Player: Roger Federer

Duh. He didn't play close to as good over the weekend as he did in the quarterfinal against Roddick, but he played the big points much better than Davydenko and Djokovic and therefore came away with his fourth straight U.S. Open title.

Match: Federer vs. Novak Djokovic

It's wasn't great by any means, but it was better than both semi-final snoozefests. Let me stress that there's a difference between "close" and "great." Djokovic had set points in both the first and second set--in fact he had seven combined--so clearly the first two frames were extremely close (both ended in tiebreakers). That said, the quality of play in both was not incredible. Djokovic missed a real opportunity to steal one from Federer, but the good news is that he is only 20 years old and will have plenty of more opportunities.

Surprise: Federer winning both matches without dropping a set despite a significant drop-off in quality of play from his quarterfinal match with Andy Roddick
Davydenko had a set point in the third set and after a long rally had a down-the-line forehand lined up but he missed it just wide. Djokovic had was serving at 6-5, 40-0 in the first set and blew all of those, then blew two more. He also squandered two set points in the second. How Federer escaped these two matches without dropping a set is beyond me, especially considering he didn't do anything spectacular on any of the set points.

Quote: Novak Djokovic (in response to the ridiculous question of whether or not his ability to impersonate actually helps him pick up things that his coach tells him to do)
No, don't put these things together because this is not what I do. It's not all about impersonation. Actually, I need to say in last two days the people were more congratulating me for the impressions than for my tennis. I was wondering, Guys, am I here for the impersonation, entertaining, or to play tennis?

Player: Roger Federer

Andy Roddick played his absolute best for most of the match and still didn't take a set off Roger Federer. The world's #1 player prevailed 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. He out-aced Roddick 15 to 14 and fired 48 winners (including service) to just 18 unforced errors. Roddick could do no wrong in the first two sets yet still found himself facing an insurmountable deficit at the end of two frames. Yes, Federer was just completely on fire throughout the night.

Match: Federer vs. Andy Roddick

In terms of quality of play, no match has been better than this one...at leas the first two sets of this one. As stated above, Roddick could not have played better the first two sets and yet he still found himself in a 2-0 hole. Even though Roddick lost in straight sets yet again, it was his best showing against Federer in a while. Unfortunately for Roddick, it was Federer's best showing period in a while.

Surprise: Nikolay Davydenko crushing Tommy Haas in straight sets
I definitely thought Davdenko would win the match, but 6-3, 6-3, 6-4? And Haas had just taken out James Blake in five sets. Granted Haas must have been tired from the epic win over Blake, but still, such a straight-set destruction was probably not foreseen by many tennis fans.

Quote: Carlos Moya (on whether or not Novak Djokovic has ever impersonated him)
I never saw him, no. But for sure he can do it very well. That's a gift and he does it very well. So if he doesn't succeed in tennis, maybe he has a good career in that. (Laughter). I guess he's pretty successful in tennis though.

Player of the Day: David Ferrer

Nadal was not quite 100% for this match, but neither Nadal nor his physical state determined the outcome of this match; Ferrer did. I don't think Nadal would have won tonight even if he had been at his best. Ferrer basically hit his forehand as hard as he could the whole night and always never missed. Always an amazing returner, Ferrer broke Nadal seven times. You also have to give Ferrer a lot of credit for bouncing back after missing chances in the first set and eventually losing it in a tiebreaker; I bet most people thought it would be all over for him after that. Not so.

Match of the Day: Novak Djokovic vs. Juan Monaco

All four fourth-round matches today were very good, but the first three sets of Djokovic-Monaco were exquisite. After just three sets, the match had already lasted 3 hours and 19 minutes, with the score reading in Djokovic's favor 7-5, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (8-6). Djokovic turned it on after that and erased Monaco in just 34 more minutes, but for over three hours, this outcome was in doubt.

Surprise of the Day: Ferrer over Rafael Nadal
Ferrer has been playing great tennis this summer, but Nadal had really started looking like he was getting things into gear after some knee trouble early in the tournament. But physical problems or not, Nadal just did not have enough firepower on the hard courts to stay with Ferrer.

Quote of the Day: Entire Serena Williams interview after her loss to Justine Henin

Player of the Day: Tommy Haas

Haas never ceases to amaze at the U.S. Open, and he pulled another one out of his hat on Monday against James Blake. The German came back from 2-sets-to-1 down, winning the fourth 6-0 and maintaining his composure after squandering a break in the fifth to win 7-4 in the deciding tiebreaker. His topspin lobs - not to mention the entire point - at 3-3 in the 'breaker was probably the best I've ever seen. Watch that point and the rest of the tiebreaker on the Live From the U.S. Open page.

Runner-Up: Roger Federer
Just flawless after losing the first set against Feliciano Lopez.

Match of the Day: Haas vs. James Blake

I was there for the 5th set of this classic and I'm damn glad I was even though the outcome could have been better. If the entire match was anything like the fifth, it must have been incredible. Haas blasted 69 winners (including service) past Blake to just 39 unforced errors, while the American struck 75 winners to just 38 errors. Granted Blake got a little bit tight in the 5th-set 'breaker and the Arthur Ashe faithful left pretty disappointed, but that doesn't take away from how good this match was.

Surprise of the Day: Tomas Berdych retiring down 0-2 in the second set to Andy Roddick just minutes after blowing a set point and losing the first in a tiebreaker.

Runner-Up: Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle over the Bryan Brothers in the men's doubles quarterfinals.

Quote of the Day: Tommy Haas
on James Blake, and Blake saying that he looked at Haas as inspiration for his comeback to tennis:
You know, I'm the same about him. I mean, what he has done after his comeback, as well. It's phenomenal. Both of us playing at this level again, playing in front of an unbelievable crowd. I mean, it's as good as it gets for us. I know one of us had to lose today. I think we both can be very proud of what we've achieved after going through something I think many people can't imagine.

Player of the Day: David Ferrer

Ferrer defeated David Nalbandian 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 in an epic day match on Louis Armstrong. Unfortunately I picked the not-as-good five-setter to watch, as I saw every point of Ljubicic-Chela from the front row on the Grandstand going on at the same time. If I'm not mistaken Ferrer saved match points sometime in the match, and he eventually broke Nalbandian at 5-5 in the fifth and served out the match.

Match of the Day: Carlos Moya vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber

My dad saw all of this one from the front row and I saw the fifth set from midway up the Grandstand seats. The fifth was great, and by all accounts the entire match consisted of outstanding tennis and intense drama. When it was over, both players had won exactly 183 points. It doesn't get much closer than that! Only a fifth-set tiebreaker could have made this one more epic.

Surprise of the Day: Ernests Gulbis' straight-set destruction of Tommy Robredo
All you need to do is ready my Day 8 U.S. Open Recap on the Live From the U.S. Open page to know the circumstances of this one-for-the-ages performance.

Quotes of the Day: Tommy Robredo:
"It was long time ago I didn´t see someone playing so well."

"If he plays like he did today, I feel sorry for Moya."

"I thought about throwing the racket and go to fight with him to see if I had a chance to win like that."

Players of the Day: Novak Djokovic and Radek Stepanek

I'm too tired to discuss it and have to sleep before my 7:45 AM flight to New York. But let's just say that if this doesn't end up being the match of the Open, or even the entire year, I'll be stunned. It had it all: great play, great sportsmanship, injury drama, standing-room-only crowd in Armstrong, and of course a fifth-set tiebreaker. Wow. Exhausting. Heroic effort by both players; it's a shame one had to exit in the second round.

Runner-Up: Robby Ginepri
What is it  about Robby and the Open? He's been awful this year, but in two matches so far he hasn't been touched. I mean he just DESTROYED Teimuraz Gabashvili today, two days after humiliating Olivier Rochus.

Match of the Day: Djokovic vs. Stepanek


Runner-Up: Mardy Fish vs. Tommy Robredo

Surprise of the Day: Agustin Calleri over Lleyton Hewitt in four sets
Ummm, did anyone see this coming???

Runner-Up: just how bad Marat Safin is right now (lost 3, 3, and 3 to Wawrinka)
Safin has been terrible this year, so I picked Wawrinka in this match and with great confidence. But 3, 3, and 3!? That is just shameful for Safin.

Quote of the Day: Marat Safin
Q. When you won here in 2000, Sampras said you were able to be No. 1 in the world for as long a time as you wanted to. Do you think you still can go to the top?
A: See, even the geniuses make the mistakes. He was wrong.

Runner-Up: Tim Henman
Q. What was the biggest disappointment with the press (over your career)?
A: Oh, geez (smiling). How long have you got?

Player of the Day: Feliciano Lopez

The fifth-set tiebreaker struck again at the U.S. Open, again one of the smallest outer courts (Court 6). Lopez has a big lefty serve and huge forehand; he's an all-court player and I felt he had the edge over Andreev, who uses beyond-heavy topspin and thrives mostly on clay. Lopez eventually did gain the ultimate edge, but not without facing some adversity. He dropped the first 7-6, won the second, then got down 2-sets-to-1 by losing the third 6-3. But the Spaniard bounced back to take the fourth 6-4 and finally prevailed 7-5 in the fifth-set tiebreaker. He now faces Donald Young for a spot in the fourth round; it would be a huge step for either player.

Runner-Up: Andy Murray (beat Jonas Bjorkman in five sets)

Match of the Day: James Blake vs. Fabrice Santoro

The U.S. Open finally got its first classic night match of the year. This wasn't exactly Agassi-Blake 2005 drama, but this match had it all; incredible points, amazing shots, cramping, mind games, mental collapses, a phenomenal crowd, and five grueling sets. It would do an injustice to this match to describe in writing all that happened, but hopefully you stayed up late to see this drama unfold; plus there were so many mind-boggling shots and moments that they all blend together. In the end, Blake left Arthur Ashe Stadium with his first-ever five-set win, but it could have been very different had Santoro's body not let him down throughout the fifth set. Still, Santoro put forth a gutsy effort all the way until the final shot, and as he seems to do every year in Arthur Ashe Stadium and completely won over the crowd. Somebody had to lose, however, and the fans - led of course by the J-Block - were surely glad (I think relieved is a better word there)it was Blake who moved on to the third round.

Runner-Up: Lopez vs. Igor Andreev

Surprise of the Day: Richard Gasquet withdrawing, allowing Donald Young to advance
What a gift for the American! Nobody would ever prefer to win like this, but when you've only won two matches in your entire pro career, getting to the third round of the U.S. Open is monumental stuff. Would Young have won this match had it been played? We'll never know, but he was a massive underdog against Gasquet. The bottom line is DY is through and in the third round he meets an unseeded player, though still a huge test in Feliciano Lopez. Can the shock of all shocks occur with DY making the fourth round of the U.S. Open!?!?!

Runner-Up: Nikolay Davydenko destroying Nicolas Kiefer 2, 2, and 2
Davydenko has been saying since New Haven how worn out he is both from lots of tennis, but especially the betting controversy. He said he didn't know how far he could go in New York. Well, think again. Davydenko absolutely rolled over Kiefer, who is just now coming back to the Tour this year but already playing solid tennis. I thought this one would be very close, and even thought Kiefer had a great chance of winning the match. Well, it looks like it's going to be the same ol' rock solid Davydenko again at the U.S. Open.

Quote of the Day: Andy Roddick
Q. Yesterday Mardy Fish said that if a guy named Roger wasn't around, Andy might have a couple more Slams. I think Andy for sure would have two or three more, and James might have won the US Open last year or the year before. Any comment on that?
A: No.

Q. If you were giving a scouting report on Federer against John Isner, how do you see that match playing out?
A: Isner's going to be very tall and Roger's going to be very good.

Q. Have you and James Blake ever sat together and talked about each other's game, even in jest, analyzed it critically at all?
A: Analyzed it critically? Have James and I sat down and had serious conversations about each other's games? Not really. I mean, I think we'll make fun of each other sometimes.
Q. What would you make fun of?
A: There's too many girls out there for us to sit down and talk critically about tennis (smiling).

Player of the Day: Tim Henman

Apparently Tim Henman has not intention of going away quietly from his last every Grand Slam (he's retiring later this month after Davis Cup). Tiger Tim upset 27th seed Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 today, showing there's still life yet in him. Henman fired 13 aces and struck 54 winners (including service) to just 26 unforced errors over the four sets. Could Henman, who always seems to be around during the middle weekend of the, have one memorable run left in him? The draw certainly allows for it. He has Tsonga next, and then either Tipsarevic or a banged-up Nadal. That whole quarter of the draw is completely up for grabs. In any case, today was a great start to Tim's Grand Slam swan-song.

Runner-Up: Teimuraz Gabashvili (for upsetting Fernando Gonzalez in five sets)

Match of the Day: Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Evgeny Korolev

It must have been an interesting situation out on miniscule Court 8 this afternoon, where this thriller occurred. I mean Court 8 is one of the smallest courts in the entire tennis center and doesn't even have bleacher. But people must have been packed in somewhere as this match progressed. Wawrinka, who has been playing pretty well recently and has been consistently in the Top 50, outlasted the up-and-coming youngster from Russia 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. It lasted 3 hours and 59 minutes.

Runner-Up: Gabashvili vs. Fernando Gonzalez (Gabashvili won 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 5-7, 6-4)

Surprise of the Day: Robby Ginepri beating Olivier Rochus 0, 3, and 1
I thought Ginepri would win, but not like that!

Runner-Up: Rafael Nadal's dire situation
Nadal barely won the first set against Australian wild card Alun Jones, lost the second set, and then got down a break in the third before turning things around to win in four sets. But he never looked comfortable or healthy, as it's tough to do with patella tendinitis. Even though Nadal made it through, it looks like he won't be around for long.

Quote of the Day: Marat Safin (excerpts from his post-match press conference)
Q. Did you ever have anything like that happen to you on match point, the sound system going off?
A: No. Hopefully it will never happen again (smiling).

Q. Do you still look back on the 2000 final as the best match of your career?
A: Yeah, but who cares? It's so far in the past. It's already history. It's a long time ago. It's time to move on. I hate the people when they still live in the past and saying how great they were in, I don't know, in the past century. Who cares?

Q. Do you ever think back about that tray of vodka that was rolled into the press conference after you won? Do you remember that?
A: No. I was underage.

Player of the Day: Arnaud Clement

Playing Ivo Karlovic is not necessarily a terrible first-round matchup for an unseeded player in terms of having a chance to win, but you still never want to see your name right next to his in the draw. It's just never fun playing the 6-10 giant. But Clement accepted the challenge and ended up pulling out a thriller 6-4 in the fifth set. The Frenchmen handled Karlovic's serve surprisingly well, breaking it five times throughout the match. Only two of five sets went into tiebreakers (Clement won the first and Karlovic won the fourth in a 'breaker), not a lot for a Karlovic match. Look no further than this stat to find out how Clement played today: 57 winners, 20 unforced errors. Karlovic, meanwhile, scattered 75 unforced errors in the course of the 3 hour, 46 minute match.

Runner-Up: Stefan Koubek

Match of the Day: Wayne Odesnik vs. Danai Udomchoke

There's nothing like 5th-set tiebreakers. There's no such thing as these at any of the other three Grand Slams, but they're a very real part of the U.S. Open. It certainly was on Court 6 this afternoon, where Odesnik overcame Udomchoke 7-2 in the deciding 'breaker. This was a see-saw affair, as Udomchoke took the first in a tiebreaker, Odesnik rolled in the second and third, and Udomchoke forced a fifth by taking the fourth 6-3. But the American didn't get down and ended up making the most of his wild card entry into the main draw.

Runner-Up: Clement vs. Ivo Karlovic

Surprise of the Day: Sam Querrey losing 6, 1, and 1 to Koubek
The result was a mere surprise, but the way it happened was a complete shock. Querrey simply dissolved after squandering six set points in the first set. After Koubek somehow took the opening frame, it was all over. Querrey did nothing the rest of the way, except miss shots and put forth a poor effort. That's a disappointment under any circumstances, but considering how well Querrey had been playing (he just broke into the Top 50 for the first time in his young career), this is a stunning step backward. Gotta give credit to the veteran Koubek, however, as he stuck 22 winners to just 13 unforced errors and broke Querrey's normally-big serve five times.

Runner-Up: Xavier Malisse, for beating Kristian Pless in four sets. Malisse always thrives at the U.S. Open, but he had not played a tennis match since February!

Quote of the Day: Entire On-Court Interview and Press Conference of Roddick-Gimelstob
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/interviews/2007-08-28/200708281188284984312.html

Runner-Up: Lleyton Hewitt (on what he's learned from his daughter)
Watching a lot of kid's DVDs. Learning a lot about Mickey Mouse. Little Einstein, the Wiggles. I know all the Wiggles.

(and on where he ranks John Isner's serve among the best in the game)
I broke him twice in practice.

Player of the Day: John Isner
It's so early in Isner's pro career, yet he's already proved (and then some) that he has a flair for the dramatic. His win over #26 Jarkko Nieminen on Monday wasn't quite as nail-biting as his five third-set tiebreakers in Washington, D.C., but it was still clutch. Isner dropped the first set in a tiebreaker but came back with ice water in his veins to take the next two 'breakers. The 6-9 American secured the first break of the match in the fourth set, and then was enough to take it 6-4 and advance to the second round. One win away from a 3rd-round date with Federer....

Runner-Up: Max Mirnyi

Match of the Day: Mirnyi vs. Marcos Baghdatis

This wasn't a flawless match by any means, but it was certainly interesting. Baghdatis, of course, hung back at the baseline for the most part while Mirnyi attacked the net every single chance he got. To be exact, he approached the net 173 times, winning 98 of those points. Baghdatis never really got in the groove against Max's relentless serve-and-volley tactics, however the key to this match was Baghdatis' woeful 36% first serving. That allowed Mirnyi to chip and charge off weak second serves and take control of points early. In fact that's just how match point went, as Mirnyi chipped and charged, forced a backhand error from Baghdatis, and took the match 8-6 in the fourth-set tiebreaker.

Runner-Up: Hyung-Taik Lee vs. Dominik Hrbaty (Lee won 6-7 (7-4), 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (8-6), 6-4)

Surprise of the Day: Fernando Verdasco coming back from two sets down to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu
It wasn't necessarily a massive upset (although it was a minor upset), it's just the fact that Verdasco came from two sets down to win the match that makes this so surprising. Plus Mathieu played great tennis during the U.S. Open Series (and during the rest of the year) so after the second set there was no reason to think he wouldn't roll. But Verdasco is a more than adequate hard-court player and proved it in the final three sets.

Runner-Up: Mirnyi over Baghdatis

Quote of the Day: Richard Gasquet (on second-round opponent Donald Young)
Last year he was really young. This year he's young too, for sure, but he plays really, really good. I think he will be in three or four years in the top 10 for sure. If he's patient, he will be great for sure. He plays like a little Rios. He has the same game like him. No, he has a lot of talent. It's great for American tennis.
***reasons why this is so funny and awesome: the no pun intended (or was it?) "young" references in the first sentence, the shocking confidence he has in Young, and of course the reference to Marcelo Rios. Just a great pull from Gasquet, there.***

Runner-up: Andy Murray (on second-round opponent Jonas Bjorkman)
It will be interesting to see how he tries to play against me. I'm guessing he's not going to want to do too much running because he's getting on a bit.