nadal vs. murray...part II

Tennis is not a gentle game. Psychologically, it is vicious. That people are only just beginning to come to terms with this fact illustrates just how big a con trick has been perpetrated on the non-playing tennis public - and even a few players, usually losing players - for decades.
- Richard Evans

Yesterday, Roger Federer held off Tropical Storm Hanna long enough to defeat Novak Djokovic (the winner of our "who's going to win it all" poll) 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.

And Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray (along with their fans) hoped to do the same. So much so, in fact, that tennis officials set them up on Louis Armstrong Stadium, the former main stage of the Open and now second to Arthur Ashe.

Saturday's humidity, and possibly the unfamiliarity of playing on Armstrong, suggests McEnroe, didn't help Nadal's game in the least. In the first set alone, Murray practically brushed him off the court, winning a confident 6-2 game. Nadal looked shaken, his nerves rattled and his usual exuberance all but wiped out. Maybe Beijing jet lag had finally caught up to him? Maybe that gold medal he won a few weeks ago wasn't in the mood to be trumped by a giant silver cup?

Then Murray - the young Brit whose childhood conversation with fellow junior player Nadal years ago gave his mom the idea to move to Spain to train her son - won the tiebreak in the second set to go up two sets to none.

Finally, in the third set, Nadal went up a break 3-2 when, sure enough, play was suspended due to rain.

Imagine the sleepless night!!

And then today came, and we found ourselves on Arthur Ashe this time for the finale of this extended semifinal. Nadal came, too, sans humidity and smaller court, but still very much battling Murray's calculated play and solid winners.

Nadal took the third set, giving the crowd a moment's relief when they realized they hadn't come all the way back out to Flushing Meadows only to see a thirty-minute match.

But in the end, Murray prevailed, knocking out the men's top-seeded player by taking the fourth set and the match 6-2, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4.

There's always next year, Nadal. At least you have that gold medal you can knock off your to-do list...at least for the next four years.

Federer and Murray face off tomorrow for the championship. Considering the fact that Federer has performed somewhat less than excellent this year (which isn't bad at all for most people's standards, but not very good for a player of his caliber), and he really (really, really) seems to want this title (did I mention all the celebratory jumping he's been doing throughout this tournament after the matches he wins?), I think I'd like to see Federer take this one. There's always the next Slam, Murray, always the next one.

Now we wait for the women's final at 9 PM between Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic...