ATP Tour Changes

• Shanghai will replace Hamburg in the top-tier of tournaments on the ATP Tour in 2009.

On Friday, the ATP announced the venues which have been awarded '1000' status for their new-look calendar which will be launched in 2009.

• The '1000' tournaments - so named because the winner will receive 1,000 ranking points - will replace the existing Masters Series events, although the host cities have largely remained the same.

• Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, Madrid, Cincinnati, Canada (alternating between Montreal and Toronto), Shanghai and Paris were unveiled as top-tier hosts on Friday, joining Monte Carlo which had already won a battle to keep its top-level status having initially been dropped by the ATP.

Hamburg is axed in favour of Shanghai, currently the venue for the season-ending Masters Cup. That event, which is being renamed as the ATP Tour Finals, will be held at the O2 Arena in London in 2009.

New arenas in Madrid and Paris will stage events in those cities.

The second and third tiers of the 2009 tour will award 500 and 250 points to their winners respectively.

• Twenty-two venues have applied to stage tier-two events, but a decision on which will stage tournaments has yet to be made.

• The '1000' tournaments will be mandatory events for the leading players who could be suspended if they do not attend.

Etienne de Villiers, executive chairman of the ATP, said: "The 2009 ATP Tour is about the world's best tennis players performing in the world's very best stadiums at the right times of the season and we have now created a top tier that will showcase our sport, deliver substantially increased investment into our facilities and will attract more broadcast and sponsor support.
"Additionally, by creating more combined events we are taking the sport to a new level. I believe we now have a standard of top-tier event that the sport, its players, its sponsors and above all its fans truly deserve."

• It was also announced that by 2011, six of the nine 1000 tournaments will be combined events, being held at the same time as the women's WTA Tour events in the same city.

The final 2009 calendar will be announced at November's Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Nothing really new here except for the formal announcement that Hamburg is a goner.

**Source**

More on this in the weekend review.

My First Day at the Open 8/28/2007

by Savannah

There are certain players I’ve disliked ever since I became a serious tennis head. Lleyton Hewitt and Martina Hingis have always been on that list. James Blake has been added to it mostly because of the JBlock.

So imagine my reaction when I checked the schedule of play for my first day out at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Who was playing on Ashe where I had paid beaucoup bucks for seats in the lower loge? Lleyton Hewitt. Martina Hingis and James Blake. Such is life.

I had to go on Tuesday instead of Wednesday because it is my family tradition for my daughter and I to go together the first day. She has classes on Wednesday, all day Wednesday, so our only chance to see some early rounds was Tuesday. I have to say we made the best of it.

The day started off in sweltering Ashe Stadium. The temperature wasn’t high but the sun beating down on you made for an unpleasant time. My daughter doesn’t handle heat well. I don’t either but she’s worse than me, and I found myself paying more attention to how she was doing than the match. Which was just as well since Hewitt vs Delic was not going to be a barn burner. Amer Delic is a big man. Hewitt, not so much. But the experience was on Hewitt’s racquet and while Delic got in some pretty good shots the match was over in the first set. Somewhere in the middle of the second set the cloud cover came and brought some relief to the fans in the seats and the players on the court. When the sun came back out again it was time for Martina Hingis match.

I’ve seen Hingis play before but it was many years ago. I wanted to see if she had changed in her style of play since she’d come back. Her opponent, Mathilde Johansson is a decent player. But Martina is too slick and too experienced for a player like Johansson. We left with Martina up 5-0 in the first set and headed for where everyone else was headed-Louis Armstrong Stadium to see Novak Djokovic vs Robin Haase. Haase, whose name is said more like “Hah-Say” is a lucky loser who found himself pitted against the new darling of the tennis media.

Armstrong is a funny place. You don’t need to pay a kings ransom to get a good seat but there is reserved seating. My daughter and I sat down in the reserved seating section and she began to take pictures since we were within a few feet of Novak. Armstrong is also more intimate than Ashe. We were fine until this loud family sat down around us making much noise about whether they should be sitting there which of course brought the staff who then began to check everyone’s tickets. Needless to say a mass exodus occurred since none of us in the immediate area had reserved seating tickets and we got different seats after walking past a few young women screaming for Novak. I’m sure he heard them.

I think Haase, if prepared, could have given Novak a fight. Instead he seemed mentally confused and played a poor match. There was no doubt about what the outcome of that match would be. There was a nice breeze in Armstrong and there were also patches of shade to be had. We got to the shade, got the nice breeze and watched Novak play with his food for most of the second set. I was bored to the point of dozing off so we left. Don’t get me wrong. Novak has all the shots and played as well as he had to against Haase. I’d like to see him live playing a higher ranked, and better prepared, opponent.

We went up the steps and walked around the perimeter of Armstrong and ended up watching Hantuchova vs Vakulenko. We had no idea who Daniela was playing until later though. The scoreboard wasn’t on to ID the players so we just knew Hantochova was playing this pretty tall, athletic woman. We watched for awhile and then my daughter wanted to head to the practice courts. My knee was bothering me by then so I told her to go ahead and to call me if anyone interesting was on the courts. She called me. Rafa was practicing and Uncle Toni was there as well.



All pain in the knee was forgotten and I made my way over to the practice courts that are behind Ashe. These courts are arranged side by side pretty much like what you see at Newport. They’re labeled P1-P5 with P1 being the farthest away from the fence and P5 being the closest. Rafa was on P5. As I did my best New York line jumping ending up right at the front about 20 feet from Rafa and Uncle Toni I heard that Roger Federer was on P1 court. If you want to see who is practicing over there there is a court that borders the practice courts and you simply climb up on the bleachers and sit or stand to watch. There was a good sized crowd over there but nothing compared to the crowd where I was. It was funny that most of us in the front holding onto the fence were not the young chicas but women who have been wives and are mothers. One, whose cell phone and digital camera batteries both gave out she’d taken so many pictures of Rafa and Toni mused aloud if it was wrong for her to be crazy about Rafa since she had a son his age. Before her cell phone died she got a call from someone asking her to meet them someplace else at BJK. She replied that she was twenty feet from Nadal, that his sweat was hitting her as she spoke and she was not leaving. We all laughed.

The fence where I was standing has a netting so that what you could see is filtered through that. I guess that’s why when I looked up and saw myself standing face to face with Toni Nadal I froze. He was retrieving a ball that was literally right under my feet. I consoled myself with the fact that the Spanish speaking woman next to me acted as fan girlish as I did. When he left to go back to his work we both went “Hola”. As if he could hear our whispers. We laughed and shook our heads.

I also got a kick out of how many of the volunteers, all female, came out to make sure the water cooler near where Rafa was practicing was stocked. It must have been full because each young woman strutted over to it, opened it and then closed it. They never checked the cooler near John Isner, who was also out hitting. He was on court P3. He is very tall. There was also a female player, couldn’t tell who she was, who was hitting on P2 court. Rafa was on the side nearest the brick wall so she first took up position on the far side of the court facing towards Rafa. She proceeded to get into a fake argument with her hitting partner. She then made a show of moving so that she was standing next to Rafa while she hit. He looked up after she stood staring at him for a few seconds and then went back to work.

When you hear them talk about Rafa’s work ethic believe it. I was there for forty five minutes or so and he only took one break. He sat down on the court and talked with Toni and his trainer for about three or four minutes before getting up and starting again. There was no yelling, no screaming, no disrespect shown to Toni by Rafa. There are people who would kill to have the racquet speed-amazing when seen up close, and accuracy Rafa has. But according to Toni he sucked. They were doing the same drill over and over and over. The one with the son Rafa’s age said Toni was being mean to Rafa. Everyone knew how she wanted to console him and her remarks were noted but not commented on. If Toni had something he wanted to say to his charge he went over to him and talked to him instead of yelling from the sidelines.

I did manage to look away from time to time and see what Federer was doing. The fans over there must have been sorely disappointed since Fed only hit a few balls and then sat down watching Toni and Rafa. Fed was dressed in all black which kind of surprised me at first but I guess he was out there just to say he was out there. I didn’t see him do much but admittedly my attention was elsewhere.

A film crew was waiting for Rafa when he finished and from my vantage point I could see him talking to them. Some of this footage showed up on USA’s pre show last night. They cut out the screaming from fan boys and girls. These two Asian women tried to force their way through the crowd but met a stone wall of yellow ball waving kids and picture taking adults. I don’t know how they could have interviewed Rafa with all the screaming going on. Toni was watching and laughing at some of what was being yelled out. They wanted him too and I guess he found it amusing. One woman standing next to me was screaming her undying love for Rafa. Thinking she was single I was stunned to hear the fourteen year old boy behind her say “MOM!!! You’re married!!!” She looked at me and grinned wickedly. I’m sure she thought of something to tell her traumatized son on the way home.

The word must have gotten out that Rafa was practicing because as we left, after he finished signing autographs, there were more people rushing over to see him practice.


Flavia Pennetta

We then went on a tour of the outer courts. We saw Flavia Pennetta who is very pretty playing Shuai Peng who is a pretty big girl.


Peng Shuai

Across from them Volandri was finishing his match. He is a very good looking man and stopped to take a picture or two with his fans. Blonds aren’t my thing but if you saw him in the street you’d look he’s that good looking. This picture doesn't do him justice.


Filippo Volandri

We walked further and saw Radek Stepanek. He is not that bad looking in person. He does not photograph well at all. In person his mouth isn’t that outstanding.


Radek Stepanek

Across from him Nadia Petrova was playing. She is not that big in person at all. We got some good shots of her.


Nadia Petrova

After that we sat down in front of one of the fountains and looked at the scoreboard on the side of Ashe. We were surprised to see the Blake match was still going on but had no desire to go back inside. What made us move was seeing that David Nalbandian's match was starting on the Grandstand court.

For pure tennis viewing the Grandstand and Armstrong are the best courts. Fans are not treated like second class citizens as far as the seating is concerned and you can see and hear the players very well. The Grandstand was jammed. The pain was back in my knee so my daughter had walked ahead of me and had a seat. I ended up managing to climb to a row that let me see the court.

Dahveed is not “fat”. He does have a squat build though and any weight he gains will be easily seen. He is not as fit as he could be but he’s not in the Ahsha Rolle category.


David Nalbandian

With homework looming we left knowing Nalby’s matches can last hours. We laughed when we got home and saw that he won the match in three sets. The fans were swarming over to Armstrong as we walked out– there were lines waiting to enter the stadium – but we headed home. We’re thinking about going out again on Friday.

Opening Night-A Tribute to Althea Gibson

by Savannah

The USTA, when it sets it's mind to it, can do things right. Wimbledon passed on recognizing the 50th anniversary of Althea Gibson's historic win on the hallowed green lawns. Monday night the USTA honored not only the late Ms Gibson but all African American women who were "firsts" in their respective fields. Something that could have been cheesy was instead a stirring tribute to African American women.

For a great look at the goings on please see Blackout in New York by Craig.

Oh, and Venus and Serena Williams made it through their first round matches.

Heard Around-Last Stop. Everybody Off

by Savannah

Bright lights. Big City. The tennis world has ramped up the hype machine as the final Slam of the year, the United States Open, is about to begin. Every tennis player who can walk and hold a racquet is in New York or playing their off Broadway tune up in New Haven. The banners are up on West 57th street. New York Magazine has printed it's guide to the US Open, the hottest ticket in town for the next two weeks and listed the hotels where many of the players will be staying. Venus, Serena, Roger, Rafa and Maria all look out from the sides of buses roaming up and down Fifth, Madison and Lenox Avenues. It's an exciting time to be a tennis fan in New York.

For a party summary please go to Corned Beef Hash Marks


But despite the glitz and excitement the usual doings of tennis continue. Some good. Some bad. And some bizarre.


Random Notes

Bitch Slap of the Week

Serena Williams on Mary Carillo's less-than-complimentary remark that the Williams sisters should have dominated women's tennis more than they have but have not lived up to their potential.

"I think I've had a little more effect on tennis history than she has," said Williams. "I'm pretty excited about that."

SMACK!!!

Pam Shriver

I've been watching tennis long enough to remember Pam Shriver when her claim to fame was as Martina Navratilova's doubles partner. When she started doing commentary I wondered what she'd ever done to qualify for that job. I've also teased her mercilessly over the last few years giving her the nick name Pammy-poo.

I've changed my mind. Pam has become Mistress of the Snark, the one person on ESPN who manages to get the news out to tennisheads who care to listen closely. Just last evening, before Mardy Fish and James Blake took the court for the Pilot Pen final which James won for the second time, Pam asked Mardy about a practice game they play called "Butt's Up" and asked if that was how the upcoming match would be played. Mardy mumbled something that ended up meaning "no" and life went on. She has also managed to comment unceasingly on the terribly lopsided Women's Draw at the US Open. Her comments would fly right by you if you're not really paying attention. My favorite exchange came between Pam and Mary Jo when they, as wives, were talking about Patty Schnyder's husband working with Sania Mirza who beat her. "Wouldn't happen in my house" Pammy said. Mary Jo jumped right in a agreed with Pam's comments. Was there a jar of vaseline on the table?

I guess that's why they keep her out of the booth and away from the talent. I think maturity and motherhood have lowered her bullshit tolerance. At least there is someone on ESPN who can, and does, manage to ask the tough questions and raise the equally tough issues, goofy hats and all.

The Draw Thing



There is no other story right now. With the McElroy blog having pulled back the curtain Toto style on the great and wonderful Oz that is the draw process fans of tennis have to ask themselves some hard questions, none of which have nice answers.

What has been interesting is how fans of the players who received the largesse of the ITF have reacted.

I've always found Federer fans not of the KAD (Kool Aid Drinker) variety to be a thoughtful group. They know their favorite very well and if you ever have to read a live recap of one of his matches that is not aired in your area you will see they look for certain things from him and discuss them honestly. That type of Federer fan has generally taken the position that the draw is an insult to his greatness, that he doesn't need that kind of assist from the Grand Poobah's to secure his legacy as GOAT. That I can accept even in the face of the Wimbledon walkabout. Throw everyone at him this line of reasoning goes. He can beat them with one hand tied behind his back. Spoken like true fans of the man and of tennis.

The PovaNuts have taken a different tack. They are doing one of two things: ignoring the entire controversy or saying it's not her fault that the winners of the three previous Slams and everyone else who has beaten her this year is in the top half of the draw leaving her the infirm and the headcases. I haven't read anything by a Pova fan that said she doesn't need the assist she's being given. The quote below was posted on the ESPN board by a Maria fan:

When a Federer or Nadal, or a Sharapova is so much better than the rest, as they clearly are, you tend to look at the opponents down their side of the draw and think, "Wow, that's an easy match." This is what happens to these insane VeeReeKuzzyMoMoNutz. Their fave players are so much less than the three I mentioned, it's a natural reaction to say that the superior players got the cake draws.

I guess if the poster repeats often enough that Maria deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Roger Federer he/she will make it a reality.

I wonder what Justine Henin thinks about all of this. She is the one who has been thrown under a bus in this situation. Never been a fan of Justine's but I do respect her game and feel that right now she is ranked where she should be. How come the mens number one seed got a cakewalk from the people in the back room and she got Murderer's Row?

By the way McElroy does not indicate in her report the the draw done in the back room the night before was done by computer. Some fans have seemingly decided that it was, probably in a last gasp attempt at damage control. PMac and crew have often hinted at the "lobbying" that is done before the draw is set. I think that if the back room draw was computerized someone official would have stepped up and said something by now. They haven't. Until they do those who want to believe that some part of this was indeed above board have nothing to cling to but a wish and a prayer.

And Finally...

Enough of the doom and gloom. The US Open, flawed draws and all, starts tomorrow. It's a great day to be out at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York. There are some great matches to be seen on the outer courts for the price of a grounds pass. If you can make it it will be worth your while.

To end the Heard Around-US Open Series on a lighter note heres a look at Wimbledon, behind the scenes.

The Bus Depot

Here are the winners of the Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament, the last stop of the US Open series bus.
Congratulations to all!


Svetlana Kuznetsova 2007 Ladies Champion


James Blake 2007 Mens Champion


Sania Mirza and Mara Santangelo 2007 Womens Doubles Champions


Mahesh Bhupathi and Nenad Zimonjic 2007 Mens Doubles Champions

The Grand Prize Winners


Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer 2007 US Open Series Winners

Pay No Attention to that Man Behind the Curtain

by Savannah

I love the New York Times. My sixth grade teacher Mrs. Waples told us that as the cream of the educational heap at our local public school it was time to learn to read that paper instead of the New York Daily News, the pre Murdoch NY Post which was at that time a good paper, and the Herald Tribune.

Over the years I have always thanked that African American woman for turning her charges to that paper for getting our news fix. They don't scream and shout and save banner headlines for real news, not the goings on of the latest Hollywood slut queens.

She also taught us how to fold the paper for reading in public something that every subway and bus rider in New York knows seems to have become a lost art.

The Times also has a very good sports section as anyone who takes the time to look at it would find out. So it is today that an article appears that discusses just how that "open to the fans" draw really takes place. I think this will put an end to the "draw can't be rigged" argument some fans are clinging to in the wake of what has to be the worst US Open draw ever.

But today’s draw, which started at about 11 a.m. and was over about an hour later, was a relatively tame, polite affair because only 30 seeded players — not the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and the other 96 — are drawn out of an Open trophy. Placed near the door were two already printed draw sheets for the men and the women, with those selections having been made the night before with representatives of the International Tennis Association and the men’s and women’s tours...

Before the ceremony, Federer’s drawsheet read like this:

1. Federer, Roger (1)
2. Qualifier
3. Qualifier
4. Qualifier
5. Qualifier
6. Qualifier
7. WC: Isner, John
8. —————

Do I have to draw you a map kiddies? Do we even need to discuss how those folks the night before created the women's draw?

For Kathleen McElroy's article go here:
Sausage Making US Open Style

Now can we discuss the draw that Larry Scott and ET have given us without the smokescreen of things being open and above board? I'm sure there are fans who will still insist that the draw is not rigged. We all have illusions we want to cling to.

And a special shout out goes to the NY Times sports editors and writers for being our Toto's and pulling the curtain back to reveal the truth about the "fair and open" US Open draw.

The US Open Men's Draw

by Craig Hickman

(1) Roger Federer SUI vs. QUALIFIER
QUALIFIER vs. QUALIFIER
QUALIFIER vs. QUALIFIER
[WC] John Isner USA vs. Jarkko Nieminen FIN (26)

(21) Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP vs. Feliciano Lopez ESP
Robert Kendrick USA vs. Igor Andreev RUS
[WC] Donald Young USA vs. Chris Guccione AUS
Sergio Roitman ARG vs. Richard Gasquet FRA (13)

(9) Tomas Berdych CZE vs. Marc Gicquel FRA
Simone Bolelli ITA vs. Julien Benneteau FRA
Gilles Simon FRA vs. QUALIFIER
Fernando Verdasco ESP vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu FRA (22)

(32) Ivo Karlovic CRO vs. Arnaud Clement FRA
Thomas Johansson SWE vs. Nicolas Massu CHI
Jose Acasuso ARG vs. Martin Vassallo Arguello ARG
Justin Gimelstob USA vs. Andy Roddick USA (5)

On paper, this draw gives new meaning to lonely at the top. Just a few weeks ago, it seems, I wrote this: "Raja takes this quarter in his half-sleep. (Once again, like clockwork, he hoards the most qualifiers with seven of the 16 in his quarter, five in his section.)" I was talking about Wimbledon, but the same almost applies here. Not a lot to add, really, except this time The Name only gets six qualifiers in his quarter. But he's guaranteed to face a qualifier in his first two rounds and there's a 50/50 chance he'll get another in the third. Roddick will be shooting himself for not keeping his ranking up. Another Slam, another quarterfinal loss. If he gets that far. No one wants to see Dr. Ivo anywhere near them in a draw, and he's Andy's first seed. First-round matches of note: Young vs. Guccione, Ferrero vs. Lopez, Verdasco vs. Mathieu.

------------------------------------------------------------

(4) Nikolay Davydenko RUS vs. [WC] Jesse Levine USA
Nicolas Kiefer GER vs. Vincent Spadea USA
Peter Luczak AUS vs. Luis Horna PER
[WC] Alex Kuznetsov USA vs. Nicolas Almagro ESP (28)

(19) Andy Murray GBR vs. QUALIFIER
Juan-Pablo Guzman ARG vs. Jonas Bjorkman SWE
Dominik Hrbaty SVK vs. Hyung-Taik Lee KOR
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo ESP vs. Guillermo Canas ARG (14)

(10) Tommy Haas GER vs. QUALIFIER
Benjamin Becker GER vs. QUALIFIER
Paul Goldstein USA vs. Sebastien Grosjean FRA
Max Mirnyi BLR vs. Marcos Baghdatis CYP (18)

(29) Filippo Volandri ITA vs. Michael Llodra FRA
Stefan Koubek AUT vs. Sam Querrey USA
Fabrice Santoro FRA vs. Albert Montanes ESP
Michael Russell USA vs. James Blake USA (6)

If Blake doesn't make his first Slam semifinal with this draw, he might want to consider a different profession. This isn't a cupcake. It's cotton candy. With the drunk J-Block rooting him on, only his head can keep him from another no-show against The Name in the semifinals. First-round matches of note: Kuznetsov vs. Almagro, Hrbaty vs. Lee.

================================================

(8) Tommy Robredo ESP vs. QUALIFIER
Mardy Fish USA vs. QUALIFIER
QUALIFIER vs. Michael Berrer GER
Ernests Gulbis LAT vs. Potito Starace ITA (30)

(17) Carlos Moya ESP vs. QUALIFIER
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ESP vs. Igor Kunitsyn RUS
Mariano Zabaleta ARG vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber GER
Nicolas Devilder FRA vs. Mikhail Youzhny RUS (11)

(16) Lleyton Hewitt AUS vs. Amer Delic USA
Andreas Seppi ITA vs. Agustin Calleri ARG
QUALIFIER vs. Nicolas Lapentti ECU
Edouard Roger-Vasselin FRA vs. Juan Monaco ARG (23)

(31) Jurgen Melzer AUT vs. Diego Hartfield ARG
Juan Martin del Potro ARG vs. Nicolas Mahut FRA
Carlos Berlocq ARG vs. Radek Stepanek CZE
Mario Ancic CRO vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3)

The Next Big Thing will have his work cut out for him. I think he'll get past Ancic, but maybe not. Then he'll have to deal with all that Radek Stepanek brings to the table, which, on hardcourts this summer, is a lot. Hewitt will want revenge from Wimbledon and in New York, he'll get it. With the exception of Moya, who will need to have a healthy foot, and Youzhny, who will need a healthy back, everyone else in this quarter is wallpaper. Okay, that's an overstatement. I'm not yet sold on del Potro in Slams and Monaco looks like he could turn out to be a decent hardcourt player, but this isn't their time. Hewitt makes another US Open semifinal. Unless Djoke beats him. First-round matches of note: del Potro vs. Mahut, Ancic vs. Djokovic.

------------------------------------------------------------

(7) Fernando Gonzalez CHI vs. Teimuraz Gabashvili RUS
Robby Ginepri USA vs. Olivier Rochus BEL
Stanislas Wawrinka SUI vs. Evgeny Korolev RUS
QUALIFIER vs. Marat Safin RUS (25)

(20) Juan Ignacio Chela ARG vs. [WC] Michael McClune USA
Danai Udomchoke THA vs. [WC] Wayne Odesnik USA
QUALIFIER vs. Gael Monfils FRA
Kristof Vliegen BEL vs. Ivan Ljubicic CRO (12)

(15) David Ferrer ESP vs. Florian Mayer GER
Florent Serra FRA vs. Werner Eschauer AUT
Xavier Malisse BEL vs. Kristian Pless DEN
Ivan Navarro Pastor ESP vs. David Nalbandian ARG (24)

(27) Dmitry Tursunov RUS vs. Tim Henman GBR
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA vs. Oscar Hernandez ESP
Janko Tipsarevic SRB vs. [WC] Ryan Sweeting USA
[WC] Alun Jones AUS vs. Rafael Nadal ESP (2)

With Rafa's woes on North American hardcourts this season and last, this quarter might be considered a pick 'em. Or it might not. But Rafa has nothing to complain about, that's for sure. If Raja's hoarding qualifiers, then Rafa is hoarding wildcards. Four of the eight are in this quarter. Ferrer might want to peek deep into the second week of a Slam for the first time, unless Nalbandian puts his mind to his game and decides to get there instead. I'd love to see Nalbalandian (finally!) play Rafa, and a Slam is no better place to have a first meeting. If Gonzalez wakes up, he could get out of this quarter as he did in Melbourne, but I'm not feeling that right now. Perhaps Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will remember what it's like to win the US Open juniors and play out of his mind. But who would bet on it? If Rafa's forearm holds up, he'll make his first US Open semifinal. First-round matches of note: Wawrinka vs. Korolev, Tursunov vs. Henman.

The US Open Womens Draw

They just don't care anymore. When I first started seriously posting on tennis boards about four years ago the mysteries of the draw were the province of those special nerds who could tell you who played who in 1954 in the third round at Roland Garros and ask if you remember the shot they made. Not anymore.

In those four years I've seen boards go from doing little or nothing when the Main Draw for a Slam or TMS event came out to today where one board had to delete a faux US Open Main Draw thread only to see the new one pick up where the old one left off and others were full of posts asking where the draw was. I was one of them. I mean it started at 11a. Anna Chakvetadze and Fernando Gonzalez were the players who assisted in the process. I don't know what took them so long but both draws were available about 12:30p EDST. And the board riots began.

I found it ironic that a fan brought up the 1996 US Open draw where the USTA "adjusted" the draw to ensure that American players went deep into the tournament. There is a very good discussion about it on TAT which you can read at your leisure. I'm a firm believer in the laws of Karma. It was just funny how that particular year that saw players withdraw in disgust from the event came up just before the Main Draw from the US Open was about to be released. I wondered if that meant we were in for a doozie of a Main Draw.

Back in the day merely saying you didn't like a particular player could get you banned from a board. Today things are much more civil and you can have reasoned discussions about players you like or don't like without incurring venom from partisans on either side.

As you know Craig and I split duties on the Slams. I don't talk about the men's draw. I will say in passing that if a player is said to be the GOAT then he should have to prove it by playing the best his generation has to offer at any given time. If he's so good there isn't a player breathing who can beat him that shouldn't be a problem. When the GOAT plays a qualifier to open and follows up by playing another qualifier the GOAT argument becomes suspect. Just my opinion.

The Women's Draw is a joke. I don't know any other way to put it. I present to you the top half of the Women's Draw for the 2007 US Open.

1)HENIN, Justine (BEL) vs QUALIFIER,
POUTCHKOVA, Olga RUS vs QUALIFIER,
QUALIFIER, vs SCHRUFF, Julia GER
QUALIFIER, vs (28)SUGIYAMA, Ai JPN

(17)GOLOVIN, Tatiana FRA vs ROLLE, Ahsha USA
CHAN, Yung-Jan TPE vs KNAPP, Karin ITA
RUANO PASCUAL, Virginia ESP vs BONDARENKO, Kateryna UKR
CASTANO, Catalina COL vs (15)SAFINA, Dinara RUS

(10)BARTOLI, Marion FRA vs (WC)GLATCH, Alexa USA
ERRANI, Sara ITA vs QUALIFIER,
PETKOVIC, Andrea GER vs (WC)COHEN, Audra USA
(WC)MOORE, Jessica AUS vs (20)SAFAROVA, Lucie CZE

(27)ZVONAREVA, Vera RUS vs QUALIFIER,
(WC)ALBANESE, Lauren USA vs LIKHOVTSEVA, Elena RUS
POUTCHEK, Tatiana BLR vs CAMERIN, Maria Elena ITA
KERBER, Angelique GER vs (8)WILLIAMS, Serena USA

(3)JANKOVIC, Jelena SRB vs GAJDOSOVA, Jarmila SVK
ARVIDSSON, Sofia SWE vs GOVORTSOVA, Olga BLR
OBZILER, Tzipora ISR vs WOZNIACKI, Caroline DEN
QUALIFIER, vs (29)STOSUR, Samantha AUS

(19)BAMMER, Sybille AUT vs TANASUGARN, Tamarine THA
KING, Vania USA vs SHAUGHNESSY, Meghann USA
CRAYBAS, Jill USA vs QUALIFIER,
COHEN-ALORO, Stephanie FRA vs (14)DEMENTIEVA, Elena RUS

(12)WILLIAMS, Venus USA vs QUALIFIER,
OLARU, Ioana Raluca ROU vs HARKLEROAD, Ashley USA
DANIILIDOU, Eleni GRE vs MEUSBURGER, Yvonne AUT
DULKO, Gisela ARG vs (21)BONDARENKO, Alona UKR

(25)SANTANGELO, Mara ITA vs DUSHEVINA, Vera RUS
BYCHKOVA, Ekaterina RUS vs QUALIFIER,
QUALIFIER, vs REZAI, Aravane FRA
NAKAMURA, Aiko JPN vs (5)IVANOVIC, Ana SRB

Justine. Marion. Ana. Lucie. Venus. Jelena. Dinara. Tatiana. A nice mix of seeds to go along with the world number one Justine Henin. There are also some lower seeds who have had a pretty good year in the mix. Rezai is hungry. Sybille Bammer wants to go deep into the draw. Ai Sugiyama can pull a good one out every now and then. Possible matchups? Justine and Serena for the third time? Venus vs Ivanovic? Maybe. The competition in this side of the draw will be fierce.

And now the bottom half of the draw.

(7)PETROVA, Nadia RUS vs BACSINSZKY, Timea SUI
RODIONOVA, Anastasia RUS vs SAVCHUK, Olga UKR
QUALIFIER, vs SZAVAY, Agnes HUN
BRIANTI, Alberta ITA vs (32)KRAJICEK, Michaella NED

(22)SREBOTNIK, Katarina SLO vs MOLIK, Alicia AUS
KIRILENKO, Maria RUS vs MULLER, Martina GER
KOSTANIC TOSIC, Jelena CRO vs VESNINA, Elena RUS
VAKULENKO, Julia UKR vs (9)HANTUCHOVA, Daniela SVK

(16)HINGIS, Martina SUI vs JOHANSSON, Mathilde FRA
MALEK, Tatjana GER vs QUALIFIER,
QUALIFIER, vs AZARENKA, Victoria BLR
CIBULKOVA, Dominika SVK vs (23)GARBIN, Tathiana ITA

(31)MEDINA GARRIGUES, Anabel vs WOZNIAK, Aleksandra CAN
DOMINGUEZ LINO, Lourdes E vs CHO, Yoon Jeong KOR
PIN, Camille FRA vs QUALIFIER,
ZAKOPALOVA, Klara CZE vs (6)KUZNETSOVA, Svetlana RUS

(6)CHAKVETADZE, Anna RUS vs (WC)WEINHOLD, Ashley USA
(WC)JACKSON, Jamea USA vs PRATT, Nicole AUS
GRANVILLE, Laura USA vs QUALIFIER,
KANEPI, Kaia EST vs (26)MIRZA, Sania IND

(24)SCHIAVONE, Francesca ITA vs DECHY, Nathalie FRA
ARN, Greta GER vs PASZEK, Tamira AUT
BREMOND, Severine FRA vs GALLOVITS, Edina ROU
BENESOVA, Iveta CZE vs (11)SCHNYDER, Patty SUI

(13)VAIDISOVA, Nicole CZE vs KUDRYAVTSEVA, Alla RUS
PENNETTA, Flavia ITA vs PENG, Shuai CHN
MATTEK, Bethanie USA vs BRENGLE, Madison USA
TU, Meilen USA vs (18)PEER, Shahar ISR

(30)RADWANSKA, Agnieszka POL vs MORIGAMI, Akiko JPN
LOIT, Emilie FRA vs RAZZANO, Virginie FRA
SHVEDOVA, Yaroslava RUS vs DELLACQUA, Casey AUS
VINCI, Roberta ITA vs (2)SHARAPOVA, Maria RUS

Okay so lets see. Nadia Petrova. Headcase. Daniela Hantuchova. Good player. Two weeks will tax her physically. Martina Hingis. Bad back. Svetlana Kuznetsova. Have to classify her as a headcase. She is coming back off of a shoulder injury that kept her out of Fed Cup as well. Anna Chakvetadze. Good player. Not a great player yet. And how many times this summer is she going to play Sania Mirza? Sania hasn't shown she's got the mental toughness to make it to the second week. Patty Schnyder. Nicole Vaidisova coming back from illness. Shahar Pe'er's level of play has slacked off lately. Ms Radwanska is pretty good but not Grand Slam good yet.

And oh yes, there is Maria Sharapova, the "Golden Girl" of the WTA. While the ladies in the top half duke it out Ms Sharapova will be banging and grunting her way through to meet a player who has had to bite and claw her way to their match. I don't mean to disparage any of the players in the bottom half of the draw. I mean who was Marion Bartoli a few weeks ago? Anyone can get hot and pull an upset.

There are those who argue that it is impossible to rig a draw in a players favor because there are too many safeguards in place. But when boards that were known for banning people because they didn't like a player favored by the mods have threads titled "RIGGED!!!!" and another one asking why is it that a certain player seems to always get a nice draw things are a little out of control. Justine Henin is the top female player in the world. So they threw a qualifier her way for her first round match. Once she gets past her quarter the Big Babes will be waiting for her. Meanwhile number two will be practicing her smile and wave. I guess sometimes it does pay to be number two.

Note: A special shout out to Jessie181 at TAT for the picture.

Heard Around - Last Stop!!! All Off!!!

by Savannah

Bright lights. Big City. The tennis world has ramped up the hype machine as the final Slam of the year, the United States Open, is about to begin. Every tennis player who can walk and hold a racquet is in New York or playing their off Broadway tune up in New Haven. The banners are up on West 57th street. New York Magazine has printed it's guide to the US Open, the hottest ticket in town for the next two weeks and listed the hotels where many of the players will be staying. Venus, Serena, Roger, Rafa and Maria all look out from the sides of buses roaming up and down Fifth, Madison and Lenox Avenues. It's an exciting time to be a tennis fan in New York.

For a party summary please go to Corned Beef Hash Marks


But despite the glitz and excitement the usual doings of tennis continue. Some good. Some bad. And some bizarre.


Random Notes

Bitch Slap of the Week

Serena Williams on Mary Carillo's less-than-complimentary remark that the Williams sisters should have dominated women's tennis more than they have but have not lived up to their potential.

"I think I've had a little more effect on tennis history than she has," said Williams. "I'm pretty excited about that."

SMACK!!!

Pam Shriver

I've been watching tennis long enough to remember Pam Shriver when her claim to fame was as Martina Navratilova's doubles partner. When she started doing commentary I wondered what she'd ever done to qualify for that job. I've also teased her mercilessly over the last few years giving her the nick name Pammy-poo.

I've changed my mind. Pam has become Mistress of the Snark, the one person on ESPN who manages to get the news out to tennisheads who care to listen closely. Just last evening, before Mardy Fish and James Blake took the court for the Pilot Pen final which James won for the second time, Pam asked Mardy about a practice game they play called "Butt's Up" and asked if that was how the upcoming match would be played. Mardy mumbled something that ended up meaning "no" and life went on. She has also managed to comment unceasingly on the terribly lopsided Women's Draw at the US Open. Her comments would fly right by you if you're not really paying attention. My favorite exchange came between Pam and Mary Jo when they, as wives, were talking about Patty Schnyder's husband working with Sania Mirza who beat her. "Wouldn't happen in my house" Pammy said. Mary Jo jumped right in a agreed with Pam's comments.

I guess that's why they keep her out of the booth and away from the talent. I think maturity and motherhood have lowered her bullshit tolerance. At least there is someone on ESPN who can, and does, manage to ask the tough questions, goofy hats and all.

The Draw Thing



There is no other story right now. With the McElroy blog having pulled back the curtain Toto style on the great and wonderful Oz that is the draw process fans of tennis have to ask themselves some hard questions, none of which have nice answers.

What has been interesting is how fans of the players who received the largesse of the ITF have reacted.

I've always found Federer fans not of the KAD (Kool Aid Drinker) variety to be a thoughtful group. They know their favorite very well and if you ever have to read a live recap of one of his matches that is not aired in your area you will see they look for certain things from him and discuss them honestly. That type of Federer fan has generally taken the position that the draw is an insult to his greatness, that he doesn't need that kind of assist from the Grand Poobah's to secure his legacy as GOAT. That I can accept even in the face of the Wimbledon walkabout. Throw everyone at him this line of reasoning goes. He can beat them with one hand tied behind his back. Spoken like true fans of the man and of tennis.

The PovaNuts have taken a different tack. They are doing one of two things: ignoring the entire controversy or saying it's not her fault that the winners of the three previous Slams and everyone else who has beaten her this year is in the top half of the draw leaving her the infirm and the headcases. I haven't read anything by a Pova fan that said she doesn't need the assist she's being given. The quote below was posted on the ESPN board by a Maria fan:

When a Federer or Nadal, or a Sharapova is so much better than the rest, as they clearly are, you tend to look at the opponents down their side of the draw and think, "Wow, that's an easy match." This is what happens to these insane VeeReeKuzzyMoMoNutz. Their fave players are so much less than the three I mentioned, it's a natural reaction to say that the superior players got the cake draws.

I guess if the poster repeats often enough that Maria deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Roger Federer he/she will make it a reality.

I wonder what Justine Henin thinks about all of this. She is the one who has been thrown under a bus in this situation. Never been a fan of Justine's but I do respect her game and feel that right now she is ranked where she should be. How come the mens number one seed got a cakewalk from the people in the back room and she got Murderer's Row?

By the way McElroy does not indicate in her report the the draw done in the back room the night before was done by computer. Some fans have seemingly decided that it was, probably in a last gasp attempt at damage control. PMac and crew have often hinted at the "lobbying" that is done before the draw is set. I think that if the back room draw was computerized someone official would have stepped up and said something by now. They haven't. Until they do those who want to believe that some part of this was indeed above board have nothing to cling to but a wish and a prayer.

And Finally...

Enough of the doom and gloom. The US Open, flawed draws and all, starts tomorrow. It's a great day to be out at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York. There are some great matches to be seen on the outer courts for the price of a grounds pass. If you can make it it will be worth your while.

To end the Heard Around-US Open series on a lighter note heres a look at Wimbledon, behind the scenes.

The Winners 8/19/2007

Cincinnati Masters 2007 Champion Roger Federer

2007 Rogers Cup Champion Justine Henin


Andy Ram and Jonathan Ehrlich 2007 Doubles Champions Cincinnati Masters



Ai Sugiyama and Katarina Srebotnik 2007 Rogers Cup Doubles Champions

Heard Around-Weekend Edition

I was only going to do one Final edition but the world of tennis moves faster than an Andy Roddick serve.

"A True Fan" of Justine's on the ESPN message board posted the following stats.

Some head-to-head statistics :

Juju - Sharapova : 5-2
Juju- Dementieva : 8-2
Juju - Petrova : 10-2
Juju-Kuznetsova : 14-2
Juju-Chakvetadze : 2-0
Juju-Safina : 3-0

GRAND TOTAL : 42-8 on all surfaces against very strong top 3-5-10 opposition

Impressive and worthy of a true number one player !

Like her or not this is more than passingly interesting.

And now, the Weekend Road Trip Edition of "As The Ball Bounces"



I'll start with the nasty business between Rafael Font de Mora, Meghann Shaughnessy and Anna-Lena Gronefeld(above). Meghann and Anna-Lena were both coached by Mr. Font de Mora and played doubles together. As anyone can see Anna-Lena is not following a diet conducive to playing top quality tennis. Meghann and Rafael are husband and wife. Font de Mora stopped coaching Anna-Lena citing her lack of discipline.

Well now Mr. Font de Mora is suing Ms Gronefeld for lost wages to the tune of one million dollars American.
He says that Anna-Lena broke the terms of their contract. This sounds like the stuff that goes on in the music business but hey it's all entertainment.

Groenefeld Law Suit

Sidenote:

Did you know that the coaches of the WTA have formed their own organization?
Here's their website. Make your own decision.
Coaches on Tour

8/19/2007

I ran across several interesting developments in the tennis world this Sunday morning that turned the Final Edition into the weekend edition.

WTAw got in a lot of trouble with the WTA for publishing entry lists a couple of years ago. The WTA felt that entry lists are private and not meant for public consumption until the tournament director(TD) and his/her/their staff felt like letting fans know who they were actually going to see after paying their hard earned money.

That is why recently a WTA tournament had Kim Clijsters picture up as one of the entrants into the event when every tennishead knew that Kim had just announced her pregnancy and was definitely not going to play.

Well now the ATP has gotten in on this scam. There were three major sites a tennishead could go to in order to find out who was playing at a particular event. Now those sites have been asked to cease and desist. That this is stupid and short sighted goes without saying - WTA attendance has not improved (more on this below) - and I'm waiting to see some site show Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi as entrants.

What I can guarantee will happen is that ATP players will be demonized for withdrawing from events they never planned to play in the first place. Everyone knew Serena's thumb injury was serious yet the Pilot Pen announced she was playing. Visits to that website featured Serena prominently. It's no secret that Serena Williams name draws fans. But expectedly, Serena officially withdrew from the tournament a day or two before the draw came out.

The sad thing is that these sites have no choice but to comply or be shut down. Fan reaction has predictably been negative.

ATP Bans Entry Lists on Tennis Forums

We Need A Female Tennis Star We Can All Love

Thanks to "Special600", a long time tennis fan I first met on the ESPN tennis board, for posting the next two articles. It's good to see that real tennis fans still post on that site.

Many a fan is pining for the time when Venus and Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters were battling for Slams. Those were the days of great rivalries and power tennis that trounced the lesser players. Clijsters is the only one of the above mentioned who has officially retired (ironic, since she is the youngest of the group)...

Unfortunately, that is what women's tennis doens't have at the moment. There really isn't anything that sets the players apart. Henin should be the head-and-shoulders icon now, but there's a big difference between playing in Slam finals and actually winning them. Sharapova has been more a fashion model on court than a champion and, although Venus and Serena are still around to win the odd Slam, their impact on women's tennis is too short-lived and too few and far between.

Give Us A Star We Can All Love

The Rogers Cup - Toronto

This leads into the sad spectacle taking place in Toronto. Attendance has been abysmal. The pullouts didn't help - what is it about Canada that the women of the WTA don't like - and if any proof was needed that the WTA has not done the best job it could of promoting it's product the fact that the women's number one could not put butts into seats is telling.

One can only hope the women's tennis tour is paying attention.

The profile of the Rogers Cup has been badly damaged by a variety of factors, from pre-tournament withdrawals to curious in-match retirements to an overall absence of high-level tennis.

But nobody, at least outside of Tennis Canada, expected what happened yesterday. The audiences for the two semifinal matches, one in the early afternoon featuring the world's top player, Justine Henin, and one later in the evening, managed to fill slightly more than half the 13,000-seat capacity of the Rexall Centre...

A "legends" night last Monday featuring John McEnroe and Anna Kournikova drew very disappointing numbers. Even today's enormously appealing final between Henin and talented Jelena Jankovic of Serbia isn't yet sold out, with about 2,000 tickets still available.

Is Larry Scott Paying Attention?

I can say that the Golovin/Jankovic match, which was over by the time I watched it via tape delay on ESPN2 was a very good match. A more in shape Golovin would be facing Justine Henin today but I digress. Larry Scott is on record as having declared Maria Sharapova the "golden girl" of womens tennis, something I've already taken him to task for on this site. If the focus is all on one player to the exclusion of everyone else something has to suffer. In this case it's the product the WTA is presenting fans of women's tennis.

This is not a new argument. A couple of years ago myself and a few others on the ESPN board debated this long and hard. The WTA's product back then wasn't so hot either but no one wanted to talk about it and those of us willing to discuss it caught hell. I keep saying it but no one pays attention. Tennis fans are like cats. You can't tell us someone is the next big thing we can find that next star ourselves thank you very much. They've tried shoving one player down our throats and it's not working. Can you imagine what the geniuses of todays WTA would do with Steffi Graf and Monica Seles? Look at how they handle everyone other than Ms Sharapova and you get an idea of what would happen.

There is no need to ban entry lists from message boards ET. It is counter productive to declare a "golden girl" Mr. Scott. As the changes to both tours begin to take shape it looks right now as if the hard core fans, the ones like The Truth who pay money to go to Melbourne North aka Mason, Ohio to see tennis are the ones who are going to suffer.

"Faux" News

This just about sums it up. This "news article" was posted on WTAw by "Forehand_Volley".

Anne Worcester, Tournament Director of Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven and past WTA President and CEO, poses with her family as she announces the withdrawl of Serena Williams, and her no refund policy

Worcester's 'No Refund' Policy Spurs Tennis Fans Protest

New Haven, Aug. 18
Staff

"There will be no general admission refunds this year, even though I requested Serena Williams to enter Pilot Pen, knowing she wouldn't be able to play," stated Anne Worcester, Tournament Director of Pilot Pen in New Haven. "This decision is consistent with my request in 2006 to WTA President Larry Scott that early entry lists not be released or published so that we can maximize our ticket sales in New Haven. It was all part of the Road Map and US Open Series plan."

Lagging general admission ticket sales at the Pilot Pen saw a sudden spike after the announcement that Australian Open Champion Serena Williams would be playing in New Haven. Controversy has swirled in this small community with the sudden admission, then withdrawl of Serena Williams just days before the Pilot Pen tennis tournament was to begin. "There will be no refunds," states Worcester. "I lied about providing Richard Williams a Harley. I lied about having a helicopter ready for Serena when her plane landed in the field behind the New Haven McDonalds. It was all lies. Ronald McDonald will not be there for Kids Day. We needed the revenue."

WTA President and CEO, Larry Scott, could not be reached for comment.

Within hours of the announcement, angry protesters began symbolically tearing-up their Pilot Pen admission tickets and depositing them into McDonalds donation bins at three local New Haven McDonalds Restaurants. "I spent the last of my social security check to get the chance to watch Serena Williams play," said 71 year-old Eunice Boltworthy. "I'm really upset and afraid my internal cardiac defibrillator might spark. I need the refund to buy medicine."

Former Pilot Pen Champion, Jennifer Capriati was in attendance for the qualifying tournament which began today. Capriati is concerned about security during the matches. "Like, you know, I was like sitting there, and like, these people, you know, like, began holding up signs and screaming, like. And I'm like worried about the players, you know?"

"I did it for my children," said Worcester. "I could no longer continue to set a bad example for them by lying and manipulating the tennis public and had to come clean. I love Jesus but there will be no refunds." Asked about her future at the Pilot Pen Tournament after this latest controversy, Worcester states, "I am not planning on running for public office. That was never my intention."

What a world when "Faux" news is the only way to discuss and air what is really going on.

Ann Worchester Confesses

Road Trip Finals 8/19/2007

Cincinnati

The Name vs James Blake

If Blake wins this check his feed okay? Blood, urine, hair sample, well ixnay on that last thing but you get my drift.

Blake is good beating up on guys that have been run over by golf carts but is befuddled by that great tennis mind Sam "I'd rather drive my mother's Porsche" Querrey. Look for the FedBot to play today while the real man heads for NYC.
Straights for The Name. Easy straights. 50th win. Yada yada yada. Moving on.

Justine Henin vs Jelena Jankovic

Can someone give me a reason for thinking Jelena will win this one when she's powned by Justine?
Straight sets, less than an hour for Justine. I'm not sure if there's a JustineBot. Today's match will help answer that question.

Heard Around - Road Trip Edition V

Yan Zi of China

Hey, if it's always Super Bowl XXV or something why can't my US Open Series posts be in Roman numerals too huh? Just saying for those who were wondering why.

8/12/2007

The dust has barely settled on last week but this week is off to a flying start. In an update to the Pova pull out at Los Angeles the injury is now reported to be her foot. Someone must have realized there isn't that much soft tissue around the shin for acupuncture to be used so now it's her foot. Keep in mind she had already pulled out of Toronto citing "fatigue". What happened to that shoulder injury that hampered her this year? Oh, my bad. It's the shin/foot injury that hampered her in Oz.How the hell can she be "fatigued" when she hasn't played all that much this year? I mean even the crew on ESPN had to address the issue of how she's remained the #2 woman in the world without playing much this year. Ah, the life of the Golden Girl as the head of the WTA christened her.

Here are my reasons for the Pova Pull Out:

Pova has no height advantage over Ana.
Pova knows Ana is not afraid of her and will not break like a piece of Baccarat crystal.
Pova knows Ana is rested.
Pova knows Ana, beating Jelena, a really competitive match so I hear, was ready for her.
Pova knows that no one was falling for the shoulder injury anymore. Shoulder injuries don't come and go, pretty pink tape not withstanding.
Pova and her camp flout WTA rules at will. They knew that some IMG flack and Larry Scott would have her back and come up with an excuse.
Pova and her camp told ESPN one thing - the shin, and then someone, realizing how stupid that sounded came up with the foot injury. Acupuncture is very difficult on the shin no?
Pova and her camp know that she will get a cakewalk to the semi's in New York. Heck, the NYC cabdrivers know she's getting a cake walk to the semi's in New York.
Pova and her camp came up with the story that she'd had this injury even in Australia. Funny, no mention was made of it until now. Do they think we've all got a form of ADD and haven't been paying attention the last few months?
Pova fans want to turn her crappy action last night into a bash the WS free for all.


The continuing saga of "As The Ball Bounces"

"I felt like I was playing against a guy, the way her serves were coming at me," Jankovic said. "It's sometimes scary, and when she starts to scream, I'm like, 'Come on.' She's quite a powerful, big girl."

Jelena Jankovic Quote

This would seem to be another instance of Jelena and her tongue careening out of control but Craig has put this statement into context. It seems that back in January, after the Oz Open, in a Russian language interview one Ms Maria Sharapova made a comment that Serena was hitting as hard as Roger Federer. Since that comment was made it Russian it got no play in the US tennis press. Meanwhile players and fans everywhere else knew she'd made the statement. Jelena, seeing that Pova got no flack, probably figured she could do the same. No Jelena, you can't. You are not the Golden One. The WTA will not protect you from the press fallout. Make a note to yourself that you are not Maria Sharapova. Repeat it over and over until it's second nature. Remember that when you hold your next presser.

8/13/2007

Sooo they held a mens final, a Masters Series Final by the way, and ESPN aired it on tape delay.
Their reasoning?

ESPN Explains Tape Delay Decision For Rogers Cup Final
By Tennis Week
08/13/2007

Novak Djokovic fought off six set points in the first set then showed his guile and grit in outdueling defending champion Roger Federer to craft a compelling 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(2) victory in Sunday's Rogers Cup final. The match made for riveting tennis television, but American tennis fans were unable to see it live.

ESPN2 presented the final on a one-hour delay, which sapped some of the drama from the proceedings for viewers who already knew the result either by watching the match live over the Internet on ATP TV or followed the live scoring on Rogers Cup.com.

Why did ESPN2, which provided so much live coverage from Montreal in the days leading up to the final, opt to present tape-delay coverage for the final? An ESPN spokesman told Tennis Week today the decision was due to scheduling commitments with the USTA's U.S. Open Series traditional Sunday schedule and the tournament's contractual commitment to Canadian television.

"The decision was one made with the USTA. The men's match had to start at 2 p.m. for Canadian television," an ESPN spokesman told Tennis Week. "Given the preference for consistency every Sunday — the finals start at 3 p.m. Eastern — the two sides chose to air the match on a one-hour delay."

Asked if the network had considered offering both live coverage, on an alternate ESPN network, and then taped coverage on ESPN2, the spokesman replied "Starting on one network, then switching, is not a consideration."

Bull shit.

Roger's Post Match Presser

I don't usually post the post match pressers of the man or woman who lost a final but this is one time I will make an exception.

Q. You played against him before. How much do you think he improved?
ROGER FEDERER: I played four times against him. Never lost.


Q. So?
ROGER FEDERER: So? (Smiling) No, he played well. Like I said, he's an up‑and‑coming youngster who is improving almost by the day because they're so young, you know, they learn a lot with all the matches they play, with the travelling. So for this reason he definitely played great tournament. He's been able to back it up now since basically a year now.
If he keeps this up, you know, he's going to create some chances also at the Grand Slams because he's been able to come to two semifinals already in his career. This obviously might be a breakthrough tournament for him.
I was impressed the way I played, but nothing to the point where he surprised me. I knew how he was playing, so that was a good thing.

Q. Looking at the big picture and your aims for the whole year, how significant is a defeat in a final such as this? Is it significant or not?
ROGER FEDERER: Insignificant (smiling).

Q. Can you elaborate on why and what your major goals are?
ROGER FEDERER: The goal was to win Wimbledon. Done that. Try to stay No. 1 in the world. It would have helped to win today. Can't have it all. You know, looking at the US Open, looking down the road, as well, the Masters, still a long way to go. So I can't start being disappointing about just one match. I mean, he played well. I couldn't get the job done.

Q. You played some good tennis. Has it been good preparation?
ROGER FEDERER: Good preparation, yeah. I've been very happy with the month following Wimbledon when all went well. I'm in good shape mentally and physically. I'm really in top form. Looking forward to the rest of the summer.

Q. Do you appreciate the look of his game, a little more similar to yours, than Rafa? Do you appreciate that part of his game compared to Rafa?
ROGER FEDERER: No, not really. I mean, he plays like many other players on tour. You know, I mean, he's steady off the baseline, he's got a pretty good serve But, yeah, I mean, like himself, he says nothing outrageous in his game. Always pretty predictable, which is a good thing. Yeah, you get some good rallies against him because he scrambles well, moves to the ball well, moves the ball around very nicely. Yeah, I enjoy playing against him.

Q. How would you rate your form today? What were you happy with and what weren't you happy with?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, the way I came back, you know, because I was down quite a few times in the first set. Second set it was tough, you know, after what I went through at the end of the first. Then the third set, as well. I could never really breathe. Maybe that was a bit my problem today. It's such a pity, you know, when I start a match against a player like him serving so bad in the opening game. It was quite windy at the beginning and I was just not sure how much risk I should take on my shots. So all in all, it was not a ‑‑ too bad of a performance. Too many ups and downs. Then totally missed my chances when I had them. Like I said, he hit very freely in the tiebreaks.

Q. He's long stated his ambition to be No. 1, which not a lot of players do. No one has pushed you for that ranking in quite a long time. Do you view him as more of a threat than any other player or in with the crowd?
ROGER FEDERER: I see him second after Nadal. That's my opinion.

Q. You were hitting your forehand perfectly earlier in the week. Today it was slightly off. Any particular reason? Wind?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it was windy. You know, I couldn't play that freely from the baseline today 'cause I was always, you know, was in a tough situation, whereas against the other players, I was able to get a break away, get ahead. So today I had to be a little bit more keep the ball in play, but it was not easy. So, yeah, it was a tough match. But it was okay. Nothing too bad.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

I'm sure Roger and Novak will be making joint appearances soon.

8/14/2007

How's this for flying standby?

While Rafael Nadal hitched a ride on the private jet charter of Roger Federer for a two-hour flight from Canada on Monday, unseeded Nicolas Kiefer got down to work at the Cincinnati Masters... lesser lights took the court on the opening day of the last big event prior to the start of the US Open on August 27, world number one Federer and his friend and rival Nadal were likely comparing notes during their flight from Montreal to Cincinnati.

The top two players in the world were both shown the door by surging Serb Novak Djokovic, who beat Nadal in the semis and Federer in Sunday's final in the Montreal Masters.

The snark is the writer's own, not mine.

Raja, Rafa and the Jet

Andy Goes Wild?

It was reported that Mr. Roddick didn't take his loss to Novak very well either but instead of giving a snarky post match interview he was said to have gone on somewhat of a rampage. Here's a report from a French Canadian newspaper.

After his loss to Djokovic in the quarters, he smashed his racquet so hard against the locker room wall that it went into the wall and Andy couldn't take it out.


He also spit on a lines person water bottle after losing a point during one of his matches.

He suddenly left an autograph session for kids, complaining about the fact that he "couldn't understand what they were saying".

"GVGirl", "Louche" and I were initially suspicious of the reports since there was no accompanying link provided. The person posting the story then scanned the articles in. They're from what we call in the States a rag, and no corroborating articles were to be found in the "legit" press.

I'm not a Roddick fan but that stuff doesn't sound like Andy. There is a lot of hate against Andy by a lot of people. Not sure why but there is. I debated taking this out but will leave it in because at some point it will be repeated as gospel and it should be known the story came from a dubious source.

8/16/2007

Okay they're playing a Masters Series event in Cincinnati. No need to go over the injury report already given. It's just that when fans come out to see something labeled a "Masters Series" match they expect to see Master Series level tennis. Fans save up to come to these events. They want to see the men they've read about live and in person playing the tennis they see on highlight reels or described by rapturous fans who live half way around the world, or across country, from them.

Continuing his all daytime all the time play Roger Federer took the court today against Marcos Baghdatis. I know some of you may think I sit and surf the net all day looking for tennis tidbits to feed you but I actually have a 9-5 job. I don't think my boss would be too happy to see me sitting watching Masters Series television when the company is paying me to do a job.

I wasn't expecting much of this match. I mean Baghs, who seems a nice enough guy, doesn't believe in training. He feels playing football (soccer in the States) with his pals is all he has to do to stay in shape. Uh huh. Look for the Marcos Baghdatis training DVD's on a remainder table near you. I mean how much thought do you have to give to a match where Federer is playing Baghdatis? Not much.

Imagine my surprise when I checked a message board to read the recaps and read "this sucks", "worse match ever" and "whoever tanks less will win it". Huh? I'm sure you know by now that Roger won the match but along the way it seems he forgot that the ball lands INSIDE of the lines. Was Baghs trying to do a rope-a-dope and make Roger's level of play sink to his? I guess no one told him that when you do a rope-a-dope the object of the exercise is to surprise your opponent with your skill and win the endeavor. That renowned method actor Novak Djokovic is famous for his second set swoons. He even pulled one on Roger in Montreal before going on to win the match in the third set. Got that Marcos? You win when you pull a rope-a-dope. I do think it was a bit much to say watching the match one got the impression they ladies of the WTA had donned drag to impersonate Roger and Marcos don't you?

So when I get home I figure I'll watch the match. WRONG. Masters Series television only offers highlights. So I sat through a three minute montage of Roger making pretty shots that landed inside the lines and none of the garbage that had tennisheads foaming at the mouth during the match.

As much as I dogged out the folks at Wimbledon for their antics this year on their live feed subscription service they do it right. The actual matches stay up for a month or so after the event is over so that you can see one you may have missed or get to study a player you've wanted to see before the Season of the Bouncing Balls aka Hard Court Season starts. If you can, make sure you order it next year. It's worth every dime.

WTA Rogers Cup News

Meanwhile the women seem to be going their merry way in relative obscurity. I don't talk about WTAworld that often but despite some of the bizarre posts you find over there they are a great source for women's tennis. They were the first board to follow what for many were obscure players from Eastern European countries who somehow managed to land on tennisheads radar a year or so after being mentioned there. They are still providing news on Mirjana Lucic and Alexandra Stevenson and while sometimes you roll your eyes at the threads when you want to know something on the WTA they're the best place to go.
A little diversion but shout outs sometimes need to be given.

Major upset

Ana Ivanovic going out to Yan Zi of China. As was said on a fan board no one told Ms Yan that when you take out a seed you promptly lose the next day. Ms Yan won today. I'm sure someone has sent her the e-mail.

8/17/2007

Q. You've pressed him hard twice now the last two times you played. Did you feel like going into today that this was the day you might nail him?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, yeah. I was seeing the match, how it went. I couldn't imagine losing the first set, but I did. Because like I said, before, I didn't take my chances, and that's why maybe the reason is because I didn't like believe in it, I didn't basically he won the first set because of his name. I can say because it's Federer and I just choked.

Q. Do you feel like there's a bigger problem. Against Pavel (sic) last night you had three set points in the first set took and you lost that, and second and third sets it took you a couple set points to win those as well. Is there a bigger problem for you at the end of sets?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No. Normally it's not a problem, it's just, I don't know. Last week I beat Moya. He had 6 2 in the first set on the tiebreak. That's part of the game. But that's what I said. That's the difference between Roger and the big guys. They take their chances when they have them and first chance they just take it. They don't give you any.

I think we're done here no?



PMac Commentary

PMac commented the other night that maybe the field is catching up to Federer as a way to explain his lackluster showings so far on this side of the pond. It's funny how when he's not being a fanboy Pmac can really talk tennis.

But let's take this one step further. Does Roger need to improve and add to his game or should he be content with what have become his standard answers on the court? Craig and I were having one of our discussions and I mentioned to him that part of Andy's problem is that he has not really done much to change his game since 2003 and that now he is a known commodity. Does Roger run the same risk especially now that he doesn't have a coach to push him to try different things?
Roger's fans are saying he only cares about the Slams now a la Pete Sampras back in the day but Sampras was a little bit older when he started focusing on the Slams to the virtual exclusion of everything else.
I for one don't accept that. During the Baghdatis match yesterday when he played a point very well he gave a fist pump. He cares a lot about his tennis.

The Rogers Cup - WTA

Marion Baroli played through visible pain last night and won her match against Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-0. Based on this picture it appears Maid Marion has lost some weight since Wimbledon.

8/18/2007

The Semi's

Despite Sahara type conditions in the Midwestern United States there are a couple of interesting mens semi final matches today. In the day match(!)it's Roger vs Lleyton. Roger has been training in Dubai where it's 105 at daybreak. Lleyton is from Southern Australia so no matter what the temperature is heat will not be an issue. Fedtards, stop saying it's unfair for your guy to be playing in the heat of the day. It's what he's trained for. Hush.

The other semi is Blake vs Davydenko. Should be an interesting match. Blake came out on fire against an injured Juan Carlos Ferrero the other night and beat him like he stole something. Funny how well Blake plays when he is pretty sure he can win isn't it? He dropped a set against Querrey and while PMac was acting as if James were playing Roger in the comeback two sets I mean come on. Blake should be beating Querrey in his sleep. Let's see how he does against Davydenko who has a hell of a lot to prove during this event.

As for the women there is a surprise semi finalist. Yan Zi, who didn't get the memo, will be playing Justine Henin this afternoon in what should be an interesting test for Justine. The other semi features Tatiana "Barbie" Golovin against Jelena Jankovic. Both matches should be interesting. Justine has to pound Ms Yan into the concrete to show she's ready for New York and over her surprise loss to Maid Marion at Wimby. Ms Yan takes a set and Justine goes into crisis mode.

As for Barbie and Jelena I just hope a full fledged cat fight doesn't break out. I mean they'll either be comparing fashion tips while they daub the perspiration from their faces or their faces wil be figuratively covered in vaseline and their hair in braids. Hey. We women understand.

Equal Pay for Equal Work

Rafa has come out on the side of women playing five sets to justify earning equal prize money.
The quote in Spanish followed by an English translation done by "Sonfo" on WTAw.

Rafa fue cuestionado sobre la igualdad entre hombres y mujeres a la hora de repartir las ganancias, y aunque en un principio aseguró no tener una opinión formada acerca de este tema, no se cortó a la hora de valorar negativamente que cobren todos lo mismo. "Creo que las mujeres y los hombres son iguales en todos los ámbitos de la vida, pero mi opinión es que si somos iguales, ellas también deberían jugar a cinco sets para ganar el mismo dinero".

"Rafa was asked about the equality between men and women regarding prize money, and while at first he claimed not to have a very well formed opinion about the issue he didn't hesitate when he negatively supported the idea: "I think that men and women are equals when talking about every issue, but my opinion is that if we're all equal, they (women) should also play best-of-five-sets matches to gain as much money as we do".

Full article in Spanish Here

I don't disagree as you regular readers know.

Serena

Serena has pulled out of the Pilot Pen tournament.
Mary Jo mentioned yesterday that she can only hit a one handed back hand right now. I hope she is able to play the Open but even Serena can't come into that event with no match prep and do well.
We may not see her again until Melbourne.

For a very good fan discussion on Andy Roddick's woes please visit the article All American Quarter Final

The Namib Desert


I end by offering Rafa an apology. Every report out of Cincy says the heat in the first part of the week was mind numbing. One fan reported that he'd visited Mason Ohio last year and was surprised to find out that the entire facility is not air conditioned and that yes, the heat made it impossible to enjoy the tennis. Another fan reported that being in the heat made her dizzy.

The Truth from Cincinnati

Imagine trying to play Rafa tennis in those conditions.

Fans on TAT had a discussion as to whether they should look to put a roof over Center Court like they have in Melbourne. I doubt this will happen but if it was that hot then they need to look into declaring heat advisories for the players and allowing extra time for cooling down. Again just my very humble opinion.