Federer has the occasional habit of delaying making excuses for a loss, sometimes for months.

This, in my opinion, is done to suit his particular needs with regards to getting some sort of edge over his opponent, or bolstering his waning sense of security before the Grand Slams.

In a recent interview before day one of the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York, Roger Federer announced he had a variety of ailments during his run at the Masters event in Toronto in early August.

Federer stated that because he had not played a match since losing at Wimbledon at the end of June, he was affected by a variety of physical issues.

"In Toronto I really had a lot of muscle pain, my arm, my wrist, my chest, my shoulder. Coming back right off the bat after six weeks and playing such tough matches early on was tough on the body," said Federer

These are, in effect, carefully planted insinuations as to why he lost to Andy Murray in the final of Toronto and are designed to get into the mind of his recent and subsequent opponents.

Federer has a history of blaming past losses to Murray on illness and injury.

At the beginning of the current season, he pinned his defeats at the hands of the Scot in 2008 on "mono" and a back ailment. This is an example of Federer's 'delayed excuse' tactic that he sometimes implements before important matches at the Slam events, and will be discussed later.

In his post-match interview after the final match, he praised Murray's new-found aggression and made only minimal excuses for his loss.

One could have deduced from these words that Federer was starting to have respect for his young rival—a player he is known to dislike simply because the talented Scot is one of the very few who has the resources to take him apart, not by brute force, but by tactical cunning.

Federer's respect, however, was short-lived, and as is so often the case before the majors, he needs to resort to explaining past defeats to strengthen what he perceives as his fading court presence, especially in the eyes of those who have dealt him heavy blows in the past.

This is a clear and disrespectful strategy to get a mental edge over his opponents.

It is sneaky behavior of the highest order, and worse than making injury claims right after a match, such as his excuses after losing to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon—in the latter case without even being specifically asked.

It will be recalled that his main rival, Rafael Nadal, had the same lay-off after Wimbledon, but made no mention of injuries after his semifinal defeat by Murray.

And the Spaniard could easily have done so to bolster his ego, and would have made a believable case for himself, considering his history of knee troubles.

After Federer lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2008, no blame was laid on any physical issues—nor should there have been. Federer dispatched both James Blake and Berdych, both solid hard court players, in straight sets.

Towards the end of that season, he stated that he was, indeed, suffering from an illness and was hampered physically in that match.

Federer was looking to either boost his fading aura and get under the skin of his rival, or take away from Djokovic's tremendous achievement. 

In 2008, Federer lost to Murray at the Masters event in Madrid, and at the group stage of the Masters Cup in Shanghai. He had some words of praise for his opponent after those losses.

At the Australian Open this year, Federer changed his mind about the Scot's past victories, blaming his losses on illness and injury.

Like his bravado before the final match with Murray in Australia, when he all but declared his indestructible prowess in the Slams, those attempts at downgrading Murray's wins were meant to rattle his still maturing rival.

Perhaps Federer should get a lesson in humility from Andy Roddick.

After his defeat at the hands of Janko Tipsarevic in the second round of this year's US Open, a major upset in the eyes of many, Roddick simply acknowledged his opponent's brilliant game.

"Tonight, I felt like the guy earned it. That's probably easier to deal with when he comes up with the goods."

The American could easily have mentioned the illness with which he was diagnosed not long ago, as a possible reason for his loss, but tactfully refrained from doing so.

Going back to the interview discussed at the beginning, Federer also mentioned that he is in good physical and mental shape. "I feel as good as I can feel prior to a Grand Slam," he said, also adding that he has "no niggling injuries, no pain anywhere."

Let's wait and see if he holds true to those words, should he lose at the Open. Of course, his opponent might be a determining factor.

We all know how he feels about Murray. 

Read more Tennis news on BleacherReport.com

Victoria Azarenka, the No. 10 seed on the women’s side, collapsed in her second round contest against Gisela Dulko while playing on the Grandstand Court. Temperatures soared to over 90 degrees while they played.  

Azarenka trailed Dulko 5-2 at the time. Tournament officials were quick to assert that other factors were in play besides the heat, but you had to know the conditions on court were horrendous.

Croat Ivan Ljubicic, who lost to American teenager Ryan Harrison, blamed the heat for his loss, calling it his biggest opponent. He pointed out that in Australia if it is too hot, players do not play.

On court temperatures soared over 100 degrees for the third day in a row. 

Thursday does not look to be any better. Friday, however, promises rain and declining temperatures.

American Andy Roddick lost his night match to Janko Tipsarevic. Last year’s sweetheart, Melanie Oudin is also out of the Open. Neither of these losses, however, had anything to do with the heat.

Thursday’s action on court also promises to be hot and heavy.

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What are the biggest sporting events in the NFL every year? It can depend on your perspective and rooting interest.  These 10 are undeniably a major part of the American Sporting calendar every year.

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Murray, one of the favorites to win this title based primarily on his win at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, is yet to win his first major. He’s known good results in New York, however, and this event presents one of his best chances to do so.

Here are five reasons why.

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Ha! Ha! Ha!

Serve and volley?

Ha!Ha! Ha! Serve and volley is dead!

Net play? Ha!Ha!Ha!Are you nuts?

A woman coach? Amelie Mauresmo? Ha! Ha! Ha! You must be crazy!

These are the kinds of barbs , taunts, scorn and scathing attack you would imagine that Michaël Llodra endured when he decided to seek coaching from his compatriot Mauresmo.

Changing your game plan is never easy. Remolding and remodeling it is even harder, especially late in your career. The trick lies in not changing a lot of stuff, just a few things.

Llodra works some magic

Llodra is no spring chicken. The 30-year-old has been around for eleven long years. He turned pro in 1999.

But on his day at the US Open, he left the Wimbledon finalist, Tomas Berdych frozen in his tracks.

Pete Sampras fleshed out the serve and volley approach to impel his way to fourteen Grand Slam titles.

But since then its been a massacre of this archetype at the rackets of the back court specialists. Their ability to strike the ball clean and hard from the back of the court make the adventurous think twice before embarking on the ‘serve and glide into the court’ art form Sampras patented.

But for three straight sets on Wednesday, the 1st of September, 2010, Michaël Llodra illumined that if you put on your thinking cap you can make the most powerful opponent seem positively flat-footed.

Llodra’s gambit - sticking to his strengths - paid off big time!

Berdych had no comeback to Llodra’s artistry and court craft. His inability to decode the Frenchman’s wiles had him packing his bags way too early in the tournament.

Tomas had this to say about the match: “We played three times, four times from the baseline, that’s it.I had no chance to play my tennis. That’s just well done for him.”

Llodra won sixty serve and volley points. This was out of a total of 101 points won. A remarkable sixty percent. Net approaches won = 48 of 75 = 64 percent. He was rapacious and predatory at the net.

Volleying it out

Serve and volley is an offensive ploy; slugging it out from the baseline is essentially defensive.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the aggressive quad dance provided you can execute it well.

You curve the ball into the body to cramp your foe or spit it wide so that your opponent has to stretch to get to the ball. You follow up the serve by moving into the half-court and wait for the floated ball. The return is ruthlessly dispatched to the nether regions of the court or killed at the net with a deftly executed drop shot.

It is a perfect ruse to allow you some rest and recuperation in between games. Grinding away at long rallies is more suited to the younger, fitter players; it is hard on the knees for the older guns.Besides, there’s nothing like the sheer exhilaration and joy of being able to kill off your opponent’s shot at glory from mid-court or at the net.

Shortening the points also frustrates your opponent.

The only real counter attack your opponent can effect is to try for the low percentage passing shots on either side or try to drop the ball at your feet. Lobbing is for the truly venturesome.

Closing in on the mid-court lacing reduces the angles and allows one to take the ball early. This simultaneously cuts down your adversary’s reaction time.

But it has to be executed to perfection else you could be left stranded at the net watching the green spheroid whiz past. Playing doubles is a surefire  way to improve your game on the half-court.

Sinking a titan

Llodra is a doubles specialist.And his game plan mid-court was near flawless in its execution.

It helped that the Tomas Berdych who showed up was not the Wimbledon buccaneer but his older inconsistent walking dead man shadow.

The Frenchman’s serve and volley game seeks to emulate his idol  - that elegant Swede, Stefan Edberg. Is it any wonder that he berged, submerged and bagged a Berdych? A Tomas Berdych to go , please!

Llodra may well be shown the door in the second round when he takes on Victor Hanescu but for one magical afternoon, he showed how attack is often less taxing than defense and even more ethereal.

Read more Tennis news on BleacherReport.com

The decision will be made by FIFA executives on Dec. 2 of this year, a decision that is sure to energize the citizens of whichever country win the bid.

Though England has registered a bid to host the World Cup in both 2018 and 2022, FIFA has numerous reasons to choose England to host the tournament the next year it is available for hosting, 2018.

Here are eight of those reasons.

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Great.

Don't get me wrong, Bradley has produced some unexpected and fantastic results. The Confederations Cup immediately springs to mind, as well as (albeit by a mathematical miracle) topping the World Cup group. But it was another bitter exit in the Round of 16 in a game that the US boys could have won. At the end of the day, in all honesty, it just isn't enough anymore.

American soccer is at a crossroads more significant than any other time in its history. The 2010 World Cup proved that more Americans than anyone really thought are ready and willing to embrace the sport. Maybe not to the die hard fashion some of us go with our burning passion for teams from cities we've never set foot in. Maybe not even to sit down on a weekly basis and watch a full 90 minutes of their local MLS team. But when it comes to the USMNT, it's America...**** YEA.

America, however, loves a winner. Just pull up some video of men with tears in their eyes when Landon Donovan knocked in that stoppage time winner if you need proof that there is a passion for the national team bubbling below the surface that is ready to explode. But for it to reach a true boiling point, the USMNT and the USSF needs to progress.

That is exactly what they've committed to not doing by signing Bradley on for four more years.

There comes a time when a coach has taken a team as far as he can take it. It happened with Cruyff at Barcelona, and more recently Rafa Benitez at Liverpool. All produced results, but all started to decline and moved on. Just getting out of the group is no longer acceptable for The Yanks. The players want more and the fans, outlaws and casuals alike, demand more. But the USSF seems stuck in its ways and more than willing to stick with more of the same.

We saw how well the worked out with Bruce Arena.

It's at this critical time that the entire system needs a shake up, from the ground up. It's well documented the youth system in America has it all backwards (I recommend seeking out a great article on NYTimes.com called “How a Soccer Star Is Made”). The places for those changes to start trickling down are at the top, it's in the USMNTs head coaches hands, or at least it should be.

Bob Bradley has been blasted for some of his team selections, and sometimes stubbornness to stick with players who fail to produce. But these players still continue to be selected. Also, in the head coaches hands.

It all starts to get even crazier when you realize that a ready made replacement, Germany’s 2006 World Cup coaching hero; Jurgen Klinsmann, is sitting on our coast seemingly ready to step in. If only he should have what he should have, more control over the system.

Klinsmann has his critics, and even I admittedly cringed when he name was in the hat to take over my beloved Liverpool FC, but the time is right, and he is the right man to lead The Yanks towards 2014 and beyond. The influence Klinsmann would bring from the Germany setup on the current structure would be invaluable, not just for the short-term, but for the long term growth of the team and the sport in America. Granted no man can turn an 18th ranked side into World Cup winners in four years. But one man can be the catalyst to get the car rolling in the right direction, uphill, instead of idling on the slope.

Sunil Gulati and Bob Bradley have both made big mistakes in choosing to continue on together. I fear what the next four years are going to bring, and what will happen at Brazil 2014 should we get drawn into an even remotely tougher group than 2010.

The USSF NEEDS change, its NEEDS a shakeup, it NEEDS to realize that the time is right to become serious contenders and more of the same will produce more of the same results.

The last time the U.S.A. gave someone four more years...it was George W. Bush.

Just sayin'.

Read more International Football news on BleacherReport.com

England have been handed a tough Euro 2012 qualifying group, and it is a group they will start this week in difficult circumstances.  With a growing injury list, and off field publicity that makes Bill Clinton look like a solid family man, Fabio Capello must navigate England through to the 2012 European Championships, a tournament England has never won.

Before England kick off their campaign against a dangerous Bulgaria team, we look at 5 things that will help Fabio restore the roar to the Three Lions.

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He has won two Grand Slams in succession this year: the French Open and Wimbledon.

He’s the first man to win the clay Slam: three Masters and the French title back to back.

He’s won more ATP titles this year than anyone else—five of them.

He guaranteed his place at the World Tour finals weeks ago.

He leads the tour by more than 3,500 points and cannot lose his No. 1 ranking—no matter what happens in New York this month.

He is the force of nature that is Rafael Nadal, and he is aiming to become the seventh man to complete a career Slam by winning this year’s U.S. Open title. At just 24 years of age, he would be the youngest man to do so.

The record is extraordinary, made even more so by having achieved so much during the heyday of a second giant of the game. Nadal and Roger Federer have contested 20 of the last 22 Grand Slam titles.

The Nadal dominance this year is reason enough to think he can indeed win his third straight major, the only one that has eluded him.

Yet he is not everyone’s favorite to win the final Slam of the year.

The reasons why start with—what else?

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It would seem as though his divorce from former Swedish model Elin Nordegren has spurred Woods to action, and he's continuing his plans to build his dream house. 

Woods recently took out a $54 million mortgage to build his dream home. What will be in this incredible bachelor pad? Well, here's what we know so far. 

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