The worst Grand Slam semifinals I've ever seen

If you saw today's women's U.S. Open semifinals, you may have wanted to throw something at your TV screen. I did. I was cheering for the extremely talented Jelena Jankovic to beat Justine Henin-Hardenne, and for a set and a half, it looked like that was going to happen. But then Jankovic had some bad luck. She had an unpleasant encounter with an inappropriate chair umpire, and then a big wind hit the court. Between one thing and another, Jankovic lost her concentration, lost the second set, and then quickly lost the match.

The new challenge system, in which players on the major courts get two line call challenges per set (if they make a call right, they get to keep a challenge) and one per tiebreak, needs fixing. The player challenge relies on an electronic line call. In the past, the chair umpire would overrule a linesperson's call if s/he felt that was correct. But since the new challenge system has been initiated, some of the umpires have been reluctant to overrule calls. Now comes the news that the USTA actually instructed U.S. Open umpires not to overrule any calls in case they would end up embarrassed (players are also allowed to challenge overrules). That is outrageous.

To make matters worse, Jankovic perceived that some world-class gameswomanship was going on from Henin-Hardenne, who is well known for that sort of thing. It isn't against the rules, but it is tacky.

In 2004 and 2005, Jankovic was a hot phenom. Then she got a bad virus that kept her out for a few months, and then she decided she might not want to be a tennis player. That led to nine straight losses, then--this year at the Italian Open--she got her game back together and has been terrific ever since. Her greatest flaw at this point is the immaturity that allowed an umpire, a weather change and a less-than-straight and narrow opponent get to her. With her stinging groundstrokes, wonderful net play and expert down-the-line backhand--once she grows up a bit--I see her holding a Grand Slam trophy.

If the first semifinal was a heartbreaker, the second one was terrible. World number one Amelie Mauresmo, my favorite WTA player, was defeated by Maria Sharapova--someone who has never before beaten her--6-0, 4-6, 6-0. These things do happen (last year, Sharapova was double-bageled by Lindsay Davenport), but they shouldn't happen at a Slam. To the world number one player. And especially to a player who, for years, was considered the greatest choker on the tour (how easily we forget that prior to that, Henin-Hardenne was considered the greatest choker).

Mauresmo does not care for the U.S. Open (many European players do not care for it because of its loud circus atmosphere). She blew off the entire summer hardcourt season, and therefore was not adequately prepared. Still, she managed to get to the semifinals, despite already being bageled in a set by Serena Williams. Perhaps Mauresmo should have just skipped the U.S. Open. Or perhaps there was just some kind of mental lapse that we will learn more about later when the interview is published. At any rate, just when she was finally getting the recognition she deserved, she wound up with an unbelievably embarrassing scoreline. The strange thing is that she played really well in the second set.

As a rule, semifinal matches are better than finals, but let's hope that isn't the case at this year's Open. I am not a particular fan of either Henin-Hardenne or Sharapova, so I have no emotion invested in the final. Sharapova, having won only her famous 2004 Wimbledon championship, is probably desperate to win another Slam, and many predicted from the beginning that she would win this one. Henin-Hardenne won the U.S. Open in 2003, and is always the most dangerous opponent anyone can face. Sharapova and Henin-Hardenne are the two mentally toughest women on the tour. Henin-Hardenne gets into service slumps and Sharapova doesn't always move as well as she could. Henin-Hardenne is certainly the better volleyer. Anything will be an improvement on today's affair.