Federer a family man again as U.S. Open buildup reaches takeoff stage

Roger Federer flew out of Cincinnati on a private jet after a rare tournament week without his young family at his side, with the Swiss re-united with his wife and two daughters after winning his second trophy of the season at the weekend.

The world's No. 2 player firmly re-established himself as a firm title contender for the U.S. Open when competition begins in a week at the last Grand Slam of the season.

Federer earned his fourth Cincinnati Masters title with a 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 comeback defeat of Mardy Fish Sunday, his sixth win from seven meetings with the American.

During his winning week on cement in the Midwest, wife Mirka and the couple's infant twin daughters were elsewhere, with dad meeting them again late Sunday after his 63rd career title performance from 90 ATP finals.

This build-up week at Flushing Meadows should be comfortable for the Swiss, who comes off a fortnight of success with a Toronto final against Andy Murray to start his summer hardcourt campaign.

Title favorites for the Open remain the same old names.

"I guess top four have the best shot again, naturally," said 16- time Grand Slam champion Federer who missed a fifth final a year ago when he lost a fifth set to Argentine Juan Del Potro. "We can all play really well on the hardcourts.

"Murray has proven himself, so has (Novak) Djokovic on the hardcourts and so has Rafa (Nadal).

"Maybe U.S. Open is a bit faster, so you figure Rafa will struggle a bit more. But if the draw goes his way, he'll be in the finals and have a crack at the title, too. He knows how to win slams. He's won all the other ones."

Federer called the upcoming major "interesting."

"Many guys are playing well again. Murray had not won a tournament for a long time (he lost to Federer in Australia last January) and he was been able to win Toronto again. That definitely puts him as one of the favorites as well."

The Swiss is keeping his short-list for Open success short for a reason -- the level of competition is huge among the elite on the men's side.

"You see how hard it is today to win slams and tournaments. There are many good players around and many dangerous floaters in the draws. It's hard to win them all."

Federer will be seeded second at Flushing Meadows behind Nadal, and could meet his Spanish rival in a dream final in three weeks.

Keys hopes to earn way into U.S. Open

On the evening before Madison Keys was scheduled to play her first match in the U.S. Open main-draw qualifiers she went strolling down Park Avenue in Manhattan with her parents doing some sight-seeing and shopping.

"I guess I should go over [one avenue] to Madison," giggled Keys via cell phone.

Why should she be nervous?

After all, Keys, who turned pro last year at 14, won her first professional tournament in June, a $10,000 ITF event in Cleveland.

And last summer, while most of her friends back home in Rock Island, Ill., were dreaming of faraway beaches, Keys was beating top-ranked Serena Williams in a World Team Tennis match 5-1.

She even received a, "Good job," from tennis legend and WTT founder Billie Jean King.

"I've wanted to play in Grand Slams since I was little," said Keys, 15, ranked 657th on the WTA and 78th in the ITF. "I wanted to wear tennis dresses that Serena and Venus [Williams] wore.

"Winning [Cleveland] gave me confidence that I could compete with the pros."

Keys moved to the Evert Tennis Academy when she was 10 and admittedly had never heard of Chris Evert, winner of 17 Grand Slams, including five U.S. Opens.

After dominating the national 12s division, dramatic growth spurts gave Keys pain in her knees and hips, forcing her off the court. She's now healthy and a sturdy 5-foot-11.

"The sky's the limit," said Keys' coach John Evert, the USTA Developemental Coach of the Year. "She's got a big serve and forehand, and can knock off a winner anywhere on the court.

"She has that, 'it,' factor, but she needs a lot more experience."

Keys, who beat the 81st-ranked Alla Kudryavtseva in her WTA debut at Ponte Vedra last year, needs to win three rounds of qualies to earn one of the 128 spots. She's also competing in the junior tournament.

"I feel like I've finally stopped growing," she said. "Everything is coming together right now."

Three women with New York-area ties among 2010 US Open wild card recipients

NCAA singles champion Chelsey Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Jamie Hampton (Auburn, Ala.), local favorite Christina McHale (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), 2010 USTA Girls’ singles champion Shelby Rogers (Daniel Island, S.C.), and Coco Vandeweghe (Rancho Mirage, Calif.), along with two international players -- Australian Sophie Ferguson and Virginie Razzano of France -- have been awarded women’s singles main-draw wild-card entries into the 2010 US Open Tennis Championships. One additional wild card will be given to the winner of the 2010 US Open Wild Card Playoff, held August 18-20 at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla. The 2010 US Open will be played August 30-September 12 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

Three of the women have local ties to the New York area. NCAA singles champion Gullickson is the daughter of former New York Yankee Bill Gullickson; Vandeweghe is the niece of Kiki Vandeweghe, the former NBA standout and previous general manager and head coach of the New Jersey Nets; and McHale resides in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., just 15 miles away from the site of the US Open.

Both the men’s and women’s US Open singles champions will earn $1.7 million, with the ability to earn an additional $1 million in bonus prize money (for a total potential payout of $2.7 million) based on their performance in the 2010 Olympus US Open Series. The US Open Women’s Singles Championship is presented by JPMorgan Chase.

Gullickson, who turns 20 on August 29 and hails from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., won the NCAA Division I singles title this year representing the University of Georgia, becoming the school’s first NCAA women’s singles champion since 1994. Gullickson won her first USTA Pro Circuit singles title in 2008 and, that same year, teamed with sister (and 2009 US Open mixed doubles champion) Carly to reach the doubles final at the USTA Pro Circuit event in Hammond, La. Gullickson’s father, Bill, was a professional pitcher who played for the New York Yankees in 1987 and led the American League with 20 wins for the 1991 Detroit Tigers.

Hampton, 20, of Auburn, Ala., is ranked No. 160 and has risen more than 550 spots in the rankings in 2010 by reaching six USTA Pro Circuit singles finals and winning three titles. She also qualified for the Olympus US Open Series event in San Diego this year and received a main-draw wild card into Cincinnati a week later. As a junior, Hampton twice won the USTA Girls’ 18s doubles title (2007-08) to earn wild cards into the US Open women’s doubles draw.

McHale, 18, of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is ranked a career-high No. 115 and is one of the rising stars in American tennis. Last year she won the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championship to earn a wild card into the US Open main draw, where she defeated then-world No. 81 Polona Hercog to become just the second USTA Girls’ 18s champion since 1998 to win her first round match at the US Open. This year McHale won a USTA playoff to earn a French Open main-draw wild card, and reached the round of 16 at both the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C., and the Olympus US Open Series event in Cincinnati. She won the 2009 Easter Bowl to crack the Top 10 in the world junior rankings.

Rogers, 17, of Daniel Island, S.C., earned a wild card into the main draw by winning the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships. She burst onto the tennis scene earlier this year, winning a pre-qualifying event to earn a qualifying wild card into the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C., and reaching the final of the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., as a qualifier. More recently, she reached the quarterfinals of the $75,000 event in Vancouver. This is Rogers’ first appearance at the US Open, in either the main draws or the juniors.

Vandeweghe, 18, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., is ranked a career-high No. 168. In what has been the strongest year of her career thus far, she won a USTA playoff to earn a 2010 Australian Open main-draw wild card and also claimed her first pro title at the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Carson, Calif. She recently reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 Olympus US Open Series event in San Diego as a qualifier, defeating world No. 9 Vera Zvonareva en route. Vandeweghe captured the 2008 US Open girls’ singles championship. Her mom, Tauna, was an Olympic medalist in both swimming and volleyball, and her uncle is a former NBA star and previous general manager and head coach of the New Jersey Nets, Kiki Vandeweghe.

Ferguson, 24, of Australia, is ranked No. 113. This year she qualified and advanced to the second round of the French Open. She also reached the final of the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Razzano, 27, of France, is ranked No. 114 and cracked the Top 20 last year after advancing to the fourth round of the French Open and Wimbledon. She holds two Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles and has played for the French Fed Cup team. Razzano has competed in the US Open main draw nine times, advancing to the fourth round in 2006, which included an upset of world No. 9 Martina Hingis in the second round.

In addition to the eight US Open women’s singles main-draw wild cards, the USTA also announced the nine women who have been awarded wild-card entries into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, which will be held August 24-27 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Players receiving US Open qualifying wild cards are: Julia Boserup (18, Boca Raton, Fla.), Beatrice Capra (18, Ellicott City, Md.), Irina Falconi (20, Jupiter, Fla.), Nicole Gibbs (17, Santa Monica, Calif.), Alexa Glatch (20, Newport Beach, Calif.), Krista Hardebeck (15, Santa Ana, Calif.), Madison Keys (15, Boca Raton, Fla.), Sloane Stephens (17, San Pedro, Calif.) and 2010 US Open National Playoffs women’s champion Alexandra Mueller (22, Abington, Pa.).

The 2010 US Open will be held Monday, August 30 through Sunday, September 12. Tickets for the 2010 US Open can be purchased four ways: 1) at usopen.org; 2) by calling Ticketmaster at 1-866¬OPEN-TIX; 3) at all Ticketmaster outlets; or 4) at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center box office. American Express is the Official Card of the US Open.

No American player in ATP top 10 for first time

No American player is in the top 10 for the first time since the men's tennis computer rankings began in 1973.

Andy Roddick dropped from No. 9 to No. 11 in the ATP rankings issued Monday.

Roddick lost in the third round last week at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington.

U.S. men have gone 27 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments without a title. Roddick was the last American to win a major title at the 2003 U.S. Open.

Still ranked No. 1 is French Open and Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard has a lead of nearly 4,000 points over Novak Djokovic.

Roger Federer remains at No. 3, followed by Andy Murray and Robin Soderling.

Tips for Attending the 2010 US Open

If you enjoy tennis, visiting New York to see your favorite players competein the 2010 US Open tennis tournament can be very enjoyable. However, attending a professional sports event can be an expensive proposition between parking, food, tickets, and other incidental costs. These quick tips will make your day smoother so you will get maimal enjoyment when you attend the US Open.

Before You Go

1. Consider buying your tickets for the 2010 US Open tennis tournament on the day of the event. If you plan to arrive close to the time the US Open ticket office opens, the lines usually move freely and are not excessive. Choose one day that you'd like to go and an alternate in case the weather does not cooperate. If you purchase tickets in advance for the US Open, and the weather is bad, tickets are non-refundable if the matches are not canceled.

2. Security has increased everywhere since 9/11. Minimize your waiting time at the entrance of the US Open by leaving handbags and knapsacks at home. You can get a plastic bag from one of the vendors once you get inside or fold one up and stuff it in your pocket.

3. Wear a large scarf as a belt. In the heat of the day some of the plastic seating gets extremely hot. When needed, you can remove your over-sized scarf and sit it on it.

4. Bring a can or bottle of sunscreen and wear a hat.

When You Arrive at the 2010 US Open in New York

1. Unless you have your heart set on seeing a particular match, you do not need to spend the money to get into the main arena. The smaller courts are more intimate so you get to see the players up close. Bring a small book and you may be able to get some autographs if your inclined.

2. Check the side courts periodically when there is no one scheduled in a match there. Sometimes you can see favorite players waming up before a match.

3. Once you buy water, keep the bottle. Water bottles at the US Open are expensive, but you can easily refill them in the bathroom or water fountains.

4. Plan on eating lunch on the early side or later than usual. If you eat at an off time, it will be easier to find seating and the food lines will be shorter.

5. There are booths with different related tennis information, games, and products at the US Open. Review the match schedule and plan to visit these around times when you want a break from watching tennis. They are also
a nice break if you are with children who have short attention spans.

6. Pay attention to where the sun is shining if it is a hot day. Sitting on the shady side of the court will be more comfortable.