US Open 2011

How eventful was the US Open?!! As an avid tennis fan i am a regular viewer every year and cannot remember any other being so chaotic!

Right from the start the tournament was hampered by the weather. Hurricane Irene's impending arrival caused an almost complete shutdown of the city. This in turn led to an altered schedule and later start. Throughout the fortnight the rain played havoc with the matches and resulted in some players (i.e. Murray and Nadal) being faced with consecutive days play if they were to win the title.
To be honest, i am not the biggest fan of how the USTA pander to the media desire for Super Saturday, and the way they make the players wait due to tv ad breaks.  Whilst i understand their commercial interests , i also believe the players (and the sport itself) are more important. Really the tv channels etc should work around the players, not the other way around.

Anyhow, things did get to the point where mother nature was the dictating force behind when matches were going to be played this time.
Bad weather is not uncommon however, which reopened the debate regarding a retractable roof. Practically speaking, putting a roof on the Arthur Ashe stadium would be an astronomical feat. It's sheer size and the mechanics involved mean it isn't really a viable solution. This leads to suggestions of putting a roof on Armstrong or the grandstand. Unfortunately both actually need to be demolished and rebuilt entirely before this can be considered.

For those wondering why, it is useful to know that Flushing Meadows itself was swamp land. Therefore, the ground gradually sinks. This combined with the rising water table is an issue in itself. The perfect evidence of this was the occurrence during the Roddick match where water was literally coming up through and bubbling the paint. Cracks also appeared in the court surface, which the officials attempted to repair with gaffer tape!!
Needless to say, it was all a a bit of a farce and the USTA have not come up smelling of roses, to say the least. I mean, they could at least invest in court covers!

Amazingly, aside from all the drama we witnessed some exciting tennis. Djokovic, Nadal and Federer all went about their business in imperious fashion as usual. As a Murray fan, i stayed up until all hours to watch his matches and was treated to the accustomed 'rollercoaster'! Being 2-0 down against Robin Haase had everyone stressing and the sky commentators doubting whether he would win. These people have no faith, i wasn't worried at all.

A lot of people don't like Andy Murray but I'm not really sure why. Admittedly, he can come across as dull and grumpy but i've seen interviews, and read his autobiography, and he is actually very funny and nice. It is also clear to me that he is not given the credit he deserves. To be consistently in the top 4 for so long is a massive achievement especially when you consider the other 3! The ability he has is amazing and he definitely has the capability to win Grand Slams in the future. That said he is a bit mental! During his match with Nadal he was having full-on conversations with himself! I am used to his yelling when things aren't going well but, literally, from the first point he was chattering. That was incredibly bizarre.
He lost that semi but it was another good tournament for him.

The women's final was insane! Sam Stosur isn't an unknown by any means but i had no idea she could play like that. Serena Williams actually looked lost and had no answers at all. It was an outstanding performance by Stosur, sadly over-shadowed by controversy.
The bare bones of it is that Serena shouted 'come on' before the point had finished. Going by the rule book, that point is then awarded to her opponent. In this case it meant a break for Stosur. Williams then decided to have a rant at the umpire and said some awful things to her. I was appalled to be honest and so was very pleased that she didn't win. That sounds nasty but she was already on a suspended ban for abusing a line judge and refused to shake the umpire's hand!
Instead of imposing the ban, the USTA has issued a ridiculously small fine. Clearly there are different rules for her since she hasn't apologised or shown any remorse to justify the leniency.
All in all, the USTA looks like a joke and the US Open looked like an amateur event rather than a 'high tech' 'world leading' tournament.

How lucky for them then that the men's final was such a magnificent spectacle?! There really aren't the words to describe the level of tennis on display last night. It was, quite simply, the two best players on the planet playing out of this world! I love Nadal as a person and a player but the standard and quality of Djokovic right now is unbelievable.
He really is something else!