OPEN FOR BUSINESS

The U.S. Open is underway!  Unfortunatlely, I am currently holding down a full-time job and cannot plant myself on the couch and flick through 6 courts of coverage on DirecTV and ESPN2.  Instead, I must be content with watching what I can during the day on ESPN3, then scrolling through many glorious hours of tennis on the DVR later tonight.

I've written this before, but I truly feel more alive during Grand Slam tennis tournaments.  Rarely do I get the opportunity to attend in person.  But when the four majors are in progress, tennis is on the big stage.  Anyone who cares at all about tennis is watching, and people who don't normally pay attention to tennis are more likely to sit up and take notice.  That is especially true here in America when the U.S. Open is in session.  Today, I am particularly appreciative that this tournament started as scheduled, one day after a giant hurricane swept through the New York Metropolitan Area.

BROKEN?

 REUTERS - John Sommers II

The Round of 16 marathon match between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco just ended.  Three tiebreaker sets, with Nadal winning the first and third, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6. But it wasn't pretty.  In those decisive moments when we are used to seeing Rafa raise his level of play, he was tentative and unsteady.  Verdasco's inconsistency prevented him from taking advantage of a vulnerable Nadal and beat him for the first time.  Nadal is now 12-0 lifetime against Verdasco.

Moments ago, Mardy Fish defeated Richard Gasquet in straight sets.  Nadal and Fish will square off in the quarterfinals.  The way both guys are playing right now, I would give the edge to Fish in that match.

I hope I'm wrong about this, but I'm getting the feeling that Novak Djokovic broke Rafael Nadal.  With the Djoker beating Nadal in 5 finals this year -- on hard court, clay, and the grassy lawn of Wimbledon -- Rafa's confidence seems to have taken a major hit.  The only times we've seen this from Nadal previously, he was dealing with physical issues.  With a pair of burnt fingers and a foot injury, that could be the case this time, too.  If not, then Djokovic has truly done a number on the former #1.  Nadal was lucky to escape with a victory today.  But he'll need a lot more than luck to defend his title at the U.S. Open. 

THE DJOKER AND THE CHOKER

Novak Djokovic knows how to win.  As a matter of fact, it seems like he's forgotten how to lose.  Save for one match -- a French Open semifinal against a determined Roger Federer -- Djokovic has not lost this calendar year.  And we're in the middle of August.  It's mind-boggling how truly dominant the Serb has been.  Mardy Fish played an excellent match in the Rogers Cup final yesterday, but Novak found a way to win.  Rafael Nadal did not play poorly in any of the 5 finals contested with Novak this year, but Nadal lost all of them.  Could it really be possible that Djokovic could win out, including the U.S. Open, and end the season 1 semifinal loss away from a Grand Slam and a perfect tennis season?  Seems utterly unfathomable.  But the the level he has achieved since the Davis Cup last year, with all the confidence in the world and the unstoppable game to match, it's actually within the realm of possibility.  At this moment, it is not hyperbole to say that Novak Djokovic is putting together the greatest tennis season ever.

I, on the other hand, cannot find a way to win a match.  I am on a personal winless streak that dates back as far as I can remember.  I'm sure I've actually won a match or two in recent years, but it seems like I've mastered the art of losing.  I hadn't played tennis in over a month until Saturday, when I played with one of my regular hitting partners.  He possesses an infinitely better serve and cleaner groundstrokes than I do.  I had never taken a set off him before.  I played a nearly-flawless first set.  Instead of going for power serves, I spun my serve in on the first and second.  I returned incredibly.  I was relaxed and aggressive at the same time.  I won the set, 6-0.  I went up 2-0 in the second.  And then I collapsed.  My spin serve stopped working.  My groundies found the net.  I must've tightened up, though I didn't realize it at the time.  After winning the first 8 games, I lost 12 of the next 13.  Admittedly, he started serving better and making less errors.  But the loss was all on me.  My woefully inconsistent serve let me down, and my mental fragility on the court prevented me from pulling myself out of a tailspin.  I was left with the empty feeling that comes with a bad loss.  But I was also left with something positive... the knowledge that I have the ability to put together a perfect set.  I did it.  I proved I can do it.  Now I have to get out of my own way and let me best game take center stage.  After the match, I half-jokingly suggesting to my hitting partner that I need to see a tennis shrink.  Now I'm not quite so sure there was even a half joke in there.