US Open Day 1 Pix Post

A few visuals from Day 1 at the US Open. for more, check us out on Facebook at: Facebook.com/BlacklabelTennis

Not Fed's Cup

For a few years now, NetJets has run a commercial featuring Roger Federer dragging a cart full of trophies across an airport tarmac.  It's surely a fitting image for a man who's acquired as much hardware as the gilded Swiss.  In fact, if you compare his record to any of the would-be GOATs (Greatest of All Time) there are only a couple of omissions.  He never won the (true) Grand Slam (OK, well only two men ever have, we can give him a pass there), nor Olympic singles gold (an event known for "funky" results, Rafael Nadal's form run in 2008 notwithstanding).  Federer's also never won the Davis Cup.  That omission is a bit less forgivable, especially after his 0-2 performance this weekend on Swiss indoor clay against Team USA.

2012 Australian Open Predictions: The Men (Blacklabel vs. the Computer)

Those four guys are still around, right?  You know, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray right?  So why do the full on Australian Open men's bracket breakdown?  Don't we already know who's going to be around at the tail end of the tournament?  Maybe.  Anyway, let's have a little fun with this.  We got such positive feedback about our collaboration at the Bloggers' Bar at the ed of last year that we thought, why not bring in some outside perspectives again.  To that end, I've been corresponding with my fellow New Yorker Jeff Sackmann who runs a really interesting tennis blog called Heavy Topspin.  What I immediately loved about his take on tennis predictions is their bloodlessness.  Jeff's developed an algorithm that takes into account the quality of opponents (adjusted for surface), recency of result over two years and head-to-head results and then runs a million simulations of the ENTIRE draw to predict the outcome of a tournament.

What happens when V Blacklabel takes on Jeff and his computer?  Well, read on to find out:

ATP World Tour Final Oddsmaking

The ATP World Tour Final (heretofore known as the ATP WTF) is a curious event.  The round robin, featuring only the eight highest ranked players in the world, played in London's O2 arena has a jagged history debuting in its present form only in 1999 (versus the legs of the Grand Slam, the youngest of which, the Australian Open, debuted in 1905).  Even though this event doesn't necessarily have the history or prestige of the majors, the Davis Cup or the Olympics, the ATP has done a good job of building the WTF into a showpiece for their biggest stars, especially since the event's fortuitous move to London in 2009.  How will the ATP WTF play out?  Well, we think we have a pretty solid idea.

The Sunday Line, 8/14/11

Making the call on this weekend's ATP and WTA finals.

Rogers Cup
Toronto, Canada (Hard)

Samantha Stosur

Serena Williams

As quickly as she's rounded her way into form it's easy to forget that Serena Williams is officially ranked 80th in the world and is only playing her fourth tournament of 2011.  As quickly as the wheels fell off after her upset loss to Francesca Schiavone in the Roland Garros final a year ago, it's easy to forget that this time last year Sam Stosur was a top five player who many tennis pundits were pegging as a future Grand Slam champion and potential World No. 1.  Such is tennis, the sport rewards those with the resilience and selective memories to put disappointment behind them consistently and bounce back to fight another day.

The Sunday Line, 7/24/11

Making the call on this week's ATP & WTA Singles Finals

Atlanta Tennis Championships
Atlanta, GA, USA (Hard)

John Isner

Mardy Fish

The US Open Series kicks off in Hotlanta with two Americans in a rematch of last year's final and my how things have changed since that meeting.  Fish, once a perennial also-ran is now a solid, if unspectacular, top ten player.  Isner, the 6'10" ex-golden boy, on the other hand, is here trying to arrest a slide in the rankings that has him on the verge of going into the US Open unseeded.  

Get On The Puddlejumper

Quick multiple choice question

Is ATL-LAX-IAD-YUL-CVG-INT-JFK

a.) A long few weeks for a corporate road warrior
b.) The route my lost luggage took to get home from Atlanta
c.) A great opportunity to rack up frequent flyer miles
d.) Mardy Fish's US Open Series summer schedule

If you answered D...well, at least you know what kind of website you're on.

Blacklabel Tennis Power Rankings - July 2011

Welcome to the first edition of the Blacklabel Tennis Power Rankings.  The idea's pretty simple, we'll tell you who the top ten players are RIGHT NOW every month, why they're hot, why they're cold and why you need to pay attention going forward.  Agree? Disagree?  Leave it in the comments.

Anyone want to take a wild guess who's at the top?

1. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
What's left to say?  Australian Open champion, Wimbledon champion, World 
No. 1 ranking, long term lease in the head of one, Rafael Nadal.  The man who single-handedly destroyed the gluten industry.  Oh, and one more thing, he's going into his favorite part of the year, the American hardcourt swing.  Right now, only two things can derail Djokovic, injury or complacency.  I don't think the latter is a possibility.  There's still a lot he wants to win and his next order of business will be claiming that US Open trophy from a guy he's beaten five times in a row.

Wimbledon Day Eight (3 Thoughts)

It seems that with every major, a storyline emerges that defines not only the fortnight, but the immediate landscape of the game.  The women's game of late, has been dominated by an absence of dominance.  Where Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray provide a level of stability and star power to the men's game, the women have been searching for a champion in more ways than one.

Revisionist Predicting (Wimbledon's Sweet 16 - ATP)

To translate for my brethren who are general sports fans, Monday is Wimbledon's Sweet 16 round.  All of the remaining players in the draw will take the court (British weather permitting) for a shot at the quarterfinals.  The 128 men who showed up a week ago with aspirations, however faint, of hoisting the Wimbledon trophy are down to 16 and there are only a few unexpected contenders among them.  In short, expect some early 4th of July fireworks at the All England Club.

Here's your Wimbledon men's round of 16 preview: