Andre Agassi on CBS 60 Minutes [J. Mark English]

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Photo: Dinara Safina - The Next Tennis 'Hottie"? [J. Mark English]

Darth Federer? [J. Mark English]

Just how good is Roger Federer, whom won his 12th grand slam yesterday? Sean Randall of the Tennis X Blog breaks down just what a phenomenal athlete this man has become:

Roger Federer has never lost a match in his career in the all black Darth Vader look. After the US Open final today that will still be fact.

Novak Djokovic has enjoyed a great US Open, with great wins over Radek Stepanek and David Ferrer, he’s also shown us his personal side with a pair of memorable impersonations Thursday evening. But today’s going to be too much for the 20-year-old Serb.

While Federer will be comfortable in playing in front of 23,000 plus and in his 10th straight Slam final, this will be Novak’s first go round in a major title bout.

The lack of a day off also hurts Novak. Fed’s used to it, not Novak. The heat could also play a role. Djokovic has had problems with conditions and injuries in the past, and even yesterday he looked somewhat sluggish at times in the heat and had to summon the trainer.

By wearing the black outfit Fed will send a message to Novak that he’s just fine playing tennis in warm, humid conditions.

Federer and Djokovic match-up pretty well. But I think Federer right now is better than Novak in just about every department, even backhand. I think Novak is a more consistent ball striker, but in the pressure of a final he’s likely to make a few more errors than normal.

Fed will also have revenge on his mind after losing to Djokovic in the Canadian final.

I also don’t think Novak will be completely overwhelmed by the occasion. That win over Federer last month showed the kid’s poise, which is quite remarkable for a 20-year-old. And Novak looked a lot better than Fed did yesterday in the semifinals. After jittery starts by both players they each managed to win in straight sets. But I’m not going to put much stock in either of those wins.

Federer’s never lost a Sunday Slam final not played on clay. That said I’ll bet on black again, in straight sets.

Tennis: Justine Henin Wins 2nd U.S. Open [J. Mark English]

This is from Tennis.com:

Psst. The name is Justine Henin. Get to know her.

Might just be one of the greatest tennis players ever. Is certainly the undisputed No. 1 at the moment. As of Saturday night, she owns two U.S. Open championships and seven Grand Slam titles overall.

So let's get that correct. Everybody now: Justine Henin.

Overwhelming No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3 in the final, the top-seeded Henin capped a dominating run through the U.S. Open in which she didn't drop a set and became the first woman to win a major title while beating both Williams sisters along the way.

"This one is maybe the most important one. The quality I played in the last few matches has been amazing, and it's a great feeling, because I had a tough draw," said Henin, the 2003 Open champion. "I had a lot of things to prove to myself. Not to anyone else, but to myself. And I did it."

Yet both times she conquered New York, someone got her name wrong during the postmatch trophy-and-check ceremony.

Four years ago, a representative of the main U.S. Open sponsor called her "Christine." On Saturday night, CBS announcer Dick Enberg referred to her as "Justine Henin-Hardenne" — even though she dropped the hyphenated part after separating from her husband at the beginning of the year.

U.S. Open: Early Exit for Sharapova [J. Mark English]

My macho side is disappointed. I wanted to see the gorgeous Maria Sharapova play in the finals of the U.S. Open in Flushing, New York. The defending U.S. Open champ lost to Agnieszka Radwanska. In doing so, Sharapova, the No. 2 seed, lost to a No. 30 seed. Its the first time since 1981 that No. 2 seed had been knocked out before the round of 16.

Here is more from Karen Crouse of the New York Times:

As Maria Sharapova’s United States Open title defense unraveled yesterday, the indignities piled up as fast as the double faults. Her teenage opponent, Agnieszka Radwanska, crept in close to the service line to receive Sharapova’s second serves as if she were playing an advanced beginner and not a two-time Grand Slam champion.

In the third set, with Sharapova trailing, 5-2 and 15-0, her father and coach, Yuri Sharapov, moved from the first row of the guest box to a seat higher up, where he could not be seen so easily. Sharapov has been known to coach his daughter from the stands, but he had to recognize that there was no hand signal appropriate for this occasion except for the sign for surrender.

The 18-year-old Radwanska, seeded No. 30, sent Sharapova packing with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 upset at Arthur Ashe Stadium in a third-round match that was played in the early afternoon, the bright rays of sun illuminating Sharapova’s flaws and Radwanska’s promise.

Tennis: Corruption? [J. Mark English]

Enough of these stories already! Everywhere you look, there's a sport that has something about it tainted. NBA has a ref fixing games. Baseball has players cheating with steroids. Football has players that are lining up for the county slammers. Hockey...well no one is watching, so who knows.

Next up, tennis! Get a load of this from Breitbart:

Match-fixing, some of which is linked to internet gambling, is not uncommon in professional tennis, according to a damaging report in L'Equipe on Thursday.

Two elite players made the claims, under anonymity, in an interview with the French sports daily claiming they have witnessed matches being "thrown" and that they had personally been offered bribes.

The allegations come in the wake of the controversy surrounding Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, who is the subject of an ATP enquiry.

Davydenko recenty pulled out a match injured on the same day that large sums of money had been bet on his defeat to Argentina's Martin Vassallo Arguello.

Betfair, an internet gambling website, refused to pay out on Davydenko's defeat. Seven million dollars in wagers, 10 times more than normal for such a match, swung to Arguello even after Davydenko won the first set.

The unnamed sources in L'Equipe's report called on the sport's authorities to act, "before things get out of hand".

"I know several players who have been approached, and who had the exact same experience as me," said one player, identified only as Mister B and who claimed he had been approached physically by someone offering him 50,000 dollars to lose a match.

He added: "Not for one second did I believe it was a joke. 50,000 dollars is more than what I would have got for getting to the semi-final in this tournament, and it was tax-free cash.

"I refused his offer straight away, but I was left wondering what direction we're going in."

Federer Shows Why He is World's #1 [David Stefanini]

This from ESPN.com:

Six years ago, a 19-year-old Swiss prodigy beat Pete Sampras in the fourth round here at Wimbledon. The five-set defeat prevented Sampras from winning his fifth consecutive title at the All England Club and, in retrospect, announced a challenge to his supremacy in men's tennis.

That prodigy was named Roger Federer.

On Sunday, a 21-year-old Spanish prodigy pushed Federer into another contentious five-set match -- his first in a Grand Slam final. Rafael Nadal was attempting to stop Federer from joining Bjorn Borg as the only man to win five straight Wimbledon titles and, not insignificantly, equaling Borg's and Rod Laver's achievement of 11 Grand Slam singles titles.


Comments:
What else is there to say about Roger Federer. He is clearly the best tennis player in the world, and the most dominant athlete in any sport. Nobody has been this dominant since Michael Jordan. The difference here is Jordan had a team around him, Federer is one man. Every time Federer steps out on the court, he has to play better than the person opposing him. Jordan could have an off night and the Bulls still won, if Federer doesn't play good, he loses. This is what makes him so special. We should be grateful to be witnesses, because domination like this comes around once a lifetime.

Rafael Nadal Topples Roger Federer [David Stefanini]

Rafael Nadal proves once again he is the only person who stands in the way of Roger Federer and complete domination.

Nadal defeated Federer in today's French Open. It is the third straight year Nadal has won the French Open, and the second year in a row he stopped Federer from completing a career Grand Slam. These two are quickly becoming legends in the sport of tennis. They are far superior to anyone else in the sport.

Rafael Nadal remains the only person who is capable of beating Federer. The problem I find is this: Nadal doesn't play his own game, he plays the game of his competition. What I mean by that is Nadal can beat the top rated player in the world most of the time (he has a 8-4 head to head record again Federer) but vs the rest of the world he is just good. Whereas Federer has struggled against Nadal, but against the rest of the world he is far superior.

Whatever the story may be these two are the best in their sport. Nadal has come out on top this time, but Federer will remain the top player in the world. The on;y possible way Federer will lose his number 1 ranking is if Nadal puts together a winning streak that Federer did in 2005, winning 35 straight matches. If he can do that then we will see a changing of the guard at number one. But I wouldn't hold my breathe for that to happen.

Justine Henin Wins Third Straight French Open [David Stefanini]

Justine Henin won her third consecutive French Open in straight sets against Ana Ivanovic's. For more on this here is ESPN.com:

"Justine Henin claimed her third consecutive French Open title and her fourth overall Saturday, taking advantage of 19-year-old Ana Ivanovic's shaky play to win 6-1, 6-2.

Henin closed out the victory with a forehand volley winner, then flipped her racket, buried her head in her hands, leaned on the net and exhaled. She became the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990-92 to win three consecutive Roland Garros titles, and only the second since 1937."

Henin looked great and seemed to be unstoppable. She won in straight sets for the second straight year. I didn't watch the match, but from what I saw on Sportscenter this wasn't even close. Thankfully I didn't turn on the channel and watch the match.

The mens final, which places the two top players in the world against each other, should be far superior. That is a tennis match worth watching.

Federer Wins 10th Grand Slam Title [J. Mark English]

From Tennis.com:

Roger Federer captured his 10th Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set at the Australian Open, beating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's championship match.

Federer improved his winning streak to a career-best 36 matches and advanced through a major without dropping a set for the first time

It was the first time since Bjorn Borg won the 1980 French Open title that a champion went through a major without dropping a set, and the first time at the Australian Open since Ken Rosewall in 1971.

Federer became the first man in the Open era to twice win three straight majors and has won six of the last seven Grand Slam titles -- his only loss was in the French Open final to Rafael Nadal.

By reaching the final, Federer tied Jack Crawford's record of playing in seven consecutive finals at the majors, set in 1934.