US Open Day 11

Not going to lie, today's US Open action was pretty predictable. Youzhny was just a little bit too steady for a big-hitting Stan Wawrinka in the first quarterfinal, and Nadal was just in a different league than his opponent Verdasco. The conditions were tough for everybody, but in the end, the winners just managed it a little bit better. It was good drama and pretty good tennis, all things considered, but it was all pretty much according to the script.

As for tomorrow, the women's semifinals are set - I think I like Wozniacki over Zvonareva, and I slightly - just slightly - favor Clijsters over Venus, but that one is much tougher to call. The other interesting match to look at is the doubles final - between the top doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan in addition to the India-Pakistan team of Bopanna and Qureshi. That's a great story, and whether or not they win (I don't think it's incredibly likely, but there's a chance) it's great attention for the sport of tennis and a great step in the direction of more normalized relations.