[VQdeochratis]

#1 Rafael Nadal became the first left-hander to reach the US Open men's singles semifinals in over ten years.

(a) Who was the last leftie to reach the men's final 4 at Flushing?

(b) In addition to Nadal and the answer to (a), six other southpaws have made the US men's semis in the last 30 years. Can you name them?

[RooxiaNof]

(a) Greg Rudeski

(b) Greg Rudeski, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Guillermo Vilas, and that is all I can come up with for now.

[Mr_White]

(a) Greg Rudeski

(b) Greg Rudeski, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Guillermo Vilas, and that is all I can come up with for now.

Add to (b) Manuel Orantes

[Automobill]

b. add the great Alexander Volkov. Remember he saved those mp's vs Muster late night on the grandstand

[VQdeochratis]

(a) Greg Rudeski

(b) Greg Rudeski, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Guillermo Vilas, and that is all I can come up with for now.

Correct on (a).
Correct on (b) for three; I wasn't including Rusedski among the 6.

Add to (b) Manuel Orantes

Orantes only appearance in the US semis was in 1975, when he won... more than 30 years ago.

b. add the great Alexander Volkov. Remember he saved those mp's vs Muster late night on the grandstand

Correct on a fourth.

Need two more!!
(hint: both known for a big serve)

[Mr_White]

Goran I.

I'm trying to remember the last one.

[Mr_White]

Roscoe Tanner!

[VQdeochratis]

Goran I.

I'm trying to remember the last one.

Roscoe Tanner!

Yes and Yes!

(a) Rusedski made the finals in '97.

(b) Prior to Rusedski, Ivanisevic made SFs in 1996, Volkov made SF in 1993, Vilas made SF in 1982, Tanner made SF in 1979, and of course Connors (as recently as 1991) and McEnroe (as recently as 1990) made the later rounds on multiple occasions within the last 30 years.

[Mr_White]

Thanks Jack-I love trivia.

[VQdeochratis]

#2. The 2008 Grand Slam year saw seven different players hold the singles titles: Sharapova, Ivanovic, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. When was the last year that all eight slam singles titles were held by eight different players?

[pavelChe]

#2. The 2008 Grand Slam year saw seven different players hold the singles titles: Sharapova, Ivanovic, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. When was the last year that all eight slam singles titles were held by eight different players?

1998?

[VQdeochratis]

1998?

Yep.
Aussie: Korda, Hingis
French: Moya, Sanchez Vicario
Wimbledon: Sampras, Novotna
USO: Rafter, Davenport

[VQdeochratis]

Last one for the afternoon... I'm headed out and won't be home until tonight.

#3. When Serena, Jankovic, Safina and Dementieva made the US Open semifinals, it ended a streak of six straight slams where a woman made her first ever Slam semifinal (2007 French - 2008 Wimbledon).

Name the six first-timers.

[pavelChe]

Last one for the afternoon... I'm headed out and won't be home until tonight.

#3. When Serena, Jankovic, Safina and Dementieva made the US Open semifinals, it ended a streak of six straight slams where a woman made her first ever Slam semifinal (2007 French - 2008 Wimbledon).

Name the six first-timers.

Ivanovic-Bartoli-Chakvetadze-Hantuchova-Safina-Zheng

[VQdeochratis]

Ivanovic-Bartoli-Chakvetadze-Hantuchova-Safina-Zheng

2008 Wimbledon: Zheng
2008 French: Safina
2008 Aussie: Hantuchova
2007 US: Chakvetadze
2007 Wimbledon: Bartoli
2007 French: Ivanovic

[ZesePreodaNed]

Ivanovic, Bartoli, Jankovic, Hantuchova, ???, Zheng

I can't remember who Safina beat...


Edit: Of course others were faster...

[VQdeochratis]

#4. Djokovic and Ivanovic both made the Australian Open finals this year, but fell short of adding Serbia to the list of countries that claimed both the Men's Singles and Women's Singles titles at the same Grand Slam.

What are the last three countries that have won both Singles titles at the same Slam?

(Note: Looking for the last three countries, not the last three instances. So if Murray and Keothavong won Wimbledon '08 and Rusedski and Sam Smith won Australian '06, it only counts once, as Great Britain.)

[pavelChe]

#4. Djokovic and Ivanovic both made the Australian Open finals this year, but fell short of adding Serbia to the list of countries that claimed both the Men's Singles and Women's Singles titles at the same Grand Slam.

What are the last three countries that have won both Singles titles at the same Slam?

(Note: Looking for the last three countries, not the last three instances. So if Murray and Keothavong won Wimbledon '08 and Rusedski and Sam Smith won Australian '06, it only counts once, as Great Britain.)

USA, Spain, Germany

[VQdeochratis]

USA, Spain, Germany

Germany at the 1989 US Open (Becker, Graf);
Spain at the 1994 and 1998 French Opens (Bruguera/Moya and Sanchez Vicario);
and the USA, multiple times among Agassi, Sampras, Davenport, Serena and Venus Williams, and Capriati; most recently 2003 Australian Open (Agassi, Serena).

[Mr_White]

Jack,

Since you are the King of stats and trivia, maybe you should be TAT's "Dear Dr. Sharko."