Del Potro Pulls Greatest Upset in U.S. Open History

Del Potro shocks tennis world, rallies twice to down Federer.

Roger Federer enjoyed 2,200 days of undefeated tennis at the U.S. Open – That streak ended on Monday as 20-year-old Juan Martin Del Potro shocked the world by coming back not once, but twice against the mighty Roger Federer to beat him in five glorious sets, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.

During the first 19 games of the match, Del Potro looked nervous and lost as if the occasion had completely overwhelmed him. His shotgun serve was shooting blanks and his blistering forehand was missing in action.

But something strange happened around 5-5 in the second set; Del Potro began to believe in himself. Suddenly the booming serve was finding its mark and the forehand began to do its damage. Del Potro evened the match and seemed ready to take down the five-time U.S. Open Champion.

But disaster struck for the young Argentine when he hit two consecutive double faults to throw away the 3rd set. But Delpo would not go softly into the night. He actually seemed invigorated by the loss.

He found his game once again and began dictating the points. Federer began to lose his cool and even pulled a Serena, using audible expletives in front of a national television audience while berating the chair umpire.

Delpo took the fourth set tiebreaker and handled Federer easily in the fifth set. The giant killer blasted Nadal in yesterday’s semifinal and stole the king’s crown tonight. So many great players have tried to knock off Federer during his five-year win streak, but it was bull from Argentina that finally humbled the number one player in the world.

Having followed the exploits of Juan Martin Del Potro all summer long – I was honored to pick Delpo as the man who would end Federer’s long reign of power at the U.S. Open when the tournament began on August 31, 2009.

Here’s a brief list of articles and links chronicling his run through the 2009 U.S. Open Championships:

Monday, August 31, 2009
Beware the Dark Horse from Argentina

Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Murray Melts Down, Del Potro Hungry for More

Saturday, September 12, 2009
Nadal-Federer Final? -- Don’t Count on It: 20-year-old Del Potro prepared to shock the tennis world

Sunday, September 13, 2009
Look for Del Potro to Derail Federer’s Win Streak

Tears of Joy as the "Working Mom" Kim Clijsters, Claims her 2nd U.S. Open Title

Clijsters falls to her knees after claiming the 2009 U.S. Open

When this tournament started more than two weeks ago, Kim Clijsters, the 2005 U.S. Open Champion, had more than a few obstacles in front of her:

1) It was only her third tournament back.
2) She gave birth to a baby girl 18 months ago.
3) She had the toughest draw in the entire tournament.

That’s no exaggeration either, Kim Clijsters absolutely had the toughest draw in women’s tennis and won the title by beating 5 seeded players including the Williams sisters, Serena ranked #2 and Venus ranked #3. And let’s face it, the top seed, Dinara Safina was no threat - she was out by the 3rd round.

So what began as a possible experiment for Clijsters, slowly started to take the shape of an unlikely run to the championships. After taking out Venus in 3 of the strangest fourth round matches played in a long time at Flushing Meadows, the chance was there. The question was, could Clijsters seize it?

Clijsters ran over the the 18th seed, Na Li in the quarters, setting up a semifinal showdown against the most dominant woman in tennis during the past year, Serena Williams. Clijsters played a brilliant match and served possibly the best match of her life against Serena. Serena lost the match on a penalty point, but Clijsters had certainly earned the victory.

The “working mom” made it to the final where she faced her third top ten opponent in just four rounds, the 9th seeded player from Denmark, Caroline Wozniacki. The 19-year-old Wozniacki made a spirited contest of it in the first set. Both women combined to drop their serves seven times in the first set before Clijsters took it 7-5 and the next one 6-3.

She dropped to her knees as tears of joy ran down her face. Clijsters made the perilous climb into the family’s box and was treated to a standing ovation from the crowd. When Kim made her way back down, she posed for multiple pictures alongside of her 18-month-old baby girl and her husband. It was a touching end to a very strange tournament and Clijsters savored every moment of it.

Temper Tantrum Sends Seething Serena Packing

Serena blows a gasket and any chance to defend her title.

The rain cleared and all finally seemed right in the tennis universe when Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters took the court Saturday evening. But when it was over, Serena, Kim and a stunned national audience could only shake their heads and wonder how things went so wrong, so quickly.

Kim Clijsters won the contest 6-4, 7-5, despite the fact that she never got to play a match point. The problems began when Serena lost her temper after dropping the first set 6-4. She bounced her racquet once, took a look at it and then crushed it on the court.

At the point, the chair umpire issued a code violation (behavior warning) against Serena. Once a player is issued a warning, the next punishment is an actual loss of a point. That warning set the stage for an ugly and premature end to this match.

Clijsters was up 6-5 in the second set. The score was deuce and Serena had just struck a second serve when the linesperson inexplicably and mistakenly called a foot fault. This foolish call gave Clijsters a match point and that’s when Serena lost it.

She stalked over to the chair gesturing wildly and showering the offending linesperson with a searing stream of expletives. The linesperson went to the chair umpire and the tournament referee, Brian Earley, came to the court. Serena spoke to them and learned that her tirade and verbal abuse had earned her an un-sportsmanlike conduct point penalty. Since it was match point, game over, SERENA LOST.

Serena walked over to Clijsters, shook her hand and congratulated her. Poor Kim looked devastated. This was not the way she wanted to win and the pleasure of her victory was tainted.

All the credit to Clijsters who played a great match and served brilliantly. Despite the bizarre outcome, Clijsters earned her spot in the finals. She will go for her second U.S. Open title on Sunday against the 9th seeded Caroline Wozniacki.

Wozniacki breezed past unseeded Yanina Wickmayer 6-3, 6-3 to reach her first U.S. Open Final.

Teen Sensation Melanie Oudin into the Quarters - No More Russians Left to Play

Melanie Oudin takes out four Russian players, one in each round.

Teen sensation Melanie Oudin has taken the U.S. Open by storm this year with a dazzling combination of fire and ice. Her spirit and intensity blends beautifully with her ability to manage her emotions under pressure.

Oudin seemed overwhelmed by the occasion and the Labor Day crowds as soon as she stepped onto the court this afternoon. Melanie had shown maturity far beyond her 17 years during the past week and it all seemed to be catching up to her.

13th seeded Nadia Petrova came out firing, breaking the teen at will and running away with the first set by a score of 6-1. Oudin was on the ropes, down a set and oh-so-close to falling behind 5-3 in the second.

But after stunning wins over Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova, people are learning that you can’t count the teen from Georgia out. She’s displaying the fierceness of a Rafael Nadal with the compact stature of a Justine Henin.

Petrova and Oudin traded punches until they found themselves in a second set tiebreaker. Petrova had a look of disbelief that the match had come this far. That shred of uncertainty coupled with Oudin’s killer instinct resulted in a convincing 7-2 win for the American in the breaker.

With the match tied at a set-a-piece, Oudin began to assert herself over the stunned Russian. She finished off Petrova, tossed her racquet into the air and raised her hands in triumph. There were no tears this time from Oudin – she was already thinking about the next round.

She advances to the quarterfinals where she will face another Russian-beating teenager, 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark. The 9th seeded Wozniacki gutted out a tough 4th round match under the lights upsetting the 6th seed and final Russian in the tournament, Svetlana Kuznetsova: 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3).

The two teens are both first time grand slam quarterfinalists and will have a day to rest before they mix it up for a spot in the semis.

Labor Day Preview: Teen Sensation Melanie Oudin Puts “Red Scare” into Petrova

Melanie Oudin’s coming out party has been nothing short of spectacular at the 2009 U.S. Open Championships and this Labor Day should be no different. Today Oudin continues her Russian assault taking on the 13th ranked player in the world, Nadia Petrova.

If you’ve been following the tournament, you know Oudin has already escorted two Russian powerhouses out the door including Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva. Expect the “red scare” to continue against Petrova at Arthur Ashe this afternoon.

The Williams sisters are off today, but there is a former U.S. Open Champion and two-time grand slam winner lurking in the women’s draw. That woman is 6th seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova who plays the 9th seed, from Denmark, Caroline Wozniacki. You have to give the nod to Kuznetsova who's been flying under the radar since the tournament began.

Turning to the men’s side, Roger Federer should have a trouble-free afternoon when he takes on Tommy Robredo. However, the next round could provide more of a challenge for Fed if has to play Robin Soderling, the man who conquered Nadal at the French. At 6'4, the 12th seeded Soderling is an imposing figure with a big serve. He got a huge boost in confidence after advancing to the finals of this year's French Open where he lost to none other than Roger Federer.

Soderling, however, has to get to the next round first. He will have his hands full this afternoon against a rejuvenated Nikolay Davydenko.

The fourth seed, Novak Djokovic should also have a relatively stress-free 4th round encounter against Radek Stepankek.

The best matchup on the men’s side this afternoon may come from the man who blew Andy Roddick out of this year’s draw. Six-foot-nine-inch John Isner is back today and playing the 10th seeded Fernando Verdasco. This match should produce some sparkling tennis and a possible upset.

Clijsters Stuns Venus, Serena on Auto Pilot

Moms have more fun, Kim Clijsters into the quarters.

Talk about a comeback story that would make Rocky blush -- Kim Clijsters, the 2005 U.S. Open Champ has been out of tennis for the past two years. She left the game to start a family and recently had a baby girl. Clijsters returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium with a vengeance on Day 7 at the U.S. Open with a strange, but convincing 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 win over the 3rd seeded Venus Williams.

This was only Clijsters' third tournament back, but she now finds herself in the quarterfinals of the world’s toughest tennis tournament with a possible semifinal run-in against Serena Williams, looming on the horizon.

Venus Williams on the other hand, ran hot and cold during week one at the Open because of a nagging knee issue. Her topsy-turvy loss to Clijsters was a prime example of her struggling game and limited mobility.

Venus came out flat and slow this afternoon and paid the price with an embarrassing 6-0 loss in the first.

Just when you thought Venus was down and out, she returned the favor with a bagel of her own, dropping Clijsters 6-0 in the second.

No one, including the players, had any idea what to expect when the third set started. Clijsters came out firing, broke Venus early and ran away with the 6-4 win in the deciding set.

If Clijsters can get through to the semifinals, she would likely face Venus’s kid sister, Serena Williams. Serena needs no introduction, owning 11 grand slam championships of her own, including three U.S. Open titles.

I wondered earlier in the week if Serena was peaking too early. Today, I got my answer. Unlike the unseeded women who tormented Dinara Safina all week long – the players who face Serena look downright helpless.

Today’s 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Daniela Hantuchova was just another illustration of Serena’s dominance.

The defending U.S. Open champ looks like she’s on the practice courts, getting to every ball and hitting winners at will. This seemingly stress-free version of Serena is having her way with all who dare to trespass on her court. She’s dropped only 17 games in 4 matches and her toughest test so far (if you can call it that) was a 6-3, 7-5 drubbing of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the 3rd round.

Should Serena Williams match up against Clijsters in the semis, it has all the makings of a classic.

The 2009 U.S. Open Championships featured a wealth of young talent this week including 17-year-old Melanie Oudin. But the young are not likely to inherit this tournament. This year's title will ultimately belong to one of the champions from tournaments past. 3-time winner, Serena is certainly the favorite to repeat, but the 2005 champ, Kim Clijsters has earned her way into the conversation.

Isner’s Serving Barrage Blows Out Roddick

Another grand slam disappointment for Andy Roddick

One of the best chances in years for Roddick to add another grand slam title to his resume ended in disaster on Day 6 with a five-set loss to the six-foot-nine-inch tall American, John Isner, 7-6(7-3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6(7-5).

Try as he might, Andy Roddick just couldn’t hold it together against the big-serving John Isner. Roddick clawed all the way back from a 2-sets to none deficit against the giant – only to blow it in the fifth.

Yes, Isner played the match of his life. He launched 38 aces into the night and knocked the cover off the ball. But that doesn’t excuse Mr. Roddick.

News flash: Multiple grand slam winners find a way to win. Andy Roddick didn’t. It doesn’t matter how well Isner played, Roddick had realistic chances to take this match, but couldn’t get it done.

Roddick went 2 for 9 on break point chances including a love-forty lead he let slip away in the first set on Isner’s serve. Andy only dropped his serve once in the entire match, but failed to exploit his chances and didn’t really get fired up until he was down by two sets to love.

I appreciate the sportsmanship when Roddick credits his opponents for playing great, but at some point during these matches, Andy has to take stock. He must realize that no matter how well a “lesser player” is playing – he should still find a way to beat them. Otherwise, he’ll finish his career just like Michael Chang, a great player yes, but still just a one-slam wonder.

This doesn’t take away from the fact that Isner played a terrific match, but he has as much chance of winning the title this year as my cat.

Andy was the best shot on the men's side for the red, white and blue at the 2009 U.S. Open, but once again, that train left without us. Oh well, there’s always 2010.