By Paul Newman at Flushing Meadows

Scheduling of matches here at the US Open is always a bone of contention. American television, as you would expect, calls the shots. The main aim is always to have the best matches in the evening, when TV audiences will be at their peak. That inevitably means the evening sessions are top-heavy with American players. Tonight's is a classic example, the Williams sisters going on court first for their quarter-final followed by Mardy Fish taking on Rafael Nadal. Andy Roddick's matches are almost guaranteed to be staged in Arthur Ashe Stadium at prime time.

By Paul Newman

There is a rhythm about Wimbledon that you get at no other Grand Slam tournament. Provided the British weather has been behaving, the scheduling is such that you usually know exactly where you are in the tournament.

In the first week players follow either a Monday-Wednesday-Friday routine for their matches or Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. After the tumult of middle Monday, when all 16 players in both singles draws play, the day-on/day-off routine resumes for the remainder of the tournament. Of course there are occasions when long matches have to be held over or where the weather intervenes, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

Compare this with the other Slams, where it can be much more difficult to work out where you are in the tournament.

By Paul Newman

What next for Novak Djokovic? Before the French Open semi-finals the Serb was on the brink of overtaking Rafael Nadal as world No 2. Three weeks later he is reflecting on two successive defeats to his Spanish rival – in Paris and in the final at Queen's Club - and his earliest exit from a Grand Slam tournament for two and a half years.

Losing to Marat Safin in the second round at Wimbledon has no great significance in itself. The Russian bear is still capable of mauling anybody on his day and the early stages of a grass-court tournament are often the most perilous.

By Paul Newman

Here is a message for the residents of London SW19: relish the peace of Wimbledon fortnight while you can. If the idea of the locals enjoying a quiet life during the world’s greatest tennis tournament would appear to be rather fanciful, they might like to consider what it will be like next year, when the Centre Court’s sliding roof will be in place.

By Paul Newman

Two generations of French players are in action on the main show courts at Wimbledon today. Fabrice Santoro, 35, who in Australia this year broke Andre Agassi’s Open era record when he played in his 62nd Grand Slam tournament, is Andy Murray’s first-round opponent on Centre Court. Over on Court One, Richard Gasquet, 22, the best of the new wave of players across the Channel, takes on Mardy Fish.

By Paul Newman

Wimbledon will no doubt provide its usual diet of shocks and surprises over the next fortnight, but at the same time there are some traditions at the All England Club that provide welcome reassurance.