This isn't even Irene, this is just some storm. Irene is why the 1st day of the Open is in jeopardy according to the forecasts - depending on how quick or slow the storm moves through the area and the damage it does.
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Are the qualis done for the day? The US Open twitter said matches won't restart till 4:15, but they haven't and no updates since thenComment -
Forecasts I have seen show some windows for play tonight, but it's going to be hit or miss I think. I am sure they will try to squeeze anything they can get in so as to not fall behind schedule wise with the Hurricane likely to fukk up things next week for at least a day. That Twitter account indicates qualis will start an hour early tomorrow too.Comment -
And we have resumed play!Comment -
don't you mean...we have continued the berankis bagel show? i tailed you on both your plays
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No way buddy. Berankis has turned it around. Looks good to send it to a 3rd set hopefully ... and hopefully he closes it out.Comment -
Of course now he gives the break back.Comment -
Well Berankis choked in the 2nd. What a wasted year for him on tour. Injuries and inconsistency. Stahovsky drops the 2nd set. Looking like a killer day.Comment -
Well if I'm lucky, maybe Bubka wins to go 1-2 today. Stakhovsky completely fell apart after the tie break in the 2nd set.
Hopefully Strode rallies and wins for you tevari. He was up a break in the 2nd, but looks like he's going to give it back or at least struggling to hold. Tough day in the qualis with the rain .. young players sometimes have difficulty getting it together after long delays. Wondering if you look at the results at the end of the night if you won't see the more experienced players winning ...Comment -
no worries. the berankis/soeda parlay was the correct wager, shit happens, it's tennis.Comment -
Well I had three guys ready for parlay use: Soeda, Berankis & Farah. Farah won easy I believe. For the most part I feel good about capping the qualis, I have missed out on a couple of wins that I left off because I did not like them quite enough at the end of the day, but shit happens. Strode is out of gas. Damn.Comment -
Quick notes on the Men's US Open draw @ first glance:
Djokovic Quarter
Djokovic has a very easy draw. Semifinals without even thinking about it. Berdych or Monfils on the bottom of the draw looms at the likely QF draw. Some good 1st round matches with Gasquet-Stakhovsky, Gonzalez-Karlovic, Davydenko-Dodig & maybe Dimitrov-Monfils.
Federer Quarter
As usual, Fed drawn into a quarter with Tsonga. He doesn't have the cleanest of paths to the quarters. Tomic if he gets his shit together and the mercurial Cilic are there to potentially pull an upset if Fed isn't right. Mouth watering 4th rounder possible on the bottom with Tsonga vs. Fish. Think Fish is there with his draw, Tsonga ... could face a hiccup with Verdasco maybe. Federer will have to earn a semifinal birth. With the way his season has gone, can't feel real confident that he does it.
Murray Quarter
Murray has a nice quarterfinal draw. Lopez and Wawrinka are seeds down there, but in a best of 5 - I don't like them vs. Murray. Top of the draw is going to be a rollercoaster. Rusty Robin Soderling. Out-of-form Del Potro. Vanilla "Nice" Gilles Simon. The Big Tie Break, John Isner. Soderling could be an under-the-radar guy in this tournament. He's nursing a wrist injury, but he's been smart to take time off. If he's healthy, he's got the game and likes showing up at Slams. I'm not sure Del Potro is really in the right frame to make a run here although most will say he's the guy no one wants to face. I think Isner is a real dark horse here if his serve holds up here and he can avoid playing a long match in Round 1 vs. Baghdatis. Lots of "could-bes" here, but this is Murray's to take.
Nadal Quarter
Rafa got a nice draw. 3rd round will be his first test, but Old Man River Ljubicic or an out-of-wack Nalbandian dont' scare me here if I am Nadal. Melzer and Youzhny are in his half, but neither has proven very consistent this year although Youzhny pulls the Slam surprise now and again. Ferrer is seed on top. The crowd will love this half with Blake and Roddick and would love to see those two play. Almagro vs. Benneteau in the 1st round, I almost always back the OVER big with Almagro in the 1st round of Slams - especially the hard court ones where he seems to play long matches. Roddick really got a sweetheart draw to the 4th round here. He's been off all year, but his run in Winston-Salem and a decent draw make him a darkhorse to get to the quarters. Really do not see Rafa losing this draw unless an injury prevents him. Otherwise, his draw shapes up to me as the 2nd easiest behind Djokovic's.
Semis: Djokovic, Fish, Murray, Nadal
Seems to be the M-O the last few years. Three of the top four make it with one intruder. Youzhny last year. Del Potro in 2009. Murray was a #6 in 2008. Ferrer was the 4th guy as #15 in 2007. Look for a seeded player, but an outside of the Big Four in the semis. I think Fish has a shot to be that guy. Don't laugh, but Roddick would be my 2nd choice darkhorse semifinalist.Comment -
Quick Hitter on the WTA US Open Draw @ first glance ...
Wozniacki Quarter
Some tricky customers for the Woz in her half, including Hantuchova and Kuznetsova. This is one where on talent, Wozniacki is the best of what is here ... but as listed, the three best players here probably are Woz, Hantuchova and Kuznetsova ... none of which have been consistent this season, save for consistently disappointing. On bottom, Na Li will get a lot of love for the people who still think back to her Australian Open run. Up until this week, I would not have considered her much of a threat ... but she now has it going pretty well. Petkovic is the other seed here and she too is good enough to make a run, but as with most of the chicks is wildly inconsistent. Woz will be a popular fade here, but she always prepares and gets confidence at New Haven.
Azarenka Quarter
Always a threat, never threatening. That usually sums up Azarenka in Slams. Well this year, we might not even worry about disappoint. That's because Serena Williams is unseeded in this quarter. Serena likely gets Vika in the 3rd. Ivanovic & Cetkovska are interesting participants in the bottom part of this upper half. I don't think anyone expect Serena to not be in the QFs here. On the bottom, Schiavone, Jankovic and Pavlyuchenkova are the best of the rest. Even though she's not a great threat on hard courts, Schiavone has a super draw to the 4th round. Jankovic looks likely to be opposite her. This is a great draw for Serena, no one matches her power here. Jankovic might make her work in the QFs or Schiavone ... but Serena should be on a mission.
Sharapova Quarter
Sharapova is her serve holds, should find an easy path to the QFs here. Peng, Pennetta and Goerges are the seeds down here and all have been disappointing on this surface in the Summer. Kvitova is the top seed up top, but in average form at-best. Love Radwanska in the top half. It would be a surprise to me here [somewhat] if we don't see Ag-Rad and Masha face off in the QFs.
Zvonareva Quarter
One of my favorite tennis girls, Vera doesn't have an easy draw. She could see Venus Williams or Cibulkova in route to the quarters. Lisicki is also down here and cannot be discounted. I'm not counting Venus out here. She's become almost a Slam specialist as far as scheduling due to injury and age. If she gets by Lisicki in the 2nd, she matches up well historically with Vera. Up top, Stosur, Bartoli and a bunch of Russians including Kirilenko and Petrova. Any one of those players if capable of getting hot and running through here. This quarter sniffs of the one where you get a bit of a Cinderella. I like how Stosur has rebounded this summer with a couple of strong tournaments and a good rest before NY.
Semis: Li, Serena, Sharapova, Stosur
Last year was a bit of a difference with three of the top four seeds in the semis. Traditionally, the women's draw features plenty of surprises and you can generally bank on one of the finalists being a first timer. Only once since 2003 has the final featured two players who have been in that position at the Open before. I think the networks will be desperate to see Serena vs. Sharapova as the glamour match-up.Comment -
US Open Qualis
Parlay: Pospisil + Sorensen [+123]
Sijsling +115
G.Jones +155Comment -
how do u feel about cetkovska beating na li tonight?Comment -
She'll be a popular upset pick, but fatigue has to be a consideration here as she's worked through qualifications to get to the semifinals on the back of a busy week last week in Cincinnati. Li isn't unbeatable, but I think she'll prevail here.Comment -
azarenka's quarter of the bracket is shaping up to be a serious degenerate's special practically every match.
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PS - on Sijsling as well this morning. good luck!Comment -
Expecting 2-1 today damn it.
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Haha. I totally jinx your plays. Sijsling chokingComment -
Yeah no shit eh? Sorensen gets the 1st half of the parlay. Feel good about that being completed, he was the riskier of the two choices IMO. Watch Pospisil bomb now.Comment -
Adding one more for the Qualis ...
Jaziri -120
Jaziri was in good form coming into this tournament, having made the final of the Samarkand Challenger where he retired in the final against Istomin after dropping a 1st set tie break. That was a clay court tournament, but should have boosted his confidence. His ankle looks to be good so far. Rufin has some experience in the main draw at the US Open, but he's looked susceptible in qualifying - at least the last round when he was broken three times on-serve. He's struggled to get his 1st serve in and sooner or later, someone needs to make him pay for that. Rufin has had a very average year all-around.Comment -
Well Jones has one thing going for him, four of the six guys who have won qualis today in three sets dropped the 1st set. Let's go you Aussie shitbird!
Parlay cashed at least with Pospisil finishing.Comment -
Jaziri wins in the second set, up a set and break when Rufin retires. No worse than 2-2 today with a small profit if Jones continues to flop. Works for me.Comment -
Holy shit, if Sorenson wins again today, we will have two drunk Irishmen in the main draw! Could be a first..Comment -
Late add ...
Lisicki-Begu Under 19.5 [-120]Comment -
Just saw Andy Roddick didn't win a point on his 2nd serve against Isner in the second set.
Is the question now when will Roddick stop being a top 5 American?Comment -
Probably when he retires. American tennis is still shit. Fish is the clear #1. Isner is a solid #3, but after that it is absolute CRAP. Bogomolov is the next highest ranked after Isner and that is a sad state of affairs. Hell, James Blake is next after that.Comment -
EZ PZ on the Under. Lisicki only dropped one game. Time to formulate the US Open game plan starting with futures. Will have some posted tomorrow or Sunday after I figure out what I wanna do.Comment -
Hey don't forget about Querrey...and Ryan Harrison should get up there.Comment -
I'd still take Roddick over Querrey. Querrey used to be neck and neck with Isner, but he's clearly not in Isner's league at this point even when healthy. Harrison has a long way to go IMO to be in the conversation. He's still young and maybe has the most promise, but he's got to take a step and be a consistent player. I think next year you find out what Harrison is made of because his ranking is going to dictate that he's in more main draws without having to run through qualis at any of the Slams any more. He needs to be a factor in January and not wait until July when the US Open series starts to begin being a factor. Also be interesting to see how he copes with the pressure if he's labelled the "it" guy in American tennis. He could do himself a world of good by KO-ing Cilic in the 1st round.Comment -
Very tough 1st round match for him...Cilic should win but Harisson played well last year.Comment -
I think Harrison played well vs. expectations because he was 18 and had made it through qualifying. Beating Ljubicic was really only a good win because of the name "Ljubicic" ... because the Old Man had been in poor form since his one bright spot last year @ Indian Wells. And then the match against Stakhovsky was competitive and he really should have won in the 5th set, but blew some chances. If he's going to be a player in main draws, those are two matches he should now be expected to win. I'd love to see him beat Cilic and that should be one of the better 1st round matches ... although both guys show enough inconsistency that it could wind up being a disappointing one sided match. I hope not though!
I was really hoping they'd keep the Isner-Benneteau total higher to play the under, but @ 22.5 it's a no play now although I do think Isner is probably going to whip Benny in straights. Cannot see Benneteau holding up against his serve and especially not at the tail end of a long week with back-2-back three setters.Comment -
Yea I'm gonna go ahead and back Harrison +235. Cilic is prone to making a ton of unforced errors and Harrison has proven to be a big match player time and time again. Keep in mind though the win against Ljubicic was nothing special as Ljubicic suffered from some heat problem and claimed he completely fell apart. Harrison was sick last week, apparently he was throwing up and stuff so that explains his loss to Duclos. This should be a fun match and that price on Harrison is way too big imo...
You think Harrison is worth that price?Comment -
Also we got another rising star Jack Sock at +220 against 34 yr old Gicquel who has only been playing clay lately. You think Gicquel has enough left in the tank?Comment
