Andy Murray and John Isner are out, but the 2010 U.S. Open must go on. Mardy Fish, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki and Roger Federer will all be in action Monday.
2010 U.S. Open, Day 8 TV Schedule: Who To Watch And Where To Watch Them
Tune in to CBS from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT and on ESPN2 from 7-11 p.m. for live Open coverage. (Also check out this celebrity photo gallery. Apparently, Kanye West likes tennis.)
Here are three matches worth checking out on Day 8:
Not before 12:30 p.m., Arthur Ashe
No. 19 Mardy Fish (USA) vs. No. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Fish, according to ESPN’s Greg Garber, got what he wanted.
“I’d like another crack at a top-five player, top-10 player in a Slam,” Fish said. “I think I’ve beaten a couple of them in Slams but never deep into a tournament. Sort of getting yourself into winning maybe another match and getting myself into the situation of playing a Djokovic or a [Nikolay] Davydenko or one of these guys that has been there quite a few times.
“I certainly feel like I can hang with them.”
Djokovic, whose obsession with dick jokes is actually kind of endearing, has a 4-0 career record against the American. Fish, however, has taken Djokovic to three sets twice. In the 2008 final at Indian Wells, Djokovic won 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. In the second round at Indian Wells this year, Djokovic won 6-2, 0-6, 6-2.
About 3 p.m., Arthur Ashe
No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs. No. 14 Maria Sharapova (RUS)
How good has Wozniacki been lately? Yahoo!‘s Chris Chase crunched the numbers:
According to WTA stats guru Kevin Fischer, Wozniacki lost the fewest games through three full matches of any woman since the draw was expanded in 1981. In the first three rounds, Wozniacki dropped just three games. She defeated wild card Chelsey Gullickson in the first round, 6-1, 6-1; Chang Kai-Chan, 6-0, 6-0 in the second; and Chan Yung-Jan 6-1, 6-0 in the third.
Sharapova, who has a 2-0 career record against Wozniacki, is coming off a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of American Beatrice Capra. Wozniacki and Sharapova are dialed in. Both grunt loudly on every point. This might be the best match of the tourney. Or the loudest match of the tourney. Or both.
About 9 p.m., Arthur Ashe
No. 2 Roger Federer (SUI) vs. No. 13 Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
The Federer-Nadal rivalry has taken a new turn.
Rafa allegedly refused to ride in a courtesy van adorned with Federer’s image last week. The New York Post, which predictably was all over last week’s fight in the stands, busted open the story.
According to a U.S. Open source, Nadal refused to get into one of the Mercedes transportation vans that carried a big promotional picture of Federer raising his arms in triumph.
Nadal requested he get a van that did not have Federer’s visage on it. The incident at the USTA National Tennis Center occurred after Nadal’s first-round victory late Tuesday night.
An Open transportation source said only three of the transportation vans carry Federer’s picture. They are used to transport players back and forth from the Open to their Manhattan hotels.
Nadal denies all this, of course.
Smiling and raking his fingers through his hair, he said: “This is very stupid thing. I was in a van of the picture of Roger, both sides of the van, like 15 times these two weeks.”
So it’s probably not true. But it’s kind of fun imagining something similar actually happening. What if a Mercedes sent to pick up Manny Pacquiao had a picture of Floyd Mayweather on it? Indeed, that would be a very stupid thing.
Click here to view the full schedule. For more tennis coverage, visit The Daily Forehand.
See More:
