a healthy dozen

where else be crowned for your 12th grand slam but under the lights in the big apple, wearing your specially designed tuxedo-like nike outfit, down to your socks and shoes? (don't forget the headband and wrist)

congratulations, roger, for a job well done. you don't have to play your best to do what needs to be done. 2008 might be your year, your golden slam. for rafa's sake, i hope not, but sometimes the wheels of history cannot be derailed.

onto madrid, bercy, and shanghai!

ajde nole!

you are the underdog, dear clown and ravishing serb. but it does not matter to me. i am willing you onwards to your maiden grand slam. this is the most fantastic way to cap a brilliant year that has seen you catapulted to the top tier of men's tennis.

beating roger in montréal three weeks ago is nothing compared to beating him on the largest stage of hard court tennis of all, flushing meadows, a place roger has owned since 2004. i would like to think that you are much much better than andy roddick and andré agassi were when roger snuffed out their hopes (besides, they had already both won it previously at the time of their losses).

stand by what you said in your press conference yesterday, "i simply have to believe that i can win it and play accordingly" (as opposed to just playing your best, because that gives a margin for losing, which is not an option!).

if roger four-peats at flushing meadows, it will be a no less great night. this is THE final of the year. ajde novak! :)

*photo courtesy of BBC sport

who would have thought?

we're just about wrapped up the fourth round of the women's draw at the USO but things are pretty hot and exciting. i am no rabid fan of the women's tour but the past weekend brought about some interesting storylines for the bottom half. the quarterfinalists in the top half have been, we can say, predictable but nonetheless action- and drama-packed.

here are my random thoughts and feelings:

with maria sharapova getting blown out of the bottom half, it's a matter of glass half-full/half-empty now, depending on whether you are a casual or non-tennis fan (which i can group with the cbs moguls in entertainment hungry new york), or a bona fide tennis lunatic like myself. not having the paris hilton in the draw, along with the sympathy losses of martina hingis, nadia petrova, nicole vaidisova, and patty schnyder, could have the tv executives wringing their hands over a possible anna chakvetadze or svetlana kuznetsova emerging from the bottom half to contest for the USO trophy. anna who? svetlana who? well, they're just strong top 10 russian girls who have been making splashes on the tournament circuit but not on the big stages of the grand slam. at least sveta is the USO champion from 2004, but one look at her arnold schwarzennegger looks and you know why cbs and usa network might be weeping come super saturday (men's semi's and women's finals played on the same day).

in the top half you have the more exciting matches that, even at this stage, can already be dubbed as de facto finals. check out the quarterfinal matches: serena-justine (this is the 3rd time these two heavyweights are facing each other before the final in a grand slam. they met at the french open and wimbledon quarterfinals this year. they also clashed at the miami final last march which serena won in an exciting see-saw battle over 3 sets). can the feisty belgian spoil the possible williams party in the semifinals? i'm putting my money on that one (plus i get live coverage here in belgium AND i believe justine and rafa's fates are totally intertwined at grand slams). jelena-venus. luckily for the serbian hottie, she has won over venus in their previous two meetings. she does seem to stand a better chance against the "gazelle"-like venus (as she was described by her father; serena was described as being like a "pit bull & mike tyson") with her better all-around court game, which includes grrrreat defense and net play. incidentally, these were the two exposed areas in ana ivanovic's game when she faced venus yesterday. couldn't help but wince every time she struggled to get to ground strokes pounded to her forehand side and hail, she only made 1 in 7 points at the net! this girl has got to learn how to put away volleys commandingly, and pronto!, if she wants to redeem herself in madrid by year's end. venus has been playing awesome tennis similar to her wimbledon campaign, and it takes one gutsy move to bet against her hoisting that trophy come september 8.

in the bottom half, the younger girls in agnes szavay, agniescka radwanska, shahar peer, julia vakulenko, and victoria azarenka are all scenting a golden opportunity to be in the final. i'm hoping that the polish version of venus williams (that'd be agniescka to her l'il sister urszula's serena version) will take out the aranxta-like peer in today's match on armstrong. i have picked vakulenko to get one over szavay simply because i saw her dismantle daniela hantuchova in the first round, although i have read that the hungarian teenager has been playing well all summer. my sentimental vote goes to sveta in the first match up on ashe against azarenka.

what can i say? the women's draw has not been this exciting this early in previous slams and i can only thank the rising serbs and comeback diva williams sisters for the upsurge in excitement. i think i've already bled dry the threat of the young ones nipping at the heels of the veterans for a piece of the glory pie. exciting days are now upon us!

*in photo: maria sharapova's plucky conqueror, the 18-year old agnes radwanska from poland. she now has to buy herself and her sister a louis vuitton bag each after a joke dare they placed before her stirring upset of the two-dressed siberian. (courtesy of pete bodo's blog at tennisworld.com)