Rafa and Fed having harder time then expected

Last night I thought we were going to get about 2 hours of tennis. Rafa would wipe Devvarman off the court in 45 minutes and Fed would punish the young American Ryan Harrison in about an hour or so. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Devarrman proved he was worthy of center court and fighting Nadal in every point. His spirited effort really earned the respect of the crowd as well as his opponent. However at the end Nadal's relentless vigor was too much for Devvarman losing 7-5 6-4.
Although Devvarman lost the match I could see his sense of belief. He knew he belonged. I think we will see him in the top 30 very soon and he will gain the support of the entire nation of India. \

Now lets talk Federer. How does an 18 year old wild card push Federer to 2 tough sets? Is the killer instinct gone? Harrison serving first dumps 2 double faults back to back and drops serve in the first game in 1 minute. I thought OK, deer in head lights, this match should be over in 45 minutes. But from that point forward Harrison, as did Devvarman, played fantastic tennis. He was aggressive and not intimidated by playing arguably the best tennis player ever to hold a racket. He served and volleyed, he took full cuts at Federer's second serve which came quit often. There was a moment where Fed seemed surprised and frazzled by the play of Harrison. We all knew Federer would ultimately win the match as a fan it made me wonder about his recent inability to put his opponents away. I know Im saying this after he beat Chela 6-2 6-0 but look at his other results and he seems to let players hang around in a set just long enough to give them a chance.

I am looking forward to seeing Djokovic, Rafa and Federer in the final couple rounds of the BNP Paribas Open. The results in the next few days will send a message to rest of the field on who really is the player to beat...it could be Del Potro!

http://www.firstserveace.com/

USA Women Steppin' up!

USA Women Steppin' Up!
by J. BisharatWith the Williams sisters sidelined due to injury there is a lot of pressure on the United States WTA Players. At the BNP Paribas Open awarded 6 wildcards to USA WTA Players and they didn't go to waste.

Up and comers Vandeweghe, McHale and Stephans all made good on the their direct entry into the main draw as Mattek-Sands and  Oudin were also winners in the first round.

The true test starts in the second round where the opponents will get much tougher. Sloane Stephens has a 2nd round date with world #1 Caroline Wozniaki as Coco Vandeweghe runs directly into #6 seed Jelena Jankovic. Christine McHale squares off against #11 seed Kuznetsova. Although the matches are tough on paper these 3 young players have a great opportunity at their finger tips. Win and take your career to the next level overnight. All great players have that 1 breakout tournament and all 3 of these girls have the ability to win, but do they believe they can? No strangers to the main draw is Bethany Mattek-Sands and Melanie Oudin are also in action tomorrow.

As the Williams sisters slowly start their ride into the sunset of their career there is a group of young talented players to keep Women's United States tennis a force to recon with.