2008 UEFA Super Cup
Zenit won the match 2–1, Pavel Pogrebnyak scoring just before half-time, before Danny doubled the Russians' lead just before the hour mark. Nemanja Vidić reduced the deficit to one goal in the 73rd minute, but it was not enough to wrest the trophy from Zenit's grasp, as they became the first Russian team to win the competition. The sending-off of Paul Scholes for handball in the 90th minute resulted in him missing Manchester United's opening game in their defence of the Champions League, a home tie against Villarreal.


2008 UEFA Super Cup
This was Zenit's first appearance in the competition, while Manchester United had appeared twice before, in 1991 and 1999; their first appearance finished in a 1–0 win over Red Star Belgrade, while their most recent appearance was a 1–0 loss to Lazio, the last winners of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup to compete in the UEFA Super Cup.


2008 UEFA Super Cup, Match, Summary, First half
The opening exchanges of the match were dominated by Zenit, counter-attacking down their right flank, exploiting the attack-minded Patrice Evra. Both Konstantin Zyryanov and Aleksandr Anyukov created opportunities on the right wing, only for Pavel Pogrebnyak to miss the target from a promising position on both occasions. Danny also managed to break into the box from the right-hand by-line, only for Rio Ferdinand to block his low cross.


2008 UEFA Super Cup, Match, Summary, First half
Up at the other end, United had a couple of half-chances of their own as, first, Carlos Tevez hit a weak shot into Vyacheslav Malafeev's arms before sprinting after a ball played up the right wing, just managing to keep it in, before breaking through one tackle into the box and squaring the ball to Wayne Rooney. However, the England striker's first touch was poor, and the delay meant that the chance had passed.


2008 UEFA Super Cup, Match, Summary, First half
Zenit's pressure began to mount and, with half-time approaching, they won a corner on the left-hand side. Alejandro Domínguez took an in-swinging corner. Igor Denisov flicked the ball on at the near post, and it floated over Edwin van der Sar for Pavel Pogrebnyak to head in on the line. Paul Scholes picked up a yellow card shortly after the game had restarted, but the half-time whistle soon followed and Zenit went in on top.


2008 UEFA Super Cup, Match, Summary, Second half
Andrey Arshavin, a target for Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur over the summer, came on as a substitute for Alejandro Domínguez at half-time, but it was Danny who made the breakthrough for the second goal on the hour mark. Picking up the ball just inside the United half, the United defence continued to back off from him and he broke into the box, firing a shot past Edwin van der Sar, who dived the wrong way.


2008 UEFA Super Cup, Match, Summary, Second half
A Carlos Tevez effort came close to pulling a goal back for Manchester United, and sparked a period of sustained pressure for the European champions. As United began to get into full swing, the Zenit side struggled to cope and, after Tevez had been found in space in the box by Wayne Rooney, he pulled the ball back to Nemanja Vidić who stabbed the ball into the net from six yards out. John O'Shea, Park Ji-sung and Wayne Rooney all went close as the clock ran down, but it was Danny who went closest to getting another goal for Zenit, shooting over the bar with just Van der Sar to beat after picking up a through ball from Andrey Arshavin.


2008 UEFA Super Cup, Match, Summary, Second half
With only a minute of normal time remaining, Wes Brown sent over a cross from the right wing. Paul Scholes rose to meet the ball, but, instead of heading the ball, he stuck out his right arm and punched the ball into the goal. The referee had no hesitation in showing Scholes a second yellow card and sending him off. The red card meant that Scholes would miss Manchester United's first Champions League game of the 2008–09 season, at home to Villarreal.


2008 UEFA Super Cup, Match, Details
Assistant referees: Henrik Sonderby (Denmark) Anders Norrestrand (Denmark)Fourth official: Nicolai Vollquartz (Denmark)


2008 UEFA Super Cup, Sponsorship
Danish brewers Carlsberg were the main sponsors of the event, and the Man of the Match award was officially called "Carlsberg Man of the Match".


2008 UEFA Women's Cup Final
The 2008 UEFA Women's Cup Final was played on 17 May and 24 May 2008 between Frankfurt of Germany and Umeå of Sweden. Frankfurt won 4–3 on aggregate.


2008 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship
The 2008 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship was the first edition of the UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship. Germany won the trophy for the first time ever.


2008 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification
There were two qualifying rounds, and four teams qualified for the final round, played in Switzerland.


2008 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification, First qualifying round
There were ten groups of four teams each. The ten group winners and best six runners-up advanced to the second qualifying round.


2008 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification, First qualifying round, Ranking of group runners-up
Only matches against 1st and 3rd placed teams were used in the ranking.


2008 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification, Second qualifying round
The sixteen qualified teams from the first qualifying round were allocated in four groups of four teams each. The group winners advanced to the final round.


2008 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Final tournament
The knockout stage was played in Switzerland. The four teams qualified to the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup held in New Zealand.


2008 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
The UEFA Women's U-19 Championship 2008 Final Tournament was held in France between 7–19 July 2008. Players born after 1 January 1989 were eligible to participate in this competition.


2008 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Qualification
11 groups of 4 teams, hosted by one club, seeded into four pots by UEFA coefficient


2008 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Qualification
6 groups of 4 teams, hosted by one club, seeded into four pots by UEFA coefficient


2008 UEFS Futsal Men's Championship
The 2008 UEFS Futsal Men's Championship was the 8th UEFS futsal championship held in Belgium, with 8 national teams. The matches were played in Antwerp, Liège, Limbourg, La Louvière and Namur, from March 20 to March 24, 2008.


2008 UEFS Futsal Men's Championship
European Union of Futsal (UEFS) organizes the European Championship biennially.


2008 UEMOA Tournament
Following are the results of the 2008 UEMOA Tournament, the soccer tournament held among member nations of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). The tournament is also called Coupe de l'intégration ouest africaine. All games were played in Bamako, Mali, at the Stade Modibo Keita.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 83rd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary
The premier competitions were won by Loyal Honcho (2008 English Greyhound Derby) and Shelbourne Aston (2008 Irish Greyhound Derby) respectively. However their achievements were overshadowed by the closure of the sports leading stadium Walthamstow. The shareholders sold up and the track closed in August despite assurances from the owners in December 2007 that no deal had been made to sell the track.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary
The track had been opened in 1933 by William Chandler and was still owned by the Chandler family but the directors of Walthamstow Stadium Limited agreed to the sale of the Company’s freehold property to a development consortium led by Yoo Capital and K W Linfoot plc. Formal contracts were exchanged and the final race was held on Saturday 16 August. The closure left some of the best trainers in the country pondering their futures.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary
Racing Manager Chris Page joined Harlow Stadium along with five trainers, John Coleman, Mark Wallis Mick Puzey, Graham Sharp and Kelly Mullins but Puzey soon relinquishes his licence. John Sherry and Dick Hawkes retired, Paul Rich who had only just taken his father's (Peter Rich) licence in February left the sport while Seamus Cahill joined Hove and Paul Garland returned to Wimbledon. Stacey Baggs relinquished her licence to work for Ricky Holloway and her father Gary Baggs (a very successful trainer) passed away later that year in October.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary, Tracks
There was a major blow when Reading in Bennet Road closed after 33 years. The council did not renew the track's lease and the site would be redeveloped despite promises from the BS Group/Gaming International to build a new modern Reading stadium. Similar BS Group plans had failed to materialise at Bristol and Milton Keynes previously.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary, Tracks
Portsmouth city council announced that the long-term lease was nearing its end and they were considering selling the Portsmouth Stadium site for redevelopment. Leaseholders GRA allowed the track to be taken under lease by a new company registered in March 2008, called PGS Ltd headed by Portsmouth general manager Eric Graham, who would pay £1,000 per year as a peppercorn rent.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary, Competitions
The IbetX Scottish Greyhound Derby started in horrendous weather and the track ran 170 slow, only three heats were completed before the meeting was abandoned. This meant that some greyhounds would have to run four times in nine days leading to withdrawals headed by Charlie Lister's team that included Clash Harmonica and Farloe Reason. Heat eight would result in a remarkable two dog heat. However the competition saw superb semi-finals with Paul Hennessy’s Tyrur Kieran breaking the track record when beating Loyal Honcho in 28.69. He went on to win a very strong final that included Derby finalist Loyal Honcho and Laurels champion Kylegrove Top.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary, News
Leading marathon runner Spiridon Louis retired in May after reaching the Dorando Marathon final. Sprinter Horseshoe Ping made the Scurry Gold Cup final again in addition to the Guys and Dolls final and won the National Sprint at Nottingham. Lenson Joker, a white and brindle dog picked up the Cesarewitch trophy before  winning the William Hill Grand Prix and Champion Stakes unbeaten. He would be voted Greyhound of the Year.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary, News
In December Irish Derby finalist Ballymac Ruso trained by Matt Dartnall recorded the fastest ever time for 480 metres (27.79 at Monmore) and Mark Wallis ended the year with the trainer's title, a remarkable achievement bearing in mind the upheaval caused when he lost his Walthamstow contract.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary, News
Former Wimbledon trainer Sydney 'Clare' Orton died on 11 May.


2008 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary, News
The Bord na gCon announced a 6% increase in prize money.


2008 UK Championship
The 2008 Maplin UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 13 and 21 December 2008 at the Telford International Centre in Telford, England. It was the 32nd edition of the event.


2008 UK Championship
World Snooker, the sports governing body, opened an investigation into allegations of match fixing, after Stephen Maguire beat Jamie Burnett 9–3 in the first round. Several bookmakers had stopped taking bets on the match before it even started, when reports of a number of large sums having been placed on the same correct score began to circulate within the industry. Just prior to the 2009 World Championship, where Maguire and Burnett were drawn together the first round, it was announced that Strathclyde Police had opened an official enquiry into the match.


2008 UK Championship
The enquiry was closed in 2011 with no criminal charges against either of them, and a World Snooker disciplinary enquiry was announced, which ended without any regulatory action. In September 2013 it was announced, that Stephen Lee was found guilty of agreeing to lose the first frame of his first and second round matches.


2008 UK Championship
Shaun Murphy won the title with a 10–9 victory over Marco Fu.


2008 UK Championship, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2008 UK Championship, Qualifying
The qualifying took place from December 1 to 8 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, England.


2008 UK Music Video Awards
The 2008 UK Music Video Awards were held on 14 October 2008 at the Odeon West End in Leicester Square, London to recognise the best in music videos and music film making from United Kingdom and worldwide. The nominations were announced on 25 September 2008.


2008 UK Music Video Awards, Craft and Technical Categories
The Hoosiers — "Cops and Robbers"  (Stylist: Hannah Glossop, Suzie Coulthard)


2008 UK Music Video Awards, Craft and Technical Categories
The Last Shadow Puppets — "The Age of the Understatement"  (DOP: Andre Chemetoff)


2008 UK Music Video Awards, Craft and Technical Categories
KT Tunstall — "If Only"   (TK: Adrian Seery at Rushes)


2008 UK Music Video Awards, Craft and Technical Categories
Hot Chip — "Ready for the Floor"   (Editor: Dan Sherwin at Final Cut)


2008 UK Music Video Awards, Craft and Technical Categories
The Horrors — "She Is the New Thing"  (VFX: Corin Hardy, David Lupton)


2008 UK Open
The 2008 Blue Square UK Open was the sixth year of the PDC's UK Open darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament was held at Bolton Wanderers' Reebok Stadium, Bolton, England, between 5–8 June 2008.


2008 UK Open
James Wade won the tournament; his first UK Open title, and his third major championship inside 12 months. He defeated American Gary Mawson in the final 11–7.


2008 UK Open, Format
As in previous years, eight regional UK Open events were staged across the UK where players winning were collated into the UK Order Of Merit. The top 128 players in the list, who played a minimum of three events (plus ties) won a place at the final stages.


2008 UK Open, Format
The final UK Open Order of Merit qualifiers (146) were also joined by 32 Holsten qualifiers from pub tournaments throughout the UK. The Holsten qualifiers and the players outside the top 32 of the UK Open Order of Merit began the tournament on the Thursday night. They played down to 32 players, and they were joined by the top 32 of the UK Open Order of Merit the following night, to provide the competition's last 64. A random draw was made after each subsequent round


2008 UK Open, 2007-2008 UK Open Regional Finals
There were eight regional final events staged between September 2007 and March 2008 to determine the UK Open Order of Merit Table. The tournament winners were:


2008 UK Open, Tournament review
The tournament has the nickname, the "FA Cup of darts" as a random draw is staged after each round. This provides no protection for the top players, who are usually seeded to avoid each other in early rounds. Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor, the top two in the PDC rankings respectively, met at the quarter-final stage for the third successive year, with the Dutchman coming out on top each occasion, this time 10-9. In addition, Adrian Lewis and Wayne Mardle - two players who played in the 2008 Premier League - played as early as the third Round, the last 64 stage.


2008 UK Open, Tournament review
Van Barneveld, who had won the tournament for the previous two years went out in the semi-finals to Gary Mawson, which was the Dutchman's first loss at the Reebok Stadium in the event. It also meant that Phil Taylor now overtook him to regain the top spot in the PDC Order of Merit/world rankings, as van Barneveld had failed to defend the £30,000 from the UK Open two years ago.


2008 UK Open, Tournament review
Earlier in the tournament, Phil Taylor threw his fourth nine dart leg in six years in the UK Open, during a 9-1 victory over Jamie Harvey in the fourth Round. In his Fifth Round match against Wesley Newton, Taylor achieved the highest televised 3 dart average (to date) of 114.53 surpassing Darryl Fitton's record (114.15) in the International Darts League 2004 against Davy Richardson.


2008 UK Open, Tournament review
The semi-final line-up contained only one player from the United Kingdom for the first time it the tournament's six-year history. That one player - James Wade, however went on to claim to the title.


2008 UK Open, Tournament review
Gary Mawson was the first American player to reach the UK Open final, and the first American since Larry Butler in 1994 to reach a major PDC final.


2008 UK Open, Results, Final Stages
Random draws were made after each round up to the semi final stage. Draw bracket has been compiled retrospectively.


2008 ULEB Cup Final Eight
ULEB Cup 2007–08 Final Eight was the final round of 2007–08 ULEB Cup, and there were eight teams, which won their matches in Sixteenth Finals and Eighth finals. The Final Eight was held in Turin, Italy, at the Torino Palavela arena. The matches were played from 10 to 13 April.


2008 ULEB Cup Final Eight, Accommodation, Arena
The arena, which hosted the Final Eight, is Torino Palavela in Turin. It is used also for figure skating and ice hockey. For basketball the seating capacity of the arena is 9,200.


2008 UMass Minutemen football team
The 2008 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. The team was coached by Don Brown and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 2008 season was Brown's last as head coach of the Minutemen. He left the position the following season to become the defensive coordinator at Maryland. The Minutemen finished the season with a record of 7–5 (4–4 CAA), missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005.


2008 UNAF U-17 Tournament (Algeria)
The second 2008 edition of the UNAF U-17 Tournament took place in December 2008, with Algeria as the host of the tournament.


2008 UNAF U-17 Tournament (Tunisia)
The 2008 UNAF U-17 Tournament was the third edition of the UNAF U-17 Tournament. It took place in March 2008 in Tunisia. Tunisia won the tournament after topping the round robin competition.


2008 UNAF U-20 Tournament
The 2008 UNAF U-20 Tournament was the 4th edition of the UNAF U-20 Tournament. The tournament took place in Morocco, from 5 to 14 June 2008. Egypt wins the tournament for the second time.


2008 UNAF Women's Club Tournament
The 2008 UNAF Women's Club Tournament is the 2nd edition of the UNAF Women's Club Tournament. The clubs from Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia faced off for the title. The algerian team ASE Alger Centre wins the tournament.


2008 UNAF Women's Club Tournament, Teams
Wadi Degla was chosen by the Egyptian Football Association as an Egyptian representative, the Egyptian Women's Premier League was cancelled since the 2002–03 season.


2008 UNAF Women's Club Tournament, Tournament
The competition played in a round-robin tournament determined the final standings. It's hosted in Algiers, Algeria.


2008 UNLV Rebels football team
The 2008 UNLV Rebels football team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. UNLV competed as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) and played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada. The Rebels were led by fourth-year head coach Mike Sanford. UNLV finished the season with a 5–7 record (MW: 2–6), narrowly missing bowl eligibility.


2008 UNLV Rebels football team
UNLV won three of their four out-of-conference games, including overtime upsets of both of their opponents from Bowl Championship Series conferences: 15th-ranked Arizona State of the Pac-10, 23–20, and Iowa State of the Big 12, 34–31. The Rebels led Colorado State in the fourth quarter, 28–27, but the Rams scored with 0:09 left to play and then on the ensuing kickoff recovered a fumble and scored again. UNLV led Air Force in the fourth quarter, 28–20, but lost by one point after the Falcons scored a touchdown and made a field goal.


2008 UNLV Rebels football team
The Rebels were tied at half and the end of the third quarter against 18th-ranked BYU. In the final period, UNLV took a 35–34 lead, but lost after yielding a touchdown with 1:46 remaining to play. Despite losing starting quarterback Omar Clayton to an injury, the Rebels still managed victories over New Mexico and Wyoming. UNLV entered the regular season finale with five wins and needed one more victory to attain bowl eligibility and, with it, very likely a bowl game invitation. The Rebels, however, surrendered 21 points in the fourth quarter against a "woeful" San Diego State team.


2008 US Open (darts)
The 2008 US Open is the second year of a darts tournament, organized by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). It was played at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort, Connecticut, USA between May 16 and May 18, 2008.


2008 US Open (darts), Television coverage and format
The event was broadcast on Nuts TV in the UK from the last 16 onwards.


2008 US Open (darts), Television coverage and format
The tournament was open to PDPA members and citizens and Green Card holders from the USA and Canada. The elimination tournament was played down to the last 16 on the Friday and the last 16 played off on Saturday. The quarter-finals onwards took place on Sunday.


2008 US Open (darts), Television coverage and format
In addition, the PDC also staged the $50,000 North American Darts Championship on the 16th and 17 May.


2008 US Open (darts), Tournament Review, Friday 16th May
Five American players made it through to the last 16 as there were a series of shock results on the opening day of the event. The biggest shock was when Gary Mawson beat world number one and five-time former World Champion, Raymond van Barneveld in the last 32. Current World Champion, John Part went out in round two to Roger Carter who also progressed to the last 16. Bill Davis beat Tony Eccles to reach Saturday's main stage competition. David Fatum and Ray Carver completed the American line-up of five in the last 16.


2008 US Open (darts), Tournament Review, Friday 16th May
World number four, Terry Jenkins also suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Paul Lim, the man who achieved the first ever World Championship nine darter in 1990. World number seven, Andy Hamilton, was beaten in the third round by Buddy Lessig. Number three seed, James Wade withdrew from the event due to illness. Out of the top 8 seeds, only two, Phil Taylor and Roland Scholten, made it to the last 16.


2008 US Open (darts), Tournament Review, Saturday 17th May
The fifth round action opened with David Fatum being the first player and first American to reach the quarter finals, beating out fellow countryman Bill Davis. Davis however did save some face with a 164 checkout, the highest of the night. Roger Carter was another American player to lose out, to Chris Mason. Mark Dudbridge also put on an impressive display in beating Dave Honey in straight sets.


2008 US Open (darts), Tournament Review, Saturday 17th May
Veteran Dennis Priestley moved into the quarters, dropping only one leg against Adrian Gray. Phil Taylor continued his imposing form, averaging 107 against Colin Osborne, who did take a set out of 'The Power'. American Gary Mawson, who had earlier knocked out the number one seed Raymond van Barneveld, lost 3–1 to Blackpool's Ronnie Baxter, and Colin Lloyd also looked to be in menacing form, not dropping a leg against world number eight Roland Scholten. The biggest shock of the night came with America's Ray Carver beating Wayne Mardle 3–1 in a high quality match including a 131 checkout from Carver.


2008 US Open (darts), Results
Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)


2008 US Open (darts), North American Darts Championship
For the first time the PDC staged a large tournament available only to citizens and Green Card holders from the USA and Canada. The tournament was worth $50,000, with $15,000 going to the winner. It was played separately from the US Open on the 16th and 17 May, though players could enter for both tournaments. Darin Young, who had been knocked out in the first round of the US Open, emerged the victor.


2008 US Open (darts), North American Darts Championship
On the first night the main shock was the defeat of World Champion and number one seed John Part, who was beaten by Buddy Lessig in the third round. The number two seed, Gerry Convery, also lost in the second round to Paul Lim. Leading American and third seed Ray Carver was defeated in the fifth round by Brad Wethington and John Kuczynski was beaten in the quarters by Brian Blake.


2008 US Open (darts), North American Darts Championship
The second night saw the semi-finals and final being played out. Number eight seed Darin Young beat out Bill Davis in a close 7–5 game in the first semi-final, while Brad Wethington just beat Chris White in a 7–6 affair. The final followed suit. Wethington missed a dart to win the title before Young came back to win 8–7 and claim the title. Young said it was 'the biggest win of [his] career'. That moment was dubbed the 'most interesting' part of the Championship.


2008 US Open (tennis)
The 2008 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 128th edition of the US Open, and the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York City, United States, from August 25 through September 8, 2008.


2008 US Open (tennis)
The men's defending champion, Roger Federer, won the US Open for a fifth consecutive time. Justine Henin, the women's defending champion, did not return to defend her title due to her retirement from tennis, for personal reasons, earlier in the year. Serena Williams was the champion on the women's side, winning her third US Open title; she had last won the event in 2002. Federer and Williams's opponents, Andy Murray and Jelena Janković, were making their débuts in Grand Slam finals. World number ones Rafael Nadal and Ana Ivanovic went out in the semifinal and second round, respectively. This was Nadal's best ever result at the US Open; for Ivanovic, it was her second early exit at a Grand Slam since her win at the 2008 French Open.


2008 US Open (tennis)
The home nation had success; Serena Williams was the first American to win a singles title since Andy Roddick in 2003. Twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan won their second US Open title, and Liezel Huber (who became an American citizen in 2007) won the women's doubles with Zimbabwean Cara Black.


2008 US Open (tennis), Preparations
The International Tennis Federation and United States Tennis Association offered audiences a number of new ways to access the Open in 2008. A YouTube channel was set up to broadcast highlights, and the official US Open website featured hourly updates of what was happening at the tournament. Multiple matches could be accessed at any one time, on handheld video devices courtesy of American Express.


2008 US Open (tennis), Preparations
In celebration of the 40th anniversary since the US National Championships became "open" to professionals, a special opening ceremony was held, showcasing all the singles champions of the previous 40 years, with over two dozen of them in attendance. The ceremony was hosted by actor Forest Whitaker and included musical performances from funk band Earth, Wind & Fire. In addition to this, fans were shown nightly video tributes, and a commemorative book was published. On August 23, the annual Arthur Ashe Kids Day was held; Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Novak Djoković, Ana Ivanovic, and Serena Williams led the player participation. Musical acts including the Jonas Brothers and Sean Kingston performed on this day as well.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries
Day by day summaries of the men's and women's singles events, with men's, women's, and mixed doubles exits also listed. Both the men's and women's singles draw are composed of 128 players, with 32 of these players seeded.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 1
Seeds progressing on the first day of play included David Ferrer, Andy Murray, David Nalbandian, Stanislas Wawrinka, Gilles Simon, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Gaël Monfils. Recent Olympic gold medalist, and new World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who acknowledged that he was suffering from fatigue post-match, advanced after being tested by qualifier Björn Phau; and Juan Martín del Potro, who entered the Open on a run of nineteen consecutive wins, and who, over the course of this run, had become the first player in ATP history to win his first four titles in as many tournaments, beat fellow Argentine Guillermo Cañas.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 1
Together Nadal and del Potro had completed the longest winning streaks on the tour in 2008, with Nadal's run having extended to 32 matches. Americans James Blake (seeded ninth) and Donald Young treated the home crowd to a match spanning five sets, in one of the scheduled night matches, with Blake emerging as the victor. Juan Mónaco and Feliciano López were the only seeds who failed to progress.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 1
In the women's competition, Jelena Janković, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, Marion Bartoli, Victoria Azarenka, Patty Schnyder, Caroline Wozniacki, Francesca Schiavone, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Katarina Srebotnik, and Sybille Bammer all made safe passage into the second round. Nadal's Olympic counterpart, Elena Dementieva, made hard work of her win against Akgul Amanmuradova, and former champion Lindsay Davenport, playing the US Open for the first time since her return to the sport from a break due to motherhood, beat recent Bank of the West Classic winner Aleksandra Wozniak in a comfortable two sets. Seeded losers included 2007 semifinalist Anna Chakvetadze, who lost to Ekaterina Makarova, making this her worst Slam finish in three years; Maria Kirilenko, who lost to Tamira Paszek; and Shahar Pe'er, who lost to Li Na 2–6, 6–0, 6–1.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 2
Day 2 saw the first round matches from the bottom half of the draw begin; Fernando González, Fernando Verdasco, Ivo Karlović, Tommy Robredo, Igor Andreev, and Paul-Henri Mathieu all progressed. Defending champion and number two seed Roger Federer, playing his first Grand Slam since the 2004 Australian Open at a seeding lower than number one, beat Máximo González 6–3, 6–0, 6–3, and Andreas Seppi, the thirty-first seed, triumphed in five sets (6–3, 7–5, 3–6, 3–6, 6–3) over Hyung-taik Lee.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 2
Four seeds exited the tournament: Richard Gasquet, who lost in five sets to former world number two Tommy Haas; Tomáš Berdych, who lost to home favorite Sam Querrey in a humbling 6–3, 6–1, 6–2 scoreline; Canada Masters runner-up Nicolas Kiefer, who retired at two sets to one and 4–1 down in his match against Ivo Minář; and Mikhail Youzhny, who withdrew due to a viral illness.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 2
World No. 1 and top seed Ana Ivanovic, who had recently returned from injury, began her campaign with a hard fought win over Vera Dushevina, coming through 6–1, 4–6, 6–4. The Williams sisters Venus and Serena, both former champions, advanced with relative ease, as did in-form player and US Open Series winner Dinara Safina. Agnieszka Radwańska, Ágnes Szávay, Flavia Pennetta, Alizé Cornet, Nadia Petrova, Nicole Vaidišová, Alona Bondarenko, Dominika Cibulková, and former world number one Amélie Mauresmo all scored victories to enter the second round. However, eleventh seed Daniela Hantuchová suffered a heavy defeat by qualifier Anna-Lena Grönefeld, and thirty-first seed Virginie Razzano was also beaten.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 2
Madison Dauenhauer of Anaconda, Montana was a spectator, and also Paul Hanley's niece, at the tournament


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 3
On Day 3, the remaining men's first round matches were completed. Third-seeded Novak Djoković, who had won the Australian Open earlier in the year, won in straight sets against Arnaud Clément, but was hampered by an ankle injury, for which he received courtside treatment.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 3
Andy Roddick produced a sterling performance to defeat Fabrice Santoro 6–2, 6–2, 6–2, and Nikolay Davydenko, who entered the tournament on a poor run of form was, by his own admission, surprisingly efficient in dispatching Dudi Sela 6–3, 6–3, 6–3. Nicolás Almagro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Radek Štěpánek, and Marin Čilić won their matches to claim places in the second round, meaning that no seeds were knocked out on Day 3.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 3
In the women's second round matches, Elena Dementieva, Patty Schnyder, Marion Bartoli, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Lindsay Davenport, Katarina Srebotnik, and Sybille Bammer all recorded routine victories to reach the third round. Two players who faced greater resistance from their opponents were Jelena Janković and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Janković, playing against Sofia Arvidsson, had match points in the second set, and eventually came through 6–3, 6–7(5), 6–4. The match, which lasted two hours and forty-four minutes, left Janković unable to complete her warmdown.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 3
Kuznetsova meanwhile, had to come back from being 4–2 down to Sorana Cîrstea in the first set, before winning in two. Fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva, a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games, lost to Tatiana Perebiynis; Francesca Schiavone lost to Anne Keothavong, making Keothavong the first British woman to reach the third round of the US Open since Jo Durie's run at the 1991 Open; and Anabel Medina Garrigues lost to recent Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 4
The second round of the men's singles commenced, and David Nalbandian, Stanislas Wawrinka, Ivo Karlović, Gilles Simon, and Juan Martín del Potro all reached the final sixty-four of the draw.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 4
Joining them was Rafael Nadal, who completed an imposing defeat over qualifier and world number 261 Ryler DeHeart, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4. Three seeds who faced sterner tests from their opponents were David Ferrer, who won a battling contest against Andreas Beck in four sets, Andy Murray, who was inconsistent in defeating Michaël Llodra 6–4, 1–6, 7–5, 7–6(7), and American James Blake, who was tied 4–6, 6–3, 1–0 with Steve Darcis before the Belgian's retirement. Two upsets occurred on Day 4: one involved Philipp Kohlschreiber, who retired against the Legg Mason Tennis Classic finalist of a fortnight previous, Viktor Troicki, at 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 3–0 down; the other saw Paul-Henri Mathieu beaten by American Mardy Fish 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 4
In the second set of women's second round matches, world number 188 Julie Coin provided one of the biggest shocks of the tournament, as she defeated Ana Ivanovic, the World No. 1, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3. It was the earliest exit made by a top seed at the tournament since Maria Bueno's second round loss at the 1967 U.S. National Championships (Bueno received a first round bye), before the beginning of the Open Era. Ivanovic, who made a similarly unexpected exit at the Wimbledon Championships, conceded that she was not playing to the standard of a world number one.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 4
Coin set up a clash with Amélie Mauresmo, who bypassed the threat of Kaia Kanepi 2–6, 6–4, 6–0. Venus Williams eased to victory over Rossana de los Ríos 6–0, 6–3, and sister Serena won in similar fashion versus Elena Vesnina, 6–1, 6–1. A top ten seed who had greater problems progressing was Dinara Safina, who was troubled by her own unpredictable manner of play in defeating Roberta Vinci 6–4, 6–3; Agnieszka Radwańska, Nadia Petrova, Flavia Pennetta, Alizé Cornet, and Dominika Cibulková also came through. Two seeded players who fell were Ágnes Szávay, who lost to Tathiana Garbin 5–7, 6–2, 6–3, and Nicole Vaidišová, who lost to Séverine Brémond.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 5
Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko completed easy wins, over Thiago Alves and Agustín Calleri respectively, to reach the third round on the fifth day of play at Flushing Meadows. Novak Djoković was forced into a first set tiebreak against American qualifier Robert Kendrick, and, after having been 6–2 up, faced two sets points in Kendrick's favor, before winning it 10–8; Djoković then took the next two sets, 6–4, 6–4. Afterwards, Djoković credited the first set win to his improved mental strength.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 5
Another top ten seed who faced problems in the early stages of his match was Andy Roddick, who eventually secured a 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 7–5 win over Ernests Gulbis. Fernando González won in straight sets against Bobby Reynolds, despite sustaining an ankle injury; Tommy Robredo ended 2000 champion Marat Safin's participation in four; and Gilles Müller and Jarkko Nieminen, two unseeded players, won their matches after each having been two sets down. Other seeds to make progress were Fernando Verdasco, Nicolás Almagro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Igor Andreev, Dmitry Tursunov, Radek Štěpánek, Marin Čilić, and Andreas Seppi.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 5
In the women's singles, Svetlana Kuznetsova became the second top five seed to be knocked out in the space of two days, as she succumbed to number twenty-eight seed Katarina Srebotnik, 6–3, 6–7(1), 6–3. Kuznetsova praised Srebotnik in defeat, saying that she had no qualms over her own performance. Jelena Janković, who was playing Zheng Jie, found herself in a similar predicament to Kuznetsova, in that she was facing a second difficult match-up in three days. Janković, however, prevailed, 7–5, 7–5, after a steadfast Zheng saved four match points in a final game that witnessed 11 deuces.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 5
Marion Bartoli reached the fourth round, beating veteran Lindsay Davenport, who would neither confirm nor deny whether she was on the brink of retirement. Elena Dementieva, Patty Schnyder, and Sybille Bammer all continued their progress through the early rounds, and Caroline Wozniacki, the twenty-first seed and winner of titles in Stockholm and New Haven in the month leading up to the Open, upset fourteenth seeded Victoria Azarenka.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 6
Day 6 featured several upsets and lengthy contests, as four of the eight men's matches went to five sets, and five seeded players were knocked out. The win that The New York Times lauded as the greatest upset of the men's competition thus far, was Kei Nishikori's victory over 2007 semifinalist and fourth seed David Ferrer. Nishikori, ranked world number 126, won after Ferrer had staged a comeback from two sets down, and then saved five match points of his, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 6
Aged 18, he was the youngest man to reach the fourth round at the US Open since Marat Safin in 1998, and the first Japanese man since Shuzo Matsuoka at the 1995 Wimbledon Championships to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam. Nishikori set up a tie with Juan Martín del Potro, who stretched his winning run to 22 matches with a 6–4, 6–7(4), 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 triumph over Gilles Simon, who was seeded one place higher than him at sixteenth.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 6
Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka both came through in five sets, and both had to forge comebacks after having been 2–0 down in sets.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 6
Murray, who at one point was two points away from losing the match, defeated Jürgen Melzer 6–7(5), 4–6, 7–6(5), 6–1, 6–3; whilst Wawrinka beat lucky loser Flavio Cipolla 5–7, 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–0, 6–4. Thirty-second seed Gaël Monfils, who had reached the semi-finals of his last Grand Slam, the French Open, knocked out number seven David Nalbandian; unseeded Mardy Fish beat number nine seed and good friend James Blake; and the also unseeded Sam Querrey beat number fourteen Ivo Karlović (all straight sets). Rafael Nadal also reached the fourth round.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 6
Milestones were also being set in the women's competition, as Anna-Lena Grönefeld (who beat number seventeen seed Alizé Cornet) became the first qualifier to reach the fourth round of the US Open since Anna Kournikova in 1996. The Williams sisters continued their progression untroubled, as each won on the scoreline of 6–2, 6–1 (Venus against number twenty-seven seed Alona Bondarenko, Serena against number thirty Ai Sugiyama). Dinara Safina was again forced into a tough match, eventually beating teenager Timea Bacsinszky 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, after being two points away from losing the match in the second set.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 6
In the other matches, ninth seed Agnieszka Radwańska eased to victory over eighteenth seed and recent Rogers Cup finalist Dominika Cibulková, 6–0, 6–3; sixteenth seed Flavia Pennetta beat Nadia Petrova, seeded three places lower; Amélie Mauresmo ended the run of Julie Coin; and wild card Séverine Brémond knocked Tathiana Garbin out of the tournament.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 7
On the day that marked the half-way point of the tournament, the men's third round matches were finished. Novak Djoković, facing the number thirty seed and recent Pilot Pen Tennis champion Marin Čilić, was severely tested by the 19-year-old, but won through 6–7(7), 7–5, 6–4, 7–6(0) in four hours. Čilić continued to claw his way back into the match, as early breaks of serve by Djoković in the final three sets were all nullified, and two match points were missed before he won.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 7
Roger Federer's win was in contrast to this, as he completed a comprehensive victory over number twenty-eight seed Radek Štěpánek, 6–3, 6–3, 6–2; and Andy Roddick also made easier passage to the fourth round, defeating number thirty Andreas Seppi 6–2, 7–5, 7–6(4). Both of these players were particularly successful on their serves. Nikolay Davydenko also put in a consummate performance to beat twenty-sixth seed Dmitry Tursunov, 6–2, 7–6, 6–3.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 7
Fifteenth seed Tommy Robredo knocked out the nineteenth seed and Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who was playing his first tournament since having knee surgery in May); eleventh seed Fernando González defeated Jarkko Nieminen in four sets; and number twenty-three seed Igor Andreev defeated his higher-ranked opponent, number thirteen Fernando Verdasco, 6–2, 6–4, 6–4. Finally, qualifier Gilles Müller, who had not won three successive Tour level matches since July 2005 coming into the event, beat a second opponent after being two sets to love down (this time number eighteen Nicolás Almagro) in consecutive rounds, 6–7(3), 3–6, 7–6(5), 7–6,(6) 7–5.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 7
Number two seed Jelena Janković faced a third successive match in which she struggled to reach the next round, but came through against teenager Caroline Wozniacki 3–6, 6–2, 6–1. Janković, who faced a similarly stern test versus Wozniacki at Wimbledon, was sluggish in the opening set, but proved dangerous on the rebound, as she took the next two losing only three games, and played in a more aggressive manner. Elena Dementieva cruised to victory against Li Na, and fifteenth seed Patty Schnyder beat Katarina Srebotnik to reach her second US Open quarterfinal, her first having come ten years earlier.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 7
Notably, the other fourth round match played, between twenty-ninth seed Sybille Bammer and number twelve Marion Bartoli, matched the longest women's singles match on record at the Open, clocking in at three hours and three minutes—with Bammer prevailing, 7–6(3), 0–6, 6–4. Bartoli called the trainer twice during the match, and said afterwards that she had been ailed by a stomach bug and low blood pressure.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 8
Rafael Nadal faced the first opponent, home favorite Sam Querrey, to cause him a palpable threat, as he came through 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(2), 6–3. Nadal struggled in the latter stages of the second set (which was the first one he dropped in the tournament), and up until the tiebreak of the third, putting in a subdued performance in which the quality of his serve wavered. An American who did progress to the quarterfinals was Mardy Fish, who beat number thirty-two seed Gaël Monfils 7–5, 6–2, 6–2.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 8
Fish played an attack-minded match, hitting 49 winners and regularly utilizing serve and volley tactics. Meanwhile, in the men's night match between number six seed Andy Murray and number ten Stanislas Wawrinka, Murray secured an accomplished win (6–1, 6–3, 6–3), in what BBC journalist Piers Newbery called "one of the best performances of his career". Murray set up a clash with Juan Martín del Potro, who defeated Kei Nishikori in straight sets, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 8
In the women's singles, fourth seed Serena Williams continued to make serene progress, as she defeated Séverine Brémond 6–2, 6–2. Williams was highly successful on her first serve, with a conversion rate of 69%, and a points-won rate of 90%.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 8
Sister Venus, the number seven seed, set up a quarter-final clash with her, as she also completed an easy victory, over ninth seed Agnieszka Radwańska, 6–1, 6–3. Serena and Venus, who had recently played each other in the Wimbledon final (with Venus emerging the victor), expressed dismay at their seedings, which meant that they met at an earlier round than the final. The pair had previously faced each other in the Open final, with Venus winning in 2001 and Serena the following year.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 8
Also progressing was sixth seed Dinara Safina, who faced a difficult first set against Anna-Lena Grönefeld, 7–5, 6–0. Safina, who had encountered several difficult opponents before this round, revealed afterwards that she was in tears directly before the match, due to the physical exertion she had endured thus far. However, coach Zeljko Krajan had persuaded her to play, and she told reporters of her relief at having done so. Flavia Pennetta also navigated her way into the quarterfinals (the first time that she had reached this stage of a Grand Slam), defeating Amélie Mauresmo 6–3, 6–0. Mauresmo, a former world number one and two-time Grand Slam champion, played an error-strewn match, in which she served 14 double faults and hit 40 unforced errors.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 9
On Day 9, two of the top three seeds, and the two finalists from the previous year, Roger Federer and Novak Djoković, were severely tested. Federer, aiming for his fifth consecutive Open title, was playing twenty-sixth seed Igor Andreev in one of the scheduled night matches on the Arthur Ashe Stadium; he was victorious in five sets, 6–7(5), 7–6(5), 6–3, 3–6, 6–3.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 9
Federer struggled to break Andreev's serve in the opening two sets, whereas Andreev broke Federer in the first game of the first, and had seven break points in the early games of the second (Andreev had a low success rate overall, only taking advantage of two out of fifteen break points in the whole match). In the final set Andreev, at 4–2 down, had five further break point opportunities, but failed to convert any as Federer served out the match.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 9
Djoković was also pushed to five sets, defeating fifteenth seed Tommy Robredo 4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3 in nearly four hours. Robredo broke Djoković's serve at 4–4 the first set, before Djoković won sets two and three with some ease. However, after having broken serve in the fourth, Robredo levelled the match at 3–3, prompting the number three seed to smash his racket, and be the subject of booing from sections of the crowd. Djoković failed to convert break points at 5–5, allowing Robredo to forge a break of his own and take it to a fifth set.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 9
Djoković was able to close out the match after breaking at 2–2 in the final set. Djoković was beset by problems related to both a hip injury (for which he required two time-outs) and exhaustion, having been unable to sleep until 4.30 am (UTC-5) on Day 8 after his match with Marin Čilić. Robredo responded by saying, "I think that if you're not fit enough, then don't play."


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 9
Djoković set up a tie with sixth seed Andy Roddick, who easily beat eleventh seed and Olympic silver medalist Fernando González 6–2, 6–4, 6–1; 2003 champion Roddick acknowledged that he would have to complete an upset to defeat Djoković, despite Djoković's admission that whomever he faced in the next round would be a fitter opponent. Gilles Müller continued his unexpected run, as he defeated fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko in a demanding match that finished 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(10).


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 9
Müller, who served twenty aces, became the lowest-ranked player, at world number 130, to reach the quarterfinals of the Open since Nicolas Escudé (rank 136) in 1999, and the lowest-ranked at a Grand Slam tournament since Alexander Popp (rank 198) at Wimbledon 2003. He was also the first Luxembourgian to reach the quarterfinal stage of a Grand Slam.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 9
The latter stages of the women's tournament began, as the quarterfinal matches in the bottom half of the draw were played. Fifth seed and 2004 finalist Elena Dementieva progressed first, defeating the fifteenth seed Patty Schnyder with a competent display, 6–2, 6–3. Dementieva won the first set with two breaks, and although Schnyder broke back to level at 3–3 in the second, Dementieva won the next three games. Jelena Janković, a semifinalist in 2006, joined her, completing an easy 6–1, 6–4 win over twenty-ninth seed Sybille Bammer, who was playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Janković, whose match was relocated to the Louis Armstrong Stadium after the Federer-Andreev match overran, was one of four players, along with Dementieva, Serena Williams, and Dinara Safina who stood a chance of claiming the World No. 1 spot at the end of the tournament.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 10
The first two quarterfinal matches of the men's singles were played; top seed Rafael Nadal and sixth seed Andy Murray advanced to set up a match versus each other. Murray, who played first, defeated seventeenth seed Juan Martín del Potro, and ended del Potro's 23-match winning streak in the process. Murray endeavored to victory in nearly four hours, with the final scoreline at 7–6(2) 7–6(1), 4–6, 7–5.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 10
There was a history of antagonism between the pair, despite having only played once before, at the 2008 Rome Masters; in this match, del Potro had allegedly hit a ball straight at Murray, and not apologized, and later insulted Murray's mother. In the first set, Murray raced ahead, and led 4–1 before del Potro went on to win the next four games. Murray then broke back, and dominated the tiebreak that took place shortly afterwards. In the second set, it was Murray who broke late in the set, at 5–5, and he had an opportunity to serve for the set.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 10
Although del Potro broke back, Murray again eased through the tiebreak. Murray accelerated to a 3–1 lead in the third set, but del Potro fought back, and won the set, affording Murray only one more game. The players exchanged two breaks of serve in the final set, before Murray gained a decisive break at 6–5 to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal. Murray said the history of ill feeling between the pair did not transfer itself to the court, and that del Potro had apologized as the players shook hands at the end.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 10
The nineteen-year-old del Potro, who was playing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, hailed Murray as one of "best players in the world" in his press conference; however, he was unable to finish the round of questioning, and left midway through in tears. In the match between Nadal and the unseeded American Mardy Fish, Fish continued to play the attacking brand of tennis that he had done in the previous round, and, in front of a partisan home crowd, won the first set 6–3.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 10
However, Nadal improved his performance in the following three sets, and produced a number of passing shots to counter Fish's aggressive play, eventually coming through 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–2. Due in part to the longevity of the Williams-Williams match, the players remained on court till after 2.11 am, meaning that the match was sixteen minutes shy of the latest match ever played at the Open.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 10
The late women's match was between the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, both of whom had won the Open title twice previously. Serena prevailed in two sets, 7–6(6), 7–6(7), but not without considerable difficulty. Venus took the initiative in the opening stages, breaking to lead 3–1, and had the advantage of serving for two sets points at 5–3, 40–15. However, Serena launched a comeback, and won the first set on a tiebreak score of 8–6.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 10
In a second set that mirrored the first in many ways, Venus broke at 3–2 up, and again served for the set at 5–3; Venus used an array of attacking shots, regularly approaching the net and playing a number of cross-court forehands. Venus then led Serena for a large portion of the second set tiebreak, but squandered eight sets points; Serena, meanwhile, won on her first match point to secure the tiebreak 9–7. Serena commented afterwards that the siblings were "definitely playing the best [tennis of the tournament] so far."


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 10
Sixth seed Dinara Safina filled the other semifinal spot, defeating sixteenth seed Flavia Pennetta 6–2, 6–3. Safina, who had reached the final stage of six of her previous seven tournaments, said that she hoped to emulate her brother Marat, who won his maiden Grand Slam tournament at Flushing Meadows in 2000.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 11
Day 11 featured a men's quarterfinal, between Novak Djoković and Andy Roddick, that, like the match between Murray and del Potro, was preceded, and in this case, followed, by a controversial incident somewhat extraneous to the match played.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 11
Roddick said, in a press conference held on Day 10, that Djoković was "either quick to call a trainer or the most courageous guy of all time", insinuating that his opponent had a reputation for being injured (as he had been in his previous match) and, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, listed a series of esoteric conditions that Djoković may have been afflicted with ("Back and a hip? And a cramp? Bird flu? Anthrax? SARS? Common cough and cold?").


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 11
The American, renowned for his serve, struggled with this aspect of his game in the early stages of the match, and Djoković broke three times in the first set, winning in 27 minutes; he then took the second, needing only one break of serve in that set. However, Roddick, who had the support of the home crowd to his advantage, broke to lead 3–1 in the third, and he eventually won the set. In the fourth set, Roddick appeared to have gained momentum after breaking Djoković's serve to lead 4–3.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 11
Roddick was playing with increased exuberance at this point, and the crowd became more vocal, even making noise during Djoković's service motions. Roddick's serve failed him again though when, at 5–4, 30–0 up, he doubled-faulted twice and allowed Djoković to break back; the number-three seed then went on to win the tie-break and seal the win 6–2, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(5). Djoković then vented his anger at Roddick's comments in a post-match, court-side interview, beginning by stating, sarcastically, "Andy was saying that I have 16 injuries in the last match; obviously I don't, right?"


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 11
The crowd then began to boo Djoković, to which he said, "Like it or not, it's like that." The interviewer, wanting to defuse the situation, told Djoković that, "This crowd loves you, but you could turn them against you real fast"; Djoković responded by saying "I know [the crowd] are already against me because they think I am faking everything." In a later interview, Roddick criticized Djoković for being able to mock other players with his impressions, but being unable to receive mockery of himself in a gracious manner; Djoković showed contrition, calling it a "mistake" and apologizing to Roddick.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 11
Djoković had set up a match with the player he lost to in the 2007 final, Roger Federer, who had earlier beaten qualifier Gilles Müller 7–6(5), 6–4, 7–6(5). The former World No. 1 produced a measured performance, attacking Müller in the latter stages of the three sets. Müller fended off five set points in the first, before being broken in the tiebreak at 4–4.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 11
Federer broke serve at 4–4 (games) in the second set, and then served that set out; Müller put up stronger resistance in the third set tiebreak, leading 4–1 and 5–3, but after this allowed Federer to win the next four points. With this victory, Federer maintained his sequence of consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, with this being the eighteenth time he had done so.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 12
On women's semifinal day it was the two former World No. 1s, Jelena Janković and Serena Williams, who came through in blustery conditions. For Janković, it was the first time she had reached the final of a Grand Slam, having made the semi-finals on four previous occasions. She was also the third Serb to reach a Grand Slam final in 2008 (men's and women's singles), making them the most successful nation in this regard.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 12
She progressed first, defeating Elena Dementieva 6–4, 6–4. Dementieva was in the ascendency in the early part of the match, as she broke serve to lead 4–2 and dictated the play from the baseline. However, Dementieva began to hit more unforced errors at this point, and Janković took advantage of this, winning the next four games to secure the first set.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 12
On set point, which was on Dementieva's serve, Janković caused a minor controversy when she asked the ball boy for a towel, thus exceeding the 25 second time limit between points; she received a code violation (warning) from the umpire as a result of this incident. Both players struggled to hold serve in the early stages of the second set, and they traded two breaks apiece from 1–1 to 3–3. Both players then held serve to 4–4, before Janković broke at 5–4 to win the match.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 12
Dementieva had problems throughout the match; she was broken on serve five times, and committed forty-two unforced errors in total. However, she said that her recent Olympic triumph provided more than mere consolation, as she assigned a higher worth to the Olympic tennis event. Janković, who was in tears at the end of the match, had suffered a spate of injuries in 2008, and claimed that this was the first tournament of the year that she was injury free. Williams also won in two sets, defeating Dinara Safina 6–3, 6–2.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 12
Safina broke Williams in the first game of the match, but Williams soon asserted herself, and after having broken back, broke again to lead 5–3. Although Williams faced break points in this game, she eventually came through to win the first set. Safina, who was troubled by the wind for the whole match, was then broken after being 40–0 up in the first game of the second set. Williams eased to a 5–1 lead before closing out the match with a big serve.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 12
Williams told afterwards of her excitement of having an American player back in the final (the last women's singles final to feature an American woman was 2002, when, as previously mentioned, she and her sister played each other). Safina meanwhile, chastised her own behavior on the court, saying that she acted like a "spoilt girl" and would in the future try to contain her emotions.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 13
Fears had been raised on the days leading up to Day 13 that this would be the date on which the north-east coast of the US would be affected by the remnants of Hurricane Hanna, and they proved to be correct. A substantial part of "Super Saturday", as it often known (because the men's semifinals and women's final are played on the same day, something unique among the Grand Slam events), was called off due to rain.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 13
The United States Tennis Association's original contingency plan was to start the men's semifinals at the earlier time of 11 am (UTC-5), an hour earlier than tradition dictates. If the men's matches were completed, but the women's final could not be, then both finals would be played on Day 14, the final Sunday. Were none of the matches to be completed, Day 13's schedule would be forwarded by one day, and an extra day would be allocated for the men's final.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 13
Minor rescheduling took place on the day; for example, the match between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray began at a later start time than the Roger Federer–Novak Djoković match, 12:40 pm (it was relocated from the Arthur Ashe to Louis Armstrong Stadium), to allow people to see part of both matches. This created logistical problems for the organizers, as many fans left the semifinal between Federer and Djoković to get good seats at the other.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 13
Ultimately, with one men's match finished, and another half-way completed, the organizers decided to designate a fifteenth day's play, with the women's final having been cancelled due to ongoing rain. The final decision was that on Day 14, the conclusion of the men's semifinal between Nadal and Murray and the women's final would be played in separate sessions, and the men's final would be played on the following day. This was the first time since the 1974 Open, when Billie Jean King beat Evonne Goolagong, that the women's final was not played on the Saturday, and the first time since 1987 that an extra day was required.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 13
In the one men's semifinal that was completed, Federer, who had endured a poor season by his standards, defeated Djoković 6–3, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2 to reach his third Grand Slam final of the year, and seventeenth overall. The last time the pair had met on hardcourts was in January, in the Australian Open semifinal, where Djoković had convincingly beaten Federer; the time before this was in the aforementioned 2007 final, where Federer had won in straight sets. Both players made impressive starts to their encounter on this occasion, as they secured easy holds of serve the opening two games.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 13
However, in third game, Federer broke, and did not lose another service game in the first set. In the second set, it was Djoković who gained the early break, and he led 3–1 before Federer rallied back to draw level at 4–4. However, this proved to be in vain as Federer, who had already saved two set points from 0–40 down, was broken at 5–6 to hand Djoković the second set. The score was deadlocked at 5–5 in the third when Federer fashioned a crucial break of serve, and went on to win the set.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 13
During the match, Djoković had felt the wrath of the US crowd, who were vociferous in their support for Federer, and who at times cheered when he hit unforced errors. After being broken at 5–5, Djoković turned and gave them a mock gesture of thanks, which only incited them further. Federer added afterwards that he felt he had broken Djoković's will by winning this set. Federer broke again in the fifth game of the fourth set, and did not lose another game as he cruised to victory.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 13
The other men's semifinal, between Nadal and Murray, was suspended with the score at 6–2, 7–6(5), 2–3 in Murray's favor (although he was a break down in the third). Murray began the match in an aggressive manner, serving and volleying, and hitting several winners from the back of the court. He was rewarded with two breaks of serve in the first set, at 1–1 and 4–2. Murray continued to bother Nadal on serve in the second, but could not break, despite holding seven break points, and facing none against himself.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 13
In the tie-break, he squandered an early lead before reeling off three points in a row at 4–5 down to gain a two-set advantage. Nadal broke Murray early in the second set, before a short postponement in play was initiated when a light rain appeared, in order to give the referee time to assess whether the court was still suitable for play. Murray queried the initial decision to stop play, but the rain soon came on stronger, and the match was suspended overnight.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
The first session of play on Day 14 saw Murray round off his victory against Nadal, 6–2, 7–6(5) 4–6, 6–4. Play resumed on Arthur Ashe Stadium, and Nadal won all three of his service games, fending off one break point from Murray in the process, to win the third set. Both players then had opportunities to break at the start of the fourth. Nadal had one in the first game, and Murray had seven in the second; this second game spanned a total of twenty-two points, and took 15 minutes to be concluded.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
The resolute Nadal held out though, and broke Murray to love in the next game. Murray came back into the match, levelling the scores at 3–3; and he broke again to win the match at 5–4. After a somewhat fortuitous net cord at deuce of that game, Murray hit a backhand pass at match point to confirm the win. Murray, who came into the match having failed to beat Nadal in five previous encounters, became the first Briton, male or female, since Greg Rusedski at the 1997 Open to reach the final of a Grand Slam singles tournament.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
Nadal, who was also playing in his first US Open semifinal, said that, with the number of matches he had played recently taken into consideration, he was pleased with his overall performance at the Open. Had the match gone to seeding, Nadal would have been facing his rival, Federer, for a third time in a Grand Slam final in 2008, after having already beaten him at the French Open and Wimbledon.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
The women's singles final was also played, and Williams was victorious over Janković in two sets, 6–4, 7–5. Williams also reclaimed the number one berth for the first time since 2003, something that Janković would have done had she won the title. The players came into the final with a win-loss record against each other of 3-3, although Janković said beforehand that, "Overall, she's, I think, the strongest player on the tour, together with her sister."


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
The match was preceded by an opening ceremony that included Anita Baker singing the US national anthem, a group of people moving a gigantic American flag over the court, and a coin toss performed by Billie Jean King. The match, which the BBC called "one of the more memorable US Open finals", began in exciting fashion, with Serena being edged to deuce in the first game, as both players hit a number of winners and unforced errors in the opening stages.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
Janković appeared to be playing with greater confidence though, when she broke to love in the third game of the match. Any advantage that this break gave her was nullified in the next game, as Williams broke back from 40–0 down. Janković was broken again to go 4–2 down, but it was her turn to break back as Williams made several errors when serving for the set at 5–3. Her work was undone when she went 0–40 down in the subsequent game, and after saving one set point, ceded the first set to Williams on the following one.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
Williams began the second set ominously for Janković, as she held to love and then forced two break points on her serve. The next four games saw the players contest several exhausting rallies, but Williams was the only one to force any break points, gaining a lead of 15–40 at 2–1 and 3–2, with Janković holding both times. Before the seventh game of the third set, Williams went to use her towel, and Janković complained to the umpire about the violation; the same one she had committed in the previous round.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
With the score at 40–30 in Williams's favor, Janković hit a winner, and although the decision of the line judge incensed Williams, it was shown to be clearly in on the Hawk-Eye review; Janković then won the game, and her next one when back on serve. She had her first three set points in the next game, racing to a 0–40 lead, but failed to convert any as Williams held on. With Janković serving for the set (5–4), Williams hit three winners to take a 0–40 lead, the final point in this sequence being her eighth in a row.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
Janković won the next three points, and after Williams twice held advantage, she hit an ace to bring up her fourth set point. However, Janković double-faulted on this opportunity, and allowed Williams to win the game on her sixth break point. Williams won the next two games, and although Janković had a game point at 6–5, she double-faulted, and Williams took the match on her second championship point.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
This was the ninth Grand Slam tournament that Williams had won, and she did not drop a set on her way to doing so. At the time, Williams joined an elite group of six women who had won nine or more Grand Slam titles in the open era, equalling Monica Seles's tally with this triumph. Williams, who had dominated the sport from 2002 to 2003, but been ranked outside the top 125 in 2006, put her renaissance, not only in this tournament but for the whole of 2008, down to a better approach towards fitness.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 14
Williams had won her first Grand Slam at the Open, in 1999, and reflected on her future by saying that she wanted to win several more before her career was over. Janković meanwhile, said she was contented with her first outing in a Grand Slam final, and joked that she probably deserved an Oscar for the dramatic nature of her matches in the two weeks that led up to the final.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray in straight sets 6–2, 7–5, 6–2, to claim his fifth consecutive title, thus cementing his place in history as the first man since Bill Tilden in 1924 to have achieved this feat. The only other men to have done so were Richard Sears, in 1887, and Bill Larned, in 1911 (Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras had each won five times, but not consecutively).


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
Federer created a new record, becoming the first man to have won two different Grand Slam events five consecutive times (the other being Wimbledon), and this win left him one short of Pete Sampras's all-time men's record of 14 Grand Slam singles wins. In the context of Federer's career, this was the sixth straight year in which he had won a Grand Slam.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
Murray also came into the match aiming to break a pre-open-era record, his being one of national importance—the last British man to have won a Grand Slam singles title was Fred Perry at the 1936 U.S. National Championships, the last British woman to have done so was Virginia Wade at Wimbledon 1977.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
Coming into this tournament, both players had contrasting records at Grand Slams: the twenty-seven-year-old Federer had reached sixteen Grand Slam finals, and won twelve, whereas the 21-year-old Murray had yet to reach the final of one. Murray also had the task of becoming the first man since Sergi Bruguera, at the 1993 French Open, to beat the top two players in the world at a Grand Slam. He did however, hold a win-loss record of 2-1 against Federer, and had most recently beaten him at the 2008 Dubai Tennis Championships. Murray, who expressed confidence coming into the final, said that this small positive record stood for little, and he, along with a number of commentators, including former Wimbledon champions Pat Cash and Michael Stich, acknowledged Federer to be the favorite, despite his disappointing year.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
The match, dubbed by American sports promoter Don King as the "Grapple in the Apple", began at 5:00 pm (UTC-5). The pair easily held the opening three games, before Federer launched his first assault on Murray's serve at 2–1 up; he could not, however, convert his one break point opportunity. Federer eased through next service game, and broke Murray for the first time at 3–2 following a succession of errors from Murray. Federer fired another series of big serves in the seventh game, and then broke Murray to win the first set, 6–2, in twenty-seven minutes.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
Murray lost the first two games of the second set, meaning that Federer had won a cumulative total of six games in a row. Murray immediately broke back though, and appeared to have steadied himself by winning the next game, allowing Federer only one point. Federer failed to hit any successful first serves in the next game, and Murray gained three consecutive break points at 0–40. Federer won the next three points, despite, on evidence of a replay, having clearly hit one of his shots long.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
Because Murray did not stop the point, he could not challenge the call; after the match, when Murray was asked about this, he said he was disappointed, but thought that the rules were correct in not allowing retrospective challenges. Both players comfortably held the next four games, although some minor threats presented themselves for Federer at 4–4, 0–15 and 30–30 (Murray hit backhands long both times). Murray was aided in the next game, when he was serving to stay in the set, as Federer hit four unforced errors, all going long. Federer won the next game, and then seized his final opportunity on a Murray service game, winning the final game of the second set to love.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
Federer began to overpower his opponent in the third set; Murray was broken to love twice as Federer raced ahead to a 5–0 lead, with Murray winning only four points up to that point. He did, however, win the next two games. Federer broke the game after though, winning on his second championship point in a point that required three smashes from the defending champion. The match lasted one hour and fifty-one minutes, thirteen minutes fewer than it took to complete the women's final.


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
The only players that Federer had not surpassed, in terms of US Open wins, at this point in his career were: Richard Sears, who had won seven straight, Bill Larned, who won seven overall, and Bill Tilden with six straight and seven overall (all three of these players played before the open era). In the last on-court televised interview, Federer was adamant that he would not stop at thirteen, describing such a scenario as "terrible".


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
Federer, who at the time had a total win-loss record of 45–4 at the Open and 34-match winning streak, said that the streak was of great importance to him, especially after having lost at Wimbledon. Reflecting on his year, he said, "I had a couple of tough Grand Slams this year. To take this one home is incredible."


2008 US Open (tennis), Day-by-day summaries, Day 15
Murray said of the competition with Federer in tournaments that "I got the better of him the past two times, but he definitely set the record straight", and said, on his future, "I know mentally now that I can get to a Slam final, and physically. The only thing it comes down to is the tennis." Paying tribute to Federer, he said that, "I came up against, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game."


2008 US Open (tennis), Summaries of other events, Seniors Doubles, Men's
In the men's doubles, American twins Bob and Mike Bryan won the sixth Grand Slam title of their careers, and their second at the US Open, having last won in 2005. They beat the pairing of Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes, 7–6(5), 7–6(10). Dlouhy and Paes, who were the number seven seeds, were playing in only their sixth tournament as a team. Of the sixteen seeds, the Bryans and the Dlouhy-Paes combination were the only ones to make it as far as the quarterfinal stage.


2008 US Open (tennis), Summaries of other events, Seniors Doubles, Men's
In the final itself, the Bryans had to come back from being a break down in the first set, before winning it in the tiebreak. In the second set, the teams traded breaks, before the Bryans came through a longer tiebreak. The pair came into the event having won the bronze medal at the Olympics, and they did not drop a set on their way to winning the tournament. This win allowed them to recover their number one spot in the rankings, dethroning Daniel Nestor, who had lost in the third round partnering Nenad Zimonjić. After the match, the 30-year-old brothers played down their chances of catching The Woodies, who won 11 Grand Slam titles in their career.


2008 US Open (tennis), Summaries of other events, Seniors Doubles, Women's
Cara Black and Liezel Huber won the women's doubles, which was their fourth Grand Slam title together (Black's fifth overall), the first US Open win for either, and Huber's first as a US citizen (she was born in, and had previously represented, South Africa). Black and Huber were top seeds, but had last won a Grand Slam at Wimbledon 2007. In the final, they beat the tenth seeded team of Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur, both of whom were former World No. 1s and Grand Slam champions, 6–3, 7–6(6).


2008 US Open (tennis), Summaries of other events, Seniors Doubles, Women's
Black and Huber had been down two set points in the second set tiebreak, at 6–4, but went on to win the next four points to ensure that, like the Bryans, they did not lose a set in any of their matches. Black and Huber had faced each other three days earlier in the mixed doubles final. Speaking of this match, Black said that it was "one of the toughest matches I've ever played" and that, because of this, "I really wanted to win it for her."


2008 US Open (tennis), Summaries of other events, Seniors Doubles, Mixed
In the mixed doubles, Black and Paes, seeded fifth, teamed up to defeat the unseeded partnership of Huber and Jamie Murray (brother of Andy), 7–6(6), 6–4. It was Paes's fourth mixed doubles title, Black's third, and their first together. Huber and Murray dominated the opening stages of the first set tiebreak, leading 5–2 and 6–4, before Black and Paes came back to take the set. Despite some pressure on Paes's serve in the early stages of the second set, Murray was broken early on, and Black and Paes took the title.


2008 US Open (tennis), Summaries of other events, Juniors
Due to the rain on Saturday, the boys' and girls' singles semi-finals were moved to an indoor tennis centre at Port Chester, New York.


2008 US Open (tennis), Summaries of other events, Juniors, Boys'
The boys' singles final saw reigning Wimbledon champion Grigor Dimitrov pitted against home favorite Devin Britton, a qualifier who had knocked out several seeds, including number two and reigning Australian Open champion Bernard Tomic, on his way to the final. Dimitrov, playing in his final junior tournament, defeated Britton 6–4, 6–3. Three American boys made the semifinals, making this the most successful tournament for the home nation since 2000, when Andy Roddick, Ytai Abougzir, and Robby Ginepri all reached that stage. Britton was surprised at his breakthrough, saying that he was "happy to be in the main draw" at the beginning of the event.


2008 US Open (tennis), Summaries of other events, Juniors, Girls'
In the girls' singles final, American wild card Coco Vandeweghe defeated Gabriela Paz Franco 7–6(3), 6–1. Both players were inexperienced coming into the final: it was Vandeweghe's first tournament win on the ITF Tour, and Paz-Franco, who called the tournament an "amazing experience", was playing in her first junior Grand Slam. Vandeweghe, who is the niece of former basketball player Kiki Vandeweghe, credited her improved performances to greater maturity. Their match, like the boys' final, was concluded relatively quickly.


2008 US Open (tennis), Summaries of other events, Juniors, Girls'
By reaching the finals, Britton and Vandeweghe became the first American boy/girl duo to make the singles finals since 1992, when Brian Dunn and Lindsay Davenport did so.


2008 US Open (tennis), Summaries of other events, Juniors, Doubles
The junior doubles competitions were rescheduled for Friday evening before Super Saturday, to avoid the weather. In the boys' doubles, Niki Moser and Cedrik-Marcel Stebe defeated Henri Kontinen and Christopher Rungkat in a close final, 7–6(5), 3–6, 10–8. In the girls', Noppawan Lertcheewakarn and Sandra Roma defeated Mallory Burdette and Sloane Stephens, 6–0, 6–2. Lertcheewakarn said she was glad to have won for Roma, who was playing in her final junior Grand Slam. Roma said that she would like to partner Lertcheewakarn again at some point in the future.


2008 US Open (tennis), Seniors, Men's Doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan defeated  Lukáš Dlouhý /  Leander Paes, 7–6(5), 7–6(10)


2008 US Open (tennis), Seniors, Women's Doubles
Cara Black /  Liezel Huber defeated  Lisa Raymond /  Samantha Stosur, 6–3, 7–6(6)


2008 US Open (tennis), Seniors, Mixed Doubles
Cara Black /  Leander Paes defeated  Liezel Huber /  Jamie Murray, 7–6(6), 6–4


2008 US Open (tennis), Juniors, Boys' Doubles
Niki Moser /  Cedrik-Marcel Stebe defeated  Henri Kontinen /  Christopher Rungkat, 7–6(5), 3–6, [10–8]


2008 US Open (tennis), Juniors, Girls' Doubles
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn /  Sandra Roma defeated  Mallory Burdette /  Sloane Stephens, 6–0, 6–2


2008 US Open (tennis), Wheelchair
The wheelchair events did not take place in 2008 due to a conflict with the Beijing Summer Paralympic Games.


2008 US Open (tennis), Legends, Mixed Champions Invitational
Anne Smith /  Stan Smith defeated  Ilana Kloss /  Guillermo Vilas, 6–4, 6–4


2008 US Open (tennis), Qualifier entries, Men's Qualifiers entries
The following players received entry into a lucky loser spot:


2008 US Open (tennis), Qualifier entries, Women's Qualifiers entries
The following players received entry into a lucky loser spot:


2008 US Open (tennis), Protected ranking
The following players were accepted directly into the main draw using a protected ranking:


2008 US Open (tennis), Wildcard entries
Below are the lists of the wildcard awardees in the main draw.


2008 US Open Series, 2008 Series results
To be included in the standings and subsequently the bonus prize money, a player has to have countable results from two different tournaments. Players finishing in the top three in the series can earn up to $1 million in extra prize money. Roger Federer received the largest US Open pay day of $2.4 Million in 2007 after capturing the title in both the US Open Series and the US Open championship. In 2008, the men's  series leader Rafael Nadal received US$570,000 for his semifinal finish with a bonus of US$250,000. Women's leader Dinara Safina received US$570,000 for her semifinal finish as well.


2008 US Open – Boys' Doubles
Jonathan Eysseric and Jérôme Inzerillo were the defending champions, but did not compete in the Juniors in 2008.


2008 US Open – Boys' Doubles
Nikolaus Moser and Cedrik-Marcel Stebe won in the final 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 10–8, against Henri Kontinen and Christopher Rungkat.


2008 US Open – Boys' Singles
Ričardas Berankis was the defending champion but, no longer competing in junior tennis, did not defend his title.


2008 US Open – Boys' Singles
Grigor Dimitrov won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Devin Britton.


2008 US Open – Girls' Doubles
Ksenia Milevskaya and Urszula Radwańska were the defending champions, but did not compete in the juniors that year.


2008 US Open – Girls' Doubles
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn and Sandra Roma won the tournament, defeating Mallory Burdette and Sloane Stephens in the final, 6–0, 6–2.


2008 US Open – Girls' Singles
Kristína Kučová was the defending champion, but did not compete in the juniors that year.


2008 US Open – Girls' Singles
CoCo Vandeweghe won the tournament, defeating Gabriela Paz in the final, 7–6(7–3), 6–1.


2008 US Open – Men's Doubles
Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle were the defending champions, but lost in the second round to Igor Kunitsyn and Dmitry Tursunov.


2008 US Open – Men's Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won in the final 7–6(7–5), 7–6(12–10), against Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes.


2008 US Open – Men's Singles
Four-time defending champion Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray in the final 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 2008 US Open. It was Federer's 13th Grand Slam title and his only successful title defense in majors that year, after losing the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles. He moved to second place on the all time men's singles Grand Slam wins list, passing Roy Emerson. This was Federer's fifth consecutive and last US Open title.


2008 US Open – Men's Singles
Murray became the first British man to reach a Grand Slam final since Greg Rusedski in the 1997 US Open, and he was attempting to become the first British male player to win a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry in 1936. Murray would eventually do so by winning the title at this event four years later.


2008 US Open – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal had a chance to be the first man to win Grand Slam tournaments on clay, grass and hard courts in the same calendar year, after having won the French Open and Wimbledon. He also could have become the first man to win the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open since Rod Laver in 1969, but he lost to Murray in the semifinals.


2008 US Open – Men's Singles
This was Juan Martín del Potro's first appearance as a seeded player in a Grand Slam. He lost in the quarterfinals against Murray to end his 23-match winning streak. He would go on to win the title the following year. Another future champion, Marin Čilić, appeared in the main draw of the US Open for the first time.


2008 US Open – Men's Singles
This was the last Grand Slam tournament for 2002 Australian Open Champion and former world No. 7 Thomas Johansson.


2008 US Open – Mixed Doubles
Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi were the defending champions, but Azarenka chose not to participate. Mirnyi partnered with Anna Chakvetadze, but lost in the first round to Nadia Petrova and Jonas Björkman.


2008 US Open – Mixed Doubles
Cara Black and Leander Paes won the title, defeating Liezel Huber and Jamie Murray in the final 7–6(8–6), 6–4.


2008 US Open – Women's Doubles
Nathalie Dechy and Dinara Safina were the defending champions, but Safina chose not to participate, and only Dechy competed that year. Dechy partnered with Casey Dellacqua, but lost in the first round to Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska.


2008 US Open – Women's Doubles
Cara Black and Liezel Huber won in the final 6–3, 7–6(8–6), against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur.


2008 US Open – Women's Singles
Serena Williams defeated Jelena Janković in the final, 6–4, 7–5 to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 2008 US Open. With the win, she regained the world No. 1 singles ranking for the first time since 2003. This was also her second US Open and third major overall won without losing a set during the tournament. Three of the top four seeds (with the exception of previous year's runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova) were in contention for the No. 1 ranking at the start of the tournament.


2008 US Open – Women's Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, but retired from the sport in May 2008.


2008 US Open – Women's Singles
Notably this was the final singles major in which 1998 champion and former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport competed. She lost to Marion Bartoli in the third round.


2008 US Open – Women's Singles
Julie Coin, ranked 188th at the time, defeated top seed Ana Ivanovic in the second round, making her the lowest-ranked player ever to defeat a world No. 1. Coin surpassed Zheng Jie's record, who was ranked 133rd when she also defeated Ivanovic just two months earlier at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. This record would remain unbroken until the 2009 China Open.


2008 US Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2008 US Open – Women's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for the Women's Singles at the 2008 US Open.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea
The 2008 US beef protest in South Korea was a series of protest demonstrations made between 24 May 2008 and mid August 2008. against president Lee Myung-bak in Seoul, Korea. The protest involved several hundred thousands and at its height up to one million people. The protest began after the South Korean government reversed a ban on US beef imports. The ban had been in place since December 2003, when mad cow disease was detected in US beef cattle.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea
The protests occurred on a background of talks concerning the US-Korea free trade agreement. Critics accuse the move as an attempt by the Korean government to please the US government.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea
Local media also criticized the government's attempt. An example of this is the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) PD Notebook program "Is American Beef Really Safe from Mad Cow Disease?" televised on 27 April 2008.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Background
South Korea was once the third-largest importer of US beef. This changed when in 2003 mad-cow disease, specifically the prion responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), was detected in US beef. Imports were then halted.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Background
In 2008, the then new Lee Myung-bak government agreed, after extensive negotiations, to restart imports.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Background
That decision set off a firestorm of controversy, leading hundreds of thousands of citizens to come out in the spring and early summer of 2008 in protest over the resumed imports and against the corrupt chaebol government. Media reports, public networks, and PD Notebook uncovered the new president's policies to be putting South Koreans' health at risk of contracting mad cow disease. The deal has sparked public outrage for exposing the country to a higher risk of mad cow disease.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Background
Natively referred to as the "Million Citizen Protests," the events comprised nation's largest anti-government movement in two decades, drawing hundreds of thousands of citizens daily and 1,700 civic groups over a span of three months. The conflict escalated to over 770,000 protesters in contention with 470,000 police.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2003
On 23 December 2003, a first case of BSE in the US was found in Washington state. The Holstein cow had been imported from Canada in 2001. On 9 December the 6.5-year-old cow was slaughtered. The cow was a "downer" (a cow that is unable to walk). For that reason, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) was automatically notified; and the cow was examined before and after its death by a government vet. The veterinarian determined that the cow was suffering from complications of calving. Samples of tissue were taken for further testing for BSE.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2003
Parts of the cow with a high risk of transmitting the BSE prion were removed but may have been sent for "inedible rendering" into food for non-ruminant animals. The carcass itself was allowed to continue on for further processing into human food at other facilities. On 23 December 2003 when tests proved positive for BSE, a recall was made. The contaminated meat had not entered the commercial market. Offspring of the cow were destroyed. South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan banned imports of US beef.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2003
The head of the US FDA at the time was Ann M. Veneman, a former lobbyist for the food industry.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2003
Japan is allowed "imports of beef and beef products aged 20 months or younger" as a "'scientifically sound and internationally recognized standard,'" stated US Agriculture secretary Mike Johanns. In contrast, the first phase of Korea's agreement allows bone-in beef 30 months or younger while the second phase allows "specified products from animals over 30 months at a later date."


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2003
"Most Koreans eat 85 parts of the cow…that are highly susceptible to prions that huddle in certain areas of the brain, eyes, intestines, spinal cords and backbones." Despite compliance with OIE rules, "the first three shipments of U.S. beef to Korea contained bone fragments, including one shipment that contained an entire spine were banned over disease concerns last October." Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, degenerative, invariably fatal brain disorder. Typically, onset of symptoms occurs at approximately the age of 60. About 90 percent of patients die within one year.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2003
Contrary to FDA regulations and those specified by the Free Trade Agreement, only 5 out of 57 local companies requested for packages to be checked. There was a 3% inspection from US and 1% inspection agreement from Australia/New Zealand. The sample packages were inspected solely for labeling discrepancies, instead of the presence of disease. Although there were many confirmed cases of BSE in brain scans and medical tests performed on the public, the true death toll of these policies has yet to be calculated.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2006
By 2006, sixty-five nations had full or partial restrictions on the importation of US beef. Export sales of US beef fell from $3.8 billion in 2003 to $1.4 billion in 2005. An attempt to reopen the South Korean market to US beef imports in 2006 (restricted to boneless meat from cattle less than 30 months old) failed when the South Korean government discovered bone chips in a shipment of 3.2 tons of meat. Sporadic attempts made in the following year also failed for similar reasons.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2008 – Lee's reversal of the beef import ban
On 17 January 2008 representatives of the president of South Korea met with Alexander Vershbow, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea to discuss beef imports. Further talks were held between 11 and 17 April 2008. On 18 April U.S. and South Korean negotiators reached an agreement on the sanitary rules that Korea would require of U.S. beef imports. The agreement allowed imports of all cuts of U.S. beef (both boneless and bone-in) and certain beef products, including those from cattle over 30 months old. Processors had to remove material known to risk BSE prion transmission. President Lee visited President George W. Bush at Camp David on 20 April 2008. The U.S. reported,


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2008 – Lee's reversal of the beef import ban
President Bush welcomed the decision of the Korean government to resume the import of U.S. beef, based on international standards and science. The two presidents pledged to make every effort to urge their respective legislatures to approve the KORUS FTA (Korean US Free trade agreement) within this year.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2008 – Lee's reversal of the beef import ban
Demonstrators accused Lee of reversing the ban on imports of U.S. beef in haste, giving the U.S. unwarranted concessions, so that Korea would receive a favorable reception, particularly with respect to ratifying the proposed free trade agreement. The demonstrators said Lee had abandoned his duty of care to the people of South Korea for political gain by ignoring their concern about BSE prion transmission and by lowering tariffs on imported beef. Korea agreed to remove a 40% tariff on beef muscle meat imported from the U.S. for a period of 15 years. Korea could however, impose temporary tariffs if there was a surge of U.S. beef imports above specified levels.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Origin of the protest, 2008 – Lee's reversal of the beef import ban
The government's main reason for the concessions involved Lee's deal to sell Hyundai cars, as the former vice president of Hyundai Corporation. "Mr. Lee hoped his decision to end the five-year-old ban on American beef would help win United States Congressional support for a free trade agreement between the countries. Congressional leaders have warned that they will never ratify the pact unless South Korea fully opens its market to American beef."