advantage, I would think, yeah, because weathering the conditions here in New York. A lot of players can really do well here in New York because it’s a fair kind of a court. It’s a quick court, so if you’re not feeling well, it can all of a sudden slip away from you. So it’s a dangerous court to play on, and everybody has the last slam left to prove. I think that’s why it makes it really hard to win. You could be unlucky and get hit with a really hot day or a very windy day, and not even in your control sometimes you lose a match here. That’s where it’s important like today to get through easily instead of maybe going five hour match, you know, and losing the tournament because of a match like this, you know. Yeah, I mean, I would consider it as an advantage. But again, I’m not at match point serving for it, so still a lot of hard work to do.

Q. In the last couple of days, several people have spoken about the shot you made the other day through your legs.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah.

Q. But Novak Djokovic said he didn’t need to see that one. The one he saw last year…

ROGER FEDERER: Was enough for him? Okay.

Q. How do you look back at the shot you made against him last year, and what made it special for you?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, being all of a sudden center court always helps because you get every angle of the shot. That just helps the spectators, the media, for me as well, for the players. I mean, you can see it so many different ways, which is fantastic; whereas this year I think I hit it from the other side of the court, so I’m not sure we have as many camera angles like last year. But it was just a moment, semifinals on center court against Novak, Love 30 and going — getting match point, and after that playing on a high end, ripping another forehand winner on the second serve of Novak to clinch the match. Everything was just like boom, over, with fireworks, you know. I think that’s what was so special about last year, I thought.

Q. What goes through your mind when you see replays of that point?

ROGER FEDERER: I like it and I smile, of course, like everybody would.

Q. In the spring and in Paris there was a lot of talk about new string.

ROGER FEDERER: About?

Q. Advances in a new string from Babolat. Are you an equipment guy in that when you hear about new equipment or strings or racquets, you test things, or are you very conservative when you have your equipment and you stick with it? Pete always…

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I remember Pete wasn’t very flexible when it came to all that stuff. I think it’s hard, because if we had a five months offseason, we could just go out and just test anything. You know, like work on your game and completely come out five months later and you’re like, you know, This guy’s playing different than he was five months ago. We don’t have that, so you have a tendency to be very cautious about how much testing you go through, because you don’t want to waste days and stuff on testing and all that stuff. Honestly I’m always very open, and I talk to Wilson very openly about, Is there another racquet you guys think I should be testing? I’ve tried out some other things again, you know, the other year. And with strings the same thing, even though I’ve been playing with the same string now for eight years. It’s what many guys do, is like the half gut, half synthetic, Luxilon. So that’s been working well for me. The others talk about something else. Obviously if some of the top guys use it, it becomes bigger news than if No. 75 in the world uses it. But I think it’s important to stay open for changes and just not get stuck in a bubble and think what I got is perfect. Who knows, maybe there’s something very good as well out there that you haven’t seen yet.

Q. What do you think about Russian tennis? Maybe have some Russian friends on tour?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, Russia’s always been very strong, especially on the women’s side lately. Obviously when I came up, Yevgeny was there, Marat. I came with Marat through the juniors, and then once they kind of went away we have had Davydenko at the top for five years now. I don’t think if he would have been injured so much, always at crucial times, he could have been even maybe top 3 in the world, top 2 in the world, if things would have gone really well for him. They’re all very good, all very talented. I’m sure there is no change in the future. They will always be very strong, have very strong will.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about a habit of yours, kind of helping the ball boys out during matches, and do you do it sort of out of a sense of politeness or playfulness, or does it help your game? Help in the match? Comment on that.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I don’t know. Depends how the points are being played. If balls end up on my side of the court, then I like to get the ball from them and get it on the other side real quick, you know. These guys catch the ball really well here at the US Open, all those ball boys. You know, they’re not 10 years old, so they know — they’re really, really good, and that’s why you can play around with it a little bit. I don’t know if they enjoy it. I like it. They’re always ready to catch it, anyway. Seems like they’re just waiting for it. I don’t know. I like to have a good flow of the match so spectators don’t have to wait so much, and also my opponent. I just kind of think it’s a nice thing.

Q. Two matches in, do you feel like your game and your body are exactly where you want them to be?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, body is well. Mentally obviously I’m fresh, too. I haven’t played much, so I’m really eager to, you know — looking forward to — I’m ready, anyway, for tough matches coming around. It’s good I’m saving myself, really, and my game is fine. You know, today it’s tough to judge, because it was quite windy at the end. It’s just a matter of getting through those kind of matches, really.

USO: Order of Play for Friday September 3, 2010

Friday’s order of play at the US Open will feature Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, John Isner, and Sam Querrey.

For Friday’s full order of play, click the link below.

Order of Play for Friday September 3, 2010.

USO: Day 4 Results: Federer, Soderling, and Fish Reach Round Three; Davydenko and Cilic Ousted

US Open—New York

Third-Round Results:

No. 2 seed Rorger Federer d. Andreas Beck 6-3, 6-4, 6-3; No. 5 seed Robin Soderling d. Taylor Dent 6-2, 6-2, 6-4; Richard Gasquet d. No 6 seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-4, 6-2; Kei Nishikori d. No. 11 seed Marin Cilic 5-7, 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-1; No. 13 seed Jurgen Melzer d. Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3, 1-6, 7-5; No. 19 seed Mardy Fish d. Pablo Cuevas 7-5, 6-0, 6-2; No. 21 seed Albert Montanes d. Carsten Ball 6-4, 6-3, 6-1; No. 22 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero d. Ricardo Mello 6-1, 6-4, 6-4; James Blake d. Peter Polansky 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4; Paul-Henri Mathieu d. Guillermo Rufin 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-3; Themio de Bakker d. Ivan Dodig 6-7(4) 6-2 6-3 3-2 ret. (cramp); Arnaud Clement (FRA) d. Eduardo Schwank 6-3, 5-5 ret. (left ankle).

USO: Day 3 Results: Murray, Querrey, and Isner Move on; Berdych Upset

US Open—New York

First-Round Results:

No. 4 seed Andy Murray d. Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; Michael Llodra d. No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-4;  No. 12 seed Mikhail Youzhny d. Andrey Golubev 6-2, 6-3, 6-3; No. 14 seed Nicolas Almagro d. Potito Starace 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(5); Ryan Harrison d. No. 15 seed Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4; No. 18 seed John Isner d. Frederico Gil 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; No. 20 seed Sam Querrey d. Bradley Klahn 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4; No. 25 seed Stanislas Wawrinka d. Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; No. 29 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber d. Tobias Kamke 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; Juan Ignacio Chela d. Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4, 4-6 6-3, 6-3; Sergiy Stakhovsky d. Peter Luczak 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-4, 6-2; Dudi Sela d. Xavier Malisse 7-6(1), 7-5, 6-2; Dustin Brown d. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-4, 7-6(6), 7-5; Marcel Granollers d. Andreas Seppi 2-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3; Guillermo Garcia-Lopez d. Lukasz Kubot 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(4); Gilles Simon d. Donald Young 6-1, 6-4, 6-2; Marco Chiudinelli d. Jack Sock 6-1, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1; Victor Hanescu d. Carlos Berlocq 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.

Second Round Results:

No. 17 seed Gael Monfils d. Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

Matches that are still to come on Wednesday will feature Andy Roddick vs. Janko Tipsarevic.

USO: Order of Play for Thursday September 2, 2010

Thursday’s order of play at the US Open will feature Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, and James Blake.

For Thursday’s full order of play, click the link below.

Order of Play for Thursday September 2, 2010.

USO: Andy Murray First-Round Press Conference

Q. Is it very nice to finally be allowed to start this tournament Wednesday?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it is different to the other slams. I mean, I guess it’s always been that way. I don’t really know whether I like it or not. But, yeah, it was good to get off quickly.

Q. Because it obviously means you have a play — to win this title — seven in 12 days. Is that fair?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, it’s a lot easier to play seven matches in fourteen days. Anyone would tell you that. It’s just different here with the Saturday, Sunday, semi and final is always tricky for all of the players. It’s always been that way, so not a problem.

Q. How do you feel to have your first round match under your belt?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was good. It wasn’t necessarily the best tennis, but tricky conditions out there. It was very windy on the court. It was a guy I’ve never played against on the tour. I haven’t really seen much of him play, so took a little time to get used to his game. But I did enough to win in straight sets, and that was the most important thing.

Q. Is it just about sort of getting off the court as quickly as possible when it’s that hot out there?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, you would you’d rather win as quickly as possible in any condition, whether it’s cold or hot, in the slams. But the only important thing is to win the match. If it’s in five sets it’s not ideal, but just want to try to win.

Q. People have been falling over, and Ljubicic has been complaining about how difficult it is. Obviously Cincy a couple weeks it was hotter than this.

ANDY MURRAY: Ah, similar.

Q. Is this tougher here than Australia because it’s more humid?

ANDY MURRAY: Honestly, I don’t find it that bad on center today. It was hot, but the wind — it does get a lot breezier on that court than the outside courts. When I warmed up for my match this morning it felt hotter than when I was out there. And, yeah, it’s difficult conditions definitely, but I don’t know. I don’t know. Australia is Australia’s very tough as well when you play right in the middle of the day in Australia. I’ve played quite a few matches on the center court there. That’s really brutal. There’s not a whole lot of breeze there normally either, so I don’t know what I prefer.

Q. This is the benefit of the hard Miami training coming out here. Can you just talk us through what precautions and preliminaries you do to deal with it? Obviously you take in a lot of fluids.

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, the night before, as well, try and drink a lot, eat as much good stuff as you can. And then I use an ice towel pretty much from the first changeover. I wore a hat today. I’ve hardly worn a hat for the last four or five years. And, yeah, they’re the only things you can do. I put a lot of sunblock on and train hard. That’s probably the biggest thing you can do to help yourself.

Q. Does that become an issue? Because if you put a lot of that stuff on, you sweat and then you become a bit of a mess.

ANDY MURRAY: A mess?

Q. Well, the sweat coming through the sunblock. My experiences on holiday.

ANDY MURRAY: If you put it on quite I put it on like 45, 50 minutes before I go out there. If you put it on right beforehand, it’s not great. Gets in your eyes and stuff. But I use the sweat bands too, so that normally stops it from coming down into my hand.

Q. What do you know of Dustin Brown? Have you seen much of him?

ANDY MURRAY: Not really. But, I mean, I’ve heard about him. He’s got a big game, serves and volleys a lot, and, yeah, is very different to a lot of players on the tour. He’s a good athlete. I haven’t seen him play, so another unknown opponent, really.

Q. How would you describe what this hardcourt season did for your level of confidence entering this tournament?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, it obviously helped in terms of you know, match fitness was key because of the tough conditions. That’s important to have, you know, played matches in it. But, yeah, I hadn’t been that consistent. Well, I played badly after Australia, and then Wimbledon was really gave me the confidence again. I wanted to do well there. You know, then I came over and practiced hard, and obviously I’ve had a good run in the tournaments, which definitely helps.

Q. Would you say that your level of confidence, because of what occurred in this hardcourt season, is the highest it’s ever been?

ANDY MURRAY: I don’t know. I feel good, but I felt confident quite a few times in my career. You know, Toronto was a big boost for me to win against Roger and Rafa. But, you know, I don’t know. I feel good. That’s it.

Q. So basically you say you feel good, feel confident. Are you saying you’re confident enough this tournament will give you a win? Give us an insight on how you perceive the tournament. You have Rafa and you have Federer. You say you feel confident. Do you think you feel confident enough that the game can take you over the top?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, it can, yeah, but I need to play my best, and am not really thinking that much about Roger and Rafa right now because I’m only in the second round. That’s disrespectful to all the other guys that you might have to play on the road to get there to think about playing against them. For me, I love playing against those guys. But a lot of tennis, you’ve seen someone like Berdych who has been great in the Grand Slams this year lost in straight sets today; Soderling nearly went out the other day; Djokovic nearly went out. It’s so pointless thinking ahead. I say it every Grand Slam. That’s how I feel.

Q. Does that mean you’re very impressed by the level of talent you see here so far?

ANDY MURRAY: I’m not impressed. I’ve been around it for the last three, four years. That’s what the tour is now. You have to be switched on from the beginning of every tournament. All of the players play very, very well. And, you know, on any given day, if they play great tennis and you’re not up to, you know, up to your best standard, then you can lose matches early in tournaments. It’s happened to me before. I don’t want it to happen to me again.

Q. To have beaten Rafa and Roger in the same tournament, does that have any special significance to you, to beat them in the same tournament?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was nice. Any time you beat those guys is good. But, look, beating Roger in a final for the first time was nice. You know, it’s the easiest scoreline I’ve had against Rafa in a match, so I feel like I’m playing well. But, you know, I need to try and keep that level up if I want to win the tournament.

Q. In terms of the speed of the court and the balls, how does this compare with Toronto and Cincinnati?

ANDY MURRAY: This is way, way quicker than Toronto, and it’s a bit different than Cincinnati. I just feel like it’s really difficult to control the ball in Cincinnati. But here I don’t think it’s as tough to control the ball, but it’s really, really fast out there. The balls get really small and fly, so they almost get they almost get quicker the more you play with them; whereas normally it would work the other way around.

Q. Do you prefer that?

ANDY MURRAY: I don’t mind it. It’s just different. It’s just something to get used to.

Q. Going back to Dustin Brown, when you don’t know too much about a player, how much do you try to find out, or do you just rely on getting out there and working it out for yourself?

ANDY MURRAY: Try and find out as much as possible. You know, you’ve got to try and get your tactics somewhat right. You do need to concentrate on your own game, as well. But it is important to know about your opponent and try and find out, you know, even if it’s just little bits and pieces about them that might have helped you in the match.

Q. Did you have a chance to see Roger’s shot between his legs the other night for a winner?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah.

Q. What were your thoughts about that and how he’s able to come up with these shots?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I saw it. I thought the one against Djokovic last year was better. But, no, they’re difficult shots. They’re very difficult shots to time. And if you time them well, it’s very difficult for the opponent to reach them if you get, you know, reasonable direction, because you don’t see it very often. So to judge your split step, like if you see Dabul the other night when he hit it, he hit a really clean, great shot. But Dabul was charging the other direction. He had no idea when Roger was going to make contact with the ball. So it is very difficult if someone hits a clean one to get your movement right.

Q. Why do you think the one against Djokovic was better?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, because Novak was at the net. It was a bit harder. Dabul was out of position when he hit the lob. They were both great shots.

Q. Is that something that you work on at all?

ANDY MURRAY: Um, I occasionally hit it. If it happens in practice you just always try you know, if you’re in a situation in a match, you always try and get back and put up a lob, you know, if you can.So you don’t hit them that much. No, I practice them sometimes messing around in practice a little bit.

Q. How do you do?

ANDY MURRAY: Ah, yeah, not bad. Not bad.

Q. Would you try it in a match?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, for me, a lot of it depends on the scoreline and if purely — if you can’t get there anyway, then I would try it. My opponent today tried a sort of a similar shot, you know, not through the legs but, you know, similar shot. So if you are, you know, in a really tough position, then I’d go for it. If not, always try and stick up a lob.

Q. Novak said he’d be more concerned about damaging himself with a racquet. You wouldn’t worry, too?

ANDY MURRAY: You’ve got to be careful, yeah. (Laughter.) I have never had any problems when I tried it.

Q. This year in Russia we are celebrating 10 successful years in tennis. Just want to know what do you think about Russian tennis in whole and about the last ten years of Russian participants in particular.

ANDY MURRAY: Well, yeah, they’re definitely one of the strongest nations. On the women’s side what they’ve done has been pretty incredible. The results on the women’s side have been great. And then on the men’s they’ve always had, you know, a lot of top guys: Kafelnikov and Safin and you know, guys like Youzhny. They’ve obviously won Davis Cup, as well. They’re one of the toughest teams to play in Davis Cup. They’ve done very well.

Q. Talking about Davis Cup, are you intrigued that the next opponent would consider playing with Great Britain?

ANDY MURRAY: I don’t know. I don’t mind if it’s yeah, I don’t mind. If it makes the team better, I guess that’s a good thing. But you never know. I don’t know how English or British he feels, and I think that, for me, is something that’s quite important when you’re playing for your country.

Q. Do you think we might see more serve and volley in the evolution of the game in the near future?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think so. You know, the players are definitely getting bigger, so I think that, yeah, with that you’ll get probably more — I don’t think it’s ever going to dominate the game again like it used to, but I think you’ll start to see more in the next five, ten years, yeah.

USO Blog: Morphing to the Moment

US Open—New York

Could we be seeing a different Andy Murray at this year’s US Open? A Murray, who takes charge and doesn’t wait for the ball to come to him, rather, a player that wants to win his first Major, and is willing to go after the title the same way Juan Martin del Potro did last year?

There’s no denying that Murray will never be able to clock his groundstrokes with the same lighting speed as Delpo, but he certainly does have room to take the ball earlier, and not solely rely on his defense and court speed.

During today’s match against Lukas Lacko in Ashe Stadium, Murray was adamant on taking it to his opponent, while conserving his energy in the scorching heat.

Defeating both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to take the Toronto title last month, Murray was proficient in mixing up his game when he needed to, while stepping up and blasting a first serve or a backhand when required.

I’ve always felt that Murray had enough power to spare, but his stubborn demeanor and mindset prevented him from achieving his potential. Slicing a backhand when he could have hammered the ball across his body, Murray would venture off deep behind the baseline, and provide his opponent’s with short shots. Brad Gilbert once suggested that Murray’s mentally was centered around playing every player in a different way, and his game style would be dependent on what his opponent would bring to the table. Depending on how you look at that philosophy (it can obviously be both beneficial and detrimental), Murray has more often that not opted to choose a passive approach to victory, while drowning in his unproductive court positioning.

However, based on what we’ve seen from Murray as of late, a smarter (could that even be possible?) Murray has sprung up during the summer season. Perhaps it’s the Scot’s lack of a coach at the moment; no coach usually allows players to rely solely on their own thoughts instead of falling victim to strategies that they wouldn’t want to employ. Again, I’m not suggesting that I’m against on-court coaching, or coaches in general—because I’m actually a big advocate of what a good coach can bring forth—but a little independence can certainly allow for some beneficial results.

Playing a shot-maker in Lacko today, Murray made sure that his strategy was built around the oppressive heat. He wasn’t interested in drawn out rallies, and decided to pull the trigger on his groundstrokes earlier than he usually would. Although Murray’s shot selection against Lacko was based more around conserving energy, his 37 winners and eight aces showcased his ability to hit through the court and stay in total control.

Lacko, who had drawn comparisons to Roger Federer because of his easy flowing strokes, managed to win only 65 points during the straight set white wash. Neutralizing his Slovak opponent to only 26 percent of his second serve points won, Murray managed to use his greatest weapon—his return—to get off the court in one hour and 51 minutes.

Morphing his game to the moment, Murray confessed that his Wednesday start could get him in trouble as the tournament progressed.

“Well, it’s a lot easier to play seven matches in fourteen days,” said Murray. Anyone would tell you that. It’s just different here with the Saturday, Sunday, semi and final is always tricky for all of the players.”

Taking into account Murray’s condensed tournament, he would surely benefit from continuing his aggressive play well into the second week, and remain in prime position for potential matches against Federer or Nadal.

But, as Murray suggested, he’s not looking that far into the future.

“[I'm] not really thinking that much about Roger and Rafa right now because I’m only in the second round,” admitted Murray. That’s disrespectful to all the other guys that you might have to play on the road to get there to think about playing against them. For me, I love playing against those guys. But a lot of tennis, you’ve seen someone like Berdych who has been great in the Grand Slams this year lost in straight sets today; Soderling nearly went out the other day; Djokovic nearly went out. It’s so pointless thinking ahead. I say it every Grand Slam. That’s how I feel.”

Respect is one thing, but here’s hoping that Murray continues to lace his groundstrokes, and not rely on the game to come to him.

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