First off, if you didn't watch the Roddick/Santoro match last night, you really missed something special. Let's just say that both backwalls in Arthur Ashe Stadium took a beating.Roddick easily defeated The Magician in straight sets 6-2 6-2 6-2. Santoro is one of the craftiest professional tennis players around, but was unable to withstand a constant barrage of Roddick serves.

 Lindsay Davenport was also impressive as she defeated Alisa Kleybanova 7-5 6-3. Lindsay did a noce job in foiling Kleybanova's game stategy, which was to hit every..single..shot.. at Davenport as hard as possible. Linsday moves on to meet 12th seed Marion Bartoli in the third round.

 Other notable results from day 3

 Novak Djokovic advances to the third round with a win over Arnaud Clement in straight sets. Novak rolled his left ankle pretty good, but with the help of a professional tennis trainer and 90 feet of athletic tape, he was able to finish the match. Keep an eye on this as the week progresses.

Nikolay Davydenko won in straight sets over Israeli Dudi Sela 6-3 6-3 6-3.

Robby Ginepri beat fellow American Amer Delic. Wild Card Sam Warburg defeated Janko Tipsarevic, who retired in the 2nd set.Dmitri Tursonov beat Eduardo Schwank in 4 sets. This happened somewhere in the middle of them seeing who could smash the most racquets on court

Jelena Jankovic outlasted Sofia Arvidsson to advance to the third round. Jankovic looked shaky at best. Elena Dementieva advanced over Pauline Parmentier 6-2 6-1.

Patty Schnyder, Caroline Wozniaki, and 3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova were also winners.

Complete men's and women's day 3 results here.

Notable matches on tap for today

Men

Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Thomaz Belluci
David Nalbandian vs.Andrey Golubev
Andy Murray vs. Michael Llodra
Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Wayne Odesnik (currently 5-5 2nd set with Wawrinka taking the first set)
Sam Querrey vs. Nicolas Devilder
Ivo Karlovic vs. Florent Serra
Gael Monfils vs. Evgeny Korolev

Women

Dinara Safina def. Roberta Vinci 6-4 6-3
Venus Williams vs. Rossana De Los Rios
Ana Ivanovic vs. Julie Coin

Tonight's primetime action-coming to you live from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

Serena Williams vs. Elena Vesnia

Rafa Nadal vs. Ryler De Heart

    Well, I had a hunch yesterday about both Sam Querrey and Tommy Haas pulling off upsets in day one and it's refreshing to see that something went right for me, especially after the fiasco that was my golf game yesterday afternoon.

     Querrey needed a mere 87 minutes to dispatch of Tomas Berdych in straight sets while Haas was taken the distance by 12th seed Richard Gasquet before emerging the victor. Querrey faces  Frenchman Nicolas Devilder in the second round while Haas will have to contend with Gilles Muller.

     In other upset news (upsetting news?) Women's 11 seed Daniela Hantuchova lost in straight sets to Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-4 6-2. The resurgent Nicolas Kiefer exits a bit early at the hands of Ivo Minar.

Other notable men's winners from day 2:

Marat Safin
Roger Federer
Mardy Fish
Tommy Robredo
Ivo Karlovic
Fernando Verdasco

And for the Ladies:

Ana Ivanovic
Serena Williams
Venus Williams
Dinara Safina
Amelie Mauresmo
Nadia Petrova
Nicole Vaidisova
 
Complete results available here

On tap for today:

Men

Novak Djokovic looks to finish just one day better than he did last year, but has to get through Arnaud Clement first.
Nikolay Davydenko takes on Dudi Sela at 11:00 while 2005 King of Indianapolis Tennis Robby Ginepri and Amer Delic take court a little later on today. Nicholas Amalgro faces off with 2006 Indy Championships Finalist Frank Dancevic on court six.

And once again for the Ladies:

5th seed Elena Dementieva squares off against Pauline Permentier. 2nd seeded Jelena Jankovic, Patty Schnyder, and Svetlana Kuznetzova all see action today as well.

Tonight's primetime entertainment:

Lindsay Davenport vs. Alisa Kleybanova- Hopefully Davenport's knee hold up as she begins what is likely her final run in new York.

Andy Roddick vs. Fabrice Santoro- Roddick begins his trek through a difficult quarter of the draw against The Magician, who will throw everything, including the kitchen sink, in Andy's direction in hopes of upsetting the 8 seed.

That's all for now..have a happy wednesday

    
    In day one action at the US Open, James Blake survived a scare from American Donald Young before finally winning in 5 sets 6-1 3-6 6-1 4-6 6-4. Blake definitely looked fatigued after a great run at the Olympics, but took adavantage of 2 overturned calls in the final set to regain his momentum and close out the match. Young showed signs that's he learning how to become a professional tennis player, but an overturned call followed by a double-fault on serve at 4-4 in the fifth set helped seal the deal for Blake.

 Rafael Nadal advanced to the second round with a victory over Bjorn Phau 7-6(4) 6-3 7-6(4). Rafa admitted to being tired and a little off his game, but was able to hold off his opponent nonetheless. Rafa at 70% or so is still a nightmare for anyone, although Phau deserves some credit for keeping it close throughout the three sets.

 It will be interesting to see what impact the Olympics will have on the players who participated, especially since two of the marquis Olympians in the men's draw definitely were not at their best yesterday. Roger Federer holds court at Artur Ashe Stadium tonight, so we'll see if he's shaken off the jetlag yet.

Other notable day 1 winners from the men's draw were David Ferrer, Juan Martin Del Potro, Andy Murray,Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, David Nalbandian. Get complete day 1 results here.

Top seeds in action today at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center:
Roger Federer vs. Maximo Gonzalez
Tommy Robredo vs. Mischa Zverev
Tomas Berdych vs. Sam Querrey
Richard Gasquet vs. Tommy Haas

    Haas and Querrey are the underdog in their respective matches, but don't be suprised if one or both survive to see the second round. Querrey's game is defintely suited for the hard court and Haas has a Safin-esque way of playing lights-out in big matches. Haas has also made the quarterfinals in New York in three of the past four years.

Yes, the granddaddy of them all begins today in Flushing Meadow.  The US Open takes center stage in the tennis world.  I would argue that it is the premier Men's Professional Tennis Tournament in the world.

We love to watch how 'our' tennis players from the Indianapolis Tennis Championships go on to do in NY. 

I decided to go out on a limb and choose by quarterfinalists for this year's US Open.

Here goes:

Nadal
Blake
Simon
Lopez
Roddick
Moya
Tursunov
Federer

Nobody would blame me for choosing Nadal and Federer.  I think 99% of the population would pick one of them to win the whole thing.  Blake had a great Olympics and is playing well on the hardcourts.  An Indy favorite, Andy Roddick should also do well.  Going out further on a limb, I'm going to choose none other than Gilles Simon to make the finals.

Men's and Women's Wild Cards were announced yesterday for the US Open, which begins on monday at the USTA Billie Jean King national Tennis Center. They are:

Men

Amer Delic (USA)
Brendan Evans (USA)
Scoville Jenkins (USA)
Austin Krajicek (USA)
Jesse Levine (USA)
Sam Warburg (USA)
Carsten Ball(Australia)
Laurent Recouderc (France)

More info here

Women

Gail Brodsky (USA)
Jamea Jackson (USA)
Asia Muhammad (USA)
Melanie Oudin (USA)
Ahsha Rolle (USA)
CoCo Vandeweghe (USA)
Severine Bremond (France)
In addition, a yet-to-be-determined Australian player will receive a direct entry into the main draw.

More info here



Good luck to them all as they compete against the very best that professional tennis has to offer.

The guys are in New Haven as we speak and are currently playing the final stop on the 2008 Olympus US Open Series to be capped off next week at the start of the 2008 US Open. The summer series has provided tennis fans with some of the best mens tennis I have had the opportunity to witness. Whether you look at Gilles Simon taking home the crown in Indy and defeating Roger Federer in Canada or Nadal climbing to the top to become the world #1 or watching Juan Martin Del Potro capture the countrywide classic in LA and following it up with the title in Washington at the Legg Mason Classic. Mens professional tennis has experienced incredible growth this summer it was broadcast on ESPN2 at every tournament stop. The USTA continues to promote the game of tennis at a grassroots level and will continue to be a driving force for the succeess of tennis within the states. We look forward to growing our partnership with the USTA through a number of tennis related activities most notably this fall at the Healthy Active Lifestyles convocation at a TBD location in Indiana.

                         TENNIS   .    COMMUNITY   .    CHARITY

Congratulations Rafa!

Rafael Nadal is on top of mens professional tennis as the #1 ranked player in the world

Here are your Beijing Day 7 Results

    Women's Tennis Singles
 Safina (RUS) def. Jankovic (SRB) 6-2 5-7 6-3
 
    Men's Tennis Singles
 Nadal (ESP) def. Djokovic (SRB) 6-4 1-6 6-4
 Gonzalez (CHI) def. Blake (USA) 4-6 7-5 11-9

 
     A great week of tennis is set to conclude this weekend in Beijing with both the men's and women's gold medal matches. As is true for both the ATP and WTA tours, the Olympics has seen the most consistent and disciplined players advance through the event. 
     Rafael Nadal and Dinara Safina serve as prime examples of this this. While both are highly emotional and energetic players, they're also extrmemely consistent in their approach to each and every match. Neither player gives much, if anything, away to their opponents. Rafael is playing the best tennis of his young career and is the posterboy for proper fitness and mental toughness. Safina is quickly positioning herself for a run at #1 in the WTA rankings with her unique blend of athleticism and mental savvy. 
 
     It was sad, at least for us here at The Juice, to see Roger Federer lose in his bid for his maiden olympic Medal. However, his loss paved the way for the most pleasant of suprises, that being James Blake's journey into the medal round. Blake fell in three sets to Fernando Gonzalez today in semifinal action, but his Beijing performance just might be the perfect boost of confidence that James needs to turn his season around.  

 Unfortunately, the Olympics wouldn't be the Olympics without a little controversy. For Blake, such controversy appeared in the form of a ball that was called out, but apparently knicked Gonzalez' racquet first.

From nbcolympics.com:

 "The incident that upset Blake occurred with Gonzalez serving at 8-9 in the final set. On the first point, Blake hit a backhand passing shot long but contended the ball ticked Gonzalez's racket before landing, as TV replays confirmed.

 Blake appealed in vain to the chair umpire, and said Gonzalez should have conceded the point. Blake went on to lose the game to make it 9-all.

 "Playing in the Olympics, in what's supposed to be considered a gentleman's sport, that's a time to call it on yourself," Blake said. "Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn't call it."

 Gonzalez said he was uncertain whether the ball hit his racket.
 
 "I didn't feel anything," Gonzalez said. "I mean, it's just one point. There is an umpire. If I'm 100 percent sure about it, I mean, I will give it. But I'm not sure."

     It's an unfortunate end to a great run for James, although he had failed to capitalize on three match point chances at the time of the botched call. However..I'm dissapointed by Gonzalez' statement that "..it's just one point". For Blake, that one point was match point. 
     
    Funny how the weight of a single point is so skewed depending on which side of the net you're standing.
     
    Anyway, I can't wait to see how James fares at the US Open. I've seen James do some pretty amazing things on a tennis court (Ed. note: see 2006 final vs. Roddick in Indianapolis. One of the best professional tennis matches I've ever seen). He's an amazing athlete. Hopefully, he can leave this incident behind him in Beijing.

    

In quarterfinal action today in Beijing, James Blake (6-4 7-6(2)) shocked the world by defeating Roger Federer and himself to advance to the Olympic Men's semifinals. Blake committed 56 unforced errors, but still managed to emerge victorious. Blake moves on to face the winner of the Mathieu/Gonzalez match scheduled for later today.

Still on tap for the Men today:

Paul-Henri mathieu (FRA) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) (as mentioned a mere 2 sentences earlier)

Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Gael Monfils (FRA)

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP)

B. Bryan/ M. Bryan (USA) vs. Hewitt/Guccione (AUS)

Blake, The Bryans and Venus stand as the lone remaining Americans after Serena's defeat at the hands of Elena Dementieva in the women's quarterfinals.Speaking of Venus, she's in the middle of a real battle with Na Li of China right now. It's 5-4 Venus on the first set. Venus has double-faulted 8, count 'em 8 times.

What's happening in DC,you say? Well, since you asked...

Tommy Haas advanced to the quarterfinals with a stright sets victory over Nicolas Mahut. Next up for Haas is Alejandro Falla, who fefeated Florent Serra 7-6(2) 7-6(11).

In a battle of young, American stars, John Isner towered (because he's tall) over Donald Young 6-4 7-6(4). Isner will meet 2nd-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro, who's on a gravy train with biscuit wheels as he rides a 16 match win streak in the quarters with a win over Dudi Sela in straight sets.

On deck for today..

Andy Roddick Vs. Eduardo Schwank

Robert Kendrick vs. S. Devvarman

Igor Kunitsyn vs. Fabio Fognini

V. Troicki vs. Bobby Reynolds

James Blake rolls past Federer in Beijing!
Be sure to watch James keep the American tennis hopes of gold alive at the 2008 Olympics.





Tennis  .  Community  .  Charity

While watching the Olympics late last night, I started pondering who are the most conditioned athletes?  Michael Phelps will certainly go down as the most decorated Olympian of all time.  In watching him swim so fast and so effortlessly, you know he is superbly conditioned.  He also is mentally tough.  I watched beach volleyball, and yes they are great athletes but superb conditioning and mental toughness?  I'm not so sure.  The gymnasts - well I certainly couldn't perform those type of vaults, flips and landings.  I watched one girl land with a bum ankle and asked my husband, how in the heck could she do that with bad ankle.  His comment was that it was only one landing.  She can suck it up and then she is done performing.  One and done.

That brings me back to the tennis athlete.  I've watched my fair share of tennis stars at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, US Open and other ATP events and I'm still amazed at the type of athletes these guys have to be. The matches can be long, you have no coach, breaks are limited and don't last but more than a minute or so, the surface changes, the conditions can be difficult.

For a Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to be tops in the game, they have to be able to master very different playing surfaces and compete in sometimes difficult conditions.  At the Indianapolis Tennis Championships this year, the court surfaces reached temperatures in excess of 110 degrees.  It was hot out there.  Those guys chased down balls, served, hit the ball as hard as they could for sometimes two hours or more.  They got several breaks, for a minute or two and no coaching.  They had no teammates cheering them on or sharing the load.  They were out there by themselves competing against their opponent, the elements and sometimes the crowd.  Talk about mental toughness.  I walked out on the tennis court and couldn't wait to get back into the air conditioning and my bottle of Evian water.

So here is the stumper - name me a sport which only involves one athlete who competes for upwards of two hours without coaching or any support staff.  No timeouts, no prolonged breaks, no coasting - just all out hustle, determination and athleticsm.

    As we speak, James Blake is sitting on triple match point against Gilles Simon. A spot on the round of quarterfinals lies in wait. Blake holds a 5-2 adavantage in the second set, but seems to be having a little trouble at deuce in this eighth game.

Roger Federer avenged his 2004 Athens loss at the hands of Tomas Berdych with a 6-3 7-6(4) victory in his third round match.

Rafa Nadal defeated Igor Andreev 6-4 6-2 and meets Jurgen Melzer in the quarterfinals.

Paul-Henri Mathieu and Fernando Gonzalez also advance with straight set victories.

Still to come today-

Men's third round
 
Nalbandian (ARG) vs. Monfils (FRA) and a whole bunch of Doubles matches.

Results from today in Beijing (or last night if you're actually In Beijing):

James Blake (USA)      7(7) 4 6
Dominick Hrbaty (SVK)  6    6 3

 
James survives a close one, but advances to meet the 10th seeded and reigning Indy Champ Gilles Simon. Speaking of The Indy Championships..click here to buy your 2009 tickets! You're welcome, MH.

Roger Federer (SUI)   6 6
Rafael Arevalo (ESA)  2 4

 Another day at the office for the Rog, who meets Tomas Berdych in the third round.

Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)  7 6
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)   5 3
 
 
Can't say I'm suprised. But I am SHOCKED!!!

Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) 6 6
Marin Cilic (CRO)       4 2

 
Cilic, fresh from a big win over Roddick in Toronto, couldn't bring it in versus the crafty Chilean. Gonzales meets Olivier Rochus next, who defeated Tipsarovic.

Novak Djokovic (SRB)    6 6
Rainer Schuettler (GER) 4 2

 Djokovic moves on to to face mikhail Youzhny. I expect one of them will win. Probably the one who wins the most games.

Gilles Simon (FRA)    7 6
Guillermo Canas (ARG) 5 1

 
Way to go, Gilles!! A rematch of this year's Indianapolis semifinal awaits.That and the adoration of millions of French people who suddenly lost interest in swimming.

Rafael Nadal (ESP)   6 6
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 1 2

 Nadal's 25 winners to Hewitt's 9 is all you need to know. About this match, not life in general.

In addition to the men's results, both Venus and Serena Williams won, which due to the absence of star power in the women's draw gives them the Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals by default.

Thanks, you've been great. We'll do this again tomorrow. Click here for complete Olympic results.

I wanted to give you all an update on an exciting event coming up this fall! In our efforts to promote healthy active lifestyles in the Hoosier state, we will be visiting two schools and a tennis club this fall to educate our citizens on living healthier, active lifestyles. We are in the process of securing a player from the ATP to join us on this exciting venture through the state of Indiana. Stay tuned for the location we are visiting, it may be you!!!

Did you know...

    Today marks the beginning of the main draw in Washington D.C., home of The Legg Mason Classic. Considering the impact that the Olympics has had on summer player commitments in men's tennis,  The Legg Mason event boasts a fantastic player field. Andy Roddick enters the event as the #1 seed, but will have his hands full thanks to the likes of Marat Safin, Feliciano Lopez,Tommy Haas, and Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro defeated Roddick yesterday to take the title of the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles. I noticed he cut his hair. Maybe that had something to do with it.

I smell a rematch....but both sides of the draw are filled with plenty of challenges along the way.

As my friend at From The Other Side of The Net mentioned today, this week marks the return of Taylor Dent, who has been absent from the tour for two years. Taylor was as high as #30 in the men's rankings in 2005 and was a finalist in Indianapolis that same year.

Mardy Fish also continues his road to recovery from an injury-plagued 2007 as the #5 seed. It's good to see Mardy playing well again. He brings charisma and a good energy to every event he plays.

We're going to attempt two posts on The Juice today, so stay tuned.

Also, best wishes for a great week to Jeff, Dan, Keith, Keely, Victoria, and the rest of the team in D.C.!

So with the 2008 Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly now in the tennis bag - what do we do?

Well, we begin assessing what went well in 2008, what needs to be tweaked or fixed, our dream list (those things that we hope to get through the budget review process) and of course paying all of the bills from tournament week.

Our potential tweaks for 2009 include:
1) providing some type of cooled location for fans to eat.  The food was great this year but the tent was warm

2)  One session each day of the event (Monday through Friday).  The session would potentially begin at 4pm and continue throughout the evening.  We believe this might be better for the fans (cooler, easier to attend, concentrated tennis) and the players.  We are currently researching this option.  Let me know if you have an opinion!

3) Tennis is the show.  We will continue to concentrate our efforts in insuring that the product on stadium court is both entertaining and enjoyable to watch.

4) More interactive vendors.  We will continue to seek sponsors and vendors who want to activiate on site. We believe this enhances the overall experience for the fans - you can shop, try out the latest in technology or test your fitness level.

Any other suggestions????