Federer is lucky at 13!

Federer emerged victorious in this year’s saga of the US Open Tournament. This is too big of a story for me to describe in words, so let’s just leave it at that.

To read the entire news story, click here.

tennis mayhem

News alert!

Yes, yes. Federer is back in the US Open Finals. All Novak fans, pardon me for being the loyal Federer fan I am. However, when I learned that these two were meeting for the men’s US Open semis, I knew Fed already had it in the bag. Tennis-wise, Federer already had the clear advantage. However, after bowing down to Nadal during this year’s French Open and Wimbledon, I think it was enough to ignite him on the court as this is his last opportunity to steal one for the year.

So, that is basically not THE big news. It is the other half of the semis which saw an upset. To anyone who predicted another Federer-Nadal duel, well you are all wrong!

Spanish Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion/Wimbledon champion/recent Beijing Olympics Gold medalist/world no.1 is out in the running for the US Open title. And who would have thought he would be defeated in such fashion by a not very lowly competitor – Scottish and 6th-seed Andy Murray? This could boil down to be one of the US Open classic matches of all time.

A few weeks ago, Nadal seemed like he was out for another title after breezing through his competition in the previous rounds. But Nadal finally met his match. Murray wasn’t one to be dismissed aside that easily though. Remember how he met and defeated 15th-seed Juan Del Potro from Argentina during the quarterfinal round and reduced him to tears?

In the court where two undeniably talented tennis players met, it came down to wit. Murray did, no question, outsmarted Nadal on this one. Murray showed tremendous footwork when Nadal had him chasing the ball all over the court, always managing to shoot sharp returns and impressive backhand – something of which Nadal lacked in notably a couple of instances.

The most impressive part of all is that Murray ripped Nadal’s confidence on the court. Nadal looked uncharacteristically limp and without the fiesty attitude often displayed by this champion. After Nadal served what turned out to be his last for the tournament and Murray approached the net to drop the ball for his winning point, the match analysts summed it up for this classic match, and to paraphrase him: Nadal might be the world’s No.1, but in this match, Murray was the better player.

time for some update

A busy week. Not just for me but for the rest of the world as well (insert sigh here).

Kadayawan ‘08 is already a closed chapter in Davao. But for the rest of the world (or at least my world of interest), things are still at the exposition part and climax is a long ways off.

Heads up first, CBS has finally revealed the official cast for Survivor Gabon: Earth’s Last Eden. Speculations are over and we have names, faces, and first impressions to gnaw on. I never had the time to really get to know the casts yet, aside from the fact that they comprise of the typical “hot” chick, Ivy League student, the hunk, and the old guy (yes, indeed old enough to be your granpa). However, what I like best about Survivor is that despite of its predictable cast, the game as a whole is unpredictable. And that’s when each of the contestant’s pangs come out as the quest for million dollars turn them into more cunning individuals.

(to my friends who are hoping to watch this, apparently local channel QTv will be airing Survivor Gabon. will do update you on timeslots.)

On another topic, the US Open commenced this week and already it is making headlines. Nadal and Federer both survived the first round with ease, Federer notably winning in straight sets. Top-seed Nadal and Venus Williams have scheduled matches for today.

only in its 2nd round, there are already some major upsets. The biggest one so far happened this morning before I left for the office. I got to catch the tail-end of French Julie Coin’s (rank no.88) match against top-seed Ana Ivanovic; just in time to see the World No.1 bow down and end her hopes of winning the title in 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 match. According to Yahoo! sports news:

Never before in the Open era that began in 1968 had the No. 1 woman lost this early in the tournament.

Whoa! I can’t wait for the next round!