As we reach the final weekend of the US Open, it looks like business as usual – for players and advertisers.
The men’s semi-final has three of the four top seeds. After 188 consecutive weeks at number 1, Roger Federer, tries to capture his fourth consecutive US Open title, a feat never accomplished by a men’s singles entrant. At age 26, Federer has already bagged 11 Grand Slam titles, three shy of the all-time record of 14 held by Pete Sampras. Look for him to lift the cup.
Federer faces Russian Nikolay Davydenko this afternoon. Davydenko is seeded
4th.
From the NY Times blog. Here are some interesting numbers on the Federer and Davydenko match.
39 - Games Davydenko has lost at the Open, fewest among the semifinalists.
25 - Fed’s winning streak at the Open, tied with John McEnroe and trailing only Ivan Lendl’s 27 from 1985-1988.
11 - The times Davydenko has played a No. 1 player. He’s 0-11, being 0-8 against a No. 1 Federer, 0-1 vs. a No. 1 Hewitt (2003), a top-ranked Agassi (2003) and a No. 1 Roddick (2004)
9 - Federer has reached nine consecutive Grand Slam finals, and his head-to-head record over Davydenko is 9-0.
5 - Titles Federer has won this year. Last year at this stage, he had captured seven.
0 - Titles Davydenko has won this year, after having won 5 in 2006.
Novak Djokovic, seeded third, defeated David Ferrer, a 15th seed today, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.Read the recap here. Ferrer had vanquished fellow Spaniard and number 2 seed, Rafael Nadal to reach the semis.
As for the women singles, only the final is left to play
tonight. Belgian and number one seed, Justine Henin will
square off against the fourth seed, Russian Svetlana Kuznetosova. According to tennis prognosticator, Matt Cronin, Henin is “a heavy favorite against Kuznetsova, whom she's 14-2 against.”
The 2007 US Open has been broadcast live on CBS Sports and USA Network. The opening weekend was down compared to the 2006 US Open. According to Crain’s New York Business,
“Fewer television viewers tuned in to the 127th annual U.S. Open during the tournament’s opening week this year. Nearly 900,000 viewers were glued to their television sets, down 18% from last year, according to data from Nielsen Media Research.”
With no US players participating in the final weekend, will US advertisers get a return on their US Open advertising dollars?
All photos attributed and linked to US Open.
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