WITH THE U.S. Open ready to start Monday, NYP TV Sports’ Justin Terranova checked in with CBS tennis analyst Patrick McEnroe.
Q: Rafael Nadal came close to beating Roger Federer at Wimbledon. Can he be stop Federer’s run of three in a row at the U.S. Open?
A: Nadal has proved to himself that he can compete on the grass at Wimbledon, but he has yet to make the
run at the U.S. Open. At the moment, the hard courts of the Open are a little tougher for him to master than
the grass at Wimbledon. All hard courts differ, but the ones at the Open are extremely fast, even faster than the grass at Wimbledon. I believe that makes Nadal’s serve less effective. He is more of a spinning kind of a server, and at the U.S. Open his ball tends to sit up more, which makes it easier to attack. Nadal also has some injury issues coming in. I am not sure if he will even make it through the draw to meet Federer in the finals.
Q: If not Nadal, who can give Federer the biggest challenge in these next two weeks?
A: I think you have to put Novak Djokovic in there. He beat Federer at the Tropicana final a couple of weeks ago in a great match. He believed he could beat him and he did. It wouldn’t shock me at all if Djokovic played Federer in the finals.
Q: Do you think any woman has an advantage based on the draw?
A: There are six women that can win the U.S. Open and five of them are in the top half of the draw: Serena and Venus Williams; Justine Henin; and the two Serbians, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic. Jankovic and
Ivanovic have the best chance to sneak through and win their first major. Then you have Maria Sharapova, the No. 2 seed, in the bottom half, and she has a really good draw to advance to the finals.
Q: Can Andy Roddick win his second U.S. Open title this year?
A: If he advances, he will play Federer in the quarterfinals, and that could be a break for him. In the finals of tournaments, Federer has been pretty much unbeatable, except at the French Open. It’s difficult to get Federer any time, but it will be a night match, and if [Roddick] gets the crowd behind him, anything can happen. You just have to hope Federer is not at his best and try and stay with him. Roddick played him four sets last year in the finals, so anytime you can compete and take a set you have a chance. I am sure Federer isn’t happy about seeing Andy in the quarters, either.
Q: Are there any Americans the public would not know yet who could make a run?
A: John Isner is a guy who can turn some heads. He went to [college at] Georgia four years, which is almost
unheard of now. He is 6-9 with a big serve. He made the finals in D.C. earlier this year, and I think he has a
chance to upset Jarkko Nieminen, a seeded player, in the first round, before he would play Federer in the
third round. Sam Querrey, a player from Southern California, also has a chance to make a run. He is 19 and
our best teenage player.