Good luck Robin, hope you can full it off again just like RG. Come on!

If this comment by Raindrops was written by a Fedfan (or other non-Rafa fans) cheering for an opponent of Rafa's hoping that Rafa would lose early, this person would be hanged and executed with the crime of being a Nadal-hater.

bjawad, you can tag a certain person as a hater if you hear him or her cheering for the opponent of a certain player even if he (opponent) is ranked 1001. In my case, I cheer for a top 5 player, so that's far from your thought of a HATER.

You sound sour with that comment on my post because I didn't root for Roger, who happened to be your man. Just to add up, I am not as wicked as your fellow fedfans who are so loud with their ill wishes like Rafa may get ill (knees) and may never win US Open. Those are the haters no doubt.

I cheer for Robin,too but I have a feeling that Fed will take this one in straights.
No way him loses to Sod two times in a row.
Nevertheless it doesn't matter for our guy cause he's capable of beating both of them. come on rafa..

Arwen-
I too think Fed will win in straight sets, just a feeling. Though logic tells me that this may not be the case, based on what I have seen from both players in this tournament. Soderling has looked dangerous and if he is on and Fed is complacent or has an off day we may see another upset. I just have this feeling that Robin enjoys and thrives on the prospect of taking down Nadal and Fed when he gets the opportunity. Its like a drug for him almost.

The important thing for Fed is to get a good start and demoralise Sod from the beginning, if he allows Sod to get too much confidence, I predict that Fed may be in trouble.

Isabeau, I hear you BUT there is sonething about Roger Federer at this US Open that is sneaky!!! He will NOT let Sod take him down! He's made up his mind that he wants to meet Rafa in the finals to show the world that he can beat Rafa in a GSlam (putting clay aside). He NEEDS this!!! And if he fails to get to the semis he will lose a whole load of points so the no 2. spot is at stake!! Federer IS going to win............his life depends on it.......he'd rather die first than let Sod beat him!!!

Im so looking forward to this showdown.............they are going to kill each other!!! But then agian perhaps not.........bcos sometimes Sod curls into his shell when the pressure mounts, but lets hope he doesnt this time!!!

Good luck to both, may the best man win!!!!

I'm looking forward to an upset, only because I want Nole to get the #2 ranking back.

This may be a carbon copy of the Meltzer match

@bjawad , 9/7/10 10:07 AM
Söderling became a God of Fedfans, after he has beaten Rafa at Roland Garros in 2009. They praised him and prayed for him every day - until Söderling defeated Federer at Roland Garros this year. Now they seem to hate him.

@Augustina,
it is unfair to generalize your comment to all fed fans... It is always the best man standing on final sunday for the win... I don't pray for one even if Sod beat RF/RN/x/y/z...

Monalysa,
I see where you are going with this but Fed is the most fragile when there is most at stake. That is my only concern with Fed.
AT the end of the day the match must be played on the tennis court.
What I am saying though is I believe Fed will win, but if Soderling produces another upset, I wont be all that surprised, thats all.
Fed has been dropping serve too easily. He just has to be careful thats all...:)

Well, Isa, THATs for sure!!!...............otherwise nothing I said make sense if Fed doesnt!!!

ouch... i will keep my big mouth shut after taking murray's progress so much for granted. well done by wawrinka...
except! i will keep rooting for söderling!

next up for söderling is federer! that will be second time this year söderling will blow federer off the court. his win at RG2010 QF was really impressive. he dominated both his service games with his bomb serve, and federer by producing bomb returns deep in the middle of the court. federer was totally dominated, i haven't seen anything like it! robin will produce another upset like this in US OPEN, he has all the chances, it is in his hands.

I don't think Sod will buckle when meeting Fed. To me, Sod is mentally quite strong now. I'm neutral towards Sod, even though he had beaten Rafa at RG last year. After all he is a professional sportsman and did what he had to do, ie to win matches. He might be fortunate that he bumped into a not 100% Rafa last year and he did play well to reached the final last year. Anyway Rafa has shown him this year at RG who is the boss on clay, so I think maybe we should just view him as a dangerous player like any others and no need to hate him.

I think Sod has a chance against Fed if he played well enough to steal the first set. I noticed that there is a tendency for Fed's level to dip during the match, so Sod would have to seize his chances during such dips. Sod has to serve and play aggressively and try to blow Fed off the court, if not there is no chance of him winning. Fed is simply too quick for Sod.

fed is much quicker than söderling all right but not quick enough to chase down all his missiles. and now söderling has patience as well to go for the right shots... he'll keep the balls nice and deep in the middle of the court until fed falters, then deliver the blows

Fed is not comfortable on clay but his game is is still too good for the run of the mill players. However, when he has his back to the wall, or is against a good claycourt specialist, he is much more vulnerable than on any other surface. But the USO is the stage he loves best. Expect Sodall to stretch him but to win - no way.

I think the slower the conditions the better Sodelings chances of beating federer. He?s got great power and can hit through the court no matter how slow it is. And if conditions are slow, it?s easier for him to get his big body into position for shots.

However,Federer?s so much more agile and mobile, so on fast courts like the ones used at the USO, when you have to move very quickly side to side to react to big shots, he?s got the big edge over Sod. Also fast conditions favor the player with great hands and lot of touch. Soderlings "touch" is non-existent. And conditions are very windy at FM and Soderlings ball toss is very high. Thus,he will struggle to put in first serves.(its why his best results come indoors) Fed on the other hand is excellent at dealing with windy conditions.

Bottom line: it should be a another win for Roger. Maybe Sod can get a set like last year, but that?s it.

@ tj600, you might be on to something here..........Fed is really quick (for his age......lol!)!!!!!

Soderling didn't really look that great against Montanes ... Fed will beat him no problem.

hmm, he is not going to give a set to anyone from now on, bring them all on court.
roger rules.

Regd the Fed - Soderling QF: First, this match has NOTHING to do with the Fed-Soderling match in F.O 2010. Those were wet soggy conditions on a super slow court, which is Fed's WORST surface and Soderling's best. It's almost like a different sport compared to this.

Take that match out of the equation, and Fed leads the h2h 12-0. It's hard to see why this matchup would ever favor Soderling. For one thing, Soderling is NOT playing as well as he was during the F.O or even last year. In contrast, Federer is definitely playing and moving better than he was earlier this year and at the same time last year.

Del Potro played the match of his life, and barely beat Federer last year. I don't think Soderling can play "that" level of offensive tennis.

In yesterday's 4th round match, Soderling had a bunch of problems with Montanes for a set and half. The Spaniard did nothing except stand back and retrieve Soderling's groundies. Soderling had the upper hand in most neutral rallies, but lost the initiative by not coming in and finishing the point. Instead he allowed Montanes to frustrate him into going for too much. It took some sloppy play from the Spaniard to allow Soderling to come back in set 2. A decent hardcourt player, and Soderling could have been on his way.

The point: Soderling will have a hard time dominating on these courts unless he develops a transition game of moving forward and finishing the point.

I think the key for Federer will be to be patient, keep his UFEs in check and serve consistently. Soderling hasn't looked that solid, and seems ready to misfire and fall apart if you frustrate him. Federer will as usual slice a lot and bring Soderling forward.

I expect an entertaining match, with Federer motivated, and sharp of the blocks. Fed in 3 (or 4 if he is unlucky) with 2 close sets is my pick.

Really (in the absence of Delpo) Nadal is just about the only guy who can provide any sort of challenge to Fed on this surface. But even then Fed would have the edge given how Nadal is playing..

I don't agree with you imjimmy. It is Nole who would give Fed problems, not Nadal. We shall see.

I want Nole to be No2 again so I will cheer for Sod... but again...I find it's very difficult to warm up for guy like Sod...
Still... I think that Fed will go on, without bigger problems...in 3 sets.

"It is Nole who would give Fed problems,"

luckystar: That's exactly why Novak has beaten Roger thrice at the UsOpen? Oh wait!!

I can't think of a MORE mentally unstable player with his numerous physical issues (not least breathing problems) to challenge Roger (or even Rafa) in a BIG match. I don't care if they play on ice. Novak will ALWAYS find something to bother him, and succumb mentally, physically or both. When was the last time he won a big match at the slam level? Hell, Soderling poses a bigger threat to Roger, than does Djokovic. And that's saying a lot, because even Soderling is hardly a threat on this faster court to Fed.

Anyway, all of the top guys have the talent and the strokes. But the main Tennis is always played between the ears. Fed and Rafa always bring it to the big matches, and no matter how badly Rafa's game translates on this surface, he will at least give Fed a stern test. The same is not true for Djokovic..

What? I disagree with both of you luckystar and imjimmy. If Fed and Nole play during the day, Nole may be toast. But if Fed and Rafa meet in the finals, Fed had better bring his A game bcos Rafa will not be f***king around this time!!!!!!

However, with regards to the match between Sod and Fed, imjimmy i think you've made some good points!...........but thats where it ends.

Please imjimmy, it seems that everything you said go by history. So just because Nole lost to Fed the last three times at the USO, he has no chance to beat Fed. If tennis match results can be predicted so easily, why then do the players go out there to play??

I say Nole will be the one who would give Fed the sternest test(or problems) here at this USO. Did I say Nole will sure beat Fed?? Please care to read my post again!!

Monalysa: I agree with you. Unlike luckystar, I think that Nadal will give a much bigger challenge to Fed than Novak ever will; not least because if Nadal reaches the final it would mean that he's playing very well.

However, I don't think we can conclude from this that Nadal would have an edge or would steamroll Fed. This is a fast low bouncing hardcourt which is just about the BEST surface for Fed and WORST court in the world for Nadal.

The fastest hardcourts they have played on is in YEC, and Fed won both those matches. So yeah, Fed would be the favorite, but it would be foolish to discount Rafa.

A final Fedal match, if it happens, will probably be an epic like Wimb 08. Both men would be chasing history. Nadal a career slam and Fed to avoid loss to Nadal on all 4 slams and (to an extent) an asterisk on his GOAT status.

Anyway, that's getting ahead of ourselves. Many matches to be played still. It is crucial for Rafa especially to be able to make it to Sunday. This is not clay where he is invincible.

imjimmy, there are plenty of "MORE mentally unstable" tennis players. they are just not ranked within the top 3. Novak has won only one match against Fedal combined (that's largely becoz he has met Rafa on clay and Roger at the USO) - but as you said, it is not becoz of what he lacks technically. some of us think he may be in better control of his emotions this year to at least be able to challenge the fed.

it will definitely be a better match to watch than the fed's qf against sod. the 07 final and last years semi are testament to that fact

imjimmy, still you make some convincing points, BUT im guessing if Rafa reaches the finals im going with my gut that he will pull it off bcos like someone rightly mentioned..............tennis has a lot to do with whats between the ears, and in the heart!

luckystar: I did NOT say that Novak has NO chance against Fed. Sure Novak "can" beat Fed. But will he? Probably not. He lost to Rog in '07 and '08 when he was playing MUCH BETTER than he is now. Ask many Fed fans, and they will say that Soderling is a bigger threat to Fed than Novak is.

Anyway it's ridiculous to think that Djokovic would pose more problems to Fed than Nadal, when the latter has beaten Fed 6 times out of 8 at the slam level!

imjimmy - so Nole being the better fast hard court player than Rafa will pose less problem to Fed than Rafa will? Had Rafa played Fed yet at the USO? How do you know that he'll fare better than Nole? Again based on past history, their H2H? So Rafa had beaten Fed 6 out of 8 times at slam level, any one time at the USO?

Nole lost to Fed in the 07 final in three tight sets. You mentioned that Nole was playing better than he is now, but so do Fed. The Fed of 2007 is definitely better than the Fed of 2010. Of course Sod will be viewed as a threat to Fed, but didn't some of you here said that Sod didn't play great so far in this tournament? At the same time, Nole is playing well here, improving match after match. So despite Sod playing not so great tennis, he is still better than Nole and a bigger threat to Fed? Poor Nole, according to some here, stands no chance against Fed, and even Sod, I suppose! So Nole will always crumble mentally each time he faces a tough match or a tough situation? From what I gather from his first match against Troicki, under the hot sun, toiling away for five sets for nearly four hours, he didn't give up and finally get a win. So what other physical and mental test does he need to undergo before he stands a chance to win his semifinal match should he get there? Any advice??

lets see first if nole can get past monfils.

of course all these arguments are hypothetical as the matches have not been played yet. Nole has to get past Monfils first, and Fed has to get past Sod. We have to wait and see what will unfold. None of us can determine what will happen, we are merely passive onlookers.

luckystar: Nole is a better hard court player than Nadal is, but NOT in big matches. Like I said, if (by some miracle) it's a Nadal-Djokovic final, I will back Nadal to win. For Fed-Djokovic, Fed is playing better than he was in 2008 and 2009, and Novak is playing worse. For one thing his serve is nowhere near to what it was in 2008 (ESPN showed the slowmo of his serve and also how he lost MPH on it) and his forehand is also loopy; it used to be flat and did penetrate the court much better two years ago. He's also having more physical issues these days than he did in the past. So I don't know how you think he has a better chance against Fed than he did in the past.

Again you're underestimating what a phenomenal player Fed has been on Deco-turf. He's lost ONCE in six years here. It took the match of his life from Delpo, and even then he "barely" beat Federer.

Can Novak put up that kind of performance? Not likely. Can Nadal? Perhaps...
(unlike Djokovic, Nadal has shown the ability to improve and challenge Fed on all surfaces.. ).

Regarding Soderling, he's a player on the rise. How many of us thought that he would match his performance of F.O of 2009? He reached the F.O final again in 2010. Not only that, he exceeded his performance at Wimb 2009 by reaching the QF this time. And now he will at least, match his 2009 UsOpen performance.

In fact, Soderling has been EXTREMELY UNLUCKY to run into Fed or Nadal every time in slams. He has an INCREDIBLE stat of losing in 6 of the past 7 slams to Fed or Nadal. Realistically speaking Soderling has been a MUCH BIGGER threat at the slam level than has Djokovic in the past year or so.

Plus Soderling can get HOT. If he's ON his game, he can overpower anyone. Fed/Nadal included. So that makes him very dangerous.

Again, I am not saying Novak has no chance against Federer. Just that, I would never put my money against Federer, on a player who's lost to him repeatedly in big matches, and hasn't lived up to his seeding at the slam level for quite a while..

I think Soderling will beat Federer again.

I don't think Novak is mentally weak, quite on the contrary. I keep reading about his mental instability but also keep seeing him fighting and winning matches. Also, last two matches he looked solid and pretty untouched by anything that was happening around him. To me, that is a provess of a mentally pretty tough guy.

As for matches he played with Fed at the USO, they were all pretty damn close. That first one was Nole's to lose and he lost it due to his inexperience.
Speaking of "random" draws... He is the one who always gets Federer at AO, USO and Wimby and then Rafa at FO.

Anyhow, an interesting day tomorrow ;).
GO NOLE! ;)

People complain about Nole's breathing problems, but if you don't suffer from it you'll never understand. I can relate to it very well so I know how it feels, and when you have the attack apart from the discomfort, you totally lose interest in anything and just want to go and hide somewhere where the elements won't get at you, and you make everybody around you miserable, consequently, you cannot concentrate on anything at all.

If imjimmy is judging Djoko on having tough matches at this tournament, just look at who he's played to get here and who Federer has played. The imbalance in the draw sometimes is very one sided, and Federer is always on the right side. I would worry more about Nadal playing Djokovic than Federer should he get to the final, and that's the truth. Other players make Federer look good, believe me.

imjimmy - you did mentioned earlier on that Nole vs Nadal, you think Nole will beat Nadal. Why then in your latest post you back Nadal to beat Nole if they meet in the final?

Both Sod and Nole were unfortunate to bump into both Fed and Rafa at the wrong places. This year Sod bumped into Rafa at FO & Wimbledon and Fed at USO. Nole always bumped into Fed at the USO (three consecutive years now, if we exclude 2007 where they met in the final) and Rafa at the FO (2006-2008. Same half in 2010 though they didn't meet). In terms of slam results, Nole's is close to Sod's these past two years and now have reached the same stage at this USO.

I think if the semi is Nole/Sod, I'll give the edge to Nole, based on how they played so far in this tournament. If it is Nole/Fed, I'll say 50-50 chances to both, that's how I see it. A Nole/Rafa final or a Fed/Rafa final? 50-50 for both, again based on their current performances in this tournament. Rafa had not met Nole and Fed at the USO before so it is hard to call the likely results, hence I give equal chances to both sides. Of course all these are just speculations, the matches still have to be played.