1. I made a ton of progress today cleaning up the dust in the basement. I also filled up a garbage bag, vacuumed Debbie's space, and moved glass jars to a more suitable shelf. I have a bit more sweeping ahead of me and I'll clean both litter boxes, change the litter, and bring the boxes upstairs. I'll return them to the basement when Debbie, Gibbs, and I return home.
2. In men's U.S. Open action, the first match featured Daniil Medvedev sweeping Felix Auger Aliassime in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2. Medvedev was the picture of consistency and his unwavering, sometimes suffocating return of serve and terrific service game visibly wore down Auger Aliassime who, by the third set looked demoralized and worn out.
In the next match, Novak Djokovic earned his ninth career trip to the U.S. Open finals in his career by defeating Alexander Zverev, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
This match was epic. It featured some of the longest and most dazzling rallies of the tournament, rallies in which both players dug in, stubbornly returned shot after shot, often with a stunning variety of angles, spins, and imaginative returns.
When Zverev won the fourth set, his serve seemed in indomitable shape and, in our texting about the match, Byrdman and I agreed that Zverev has seized momentum going into the fifth set.
But, then, Djokovic did what makes him tennis' premier player.
Somehow, he elevated his game and, at the same time, it appeared that the magnitude of entering a fifth set against Djokovic rattled Zverev's composure. Djokovic served and dominated the first game and then turned around and broke Zverev's serve. As he does so well, Djokovic then applied full court pressure, holding serve in the third game and once again breaking Zverev's service in the fourth.
As expected, Djokovic held his serve in the fifth game and his 5-0 lead looked insurmountable.
But, Zverev gathered himself, held serve and then broke Djokovic's serve, and, trailing 5-2, had another service game. This time, however, for the third time in the set, Djokovic broke Zverev's serve and secured the match.
I'll be in Spokane having fun with Christy and Carol on Sunday afternoon and will miss the final.
And here's what I'll miss: Novak Djokovic will be playing Daniil Medvedev not only for the U.S. Open Championship, but, if he wins, he will have won all four major tennis tournaments in a calendar year, a feat last accomplished by Steffi Graff in 1988 and, on the men's side, last achieved by Rod Laver in 1969.
Should he win, he would join Steffi Graff as the only two players to win the Grand Slam on three different surfaces, clay, grass, and hard court.
Should he win, Djokovic would claim his 21st victory in a major and surpass Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to become tennis history's leader in major wins on the men's side. Margaret Court remains the overall leader in major wins with 24.
Needless to say, Sunday's match is of mammoth importance in tennis history and to complete the Grand Slam and take the lead in men's major titles, Djokovic will have to defeat Medvedev who is the tournament's #2 seed and the world's second ranked player.
Perfect, isn't it?
Number one must defeat number two in order to secure an incomparably lofty place in the history of men's tennis.
I'll look forward to Byrdman texting me updates while I'm on Sunday's sibling outing!
3. I talked to Debbie a couple of times today and our travel itinerary is still up in the air. We had a couple of breezy, no pressure, what the hell conversations about possibilities we've discussed in the past and added new possibilities to the conversation. Every option we discuss is excellent and, no matter what we finally decide, we plan to enjoy scenic variety and beauty and visit breweries and tap houses across the USA, especially those friendly to having Gibbs join us.
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