With the U.S. Open winding down to a close, we pause to look back and reflect on some of the high and low points of the fortnight.
Geezers of the fortnight
Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, aged 32 and 31 respectively, showed their younger tennis brethren a thing or two in marching to the final. It was the oldest Grand Slam final pairing since a spry 37-year-old Ken Rosewall defeated Mal Anderson, aged 36, in the 1972 Australian Open.
This year?s pattern of having one logical finalist and one unexpected Grand Slam finalist continued. While Sampras is certainly better known and has registered many more career accomplishments than Thomas Johansson, Albert Costa and David Nalbandian, he had showed few signs of the form of a Grand Slam finalist this season. Greg Rusedski?s comments after losing to Pete in the third round -- ?I'd be surprised if he wins his next match against Haas? -- may have been classless, but most observers felt the s
ame way about the American great.
Dominator of the fortnight
Serena Williams was in punishing form as she breezed to her third straight major title without losing a set. The only time she was remotely worried during the tournament was in the semifinal against Lindsay Davenport, where she behind
2-5 in the second set before storming back to win 6-3, 7-5.
Prior to the Open, the consensus of the ?experts? was that Serena might be underdone for this tournament, having played only three matches since Wimbledon. But the American powerhouse turned up in New York more thickly muscled as ever and firing on all cylinders. She even permitted herself the luxury of toying with her error-prone and double-fault-prone sister in the 6-4, 6-3 final. Now that the younger Williams has tamed her power and is able to minimize the errors that had dogged her play in the past,
it?s hard to see who might challenge her supremacy in the near future.
Duds of the fortnight
On the men?s side, Carlos Moya?s performances at the majors continue to be baffling. We had every right to expect a solid tournament from the man from Mallorca in the wake of his excellent season (he is tied for 5th place in the "race rankings") and his title at the Masters Series in Cincinnati. But Carlos was a virtual no-show, slumping to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 second-round loss to Jan-Michael Gambill. Since reaching the quarterfinals in Australia in 2001, the Spaniard has failed to get past the third
round in six straight majors.
On the women?s side, fifth seed Jelena Dokic was the big disappointment, losing limply to one of the pleasant surprises of the tournament, Elena Bovina, in the second round. The talented young Yugoslavian appears to be deeply troubled these days. Already last month, the Los Angeles Times reported that Dokic was in tears after a dismal, 6-0, 6-2 semifinal loss to Chanda Rubin (after the match, Rubin called Dokic?s display a ?semi-tank?). Dokic continues to complicate her life off the court as well
. She admitted that she faxed a letter of support to Yugoslavian presidential candidate Vojislav Seselj, a right-wing ultra-nationalist who has been indicted by the United Nations as a co-conspirator of Slobodan Milosevic in the war with Croatia.
Revelations of the fortnight
Surprise quarterfinalist Elena Bovina made her breakthrough by beating Dokic, and then confirmed the result with continued strong play, taking a set off Lindsay Davenport in an honourable 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 quarterfinal defeat. The hard-serving, amiable Russian has long been touted as a budding star, but has apparently had difficulty managing her towering height. She revealed last week that she has been getting tips from the likes of John McEnroe and Brad Gilbert, which is certainly not a bad idea.
On the men?s side, hard-thumping Chilean Fernando González was particularly impressive, showing that his run to the Cincinnati semifinal was no fluke. The strapping youngster with the booming forehand dominated 7th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero and the accomplished Arnaud Clément without losing a set, and was just a fifth set tie-break away from reaching the semis. ?He?s the biggest hitter on the tour,? said Clément, and there are not many who would disagree.
Countdown to Davis Cup
The final Slam of the year may be winding up, but the season still is far from over! The semifinals of Davis Cup are just two weeks away. All eyes will be on the fabled stadium court of Roland Garros, where the USA takes aim at the defending champion French squad. The way events transpired at the U.S. Open makes the matchup all that much more intriguing.
American captain Patrick McEnroe will have some tough choices to make in singles. Until Sampras?s resurgence at the US Open, it was generally assumed that he would be left off the squad in favour of James Blake and Andy Roddick, given Sampras?s surprising loss on grass to Alex Corretja in the quarterfinals and his lack of success on the Parisian clay. However, Pistol Pete?s results in New York have thrown that reasoning up in the air. And reports persist that Agassi might be convinced to play in Paris.
McEnroe will also be tempted to go with Bob and Mike Bryan in doubles after their fine showing at the Open (they reached the men?s doubles semis and faced each other in the mixed final).
The French appear set to go with Arnaud Clément and Sébastien Grosjean in singles, and Fabrice Santoro / Michael Llodra in doubles, a lineup that suddenly looks a tad shaky. Assistant coach Thierry Tulasne admitted that the French considered using the sensational 16-year-old Richard Gasquet, but decided that a Davis Cup semifinal at home would be too much pressure on the youngster.