Your Call, August 8th
Hi everyone. Pete is currently on vacation until the 14th, so I'll be commanding this ship in the meantime.
As promised, a few thoughts on the women's Olympic draw:
For you all conspiracy theorists: If Lucie Safarova gets by Tatiana Golovin, she'll almost certainly meet No. 1 seed Ana Ivanovic in the second round. That's exactly where Roger Federer, the men's top seed in the 2004 Olympics, was upset by another Czech, Tomas Berdych. By the way, Safarova is Berdych's girlfriend.
I like Agnieszka Radwanska to advance to the quarterfinals, though she could face some competition from Shahar Peer. What about Vera Zvonareva, you may ask? Well, she had a fabulous start to the season, reaching the quarterfinals of Indian Wells, the semifinals of Miami, three other finals, and winning Prague. But after the French Open (where she also reached the fourth round), she's really cooled down. Did you know she's just 2-5 in her last seven matches (all on grass and hard courts)?
Dinara Safina vs. Jelena Jankovic is an attractive quarterfinal (So you think you're number one? Prove it.), but Elena Dementieva vs. Serena Williams could be even better, if both players make it that far. These are two supremely skilled-ball strikers who should bring out the best in one another. Or, Dementieva could get skunked 1 and 1. But Dementieva has played well in nearly every tournament she's entered in this year, and that condensed schedule could pay off at Beijing and Flushing Meadows.
Unlike their male counterparts, the Chinese women could do some damage in their bracket. But like the men, the women drew very tough first round opponents. Na Li faces No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, while Jie Zheng takes on No. 14 Agnes Szavay. Is there an upset in the cards? I think so, and Zheng, who hasn't played since Wimbledon, is who I suspect will pull it off. (Reason: She's been training exclusively for this moment since then.)
Those who clamor for conventional seeding, look away: There are some first round matches with an incredible ranking disparity (see No. 2 Jelena Jankovic vs. No. 658 Cara Black), and then there are some matches that should seemingly be contested many rounds later, like No. 19 (seeded 15th) Alize Cornet vs. No. 21 Nicole Vaidisova. If nothing else, the format of the Olympic Games allows for some pretty bizarre, but also some star-studded, early round tussles.
-- Ed McGrogan
Note: As always, "Your Call" is the daily thread specifically for the purpose of getting together on the cyber-sofa to discuss or call ongoing matches, or hot tennis topics of the day; it's the "Crisis Center" thread for those weeks when there are no Grand Slams, Masters, or Fed or Davis Cup in progress. You can go off-topic here if you like as well. This makes it easier for you to stay on-topic at "premium" posts. For going off-topic, you also have Monday Net Posts and Deuce Club on a regular basis.