if he keeps playing this way, I don't see anyone can stop him.
nice serving, excellent forehand winners and very improved backhand.
go Rafa USO title is all yours....

Rafa, just keep your head when all around you are losing theirs.................

1 break point against Rafa's serve in the whole match and 46 straight holds of serve and straight sets in 3 matches................just as well he is no good on fast hard courts.


VAMOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Nadal now has a cupcake till the final. The tournament is his to win now.

If he meets Federer in the final, it's 70-30 in Nadal's favour.
If he meets Djokovic in the final, it's 60-40 in Nadal's favour.
If he meets Söderling, it's 65-35 for Nadal.
If he meets other player, it's 90-10.

As expected no real problems from Simon, Rafa just needed to be consistent to win. The serving was good, less errors on the backhand and he found good range with the forehands down the line. His chances for the torunament it seems are increasing by the day, with Nalbadian out and of course Murray who was his biggest threat . It's now Lopez, then Verdasco / Ferrer in the quarters, with possibly Querrey in the semis. He also only has to play one from Soderling, Federer and Djokovic. One thing is absolutely clear is that he will never have a better chance of winning the US Open.

RAFA got to be favourite now!
Hope fully Ricky may agree atleast now!

Or will he laugh this off?
Now either FED or Nadal - 50-50

Four players of five ones who have defeted Rafa this year, are out of the competition: Murray, Ljubicic, Roddick, Baghdathis. Only fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez (who defeted Rafa on grass) has left. Go, Rafa, go! Vamos !

As far as folks are concerned, there are two very good signs already. One is that the likes of Andy Murray and David Nalbandian are already out of the draw. Actually, this line of argument is an old chestnut. The fact is that the top players can expect the seeding system to work more or less in their favour in a slam, in that it is simply unheard-of for the top 16 (let alone the top 32) to keep their appointed placings all the way through the draw. More than that, it is extremely rare for any one top player to have to face all his projected opponents en route to the title.

But the key point, beyond a doubt, is that Rafa is playing amazing tennis here. Where did he find this amazing serve? It's fantastic to watch as he tries to break down the secrets of his least favourite surface and make this event work for him, for once. He broke down the barriers at Wimbledon over the years; he will surely do the same here. And that is why I would not have minded if he'd had to face the likes of Andy and David this week.

Still, you can only beat whoever is in front of you. I have never complained that Roger won RG 2009 without facing Rafa, and I'm not about to start. But, in the interests of equality, I will brook no complaints from any quarter regarding Rafa's route to this title when you all get blogging this day week.

VAMOOOOOSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, the winner has to potentially win the best of 20 sets in 4 matches, and there are some good players left in the draw. In my opinion, Murray was the least of Rafa's problems, should Rafa get to the SF. Rafa would have beaten Murray probably in straights, forget Toronto and OZ, and the SF in 2008, that was then, this is now.

VAMOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See what I mean?

Nalbandian has made one GS final in his whole career, but is held in such high esteem, simply because he beat Rafa and Roger back to back in two indoor tournaments a few years ago, and now he is the man to beat in every tournament.

Sometimes it sounds as if Rafa should be in awe of Nalbandian, Sod and Berdych, and for what???????????????

VAMOS!

The thing about GSlams is that it takes a special type of person to win! Rafa and Federer are surely indeed special! They make up their minds from early on to want to win and they commit to it by giving their ALL......................their ALL!!!! And thats what makes them great champions!!!

Through out the week there have been so many predictions/projections as to who will win, who are threats to Rafa/Fed.........and now what?! Most of the so called h/court specialists are OUT even before the crack of dawn!!!

I think from now on we should all relax, sit back, and watch the special people play!!!

VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!

nadline and Monalysa,

I agree with your last posts. I guess that there are a lot of people who don't understand they type of slam mentality that a players needs if he is to win. Rafa and Fed have it and then some! Murray clearly doesn't. Nalby has never won a slam, only one final. He can beat any of the top players in a less tournament in a best two out of three, but when it comes to the slams, that's a different thing entirely.

I also think that many persist in reading way too much into the results of the warmup tournaments leading up to the slams. It's obvious now that Rafa was not willing to go all out to try to win either Toronto or Cincy. He was there to get valuable and much needed match play and NOT get injured. He had his eye on the prize and saved his new serve to debut it at the USO. Does anyone think that Murray would rather have the win at Toronto than a win at the USO?

It takes an enormous amount of mental and physical toughness to win a slam. Very few have what it takes to do that. That's one reason why I don't like making any predictions before even one match has been played. You never know what will happen until the first ball has been struck!

I have said it before and will say it again - never say never when it comes to Rafa!

Sorry for the many typos and mistakes in the first paragraph of my previous post. I meant to say - THE type of slam mentality that a player needs.

Nalby has only BEEN IN one final.

He can beat any of the top players in a LESSER tournament.

Hi NNY, you seem to wake up when I am about to go to bed. I could tell that Rafa wasn't bothered about Toronto or Cincy, he is a very patient player and will take his time to get to where he wants.

He was working on his serve, and as it was a work in progress, he didn't want to start using his new serve until he had perfected it. The contrast to how he played in the warm up tournaments and how he is playing at the USO is stark. It's taken everyone by surprise, so all those who wrote him off as a contender are now back pedalling.

I don't know why so much emphasis was put on Toronto and Cincy as an indicator for the USO, the winners of those tournaments have never won the USO, except Roger maybe a couple of times but that was pure coincidence. The same with Queens and Wimbledon, Querry won Queens, where was he at Wimbledon.

Rafa is doing well, he's had tough opponents, and even Siomn who he beat easily, wasn't going to go away quietly.

I hope Rafa does it this time................champagne is on ice, fingers crossed, i will be drunk on Sunday.

Rafa's is the late night match tomorrow.

I hope Rafa does it this time................champagne is on ice, fingers crossed, IT will be drunk on Sunday.


VAMOS!

Hey Guys............some pple on other blogs (not TT) are suspicious of Rafa's new form, eps his serve! I cant believe that they are going as far as suggesting that it may be steriods induced!! I just cant believe the lengths pple will go to diminish Rafa!! They are saying that there is no way Rafa can possibly improve his service delivery in such a short space of time!! This is so absurd!!!. I hate to admit it but this kind of thing really hurts!!!

I dont know what Rafa has done to be on the receiving end of such venom (hatred)!!!

Dearest Monalysa,

I know where you read that. I was on that forum. I actually thought about replying, but didn't want to bother to address anyone who would stoop so low as to say that Rafa's new serve is from doping. It's just another hater who wants Rafa to lose. A few people did reply, telling that person off in no uncertain words.

We should put our energy into celebrating Rafa's great serve, his excellent play so far, NO service breaks yet and NO sets dropped!

nadline,

I have the wine in the fridge just waiting until Sunday! Fingers crossed!

Agree with NNY, don't bother to respond to such malicious accusations, the more responses these people get, the happier they become and they will go on and on. Going by their logic, every single player should be suspected, the goat included.

Fed is still the favorite to win the US Open this year. Just look at the results of the poll in this site,67% for Fed against 18% for Rafa. :-)

Do not trust the polls.... remember Rafa will never win tournament, Rafa will never win French, Rafa will never win wimbledon, etc, etc... all result went wrong.... I am not so sure if people are so stupid or what....

If you pay attention you can see how Rafa has changed his serve. The swing is the same, the body mechanics are the same. The only 2 things that are different are the grip and the contact with the ball.
Remember that Rafa with is old serve gives the ball almost twice as much spin as the next best player on tour.
By changing the grip he is trading topspin for velocity by hitting through the ball more, instead of slicing it.
I'm not saying such an adjustment is easy to do and just any pro player can add 10 to 20 mph to their serve just by changing the grip... and still keep their high first serve %, but anyone who knows a little tennis knows that working at doing that is way better than risking throwing away the wold's #1 and a dream career by doping.
How stupid can people be?

nadline,

I live in L.A. on the west coast of the U.S. I assume you live in England. Maybe that's why I wake up when you go to bed!

By the way, I loved your feisty defense of why Rafa should be considered one of the favorites to win the USO! See what happens when you make certain predictions? :)

grafight,

They used to criticize rafa on all almost aspect of his game and personality, it becomes normal. Even his style of play is a bothersome to them, so it's no suprise anymore if they went on to speculate something wicked against Rafa. They have to prove it anyway. As long as no evidence yet presented then they are just simply a HATERS.

Vamos !!!

phoenix, 9/7/10 5:54 AM Surely you're not suggesting the joke poll on this page should be taken seriously. It is simply a device to measure how many times Fed fans have clicked on the page.

Monalysa, Rafa has too much going for him and he has come and displaced Federer from the top spot in tennis, so some people find it hard to accept. Before the USO started, there were articles saying how NY hate Rafa because he is a loser in their eyes, never having won the USO, that he doesn't hang out in the 'places to be seen at', that he would rather go and eat at the ESPN zone than at a posh restaurant, that his hair looks like it's been cut by Kitchen scissors etc. etc. etc.

Of course that was all not the case, as the crowds love him, and throng to his practise courts just to get a sight of him, girls were taking his cut hair as souvenir, and they now say he is the people's champion.

NNY, by nature I just don't accept glib statements, I like to prove a point, and if the facts don't fit the story, I will go out of my way to prove it. No one is saying that Rafa is unbeatable or that he hill win every tournament, but to just brush him aside so that other people will look good needs to be challenged. Nearly all the commenators who wrote him off for this tournament are now beginning to eat their words, and I so hope they eat all of them finally.

VAMOS!

According to SKY Sports, by all accounts, Rafa is the most popular player on the planet. They spoke to many fans on the grounds who say they love him because he never gives up, he plays every point as if it was match point, that he is great with his fans, and that he is HOT.

It's no wonder that people who are not his fans, do all they can to tarnish his image.

VAMOS!

Rafa is famous for many things, but one of them is his ability to improve his game. That's tough. To become a top player it takes many years of hard work to find the style of game that uses your body to the max, then polish it, fine tune it and execute it the best you can every time.
But to make radical and significant changes at a stage when you are no. 1 in the world, taking those risks to work so hard on something that might not work for you, that's what Nadal is all about. That's what drives him even more than titles, fame, etc. Look at the headlines almost every year Rafa has played, particularly after winning his Majors and you'll see some variation of this: "Rafa improves on every aspect of his game", or "Nadal reinvents himself as a player", or "Rafa is still improving at an scary rate". This quality, I think, defines him more than anything else.

grafight-
ABSOLUTELY!!!!! And that is why i love him!

Yes, you guys are so right! I was just so taken aback at what i read..............i guess its just not in me to be so malicious about others, and that I will have to accept that the propoganda wheels will always be a turning!!!! There is even another rumour, actually Rafa was asked about that in an interview, about him refusing to enter a car which had a large image of Federer on both sides. Rafa thought that was soooooooooooo hilarious!!! It made me laugh his response..............i feel for him the things that he has to endure outside his tennis, but he seems to be coping well!!

VAMOS my dear Rafito!!!!

I want Rafa to win, period, but what would please me most is that it will kill the monkey on his back about 'fast hard courts'. No doubt, they will move the goal post to something else, but at least that one will be put to rest.

VAMOS!

I loved it when somebody else asked him the same question on the subject and he said (with a smile) something along the lines of 'I didnt think my English was that bad. I've already answered that question......'

U think?!

If he beats Fed, it would be Fed was not at his best!!!

If he beats someone else, it woul dbe he had a cupcake draw!!!..................lol!!!!!!!!!!

@Monalysa , 9/7/10 4:01 PM
---There is even another rumour, actually Rafa was asked about that in an interview, about him refusing to enter a car which had a large image of Federer on both sides---

Rafa had to answer even two (!) times that he had used Federer's van 15 TIMES !
Q & A:
<<Q. There was a report this afternoon that the other day you didn?t want to take one of the transportation vans that had a picture of Roger. Can you describe what happened?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, well, if you know me, you know that I not gonna do. This is very stupid thing. I WAS in a van of the picture of Roger, both sides of the van, like 15 TIMES these two weeks. (Smiling). So that?s very stupid thing. That?s never happen.
Speaking seriously, is better the other side. I want this car because is bigger, and I am more comfortable with this car than with the others. You can see the car of Roger?s photo is there, is outside, is a van. So is much bigger than the other ones. Roy know, the manager of the transportation, that I always WANT this car. So it was good.

Q. Did you get out of that car that had his picture or you stayed in it?
RAFAEL NADAL: I thought my English was better. (Laughter.) I said I WENT with this car 15 times >> [Press Conference on September 5, 2010]

@ Augustina08, yeah.................i read that one.................lol!!!!! Isnt that just absolutely rediculous?!!!!!!!!!!

Rafa was also sarcastic when the press suggested to him that the Wimbledon courts are slower, he said he's been playing there for about 8 years, and he knows they are the same, they haven't changed, and said maybe they are 'slower' because I've won it twice.

That's what I mean by people moving the goal post, they always said he would never win Wimbledon, the minute he does, they say the courts are slower, he was not supposed to win on hard courts, as soon as he won OZ, they said he was no good on FAST hard courts.

PEOPLE, READ THIS.............

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/us-open-federers-class -and-nadals-humility/130454-5-22.html

jaskarans, thanks for the link... and how true that is. Funny thing is, I don't mind a bit if Roger IS cocky or has an "attitude". After all he has won 16 majors. In my book he has earned all the trash talk he wants to dish out. What bothers me is the hypocrisy of the whole thing. How everyone things he is the ultimate gentleman. Well, he is a bit of a prick and that doesn't take anything away from his genius, so everyone, just stop being in denial and live with it.
Rafa, on the other hand is what he is. Despite the fact that the media would like him to have more of an "edge" or fit more the stereotype of the "bad boy", he doesn't play that game. He plays tennis, and he relentlessly destroys opponents on court. That should be enough, and that is above all, honest.

Here, here, grafight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jaskarans, thanks for the link, I am going to paste it here incase people have probems accessing it. Very good assessment, and those who try to defend Federer are burying their heads in the sand.

US Open: Federer's class and Nadal's humility

Posted on Sep 07, 2010 at 15:58 | Updated Sep 07, 2010 at 16:47


New York: ?I guess he would need to win the US Open to put himself there.'' were Swiss maestro Roger Federer's words after winning his third round match at Flushing Meadows against Paul-Henri Mathieu of France. He was commenting on his friend and long time rival Rafael Nadal's bid to win his maiden US Open title.

The five times US Open champion may well have a valid point but what has probably slipped Fedex's mind is the fact that the French Open which eluded him for quite a while was won by him only last year. He would probably also not like to be reminded that Rafa was not fully fit during his fourth round loss to Swede Robin Soderling at Roland Garros in 2009.

Federer, arguably the greatest ever in the game's history has never been one to miss an opportunity to have a go at his opponents.

Quite a contrast to the affable Nadal who more often than not has a word of encouragement for fellow players.

The perfect and most recent example that comes to mind is the way Scotsman Andy Murray's failure to win a major was dealt with by the two tennis greats.

"I know that he'd like to win the first title in British tennis in, what is it 150,000 years?" was Federer's patronizing and cocky attitude towards Murray before the two clashed at the Australian Open finals earlier this year.

Whereas when Rafa was asked whether Murray would ever win a grand slam title, he very sweetly remarked 'very soon'. This was after the Spaniard proved to be too good for the Scot at this year's Wimbledon.

The Swiss ace once even had a jibe at the legendary Andre Agassi claiming that he could beat the American even if he (Federer) played badly.

Last year when things were not going his way, he talked loosely about Jelena Jankovic's number one ranking on the women's tour.

After being outplayed by Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych at 'The Championships' in June he complained of a bad back and a troublesome leg.

Who can forget the memorable Australian Open final in 2009 when, yet another loss to Nadal reduced the Swiss ace to tears. Federer was one away from Sampras' record of fourteen grand slam titles and was still to win the French Open.

Rafa on that occasion made it a point to acknowledge his rival as one of the all time tennis greats and also said that he would go past Sampras.

Aged 24 Nadal has eight majors to his name, aged 29 Federer has 16 slams to his name. Who is to say that Nadal won't overtake Federer's tally of grand slam titles?

The Spaniard also enjoys a 14-7 head to head advantage against Fedex even though a lot of their meetings have been on clay which definitely favours Rafa.

Both are champions in their own right and it's too close a call to pick one over the other, but one thing is for sure, Nadal is the one who is gracious, even though Federer is grace personified.

@nadline , 9/7/10 5:35 PM
I looked at the Fed & Rafa picture in this article. This picture expresses very well the difference between the two men described in the article: Roger the Hostile & Rafa the Friendly, Roger the Bitter & Rafa the Sweet.