Rivalry

After being billed as Blockbuster Sunday, the finals of the two US Open Series tournaments this week were contested by players who have at one time or another been tagged by the press as rivals.

At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick faced off. Federer scored a comprehensive victory over Roddick, winning 6-3,7-5. Roddick had been gunning for a tiebreaker in the second set but was disarmed by a foot injury. This enabled Federer to break serve and win the match.

This match is the 22nd consecutive final Federer has won. It is also his 10th title of the year and fourth Masters Series title. And it marks Federer's tenth win over Roddick; the American has only won one of their 11 career meetings. Had Federer not been in his way, Roddick might have been the owner of two Wimbledon titles (last year and this year). As it is, their match-up is a rivalry only in name, though Roddick has thrown everything he has--and then some--at the Swiss. After the defeats, Roddick usually jokes about his chances against Federer. "Maybe we need to do just a tag team effort or something, join forces, you know, like Power Rangers or something."

The two women who clashed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, however, have a stronger match-up. The Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne had met 18 times in their careers and had split their head-to-head record, though Henin-Hardenne had the upper hand in the last few meetings. Their most memorable meeting was at the 2003 US Open final. Both players had been dominating the women's tour and were the top two players in the rankings, but Henin-Hardenne swept Clijsters off the courts 7-5,6-1.

The Rogers Cup match was a different story. Both players came into 2005 off extended injury time, but it was Clijsters who swung out strong on hard courts, winning back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami. Henin-Hardenne was off the blocks a little slower but found her form during the clay season, winning three titles in a row and carrying off the French Open trophy.

Henin-Hardenne's form has suffered recently, though; she lost in the first round at Wimbledon and did not play at all until this week's Rogers Cup. One could say Henin-Hardenne was hamstrung, since she is still wearing a heat pad on her right hamstring (as she did at the French Open and at Wimbledon). Clijsters, in contrast, has been a steady competitor during the summer hardcourt season. True to form, Clijsters defeated Henin-Hardenne 7-5,6-1, mirroring the score at their US Open meeting.

By getting to the finals of their respective tournaments and having a strong showing during the US Open Series, Roddick and Clijsters have effectively clinched the #1 spots on the US Open Series standings for men and women. This assures them of doubled prize money at the US Open--and perhaps some standing as one of the favorites going into the last Slam of the year.

posted by Noelle De Guzman @ 9:07 AM