FanHouse Tennis

He dropped to his knees on the clay, the dreaded clay, and released years of agonizing pressure with a scream. Then came the tears, the long hugs and the lofting of a trophy toward the sky, all performed with a finality that puzzled me. Yes, Roger Federer at last had seized the French Open, the one crater on his Grand Slam resume. But he'd done so only after Rafael Nadal, his injured nemesis, was bounced in a fourth-round loss that ended his 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros.

This is akin to having a tryst with Angelina Jolie while Brad Pitt is in a coma. It's a bit misleading, wouldn't you say?

Anna Kournikova isn't great at tennis. She was very good at being very attractive and thus very good at garnering attention from the media and endorsers, but never very good at tennis. Unfortunately for Jimmy Fallon, she's pretty decent at beer pong, as he found out last night. Or at least better than Fallon anyway. If it were anyone else, I would bite on "sandbagging," but not with Fallon. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my 400-count sheets (pantsless, natch) waiting for Conan to come back.

Courage is in the eye of the beholder. Rational folks will agree that Andy Roddick has it coursing through his veins, after he became the only player to do the right thing by refusing to play in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships because of the tournament's reprehensible discriminatory policy.

Venus Williams took a swig from the courage chalice, too, when, upon receiving the Dubai championship trophy Saturday, she spoke about Shahar Peer, the Israeli player who was refused entry by the United Arab Emirates on the eve of one of the world's most lucrative tournaments. In front of the Dubai crowd, Williams referenced Peer's plight, and later expounded on her decision to speak publicly about sport's political hot potato, when a simple curtsy and "thank you" would have made for a safer exit.

There is no truth to the rumor that Senator-turned-peacemaker George Mitchell chose President Obama's plea to take a stab at solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle East over men's tennis president Adam Helfant's plea to soothe the Bosnian-Serbian conflict that now engulfs the world of tennis.

But maybe Helfant should've inquired.

Two sets are complete in the men's U.S. Open final and Roger Federer has taken both from Andy Murray in New York.

No. 2 Federer dominated the first set 6-2, with Murray showing his inexperience and a little frustration. Murray appeared to be outplaying Federer in the second set but the Great Swish Hero hung around and broke Andy in the last game to win the second 7-5. The 21-year-old Murray kept grabbing at his knee in the second set, and that wasn't the only negative variable.

The bad break for Murray came at 2-2 with Federer serving at 15-40. Roger hit a cut that appeared to be long, but with the no call Murray continued to play the point. The review process forces you to stop the point if you believe it to be out and after he lost the point, the review showed it was indeed out. Federer ended up winning the game in deuce to much chagrin from the outspoken Scot.

If Federer can hang on it will be his 13th grand slam title, just one back of the great Pete Sampras for most all-time. If Murray can somehow pull this out he will be the first tennis player from the UK to win a grand slam since Fred Perry in 1936.

If you are stuck at work, you can catch the solid live action here at USOpen.org. Also, just like the U.S. Open in golf, anytime a sports final wants to end on a Monday, I'm all for it.

Rafael Nadal has won the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic gold medal this year, and in the process he looked absolutely unbeatable.

At least, he looked unbeatable until today at the U.S. Open, when someone beat him.

That someone was Britain's Andy Murray, who made his first Grand Slam final by beating Nadal 6-2, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, starting the upset yesterday and then finishing Nadal off today after the rain finally stopped. By beating Nadal, Murray pulled off the year's biggest upset in men's tennis.

Tomorrow Murray will face Roger Federer, who suddenly isn't looking quite as washed up as everyone was saying he was, in the final. That they're still playing tennis and Nadal isn't part of it is a shock.

Last night's U.S. Open quarterfinal match between two of the better professional tennis players was one-sided nearly the entire time. And then after the match ended, the victor decided to continue his assault on his opponent.

Third-ranked Novak Djokovic defeated the last American standing, Andy Roddick, despite Djokovic suffering from a few choice injuries. Or 16. You know, depending on who you talk to.

Roddick was asked on Tuesday about Djokovic's injuries and had some sarcastic, mocking comments towards the Serbian's ailments that included "a back, a hip, a cramp, Bird flu, Anthrax, SARS, the common cough and a cold." After the fourth set giveaway by Roddick last night, Djokovic pounded his chest and pointed to his shoulders (?) and then had this to say to USA Network reporter Michael Barkann. Via the always great Awful Announcing ...

No matter what you think about Andy Roddick, the one thing everyone can agree on is his amazing ability to deliver a soundbite.

After his complete dominance of Fernando Gonzalez yesterday to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, Roddick was asked about his next opponent, Novak Djokovic. The third-ranked player in the world, Djokovic, is suffering from ankle and hip problems, and has sighed and winced his way through the first four rounds of this championship. Roddick, in a way only Andy can do it, cut the reporter off as the question was being pitched to him.

Roddick: Isn't it both of them? And a back and a hip?

Reporter: And when he said there are too many to count ...

Roddick: And a cramp.

Reporter: Do you get a sense right now that he is ...

Roddick: Bird flu.

Reporter: A lot of things. Beijing hangover. He's got a pretty long list of illness.

Roddick: Anthrax. SARS. Common cough and cold.

This is the kind of trash-talking we need more in sports. A tennis player known for his antics is doing the same song and dance and someone finally calls him on it. I have actually tried to play tennis before with the Bird Flu and serving the ball is somewhat managable, but boy does it get to you around the net.

An interesting video of Kelly Bruno, a woman who has a prosthetic leg and has earned the designation of the first amputee to be a U.S. Open ball girl:

Bruno, whose leg was amputated when she was six months old, does some incredible things. Her web site says she has completed two Ironman triathlons, so although this achievement is a noteworthy first, it's easy compared to her other athletic accomplishments. If Kramer can do it, Kelly Bruno obviously can.

Ana Ivanovic, the No. 1 player in the world, is out of the U.S. Open before the first weekend.

The 25-year-old Coin is ranked 188th in the world and has never played in a Grand Slam before, and this is already being called the biggest upset in U.S. Open history. Coin broke Ivanovic three times in a match that lasted nearly two hours, finally winning 6-3 4-6 6-3.

The Serbian Ivanovic looked like the next big thing in tennis when she won the French Open this year, but she has been disappointing since. She lost in the third round at Wimbledon, withdrew from the Olympics with a thumb injury and had a mediocre showing in a three-set win over Vera Dushevina on Tuesday. Now she's out of the U.S. Open.

Coin, who is from France but played NCAA tennis at Clemson, will play Amelie Mauresmo in the third round.