THE QUEENS OF BEAUTY IN US OPEN
The US Open began without interruption on Monday, August 29th after a wave of uncertainty surrounding the event in lieu of Hurricane Irene. This is the last Major of the tennis season, and there's a lot of plots involved and intrigue following the match-ups.
On the Men's side, of course as is usual, you have the always fascinating Federer-Nadal rivalry. But now, added into the mix is the newly crowned Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic, who has beaten Nadal 5 times in a row--most noticeably on the red clay courts of Madrid, a turf where Nadal was thought to be unbeatable.
Novak comes in with 57 out of 59 wins under his belt this season, and with the Number 1 ranking. Nadal comes in nursing a pair of sore fingers, which were burned in Cincinnati, and even before that not playing his best after losing early in Montreal. Then there is Roger Federer who has just turned 30, and is seen as the 'old man' in the pack. His window is slowly coming to a close and this is his time to pile up on his Majors, his last victory came January, 2010.
This year's US Open should be one of great fascination on both sides, and a great way to stay entertained these next two weeks until Football returns. I have no prediction for winners, upsets happen all too often in tennis, and with the injury bug going around it's even more up in the air.
On the women's side, of course all talk will be of the Williams sisters and the questions surrounding them. Venus withdrew from some recent tournies after being diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome--an autoimmune disease in which the body's white blood cells attack moisture producing glands. She did however, go on to beat Vesna Dolonts in the first round. This illness though, couldn't have happened at a worse time for Venus, with her garish low hundred's ranking and the disappointing summer she had.
Then, in stark contrast to her sister, Serena is coming back from a year off due to lingering affects from her leg injury and surging so far.
She is the highly touted favorite to win, despite her 28th ranking. Things have also been shaken up by Petra Kvitova's first round exit after just having won Wimbledon a month prior. Maria Sharapova pulled off a come from behind win on Monday to beat Heather Watson, there's no doubt in my mind that Maria will be a true contender and go far in the Open.
