2012 U.S. Open Tennis and NFL Week 1 Reactions
It was another eventful two weeks at the U.S. Open this year, with plenty of surprises and excitement. The biggest story lines coming into the tournament were, for the men, the worrying continued absence of "Big Three" member Rafael Nadal (tendonitis in knee), and the renewed dominance of Serena Williams in the women's game. The men's quarterfinals saw all but one of the top eight seeds still playing (Tsonga has been upset earlier). Hot, windy conditions helped wreak a little havoc, and Berdych scored perhaps the biggest upset by defeating a resurgent Roger Federer. In the end, Murray seemed to finally reach the necessary level of confidence and maturity to match his physical skills, and won his first Grand Slam tournament. On the women's side, three players outside the top ten managed to sneak into the quarterfinals. From there, it was pretty much Serena bulldozing the competition. Now for a player-by-player review (top ranked and other notables):
(1) Roger Federer: dismantled all comers in the first few rounds, before getting beaten fairly handily by Tomas Berdych (who also knocked him out of Wimbledon a few years past). The fact that Roger is back at #1 at age 31 is rather amazing; he did win Wimbledon this year, but with the level of play in the men's game right now, I have to think he's got one or two more Grand Slam titles at most left in him.
(2) Novak Djokovic: my favorite player lost just one set going into the Finals, where he lost a great five-setter to the surging Murray. Of course, the Djoker couldn't match his results from 2011 when he won three Grand Slams, but he still got to three finals this year, and won in Australian. If he can stay healthy and fit, he should recapture the #1 seed by sometime early next year.
(3) Andy Murray: Murray was tested a few times prior to the Finals, including by #30 Feliciano Lopez. As I mentioned earlier, though, his composure and confidence against the top players was what finally put him over the top this time (in my opinion). What a great year for him: getting to the Wimbledon finals, winning the Olympic gold in his home nation, and now winning the U.S. Open.
(4) David Ferrer: one of several player trying to nip at the heels of the Big
(20) Andy Roddick: my favorite player following the retirement of Andre Agassi, Roddick announced his retirement following his exit from this year's Open. Roddick could well go down as the unluckiest player in men's tennis, getting to his prime at the same time as Roger Federer. He lost to Federer four times in Grand Slam finals, including one of the very best Finals of all time in 2009 at Wimbledon, a match he had several great chances to win. I'll remember Roddick's distinctive, powerful serve for years to come, and salute his fine career.
(1) Victoria Azarenka: outside of Serena, Azarenka had the most impressive Open even aside from, obviously, getting to the Final. She crushed her early opponents, then beat both Stosur and Sharapova, a couple of top-ranked hard court specialists. She even took Serena to three sets before the inevitable collapse. Still, she won the Australian this year and has hung onto the #1 seed.
(2) Agnieszka Radwanska: "who?" you might be thinking. Radwanska is a bit like David Ferrer, a consistent yet unremarkable player - it shows you the lack of talent/consistency in the women's game right now. Radwanska quietly bowed out in the fourth round at the open. Her best showing this year was a loss in the Finals at Wimbledon.
(3) Maria Sharapova: she continues to work her way back to the elite level after several down years due to injury. She has moments of brilliance, but often spirals downward suddenly, and she lost in the semis at the Open to Azarenka. Sharapova is a hard worker, though, and should keep improving. She got to the Australian this year and won the French: not too shabby.
(4) Serena Williams: Serena is back in dominant form, winning the U.S. Open, and it seems the only women's player who can beat her right now is herself. She utterly destroyed her opponents, only losing a set in the Finals, probably just to see what it felt like. She also won Wimbledon this year; here's hoping someone finally develops who can take her on, or we're going to have a boring year in 2013.
(8) Caroline Wozniacki: the U.S. Open has been Wozniacki's best Grand Slam, getting to the semis twice and the finals once, yet she lost in the first round this year. She entered 2012 as the #1 ranked player, and has fallen apart rather rapidly. Similar to Radwanska, she tends to beat inferior foes but has little chance against the best; this year, she has even lost the consistency.
NFL Week 1 Reactions:
Going game-by-game...
Cowboys - 24, Giants - 17: the Cowboys didn't blow a 4th quarter lead! Eli looked pretty shaky, but the Giants are a mediocre-at-best regular season team. Can the Cowboys be consistently good this year?
Colts - 21, Bears - 41: the Bears threw up a ton of points on the Colts, but that was no surprise; I suppose I'm cheating, but watching the Bears get dismantled by the Packers, maybe they aren't the sleeper I thought they'd be. Forte getting hurt is not going to help, either.
Falcons - 40, Chiefs - 24: well, I thought the Chiefs would make it a little more competitive than that. Still, I seem to be right about the Falcons' passing offense. We'll see if KC can bounce back.
Eagles - 17, Browns - 16: is the Browns' defense that good, or is Michael Vick that bad? Of course the Browns blow another 4th quarter lead, but the real question is whether this is a blip from the Eagles or a sign of things to come.
Redskins - 40, Saints - 32: here's the shocker of the week. RGIII somehow led his team to victory in the imposing Super Dome in his first game. Can the Saints get on track, or are they doomed to a mediocre season?
Rams - 23, Lions - 27: hmmm, perhaps the Rams will be a little better this year? I thought the improvement would've come last year. Lions fans have to be worried after that performance.
TTSNBN - 34, Titans - 13: moving right along...
Jaguars - 23, Vikings - 26: since both of these teams should suck this year, I suppose this was an appropriate outcome. With Peterson seemingly already back to full speed though, who knows?
Bills - 28; Jets - 48: how the hell did the Jets score 48 points (in one game)?!?! The Bills must really, really, really stink this year. I'm sticking to theory that the Jets suck until they can do this multiple times (and not against the Colts, Vikings, et. al.)
Dolphins - 10; Texans - 30: what can I say? This is pretty much exactly what I thought would happen.
Seahawks - 16; Cardinals - 20: everyone, including me, finally gets on the Seattle bandwagon... and then they lose to the miserable Cardinals. Who ever knows with the NFC West?
49ers - 30, Packers - 22: I might worry a little about the Packers, except they played superb defense against the Bears on Thursday and won despite poor offense. I still think the 49ers are headed for a regression this season, even if they still win their division.
Panthers - 10, Buccaneers - 16: I was expecting a high-scoring game here. The only explanation I can think of is that divisional games can be weird like that. Obviously, there's much more worry here for the Panthers if this was a representative game for each team's talents.
Steelers - 19, Broncos - 31: the score doesn't look so bad, but Pittsburgh looked terrible on both sides of the ball, to me. The defense couldn't handle the no-huddle of Manning, and the offense sorely needs a running game for balance. Broncos certainly seem legit, on the other hand.
Bengals - 13, Ravens - 44: whoa. I really doubt that the Bengals regressed much (if any) from last year, so barring a fluke performance, the Ravens might be really good this year. If the aging defense can hold steady, this new offense seems ready to blow teams out.
Chargers - 22, Raiders - 14: like the NFC West - who knows, when it comes to the AFC West?
