U.S. Open miscellany

Fans of Lindsay Davenport, Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, and Alize Cornet cannot be very pleased to know that their players come to Flushing Meadows either injured or just healing from injuries. I'm down about JJ, but then, I have come to expect injury from her this year. She says that not being able to train is very discouraging, and I'm sure Davenport and Ivanovic have similar feelings. Cornet is probably the least vulnerable of the four.


I love the new Times Square version of the U.S. Open "They're Coming..." television spots. It is my favorite of all I've ever seen, I think.


Maria Sharapova's 2008 U.S. Open dresses were designed, but they will look kind of empty on the court without Maria. The day dress is made of jersey, with velvet and frayed silk trim. The color is "concord," and there is black stretch velvet at the waist. The dress has a sheer overlay. The night dress is black with gold trim, with a body-hugging jersey under-layer and a sheer jersey over-layer.


How terrible is Heidi Klum's official T-shirt, anyway?


Not surprisingly, Jessica Moore is the Australian wild card who was not named in the original list. She will play none other than wild card Melanie Oudin in the first round.


Here is a nice piece on wild card Gail Brodsky.


And Todd Spiker informs us that Mariana Duque-Marino is a lucky loser who is into the main draw. In a regular tournament, the highest qualifying seed to lose in qualifying becomes the lucky loser, but in majors, anything goes, and Mathilde Johansson was overlooked by the powers that be.