Preparing for the US Open

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(Please note the UPDATES at the bottom.) 

Rafael Nadal has been keeping quiet about whether or not his knee injury, (continuing tendinitis) will keep him out of the US Open in two weeks. But it’s not looking great.

Nadal’s season started out just fine. He breezed through the Australian Open before falling to Novak Djokovic in the final – not without a fight, however. The match lasted five hours and 53 minutes, making it the longest final match in Grand Slam history.

Nadal faced Djokovic again at Rolland Garros in May, but this time Rafael came out victorious. He won his seventh French Open title, surpassing Bijorn Borg’s record of six. The 26 year old ATP number three in the world was playing at his best.

Then – things got a little weird. At Wimbledon, Rafa was knocked out in the second round by Lucas Rosol, ranked 100 in the world. Nadal hadn’t failed to advance past round two in a Grand Slam tourney since he was a teenager – and he had won Wimbledon only two years prior. But everyone has their bad days – Rosol even saying, “Nadal is only human.”

The world expected Rafael to rest up for the Olympics, as he was in line to bear Spain’s flag in the opening ceremony, but not two weeks after Wimbledon, he announced that he would not be able to participate. It was made clear that the tendinitis was to blame.

It was also the cause of his absence at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the Cincinnati Masters last week. Not only do these tournaments help to secure a players ranking, they assist in keeping them agile and in shape for the Grand Slams – i.e. the US Open. When Rafa was nowhere to be found, many became anxious, including ATP number one, Roger Federer, that he would not be prepared. (Tennis.com)

“I can’t believe he’s been out that long. I thought the Olympics, okay, that’s fine. That’s a personal choice. I thought for sure we would see him in Toronto, but now he missed Toronto and Cincinnati. It’s very surprising…So I’m sad for him. I hope he’ll be back for the US Open.”

It doesn’t seem like anyone would be safe counting on Nadal’s participation at Arthur Ashe this month. No formal statement has been made by Nadal since the Olympics, but as opening day in Queens draws nearer, the world has been abuzz about whether or not the 2011 finalist will be strong enough to compete.

Nadal made headlines last year in Flushing Meadows by making strong statements about the conditions of its courts. Throughout the tourney, pros were told to continue play, even when many believed the courts were too damp to ensure safety. Nadal was quoted as saying, “It’s the same old story, all you think about is money,” suggesting that the organizers cared more about the schedule than the well-being of the players.

If Nadal were to sit out of any tournament to protect his knee, you could probably assume it would be the US Open, since he publicly questioned its security last August before his tendinitis even flared.

Regardless, a decision must be made soon. It is likely we will hear a yea or a nay from the Spaniard by the end of the week.

UPDATE:

On Wednesday morning, August 15th, Rafael Nadal announced that he will NOT participate in the US Open.

On his twitter, Nadal wrote: “I am very sad to announce that I am not ready to play the US Open in NY. Thanks to my fans for their support and especially, the New Yorkers.”

Wow, wow, wow. It must be worse than he is letting on. As previously noted in the blog entry, “You Have to Look Beneath the Surface, or Do You?” I went into detail about how hard courts are historically the worst on a players joints. Nadal dominates on clay, but even though he won at Ashe in 2010 and was a finalist last year, he is probably making the best decision by avoiding the DecoTurf.

Wishing the 26 year old lots of luck and a speedy recovery.

image courtesy of bloomberg.com

The 2o12 Olympics at Wimbledon were filled with performances both contrary and in line with how the pros have been playing throughout the year. A quick rundown:

Men’s Singles Gold (Best out of five): Brit, Andy Murray, (Gold) beats Swiss, Roger Federer, (Silver) 6-2, 6-1, 6-4

Men’s Singles Bronze (Best out of three): Argentinian, Juan Martin Del Porto, (Bronze) beats Serbian, Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-4

Women’s Singles Gold (Best out of three): American, Serena Williams (Gold) beats Russian, Maria Sharapova (Silver) 6-0, 6,1

Women’s Singles Bronze (Best out of three): Belarusian, Victoria Azarenka beat Russian, Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-4

After a disastrous start to the Grand Slam season, the world watched as Serena Williams took it all at Wimbledon in July, as chronicled earlier in this blog. (July Archives: “It’s Anyone’s Guess for Serena Williams”) Therefore, it really was no surprise to see her win on Centre Court again just weeks later – but the sheer domination of Maria Sharapova, (only winning one game against Williams) surpassed many who expected a close match. Sports Illustrated noted that it was “the most lopsided women’s finals in Olympic history.”

The medal secured Williams the “Career Golden Slam,” meaning she has now won every Grand Slam tournament, (though not in one season) in addition to gold in an Olympic Game. (Only achieved once previously by a female, Steffi Graff in 1988.) Williams also received gold in doubles with sister, Venus.

It was a sad day for Roger Federer, however, who would have also secured the “Golden Slam” for the first time had he defeated Andy Murray in the Single’s Gold match. History showed that he could have, as he has won over Murray in three Grand Slam finals, including last month at Wimbledon – the same grass where Federer has stood seven times victorious. (Read more: “You Have to Look Beneath the Surface, or Do You?”) BleacherReport called it a fluke, but a potential rematch in Queens at the end of the month will be a better teller. That rematch seems all the more likely since news broke that Rafael Nadal backed out of a recent Toronto tourney due to a knee injury.

But, no one should be so quick to count out Novak Djokovic, (“Novak ‘the Djoker’ Djokovic – Not Your Average ATP Second in the World” – August Archives). He has had an incredibly impressive two years He even skipped out of the Closing Ceremonies last night to travel to Toronto (where Nadal dropped out), and won his 31st tourney title.

The Olympics gave fans a lot to look forward to at the US Open – but we just have to sit back on our couches and stare at a television to see it. You can be sure, however, that the players’ celebration was short. They now have to train vigorously for the hard courts coming in a couple weeks, prepare for the effect of travel, new opponents, and a new venue.

Wishing them luck.

What a year.

Actually – what a couple years.

To say that it’s been smooth sailing lately for the player many call the best female to play the game, would be grossly incorrect. Serena Williams, after suffering from a leg injury and a pulmonary embolism that essentially took her out of 2010 and ’11, endured starting twenty-twelve Grand Slam tourneys that were nothing short of mortifying.

Flashback to January: Five-time winner of the tournament, Williams goes out in the fourth round at the Australian Open against Belarussian Ekaterina Makarova. Ranked 56th in the world.

Flashback to May: Add extreme insult to injury. It’s the French Open and Williams is knocked out in the third, second, FIRST round (ouch) by Frenchman Virginie Razzano – ranked 111th in the world. The New York Times calls Serena’s game “a meltdown as epic and complete as any in her career.”

Flashback to the beginning of July: Serena shocks the world when she walks away with TWO Wimbledon titles in ONE DAY. Her fifth singles title AND fifth doubles title with sister Venus were secured in less that NINE HOURS! WHAT THE HECK?

What happened to the girl who got demolished in Australia and France? She was nowhere to be found in London. Serena was at her best – proving once again why she holds 14 Grand Slam singles titles and is currently ranked fourth in the world by the WTA.

In an event one could only call serendipitous, Serena will play on that same Wimbledon green next week with her sister – battling for the Olympic doubles title. That gives us all one more opportunity to be impressed/confused/shocked by her performance before the US Open.

All we can do now is wait for the one major question to be answered:

Which Serena will we see in Queens next month?