A Study In Contrasts
The men's semifinals are so different this time. There's Lleyton Hewitt with his grungy skater boy look and the tall stoic Swede Joachim Johansson. And then there's the classic matchup of Roger Federer and Tim Henman.
Without trying to take anything away from his obviously effective game, Lleyton Hewitt's counterpuncher style is not the most attractive to watch. And Joachim Johansson is one of the slowest and stiffest players I've seen. How he got this far is a mystery and I will be very (pleasantly) surprised if he doesn't have lower back problems in the future if he persists with his current serving style.
In stark contradistinction, Federer and Henman are two of the most silky smooth players on the tennis circuit today. Lithe, graceful and catlike, the second semifinal should be a joy to watch.
A Country Affair
This seems to be happening more and more of late:
US Open 2003, women's singles - Justine Henin-Hardenne vs. Kim Clijsters, both Dutch.
Australian Open 2004, women's singles - Justine Henin-Hardenne vs. Kim Clijsters, again.
French Open 2004, women's singles - Anastasia Myskina vs. Elena Dementieva, both Russian.
French Open 2004, men's singles - Gaston Gaudio vs. Guillermo Coria, both Argentine.
US Open 2004, women's singles - Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Elena Dementieva, both Russian.
And this list does not even include the eight all-USA matchups between the Williams sisters or between Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport in the last five years. Or the intense Agassi-Sampras US Open final of 2002.
Backhanded Compliment
The classic single-handed backhand seems to be making a comeback. Federer and Henman use it. As does Johansson. Henin-Hardenne and Amelie Mauresmo do it on the women's side. I hope it catches on. There is no sweeter sight in tennis than a well-struck one-hander and anyone who grew up watching Pete Sampras, Martina Navratilova and Stefan Edberg has got to be hoping that this current trend continues.
Ad-Vantage
I've seen some really cool ads at this year's telecast of the US Open. The Canon Rebel T2 ad with Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf is my favourite, but the American Express ones with Andy Roddick and Venus Williams are quite funny too. And then there are the various IBM, AIG and MassMutual commercials that aren't too bad.
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