PREVIEW: US Open Men's Final

Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic
Head-to-head: Federer 4, Djokovic 1
Last meeting: Montreal Masters Series, Djokovic 7-6(2) 2-6 7-6(2)

Here we have what will hopefully become a great rivalry between a living legend and dynamic up-and-comer. No. 1 seed Roger Federer will be going for his 12th Grand Slam title in 5 years (and tying Roy Emerson on the all-time Grand Slam title list) when he takes on rising star and No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic for the US Open title. Fed battled a very game Nikolay Davydenko but came out with a 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 semifinal victory. Nole finally got his explosive game on track and defeated Spaniard David Ferrer easily 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. The last time these two players met was last month at the Montreal Masters Series where the sexy Serb shocked the tennis world by defeating the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 players in the world in succession.

Here's what Fed had to say about Nole:

"Well, I mean, he's been now playing the tour for one and a half years. I mean, the players know him. I've played him already five times, so it's not like it's totally new, you know, for all of us. But, yeah, I mean, he's done an incredible job, because I remember the first time I played him in Monaco. I beat him in three sets. Everybody was wondering, What do you think? I was like, Not crazy impressed. But he's had a great run and he's really improved his game. Yeah, I mean, he's done a great job the last six months or one year now."

Nole had this to say about playing Fed:

"Well, a lot of people ask me what it takes to win against him. But I think one of the crucial things is you got to be mentally very steady and very consistent and you just have to believe in yourself and believe in the victory. Now everything else is a matter of, of course, mental condition, physical condition. You have to be a hundred percent ready physically to challenge him, especially if you play him in the finals of any tournament and a Grand Slam where he performs his best tennis. But, you know, I'm gonna try, if I play him, to be myself, be aggressive, try to be in the control of the match, which is going to be difficult, and just believe in the victory."

Outlook: Nole was brilliant, focused, and confident in Montreal and he'll need to be all that and more to defeat the legendary Swiss in a Grand Slam final. Matt Cronin for USOpen.org says look out for a battle, but he gives the edge and a 12th Grand Slam to Fed, but Bud Collins for MSNBC.com is giving Nole the title. We're picking Nole - if for nothing else but to see him celebrate a first Grand Slam by taking it ALL off!

Men's 1st Marquee Matchup: US Open Quarterfinals

Finally, we've arrived at our first Men's Marquee Matchup of the '07 US Open. Although World No. 1 Roger Federer has a most dominant record over Andy Roddick (13 - 1) there are a couple of factors that make this battle a Marquee Matchup: 1) A-Rod is still a Top 5 player, 2) he's an American and it's a quarterfinal at the US Open under the lights. How did they get here?

Fed was seriously pushed for the first set and a half against streaky Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, losing a set but then settling down for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 win. A-Rod was the beneficiary of Czech Tomas Berdych's retirement in their match, due to illness, and moved on to face Fed in the quarters. The last time these players met was in this year's Australian Open where Fed completely embarrassed the American with a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 whipping.

Here's Fed on playing A-Rod:

"Yeah, I pretty much know his game. Yeah, I do. But, again, you know, he's played in different ways against me. He's obviously tried a lot: Returning from far back, returning in, chip and charging, serve and volleying, playing from the baseline with me. He's tried everything, so I hope I won't get surprised next match."

A-Rod had this to say about playing Fed:

"I mean, I think we played each other enough, you kind of know [each other's games.] I don't think I'm going to watch him and discover that he's good tonight, you know. [...] No offense to López, but I'm kind of already preparing for Roger."

Bud Collins for MSNBC.com isn't giving A-Rod's current game much of a chance against the dominant Swiss. Unfortunately, we aren't either. We just hope he fights hard and puts on a good show.

+ TUESDAY NETCORDS: Venus, Amelie, Martina vs. Anna...ESPN grabs Bud, Ana remembers and more

(image courtesy of rampant_media)

- Power play: The WTA Tour introduced the "power index" at last week's Acura Classic to rate the hardest hitters on the women's side. The index takes into account a player's fastest groundstroke (forehand or backhand), first serve, second serve, first-serve return, second-serve return and overhead or volley. Rankings at the Acura Classic: No. 1? Venus Williams. No. 2? Maria Kirilenko - they may need to check their meter.

- Talking to the press in Carson, CA for this week's East West Bank Classic Serbian World No. 5 Ana Ivanovic described the bombings in Belgrade, saying "I still remember the first night we went into a cellar because we didn't know what to expect," [...] "At first we were very scared because we didn't know what to expect, but later they explained that they were aiming only at military targets. Still, there was quite a bit of collateral damage, but we still tried to live as normally as possible."

- Double vision: Swiss Martina Hingis definitely sees similarities between her game and Russian Anna Chakvetadze saying, "She’s very smart around the court and she has good vision. You don’t see anything specific that she’s winning matches [with] so I definitely see some similarities." We agree and we like.

- Take that NBC: Sports network giant ESPN gave struggling NBC the proverbial finger by hiring legendary sports writer (and tennis Hall of Famer) Bud Collins after Collins was unceremoniously dumped by the peacock network during this year's Wimbledon. Gotta love it...

- Frenchie Amelie Mauresmo, who's having a less than stellar year as it is, has pulled out of the upcoming Tier I Rogers Cup in Canada and the Pilot Pen in New Haven, CT to recover from her appendectomy in March. You can scratch her from your US Open office pools this year.