Thoughts on the U.S. Open

I'm very happy Roger won yesterday.  It wasn't a particular interesting match -- Fed blew Murray off the court -- but that's a good thing in the sense that Fed's game looks to be back.  His forehand is ridiculous... I can't really think of another player on tour, now or in the past, with a groundstroke that is so dominant.

I think everyone was a little disappointed that we didn't get another Fed - Nadal final, but I suspect Federer would have won somewhat comfortably.  Nadal looked tired vs. Murray and his game hasn't translated to hard courts like it has to grass.  Apparently, the courts at the U.S. Open were playing faster than those at Wimbledon.  Nadal's forehand (which I'm writing an article on) didn't penetrate the court particularly well, allowing Murray to dictate most points despite the fact that he didn't have to hit out on each shot.

More generally, Nadal has a really, really unique game.  The reverse forehand is pretty obvious, but even the way he moves around the court is different from other players.  Oftentimes, he doesn't transition from moving to the ball to hitting via small adjusting steps.  He just plants his outside leg and hits.  It's part of what makes his defense so great (get can cover more ground), but it also explains why his knees are sometimes iffy / why he always tapes them up.  Lots of pounding.

On a different note, the videos should be back today.  Fingers crossed.