Who are the 10 greatest tennis players of all time after Nadal won the US-Open? part 2

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FOLKERT HESSE

Of course this is not a new discussion, but after Rafael Nadal winning the US-Open, I am sure he changed the previous line-ups in many peoples opinions.

I also disagree with many others who put a lot of old names in the top 10. I don't think that 30 or 40 years ago the competition was nearly as tough as it is in today's men's tennis. Back in the 60's and 70's there were only a handful of professional players travelling around the world and tennis was an exclusive sport that only the rich people could afford. And not all of these players were training properly or even on a consistent basis. And I don't think that Roger Federer could afford to party the night before a match like Ilie Nastase. He would be beaten by a player outside the top 100 already. To put it in short words; back then they were players, today they are athletes.

Borg and Lendl were the ones who started to make tennis an athletic game and today every player is a highly trained athlete with a body-fat percentage of 10 % or less. Every player on the men's tour is 100% dedicated to his profession and faces thousands of players training as serious as they do.

That's why I don't think that we should compare players like Rod Laver, the 3 French Musketiers, Ken Rosewall, Ilie Nastase or Gillermo Vilas with today's modern athletes. And if we do so, we have to take in consideration, how much competition each generation of tennis players or athletes were facing.

So, here is my list of the 10 greatest Tennis Players of all time:

No. 9: Mats Wilander !

My no. 9 is Mats Wilander!

The Swede won 7 Grand Slam titles and the only one he did not win was Wimbledon.

He was 20 weeks the no. 1 player in the world and also won the Davis-Cup twice for Sweden.

He was not as flashy as Boris Becker, but he for sure was one of the classiest players of all times and one of the best baseliners in the business.

Today he is a commentator for EuroSport and a good golf player.

No. 10: Boris Becker !

Boris Becker is my No. 10, because he changed the game of tennis. His big serve, the blocked returns and his diving volley were new to the game and raised it to another level. 

But most of all he deserves to be in the top 10, because his game was so exciting to watch. There was never a match he won easily. So many of his matches went to the 5th set and an emotional roller coaster for himself and his fans.

He still is the youngest Wimbledon Champion ever and won 6 Grand Slam titles in total. Only the French open were missing for him to complete a career Grand Slam.

He held the No. 1 ranking for only 12 weeks, but he was facing a lot of big players throughout his career.

Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Edberg, Lendl, Wilander and even Mc Enroe were all fighting with him for the big titles and no. 1 ranking. That's quite a competition.

He also won the Davis-Cup title twice for Germany.

In my ranking he left Edberg behind to make the top 10, but it is very close between the two. 

Come back tomorrow to see who is no. 8  …

FOLKERT HESSE

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Who are the 10 greatest tennis players of all time after Nadal won the US-Open?

By 

FOLKERT HESSE

Of course this is not a new discussion, but after Rafael Nadal winning the US-Open, I am sure he changed the previous line-ups in many peoples opinions.

I also disagree with many others who put a lot of old names in the top 10. I don't think that 30 or 40 years ago the competition was nearly as tough as it is in today's men's tennis. Back in the 60's and 70's there were only a handful of professional players travelling around the world and tennis was an exclusive sport that only the rich people could afford. And not all of these players were training properly or even on a consistent basis. And I don't think that Roger Federer could afford to party the night before a match like Ilie Nastase. He would be beaten by a player outside the top 100 already. To put it in short words; back then they were players, today they are athletes.

Borg and Lendl were the ones who started to make tennis an athletic game and today every player is a highly trained athlete with a body-fat percentage of 10 % or less. Every player on the men's tour is 100% dedicated to his profession and faces thousands of players training as serious as they do.

That's why I don't think that we should compare players like Rod Laver, the 3 French Musketiers, Ken Rosewall, Ilie Nastase or Gillermo Vilas with today's modern athletes. And if we do so, we have to take in consideration, how much competition each generation of tennis players or athletes were facing.

So, here is my list of the 10 greatest Tennis Players of all time:

No. 10: Boris Becker !

Boris Becker

Boris Becker is my No. 10, because he changed the game of tennis. His big serve, the blocked returns and his diving volley were new to the game and raised it to another level. 

But most of all he deserves to be in the top 10, because his game was so exciting to watch. There was never a match he won easily. So many of his matches went to the 5th set and an emotional roller coaster for himself and his fans.

He still is the youngest Wimbledon Champion ever and won 6 Grand Slam titles in total. Only the French open were missing for him to complete a career Grand Slam.

He held the No. 1 ranking for only 12 weeks, but he was facing a lot of big players throughout his career.

Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Edberg, Lendl, Wilander and even Mc Enroe were all fighting with him for the big titles and no. 1 ranking. That's quite a competition.

He also won the Davis-Cup title twice for Germany.

In my ranking he left Edberg behind to make the top 10, but it is very close between the two. 

Come back tomorrow to see who is no. 9  …

FOLKERT HESSE

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Why Rafael Nadal will win the US-Open and win more Grand Slams than Roger Federer!

By 

FOLKERT HESSE

Roger Federer suffered a really hard loss yesterday against Novak Djokovic and finished the last Grand Slam of the year in the semi finals, a very disappointing end of the Grand Slam season 2010 for him.

But what might be the end of the Federer reign, might be the start of an even more dominant leader of the pack for the next years to come. Rafael Nadal will not only end this years rankings as No. 1, but he might be the first player in history to have double as many points as the no. 2 player. 

Rafael Nadal

And that shows how much he improved his game over the past years. While Roger Federer was not able to improve his backhand and his return game, Nadal worked with the same intensity on the weaker parts of his game, as he does in every match he plays on tour. He improved his serve speed, his backhand, the depth of his shots and his net game. And most importantly he is playing closer to the baseline which allows him to end the points quicker and make him move less. With his new and more aggressive game style he finishes his opponents faster and saves a lot of energy and therefore has fewer injuries.

The hard work and the courage to make some changes in his game and with his strings paid off and now he is in the US-Open final for the first time. And I am sure he won’t be there for the last time, if he stays healthy and keeps working on his game like he did. What will happen to Roger Federer remains to be seen and his fans can only hope that he will not blame and injury or illness for his loss, like he did after Wimbledon. If he is not willing to improve and work on his game anymore, he might not win another major. And then I can see Rafael Nadal passing him and winning more than 16 Grand Slams.

A disappointed Federer at the press conference after his loss to Djokovic

I am sure Nadal will win his 9^th Grand Slam title today, even though some stats might indicate a very close match between him and Novak Djokovic. But when it comes to the big matches on the big stage, Rafa was always there and was able to play at his best. But more than that he is able to will his way to success, and that is something that he does better than anybody else. Better than Novak Djokovic, even though Novak is in great form, holds a 7-4 hard court record against Nadal, won the last 3 meetings of the two, has the game-style to beat him on hard courts and should be loaded with confidence after defeating Federer.

But Nadal will be the fitter player, because he had much more time to recover after his semi-final win over Youzhny and has spent less time on the hard courts of New York so far. On top of that he has some other stats in his favor, that point him out as the favorite in this match. Nadal was broken only twice in more than 90 service games he played at the Open. He had 37 aces to the 22 of Djokovic, had only 11 double faults to Novak’s 24 and saved 88% of the break points against him compared to the 72% of Djokovic. So, he is clearly the better server in this match-up, which hasn’t been the case in the previous meetings. The stats on the return games are almost even. Both players are considered the best return players on the men’s tour and have proven it once more in this tournament.

But the key to Nadal winning tonight will be his new aggressive game, which makes him less vulnerable to the Djokovic offence. Nadal will not give him the opportunity anymore to take his balls on the rise and hit winners from both wings, because his serve is much better now and he himself takes the balls on the rise and gives Djokovic less time to get in position for winners.

So, I think we will see the Spaniard taking his first, but for sure not last, US-Open crown today. And this will make him the youngest career grand slam champion (winning all 4 slams) in history and only the second player in history to win 3 slams in a row in the same calendar year (after Laver).

And hopefully Roger will not quit and come back strong next year to challenge him…

FOLKERT HESSE

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10 Reasons why Roger Federer can't beat Rafael Nadal...

By 

FOLKERT HESSE

Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time and holds almost every record in the history books of tennis. But why can’t he beat Rafael Nadal and has a 7-14 record against the Spaniard?

Now it looks like the two tennis giants will meet in the final of the US-Open tomorrow. It would be their first meeting at the US-Open at all and for world no. 1 Rafa Nadal it would be even the first over all appearance in the finals of the US-Open, while Roger Federer has won the tournament for the past 5 years.

But still, I don’t think that Roger will be the favorite for this match.

Federer crying after loss at Australian Open ...

Tomorrow I will give you the top 10 reasons, why Federer against Nadal is a very, very bad match-up for the Swiss …

I think he will lose the final against Nadal, and I will tell you why.

FOLKERT HESSE

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Super Saturday at US-Open!

By 

FOLKERT HESSE

Like always at the US-Open, the two men’s semi finals and the women’s final will be played on Saturday. No. 2 seed Kim Clijsters will take on no. 7 seed Vera Zwonarewa and the top 3 men’s seed, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic will be joined by no. 12 seed Mikahail Yuzhny. No US player on Super Saturday is a big disappointment for the New York fans, but everyone is hoping for the big final between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal on Sunday.

Roger, Kim and Rafa at US-Open Exhibition

It would be the first meeting at the US-Open for the two great rivals and the first overall final for Nadal. On top of that he would have the great opportunity to be the second over all player in history to win 3 consecutive majors in one calendar year, after Rod Laver.

But before he can think of a final against Federer, he has to overcome the “Youzhny-hurdle” to get there. It sounds not too difficult, but it might be a difficult match for Rafa, because the fearless Russian, has nothing to lose in this match at all. And for Rafa it is the biggest opportunity to make some history. The match-up is a good one for him though, since his heavy top-spin balls is one of the reasons why he seems to dominate the single handed backhand-players at will and also holds a 14-7 record against Federer. And playing right-handed Youzhny today could be the perfect warm up for the possible Federer match tomorrow.

But Federer has a high road to ride himself, before he can go for a 6^th consecutive US-Open title on Sunday. Even though he defeated the same opponent in the semi’s of  the past two US-Open already, Djokovic is playing much stronger and solid at this year’s Open. He easily beat Fish and Monfils in 3 sets and looks very ready to give the big Fed a hard time today.

But no matter what, Nadal and Federer always have to be considered the heavy favorites when they play in the semi final of a Grand Slam. So, it will be exciting and fans will cheer for a dream final on Sunday, 5-time champion Roger against No. 1 Nadal.

On The women’s side there is a clear favorite, even though Vera Zwonarewa is this year’s Wimbledon finalist and the shooting star of 2010. But 2 time and defending champion Kim Clijsters played better and better in every one of her matches and defeated Sam Stosur and Venus Williams in great fashion. She has the experience and the form to beat the Russian in 2 sets and take her 3^rd US-Open crown and another step towards the no. 1 world ranking for the end of the year.

It will be a great day of tennis, even though many New Yorker will have to put some sad thought in the back of their had today, in order to enjoy only tennis on this September 11^th.

May it be a day of great tennis AND happiness!

FOLKERT HESSE

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Kim Clijsters again in Final of US-Open

By 

FOLKERT HESSE

Kim Clijsters played a great match last night against Venus Williams to reach her 3^rd consecutive US-Open Final and will meet Vera Zwonarewa tonight to defend last years title.

Kim Clijsters

After a good match against Sam Stosur, she even raised her level to another gear to beat the only American left in the men’s or women’s draw of the tournament. After losing the first set 4:6 she was able to break Venus in her first service game of the second set. But she was not able to serve out the set and had to go to a tie-breaker to decide the set in her favor with 7:2. The third set was a very close one, as well, but when Venus Williams, also a two time US-Open champion like Clijsters, had to serve at 4:5 to stay in the match, the pressure was to much for Serenas big sister and she was broken by a determined Kim Clijsters. On match point, Clijsters not only showed great tennis, but also big celebration after winning it. It was a great match point and a great match from both players who had to deal with swirling winds throughout the whole match and handled it great.

Now Kim Clijsters has to be named the clear favorite against the up-coming Russian, who reached this year’s Wimbledon Final already and played also a good match against no. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki to reach the US-Open final.

The match between the two blonds will take place after the men’s semi finals tonight at 7 p.m. .

FOLKERT HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

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Best Matchpoint ever by Fernando Verdasco

By 

FOLKERT HESSE

Not all the internal affairs between two good friends and players from the same country and Davis-Cup teams are always good matches. But this one was! And it was the best match of this years US-Open so far.

Fernando Verdasco

When Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer met on Louis Armstrong Stadium at 4 p.m. in the afternoon they did not get all the attention form the New York fans right away. But 4 hours and 23 minutes later the stadium was packed with emphatic fans cheering as loud as they possibly could and rising from their seats to give both players a standing ovation for the best match at this US-Open, and maybe for all of 2010 so far.

It was Fernando Verdasco, who made several comebacks during this encounter between two good friends, and finished the match in a style the tennis world has not seen so far. It was the best and most spectacular matchpoint I have ever seen. It ended the match in the tie-breaker of the fifth set with the score of 7:4 for Verdasco.

Check out the video to see the whole point at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEuAyEkRwrM

But it was not only this match point that put an exclamation mark to this match. The whole match was hard to top in dramatics and shot making. Ferrer tok a 2 set lead which was sealed by a tight tie-breaker in the second set ending at 10:8 for Ferrer. And Ferrer was also up with a break in the fifth set and was leading 4:1 in the tie-breaker of the fifth set. But all that was not enough to beat Fernando Verdasco yesterday. The good looking Spaniard showed unbelievable willpower and never gave up, no matter what score. Especially against a master of footwork and fighting spirit, like David Ferrer, his performance was simply amazing.

He will be tired but loaded with confidence for his meeting with Rafael Nadal in the Quarterfinal. And the semi-final match against Nadal at the Australian Open 2 years ago, was probably the second best match of his career, even though he lost it.

Nadal has a great record against Verdasco but he never faced him with this much confidence yet. And with “only” Youzhny or Wawrinka waiting in a potential semi-final, he should not put too much pressure on himself to miss this great opportunity to reach his first US-Open final.

There are some great matches coming at us at the Open, Federer facing Soderling and Monfils against Djokovic today and tomorrow you should look out for Nadal against Verdasco!

FOLKERT HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

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Surprise on Super Sunday at US-Open!

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FOLKERT HESSE

Not all of the matches lived up to their expectations on the first “Super Sunday” at the US-Open, but the fans saw some real good tennis and some upsets in the men’s draw.

The biggest splash was the 4 set win of Stan Wawrinka over Andy Murray, who was the 2^nd highest bet for bookmakers to take the title this year. And with Murray going down, we won’t see the much anticipated dream semi-final of the top four players in the world. The Scottish no. 4 seed is out now and this opens the door for a first win at the open for Rafael Nadal. I think Murray was the biggest mountain to climb, if he wanted to take his first US-Open crown and become only the second player after Rod Laver to win 3 consecutive Grand Slam events in one calendar year. A thing that not even the great Federer has done yet! But Murray’s early exit will also bring a new face to a Grand Slam semi final. One of the 4 players left over from the Murray – Berdych section of the draw, Wawrinka, Querrey, Youzhny or Robredo will now go to a maiden Grand Slam semi final. And after Youzhny took out US-boy John Isner in an exciting night session yesterday, the American fans will have to hope for Sam Querrey to be the one to take that spot in the semi final. He beat Almagro in convincing style yesterday and will now take on the second swiss player left in the draw, Stan Wawrinka. For sure this will be a close encounter, since both players will be loaded with confidence. Youzhny will take on Tommy Robredo, who is one of 6 Spanish players among the last 16 men remaining in the draw.

In the upper section of the top half of the draw, Rafa Nadal had a strong victory over Gilles Simon to join an armada of 3 other Spaniards to contest a semi final spot among them. Even though Gilles Simon was maybe not 100% focused during his match, because his wife had just given birth to their first son back in France and he was eager to get back home and see him for the first time, Nadal still showed a much improved form. He won in straight sets and never looked to be in danger throughout the whole match. He will now take on Feliciano Lopez, who won his match against Stakhovsky, due to a foot-injury the Ukrainian suffered in the second set.

Another surprise to me was the 4 set win from Fernando Verdasco over david Nalbandian. The serve and the forehand from Verdasco was too much and too good for Nalbandian yesterday. Nalbandian was never able to get into his game and form of the recent hard court events before the Open. But it was more that Verdasco did not allow him to and was able to control most of the points. He will face the 4^th Spaniard in this section, David Ferrer, who beat, … you guessed it right… another Spanish player, Gimeno-Traver, to advance to the next round. After he won the first set in a Tie-breaker he had an easy win in 3 sets and will be fresh for the match against Verdasco.

The development of the upper section of the draw is all playing into the cards of Rafa Nadal. His biggest threats have been Nalbandian and Murray and now they are both out of the tournament. Two players that have beaten him a few times already and know how to handle the pressure playing against him. But now there are only Spaniards left and 4 unexperienced players who never have even reached a semi-final in a Grand Slam event. For me it would be a very big surprise, if he would lose to any of these players and not go to his first US-Open final next Sunday.

In the women’s matches we saw relatively easy wins for Schiavone, Williams and Clijsters. Ana Ivanovic was not able to continue with her improved form from the first rounds and showed that her slump is not over at all yet. She still struggles with her ball toss on the serve and never found any consistency and confidence in her game. Another disappointing performance for her, and we all have to sit and wonder what will happen to her over the next years.

Pavyuchenkova had to take a medical timeout against Schiavone, but with the Russians you never know when it is “tactics’ or a real injury, and was chanceless against the Italian Roland Garros Champion. Shahar Peer was fighting like always, but Venus never lost her focus and was just tested in the first set that went to a tie-break. She took the second set 6:3 and will now face Schciavone for a spot in the semi finals.

The most exciting match was the night session between 2 of the fittest players on the WTA-Tour, Dementieva and Stosur. This was clearly the highlight of the women’s matches yesterday and even though it was not always a great mental performance of the two players, this match had all a night session in New York needs. And it ended not only with a great victory and turnaround from Sam Stosur, but also with a new record for women’s matches at the open. The match finished at 1:43 a.m. in the morning and therefore was the latest finished women’s match at the Open ever. Stosur won it in the third set tie-break after she was down by 0:3 and 3:5 in the set already and fought off 4 match points against her.

So, we did not see many of the close matches that were expected, but quite some exciting ones and some really good tennis.

Today there is more good tennis to come and I think this time we will some close matches for sure. Maria Sharapova will take on Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark, who stormed through her first rounds so far. This will not only be a great match-up from the sporty aspect, it will also be the match between Mrs. Russia and Mrs. Denmark, who will fight for the best dresses and style on the court… ;)

On the men’s side there will be a great match between Mardy Fish and Novak Djokovic, which is also a rematch for the last ATP-1000 event in Cincinnati, wich Fish won against Djokovic. In an all French affair, Gasquet will face Monfils, Soderling will be playing Montanes and the big Fed, who will meet Juergen Melzer from Austria, will also be in action today.

FOLKERT HESSE

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Big Sunday at US-Open!

By 

FOLKERT HESSE

The tennis fans in the Big Apple are treated to a really tasty Big Burger of tennis this Sunday. With a lot of big stars in action and some very interesting match-ups this will be the first high light of this year’s Open. And because it is Sunday the stars will start at 11 a.m. already.

The first match on Center Court will be Ana Ivanovic against defending champion Kim Clijsters. Both have been very convincing in their first rounds and did not drop a set yet), which is not a big surprise for Kim Clijsters. But Ana Ivanovic has struggled for more than a year now and to see her back in form is good news for her fans. But unfortunately you never know how long it will last with her. But she has not much to lose against the 2 seed from Belgium, who is the tournament favorite to many, after Serena Williams had to cancel the Open due to injury. So Kim is the favorite in this one, but you never know what you get from Ivanovic and she might come up with a great match. And the guys will always have something to cheer when she plays anyways.

The next match on Arthur Ashe Stadium is Venus Williams against Shahar Peer. Venus is the last big hope for the US fans on the women’s side, and with her sister missing the tournament, she will be eager to bring another trophy to the Williams household. The No. 3 seed is the favorite in this match, but Shahar Peer is a great competitor and will not leave the stadium without showing the 20,000 a big fight. If Venus will be able to handle the pressure and will be able to thrive on the cheers of the New York fans, who always loved the Williams sisters, she will make it through to the quarters.

Where she will meet the winner of the Schiavone – Pavlyuchenkova “fight’. This match will be a great fight, which you can always expect when French Open Champion Schiavone hits the courts. But now she will meet another screaming and scratching player from Russia, who was a former No. 1 in the Juniors and has tons of potential. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, has a good hard court game and it will be very interesting to see how she will handle the backhand slice of Francesca, who will try to slow down the game and force her to miss her shots. This match will be on Luis Armstrong Stadium at 11 a.m. and might not get as much attention as it should, because the Clijsters – Ivanovic match will be taken place at Arthur Ashe at the same time.

The last women’s match today will be the night session at Arthur Ashe between Sam Stosur and Elena Dementieva. To me Stosur is one of the 3 big favorites for the title this year. With her kick serve she will give Dementieva a lot of trouble to get into the rallys on this surface. And if Sam Stosur is able to dictate with her forehand, I don’t see many chances for the Russian on her own serve either. But if Sam Stosur’s game would be predictable and if she would be mentally stronger, she would have won a few slams already. So, let’s see what we will get in this match. For sure two of the best athletes in women’s tennis.

On the men’s side there are even better matches coming up today and every one of them will be as unpredictable as the swirling winds on the courts yesterday. Even Rafa Nadal, who is one of 7 Spaniards among the 16 men in action today, is not the clear favorite in his match against Frenchman Gilles Simon. Simon beat him on a hard court once already and if he is still fresh enough after his 5 set win over Kohlschreiber, this could be a very exciting match on center Court. Simon has the game and the talent to take Nadal’s shots on the rise and play with the power that Rafa gives him. This could be a tough one for Nadal and even though Simon was struggling lately, and dropped out of the top 10, he will use the confidence from the first rounds to show the crowd a big fight.

The night session on center court will feature big American John Isner, who will take on Russian Mikhail Youzhny. Isner who is coming off a foot injury played very strong so far and is one of 3 men standing from a country that has been a strong tennis nation once. The other US players still in contention for the title, are Fish and Querrey, who are playing Djokovic and Almagro. From those three Isner probably has the best chances to advance to the next round, even though Youzhny is a fierce competitor and will try to fight Isner’s big serve and the NY crowd until the last ball is played.

But the biggest match-up on the men’s side will be between David Nalbandian and Fernando Verdasco. Former No.3 in the world, David Nalbandian, just made a great comeback from his Hip surgery and played a remarkable hard court season so far. Along with Mardy Fish, Andy Murray and Roger Federer, he showed the best form during the big hard court events before the US-Open. I see him as the favorite in this match, but No. 8 seed, Verdasco will fight like a Spanish bull to stay in the top 10 and reach a spot for this year’s ATP-Tour finals at the end of the year. This match could easily go 5 sets, but for sure it will bring us high quality tennis.

Another high quality match will be Andy Murray against Stan Wawrinka. Even though Wawrinka did not get the great results he looked for during the hard court season, he showed much better fitness and form in his matches. I expect a close one here, since both players breezed through their first two rounds without losing a set. This one could also go all the way to a 5 setter, but you still have to name Murray the favorite in this match-up. His double-handed backhand is still better than Wawrinka’s, who has one of the best single-handed backhands in the game.

The rest of the matches do not feature the big names in tennis, but are all interesting and wide open. The aggressive Llodra, who defeated Thomas Berdych will take on solid and experienced baseliner Tommy Robredo. Sam Querrey, who won 4 tournaments this year already, will play big hitting Spaniard Nicolas Almagro and Feliciano Lopez will battle it out with Sergiy Stakhovsky in an all out offence match. The last match will hold another two Spanish players in the run for a spot to play the winner of the Nalbandian – Verdasco match. Here David Ferrer will play Daniel Gimeno-Traver and the internal affairs are always very interesting to see.

So, there is plenty of high quality action today and if the weather holds up, the New Yorkers and many fans on TV will be treated to a great day of tennis.

FOLKERT HESSE

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