US Open 2013: The Last Grand Slam of 2013

The final grand slam of the year is hours away. However, it is one where some key players have withdrawn due to injuries, however the two defending singles champions are back to defend their titles. One of those is Andy Murray, who won his first grand slam last year. Murray also had a gold at London and recently won another major singles title, at All England in July. Now he's looking for his third! Could he do it?

The following are first round matches of interest:

MEN
Singles, first round matches of interest
(1) Novak Djokovic v Ricardas Berankis
(2) Rafa Nadal v Ryan Harrison
(3) Andy Murray v Michael Llodra
(4) David Ferrer v Nick Kyrgios
(5) Tomas Berdych v Paolo Lorenzi
(6) Juan Martin del Potro v Guillermo Garcia Lopez
(7) Roger Federer v Grega Zemlja
(8) Richard Gasquet v Michael Russell
(9) Stan Wawrinka v Radek Stepanek
(10) Milos Raonic v Thomas Fabbiano
(11) Kei Nishikori v Daniel Evans
(12) Tommy Haas v Paul Henri Mathieu
(13) John Isner v Filippo Volandri
(14) Jerzy Janowicz v Maximo Gonzalez
(15) Nicolas Almagro v Denis Istomin
(16) Fabio Fognini v Rajeev Ram
(17) Kevin Anderson v Daniel Brands
(18) Janko Tipsarevic v Pablo Cuevas
(19) Tommy Robredo v Marinko Matosevic
(20) Andreas Seppi v Xavier Malisse
(21) Mikhail Youzhny v Nicolas Mahut
(22) Philipp Kohlschreiber v Collin Altamirano
(24) Benoit Paire v Alex Bogomolov Jr.
(25) Grigor Dimitrov v Joao Sousa
(26) Sam Querrey v Guido Pella
(27) Fernando Verdasco v Ivan Dodig
(28) Juan Monaco v Florian Mayer
(29) Jurgen Melzer v Evgeny Donskoy
(30) Ernests Gulbis v Andreas Haider Maurer
(31) Julien Benneteau v Michal Przysiezny
Lleyton Hewitt v Brian Baker
James Blake v Ivo Karlovic
Gael Monfils v Adrian Ungur
David Goffin v Alex Dolgopolov
Ben Becker v Lukas Rosol
Marcos Baghdatis v Go Soeda
Donald Young v Martin Klizan
Sergiy Stakhovsky v Jeremy Chardy
Jack Sock v Philipp Petschner
Bernard Tomic v Albert Ramos
Jurgen Zopp v Marcel Granollers
Andrey Kuznetsov v Dudi Sela
Kenny de Schepper v Bradley Klahn
Lukasz Kubot v Jarkko Nieminen
Lukas Lacko v Somdev Devvarman
Robin Haase v Frank Dancevic
Steve Johnson v Tobias Kamke
Santiago Giraldo v Carlos Berlocq
Nikolay Davydenko v Rhyne Williams
Adrian Mannarino v Horacio Zeballos

WOMEN
Singles, first round matches of interest
(1) Serena Williams v Francesca Schiavone
(2) Victoria Azarenka v Dinah Pfizenmaier
(3) Agnieszka Radwanska v Silvia Soler Espinosa
(4) Sara Errani v Ayumi Morita
(5) Na Li v Olga Govortsova
(6) Caroline Wozniacki v Ying Ying Duan
(7) Petra Kvitova v Misaki Doi
(8) Angelique Kerber v Lucie Hradecka
(9) Jelena Jankovic v Madison Keys
(10) Roberta Vinci v Timea Babos
(11) Sam Stosur v Victoria Duval
(12) Kirsten Flipkens v Venus Williams
(13) Ana Ivanovic v Anna Tatishvili
(14) Maria Kirilenko v Yanina Wickmayer
(15) Sloane Stephens v Mandy Minella
(16) Sabine Lisicki v Vera Dushevina
(17) Dominika Cibulkova v Elina Svitolina
(18) Carla Suarez Navarro v Lauren Davis
(19) Sorana Cirstea v Sharon Fichman
(20) Nadia Petrova v Julia Glushko
(21) Simona Halep v Heather Watson
(22) Elena Vesnina v Annika Beck
(23) Jamie Hampton v Lara Arruabarrena
(24) Ekaterina Makarova v Polona Hercog
(25) Kaia Kanepi v Vania King
(26) Alize Cornet v Maria Joao Koehler
(27) Svetlana Kuznetsova v Mallory Burdette
(28) Mona Barthel v Johanna Larsson
(30) Laura Robson v Lourdes Dominguez Lino
(32) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Virginie Razzano
Bojana Jovanovski v Andrea Petkovic
Paula Ormaechea v Kimiko Date Krumm
Irina Camelia Begu v Urszula Radwanska
Mathilde Johansson v Bethanie Mattek Sands
Nicole Gibbs v Flavia Pennetta
Maria Sanchez v Daniela Hantuchova
Tsvetana Pironkova v Alison Riske
Julia Goerges v Christina McHale
Monica Puig v Alisa Kleybanova
Coco Vandeweghe v Aleksandra Krunic
Varvara Lepchenko v Alexandra Dulgheru
Ashleigh Barty v Estrella Cabeza Candela
Shuai Peng v Yvonne Meusberger
Casey Dellacqua v Ajla Tomljanovic
Mirjana Lucic Baroni v Sachia Vickery
Kristina Mladenovic v Anna Medina Garrigues
Karolina Pliskova v Eugenie Bouchard
Chanelle Scheepers v Chanel Simmonds
Lesia Tsurenko v Lucie Safarova
Petra Cetkovska v Sofia Arvidsson
Aleksandra Wozniak v Vesna Dolonc
Karin Knapp v Grace Min
Camila Giorgi v Jana Cepelova
Galina Voskoboeva v Monica Niculescu
Yaroslava Shvedova v Olga Puchkova

As you see, some of the key players are missing, including Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Mardy Fish and Maria Sharapova, who are out due to injuries. Also the shocking retirement of Marion Bartoli, who won her first-and possibly her only-grand slam singles title at All England last month.

It all begins Monday. Not near a TV, US Open Radio on the US Open site (remember it's usopen.ORG NOT usopen.COM. The '.com' is the golf one, but you want the tennis one, so it's '.org.') and their apps are a good choice, and also live streaming on the grounds as it has been the case over the past few years. If you have a TV, DIRECTV has the mix channels, as well as ESPN, Tennis and the dual colossal coverage on the weekends and Labor Day on CBS and CBS Sports Network.

It's the final grand slam of the year. Enjoy it while you can.

U.S. Open-The Season's Final Grand Slam-Begins Monday!

It's that time again, as the final grand slam of the season comes to North America with the USTA's US Open beginning Monday! REAL nighttime tennis as the grand slam season comes to a close and please no rain!

The drawings took place over the weekend, with qualifiers in the singles and doubles announced. In the singles, here are some of the matches to look forward to of interest:

MEN-singles
(1) Roger Federer v Donald Young
(2) Novak Djokovic v Paolo Lorenzi
(3) Andy Murray v Alex Bogomolov Jr.
(4) David Ferrer v Kevin Anderson
(5) Jo Wilfried Tsonga v Karol Beck
(6) Tomas Berdych v David Goffin
(7) Juan Martin del Potro v David Nalbandian
(8) Janko Tipsarevic v Guillaume Rufin
(9) John Isner v Xavier Malisse
(10) Juan Monaco v Guillermo Garcia Lopez
(11) Nicolas Almagro v Radek Stepanek
(12) Marin Cilic v Marinko Matosevic
(13) Richard Gasquet v Albert Montanes
(14) Alex Dolgopolov v Jesse Levine
(15) Milos Raonic v Santiago Giraldo
(16) Gilles Simon v Michael Russell
(18) Stan Wawrinka v Sergiy Stakhovsky
(19) Philipp Kohlschreiber v Michael Llodra
(20) Andy Roddick v Rhyne Williams
(21) Tommy Haas v Ernests Gulbis
(22) Florian Mayer v Jack Sock
(23) Mardy Fish v Go Soeda
(25) Fernando Verdasco v Rui Machado
(27) Sam Querrey v Yen Hsun Lu
(28) Mikhail Youzhny v Gilles Muller
(29) Viktor Troicki v Cedrik Marcel Stebe
(30) Feliciano Lopez v Robin Haase
(31) Julien Benneteau v Olivier Rochus
Nicolas Mahut v Philipp Petzschner
Tobias Kamke v Lleyton Hewitt
Lukas Lacko v James Blake
Ben Becker v Ryan Harrison
Brian Baker v Jan Hajek
Marcos Baghdatis v Matthias Bachinger
Jurgen Melzer v Bradley Klahn
Carlos Berlocq v Bernard Tomic
Nikolay Davydenko v Guido Pella
Ivo Karlovic v Jimmy Wang
*Remember: Rafael Nadal isn't playing due to that knee injury that kept him out of London 2012. Gael Monfils is also out with injury in which he hasn't been playing virtually all year.

WOMEN-singles
(1) Victoria Azarenka v Alexandra Panova
(2) Agnieszka Radwanska v Nina Bratchikova
(3) Maria Sharapova v Melinda Czink
(4) Serena Williams v CoCo Vandeweghe
(5) Petra Kvitova v Polona Hercog
(6) Angelique Kerber v Anne Keothavong
(7) Sam Stosur v Petra Martic
(8) Caroline Wozniacki v Irina Camelia Begu
(9) Na Li v Heather Watson
(10) Sara Errani v Garbine Muguruza
(11) Marion Bartoli v Jamie Hampton
(13) Dominika Cibulkova v  Johanna Larsson
(12) Ana Ivanovic v Elina Svitolina
(14) Maria Kirilenko v Chanelle Scheepers
(15) Lucie Safarova v Melanie Oudin
(16) Sabine Lisicki v Sorana Cirstea
(17) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Daniela Hantuchova
(18) Julia Goerges v Kristyna Pliskova
(19) Nadia Petrova v Jarmila Gajdosova
(20) Urszula Radwanska v Roberta Vinci
(21) Christina McHale v Kiki Bertens
(22) Francesca Schiavone v Sloane Stephens
(23) Kim Clijsters v Victoria Duval (Clijsters' farewell to her career begins with this match.)
(25) Yanina Wickmayer v Julia Glushko
(28) Jie Zheng v Virgnie Razzano
(29) Tamira Paszek v Olga Govortsova
(30) Jelena Jankovic v Kateryna Bondarenko
(31) Varvara Lepchenko v Mathilde Johansson
(32) Shuai Peng v Elena Vesnina
Bethanie Mattek Sands v Venus Williams
Kimiko Date Krumm v Sofia Arvidsson
Romina Oprandi v Andrea Petkovic
Tsvetana Pironkova v Camila Giorgi
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova v Kirsten Flipkens
Anastasia Rodionova v Julia Cohen
Pauline Parmentier v Michaella Krajicek
Simona Halep v Iveta Benesova
Vania King v Yaroslava Shvedova
Samantha Crawford v Laura Robson
Mirjana Lucic v Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez
Alexandra Cadantu v Aleksandra Wozniak

Begins Monday! US Open Live radio and scoring here. On TV it's on Tennis Channel and ESPN networks all week. CBS is back at US Open for their usual weekend and Labour Day coverage! The men's final after the early games on the NFL on CBS is usually a tradition on CBS on the first Sunday of the NFL season-except from 1994-97 (CBS also has Super Bowl XLVII this February).

The Championships at Wimbledon 2012, a Preview!

It's late June and it's time for The Championships at Wimbledon 2012! Nothing beats tennis on grass. The way it should be!

Among some of the big stories of this year's Championships is the possible final match of Kim Clijsters, a Grand Slam champion, who is slated to retire after USTA Open in New York in September. She will try to get into the London games as well pending the rankings and qualification procedure standards of the ITF.

Also since the Games of the XXX Olympiad is in London, All-England will be the venue for the tennis competitions beginning the first week in late July.

Anyway, here are some notable first round singles matches, beginning Monday!

MEN
singles first round
(1) Novak Djokovic v Juan Carlos Ferrero
(2) Rafa Nadal v Thomaz Bellucci
(3) Roger Federer v Albert Ramos
(4) Andy Murray v Nikolay Davydenko
(5) Jo Wilfried Tsonga v Lleyton Hewitt
(6) Tomas Berdych v Ernests Gulbis
(7) David Ferrer v Dustin Brown
(8) Janko Tipsarevic v David Nalbandian
(9) Juan Martin del Potro v Robin Haase
(10) Mardy Fish v Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo
(11) John Isner v Alejandro Falla
(13) Gilles Simon v Paul Henri Mathieu
(16) Marin Cilic v Cedrik-Marcel Stebe
(17) Fernando Verdasco v Jimmy Wang
(18) Richard Gasquet v Tobias Kamke
(20) Bernard Tomic v David Goffin
(21) Milos Raonic v Santiago Giraldo
(22) Alex Dolgopolov v Alex Bogomolov Jr.
(25) Stan Wawrinka v Jurgen Meltzer
(26) Mikhail Youzhny v Donald Young
(27) Philipp Kohlschreiber v Tommy Haas
(28) Radek Stepanek v Sergiy Stakhovsky
(30) Andy Roddick v Jamie Baker
Ryan Harrison v Yen-Hsun Lu
Paolo Lorenzi v Nicolas Mahut
Benjamin Becker v James Blake
Vasek Pospisil v Sam Querrey
Albert Montanes v Marcos Baghdatis
Xavier Malisse v Marinko Matosevic
Ivo Karlovic v Dudi Sela
Andrey Kuznetsov v Florent Serra

WOMEN
singles first round
(1) Maria Sharapova v Anastasia Rodionova
(2) Victoria Azarenka v Irina Falconi
(3) Aga Radwanska v Magdalena Rybarikova
(4) Petra Kvitova v Akgul Amanmuradova
(5) Sam Stosur v Carla Suarez Navarro
(6) Serena Williams v Barbora Zahlavova Strycova
(7) Caroline Wozniacki v Tamira Paszek
(8) Angelique Kerber v Lucie Hradecka
(9) Marion Bartoli v Casey Dellacqua
(10) Sara Errani v Coco Vandeweghe
(11) Na Li v Ksenia Pervak
(12) Vera Zvonareva v Mona Barthel
(13) Dominika Cibulkova v Klara Zakopalova
(14) Ana Ivanovic v Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez
(15) Sabine Lisicki v Petra Martic
(16) Flavia Pennetta v Camila Giorgi
(17) Maria Kirilenko v Alexandra Cadantu
(18) Jelena Jankovic v Kim Clijsters
(20) Nadia Petrova v Maria Elena Camerin
(21) Roberta Vinci v Ashleigh Barty
(22) Julia Goerges v Shahar Peer
(23) Petra Cetkovska v Vania King
(24) Francesca Schiavone v Laura Robson
(27) Daniela Hantuchova v Jamie Lee Hampton
(28) Christina McHale v Johanna Konta
(30) Shuai Peng v Sandra Zaniewska
(31) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Sofia Arvidsson
(32) Svetlana Kuznetsova v Yanina Wickmayer
Venus Williams v Elena Vesnina
Kimiko Date Krumm v Kateryna Bondarenko
Timea Babos v Melanie Oudin
Iveta Benesova v Heather Watson
Sloane Stephens v Karolina Pliskova
Ursula Radwanska v Marina Erakovic
Laura Pous Tio v Anne Keothavong
Sorana Cirstea v Pauline Parmentier
Mirjana Lucic v Alexandra Panova
Anabel Medina Garrigues v Simona Halep
Vesna Dolonc v Tsvetana Pironkova
Irina Camelia Begu v Romina Oprandi

For the first time in 43 years, NBC will not have any coverage of the Championships for us in the states. ESPN will have coverage all through to the finals as ESPN outbid NBC last year. Cable only for us here in the states. But you can go here for live scores and of course the best commentary around with Radio Wimbledon!

Australian Open 2012 is here!

After fighting injuries, Kim Clijsters is back in Melbourne to defending her women's singles title as she will enter the first grand slam of 2012 as the 11th seed. Remember, she pulled out of the US Open after ankle injuries. Prior to the 2011 US Open, Clijsters was the defending two time singles champion.

On the singles side at Melbourne this year, Novak Djokovic and Caroline Wozniacki are the #1 seeds. Could we see some surprises come out of this first grand slam of the year?

Some notable first round singles matches:

MEN
(1) Novak Djokovic v Paolo Lorenzi
(2) Rafa Nadal v Alex Kuznetsov
(3) Roger Federer v Alexander Kudryavtsev
(4) Andy Murray v Ryan Harrison
(5) David Ferrer v Rui Machado
(6) Jo Wilfried Tsonga v Denis Istomin
(7) Tomas Berdych v Albert Ramos
(8) Mardy Fish v Gilles Muller
(11) Juan Martin del Potro v Adrian Mannarino
(12) Gilles Simon v Danai Udomchoke
(13) Alexandr Dolgopolov v Greg Jones
(14) Gael Monfils v Matinko Matosevic
(15) Andy Roddick v Robin Haase
(16) John Isner v Ben Mitchell
(21) Stan Wawrinka v Benoit Paire
(22) Fernando Verdasco v Bernard Tomic
(25) Juan Monaco v Philipp Kohlschriber
(29) Radek Stepanek v Nick Mahut
(31) Jurgen Melzer v Ivo Karlovic
Ben Becker v Marcos Baghdatis
Lleyton Hewitt v Cedrik Marcel Stebe
David Nalbandian v Jarkko Nieminen
Sam Querrey v Kenny de Schepper
Sergiy Stakhovsky v Illya Marchenko
Donald Young v Peter Gojowczyk

WOMEN
(1) Caroline Wozniacki v Anastasia Rodionova
(2) Petra Kvitova v Vera Dushnevina
(3) Victoria Azarenka v Heather Watson
(4) Maria Sharapova v Gisela Dulko
(5) Li Na v Ksenia Pervak
(6) Sam Stosur v Sorana Cirstea
(7) Vera Zvonareva v Alexandra Dulgheru
(8) Agnieszka Radwanska v Bethanie Mattek Sands
(9) Marion Bartoli v Virginie Razzano
(10) Francesca Schiavone v Laura Pous-Tio
(11) Kim Clijsters v Maria Joao Koehler
(12) Serena Williams v Tamira Paszek
(13) Jelena Jankovic v Laura Robson
(14) Sabine Lisicki v Stefanie Voegele
(15) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Klara Zakopalova
(16) Peng Shuai v Aravane Rezai
(18) Svetlana Kuznetsova v Chanelle Scheepers
(19) Flavia Pennetta v Nina Bratchikova
(21) Ana Ivanovic v Lourdes Dominguez Lino
(22) Julia Goerges v Polona Hercog
(24) Lucie Safarova v Christina McHale
(27) Maria Kirilenko v Jarmila Gajdosova
(28) Yanina Wickmayer v Galina Voskoboeva
(29) Nadia Petrova v Andrea Hlavackova
Kimiko Date Krimm v Eleni Daniilidou
Jelena Dokic v Anna Chakvetadze
Anne Keothavong v Mona Barthel
Michaella Krajicek v Kristina barrois

7 will be once again the host network of the Grand Slam of Asia and Pacific. In the US, it's on Tennis Channel and ESPN (check listings carefully).

US Open 2011: A Preview!

The last grand slam of the year at the USTA complex in Queens begins Monday! So here's some items to look for this year's US Open:

On the men's side, Novak Djokovic is the #1 seed in the singles side. Shreveport native Ryan Harrison will take on Marin Cilic in the first round. Gonna be tough. Cilic was a contender in some events at some time. Roger Federer will be the third seed, while Andy Murray will be the fourth seed. Defending singles champ Rafa Nadal is the 2nd seed.

On the women's side, two time defending singles champ Kim Clijsters has withdrawn from her third straight major due to injury. The Aussie Open women's singles champ has a pulled stomach muscle that according to her, that it would take a few weeks to recooperate, so resting is the most logical choice rather than risking it for even worse injuries. Where does this leave the singles side at the US Open this year? Let's see.

Sweet Caroline! Caro Wozniacki will get the #1 seed. Not surprising. French Open champ Li Na gets the 6th seed. Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova will have the 5th seed, while Vera Zvonareva will get the 2nd seed.

Live here in the states on TV via Tennis Channel, ESPN and CBS. Live timing and video here.

The ONLY grand slam with nighttime tennis. Nuff said! The only thing that could push the opening day back is Irene. Everything in NYC and the east coast is pushed back for now. Not sure of the US Open schedule for Monday, so check the US Open website.

Wimbledon Now in the Rear View Mirror.

The 125th Championships at Wimbledon is complete. Congrats to all the winners including Petra Kvitova, who scored her first grand slam championship on Saturday and Novak Djokovic, who is now the world's number one, and has a grand slam to boot as well!

So with all that in mind, that marks the 3/4 mark of the grand slam in 2011. The US Open Series will begin in a few weeks, and all will lead to the final grand slam of the year at the USTA Complex at Flushing Meadows in the NYC borrough of Queens in late August!

The first Grand Slam of the season is here!

It's the time all tennis fans have longed for. The Australian Open! First Grand Slam of 2011, and the best time to catch a grand slam until Roland Garros in May.

For the schedule matches of this day 1, they're right here.

In this first day of action, Shreveport's Ryan Harrison is in action, so is Nole Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Venus, top seeded Caroline Wozniacki, and JUSTINE HENIN! Yes folks. There's also live timing and scoring too!