US Open: The NFL Really is Coming

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

There are certain signs the NFL is coming. American TV starts to go mad. Everyone talks about Brady or Manning. Cowboys and Steelers fans once again get confident and those Dolphins fans pray those Dolphins of '72 remain unbeaten. Browns fans pray for it to be over and the Bengals fans pray desperately for a playoff win. The Ravens and the Giants plot [I am sure they plot] to finish 9-7, sneak into the playoffs, sneak into the Super Bowl and then win. They usually win against a far superior team with a far superior quarterback, too.

And nobody will shut up about the Redskins. Frankly I don’t see what the deal is with the name. But those ‘political correctness for all even if they don’t want it’ people insist it is wrong and it must be changed. Meanwhile, they ignore the prejudices going on across America and they refuse to try and educate cops whilst more and more innocent teenagers are getting shot. No, the more important thing for them to do is to try to get a franchise to change its name.

Baseball is forgotten and left to gather dust. Ice hockey may be starting in a month or so but nobody cares about that right now. And basketball is still a long way away. But, really, who cares about those sports because it is football season. I personally enjoy November-February greatly as I get to follow three American sports simultaneously.

And, of course, injuries are talked about. Injuries are always a big concern for the NFL. Super Bowls will come and go. I mean who really remembers who won the Super Bowl in 1987 for example apart from fanatics and fans of that franchise. No, the thing the NFL must deal with year-in, year-out is injuries. Concussions, ACL ligaments, backs, feet, wrists, arms, pectorals, shoulders and necks are just examples. The list goes on and on. One expects injuries in football and rugby. One expects injuries, too, in ice hockey, but surely golf and the racket sports are safe from this? No. Tennis has had some of the most horrific injuries you can imagine. Seles, Nadal, Pierce, Baker, Fish and Del Petro are all good examples of this. But injuries in tennis are rising in number. When there were bigger injuries but fewer of them that felt more acceptable. That felt like, “OK, it’s terrible when it happens, but it rarely does so it’s fine”

Well, I had better start talking about what happened in New York. And so I shall...

ARTHUR ASHE: DJOKOVIC d. MATHIEU
...This match promised a fair amount. The old Mathieu would have been able to challenge Djokovic. He would’ve pushed the Serb. But this Mathieu is a shadow of what he once was. He has lost form like nothing else. He has suffered through injury and the former number 12 has fallen on seriously hard times. He once pushed Nadal to four long sets on the dusty French clay. He very nearly had him, too. No longer does he have that ability to challenge the upper echelons. I don’t know how his game could have become weaker after that break but it has and it is quite alarming.
It’s difficult to analyze a match that lasted 88 minutes. Djokovic romped home 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. 13 aces and 33 winners overall and just 16 errors came from the Serb's racket. 55 per cent of receiving points won and 81 per cent of serving points are other impressive stats. Djokovic broke seven times but he did give his opponent one break chance so it isn’t a perfect match. It was a merciless match, however. It was a brutal match. The only good thing for Mathieu is that at least it was quick. Querrey is up next. Picture this for me: Querrey serving lights out under lights on. Picture Querrey dragging Djokovic into tiebreakers, maybe sneaking a break by hitting like he has nothing to lose [he hasn’t] and then can you maybe, possibly picture Querrey winning? I can but it probably won’t happen. Still, Djokovic should watch out.
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ARTHUR ASHE: MURRAY D. BACHINGER
...Murray was not really tested here against an opponent who did well just to reach this round. He will be happy with the way he dismissed Stepanek for the loss of just 7 games. That for him was a career win. He had not a chance against Murray, a former champ here. It is not as if the German played a bad match. The German played a solid match but you cannot just be solid against the world's finest. The German out-aced Murray 7-6 but could only manage 24 winners and errors. Murray went 36-17 in that department. Bachinger also failed to convert thrice on break point chances. Murray broke four times against his opponent. This is where I understand the agreement for having just sixteen seeds. The opening two rounds can be just too one sided. Mind you I would not want to draw a Lopez or a Robredo in the first round for example. It is a third easy match for Murray in a row, though Kuznetsov has nothing to lose. He should beat Kuznetsov in three straight sets. Tsonga will be waiting in the next round most likely.
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LOUIS ARMSTRONG : ISNER D. STRUFF
...Struff is one of many Germans. He is ranked 77 but is the German number six. The Germans have seven players in the top hundred. That is not a particularly large amount, but it is a solid amount nonetheless. Struff has been hanging around the 60-70 mark this season. He has been having a banner year, but in that journeyman range the rankings are continually fluctuating. He has turned up here at the US Open without needing a wildcard. His ranking of 77 guarantees him entry. Struff is six foot five and is about 200 pounds. Tennis players are getting more and more physical these days but that does also lead to more injuries. Two hours. 30 aces, 54 winners and 81 per cent of service points won were complimented by three breaks of Struff’s serve service by the American. Isner goes through 7-6, 6-4, 6-2. And that is the tale of the match. Struff did hit 26 winners: Four less than Isner’s aces alone. Isner’s serving skills scare me. Speaking of aces, check this out. The data did only start in 1991 when umpires began to record it but it is still interesting. Isner gets the man he lost to last year -- Kohlschreiber. You won’t believe me but last year they were playing to play a recent slam winner [Nadal last year, Djokovic this] and Isner was seeded 13 with Kohl seeded 22. This year they are playing to play a recent slam winner and Isner is seeded thirteen, too. It is the same round -- 3. Kohlschreiber is seeded 22. Freaky.
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LOUIS ARMSTRONG : RAONIC D. GOJOWCZYK
...Gojowczyk does not know the meaning of fear. He has conquered fear, but not by becoming it, though I have heard that works as well. Gojowczyk will hit and hit. He nearly hit through Nadal earlier this year, though that was on indoor hard courts. Raonic knew it would be a test. It was going to be interesting to see whose firepower would come out on top. Raonic only managed 26 aces. Rubbish. Poor effort. Isner hit 30 and he only played three sets. Raonic had to go four [over three hours] sets in his 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 victory. Surprisingly there were three breaks apiece. Raonic only won 9 more points than his opponent. In fact this wasn’t a big server’s match. Raonic went 64-41 with his winners but his opponent could only manage 46-47. The Canuck did manage a 143 MPH serve. That is very impressive. Average serve speed of the Canadian? 100 MPH. Forget poor effort, that is bravery. After a test, Raonic gets another. Estrella Burgos. He made his debut at 34 and has nothing to lose. Raonic has far too many weapons for him to handle but playing someone with nothing to lose is still difficult.
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Grandstand Selection: TSONGA D. NEDOVYESOV
...Some matches just look like they are only going one way. Take an experienced veteran with experienced firepower who is on form and pit him against a journeyman who has never been ranked higher than 71 and is ranked third in his country. What do you get? You get a very one sided affair. I know paper doesn’t mean anything in this sport but here it proved to be too much. The Kazakh did well, though, certainly better than expected. Tsonga is explosive. He may not be hitting as many winners as he was before, but he makes opponents think and forces opponents to go big. It’s about first strike tennis with him. If he gets the first strike in, it is over. Tsonga hit thirteen aces over the course of an hour and forty-five minutes yesterday. He was never troubled but the scoreline still looked respectable in his 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 decision. Tsonga managed to hold his serve in every game but one and broke four times. He also knocked 38 winners down. He only erred 27 times. It was an aggressive, well-rounded performance from the Frenchman. He is hitting his stride at the right moment. Murray does look there for the taking. It’s another good match up for Tsonga next. Carreño Busta, the youngster, has made a good run that should move him into the top sixty. He is best on clay and Tsonga should be too good for him here.
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OUTER COURT SELECTION: ROBREDO D. BOLELLI
...It is always interesting to see two players who are specialists on the same surface play each other on a different surface. It is hard sometimes to know who the advantage goes to. Here, logically speaking, Robredo should have the advantage because of his three hard-court slam quarterfinals. But Robredo likes to play five sets. On clay Robredo would also have the advantage, especially as Bolelli has not had the best year. Roby needed three hours and thirty-seven minutes of exertion in the midday sun to finally come through 5-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. I think he does it for fun. He only hit ten aces but then again his opponent hit just ten. He went 29-36 with the winners but his opponent went 64-67. Incredibly Bolelli broke just once, three times less than the Spaniard. It was a funny match. Robredo managed to win 72 per cent of his service points. He played well but he needs to stop getting into holes and there need to be a lot more winners. It was still a strong performance. There is a serious test in the third round for Robredo. Kyrgios has proved his Wimbledon run is not a fluke. With the third round run he is going to hit the cusp of the top fifty or fall into it. With a forth round run he will hit the top forty. If Robredo loses this then he falls back to around 25. There is a lot at stake for these two men.
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Any other notes?

* = I can’t believe Robredo’s longevity. He has been around for so long and he hasn’t had to adapt his game style. Even Fed has had to adapt.

* = Djokovic is on cruise control. It really illustrated the difference between the slams and the regular tour events.

* = We were all distracted by Tomic but it turns out Kyrgios is the real deal. But my question is what of Kokkinakis?

* = Where does Switzerland go after Fedrinka retire? Bencic is going to have very weighed-down shoulders.

* = It is the first time I can remember the top eight seeds all look good so far. It does look like we’re going to have the quarterfinals but, really, anything can happen.

* = Dellacqua and Kyrgios have confirmed for the Hopman Cup. Excellent. They should do well.

* = Yes even Sveta throws rackets.


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