Former Champs Continue to Fall

Labor Day weekend and the Tuesday following produced quite a few great matches. Highlighting the weekend was defending women's champion Maria Sharapova losing to Agnieszka Radwanska, an 18 year-old from Poland. Radwanska out-played a sloppy Sharapova, partially by a questionable strategy. She induced double-digit double faults from Sharapova by standing halfway up to the service line on Sharapova's second serve and then moving backwards while Sharapova was serving. Though the strategy was decidedly bush-league, Radwanska smartly took advantage of a weak second serve and a mentally weak Sharapova. Maria might have to take a lot of time off to allow her shoulder to heal properly so she can get back to serving well. Without a reliable serve, she won't have success at the major tournaments. Also losing were Dementieva, another weak server, and Martina Hingis who has struggled with injury this summer.

What was most entertaining to me was Justine Henin's victory over Serena Williams. Besides looking fat and slow, Serena embarrassed herself at the press conference after losing. Serena has always claimed that at the top of her game, nobody can beat her. Well I think that's true of a lot of people. The trick is putting yourself in the physical and mental condition to be able to produce that high level of play. That is why Roger Federer is where he is and Marat Safin is where he is. Serena claimed that Justine made "lucky shots" that made the difference in the second set. In truth, Serena got wiped off the court courtesy a barrage of forehand, backhand, and volley winners at the hands of the world number one, Justine Henin.

Coming into this tournament, people were convinced that Serena and Venus could win without the match play and preparation that other players put into the majors. While they managed to do it before, Henin did not play the Australian Open and defeated Serena in the other three majors. At Wimbledon, Venus didn't have to face Henin who was upset before reaching the finals. I don't think the Williams sisters have anything to prove. They are both great players and have accomplished a great deal in the past ten years. I think Venus has been in great shape and has a real chance at the title. But the point is, although the Williams sisters are supremely talented, they will not dominate the sport like they used to with Justine at the top of her game. They may be good enough to beat everyone else, but not Justine Henin.

In the men's draw, what did David Ferrer eat yesterday? He played a dominating four set match against Rafael Nadal and looked as if he was ready for more. Ferrer had Nadal scrambling on each and every point. Nadal was clearly struggling to find a response to Ferrer's quickness and placement and his nagging knee injuries and hand injury put him in the position to be beaten. Although Nadal was in no condition to comeback and win after being down two sets to one, Ferrer maintained his level of play and his intensity to really close the door on Nadal. The most impressive part of the win was his ability to not get caught in the moment and continue to hit extremely well. Nadal was frustrated by not being able to fight as hard as he could have but Ferrer really gave him no openings. In the third set breaker Nadal called for a trainer for what seemed to be a cramp in his middle finger. McEnroe was convinced he was making something up but even if the cramp was bothering Nadal, it would not have made a big difference in the result. I think Rafa is disappointed with his result because he is a great competitor and hates to be hindered by injury. A healthy loss to Ferrer might have been easier to swallow.

Rafa's mentor and the other Spaniard still alive in the draw, Carlos Moya, has made some noise by landing a spot in the quarterfinals. Moya beat the young Latvian Ernests Gulbis in a fairly routine four set match. Moya, who now faces Novak Djokovic, was in the 1998 semifinals and looks to return this year. Unlike Moya, fellow veteran Lleyton Hewitt was bounced from the tournament easily in his second round match. Hewitt had been playing good tennis this summer, almost beating Federer in the semis of Cincinnati. But Hewitt, another former champion, fell victim to one of the many Argentinians in the draw.

Tonight's matchups of Venus vs. Jankovic and Federer vs. Roddick will be great prime time tennis. The way Jankovic has been playing, that quarterfinal match could be a three set thriller. And also, the way Federer has struggled early with big servers could prove to be the slight opening that Roddick needs to beat Roger. With the odds against him but the crowd behind him, I think this is Andy's best chance against Federer. I don't like him but I'll be pulling for him tonight. I'd like to see Venus win as well so Justine Henin can dispose of her as well.