Tomas Berdych.net
a.k.a. The Birdman
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Place: Flushing Meadows,
NY Website
Olympic tennis stars turn heads in Newburgh Berdych, Safarova get in U.S. Open tuneup
TOWN OF Newburgh — They traded groundstrokes and volleys. They willed serves inside the lines and, at times, bickered about scoring. Club players, weekend hackers and young kids enjoyed a beautiful Sunday morning at the Cronomer Hill Park tennis courts. Little did some of them know, two professionals, fresh off competing in the Olympics — Tomas Berdych and Lucie Safarova — were hitting amongst them for about two hours on the public hard courts. "I have to say, I enjoyed the public-court experience," said Czech Republic native Berdych, who has wins over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, after walking off Court 3 at noon. "I was really surprised, in the Czech Republic, there's nothing like this. You have to pay at a club to play. I think it's nice that people can just come out to the park and play." So what were Berdych and Safarova doing trading groundstrokes in the mid-Hudson? Safarova's sister, Veronica, and her husband, Martin Dvoracek, are summer tennis pros at the Powelton Club in Newburgh. Berdych and Safarova chose to play at Cronomer because they are preparing for the hard courts at next week's U.S. Open. The Powelton's courts are clay. "These courts are a little faster than the U.S. Open," Safarova said, "and the ball comes up a little higher (at the U.S. Open). But these are nice courts." Safarova hit at Cronomer Hill last August, and some onlookers were hoping she was a recruit for the Newburgh Free Academy tennis team. On Friday night, she arrived with Berdych, her boyfriend, in Newburgh from Beijing. Berdych, ranked 20th in the world, and Safarova both reached the third round in singles at the Olympics. Shortly after their Cronomer hitting session, the pair left for New York , where they will continue preparation for Flushing Meadows. As Safarova and Berdych banged heavy groundstrokes, smooth volleys and hard serves, a recreational softball game went on across from the courts. Some tennis players took a few seconds to gaze at the pros' killer shots. It was an efficient workout without interruptions. "One guy was asking me if I was Safarova," said Safarova, who reached the quarterfinals of last year's Australian Open, defeating defending champ Amelie Mauresmo on the way. "He was nice and we just shook hands. It's nice to come out and play like that. Our country should have courts like this." Told who Berdych and Safarova were, a twenty-something male player two courts down, said: "We knew they had to be good. They were killing the ball. They were sick." Greg Lesser, 20, of Newburgh is a member at the Powelton and came to Cronomer to play because he heard from Dvoracek that Berdych, ranked as high as ninth in the world last August, and Safarova would be there. He lucked out. Lesser's court was right next to theirs. "It was a little intimidating," said Lesser, a former Section 9 doubles champ. "I didn't want to miss or anything. But it wasn't a big deal. They were very friendly and nice if your ball rolled on their court. It was awesome to see them play here.
For the first time fans have been given a
personal and revealing view of 15 household names, who turned up the heat and
shed a few clothes for the official 2009 ATP World Tour Player
Calendar.
Friday, August 22,
2008 New York – Professional tennis players and celebrity chefs were infused Thursday at the W Hotel for an evening of fine dining and entertainment at the Ninth Annual BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis. One of New York's hottest perennial pre-Open events, the Taste of Tennis lived up to its expectations once again, featuring decorated chefs, paired with an array of players that will be competing next week at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the 2008 US Open. In the marquee event of the evening, past US Open winner Andy Roddick paired on the main stage with the Food Network's Ingrid Hoffman. Together, they got things cooking on the stove-top while camera-bulbs popped. Fellow American James Blake arrived later, and partnered with Alfred Portale of the Gotham Bar & Grill. Portale, an avid tennis player who plays four days a week, served a chilled ceviche with watermelon. Other standout dishes included a venison burger by chef Brad Farmerie of Public and a sweet plantain and eggplant spread from chef Sue Torres of Los Dados. Joining the US Open hopefuls at the Taste of Tennis were New York Rangers superstar goalie Henrik Lundqvist and teammate Scott Gomez. Tennis player appearances included: Iveta Benesova
Flushing, New York – The USTA today announced that reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion and new world No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain will be the top seed at the 2008 US Open. The 2008 US Open will be played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., August 25 – September 7. Nadal, the Olympic gold medalist in men's singles in Beijing, is the No. 1 seed at the US Open for the first time. He will be followed by No. 2 Roger Federer (pictured) of Switzerland, the four-time defending US Open champion; No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the reigning Australian Open champion; No. 4 David Ferrer of Spain; and No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia. Americans Andy Roddick of Austin, Texas, and James Blake of Tampa, Fla., are seeded 8 and 9, respectively. This is the first Grand Slam tournament Nadal is seeded No. 1 and Federer's No. 2 for the first time since the 2004 Australian Open. In addition to the $1.5 million to the champion, the winner of the Olympus US Open Series will play for a potential $1 million in bonus prize money at the US Open. The men's winner will be crowned following this week's Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, Conn. Nadal, 22, has won an ATP-best eight titles this year, including the 30th of his career at the Rogers Masters in Toronto last month. He will attempt to become the first man to win the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969. On Monday, the five-time Grand Slam champion took over the No. 1 ranking after holding the No. 2 ranking for a record 160 weeks. Lleyton Hewitt, who captured his first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open in 2001, withdrew from the tournament after undergoing left hip surgery last Saturday. The 27-year-old Aussie will be sidelined the rest of the season. It is only the second time in Hewitt's career he has withdrawn from a Grand Slam tournament ('05 Roland Garros). The US Open was his most successful Slam with a 39-8 career record. In addition to his singles title, he won the doubles crown in 2000 (w/Mirnyi) and advanced to the singles final in 2004 (l. to Federer). Overall, he reached the quarterfinals or better seven times. Hewitt, who last week lost in the second round to eventual champion Nadal at the Beijing Olympics, said on his website, "Surgery was always the last resort, but unfortunately that's what it came down to." The surgery consisted of a hip arthroscopy and repairing of a hip labral tear. The US Open followed the South African Airways ATP Rankings to determine the men's seeds. This is the seventh consecutive year that the US Open has seeded 32 players in the singles draw. The singles draw for the 2008 US Open will be conducted Thursday, August 21 at 11 a.m. at the TimesCenter in New York City.
A general view of the US Open Draw
Ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 at The
TimesCenter in New York ZOOM
(1)Rafael
Nadal (ESP) vs (q)Bjorn Phau (GER) (4)David
Ferrer (ESP) vs Martin Vassallo-Arguello (ARG) (8)Andy Roddick (USA) vs Fabrice Santoro (FRA) (5)Nikolay
Davydenko (RUS) vs Dudi Sela (ISR)
The US Open draw was released Thursday and a new name is atop the 128-player field, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard is the first player other than Roger Federer seeded No. 1 in a Grand Slam tournament in more than four years. Federer was the top seed in the last 18 Grand Slam tournaments (going back to 2004 Roland Garros). Nadal, who took over No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings for the first time this week, leads the way along with four-time defending champion Federer and last year's runner-up Novak Djokovic. Nadal's enters his sixth US Open with an 11-5 career record and his best result was the quarterfinals in 2006. Nadal is trying to become the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to win Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year. The only player in the top half of the draw to reach the US Open final is countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2003 (l. to Roddick). Nadal opens against a qualifier and the first seed he could face is No. 25 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the third round. The 22-year-old Spaniard could then meet either No. 14 Ivo Karlovic or No. 22 Tomas Berdych in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, No. 7 David Nalbandian or No. 9 James Blake are the highest possible seeds he could encounter. Frenchmen Paul-Henri Mathieu and Gael Monfils, the No. 24 and 32 seeds, respectively, are also potential quarterfinal In the second quarter of the draw, No. 4 and last year's US Open semifinalist David Ferrer is the highest seed followed by No. 6 Andy Murray. Ferrer's first seeded opponent would be No. 29 Juan Monaco in the third round. The Spaniard could meet No. 16 Gilles Simon or No. 17 Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round. The 19-year-old del Potro comes into the Open with a 19-match winning streak and the winner in his last four tournaments. He has a difficult opening round match against countryman and former Top 10 Guillermo Canas. Murray's first seeded opponent is No. 27 Feliciano Lopez of Spain and in the fourth round he could meet No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka or No. 21/'06 semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny. The British No. 1 is seeded a career-high in a Grand Slam tournament. Earlier this month, he captured his first ATP Masters Series title in Cincinnati (d. Djokovic). In the bottom half of the draw, the three former US Open champions are No. 2 Roger Federer, the four-time defending champ, No. 8 Andy Roddick (2003) and unseeded Marat Safin (2000). In the third section, No. 3 Novak Djokovic, last year's runner-up, opens with Frenchman Arnaud Clement. The first seed Djokovic could face is No. 30 Marin Cilic of Croatia in the third round. No. 15 Tommy Robredo or No. 19/Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are possible fourth round opponents. Safin, who reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, is also in that part of the draw. Roddick, who captured his lone Grand Slam title in Flushing Meadows five years ago, opens with veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro. The top American could then face rising Latvian teenager Ernests Gulbis or '02 Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson in the second round. The first seed Roddick could meet is No. 31 Andreas Seppi in the third round. His possible fourth round foes include No. 11 Fernando Gonzalez or No. 20 Nicolas Kiefer. In the final section of the draw, Federer finds himself No. 2 in a Grand Slam for the first time since the '04 Australian Open, which he won. The four-time US Open champion begins against Argentine Maximo Gonzalez and he would face a qualifier in the second round. Federer, who has yet to reach a hard court final this season, could meet No. 28 Radek Stepanek in the third round. His possible fourth round opponents are No. 13 Fernando Verdasco or No. 23 Igor Andreev. In the quarterfinals, Federer could encounter No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 12 Richard Gasquet, No. 18 Nicolas Almagro or No. 26 Dmitry Tursunov Federer is 26-1 lifetime combined against the foursome. Federer is trying to capture his first Grand Slam title of the season and become the first man to win five straight US championships since Bill Tilden earned six in a row from 1920-25.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - Order of Play Grandstand 11:00 AM Start
American Sam Querrey posted a mild upset in the first round of the US Open with a 6-3 6-1 6-2 triumph over 22nd seed Tomas Berdych. Ranked 55th in the world, Querrey has failed to make it past the second round in his first two appearances at this hardcourt Grand Slam. Querrey was outstanding against his Czech opponent, winning 88% (35-of-40) of his first serves. It was a disappointing result for Berdych, who reached the fourth round here last year.
The only upset among the men on the
second day's play
was the surprisingly comfortable defeat of the No22 seed Tomas Berdych against Sam Querrey, the big young American winning 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.
It is not often that a 22nd-ranked player gets dominated in the first round of a major, but that is what happened to Tomas Berdych at the hands of Sam Querrey. Querrey, who is ranked 55th, beat Berdych,6-3, 6-1, 6-2, in one hour 27 minutes. Querrey broke Berdych in his first two service games and never looked back. It is the first time Berdych has lost a first round match in his six appearances at the Open. Berdych, the 22-year-old Czech, made 30 unforced errors and looked as dull as his gray shirt. At one point in the first set Berdych tried talking to a tennis ball and in the second set he looked up to his coach and shook his head "No." He showed little other reaction to his defeat. Querrey, a 20-year-old American who wore bright yellow, sprinkled in the occasional fist pump with his 36 winners. Querrey said he thought it was more a matter of him playing well than Berdych playing poorly. "It has to be one of the three best matches I played in my life," he said.
Querrey Ousts No. 22 Berdych By Lisa Zimmerman In the first set, Querrey, a 20-year-old California native, broke twice and then held to go up 3-0, before Berdych finally steadied himself to hold serve. As the match progressed, the crowd became more and more animated as they realized this was promising to be a memorable Round One outing. With Querrey up 5-3 and Berdych on serve and ahead in the game 40-30, the 22-year-old hit a seemingly unreturnable overhead smash that Querrey timed to perfection and sent back across the net. His opponent responded with a soft drop shot just over the net, which Querrey was not only able to reach, but proceeded to fire it cross court, behind and out of Berdych's reach to take the first set. In the second, Querrey came out firing and in a matter of moments was up 3-0. In the middle of game four, Berdych, who had kept his emotions in check until that point, had his frustration bubble up and started reprimanding himself in Czech. As the match continued to move forward, Querrey showcased a broad range of shots, moving easily from one side of the court to the other. Berdych on the other hand, never found his groove. He struggled with many of his shots, as well as his ability to return many of Querrey's. Late in the second set, Berdych finally held serve to take his first and only game of the set. However, Querrey quickly served out the set. Querrey remained steady, jaw set, totally focused on each shot as they came. When Berdych put what should have been an easy drop shot into the net, it was clear that he was resigned to his fate. Querrey then put the icing on the cake, with his eleventh ace as the match winner.
The notable upset of Tuesday was
upstart American Sam Querrey
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