23 August 2006

that time of year

It's that time of year. I know all y'all are talking about going back to school, but I'm interested in the best thing about late August: the U.S Open.

Draws have been completed and posted. Mostly I'm interested in the draws because of unseeded Andre Agassi, a legend playing in the last tournament of his storied career. His draw looks ... meh. Could be better, could've been much, much worse. Agassi is likely to meet Baghdatis early, but that Cypriote's play has been so streaky, that I think Agassi has as good a chance as anyone in his corner (including Thomas Johansson and perennial bad-boy Sebastian Grosjean) to make it to the Round of 16. Here's to hoping.

Of course, there he'd be likely to meet up with Andy Roddick, who I see as the American man most likely to make a run at Flushing Meadows. Love him or hate him (and I know you do, NK), teaming up with Jimmy Connors has been good for A-Rod's psyche and he's playing with guts and belief for the first time in recent memory. Yes, James Blake did win Indianapolis, but his results since then have not only been dismal, he hasn't been playing with any really belief or spirit (more worrisome to me than even his results). After his early exit from New Haven (after failing to convert 5 match points, no less), I'm tempted to believe that Blake's ascent has reached its summit for the forseeable future.

On the women's side, I haven't seen Amelie Mauresmo play since her win at Wimbledon; with the "choke" monkey off her back, I imagine that she'll be swinging for the corners with greater abandon. I look forward to that. Unfortunately, Clijsters' ubiquitous wrist injury (though this time it was ligaments, not tendons) made a nasty reappearance in Montreal, and the relatively unknown, and blissfully dark-haired, Russian Ana Ivanovic clinched the US Open Series and has a lot of momentum going into the Open. Two other Russians, Sharapova and Petrova, both have something to prove at this Open, with lackluster results through the Spring and Summer. And, of course, it'll be great to see Americans Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams (a wild card!) in action, as well as the up-and-coming Shenay Perry.

Yup, I love this time of year, and not just because it's the start of school.

1 comment:

New Kid on the Hallway said...

Yay for the Open! I'm excited as well - I just wish it didn't coincide with the start of classes! And I'm bummed that Clijsters is out. Did you see the recent piece in the NYT about watching Federer play as a religious experience by, of all people, David Foster Wallace?