Inside the Open – Roddick, Nadal, Young

Written by: Staff on 5th September 2011

Inside the Open - Roddick, Nadal, Young

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Inside the Open

Another Donald love-fest and a shrieking Rafa Nadal, who fell to the floor because of cramps during his press conference, highlighted Day 7 at the Open. It was another solid day for American tennis as four US men are now through to the final 16. The last time that happened was 2003 with eventual champion Roddick being joined by Andre Agassi, Taylor Dent and Todd Martin.

YOUNG MOVES INTO THE SWEET 16: You want sexy, Johnny Mac, now you’ve got sexy in the form of a 22-year-old American into the final 16 at the US Open.

Atlanta’s Donald Young did it once again, upsetting a seeded player for the second straight match, taking out No. 24 Juan Ignacio Chela, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3, to the joy of US tennis fans everywhere.

He did it spraying forehand winners from the baseline and using a deft tough on several key volleys to move on where he will next face No. 4 Andy Murray, a player he’s already beaten once this year at the biggest tournament in the world that’s not a Slam (Indian Wells).

The 84^th-ranked Young had 46 winners to Chela’s 19. Young said the great atmosphere in the Grandstand led him to victory. “They definitely pushed me through,” he said.

NADAL COLLAPSES TO FLOOR DURING PRESSER: Rafa Nadal took out good friend David Nalbandian of Argentina, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 7-5, in a match that lasted a little over 2 and a half hours, but that’s not what people were talking about afterward.

About two hours later, Nadal slumped to the ground after grimacing for several moments in pain because of cramping in his right leg during his press conference.

“I just have cramping in my leg, that’s all,” Nadal after being attended to by medical personnel and his family. “That’s why I fell, it was so painful. It could have happened anywhere, it was just bad luck it happened here.”

Another Spaniard joined Nadal in the final 16 as fifth-seed David Ferrer beat Florian Mayer of Germany, 6-1, 6-2, 7-6.

BOGIE’S OPEN RUNS ENDS: You’ll be hard-pressed to find former Long Island teaching pro Alex Bogomolov Jr. giving up any of his free time for lessons now that the 29-year-old’s career has been rejuvenated.

But Bogie’s US Open run ended at the hands of a fellow American as John Isner ousted him, 7-6 (9), 6-4, 6-4.

FORMER CHAMPION FALLS: Nadal’s next opponent will be Gilles Simon, the No. 12 seed from France, who downed 2009 champion Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (3). Also moving on in the women’s event was Flavia Pennetta of Italy, who beat Shuai Peng, 6-4, 7-6 (6).

RODDICK ONE WIN FROM QUARTERS: Like Young, Roddick seems to be enjoying himself as he also win in straight sets. With another call to play on Ashe, where he has the most appearances of any other player, Roddick dispatched Julien Benneteau of France, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

“Man, I had a blast, I really did,” he told the New York fans afterward. “You come out here and hear people cheering for you. Thank you. You made it fun for me.”

He also refused to say sorry win asked about winning ugly. “I’ve won close to 600 matches. I promise you 450 have been of the ugly sort, but that’s what I do well,” he said. “I’m not going to apologize for it.”

SPEAKING OF RODDICK: We loved what he had to say about Venus Williams after she was forced to withdraw from the Open after the first round because of Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that affects energy levels, causes fatigue and joint pain.

“That’s a question that probably warrants more of my time than I have to give right now. I mean, if you think about their story, if you actually think about it, I think we take it for granted. A lot of times they’ve drawn a lot of criticism. But, trust me, five years, when they’re gone, everyone is going to miss them. Everyone is going to realize they’re going to be living legends for the rest of their lives. Two girls from Compton dominating tennis, that’s not an everyday story, the way they’ve gone about it. Venus is just the epitome of class, the way she’s gone about it. I don’t think she’s ever even had a sniff of controversy around her. She’s just done it the right way.”

ONE MORE ADD RODDICK: His lovely wife Brooklyn Decker has been at his matches in New York. The star of the upcoming movie “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” doesn’t plan on having any little Roddick babies running around any time soon.

“Not to namedrop because that’s really lame, but I ran into Fergie one time and she said to me, ‘Once you get married, people are going to ask, when are you having babies? So just get ready for it. It’s going to be so annoying.’ she told E! news. “And she’s so right. So my answer is, we’re obviously waiting. We’re young and we’re focused on our careers and being together right now.”

BUD BEING BUD: Boston Globe correspondent Bud Collins on Maria Sharapova’s serving collapse against Flavia Pennetta: “Curiously for a woman of such talent — winner of three majors — she can’t fetch her serves over the net. She may be wealthy, but can’t buy a decent serve.”

MONDAY’S SCHEDULE:

Arthur Ashe Stadium, starting at 11 a.m.

1. Women’s Singles – 4th Round

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)[17v]. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[7]

Not Before: 1 p.m.

2. Women’s Singles – 4th Round

Serena Williams (USA)[28] v. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)[16]

Not Before: 2:30 p.m.

3. Men’s Singles – 4th Round

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[11] v. Mardy Fish (USA)[8]

Arthur Ashe Stadium 7 p.m. Start Time

1. Women’s Singles – 4th Round