With the US Open behind us, we twiddle our thumbs

If you can hear the sound of the birds chirping again, it’s probably because a lot of noise just went out of the air. The US Open – that big, brash and loud event that calls itself a sporting extravaganza – has finally come to an end after two weeks of tennis and a year’s worth of drama. And just like every other over-the-top spectacle, this year’s tournament had its share of foot-stomping excitement and hand-wringing annoyance. Here’s a look at the things that scored brownie points with tennis followers, and things that didn’t:

Thumbs up: Stosur wins it all

When you’re nicknamed “Slammin’ Sam”, it’s only natural that you’ll have a Slam in your possession at some point in your life, right? By whipping overwhelming favorite Serena Williams in the final of the tournament, Samantha Stosur produced the most stunning upset in recent memory (not even Marion Bartoli’s win over Justine Henin in the 2007 Wimbledon semifinal comes close). But this wasn’t exactly an undeserved fluke or a lucky flash in the pan. The soft-spoken Aussie has been knocking on the doors of the women’s tennis elite for quite some time, and she certainly put in the hard yards on her way to the final – her marathon matches against Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko broke records for their length. The real tests, however, came in two contrasting situations – the semis, when she was the distinct favorite, and in the finals, when she was the distinct underdog. The all-business Stosur treated both the situations with unprecedented composure, and by the end of it all, she looked like a seasoned champion while her celebrated opponent looked like a disgruntled school kid. How could she not, when she can smack her forehand like this:

Thumbs down: The US Open and its outdated ways

The USTA doesn’t quite look like a dinosaur in today’s modern tennis world, but it will almost certainly look like one in a couple of years. By 2014, the retractable roof currently being constructed at Roland Garros will be completed, and the French Open will have joined the Australian Open and Wimbledon by becoming a Grand Slam fully equipped to deal with rain. Where will the US Open be at that time? Still grappling over ways to tone down the garishness of the gigantic Arthur Ashe stadium, most likely. The arena is far too big to be covered by a roof, and the New York weather is far too unpredictable to let the tournament schedule go undisrupted. Monday finals have become something of a tradition now, and so have unfair advantages to players from certain sections of the draw (4 matches in 4 days, anyone?). Despite these glaring problems, the USTA continues to keep its soul mortgaged with evil, refusing to even consider the idea of abolishing the outdated ‘Super Saturday’. They couldn’t possibly dare to deprive those all-powerful television broadcasters of their pot of gold, the made-for-television weekend tennis show, could they?. In the midst of all this, it is the players, those insignificant characters (who, it is often forgotten, run the show) that suffer. Will the USTA ever take its eyes off its beloved money and work out a more reasonable, player-friendly schedule?

Thumbs up: Djokovic’s coronation

As his impromptu jigs after winning matches against Nikolay Davydenko and Roger Federer attest, Novak Djokovic can dance.

It must have been all that practice he got, having bounced from one victory celebration party to another all year.

When the Serb got his year off to a fantastic start by winning the Australian Open, we thought a freak occurrence like that was bound to happen every once in a while. When he continued his strong play through the American hardcourt swing, we thought he’d come to a rude halt once clay and Rafael Nadal made themselves properly visible. When he declared that he’d like to win Wimbledon because it had been a lifelong dream of his, we thought the law of averages would catch up to him. And when he decided to make an effort to own one of the greatest tennis seasons ever by winning his 3^rd Slam of the year at the Open, we thought he’d be brought down by fatigue. What are we going to expect next? For his opponents to sprout wings? We may as well get used to the fact – Novak Djokovic has the tennis world on a string. The erstwhile court clown has turned into the regal emperor. We were just not alert enough to notice the transition.

Caroline Wozniacki

Thumbs down: Wozniacki’s Major troubles

Caroline Wozniacki is the top-ranked female player in the world. She’s won a bunch of prestigious tournaments this year. She’s the closest thing to a consistent player that the women’s tour has had in years. Unfortunately, she’s also incapable of winning a single big match against a tough opponent on the Grand Slam stage. You do feel sorry for the girl sometimes (as if we should at all be feeling sorry for a 20-year-old who is highly successful, wealthy and super-famous). She certainly tries very hard, and she’s only just entered her 20s. But no amount of smiling and joking with the press can mask the fact that she keeps getting thoroughly outclassed by her opponents (she could only muster 6 games against Serena in the semis) at the business end of Majors.

Thumbs up: The fearsome forehand makes a comeback

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the fates have something against Roger Federer. Losing to the same opponent, at the same stage of the same Slam, in almost exactly the same circumstances (remember the 2 wasted match points from his semifinal against Djokovic last year?) has got be a sign of something. Could it be a sign that Federer will never win another Major? Maybe, but Fate would have to take away Federer’s last great stronghold, his fearsome forehand, before it can seal the deal on that. The 5-time champ used his legendary groundstroke to devastating effect for most of the tournament, and he almost took out the hottest player on the planet with that stroke alone in the semis. Despite all his recent struggles with form, fitness and motivation, Federer is the only player to have seriously challenged Djokovic at the Majors this year. It’s too bad, then, that the accomplished veteran couldn’t bring the same level of class to his press conferences. If you were to believe Federer’s wise words, you’d learn that Djokovic doesn’t believe that ‘hard work pays off’, and that a player on the brink of losing can only make a comeback by ‘slapping around lucky shots’. Hopefully, after watching the tournament final, a match that gave new meaning to the word ‘grueling’, Federer has realized that Djokovic does indeed believe in working hard.

Thumbs down: Big Boys bomb out

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of waiting for the Big Boys to take over the game. The revolution that seemed to have begun in earnest with Juan Martin Del Potro’s title run in 2009 has all but fizzled out. Robin Soderling withdrew from his opening match and has done nothing of note all year; Tomas Berdych retired from his 3^rd round match and has pretty much reverted back to his listless pre-2010 days, an odd win over Federer here and there notwithstanding; Del Potro himself exited meekly to Gilles Simon in the 3^rd round after proclaiming for the better part of a year that he’d be ready to challenge the ATP’s top brass by the time the US Open rolled around. Maybe we’ve been fed the wrong idea all this time. Maybe the future is not Big, it’s Fast. (Have a look at this video if you don’t believe that).

Thumbs up: Serena strikes

Serena Williams scorched the court for 6 matches with her blistering power and amazing athleticism, then stank the court in the final with her uninterested play and abusive language. Like Federer, Serena almost managed to turn a thumbs up into a thumbs down with her childlike behavior and unsportsmanlike attitude. But she gets a reprieve because, as hurtful and unwarranted as her tirade against the chair umpire was, it couldn’t have been any more entertaining. Trust Serena to turn an ordinary tantrum into a classic street-fight (even if her adversary, the tight-lipped Eva Asderaki, didn’t utter a word in response to Serena’s verbal assaults). Serena has her faults, and at times those faults are almost too ugly to ignore. But she’s still the leading figure of women’s tennis, as her irresistible play up to the final and her attention-grabbing antics during the final prove. Now watch as she disappears from the scene and leaves the WTA in the lurch for the remainder of the year, only to resurface at the Australian Open and make another smashing comeback run. If I didn’t know better I’d have thought she was toying with the sport, that Serena.