Swung Wide Open

and by Josh Brick

Tonight marked the culmination of the 2009 ATP U.S. Open Championship and it was nothing short of amazing. Riddled with upsets, questionable calls, and Cinderella stories, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year was something to behold. Here is a chronicle of the top five events from this year’s tournament.

1. Del Potro Upsets number 1 Roger Federer.

In an amazing display of physical talent, 20 year old Juan Martin Del Potro from Argentina launched an absolutely stunning comeback to defeat the best player in the world, Roger Federer, to win the U.S. Open final. Standing at a whopping 6’6” Del Potro normally defeats his opponents with his monster serve, but tonight he displayed a more conservative serve and relied on his powerful and consistent ground strokes to carry him through to victory. Coming into the match as an overwhelming underdog, Del Potro struggled to calm his nerves towards the beginning of the match dropping 2 of the first 3 sets. In the end it was Federer who needed to get a handle on his composure as he struggled with unforced errors. The 2009 Men’s final was the longest in the history of the U.S. Open and was nothing short of spectacular.

2. Serena Goes Ball-istic.

“I swear to God I’m [expletive] going to take this [expletive] ball and shove it down your [expletive] throat, you hear that? I swear to God.”

Woah. And I thought tennis was a gentleman’s game. Well this was a women’s match, and there was nothing gentle about the ill wishes of number 1 seed Serena Williams.

At 15-30 in what turned out to be the final game of the women’s semifinal match, Williams fell victim to an absolutely ridiculous call from a lineswoman – a foot fault to put her down two match points. A call that many would consider total malarkey in such a moment – including Williams – and she made it known. In a matter of seconds, Serena lost her head and the match. To her credit, Serena had a case. You don’t make that call; however, the actions of the 11-time grand slam champion were inexcusable in the end. It was an ugly moment that won’t define Serena’s career by any means, but won’t be soon forgotten, either.

3. Supermom’s Storybook Slam

Most comebacks are bittersweet, at best. Michael Jordan won three titles with his second go-round with the Chicago Bulls, but certainly would like to forget his tenure with the Wizards. The Brett Favre experiment has been rocky so far, and Roger Clemens came out of retirement before missing a single major league game. We all know how that ended.

Kim Clijsters did her best to reverse the trend of lackluster rebound efforts with her unlikely claim to the US Open crown. After retiring in 2007 and having a baby a year later, the Belgian took out two tennis giants en route to becoming the first unseeded player to win the US Open. After an impressive display in the first three rounds, Clijsters was the feel-good story of the opening week. Then came a marquee match-up against Venus Williams, whom she disposed of in three somewhat odd sets that featured two bagels. To back that up, she ended Serena’s run to the title with solid groundstrokes that fans remembered from her 2005 Open title, her last appearance in Flushing Meadows. The victory launches Clijsters into the top 20 and back into the mix on the womens’ tour.

4. Oudin’s Grand Stand

Throughout the last 10 years there has been 2 faces to U.S. Women’s tennis; Venus and Serena Williams. In this year’s U.S. Open tournament a new force emerged in 17 year old Melanie Oudin. Oudin, virtually unknown in the tennis world before last week displayed several impressive performances defeating Dementieva (4), Sharapova (29), and Petrova (13) to reach the Quarter Finals. To add to her impressive display last week, Oudin stands at a mere 5’6” compared to her fellow giant sized female opponents.

5. Fed Through the Legs

Despite losing in the Finals to Del Potro, Rogerer Federer gets the award for best shot of the tournament, hitting an absolutely stunning cross-court winner through his legs against Novak Djokovic in the Semi Finals.