Tennis!

[naiwf]

She'll have been mesmerised by Halep's massive tats I bet.

They're not massive anymore. She had breast reduction surgery a while back.

[Starvinho]

Murray won his first round match in straight sets 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 6-3.

[gunnar hendershow]

She'll have been mesmerised by Halep's massive tats I bet.

They're not massive anymore. She had breast reduction surgery a while back.

One of the saddest days in tennis history.

[naiwf]

Try to remember the good times damshow, try to remember the good times

I seriously have no idea how she used to be able to play tennis without giving herself black eyes.

[IAceI]

Jankovic v Dokic certainly isn't the best advert for womens tennis. The odd good point followed by a double point, followed by a netted forehand, followed by a good point.

Then again I've took part in so many of them kind of matches myself. There's just absolutely no rhythm from either of them, stilted at best.

[IAceI]

Poor Carlos Berlocq, only two games against Djokovic. Not enough time for the US Open to see him give the crowd an eyeful of his thighs when in the ready position to return serve. I will miss that.

[naiwf]

I'd be pleased with anyone other than Serena, Sharapova or Nadal winning the titles. . .

1 down, 2 to go. Thank you Flavia Pennetta.

[EddieG]

Robin Haase has won his first set against Murray.

[Starvinho]

Not looking good for Murray, Haase takes the second set too 6-2.

[Starvinho]

Murray has battled back to two sets all, I'd be suprised if he lost it from here. 6-7 (5-7) 2-6 6-2 6-0

Edit: Extraordinary final set, Murray raced into a 4-0 lead only for Haase to bring it back to 4-4 but then Murray broke him the very next game and finally served the match out 6-4.

Edited September 2, 2011 by Starvinho

[Lineker]

Oh Muzza. You silly twat, making it harder for yourself.

[IAceI]

It was one of those things where Murray didn't play overly badly, Haase was just on form. Serves in, ground strokes in, he was hitting jumping back hands down the line for a laugh. Obviously it's hard to keep doing and the third set onwards Murray just crucified him really. Except for that slip in the fifth. This is the thing with Murray though, when Nadal, Djokovic and Federer - they come in to tournaments raising their game for the Grand Slam - Murray is just steady from beginning to end and when he comes up against an in form player despite being better than them at the time (Tsonga, Berdych etc.) he gets defeated.

Allez Murray!

[sahyder1]

Great win for Wozniacki in the Round of 16. She won 6-7,7-5,6-1. She was down 4-1 in the 2nd set.

It is a quarter to twelve here on the east coast and the Federer match hasn't even started yet. I tell myself this every year but one of these years I will get to a night session at the US Open.

[IAceI]

Does someone fancy trying to call Simon/Isner? I prefer Simon as a player but I'm leaning towards Isner on the pick. Definitely a tough one to call and I've read a lot of people say "Isner is a banker" and right after people say "Simon is a banker" for the match. Seems to differ from person to person but ultimately be fairly balanced.

[naiwf]

Does someone fancy trying to call Simon/Isner? I prefer Simon as a player but I'm leaning towards Isner on the pick. Definitely a tough one to call and I've read a lot of people say "Isner is a banker" and right after people say "Simon is a banker" for the match. Seems to differ from person to person but ultimately be fairly balanced.

I'd pick Simon to win because of the weather today. It's about 15-20 degrees cooler than it's been since the tourney began, it's been raining off and on and it's supposed to be incredibly humid for the next few days. IIRC that will slow the conditions down and that takes away from Isner's service game which is his main strength. If the rallies are long, there's no way Isner wins.

[IAceI]

But then Simon isn't a great returner and Isner's serve is better than Del Potro's, so while the cooler conditions may help in some respects, if Isner can keep a good consistency and keep it nearer the lines - something Del Potro didn't really do at all, serves and groundstrokes - then I think he'll cause Simon trouble. Not to mention Simon must be feeling the effects from all the tennis he's played.

Both players are at about evens so it's an opportunity to double the money, but I think it's just too close to call so I may keep my money in my pocket on this occassion.

If I can find a good over/under for Nadal v Muller I may look into that, I think Muller's serve and the fact it's Nadal at the US may let us see a tie break and at least two relatively close sets. I've seen over under 31.5 mentioned but my bookies doesn't always do them themselves so will have a look later. May also see if there's a reasonable Murray handicap because I don't think something like Murray -7 would be out of the question. Then again he can start some matches sluggish and concede a first set too easily so it needs some more thought.

[naiwf]

With the whole day wiped out due to rain, that definitely favors the people who played yesterday as the tournament moves forward and tries to finish on time. It's pretty obvious to me that Serena will hoist the trophy now

[Lineker]

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray voiced their disapproval after they were among the players sent out to play in damp conditions at the US Open.

Tuesday's entire schedule was lost to rain but after a 90-minute delay on Wednesday play finally began, only for a halt to be called after 16 minutes.

Briton Murray described the courts as "dangerous" and Nadal said he did "not feel protected" by event officials.

All Wednesday's men's matches were later postponed.

Tournament organisers were hopeful that the night session involving all four women's quarter-finals would still take place, but after the players took to the court at 7pm local time they were unable to compete the warm-up before the rain began to fall once again, and play was cancelled for the day.

"It's dangerous, the lines get really slippy," Murray told ESPN. "Players want to play more than anyone, but not when it's dangerous."

Defending champion Nadal said: "Grand Slams is about a lot of money. We're part of the show. They're just working for that, not for us. They know it's still raining and call us onto the court. That's not possible.

"I understand the fans want to see tennis but the health of the players is the most important and we do not feel protected. We want to feel good when we are playing a tournament and we cannot accept these things.

"We have to fight to change things, to have enough power that we don't have to go on court when it's raining. If I have to go on court, I'll go on court, but I don't think it's fair."

Murray and Nadal are among the eight men waiting to complete their fourth-round matches, leaving them behind the likes of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who are already through to the quarter-finals.

British number one Murray managed just three games of his match against Donald Young on the Grandstand court before the weather intervened, with the American leading 2-1 on serve.

Over on the main Arthur Ashe Stadium, second seed Nadal trailed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 3-0 when play was halted, while former champion Andy Roddick led fifth seed David Ferrer 3-1.

Top seeds Djokovic and Caroline Wozniacki were scheduled to be in quarter-final action during Wednesday's day session.

The night matches on Ashe should have begun with Serena Williams' quarter-final against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, followed by Roger Federer against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but the weather put paid to the original order of play.

With rain expected all week, the men's final could take place on the third Monday for the fourth successive year.

"I think if it's up for discussion if the court's playable or not, then it's not playable," said Roddick. "Walking out there it was still misting. The back of the courts were still wet.

"We wanted to make it known we didn't want to be put in that position. I certainly understand they need to put tennis on TV, I understand the business side of it as well, but players need to feel comfortable and safe."

In a statement, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) responded: "All parties, including the players and tournament, want to get the US Open back on schedule. As of 12 noon today, the best information available to us indicated the chance of a two-hour window without rain.

"Unfortunately, not all light rain and mist shows up on radar. We have experienced referees, and they decide if courts are fit for play. Conditions may be not ideal, but still can be safe.

"However, if a player or players feel that conditions are unsafe, we listen to them, as we have always done, and the referee uses that information as part of his/her assessment on whether to continue or halt play."

Frankly, its a joke. Its all about the money and the ratings nowadays, I'm afraid.

[IAceI]

I used to despise being told to play on wet courts, which in the north of England wasn't probably the best stance to have, but I was always worried about ankle injuries. Tennis is about quick changes in direction and pushing off and on a slippery court you're just asking for trouble.

[IAceI]

Isner doesn't really 'do' concise, does he? Always value for money when he's involved. Murray looked pretty tasty but his opponent is raw and unrefined so it would be dangerous to look too far into it. Still, always good to wrap up a comfortable win against a potentially tricky opponent and he'll be watching Isner/Simon and hoping it goes to a fifth set I bet.