Is this a US Open live thread??? SWEEEEEET!!
Wonder if it's still raining in the city. I'm upstate and we're cloudy but dry.....for now.
Thanks Motley Girl,
Did you see both of Andre's matches? Grueling.
I haven't seen my favorite, Mary Pierce play yet.
Have you seen the Maria Sharapova commercial where everybody is singing "I feel Pretty" until she blasts one back at her oppponent and shuts them up?
Do you think it will be Federer vs Nadal again in the final? I don't have a prediction for the women's final.
Agassi and Blake are in different draws, so they very well could play for the U.S. Open Championship--how exciting would that be!
James is a great player.
When James Blake took to the court in his second-round match against Teimuraz Gabashvili Friday afternoon, it was an unusual sight to see.
Looking like a blast from the past, No. 5 seed Blake showed up sporting a white bandanna and a retro white, black and neon red outfit, complete with spandex shorts and matching shoes, no less. It was Blake's tribute to tennis legend and fellow American Andre Agassi for his last run at the US Open. And during his match, Blake played every bit the part of "Retro Andre" in his routine 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(5) win to advance into the third round.
"I just wanted to show Andre how much he means to the sport of tennis," Blake said. "We want him to know that we wish him the best in tennis and in life."
It was just a year ago that the top-ranked American made his spectacular run to the quarterfinals of the US Open, where he lost a two-set lead and fell to Agassi in a dramatic 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 match that became an instant classic. As for getting the chance to have a rematch at this year's Open, Blake said he hasn't given much thought to the possibility just yet because he has a few more matches to get through first.
"I'm not too sure about that, that's a long way away right now," Blake said with a smile.
With his ever-faithful "J-Block" in full force behind him and cheering him on, the 26-year-old Floridian showed off some beautiful shot-making plays to jump to a 5-2 lead before taking the first set at love on a big forehand shot.
Gabashvili held his own in the second set, matching Blake shot for shot to keep him on his toes and give him a good challenge. Blake was broken in his first service game of the second set, but immediately broke right back and later broke again two games later to gain the advantage at 3-2. Blake closed out the second set on serve.
At the start of the third set, Blake was in top form, breaking Gabashvili's serve right off the bat and unleashing a big serve to hold his own. Blake used quick foot speed to cover every inch of the court during one rally, and Blake, ever the showman, did everything he could to get every shot back, including switching his racket to his left hand on a return.
Gabashvili continued to find ways to stay in the game with Blake, and he threatened to take a set off of the American, breaking Blake to reach 5-5 and pushing it to a tiebreaker. But Gabashvili didn't have the right tools to pick apart Blake's game, and Blake closed it out in a 7-5 tiebreaker.
This is the first time in Blake's career that he has reached the third round at every major tournament in one year. He will meet clay-court specialist Carlos Moya, the Spaniard who defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu, in the third round.
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James Blake explains his outfit on Friday. The American wore a white bandana, luminous shirt and orange lycra cycling shorts in a retro tribute to Andre Agassi.
And, I'm thinking of stopping over at Flushing Meadows this afternoon to have an ice cream sundae.
