U.S Open 2009: Now We're Getting Interesting!

As we head into the first weekend of the 2009 edition of the U.S. Open, the draws are starting to play out, upsets are being had, and anticipated match-ups are becoming reality.
It wasn't long ago that many of us picked Dementieva to pose a serious threat for the title on the women's side, and here we are now wondering how far Melanie Oudin could actually go.

I'm enjoying this years edition of the Open because there's a little bit of what we want to happen (see men's draw), mixed in with some good quality surprises. Have we seen more interesting first weeks? Sure, but take a look at the bottom half of the men's draw and tell me that World War III isn't about to happen down there.

I'm enjoying the fact that Gruel gave Roger Federer two sets of very real challenge. I'm enjoying the fact that this young American (Oudin) is giving a new hope to the future of American tennis. I love the fact that James Blake is surviving into the weekend, and I also simply couldn't aniticipate Soderling-Querry enough. If what I expect comes true from Sam and Robin, we could have one of the matches of the tournament in the immediate future. I like both guys really, Sam is riding a wave of results and ranking ascention, while Robin is this bizarre combination of stubborn alpha-loner with a great personality. It doesn't hurt that when he's on, the guy can hit some serious shots out there.

The weekend is going to be great. If you have the ability to record matches, do so. Hell, Clijsters is ravaging opponents out there. Mary Carillo expects a Serena-Clijsters showdown, and I'm certainly not one to argue with this. Kim is playing hot, and has the New York crowd behind her.
Not a bad combination. It also doesn't hurt that she's getting these days of rest in between matches.

So I blog with Nadal putting Kiefer into another universe, absolutely destroying him (6-0 in first), and I put a smile on my face.

The tennis universe holds true. The anticipation will continue to build, and those matches will become reality.

Enjoy the weekend everyone, enjoy the tennis, and get out and hit a ball while you can.

MarkOskar