Any Suprises?

US Open Seeds

It strictly follows the rankings, so there aren't any real surprises. It's interesting that Sebastian Grosjean just lost his seeding this past week. Davydenko also passes Agassi for #6, so 2 of the top 6 players are Russian. On the women's side, Shuai Peng just missed being seeded.

Damn. A week earlier and Davenport would be the # 1 seed not #2. But! This works out better for her I think. As the #2 player she'd play the #3 seeded correct? Which means she would play Mauresmo rather than Clijsters? I'd rather see her play Amelie, assuming Lindsay's injuries allow her to make it that far.

No. It's determined by the draw.

If you're talking about the first round, alexias , the way it normally works is that all seeded players end up either playing an unseeded player or getting a bye. Additionally, each of the top four seeded players is in a different section of the draw, so the first time they could possible play another top four player is in the semifinals, and I think, with the way the U.S. Open draw is set up, if they make it that far, the semis would be #1 v. #3,, and #2 v. #4. So if that's the case, she would meet Clijsters in the semis.

edited-I meant semifinals, not quarters. duh.

There are no byes in a Grand Slam. If the seedings hold, the top four players would meet in the semifinals (with #1 playing 3 or 4 and #2 playing 4 or 3). AFAIK, the draw hasn't been done yet.

I imagine that the top men's seeds are relieved that Tomas Berdych got a seed and thus they won't have to play him in the first round. I could see him adding Roddick, Hewitt and Safin to his big time win tally (which includes Federer and Nadal).

I'm surprised with Molik at #14. What has she done for us lately?

The draws have been done.

Roger, Lleyton & Marat in same half. Andy, Andre & Rafa in same half. Lleyton, Marat and Tim Henman in same quarter. Rafa & Andre in same quarter. Sucks that Andy could face Robby Ginepri in R2. Considering how well Robby has been playing that will be like a later round match. Actually, Andy plays Muller in R1 and he made the finals in LA so that will be a tough one. James Blake/Greg Rusedski R1 should be a good match also. Roger has Ferrero, Moya, Kiefer and Davydenko in his quarter.

Maria, Kim, Venus & Serena in same half. Justine, Amelie & Lindsay in same half. Kim, Venus & Serena in same quarter. That's one overloaded quarter.

Remember, the rankings are based on your performance over the last 52 weeks. She was on fire in the first half (getting as high as 8 or 9 IIRC), but she's cooled off considerably (mostly due to injury). Of course, you could say the same about Serena.


Are you kidding? I like Ginepri a lot, so he could've gotten better. OTOH, Roddick couldn't have asked for a better draw. Seriously! He can't play Federer until the final. He probably won't have to play Hewitt or Safin at all. He won't have to go through both Nadal and Agassi. The highest seed in his quarter is a player he owns (Coria). His section is full of players who are in a slump (Haas, Ljubicic, Schuettler, Novak). Muller in the first round is no cakewalk and Ginepri should be a challenge, but it's virtually smooth sailing into the semis after that. Gasquet is in the mix, but he probably isn't ready to take out Roddick on hard courts. Happy Birthday, Andy.

OTOH, Hewitt, Clijsters, Venus, and Serena all got the shaft.

Sorry about the misinformation. Just saw the draw. Looks like it's 1 v. 4 and 2 v. 3 for the women.

I wasn't implying that Andy had a difficult draw. Just that it's unfortunate that Robby is playing well but his ranking (and bad luck) has created a match this competitive so early in the draw.


This I will agree with.

If he had just started his roll a few tournaments earlier, he could've been seeded. Anyway, if Robby can pull the big upset (I hope so!), he'd have a great shot to go very far.

All of the major serve-and-volley players (Henman, Dent, Mirnyi, Ancic, Philippoussis, and even Gimelstob) are in Hewitt and Safin's quarter. These draws are evil.

The top half of the women's draw does look rough. 3 of the four reigning slam champions (Although Kuznetzova has been slipping a bit recently, Serena too i guess although I suspect she'll have pulled herself together by now) plus Sharapova and Clijsters. Could be a bloodbath up there. I wonder how all those recent injuries are going to play out.

Schrichaphan vs. El Aynaoui in the first round can be some explosive fun, same with Max vs. Justin Gimelstob. Poor Mardy has got Ivo in his first round. Poor Andre if Ivo makes it through that match. And Rusedski v. Blake in the first round! That sucks for them. All in all though? I cannot wait!

I just noticed Patty Schnyder vs. Conchita Martinez. Heh. Anybody remember the "Petty Patty" match? Martinez asks for the ball every time she hits an ace, so Schnyder got fed up, took the ball, and pocketed it! I can't wait for the rematch.

Mardy was just saying yesterday that his wrist is still hurting him. Selfishly, I would love to see an Andre/Mardy match. That would be fun.


Me either. My tivo will be working overtime.

I meant in the semis. I should have said that. Thanks though!

And I was right in that Lindsay and Kim won't meet unless it's the finals, she will instead play the #3 seed (assuming things go according to seed which, with Justine in that side of the draw is no guarantee) Mauresmo.

*cough*fix!*cough* :)

And alexias, I've said it before on this thread but tennis seeding in the grand slams drives me insane. It's pure chance that the women's semis would be 1v4 and 2v3 if it went to seeding - the men's draw would be 1v3 and 2v4. If they did it properly (and everything went to seeding) then the last 32 would be 1v32, 2v31, 3v30 etc., the last 16 would be 1v16, 2v15 etc. and so on, but tennis doesn't do it like that. They randomize the draw so that in the last 32 the No.1 seed can face anyone from 25 to 32. It completely devalues earning the seeding over the season.

I think it must date back to when there were seeding committees to decide the order of the seeds (even Wimbledon uses a formula rather than a committee now). If the draw had been structured properly then the seeding committee would have been essentialy formulating who played whom - but now that the seeds are dictated by the computer they ought to sort out the draw. [/end rant]

This opinion is more based on unashamed fandom than anything else, but I really think Venus is the one to come out of that draw. Serena's going to go out early and to me Clijsters just doesn't seem to have the mental toughness in the grandslames. Though if Kim does make it out of that quarter, I think she'll go all the way. She beat Venus this summer, but it was a very tired, exhausted Venus. I think Venus figure out what works for her in the grandslams now and if she does her Wimbledon bit of getting rid of jewelry, not focusing on outfits and being a tennis player, she can win. I think everyone's a little scared of her now.

Aw, I love that the draw is random. It's going to be "unfair" to someone either way. In the normal system, it's possible to predict (and thus try to influence) the draw. For instance, the #6 and #7 players would be able to avoid Federer until the final. If I'm Marat Safin (#5), I wouldn't mind losing a match that would drop me down to playing Hewitt in the quarters (instead of Roddick) and Nadal in the semis (instead of Federer). I like that the two best players get to avoid each other and everything else is the luck of the draw. It adds a bit of mystery and it's a nice topic of conversation.

NoWayMan, I also like Venus in that quarter (assuming she's over her flu). Truth be told, Venus is my pick to win the whole thing. Whenever she wins Wimbledon, she wins the US Open. It's tradition. :)

The funny thing about the random draw is that you still get a lot of the same matchups. Clijsters and Davenport met in the 16's at both the FO and Wimby. Federer is slated to meet either Hewitt or Safin in the semis, he's played both in the semis previously this year. While the Williams sisters didn't play at Wimbledon, they were slated to meet in the 16's just like the USO.



After Wimbledon, I really thought that Venus would go on a tear and dominate the Hardcourt season, but she only played one tournament because of her illness. I would not be surprised in the least if she won, but my sentimental favorite would have to be Kim. It's a tough call, because if you go by the results Kim should be the favorite, but because of her past history in slams, it's hard to pick her. The women's game has been so unpredictable lately, no one is really a clear favorite.

Have you seen Andy's Mojo?

Hee hee. I wonder if this will be a commerical during the USO.

Tennis Week interview with Brad Gilbert.

CBS announces USO coverage.

Has Rich Eisen ever done tennis coverage before? I cannot remember. I like him, so that should be interesting.

I seem to remember seeing him on the late night show last year and I seem to remember loathing him. Or was that just a nightmare?

Rich Eisen was in the booth for sure about 2 years ago. I remember b/c there was a whole discussion on how to pronounce Louis Armstrong Stadium. Rich kept saying Louie, until someone corrected him. He was horrible the first year (after his boot from ESPN), but he has gotten slightly better.


Who's working for USA Network? Does Carillo freelance for them too? She seriously bugs.

Actually, if I remember correctly, it was Tony Bennet who corrected them! He was in the stands and someone, Mac maybe?? went down and grabbed him and while they were chatting Tony told them it was Louis Armstrong, not Louie. (not sure if I'm typing the distinction right but hopefully folks know/remember what I mean : )

Haha! Andy's mojo. His american express commercials are always the funniest.
Why is it that Andy has somehow won me over in the last six months or so?
In other news, I really hope the USA coverage this year improves on what ESPN has been doing to us for most of the season...

According to USA's website, their commentators are:

Jim Courier: Yeah! Al Trautwig: Yuck.

I cant help it I love Andy's commercials. I think it was the Mastercard one that started airing right after last years Open that I loved. They use it along with the first one for the "My Life" commercials. Anyway I thought the first one was cute but presumptous, but I love that he shot a second where he lost.

And I love that his mojo is a scrawny guy in a cowboy hat. And the appearance of Mardy Fish.

I know he has his faults but I will miss having Chris Fowler. I wish he could be part of the USO team. He may not be the best expert or analyst, but he always seems to be really interested and excited about what is going on at the tournaments. He just seems to really enjoy the grand slams and the players and I’ve always liked that aspect about him.

Joining in on the Al Trautwig (sp?) hate. I thoroughly dislike him.

I kind of like Chris Fowler. And I really like Jim Courier. Why people still think that JMac is great, baffles me. I've never liked him as a commentator.

I like JMac. Cant help it. And I too am excited about Jim Courier.

Don't like Chris Fowler, especially his rather skeevy interviews with Maria Sharapova. However, I would prefer just about anyone over Al Freaking Trautwig. The man makes my ears bleed. All in all, I really like the USA network's USO coverage. I think they are the best at showing us the real action and giving a real feel for the atmosphere. They even show us the the women's doubles finals. In fact, CBS also shows us the Men's doubles too. So at least that's once a year.

Venus actually faces a pretty decent player in the first round. Na Li is a steadily improving player...ranked 39th right now which is really good for a Chinese Tennis Player. I still think Venus will win, but i wouldn't be surprised of Na Li pulls off a win.

Shuai Peng and Sania Mirza- Dark horses

I am totally loving the commitment that ESPN has put to covering the US Open series. I have been able to watch tennis for most days of the week and it has been great. So great to see James Blake come from behind tonight for instance.

I complain a lot about ESPN - but I think they are doing a good job of making tennis more prominent on the TV schedule. Yahoo!

I seriously think that PMac may have to ask Roddick if they can have an open marriage so he can add Nadal to the mix. While Andy is his true love and first wife, I do think that Rafa has become his child bride. Lol. That's okay PMac- I'm fond of him too.



I have read articles about the attention that Mirza gets at home in India and it is nuts- they are gaga over her. I think that's neat though that one (huge) nation can be so excited about one tennis player even if she is not number 1.

I do think that in the women's game we will see a lot more Asians rising to the forefront in the somewhat near futre. Tennis is getting more and more popular there. Men's tennis is very much appreciated there as well (the girls there seem to love the Spaniards, Coria and Federer from what I have seen on forums) so I wonder if there will also be a rise in the number of prominant male Asian players.

I'm looking forward to Mac and Courier. Mac just has "it" (and I love how he's freakishly right about the line calls 99.9% of the time).

I also loved Andy's Mojo. All in all, I like the guy a lot. He's very personable. I'm still waiting to see some Federer commercials...

Yeah, I agree. I liked that [Fowler] came from the "wow, this is a really cool sport" place.

Johnny Mac says the draw favors Federer and Clijsters

Is he on crack? Clijsters? Besides probably having to play one of the Williams sisters, she potentially has Ivanovic in the third round and Sharapova in the semis. Her form has been great and everyone hopes she'll win a slam one day, but that still doesn't mean her draw is easy.

seltzer4, Davenport plays Na Li in the first round. Even so, she has a really good draw.

Clijsters announced on ESPN today that she intends to retire in 2007.

Also on ESPN, they have a section where you can "rank" the 15 best men's tennis players of all time, the point being to place Andre Agassi amongst the best ever.

I hate polls like this because you don't know who's voting and some people who ARE voting probably never even heard of guys like Laver and Emerson and Tilden or Borg.

SO! Here's the list at it stands now what with everyone's votes to this point:


I think Lindsay benefits greatly from the draw. She can return to #1 if she wins today but to not have to face a Williams sister or Clijsters till the final? Helps her considerably. She DOES have Justine in her half, but can't face her 'till the semi's. She needs to find a way to get past that mental hurdle she has with Justine.

Don't know how I feel about this announce team. Courier says some things that make me scratch my head sometimes. Don't like Al at all as an announcer, and Tracy tends to get on my nerves after a while. But I am really looking forward to the Open!

Although I echo everyone's sentiments about Al Trautwig, there is a smart part of me that likes to see him trying so hard. He wants to be good—he just isn't.

Laver at 8? Lendl at 11? LOL!

Justin Gimelstob is a new blogger for Sports Illustrated.

If the women on tour read this, I hope they kick his ass.

Oh wait. Maybe some of the men will join in too.

Al Trautwig? Yuck. And Michael Barkann is double-yuck.

Does anyone remember the Cliff Drysdale/Fred Stolle/Mary Carillo commenting team in the 80s? They were the best!

I still like Cliff, although I do think he phones it in some nowadays. I enjoy Mary Joe, Patrick (when he shuts up about Andy), Pam Shriver and Jim Courier. Also Tracy Austin, although I find her voice overly shrill.

I've never been too interested in JMac's commentary. He never seems to say anything insightful, and his delivery grates.

Justin probably needs to tone it down some in a public forum since he's not posting anonymously (heh), but I agree with him on both counts.

Again, I have no love for his family (especially his brother) and there definitely seems to be some chauvinism there, but I think he's just trying to be provocative. He better be careful what he says about enjoying the ladies in their various states of undress; many of these "women" are young girls. Finally, I definitely think he has a point about women practicing with their competitors. There are plenty examples of players getting better by practicing with each other (Sampras helping Henman, Roddick and the other young Americans). Then again, that's probably why the better players don't do it.

I'm still going through withdrawl from Al Trautwig's coverage of last summer's Olympic Games.

Is there a chance we will get a glimpse of Boris Becker rocking a blue seersucker suit?

Has Justin ever looked in a mirror?

Cannot stand Tracy's commentary.

I adore Andre but he does not deserve to be higher than a lot of those players.

Love Courier but, yes, some of his comments make me think he never came off of the pain medication and what is he even doing on that list?

I like Cliff too. I always have, even when he was playing. He's thoughtful. I think with a more intelligent commentating partner he'd really shine better. PMac is OK, I guess, and sometimes makes good commentary. He's always laying down statements, though, and not really engaging in discussions with Cliff, who's just forced to agree or disagree or toss in a spare comment.

Hmm. This reminds me a bit of that Greatest American thing of a few months back that ended up with Reagan as the winner over Lincoln, Washington, et al. Yeah. Reagan. Ronald Reagan. And Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe were greater players than Rod Laver and Bill Tilden, not to mention Don Budge and Pancho Gonzalez who don't even make an appearance!

And it's funny that Emmo shows up there. I think Sampras did a lot for his reputation by beating his record in majors, meaning his name came up regularly in tennis broadcasts of the 1990s. But announcers rarely mentioned that his record was a bit of an "asterisk" record. I forget the exact details. Didn't he win a million Australian Opens when the best players didn't always make the trip (like Margaret Court did), and/or a lot of majors in the mid-sixties when all the other top players turned pro?

OMG!! I'm watching the Lindsey-Chakvetadze match. The camerman or the guy in the truck is incredibly on the ball!! Cliffyjust commented on how the Russian girl reminds him of Mary Pierce, and the camera immediately zoomed in on her ponytail, which is long and braided, just like Mary Pierce. Bravo!

So from what I understand, with her win against Chakvetadze, Lindsey will again be #1. I'm not completely sure if this is the case, but at the very least, if she wins the Pilot Pen she'll go back to the top. A friend of mine told me that if this happens, she'll also go into the Open as the #1 seed. Is this true? If so how does that effect the other seeds? Do they rearrange the draw or what. I find it hard to believe that they would go through all the trouble and pomp of having a seeding ceremony, etc. only to change it up again days before the tournament starts.

Does anyone know how the ranking change will effect the draw? If it means that she switches places with Sharapova, It would almost be better for her to stay #2.