Nadal tops Djoker for 9th Slam

For the third consecutive year, rain caused the men's US Open final to be played on a Monday. The Saturday afternoon semis went off without a hitch, though. Nadal wasted no time beating Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets, and then Novak Djokovic took down Federer in a classic five-set match. Unfortunately for Djokovic, he needed to turn around in less than 24 hours and compete for the trophy. As if the sportswriters needed another reason to favor Nadal. But it was raining by match time, and the decision was made to postpone to Monday. I caught the beginning of the match at work, listening to the play-by-play via the internet at work. After I got home, the match was in a rain delay with Nadal leading 6-4, 4-4. CBS decided to dump their coverage, so I had to watch the conclusion on the US Open website. It was a great match. Djokovic broke Nadal three times, including the decisive game in the second set. The third set was very close, and Novak almost tied it at 5-5, getting to 15-30 on Nadal's serve before Nadal took the next three points. The final score was 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. The match did not end until around 10pm, so I had to deprive myself of some sleep to watch, but it was well worth it.

Roddick bows out early

The U.S. Open started this week, and I've been following the action as closely as possible. This Slam is always difficult for me to track because most of the big-name matches take place late at night, after I've gone to bed. Typically they'll have a women's match at 7pm, followed by the men's match. So far I haven't seen any matches at all. I was looking forward to seeing Roddick play, but now I won't get the chance. He was ousted by Janko Tipsarevic in the second round. Another major, another disappointment for him. The other big names are still alive. Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray. Nadal plays a night match tonight. There should be a lot of action this weekend, so I'm looking forward to seeing it. The way the draw is set up would allow for a Federer-Soderling quarterfinal -- a rematch of the French Open when Soderling took him down. I'd give the nod to Federer on hard courts, but it will be an interesting match nonetheless, assuming they both make it to the QFs.