I'm amazed by the simplicity of this game.....bring me a tray of your finest meats and cheeses!




    Well..what I thought yesterday would be a great match really wasn't much of a match at all, now was it? 

     Last night in New York, Andy Roddick needed a paltry 87 minutes to dispatch of 11th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez. You really don't have to work your way down the stat sheet very far to figure this one out- Roddick only committed 8 unforced errors compared to Gonzalez' 33. Gonzalez complemented this with 6 double faults. Roddick compiled an impressive 1st serve winning percentage of 93% compared to Fernando's 60%.  
 
    For most of the match it looked as though Gonzalez was completely confused by and uncomfortable with the pace of the match, particularly when Andy was on serve. If fatigue was a factor, and it looked like it was, Roddick certainly capitalized on it as he got out in front of his opponent early and never let up. Roddick also did a nice job of going to the net on several occassions to come up with some brilliant passing shots. Gonzalez was slow to counteract Roddick's superior quickness.
 
I think Andy has a very realistic chance to win the whole thing and my reasons are these:

- Roddick is obviouly intent on leaving it all on the court and while that often leads a player to play wreckless and sloppy, Andy has looked crisp, polished, and very focused on the match in front of him

- He faces Djokovic in the quartefinals and Federer most likely in the Semis if all goes well. Both have appeared exhausted at times and have struggled throughout the draw. Call it fatigue, tough opponents, or lack of focus but while they've both just come off of brutal 5-set matches, Andy's getting through his business in 90 minutes. Roddick has yet to have a match go five sets and has been pushed to a fourth set only once. Getting through your opponents quickly and getting adequate rest are critical at this point in a tournament.

- provided Andy gets through the next two rounds and into the finals, Nadal is his most likely opponent, although either Murray or Del Potro will present a serious challenge. In theory if he's made it this far, then why can't he win it all? Roddick's 2-for-5 head to head with Rafa, which isn't exactly astounding, but put this in baseball terms and Roddick's batting .400 (which is astounding).

I still think Andy's corner of the draw is the most difficult, as his has proven to be so far, but it might be time to think realistically about seeing Andy hoist the hardware this sunday.

Anyway, on to the rest of it...

Professional Tennis Matches On tap for today:

Dinara Safina vs. Flavia Pennetta-just underway

Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Andy Murray- should be a great match between two great players. Apparently these two are not fond of each other.

Tonight's Primetime Action:

War of the Williams' (my term)- Venus vs. Serena in what can only be desribed as the most important sporting event in the history professional tennis....and maybe  the world.

Followed by:

Rafael Nadal vs. Mardy Fish- on a side note, the Fish Tank is still riding high after the pounding they inflicted on the J-Block. Hopefully tonight they're focused, energized, and not drowned out by the 20,000 people that showed up to root for Nadal.
That's it for now..you've been great.