The Draw

(1)Federer vs Qualifier
Qualifier vs Qualifier
Qualifier vs Qualifier
Isner vs (26)Nieminen

(21)Ferrero vs Lopez
Kendrick vs Andreev
Young vs Guccione
Roitman vs (13)Gasquet

(9)Berdych vs Gicquel
Bolelli vs Benneteau
Simon vs Qualifier
Verdasco vs (22)Mathieu

(32)Karlovic vs Clement
T.Johansson vs Massu
Acasuso vs Vassallo Arguello
Gimelstob vs (5)Roddick




(4)Davydenko vs Levine
Kiefer vs Spadea
Luczak vs Horna
Kuznetsov vs (28)Almagro

(19)Murray vs Qualifier
Guzman vs Bjorkman
Hrbaty vs Lee
Ramiraz Hidalgo vs (14)Canas

(10)Haas vs Qualifier
Becker vs Qualifier
Goldstein vs Grosjean
Mirnyi vs (18)Baghdatis

(29)Volandri vs Llodra
Koubek vs Querrey
Santoro vs Montanes
Russel vs (6)Blake




(8)Robredo vs Qualifier
Fish vs Qualifier
Qualifier vs Berrer
Gulbis vs (30)Starace

(17)Moya vs Qualifier
Garcia-Lopez vs Kunitsyn
Zabaleta vs Kohlschreiber
Devilder vs (11)Youzhny

(16)Hewitt vs Delic
Calleri vs Seppi
Qualifier vs Lapentti
Roger-Vasselin vs (23)Monaco

(31)Melzer vs Hartfield
Del Potro vs Mahut
Berlocq vs Stepanek
Ancic vs (3)Djokovic




(7)Gonzalez vs Gabashvilli
Ginepri vs Rochus
Wawrinka vs Korolev
Qualifier vs (25)Safin

(20)Chela vs McClune
Udomechoke vs Odesnik
Qualifier vs Monfils
Vliegen vs (12)Ljbubicic

(15)Ferrer vs Mayer
Serra vs Eschauer
Malisse vs Pless
Navarro Pastor vs (24)Nalbandian

(27)Tursunov vs Henman
Tsonga vs Hernandez
Tipsarevic vs Sweeting
Jones vs (2)Nadal

Tims got Tusunov again :cry: :peek:

Interesting R1 matches

Ferrero vs Lopez
Verdasco vs Mathieu
Karlovic vs Clement
Del Potro vs Mahut
Ancic vs Djokovic
Vliegen vs Ljubicic
Tursunov vs Henman roflmao sometimes you just have to laugh....

and sometimes you just have to give the sofa a kick!

bugger.

wasnt expecting much for Tim in this tourney anyway but still....

:(

On the contrary Murray has a very kind draw and a pre-injury Murray would have reached the semis from it IMHO, as it is I think he'll lose 3rd round to Canas where normally he would beat him...

Poor Roddick :(

Tim will beat Turnsunov this time around.

Three qualifiers in a row for Fed?

One of them has to be Dancevic..

He will definetely get 2 in a row but his third match could be against Isner or Nieminen...... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

:hug: :hug:

Lol, there's unlucky and there's Tim Henman! :(

Federer has the easiest draw of the big 3, but Isner, Gasquet and Roddick could cause problems.

Djokovic has a nightmare - could well be Ancic, Stepanek, Del Potro, Hewitt and Youzhny just to get to the semis! :yikes:

Nadal's is tricky too, with Tipsarevic, Tursunov and Nalbandian lurking before he even reaches the QF.

Poor Gasquet rather. He always is in Federer's draw. So his chances to better last year R16 are pretty slim!

In all fairness, Gasquet has only twice been knocked out of a Slam by Fed, and once it was in the semi-finals. He'll probably lose to Ferrero or Andreev this year too, but I live in hope.

Still I would have fancied Gasquet chance against any other player....his hand blister being healed that is.

I know, it's a joke! roflmao

You picked exaclty what I just wrote down as the interestign ones there. I feel sorry fo rMathieu, he gets some tricky ones, Verdasco is explosive when he's consistent and he seems improved. In fact he interests me and I'm sad to see these two in round 1. :(

Poor Ancic, or maybe poor Djoko if he does nto get his finger out! Mario has definitely bene robbed more than anyoen else here :angry:

Clement is a tricky one lately, and might give Karlovic trouble.

If I were Baghi I would nto realyl wan tto deal with Mirnyi's serve either.

Hope Mahut can get past Del Potro.

Poor Tipsarevic is going to meet Nadal early on, but if Tipsy plays with the guts he used at Wimby Nadal coudl eb in trouble. :D

Oh I forgot to mention that this Isner guy who has suddenly errupted onto the scene is playign Nieminen and that could go either way.

At least Roddick wont be reaching the final again roflmao

Safin hasnt got the worst draw, but i can sense danger with vliegen. He has a good chance here though, he has to take it :pray:

Poor Tim, hasnt got much of a chance against Tursunov unfortunately :shrug:

I disagree. Seeing Fed's draw, I am a little bit worried.

The qualifiers are likely to be in-form players, and can be very dangerous in the early rounds. If Isner beats Nieminen (which is well within his abilities if his form is as it has been recently), he is, likewise, a dangerous one to face in the early rounds IMO. Gasquet could be very dangerous next (although his inconsistency will most likely show in a best-of-five against Roger), and getting Roddick at the quarters in Flushing Meadows probably wasn't his first choice either.

Djokovic's early draw is a big of a shocker, to be fair, with Ancic first and Stepanek after that. However, I don't think either of them has the consistency to really trouble Novak in a best-of-five. The main other thread in that part of the draw is Hewitt.

Nadal was the most fortunate of them all, I reckon --- he managed to avoid Blake, Berdych and Youzhny completely; Nalbandian and Ljubicic are hardly threats these days, and Gonzo is far from his AO form. The latter is the only whom --- form permitting --- I can envisage denying Nadal a semi-final appearance. However, facing either Djokovic or Hewitt in the semis is going to be a serious test for him.

On the other hand, it doesn't look likely that Fed's semi opponent (if he makes it there) will be all that challenging --- it's most likely to be Blake, but also if it's Davydenko, or Baghdatis (who might find his Grand Slam form) I don't see them troubling Roger.

It's funny isn't it how we tend to underestimate the ability of our favourite players and overestimate our less preferred ones.

True. But I tend to worry more about Roger when he's playing qualifiers, or young players whom he hasn't met before.

Admittedly, he usually comes through such matches (particularly in a best-of-five), but I always feel a big part of his game depends on how well he knows how the other guy is going to play, and in addition he tends to be more vulnerable in early rounds than later on in the tournament. So seing 5 qualifiers among the first 8 places on the draw worries me much more than seeing, say, Ben Becker, or Tim Henman (bless him) would.

Of course, it might partly also be the fear of the unknown ... :wacko:

On second glance, the only thing that makes Federer's draw easier than Nadal's is that Fed's a better hard court player than Rafa.

They're both reasonably easy - Isner made waves at one tournament, but beating Federer over 5 sets is a huge step up. Gasquet could be tricky, but we all know what he's like - expect him to crash out before he even gets that far. Since it's home soil, Roddick could provide a test, but the H2H indicates he won't win. Likewise Blake, who couldn't beat Fed if Fed played with a lacrosse stick.

But like you say, Nadal's avoided his main nemeses and will be disappointed if he doesn't reach the semis. I think we're almost past the stage where we can count Nalby as a threat, unfortunately. Same goes for Safin, although his draw isn't too bad, with the off-form Gonzalez his seed.

It seems the hardest two sections are in the middle. Djoko's section isn't as big a nightmare as it looks on paper because Ancic and Stepanek are both struggling with injuries, but it's still pretty tough, with Hewitt, Youzhny and Moya all lurking. The second quarter contains Davydenko, Haas, Baghdatis and Blake, which is pretty hard to call.

I pretty much agree with all of that.

I wonder how far Hewitt will go in this one. If he continues his good form, he could well be dangerous for Djokovic in R16.

It is more the fear of the unknown..IMO...I found the draw quite fair for the top two..Rafa receives might be a little plus...Bur FED should really move on quite smoothly ..Even if the presence of Isner should force him to be ready quite soon, at the beginning of the event..I do not believe (unfortunately) in Gasquet this time: He was injured, he did not play enough...My feeling is that he will come too short...AROD..well this is the USO his (only) Slam..But if he should face FED in the QF (edit-mistake), well the AO result will be to present in his mind (I really believe that this sort of defeat needs , 1 year , at the minimum to be digested..But he has a chance nevertheless..a small one)..

...Same for Rafa, i.e. quite smoothly..IMO..Dmitry Tursunov in a "A" day can generate a lot of problems (at the contrary I do not believe to much in Tipsarevic ...But who knows): same as FED be ready and in the mix very quickly..

Djioko has the more difficult draw of the top Three..By far, it will be nice to see him against Del Potro: this guy is another asset for the future, I like this sort of matches among young guns..

For the rest we will see..Anyway two exiting weeks ahead and lest's hope no rain in New York :rolleyes:

BTW: In the ATP Website they are stressing that FED had a very difficult draw, i.e. http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/home/

We know what happens when in Wimbledon last year there was a difficult draw for him :whistle: :whistle: Let' hope :pray: :pray:

Tim Vs Tursunov again :wacko:

Tell ya what though, I fancy Tim will give this a right go, this could be his last ATP tournament and his last grand slam of his career so he's going to be fired up, hey who knows a good run here could elevate his ranking again and he might not retire B) Oh I am full of hope!

This is reasonable and I agree in particular the part I highlight..

Edit: The highlights resume quite well my previous post BTW..Better to go sleep..I am in a dangerous zone ;) ;)

I don't see anything highlighted. :unsure:

Guess this means we disagree on everything as usual... I was getting worried for a minute. ;)

The thing is if Gasquet has recovered he might well be the most dangerous player of the draw. He is inconsistent. No doubt. But that is not going to help Fed if Richard builds confidence on his way to R16 and finds top form on the day. We know that Gasquet plays his best v Federer. The history of slams is crammed with upset by talented players who reach top form on the day. Look at Sampras for instance, even though he won 14GSs over 12 years, he lost 38 of them during the same period beaten by players we can’t remember their names. So I agree that Gasquet may have less chance to reach the R16 than Ferrero, but should he get there, I’d fancy Gasquet to cause more trouble than Ferrero or many others.

you go too fast for a Swiss man roflmao roflmao

I see your point and in some sense I hope to see this match: Two great talents in actions is just the best you can ask for..Still, Richard will come short (might be taking a set, nothing more IMO). :rolleyes:

Certainly, and i hope so too to some extend. But the same can be said of all the other players. I can't see Federer losing more than one set against the other 127 players.

Not so sure Rafa in fire in a final..Ok it will be the first final for Rafa..But he has learned a lot this guy..Or even, better, Djoko..I definitely believe there are at least these two players than in a "A" day can take more than a set out of FED -in particular if FED is in a "B" day, unlikely in a GS event from the quarter on but everything is possible at least for now-.

Surprisingly I agree with Wise here but then again this is Centre Court and his antics dont get him any popularity here. :rolleyes: I will pop into 606 to read the recipricol of this post later.

Federer seems to have a bit of a cake walk draw and Im not happy about it.As someone else said he is likely to play in form qualifiers who would already have matches under their belts.I really wanted him to be tested a bit.
As for Nadal he is also another one who if he dont make it far will kick himself.Novak has a bit of a stiff time and thats gonna be a test for him.Hoping he is well rested and is ready to perform!

I doubt Rafa is really fit for a slam victory here. I might be wrong but I think he'll struggle with his knee and arm this tournament. On the other hand he has a rather easy draw unless Nalby decides to play seriously. Nalb is excellent at taking the ball early and put angles so that means lots of running for the Spaniard.

Djoko, yes he can grab a set as well but I don't think he will this year. He is likely to have a tough route to the final if he reaches it, so the Sat semi and Sunday final at the end are usually a big test for the youngsters. Safin, Hewitt are the youngest to have done it since Sampras (20) but oth were physical phenomenon in their own way.

I could see Ancic being caried away by the ccasion with nothing to lose causing Djoko some troubles.

Cheers

awww, c'mon Dark - if you wanna have a fight with Wise over his BBC postings then go do it over there please. We like people to all get along here - as I'm sure you know ;)2

i like Wise :shrug:

Not sure we need to know about that, Dark.

Yeah, I like his outspoken nature and strong convictions :D

roflmao