TENNIS – The Western and Southern Open continues to roll along. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Juan Martin del Potro all advanced to the quarters, and Andy Murray fell to Jeremy Chardy. On the Women’s side, Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova, and Sam Stosur all advanced. Daniel Anderson breaks down each match in the draw.

The ATP Summer swing continues its bloody grind on the blistering hard courts of Cincinnati. Everyone knew 2012 would be busy, but I don’t think anyone was expecting this sort of death march—the winner of the US Open will be the player that manages their injuries best. At this point, no one is pain free.

On the women’s side, the winner of the US Open will be Serena Williams.

Here’s the round-up from Cincinnati:

ATP

R. Federer d. B. Tomic 6-2 6-4

Not really a surprise here—no one expected Tomic to win or anything. But something should be said about his poor play, especially after all of the promise he showed early in the season. Earlier this year he admitted he’s shown a lack of work ethic, and this is terribly upsetting for all of us weekend warriors who would contemplate illegalities just to have a sliver of his talent. Hopefully he finds the motivation to tap into his potential—someone’s got to keep Milos Raonic from winning every single Grand Slam five years from now, and it probably won’t be Ryan Harrison.

N. Djokovic d. N. Davydenko 6-0, ret.

Put your hands together for Nikolay Davydenko: Eight double faults, followed by throwing in the towel after being blanked by Djokovic in the first set. Good job? Good effort?

J. Chardy d. A. Murray 6-4 6-4

Upset of the tournament. Nothing too significant to read into Murray losing, it’s been a long hot summer. The only thing slightly worrying for the Brit is that after his withdrawal from Toronto he’s a little short on hard court prep for New York.

M. Raonic d. T. Berdych 6-4 2-6 6-2

Raonic wins the battle of the big hitters. Berdych is capable of going far in New York, but he’ll need a lot of help from the draw to do it. Raonic, on the other hand, can’t be counted out on any hard court ever.

J. del Potro d. V. Troiki 7-6 2-6 6-1

Del Potro probably could use a protein bar and a nap after his Olympic performance, but he just keeps plugging along. At this point an early exit might not be a bad thing for the big hitting Argentine.

M. Fish d. R. Stepanek 6-3 6-3

Another good win for Fish who just looks better and better after the health scare of his life. Up next, Federer, and I’m calling it right now: Mardy Fish is going to make the Cincinnati semifinal. Go ahead and pencil it in (or don’t, Fed might actually win).

M. Cilic d. P. Andujar 7-6 6-2

A deflated Andujar couldn’t pick up the pieces after losing the first set in a tiebreak. Cilic is starting to make some noise after a relatively quiet period.

S. Wawrinka d. K. Nishikori 6-3 6-3

Stan Wawrinka is probably hoping that his experience will help him against his next opponent, someone with a little bigger game than Nishikori—Milos Raonic.

WTA

A Radwanska d. S. Stephens 6-1 4-6 6-4

Stephens did well to entertain the home crowd and push this match the distance, but Radwanska is still probably out of her league. Sloane Stephens, your day is coming, though.

S. Williams d. U. Radwanska 6-4 6-3

Serena Williams is very good at tennis. That is all.

S. Stosur d. E. Makarova 6-1 6-3

One small detail you might’ve forgotten during the Summer of Serena—Sam Stosur is the defending U.S. Open champion. Okay okay, she’s prone to retreating on the big stages (see Open, French 2012 as the latest example), but who knows? Maybe the courts at Flushing Meadows will reignite that champion’s spark. Her play in last years U.S. Open final was inspired, and you’ll remember, her opponent was one Serena Williams.

P. Kvitova d. P. Shuai 6-2 6-2

Well well well, what do we have here? It couldn’t be Miss Kvitova, fresh off of victory in Montreal, finding her court obliterating-form in time for the year’s last major, could it? Could it??

A Kerber d. A. Hlavackova 6-4 7-6

The big hitting German continues to make her presence felt on tour. A big showing in New York and she’ll officially be a key player, someone to avoid like the plague in the draw of any big tournament. She’s just on the cusp, sort of dangling on the edge of Big Time. Let’s see if she can flip the switch.

V. Williams d. S. Errani 6-3 6-0

We all knew Sara Errani was going to feel a little bit of a drop off when the court surface went hard, her game is about counter punching and insanity inducing consistency. As for Venus, what, exactly, is she still playing for? You have to admire her work ethic, she’s sort of the anti-Bernard Tomic—nothing left to prove, but working her tail off to stay competitive and relevant. I’m not sure how much her medical condition will dictate the ceiling of her most recent comeback, but Williams is the sort of player you just watch whenever you can and appreciate the moments before their gone.

[Note: Caroline Wozniaki (v. A. Pavlyuchenkova) was down a set and Li Na (v. J. Larsson) hadn’t taken the court before match play was suspended for the evening]
 

Daniel Anderson