VIDEO VAULT: Stosur might still be stunned

Sam Stosur needed to play the match of her life and she did just that, upending Serena Williams 6-2, 6-3 to win the US Open and her first major title. The way she owned the court against the 13-time Grand Slammer was pretty impressive. But that's the only way a lady baller is going to beat ReRe in a major final and she was on point from start to finish.

Sammy's power and serve were in full effect and her strategy of hitting and serving right at ReRe to take away angles and draw attackable balls was uber-smart. ReRe is fast but not necessarily quick to get out of her own way when a ball is screaming towards her. Other lady ballers take note.

It must feel incredibly satisfying to be able to execute your A-game at the highest level under the greatest pressure with only two sets and a living legend separating you from your lifelong dream. So cheers to you Sammy. Can't wait for the Australian Open (no pressure, really).

[Video: US Open]

VIDEO VAULT: Djokovic's sick match point save

In case you missed it. Ballsy, jaw-dropping stuff.

[Via: Diegoamuy]

QUOTES OF THE DAY: Roger Federer

Yeah, I had it. There's no more I could do. Snaps one shot, and then the whole thing changes. It's strange how it goes, you know, but it was a good tournament for me. Sure, I'd love to be in the finals and give myself a chance to win the title, which is not the case now. So I have to accept that and move on.

- Roger Federer after squandering two match points during his semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic at the US Open

I don't know why it struck me strangely to hear Fed say "There's no more I could do." He was obviously disappointed after losing a match he probably should have won but I don't recall ever hearing him sound so resigned. The Swiss always has a way of explaining a big loss away and giving the impression he could've won if he had done this or that differently. It seems he realized a match actually could be out of his hands. This one, however, was not.

The Serb was unreal on the first match point - one of the best match point saves that I've ever seen - but Fed had a chance on the second match one. He served smartly into Nole's body and had a forehand he could've put away, but it clipped the net and went out. Maybe he was already discouraged or feeling tight after losing the first match point. But really, there's no explaining that miss away.

Confidence? Are you kidding me? I mean, please. Look, some players grow up and play like that. I remember losing junior matches. Just being down 5 2 in the third, and they all just start slapping shots. It all goes in for some reason, because that's the kind of way they grew up playing when they were down. I never played that way. I believe in hard work's gonna pay off kinda thing, because early on maybe I didn't always work at my hardest. So for me, this is very hard to understand how can you play a shot like that on match point. But, look, maybe he's been doing it for 20 years, so for him it was very normal. You've got to ask him.

- Fed on the match point return winner by Nole

WhatEVAH. That is all.

[Photo(s) credit: Al Bello/Getty Images]

MEDIA MASHUP: "We're the kids in America..."

Quintessential.

Tennis is a funny little thing sometimes, especially now that you can actually speak the words "Melanie Oudin, Grand Slam champion". SAY WHAT??? No, it's true now. The fact that she and partner, Jack Sock, overcame a match point in their first round mixed doubs match, upset top seeds Liezel Huber + Bob Bryan in the next round and then defeated Gisela Dulko + Eduardo Schwank to win the mixed doubles title is pretty remarkable for the young ones.

I'm not saying anything, but what I will say is winning begets winning. And if anyone needed a big win at something, anything it's Mels. Will it open up her game at all? Who the hell knows. She sure could use a jolt of confidence and you'd think this title would give it to her. But nothing is guaranteed in sports. And it can only help Socks continue to develop his explosive game. Tennis, you funny.

Here you go All-Americans. Enjoy, and go celebrate hard. Or however you kids do these days (I'm old, duh):



[Photo(s) credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images for USTA]

SIGHTING: The First Lady wave

 I love that she loves tennis.

[Photo(s) credit: Getty Images]

PHOTO OP: High five hundred

"It's finally ov...ah crap."

Is the US Open still going on? I swear, after two straight days of canceled matches it seems like a whole new tourney, like a fifth mini-Slam or something. But don't think it was quiet around the grounds. Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick held hands (symbolically kids) and joined forces to bitch out US Open referee Brian Earley for scheduling them to play - and they did for a short while - when the weather forecast was gloomy at best.

THEN. The bottom half boys complained about having to possibly play four days straight since they finished their fourth rounders today and would need to complete their quarterfinal matches tomorrow, semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday if they got there, of course. In the meantime, water began seeping through a crack behind the baseline of Louis Armstrong Stadium forcing A-Rod and David Ferrer to move their match to Court 13. Oh yeah, the planes. Really annoying.

This US Open couldn't have been written this dramedy any better if they tried. Seriously. 

All is good now that the tourney officials made the right decision and moved the women's final to Sunday at 4pm and the men's final to Monday at 4pm. It's the fourth consecutive year the men will be balling on Monday for all the marbles. 

But now in the quarters we've got Rafa facing A-Rod, Muzz taking on John Isner, and Roger Federer battling Jo-Wilfried Tsonga tonight. Top baller Novak Djokovic is already through to the final four after Janko Tipsarevic retired from their match with injury.

As for the ladies, Serena Williams downed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and will face Caroline Wozniacki, who beat Andrea Petkovic, in the semis. Sam Stosur ousted last year's finalist, Vera Zvonareva, and will face super-surprise semifinalist Angelique Kerber (don't even say you thought she might, because you didn't).

[Photo(s) credit: Getty Images]

VIDEO VAULT: She who laughs last has the last laugh (duh)

I was reading all day about this supposedly awful, tasteless, no good, desperate attempt by Caroline Wozniacki to grab more attention during her post-match presser last night. She made fun of Rafael Nadal's recent cramping conference by imitating his now-infamous slide down his chair all the while giggling and showing off her full set of teeth and gums (more gum than teeth actually).

Boy, what a dumb fucking move. I don't say that because I think what she did was awful, tasteless, no good or desperate. In fact, I may have snickered a little a bit with her (besides who am I to talk after what I posted - we should all be relieved she didn't imitate THAT). No, it's dumb because she just incurred the wrath of the Rafanatics. They are a fiercely loyal group who take offense when anyone dare poke fun at their boy. Doesn't she know they'll burn her in effigy and sacrifice her first born son to the tennis gods? I guess she does now:

Sorry, sweets. Ain't nothin' gonna get you back in their good graces. Save it for someone who cares. 

You know, Wozzi's usual attempts at humor (think: rooooo) are awkward at best and her make out sessions border on the bizarre. But this one made me chuckle. Well, more like chuck. Get it? That's, like, half-a-laug...ah, nevermind.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Serena Williams

 

Yeah. I walk out there, do the Crip walk and try to intimidate them. No, I don't try. I just am. I am who I am. I don't know whether that's intimidating or not. I am just me.

- Serena Williams on whether she's intimidating

OMG.

*on the floor*

[Photo(s) credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images]

Del Potro downed by Simon, up close and personal (well, almost)

I finally made it out to the US Open yesterday. Normally I like to grab a grounds pass for the first couple of days since every court is filled with matches. But with the new job it just wasn’t possible. Perhaps next year.

Anyway, I was able to catch the third round match between Juan Martin del Potro + Gilles Simon in full. The Frenchie played some solid tennis in hot and humid conditions, running down Delpo’s ginormous groundies and keeping the big boy on the move. He forced the former US Open champ into errors and served well on key points - none bigger than when he saved set points in the fourth set.

 Even the Argentine thought so:

Q. There was that one point where I think there were three times where it looked like you had a winner, and three straight times he ran it down somehow. How shocked were you? How mentally tiring is it playing someone like that, too?

JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Is tough because you try to make the winners all the time, every point, and the ball come to you every time, too. And if you don't serve really, really well, Simon plays a nice tennis, very fast and it's not easy to make a winner to him. But, anyways, the crowd help me a lot 4 5 in the fourth set especially, and I was really close to win that set. But not this year.

Yeah, Delpo, that was me. Screaming and stuff. We all tried to lift you because you looked really weary out there (not like your usual look) but Baby Daddy was too good. Eh, that’s okay. You'll always have next year and we’ll always have 48th and Lexington. Always.

[Photo(s) credit: Reuters]

VIDEO VAULT: What happens under the table stays under the table

No pervs. It's not what you think. Rafael Nadal is cramping. He would never do THAT in public (I'm not completely convinced.)

[Via: NadalNews]