US Open 2001

[munik]

The final Grand Slam of the year is about to start. (August 27-Sept 9)
Who are your picks?

[neth_row]

Kournikova, Pierce pull out of the U.S. Open

August 20, 2001


NEW YORK (AP) -- Fan favorite Anna Kournikova and 2000 French Open champion Mary Pierce have withdrawn from the U.S. Open with injuries.

The 20-year-old Russian, seeded 19th, pulled out Monday because of a foot injury that has sidelined her most of the year. Kournikova, who made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open this year, had her best result at Flushing Meadows in 1998 when she reached the fourth round.

The unseeded Pierce, 26, a two-time quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open, pulled out facing continued problems with her lower back.

Another player to withdraw Monday was unseeded Tathiana Garbin of Italy, who suffered a herniated disc at the estyle.com Classic in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

On Friday, two stars withdrew from the men's competition: big-serving Dutchman Richard Krajicek and Swede Magnus Norman.

my pick: pat rafter

[munik]

MEN
1. Gustavo Kuerten - Brazil
2. Andre Agassi - United States States
3. Marat Safin - Russia
4. Lleyton Hewitt - Australia
5. Juan Carlos Ferrero - Spain
6. Patrick Rafter - Australia
7. Yevgeny Kafelnikov - Russia
8. Sebastien Grosjean - France
9. Tim Henman - Great Britain
10. Pete Sampras - United States States
11. Alex Corretja - Spain
12. Arnaud Clement - France States
13. Roger Federer - Switzerland
14. Thomas Johansson - Sweden
15. Goran Ivanisevic - Croatia
16. Tommy Haas - Germany
17. Carlos Moya - Spain
18. Andy Roddick - United States
19. Thomas Enqvist - Sweden
20. Jan-Michael Gambill - United States
21. Fabrice Santoro - France
22. Andrei Pavel - Romania
23. Dominik Hrbaty - Slovak Republic
24. Sjeng Schalken - Netherlands
25. Albert Portas - Spain
26. Nicolas Lapentti - Ecuador
27. Guillermo Canas - Argentina
28. Hicham Arazi - Morocco
29. Nicolas Kiefer - Germany
30. Greg Rusedski -Great Britain
31. Nicolas Escude - France
32. Guillermo Coria - Argentina


WOMEN
1. Martina Hingis - Switzerland
2. Jennifer Capriati - United
3. Lindsay Davenport - United States
4. Venus Williams - United States
5. Kim Clijsters - Belgium
6. Justine Henin - Belgium
7. Monica Seles - United States
8. Amelie Mauresmo - France
9. Nathalie Tauziat - France
10. Serena Williams - United
11. Elena Dementieva - Russia
12. Meghann Shaughnessy - United
13. Amanda Coetzer - South Africa
14. Jelena Dokic - Yugoslavia
15. Magdalena Maleeva - Bulgaria
16. Silvia Farina Elia - Italy
17. Anke Huber - Germany
18. Sandrine Testud - France
19. Anna Kournikova - Russia
20. Barbara Schett - Austria
21. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario - Spain
22. Conchita Martinez - Spain
23. Elena Likhovtseva - Russia
24. Iroda Tulyaganova - Uzbekistan
25. Magui Serna - Spain
26. Paola Suarez - Argentina
27. Henrieta Nagyova - Slovak Republic
28. Tamarine Tanasugarn - Thailand
29. Angeles Montolio - Spain
30. Chanda Rubin - United States
31. Amy Frazier - United States
32. Lisa Raymond - United States

[Xiaoyu]

I'm sooooooooo excited!!!!!!!! Pitong tulog na lang!!!

Nakaka-sad pa rin talaga makita si Pete waaaaaaaay down sa seedings. Double-digit ever.
O diba, biglang 15th si Goran.
Mamalasin pa rin kaya ang swiss miss?? I can't wait to find out.
Sa women's, mama Lindsay ako.
Sa men's, shempre Pete. Pero I'm also pulling for Pat, Andre & Marat.
Is Younnes joining??

[cee]

i'm so glad that andy roddick is seeded in the grand slam. i'm so excited!!!! it doesn't matter if they're airing it here at dawn... i'm still gonna stay up for that!

ok so aside from andy, i'm hoping marat will still do well, although i don't think he'll be able to defend his title. and i'm also cheering, as always, for goran. and i'd like pat to have a good run, too.

[Yoshi]

I can't do my pre-tournament predictions yet without the draws so I'm doing that when the draws come out on Thursday.

Personally, the players with the greatest chances of doing well are Rafter, Hewitt, Agassi, and Kuerten. For the women, Venus Williams, Capriati, and Davenport.

[requieM]

uhhh...Sampras,but he's been awful this year and he would need a miracle to get to the quarters based on how he's playing.

I don't think Hewitt's gonna make it-he just gets pounded by the big guys. Pat Rafter, Guga Kuerten Agassi, Safin and even Henmania are all guys with a shot but I would say Pat Rafter or Guga Kuerten if he is ok.

When we talk about the women I've got two words Martina Hingis, you go Girl!


you serve

[chez-o]

lindsay!!!!!!!!!! lindsay!!!!!!!

yun lang.

[Zen]

Wildcard list:American teens snap up women's Open wild cards
Young American men take U.S. Open wild cards

Injured list:
Injured Krajicek, Norman officially pull out of U.S. Open
Pierce, Garbin pull out with injuries
Anna Kournikova withdraws from the U.S. Open

[Pointless]

Hope Pat gets his 3rd US Open title...

JC Ferrero gets a higher seed over Pat? Hmm... I'd understand if this was a clay court tournament and if Pat wasn't doing so well... but he made 4 straight finals appearances, and that includes Wimbledon...

Wow, Andy Roddick got seeded... hope it boosts his confidence...

[Yoshi]

From espn.com:
Martinez withdraws from U.S. Open

NEW YORK -- Former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez has withdrawn from the U.S. Open tennis championships, tournament officials announced moments before Wednesday's draw for the year's final Grand Slam event.

Martinez, 29, who was to have been the 21st seed in the tournament's expanded 32-seed field, is suffering with a right Achilles tendon injury.

As a result, all of the women's seeds from number 22 through 32 were move up one slot and Francesca Schiavone of Italy was installed as the new 32nd seed.

Martinez was the second seeded player to pull out of the U.S. Open since the original seedings were announced on Monday.

Russian Anna Kournikova, who was to have been the 19th seed, pulled out on Monday, citing a lingering stress fracture in her left foot that also caused her to miss Wimbledon and the French Open.

Mary Pierce, who was not seeded, also withdrew earlier this week with a chronic back problem.

The tournament begins on Monday.

[Yoshi]

Ferrero is seeded higher than Rafter since the seedings for the US Open were based on the 52-week ATP Entry System. Ferrero has already won 4 titles this year, including a Masters Series event in Rome and a SF appearance at the French. Rafter has only won one and a runner-up finish at Wimbledon. Entry points wise, Ferrero leads Rafter by 185 points.

==========

An easy to follow copy of the draw can be found here. The upper half of the men's draw is less tight, and most likely a first time finalist will come from this section. Key players here include Kuerten, Ivanisevic, Hewitt, Kafelnikov, Haas, Ferrero, and Roddick.

The lower half is more congested and all previous winners of this Grand Slam are here, such as Safin, Sampras, Rafter, and Agassi. More specifically, the last three players belong to a single quarter of the draw. Most likely, whoever gets through among them is assured of a finals slot.

Over at the women's side, the tighter draw is at the upper half. Davenport, Serena Williams, and Henin are in a single quarter. Defending champion Venus Williams meets her first real competition in the QF yet, against Clijsters. Capriati has a relatively easy section and should find herself in the semifinals. Top seed Hingis meets her first test in Dokic in R16 and could possibly meet Seles in the QF.

As a whole, the marquee matches are more possible in the men's draw, and is the better draw. As early as R16, you could have Rafter v. Sampras, Kuerten v. Ivanisevic, Hewitt v. Haas, Clement v. Kafelnikov, Roddick v. Ferrero, and Federer v. Agassi, to name a few. The better matches among the women come during the QF yet.

My predictions are as follows:

Men:

QF: Kuerten v. Clement, Hewitt v. Roddick, Henman v. Pavel, Rafter v. Agassi
SF: Kuerten v. Roddick, Henman v. Rafter
F: Roddick v. Rafter

Wildcards: Ljubicic, Sampras, Arazi, Ulihrach

Why? The men's draw is really tough to call, but the upper half's quite predictable. Guga's solid season and good hardcourt performance, together with an easy section of the draw littered with claycourt players who can't do much on cement (probably Canas as an exception). Clement's runner-up finish at the Australian Open this year, but Moya and Kafelnikov pose serious threats. Hewitt's solid year and his SF appearance last year, and Haas in his section is hardly a threat. Roddick's good performance in the TMS events in Montreal and Cincinnati and his win at Legg Mason.

The next quarter of the draw is the weirdest section. Safin is hardly a contender this year, and Pavel, Arazi, and Ljubicic should take advantage of this. Henman may have to take care of Rusedski and Santoro, but that should be easy. This section should have a relatively lower-ranked player to break through and reach the QF. The bottom quarter could easily be dominated by Rafter, but players such as Gambill, Ulihrach, and Sampras should be dealt with first. Agassi is a logical choice but could be upset by Schalken or Kiefer.

Women:

QF: Hingis v. Seles, Davenport v. Henin, Clijsters v. V. Williams, Mauresmo v. Capriati
SF: Seles v. Davenport, V. Williams v. Capriati
F: Davenport v. V. Williams

Wildcards: S. Williams, Dokic, Krasnouroutskaya

Why? Hingis should make the quarters if she gets over Dokic in R16, and Henin encounters stiff competition from S. Williams also in the R16. Apart from these possible upsets, I see no other reason why the top 8 seeds should not make the QF.

[tamisguy]

She has this tenacity about her. Besides, I truly believe she would have kicked Graff's butt if she wasn't stabbed by that stupid Steffi fan. Anyways, she's been playing well lately.

[Zen]

Sisters could meet in U.S. Open final

[pagan]

As always, Go Marat!! kaya mo yan!!

Go Andy!!!

[agwe23]

GO GUGA!!!!!!!! whip em with your super dooper galing na backhand!!!!!

yun lang po!

[munik]

My picks:

Men's Draw

Round of 16: ------------- Quarters

Kuerten v Ivanisevic ----- Kuerten
Clement v Kafelnikov ----- Kafelnikov

Hewitt v Haas ------------- Hewitt
Roddick v Ferrero --------- Roddick

Dent v Henman ------------ Henman
Pavel v Safin --------------- Safin

Rafter v Sampras ---------- Rafter
Federer v Agassi ----------- Agassi

Women's Draw

Round of 16: --------------- Quarters

Hingis v Dokic -------------- Hingis
Bedanova v Seles --------- Seles

Davenport v Likhovtseva - Davenport
S. Williams v Henin -------- Henin

Clijsters v Dementieva ---- Clijsters
Testud v V. Williams ------- V. Williams

Mauresmo v Tauziat ------- Mauresmo
Schett v Capriati ----------- Capriati

[Pointless]

Ah, so that's how the entry system works...

[Zen]

Becker seeking wild card into U.S. Open doubles

[_GiGs]

men's: im rooting for Rafter, Ferrero, Roddick or Sampras

women's: i go for Hingis, Davenport or Clijsters