Mitch Hedberg once said that “the thing that’s depressing about tennis is that no matter how good I get, I’ll never be as good as a wall.” Or in this case, a wall possessed with a linebacker’s arms, a 135-mph serve and violent ground strokes that spin faster than a sleeping yo-yo. That’s what poor Mikhail Youzhny has to face Saturday in the first semifinal of the 2010 U.S. Open. His opponent, top-seeded Rafael Nadal, is terrifying. Last year, hitting partner Eric Hechtman told Sports Illustrated that returning Rafa’s forehand feels “like you’re breaking off your arm.”
2010 U.S. Open, Men’s Semifinals: Federer and Nadal On Collision Course
The 12th-seeded Youzhny may not stand a chance, but at the very least, we’ll be here all day to analyze Nadal’s dissection. Check back all day (and evening) for Open updates. Coverage begins on CBS at noon with Nadal/Youzhny, continuing with No. 2 Roger Federer against No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the other semifinal at about 3. Then we’ll be back at about 8 for the women’s final, which pits No. 2 Kim Clijsters against No. 7 Vera Zvonareva.
Federer, who like Nadal hasn’t dropped a set all tournament, is as unyielding as brick on the tennis court -- but has enough skill to do this. Poor Djokovic. Poor Youzhny. Like Hedberg said, “I played a wall once...they’re fucking relentless!”
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