By Rosangel Valenti, TW Contributing Editor
Good afternoon. Today the women's semifinals are being played, with the first beginning no earlier than 1.30 p.m. EST. This is your regular space for discussing the matches while they are under way. It would be appreciated if you could keep the Crisis Center for tennis talk only during the matches; it's OK to go off-topic after the day's play is over.
When the first match is beginning, I should be arriving at Heathrow, on the way to New York. I'm not wildly optimistic that the play on Super Saturday will all be completed, but the latest forecast suggests that the day will be punctuated by light showers rather than heavy ones, so there does appear to be a prospect of seeing some play. The bad news is that Sunday may end up being a rainier day than Saturday.
Matches of the Day:
First, Elena Dementieva plays Jelena Jankovic. The chances of there being no breaks of serve in this match therefore look pretty small. Jankovic leads the head-to-head between the two players 4-3, and has won both their encounters in Grand Slams to date. All of Jankovic's wins have been in straight sets. Two of Dementieva's three victories went the distance, including their 2008 encounter in the Berlin quarterfinals. However, Dementieva has looked good this fortnight, coming off her run to the Gold Medal in Beijing, and may be the slight favourite today.
The second quarterfinal involves Serena Williams and Dinara Safina. Williams leads this head-to-jead 3-1, but it's 2004 since the two met on a hard court. The only match played between the two women this year was won by Safina, on clay, in Berlin. However, Williams has looked the more dominant player in this tournament, and must be the favourite today.
Player of the Day:
This is a tough one, as there aren't many players to choose from, but I'm going with Novak Djokovic. Despite losing the third set (as Roddick found his range, his serve and his backhand), Djokovic managed to look very impressive for a large chunk of the match.
Weather Report:
Today should be sunny.
As always, enjoy the day's tennis.