Before he won the U.S. Open, Roger Federer took plenty of opportunities to go on the record and predict himself to win. He did. This morning I read an article that called Roger Federer psychic, which is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard all week. Yes, I know it’s only Monday.

Psychic predictions, you see, are only impressive when they are improbable, which is the only thing Federer’s 12th Grand Slam title was not. In fact, there are now three things in this world a person can always count on: Death, Taxes, and Federer.

Without a doubt Federer is unstoppable, unbelievable, unmanageable, uncontrollable, unforgettable, uncanny, and other adjectives as well. But for me, the best thing about Federer is his attitude. Not only is he the best, the guy knows he’s the best.

Right before he walked onto the court, Federer said of Djokovic, “It’ll be interesting to see how he handles the final.” Smug. I love it.

In fact, now that Federer, only 26, is unquestionably going to blow Pete Sampras’ record of 14 major titles out of the water, I would like to see him blow his ego up even more. Not only would that be fun to watch, but since whomever is responsible for marketing the sport of tennis is obviously incompetent, it would be a great way to draw attention to the game.

All Federer has to do is keep winning, and keep talking. No problem. It’s going to be a long time and plenty of more titles before Federer crumbles.

“New guys challenging me — this is my biggest motivation out there,” Federer said. “Seeing them challenging me, and then beating them in the finals.”

Indeed.

–Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff.

The U.S. open kicks off today, and if I’ve learned anything at all from my past attempts at preview and prediction columns, it’s this: Don’t get cocky. The last time I tried to get optimistic about a major sporting event was the PGA Championship, saying there was no way for anyone to be certain of an outcome.

I’ve learned my lesson.

The U.S. Open men’s bracket has128 players. Only a few names are worth mentioning, and two of them are “Roger” and “ Federer”. If you take the time to look at the men’s bracket, you’ll find that in the first four rounds of play the best possible seed Federer could face is J. Ferrero, seeded 21st.

Maybe, just maybe, Federer could see a match against Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. Roddick is a solid player, but the Tiger Woods-like domination Federer is enjoying (those two are friends, you know) pretty much guarantees him a spot in the finals against the most dominant player on the other end of the bracket, Rafael Nadal.

If anyone holds the coveted secret to beating Federer, it’s Nadal. He’s already defeated Federer twice, and one of those was in the final round of the French Open.

That’s the match you don’t want to miss.

In the women’s bracket, things are a little scattered. Last year’s winner Maria Sharapova is seeded second, but hasn’t exactly been on a hot streak lately. Most of the smart money is on first seeded Justine Henin, but overall the women’s bracket has a lot more variables than the men’s.

Fifth seeded Ana Ivanovic and third seeded Jalena Jankovic have been mentioned frequently in plenty of insider tennis blogs, and some are saying this is the year for one of them to break out.

Personally, I’m leaning towards Venus Williams. She’s coming off her fourth Wimbledon title and hasn’t taken the U.S. Open since ’01, but her record in New York is always better if she wins Wimbledon going in.

There. I played it safe this time, and now that I have, I’ll just sit back and brace myself for the most surprising upset in the history of tennis.

By Joey Alfino, RED Editorial Staff

Five sets. Two tiebreakers. Three hours, forty-something minutes. A four-time champion against a relentless young challenger. It was the third-longest Wimbledon men’s finals ever, and this one was a classic.

In the end, Roger Federer won his fifth straight Wimbledon over Rafael Nadal in front of the only other man to have accomplished the feat in the modern era, his countryman Bjorn Borg.

Borg sat in the royal box and said after the match, “records are meant to be beaten.” Next year, Federer will have that chance. As it is, he hasn’t lost in 34 matches at Wimbledon, with 54 straight victories on grass courts.

The Queen of Grass was also crowned Sunday, as Venus Williams easily schooled Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, a surprise finals contestant in her own right.

Venus came into the tournament seeded 23rd, and squeaked out her early matches despite numerous errors. As the tournament went on, however, she looked more and more dominant, finally earning her fourth Wimbledon championship.

With the victory, the Williams sisters have now won six of the past eight Wimbledons, with Serena beating her older sister in 2002 and 2003. Venus has only lost to Serena in Wimbledon finals appearances.

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In addition to the $100 million sliding roof being installed at the All England Club, they might want to think about adding some waterslides.

We always expect rain at Wimbledon, but this year has been a wash. There were rain delays in seven of the first eight days. The wacky weather has frustrated players and led to some strange matches.

Take Rafael Nadal’s near-weeklong match against Swede Robin Soderling. They had just warmed up last Saturday when rain delayed their match. The next day was Wimbledon’s traditional “Middle Sunday” day of rest (during which the weather, of course, was brilliant).

Monday? Rain-delayed in the fifth set. Tuesday? Four more interruptions before play was again suspended. Nadal finally put Soderling away on Wednesday, with both players grousing at each other like an old married couple. Five sets. Five days.

Serena Williams, on the other hand, may have had her tournament saved by the rain. Hobbled with a tight calf against Daniela Hantuchova, a rain delay gave Serena a two-hour reprieve, after which she breezed through the third set.

As for Nadal, he may now have to play three matches in three straight days to keep the tournament on schedule…

Weather permitting, of course.

RED

Yesterday, Switzerland’s Roger Federer ambled into the All England Club’s historic Centre Court to kick off the tournament known worldwide as the pinnacle of tennis. The roof was gone. The grass was wet. He was playing Teimuraz Gabashvili.

Undaunted by all that, Federer won the match and made the first step in seeking his fifth straight Wimbledon title. For comparison, Pete Sampras won seven, but only four in a row. John McEnroe and Boris Becker could only muster one back-to-backer. This is a big deal. My money is on Federer to become the first player since Bjorn Borg to accomplish the feat.

Besides Federer’s historic run, the biggest news at Wimbledon this year may be the venue and tournament themselves. The center court is getting a facelift and a new roof is under construction. It’s on target for 2009, but this being 2007, the court looks a little choppy. Not to mention, everyone got wet.

They’re trying out a new electronic line-calling tool in the Centre and No. 1 courts too, called “Hawk-Eye.” Players are able to argue calls using instant replay, and it remains to be seen whether Hawkeye will appeal the decision to Col. Potter.

Another major change not just for Wimbledon but all of sports is that the women’s purse for the first time equals the men’s. The winner of each gender will receive 655,000 British Pounds, which is good for about 14.2 million Pesos today.

Which of course begs the question, does Serena Williams really need another 14.2 million Pesos?

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Well, there’s a lot happening at the French Open this week. All but one American men’s contestant has been eliminated, reminding me of the music they play on “The Price is Right” when the little hiker falls of the cliff…Na-na-nuh-nehhhhhhh…

Most of the usual suspects are still around, though, including the always-compelling Roger Federer. Maria Sharapova has made it past the first round, a pleasant turn of events for male viewers all over the world.

And in an interesting side note, Venus Williams recorded the second-fastest serve ever hit by a female player, and the fastest in a “main-draw” match, meaning it was hit by somebody who’s, umm, somebody.

Clocking 206 kilometers per hour, which as you may know is European for 128 mph, it is thought that the serve generated a rash of UFO sightings all around the French capital.

It’s not the fastest women’s serve ever though, as Brenda Schulz-McCarthy hit one 130 miles per hour last year in Cincinnati. But of course that wasn’t a “main-draw” match.

At any rate, it just goes to show how women’s tennis in the United States is still light years ahead of the men.

RED

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