Each of the men’s quarterfinals match-ups took place today, and when it was all said and done, Roger Federer, Tommy Haas, Andy Roddick, and Andy Murray had advanced to the next round.

Federer, closing in on his sixth Wimbledon title, reached his 21st consecutive semifinal at a Grand Slam tournament and extended his winning streak to 17 matches with another vintage performance on his favorite Centre Court.

It was Federer’s ninth win in 10 matches against Karlovic, who was playing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Federer’s next opponent will be Germany’s Haas, who upset fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3 to advance to his first Wimbledon semifinal. The 31-year-old Haas was the oldest player in the quarters, while the 22-year-old Djokovic was the youngest.

The third-seeded Murray swept Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal and keep up his bid to become the first British player to win the men’s title since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray will face the sixth-seeded Roddick, who served 43 aces and outlasted 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 in the day’s most competitive match. Hewitt battled back from two sets to one down, before Roddick broke for 5-4 in the fifth and then served out the match — which ended after 3 hours, 50 minutes when the Australian popped up a forehand half-volley past the baseline.

Haas led Federer two sets to love in the fourth round of the French Open, only to lose in five. He said he hopes to make amends on Friday.

“That would be nice,” he said. “I’ll give it my best shot. There’s not much he (Federer) can’t do. He’s obviously the favorite to win the title. I’m going to go out there and try to annoy him a little bit and see what happens.”

With Nadal out of the tournament, I assumed the final four would look something like Federer, Murray, Roddick, and Djokovic or Federer, Murray, Roddick, and Gonzalez. I don’t think anyone predicted 34th-ranked Tommy Haas to make it this far, let alone beat the fourth-ranked Djokovic in professional tennis’ most popular tournament. At 31, Haas is the oldest player out of the remaining four. He’s never made it to a Grand Slam final in his career and he unfortunately has to defeat Roger Federer if he wants to break that streak. However, he’s played well against Federer in the past, nearly taking the Swiss at the French Open before being outmatched.

You can catch the women’s semifinals tomorrow at 12 PM on NBC. The men’s semis will then take place on Friday at the same time and station.

After a poor showing at the French Open, the UK’s best tennis player, Andy Murray, beat American James Blake at the Queen’s Club to capture his first grass-court title. This victory is important to Murray who is a true contender at the upcoming Wimbledon, which is the only grass-court Grand Slam.

The top-seeded Murray became the first British player to win the tournament since Bunny Austin in 1938, who then went on to become the last Briton to reach the Wimbledon final.
Murray took an early lead Sunday with a break in the third game, but Blake immediately leveled with a forehand winner down the line. Both players then easily held serve until 5-5, when Blake missed a forehand on break point.

The second set was equally competitive until Murray broke for a decisive 4-3 lead when a fierce return forced Blake to net a backhand volley.

It seems like only yesterday that Roger Federer captured his first French Open Grand Slam, beating Robin Soderling in straight sets in the final. Nevertheless, Wimbledon is right around the corner as it kicks off June 22nd and concludes on July 5th.

Players such as Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, and James Blake were expected to have promising years, but all have trailed off since their performances at the Australian Open. Out of the top-ranked players, I would say Murray has the best shot against Nadal and Federer. He’s fared excellently against them in the past, but is always missing that extra something in a Grand Slam final. Maybe he’ll have his day at this year’s Wimbledon.

Round 4 of the Australian Open begins today. The first Grand Slam of the tour calendar has already seen its fair share of surprises, disappointments, scuffles, and nudity. I’ve recapped the highlights below.

The top-ranked men advance

Of the top ten-seeded men in the tournament, only David Nalbandian failed to advance, losing to unknown Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round. The others, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsongo, Gilles Simon, Andy Roddick, Juan Martin del Potro, and James Blake have all made easy work of their competition. Really, things won’t get interesting until the Quarter Finals.

Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic are eliminated

It must be said that both matches in which they lost have been the most exciting matches of the tournament. Unseeded 20 year-old Carla Suarez Navarro, in only her fourth Grand Slam main draw appearance, defeated Venus Williams in the second round. It was an amazing match and both women gave it their all. Navarro, however, was able to consistently return Venus’ 192 mph serve and never seemed to tire. Williams was on the defensive during the final set and Navarro’s fine shot placement carried her to victory. The crowd congratulated the awestruck youngster with a standing ovation. Suarez has since advanced to the Fourth Round where she will face twenty-first-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues.

It was less than a surprise and more of a disappointment to watch Ana Ivanovic fall to twenty-ninth-seeded Alisa Kleybanova. For those who follow tennis, it’s perplexing that Ivanovic is ranked fifth in the world judging by the way she played yesterday. Strictly speaking, the Serbian lost because she couldn’t find her serve. It was painful to watch Ivanovic toss the ball five feet away from herself. She double faulted more than a few times and rarely was able to hold serve. All in all, the three-setter was intense, but undeniably sloppy. While Ivanovic made 50 unforced errors, Kleybanova committed 44, 24 of which came in the opening set alone. It’s time for Ana to take a break and try to get herself into the mindset that helped her win the French Open in 2008.

Serbian and Bosnian fans clash after Novak Djokovic/Amer Delic match

Last year at the Australian Open, Serbian and Croatian fans attacked each other with flagpoles, bottles, and boots. This year, the Balkan rivalry consisted of Serbians and Bosnians. After Serbian Novak Djokovic’s victory over Bosnian-American Amer Delic, fans from both nations pelted each other with chairs.

A streaker stalls a Williams sisters doubles match

Although this article claims the gentleman was out there for only 14 seconds, broadcaster Patrick McEnroe has him at nearly a minute. While Serena and Venus laughed bashfully during the incident, tournament officials aren’t taking this lightly. In 1993, a man stabbed Monica Seles on court during a match in Hamburg, Germany. Still, it looks like this guy was just having a good time.

Coverage of Day 7 will air at 7 PM ET and 12:30 AM ET on ESPN2.

The first Grand Slam of the ATP and WTA seasons, the Australian Open, kicked off today. Though Melbourne is 19 hours ahead of New York, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN360.com will alternate broadcasting the live coverage during its two-week run.

The Men’s Draw
by Thomas Conroy

The first of tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments – the Australian Open — will take place over the next two weeks. New players on the tour will try to make a name for themselves by performing well in Melbourne. We also have some carry-over questions that might be answered by the end of the tournament: How dominant will Roger Federer be this season? Can Rafeal Nadal handle the pressure of being the #1 player week-after-week for an entire season? Has Andy Murray’s game matured enough to gain a Grand Slam title this season? Is Andy Roddick at the crossroads in his tennis career?

Federer played the majority of the tour last year with mononucleosis, and could never regain his strength until dominating the U.S. Open competition for a Grand Slam victory last September. But some skeptics feel that at the age of 27, Federer’s reign in the sport is over, supplanted by Nadal’s incredible 2008 season. Some even say that Federer’s net game was exposed for good after his subpar play last season.

The upcoming tour season will be different for Nadal than in years past, as he will not only be the favorite of his beloved French Open on the red clay but he’ll also be favored at the Australian, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open. It could become a physically and mentally draining season for Nadal, as every player will bring their A game to try to beat the top player in the world.

Murray is the wild card. He has only been twice beyond the fourth round in a Grand Slam tournament; his best performance was a runner-up finish last year at the U.S. Open, losing to Federer. He will have to control his combustible temper to win a Grand Slam title, though it should be noted that Murray has come into the 2009 season in better shape. He now realizes that stamina in a match is every bit as important as his blistering forehand shot.

Roddick has also come into the season with a couple new wrinkles: he is in better shape and, more importantly, has a new personal coach. He brought in Larry Stefanski (who helped Fernando Gonzalez to reach the Australian Open final in 2007) to replace legendary Jimmy Connors and Stefanski’s main job is to calm Roddick’s demeanor on the court. The thought of a lighter, faster Roddick reacting better on volleys has some thinking that he can go deep in Melbourne this week. His singles title at the 2003 U.S. Open seems like a long, long time ago.

It will be a tough draw for Federer, as he could face former #1 player Carlos Moya in the second round, 2005 Aussie Open champion Marat Safin in the third round, and last year’s Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in a semi-final match-up. Nadal and Murray are on course to meet in the semis on the other side of the draw.

The Women’s Draw
by Christopher Glotfelty

For the top-ranked women in tennis, this tournament has more riding on it than last year. With 2000 points awarded to the winner, a new #1 player could emerge.

Last year, Maria Sharapova defeated Ana Ivanovic in straight sets to win her third Grand Slam. Unfortunately, shoulder injuries would plague Sharapova the rest of year and, due to that absence, she would continue to fall in the rankings. Still sidelined, Sharapova will miss this tournament along with Lindsay Davenport, who is having her second child.

Nevertheless, the competition remains fierce. Jelena Jankovic, while the #1 ranked player on the Tour, has yet to win a Grand Slam. Second-ranked Serena Williams, third-ranked Dinara Safina, and fourth-ranked Elena Dementieva are all less than 2000 points behind Jankovic. As a result, if Jankovic fails to make it to make it the quarterfinals, one of these women would claim the #1 position if they were to win the tournament. That’s how evenly matched the WTA is.

Given the amount of young talent on the court, Venus and Serena are already living legends. To put it in perspective, Serena has already won nine singles Grand Slams, three at the Australian Open. Her sister Venus has won seven, and though she’s never won at the Australian Open, she’s finished runner-up twice.

The other favorites (Jankovic, Safina, Dementieva, Ivanovic) have only one Grand Slam between them, with Ivanovic winning at last year’s French Open. The Williams sisters don’t have anything to prove, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of them in the finals against either Jankovic or Safina.

When the ATP Tour quietly started earlier this year, many expected Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to come out with a bang. The two superstars will battle all year to maintain the #1 rank. However, at an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi, fourth-ranked Andy Murray defeated Nadal. His exceptional play continued when, at the Tour’s first high-stakes tournament in Doha, Qatar, Andy Murray defeated both Federer and Andy Roddick to claim the prize. Neil Harman of Deuce has examined Murray’s potential dark horse run.

“Obviously, experience can help a lot,” he said. “You know, when I played Wimbledon for the first time, I had never played four sets in my life, never mind five. I think it’s understandable to be a bit tired, if you’re not used to doing something before. Then you understand that you need to work on things, but for me, I did start to work hard after that. But you have to respect your body as well. And I was still doing a lot of growing. You can’t push yourself too hard. It’s not good for your body. Now I’m starting to grow up, and finish growing and I can do more weights and train harder. It’s much easier to do all that stuff now. When you’re sort of 17 and 18, I think it’s tough on the body to push so hard.

A measure of his progress into the top four in the world is that no-one is the least surprised that it has happened; but there are those who did not think it would happen quite this quickly. From the very first, he and those who spent time assisting in his development asked us not to expect him to reach full maturity in both playing and physical terms until he was 23 or 24 and we are some way from that.

He chose, somewhat controversially, to write a book entitled Andy Murray, Hitting Back. I thought it was a poor choice of title because of the assumption that he had something, or someone, to hit back at, which made one feel slightly uncomfortable for a 21 year old to be bearing so much negative force. Having read the tome, it was more compelling than I had suspected, and offers a vivid insight into the young man and what drives him.

I like Andy Murray. I like Andy Murray because, when I watch him play, I think, that could be me. He looks like a wet rag out there — this tall and lanky 21 year-old dripping with sweat while clumsily bouncing around the court. Still, the kid has amazing placement and wins matches by tiring out his opponents after sending them every which way across the court. But this strategy does not win tournaments when your opponent figures out your style. Murray skillfully beat Rafael Nadal at the U.S. Open, but Roger Federer returned every difficult shot Murray delivered. Murray has been known to tire after three sets. With Federer in the lead going into the fourth, he made easy work of the young Murray.

This proclivity for early fatigue has kept Murray down. As the article points out, he has gone to great lengths with a new set of trainers to increase his stamina and improve his physique. In Qatar, he beat Federer in straight sets. While this is quite a feat, we’ve yet to see if Murray can go the distance against the top-ranked players. He’s capable of putting them away early, but when the match is neck and neck going in the final sets, Murray tends to waiver. As Federer and Nadal get more and more fed up with the Scotsman, they’ll have to adapt to Murray’s style rather than beating him with their own. This means matching him shot for shot with the hope that he will soon tire out by the fourth set. We’ll just have to wait and see if Murray’s rigorous fitness training has paid off.

Last year, we saw the emergence of Rafael Nadal as the best player in the game. This could be Murray’s year to make his mark, but he’s going to have to win a Grand Slam first. He has his chance at the Australian Open, which kicks off on January 19th.

The record book will show that Roger Federer won the 2008 U.S. Open Men’s Championship over Andy Murray. But something is missing. His dominance in the sport hasn’t been noticeable this year. Let’s just face it; Roger Federer is not Roger Federer anymore.

Wait a minute, a terrible year? How many players on the men’s tour would take a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open, two finals appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon, and a Grand Slam victory at the U.S. Open, all in the same year?

Is Federer dominating? No. We are not used to seeing him struggle in the early rounds. What use to be a brisk workout for him has now become nervy five-set encounter. Federer’s brilliance ultimately prevails, but never once does he look like he’s in control of the match.

So what has changed in his game? Well, Federer is not setting up balls for the kill shot that usually keeps his opponents’ off-balance. Balls that have rocketed off his racket in the past are now just dribbling over the net as a return or an unimpressive point. Instead of ripping through sets, he is now winning a series of mini-marathons.

The last set of his semi-final match against Novak Djokovic on Saturday was reminiscent of the old Federer. He regained his cross-court backhand that, in years past, would go by his opponent like a shortstop reaching for a line drive off a hitter’s bat.

Maybe Federer won’t return to the #1 ranking, and maybe he’s not a sure thing anymore on the tour. His dominance is slipping. But Federer did remind everyone this weekend at Flushing that he still has a few bullets left in his racket. Was this a return to greatness or just a brief glimpse of the past?

Only time will tell.

No matter what was said or written about his recent play, Roger Federer knew he had one more chance to salvage a disappointing season. After missed opportunities in the French Open and Wimbledon finals, Federer easily defeated Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 on Monday evening to win his fifth consecutive U.S. Open Championship.

Murray didn’t feel fatigue contributed to his straight set defeat. Instead, he felt his defense stance behind the baseline was no match for Federer’s offensive game. And the final numbers do not lie about his dominance in every facet of this final. Federer accumulated a 36-16 advantage in winning shots, a 7-2 lead in service breaks, and winning a point on 31 of 44 trips to the net.

Murray had less than 24 hours to prepare for the men’s finals after defeating the World’s #1 player Rafael Nadal in a rain-interrupted semifinal that concluded late Sunday afternoon.

Federer became the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920’s to win this tournament five times in a row. He also upped his Grand Slam tally to 13, which puts Federer one behind the men’s record holder Pete Sampras.

As much as it pains tennis enthusiasts to miss out on another Federer/Nadal showdown, this match with Andy Murray will still contain the passion and close competition of that rivalry. Murray has a reputation of being one of the most disliked players on the tour. People say he’s petulant, argumentative, and that he likes to talk a little trash before a match. Nobody expected him to come this far—his lanky physique and penchant to helplessly huff and puff late into matches have caused critics to write him off as one who lacks what it takes to win a Grand Slam. To say that Great Britain has high hopes for Murray is an understatement. Fred Perry was the last Brit to win a Grand Slam, way back in 1936. It’s true that Murray has beaten Federer two out of their three meetings, but it has never been under the pressure of a Grand Slam final, which Federer has won 12 times to Murray’s zero. Despite Nadal’s absence, there’s still plenty at stake here. Andy Murray has a chance to get his first taste of dominance, and this is Federer’s opportunity to reclaim it.

The match will air today at 5 PM ET on CBS.

This year’s U.S. Open has already yielded many spectacular matches, and there’s still four days left of play. After 25 years of coverage on the USA Network (ESPN and the Tennis Channel will pick up the rights next year), the athletes are providing a worthy sendoff. We’ve already seen an epic showdown between the Williams sisters and a grueling five-setter from Novak Djokovic and Tommy Robredo. However, unranked or low-seeded players have given the likes of Rafael Nadal and Dinara Safina a run for their money. Below I’ve previewed both the men’s and women’s semifinal matches, which will begin tomorrow.

Women

Dinara Safina RUS (6) vs. Serena Williams USA (4)

The spotlight has always just missed Dinara Safina. Though the 22-year-old has won a Grand Slam doubles title, a singles championship has always eluded her. Also, it doesn’t help that she’s the little sister of 2000 U.S. Open men’s champion, Marat Safin. Safina lost to Ana Ivanovic in this year’s French Open final and earned the silver medal in Beijing. Unfortunately, two-time U.S. Open women’s champion Serena Williams now stands in her way. After losing to Venus at Wimbledon, the sisters put on a phenomenal show last night at Flushing Meadows, with Serena emerging the victor. Given Safina’s emotionality on the court and her focused desire to win the same championship as her brother, tomorrow’s match is a must-see.

Elena Dementieva RUS (5) vs. Jelena Jankovic SRB (3)

Elena Dementieva is another top-ranked player who’s never won a Grand Slam, a testament to how competitive the WTA Tour has been this year. However, it was Dementieva that took the gold from Safina in Beijing. She’s also beat Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, and Svetlana Kuznetsova in previous tournaments. Her opponent, Jelena Janokovic, continues her campaign for her first Grand Slam championship as well. Perhaps the most interesting aspect about the women’s competition is that the winner will not only receive the U.S. Open trophy, but the world No. 1 ranking (from Ivanovic) to boot.

Men

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) vs. Andy Murray GBR (6)

By now, most sports fans should be acquainted with Rafael Nadal, even if they’ve covered their ears at the mention of tennis. Some say that the rivalry he has with Roger Federer has resurrected the sport. While that may or may not be true, those two have definitely set a high standard of play and their matches are a pleasure to watch. Still, there’s no question that Nadal is this year’s dominant player, having won the French Open, Wimbledon, and the gold medal at Beijing. Murray, on the other hand, has never won a Grand Slam tournament. Both are very quick and eclectic players, so count on seeing dozens of drop shots and volleys at the net. It seems like more and more matches are being forced into the fifth set. (Nadal’s last match finished at 2:15 ET this morning!) This one shouldn’t be any different, with each player bringing out the best in the other.

Roger Federer SUI (2) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3)

Of all the matches in the singles semifinals, this will be the most exciting to watch, for a couple of reasons. First, Roger Federer is on a mission. He seems to like having the No. 2 ranking by his name; it’s almost as if a certain weight has been lifted that allows his to make amateur mistakes and take the same risks he did when he first joined the tour. He’s not playing like he did four years ago, but the this is his tournament, and he’s going for his fifth U.S. Open championship in a row. Novak Djokovic, was his opponent in 2007 final at Flushing Meadows. The New York crowd fell in love with the Serb, in part because of strong play against Federer, but also because of this hilarious video that has since surfaced. Unfortunately, New York’s adoration is a double-edged sword, and its cheers have since turned to boos over the past two days. Both Tommy Robredo and Andy Roddick criticized Djokovic for taking too much time during matches to nurse his injuries. Roddick was a bit more vocal, causing Djokovic to take offense. After Djokovic destroyed Roddick on his home turf, he was interviewed (in front of the 20,000+ crowd) and addressed the derogatory remarks. You can decide if the crowd’s response was justified. Either way, I find Djokovic completely entertaining. He’s also a gifted tennis player and a good bet for stopping Federer’s reign at the U.S. Open.