Odds If someone looked at the draw and picked this final, I want to have you pick some lottery numbers for me. Kei Nishikori had established himself as a dangerous if fragile player in 2014 after being seen largely as a potentially good player. Kei beat Roger Federer in the Miami quarterfinal round only to…
Tag: US Open
US Open 2014: Serena Williams vs. Caroline Wozniacki Championship Prediction
Serena Williams has had a nice 2014 campaign outside of the Grand Slam events. Serena has reached the final 8 or better at 1 major this year, the US Open. Her losses seemed to stem from a two pronged attack: first an opponent playing well enough to pressure Serena and second Serena tightening up mentally…
US Open 2014: Djokovic vs. Nishikori Prediction
I have to admit that Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray is my favorite match-up among the Big 4. I really enjoyed their quarterfinal match. Novak has looked nothing like the player who went 2-2 and won only 4 of 10 sets played after Wimbledon. He looks sharp and delivered a pretty strong message in beating…
US Open 2014: Federer vs. Cilic Prediction
If Federer is sharp, expect something like this. If Fed plays like he did in the quarters, expect Cilic to win. Marin Cilic enters this US Open semifinal as a guy who has to be considered a dark horse to win the US Open. He lost to Novak Djokovic in 5 sets at Wimbledon and…
US Open 2014: Men’s Coaches Grand Slam Head-to-Head Records
For the first time ever (I would imagine), four Grand Slam semifinalists are coached by 4 former Grand Slam Champions. Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker each hold 6 Grand Slam singles titles. Michael Chang and Goran Ivanisevic each won a single Grand Slam title and had 3 other Grand Slam runner-up finishes. Goran and Michael…
US Open 2014: Quick Hits – Serena vs. Woz has Storylines
No Shortage of Storylines for Sunday Serena Williams’ 6 wins in NY, 2 titles and 1 semifinal finish on North American hard courts make her the top player of this season, but Caroline Wozniacki pushed Serena to 3 sets twice. Therefore, Sunday’s result is anything but given, and if Wozniacki wins the US Open she…
US Open 2014: Women’s Semifinal Predictions
Shuai Peng (CHN) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [10] In many ways, Peng and Wozniacki have been the two most impressive players in the 2014 US Open. Both are in good enough form to roll through this match and reach the final. So who wins when two players are playing so well? If neither freezes in the headlights,…
US Open 2014: Quick Hits – French Toast
Gael Monfils outplayed Roger Federer for most of the first 4 sets of their US Open quarterfinal match. The 5th set was not as close as the 6-2 scoreline would indicate. Whatever belief La Monf had in the first four sets, it was gone in the fifth. Marin Cilic keeps making believers out of people….
US Open 2014: Federer-Monfils & Berdych-Cilic Predictions
These Should Be Good Tomas Berdych (CZE) [6] vs. Marin Cilic (CRO) [14] This year might be known as the year of the celebrity coach. Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Amelie Mauresmo and Michael Chang have gotten a lot of press for their roles with top ranked players. Goran Ivanisevic’s work with Marin Cilic should not go unnoticed….
US Open 2014: Azarenka-Makarova & Serena-Pennetta Predictions
Azarenka lost this match but it was on clay Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [16] vs. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [17] I’ve seen some complaining on Twitter about the women’s quarterfinal matches not having many top 10 seeds. This is a bit silly given that Vika was #2 in the world prior to her injury issues. Makarova was the first…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 