Monday, August 28, 2006

Us Open – Day 1: Matches to watch (women's singles)

Henin-Hardenne vs. Camerin Even though Justine played only four summer hardcourt matches, she seems to be on, fit and in a great shape. No doubt she is the favourite this year. The only question mark could be Justin will be struggling with her knees this fortnight. So would be better to come to the second week with a streak of straight sets wins. Camerin is not bad on hard-court, but how many games will be played today ?
Dementieva vs. Granville Now’s the time to prove Lena D. can do well in her favourite Slam. This summer was able to deal with Sharapova’s power and won a LA. Once the rallies get going, she is the best mover out there. Runs so many balls down, play aggressive, always make you go for an extra shot. Is it enough to offset her flutterball serve ? Today's opponent, such a sweet girl, seems not to have the skills to take profit from the Russian Achille’s heel. Anyways, a Lena first round can always turn in 3-sets psyco-thriller.
Schnyder vs. Smashnova The funny thing is that could a moon-balls festival, between two players who love to slow the pace of the game down with lots loopy shots. I dunno how irritating could be for people there, but the match will be filled with long baseline rallies, with Patty- I guess – the more willing to finish off the point.
Schiavone vs Oprandi Spaghetti derby in New York City. a tough task for Schiavone to show her bad days are over. Oprandi is not an opponent you can just walk on court and think she’s going to give it to you. Schiavone has to be full on, if she’s not, is gonna lose.
Stosur vs Safarova Sam is one most improved player of the year, Lucie is very talented too with so many injuries this season. The winner of this clash may get 4th round with an unimposing draw.
Sprem vs Mirza. Expected fireworks as these 2 hard hitters clash in Flushing Meadows. Who will win ? I think will be the better to control the shots, with less UE.
Jankovic vs Dulko Can’t wait to see if Jelena can keep her amazing summer season. IMO she’s the big hitter who moves better in Wta tour. She’s serving well and with her footwork now she can reach some balls where maybe she was struggling a little bit before. I put all my eggs in her basket, the cute Gisela cannot be able to face such kind of power.
Chan vs Flipkens I’m a keen junior tennis lover, so this match means the world to me. Can’t wait to see how Yung-Jan can handle the pression to play in a Slam. Kirsten is a good player with high potential of growth for the months to come.

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Terza di Copertina.

"Cementi di Gloria" è l'opera prima di Paolo Ricaldi, aka Mr. Pemulis, che nell'estate 2007 ha girato in lungo e largo i tornei di preparazione agli Us Open - il c.d. minicircuito chiamato Us Open Series - è tornato sano e salvo, anche se un po' intossicato di Tennis, e ci ha raccontato quanto visto, sentito e percepito nel Nuovo Mondo.
In questo reportage, che è un viaggio picaresco nel nordamerica, intorno al "vuoto" dello showbiz, l'autore alterna con grande potenza espressiva cronache sportive esilaranti, pagine di letteratura minimalista, storie surreali, incubi metropolitani abitati da personaggi dai nomi improbabili e aneddoti irresistibili; e lo fa utilizzando una vasta gamma di registri, che vanno dal comico al noir. Ne risulta un inno sghembo al tennis e alla vita in generale, che fa' di Ricaldi, la "next big thing" del panorama letterario mediterraneo.