The Great (Final) Eight

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y., Sept. 8, 2006 — -- And then there were eight.

Four men and four women.

Fighting their way through fivematches, each has climbed near the summit of the 2006 US Open.

They face a final test before reaching the peak -- the finals.

Belgium's Justine Henin-Hardenne, who has won the internationalchampionships of France twice, Australia, and the United States,faces the least-known semifinalist, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia,whose prior greatest claim to fame was her victory in theAustralian Open Junior Championships in 2001.

In a second semifinal, France's Amelie Mauresmo, winner of twoof the four major international championships this year (Australiaand Wimbledon) faces Russia's Maria Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledonchampion who pops out of billboards, Web sites and magazine spreadsat the drop of a drop shot.

The winners of these two matches meet Saturday for the USOpen women's singles championship.

The Ladies Battle for Supremacy

Who's the women's favorite?

As top seed, Mauresmo has to be rated highly, but Sharapova hasshown dogged determination, winning every set of each match, losingonly 27 games in that stretch.

Mauresmo survived a second setwipeout against Serena Williams before winning their Round of 16encounter, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.

Although Henin-Hardenne is seeded second, she has complained ofa painful condition brought on by a bruised rib and side effects ofmedication that caused her to default in the final of theAustralian Open in January.

"I have this problem a little bit from the problems I had in mystomach … in Australia," she said to reporters after her 6-4, 6-4dismissal of America's Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals.

Of her Serbian opponent, Henin-Hardenne offered this opinion:"I'm gonna have a tough semifinal. It looks easy on the paper whenyou look at the rankings."

Henin-Hardenne is second in the world; Jankovic was seeded 19th here based on her world ranking.

But Henin-Hardenne adds a warning: "Jankovic is playing greattennis this week. It's gonna be a tough, tough one for me."

Russian Roulette in Men's Final Four

The men square off for their semifinals with two Russianspopping into the final four, a result that would have drawnlaughter a generation ago, when Russian tennis players weresynonymous with Russian beauty queens, all perceived to be dumpyand sexless.

Now the Russians are one of the dominant presences inworld tennis.

Russian women are among the most feared in tennis,and Russian men wind up intimidating many of the world's topplayers.

Marat Safin, whose comeback collapsed in Round 16 here atthe hands of Germany's Tommy Haas, is a Russian whose victory inthe 2005 Australian Open surprised no one.

He won the US Open in 2000. But this year it's Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny who are gettingthe publicity.

The world's No. 1 men's player for the last three years,Switzerland's Roger Federer, faces Davydenko of Russia, afive-set victor over Haas in the quarterfinals, 4-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4,6-4.

Youzhny of Russia faces Andy Roddick.

Federer conquered a partisan crowd and its favorite son,American James Blake, in four sets, 7-6, 6-0, 6-7, 6-4, in theirquarterfinal.

Afterward, Blake called Federer "the best athlete of our time"(better than Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan) for his stamina, skilland versatility in dominating a sport that physically drains itsparticipants every week.

Federer's superlative record, which includes winning the UnitedStates, Australian and Wimbledon titles, remains spotless in the USOpen competition this year.

Blake took the only set Federer haslost in the five matches he's played.

This year, two Russians surprised the seeding committee andreached the final four.

Davydenko is one. The other, Youzhny, 24, defeated a crowd favorite and second seed, Rafael Nadal of Spain, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 6-1, in the quarterfinals.

The unseeded Youzhny will face Roddick, the American on thecomeback trail after losing in the first round here last year andsuffering a series of painful early losses in Melbourne, Australia; Paris; andat Wimbledon.

Seeded ninth here, Roddick brushed aside Australia'sLleyton Hewitt, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, in the quarterfinals.

Federer: The Man to Beat

Davydenko, bland but persistent, is a matchstick-thin slugger.

Federer called him "incredibly fit, he never breaks down," but heis not expected to keep Federer away from the final on Sunday.

As the two-time US Open champion, Federer dispatched American AndreAgassi in last year's final and Australia's Hewitt the yearbefore.

This year, on the strength of their play in early rounds,Roddick looks to have the best chance of dethroning Federer.

Butbest chance is not necessarily a good chance.

What makes Roddick's climb interesting to longtime tennis fansis his budding partnership with Jimmy Connors, who has becomean adviser, confidant and coachlike companion.

Roddick creditsConnors with rejuvenating his attitude and approach.

So it will be Sharapova's flash and dash up against Mauresmo'ssolid ground strokes, and Henin-Hardenne's picture-perfect,one-handed backhand against vivacious Jankovic, described by oneveteran reporter as "one of the best interviews on the tour."

For the men, make it Federer's fluid strokes againstDavydenko's relentless pursuit of the ball and Roddick's newfoundfire against Youzhny's newfound power and finesse.

In case anyone's interested, Federer has played both Davydenkoand Youzhny before -- seven times each.

Record: Federer 14, Russians 0.

Against Roddick, it's a different story:

The score is Federer10, Roddick 1.