The draw for the United States Open held as much drama for Roger Federer as most of his matches.
He didn’t much care how it turned it out, who he played in the first round next Monday or who he might play in the rounds that follow. He was off in his own world on Wednesday, sleeping late, then practicing at the National Tennis Centre while the draw went on with a ceremony across the East River at the United Nations.
Federer’s confidence couldn’t be much higher than it is now after winning his 22nd consecutive tournament final by beating Andy Roddick in straight sets on the hard courts at Cincinnati last Sunday, and remaining comfortably at number one in the ATP rankings for the 82nd week in a row.
Federer, the defending US Open champion and winner of his third straight Wimbledon title last month, knows he could always fall victim to injury, illness or the odd circumstance but there doesn’t seem to be anyone with a realistic chance of beating the Swiss star through the quarters. He is seeded to meet number five Marat Safin in the semis, and Safin has been compromised recently by a baulky knee.
”Any draw for him is a good one,” Patrick McEnroe, the US Davis Cup captain and TV commentator, said of Federer. ”For the men, it’s Federer and everyone else.”
Number two Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion from Spain, could meet number seven Andre Agassi in the quarters. Nadal beat Agassi in Montreal recently for his ninth ATP title this year — tying him with Federer.
”Andre would be happy with another shot against Nadal,” McEnroe said.
Agassi (35) might be happy to get that far after struggling with his sore back and sciatic pain down his leg the past few months. He lost in the first round of the French Open when his back injury flared up, skipped Wimbledon and won his first title in almost a year at Los Angeles last month before his back started hurting
again.
The number four Roddick appeared to have an easy draw through to the semis, where he could meet Nadal or Agassi.
Venus and Serena Williams landed in the same section of the women’s draw — setting them up for a possible fourth-round match — with the winner potentially facing favourite Kim Clijsters in the quarters.
Though their father has suggested conspiracies against the sisters in the past, their seeded numbers for the year’s final Grand Slam event were drawn out of the silver winner’s cup in plain view of everyone in a UN auditorium, where the US Tennis Association was emphasising the international appeal of tennis. The players hail from around the globe and the tournament will be broadcast to about 170 countries.
Number eight Serena, still trying to find her form after recovering from injuries and showing up out of shape at Wimbledon, starts against a qualifier. Number 10 Venus opens against Japan’s Rika Fujiwara.
If the sisters keep going until the fourth round, the winner of their duel would go against the number four Clijsters, who beat fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne to win the Rogers Cup on Sunday in Toronto and capture the US Open Series that leads up to the year’s final major. If Clijsters wins the Open, she would get double the $1,1-million first prize.
”This is incredible that this section turned out with Venus, Serena and Clijsters, who you could certainly make a case are three of the favourites,” McEnroe said.
”Obviously, though, the sisters come in with a lot of question marks, based on their health.”
Number one Maria Sharapova received a relatively easy draw to the quarterfinals, where she could meet defending champion and fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. Number five Kuznetsova, though, is troubled by a sore back. – Sapa-AP