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Posted by on Sep 10, 2013 in Featured Sports, Pat Wong, Sports | 0 comments

Instant Coffee: Serena and Rafa Take U.S. Open

2013-09-10T010812Z_1147277016_TB3E99A03575S_RTRMADP_3_TENNIS-OPEN

Serena Williams Wins Consecutive U.S. Opens and 17th Career Grand Slam

Serena was completely dominant throughout the tournament. She breezed through to the finals. It looked like she would also steamroll Victoria Azarenka after winning the first set 7-5 then being up two break points in the second set. Although Serena served for the match twice in the second set, Azarenka battled back and broke Serena twice before winning the tie break to force a deciding 3rd set. While Serena could have been rattled after allowing the second set and match slip through her hands, she remained resolute and won the third set easy 6-1. For Serena, she continues to build her case as the greatest female tennis player of all time with each Grand Slam title. She needs one more to tie Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert at 18. She has also tied her contemporary on the men’s draw, Roger Federer who has the most Grand Slam titles by a male. While both players are 32, Serena is as dominant as ever compared to Federer who significantly declined in 2013. Consequently, it makes Serena’s accomplishments at this point in her career even more impressive as it is usually an advanced age for a professional tennis player.

On Serena’s path to this year’s U.S. Open victory, she defeated a young American player Sloane Stephens. The two players also met in the Australian Open at the beginning of the year and Stephens upset Serena in the quarterfinals. As a result, Serena got some payback in the U.S. Open. Although Stephens still needs her to refine her game, she showed again that she has the physical talent to match Serena’s game. If she can improve over the next couple of years, she definitely has the potential to take the torch from Serena whenever she retires from tennis.

Rafael Nadal Wins 2nd Career U.S. Open and 13th Career Grand Slam

Similar to Serena, Nadal dominated on his way to the Finals. Before the Finals, his serve was only broken once. While Nadal won the French Open again this year, his knee problems continued and he shockingly lost in the first round of Wimbledon. Consequently, there were concerns about his health and whether he can continue to be a consistent top player. He answered the questions in the U.S. Open and was definitely the best player in the tournament. He appeared as dominant as ever as he flew all over the court to make amazing shots and imposed his physicality on his opponent. While Nadal cruised to the Finals, Novak Djokovic gutted it out in the semifinals in a 5 set match. Djokovic appeared not ready to play at the beginning of the match as Nadal dominated the first set winning 6-2. However, Djokovic is currently the number 1 ranked tennis player in the world for a reason. While Nadal was able to physically dominate his other opponents in the tournament, Djokovic is another class of player. In the second set, Djokovic broke Nadal’s serve twice in a row to win the second set 6-3.

In addition, Djokovic broke Nadal’s serve a third consecutive game to start the third set. At that point, it looked like Djokovic was taking command of the match. Nadal was frustrated and started to press. Djokovic is the best returner in the game and was making ridiculous returns on shots from Nadal that would normally be winners against any other opponent. The second and third sets featured some of the best tennis you will ever see as each man brought his A game. They were locked in epic games which included a 54 shot rally. Nevertheless, Nadal showed his resolve and came back to take the 3rd set 6-4 before easily winning the 4th set 6-1 against a demoralized Djokovic. Nadal is definitely the most mentally tough player I have ever seen.

Similar to Serena, Nadal is chasing history. Each Grand Slam gets him closer to being proclaimed the greatest tennis player of All Time. He is only one more Grand Slam title away from tying Pete Sampras for second at 14. Roger Federer’s record is 4 titles away at 17. If Nadal eventually ties or surpasses Federer’s record, I believe Nadal will be the consensus best tennis player in history as he has also decisively beaten the other top players in his era in their head to head matchups(Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray). Of course, Nadal is already the greatest clay player of all time with a record 8 French Open finals. The biggest obstacle for Nadal is age and injury. At 27, he is nearing the age when tennis players generally begin to physically decline. As such, it cannot be assumed that he will have more than 2 years at his physical peak. In addition, his knee problems have kept him out of Grand Slam tournaments in recent years. If he can stay healthy and maintain his level of play, he is obviously a serious threat to tie or break Federer’s record.

Stunning Moment of the Tournament: Andy Murray Loss in Quarterfinals

Murray won Gold Medal in the Olympics as well as the U.S. Open last year for his first Grand Slam title. He followed it up this year by finally winning Wimbledon to end the long drought of a British male player not winning the tournament. As a result, it appeared that Murray was in his prime and beginning to make a claim as the best current player in the sport. In the Quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, he was surprisingly defeated in straight sets by Stanislas Wawrinka. Murray’s loss gives perspective of how impressive Federer’s consistent dominance of the sport was with his record of consecutive finals, semi-finals, and quarterfinals appearances in Grand Slams. It also helps me appreciate how Rafael Nadal was able to dominate the sport along with Federer and continues to be great today.

Decline of Roger Federer

Federer’s skills clearly declined after winning the Australian Open in 2010 for his 16th Grand Slam. However, he continued to be a top player and was in the mix for winning every Grand Slam through last year. He was able to make it back on top in 2012 by winning Wimbledon and regaining the number 1 ranking. 2013 appears to be the real beginning of the end as he has not been a top player this year. First, he lost in the semi-finals of the Australian Open to Andy Murray. While it is not shocking at this point of his career, it got progressively worse the rest of the year. In the French Open, Federer lost in straight sets to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals. On his best surface and the scene of his greatest accomplishments at Wimbledon, Federer was shockingly defeated in the second round by a very low ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky. It was not much better in the U.S. Open as Federer lost to Tommy Robredo in the 4th round. In addition, it denied us an opportunity to see the first meeting between Federer and Nadal at the U.S. Open. On the other hand, it would have been very one sided and boring based on how great Nadal played in the tournament.

As a Federer fan, it is difficult for me to accept that he is done as a top player. However, it is now a legitimate question to ask. Nevertheless, you cannot count out a great champion. Federer will be motivated to prove his critics wrong and will try to train hard to regain some of his greatness. Unfortunately, Father Time is undefeated and appears to be beating Federer.

Pat Wong

About Pat Wong

Patrick is a contributor for Rookerville. He is an avid sports fan. Before joining Rookerville, he was part of a defunct New York Yankees message board, NYYankeefans, where he was its top poster and was inducted in its Hall of Fame for his contributions. Patrick is also a passionate fan of movies. He has enjoyed reading movie reviews over the years and is excited about the opportunity to review movies.

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